A couple months ago, my husband told me of a work conference he was planning to go to in Anaheim. He knew my response before he even told me. Of course I have to go with! It’s by Disneyland, my Happiest Place on Earth!
We booked our trip and were all set to go when Disney made an announcement. To kick off the Monstrous Summer, on May 24, Disneyland, Disney California Adventure and Magic Kingdom would be open for 24 hours!
As exciting as this sounds, it isn’t as exciting if your trip is already booked and you just happened to be there at the same time. Planning goes into your trip and something like this makes you have to rethink your plans.
For us, we were flying home on May 25, very early in the morning. This meant there was no way we could go to the parks for 24 hours, we’d miss our flight. This also meant that trying to stay close to 24 hours would be difficult as well with packing, etc. Our plans were modified to go for part of the day, just like it were a normal day and get back to the hotel at a reasonable time to go to bed.
We talked to some other folks who were visiting before the 24 hour day was announced and they were not happy about it either. But tell that to the hundreds of people that camped out overnight waiting for the parks to open at 6:00 am.
I arrived at around 9:00 am as we had been out late the night before. My husband was still in the conference so I went alone for the morning. The line for bag check was very short and the line to get into the park was shorter than it was the previous Monday. In less than 5 minutes I was in the park. I walked to the end of Main Street and snapped a couple photos.
Then over in Frontierland it looked like a ghost town.
This would not be the case later. After a ride on the Jungle Cruise, I went over to Disney California Adventure to check it out, get a new button and shop.
Check out the guy dressed like a monster! I also managed to find Sully.
I was able to pick up a few things which we will be giving away. Check out the end of the blog for information on how to win.
I went back to the hotel to get rid of my purchases, pack a bit and wait for my husband. We went back to Disneyland around 3:00 pm. There were no lines at all at bag check, fewer people than the morning at the turnstyles and we got more limited buttons since they weren’t gone yet. Apparently, the annual passholders that carpooled and had at least three in a car also got a different pin for each person in the car. By the afternoon, they were giving those out to every passholder, regardless of how many were in the car.
Lines were not very long at Disney California Adventure in the afternoon either, except at Radiator Springs Racers, which is always busy! This brings me to my favorite thing about Disneyland Resort. We were on Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree.
I received a text message that our friends were in the Fantasyland Theater. The show would start in about 30 minutes. The ride finished and we left for the theater. We took the train when we got to Disneyland and arrived at the theater in the nick of time! You can’t do that at Disney World.
Following the show, the crowds were noticeably bigger. We went on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and when we came out, it was packed. Everyone was ready for the parade at 6:30 so we went to the Jungle Cruise. After the ride, the crowds were even more dense. People coming in to the park were directed behind Main Street to get in and we walked through the shops to avoid much of the traffic as the parade was now going. We left the park for the night around 7 pm.
What did I learn from this? Holiday weekends are not great times to have a 24 hour opening, especially when the day also falls on Grad Nite (this closed off parts of California Adventure overnight). I am not out there for the long haul so I will likely avoid a 24 hour park opening in the future. To go and say you were there on that day was fine, but otherwise, the only reason to be there that day is to say you were there for 24 hours which I can’t do. I admire those who can (they must be much younger than me!).
So back to the merchandise I got or acquired on our recent trip! We got this for you! We will be giving away the following:
- XL 24 hour Disneyland t-shirt
- Mike Wazowski glasses and a 24 hour button
- 24 hour button and Disney Travel Company lanyard/pin set
- 24 hour button and Disney Travel Company lanyard/pin set
To win one of these prizes here is what you do. Post on the link to this blog on our Facebook page saying how you found Travel On A Dream. Make sure you tag the person who directed you there! You both will have an entry for the prizes! Share the post for more entries (everyone who puts your name in gives you an extra entry). If you don’t Facebook, email info@travelonadream.com with your entry. Winners will be selected on Monday at 5:00 pm.
