Diamond Celebration: 24 Hour Event @ Disneyland Resort May 22-23!

[cindernat]

As we left (about 10:30pm), the lines of people still wanting to get in were phenomenal. I wished I could have held out til the 1am parade (we were at Fantasmic at 9pm) but alas with a flight out tomorrow I needed bed. Awesome day though.

Bit of a screw up at Blue Bayou with a fire causing evacuation around 5pm which threw all the reservations out by an hour. Luckily we got seated up the front with the view to Pirates so we were happy.

 

[MadeToLove]

It sounds like this was a perfect storm of everything that could go wrong....

You combine Memorial Day weekend, 24-hour crowds with the start of the 60th anniversary; add in increased AP holders, due to the affordable payment plan, and the increased number of swag and memorabilia collectors, who know to show up early if they want to have a chance at buying anything; and you get monster sized crowds. Then there are massive traffic jams that no doubt made it difficult for night shift employees to arrive on time, roudy crowds, kitchen fires, and who knows what other behind the scenes disasters. It's no wonder the director of park ops closed the gates for the night. I'll be interested to hear the real scoop tomorrow. I'd hate to be working for Guest Services this weekend.

 

[aymekae]

I'm at the Carnation Cafe for my 12:20 reservation. The parade is coming back through at 1 am. What I don't know is if they will allow entry into DCA in an hour or two to watch World of Color at 3 am. Anyone know??

I have to agree with the other reports... Paint the Night and Disneyland Forever were over the top and amazing. I waited on a bench for 7.5 hrs leaving once to use the restroom and it was worth it. I was between Storybook Land Canals and It's a Small World, on the stone steps next to the coffee vendor. Perfect viewing for the parade, I stood on the top step. It wasn't that crazy afterward, and everyone was able to move to a better fireworks viewing location. You had to look left, look right, look more right to see the projections from IASW. The energy was amazing, people were dancing, swaying, singing, unlike any fireworks show I've seen before.

 

[figment_jii]

I picked up most of the popcorn buckets today.

• Blue Mickey Balloon - the Hub
• Red Mickey Balloon - Matterhorn
• Purple Mickey Balloon - New Orleans Square
• Mine Train - Frontierland
• Han Solo Carbonite - Tomorrowland
• Cinderella Carriage - Town Square and Small World
• Darth Vader - no popcorn stand, but at the cotton candy stand

I also saw the blue Mickey bucket at the Buena Vista stand early in the day, but I didn't get back later in the day.

 

[wsssup]

Han solo and Darth Vader, I'm excited now.

 

[ImDMous]

If anyone is still out in the Esplanade or over at DCA, I heard they were opening the gates again. You never know, it could happen. My friend is at DL now and has said that HM was walk on and FantasyLand felt empty. She went to check in for Blue Bayou reservation and they said to not get used to the short lines because more people would be let in at 2.

 

[SilentFeline]

I like the way you think! I'm hoping they'll come out with something. All in all, I'm glad I went, and that I went early. I would never go to one of these events late because the crowds are just immense. I am hoping that Disneyland merchandising keeps ordering and keeps bringing it in.

One thing that was cool - the Mickey balloon popcorn buckets - from what I saw, each stand has a different color - purple in New Orleans Square, blue in Main Street, red in Tomorrowland. I saw the Cinderella bucket near Fantasyland (I remember walking past it). In Frontierland they have a Dwarves mine car bucket that says Disneyland 60 on it.

Mary Jo, I saw a wallet when I was browsing online for souvenirs to ask my sister to get for me since she'll be at DLR tomorrow with her boyfriend. I don't know how to post pictures on here, but the wallet is white and has various pictures of characters inside colorful diamonds. According to the source, it can be found at Emporium, Elias & Co. and World of Disney. They may have been sold out when you were there but it doesn't hurt to ask about their availability if you're planning to return soon!

 

[MaleficentRN]

Did they stop running California Screamin'?

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Mary Jo, I saw a wallet when I was browsing online for souvenirs to ask my sister to get for me since she'll be at DLR tomorrow with her boyfriend. I don't know how to post pictures on here, but the wallet is white and has various pictures of characters inside colorful diamonds. According to the source, it can be found at Emporium, Elias & Co. and World of Disney. They may have been sold out when you were there but it doesn't hurt to ask about their availability if you're planning to return soon!

Thank you so much! I saw those when I was there. They were almost sold out, but I'm sure they'll bring in more. It was one of the ones I was eyeing .... before mine was taken. Now I'll really consider them.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

the wand is one that glows with the show I don't know much about it yet.

 

[amyg1975]

I picked up most of the popcorn buckets today.

• Blue Mickey Balloon - the Hub
• Red Mickey Balloon - Matterhorn
• Purple Mickey Balloon - New Orleans Square
• Mine Train - Frontierland
• Han Solo Carbonite - Tomorrowland
• Cinderella Carriage - Town Square and Small World
• Darth Vader - no popcorn stand, but at the cotton candy stand

I also saw the blue Mickey bucket at the Buena Vista stand early in the day, but I didn't get back later in the day.

\
Wait a minute... those are all popcorn buckets?!?! Were they just a special for the 24-hour event, or will they stick around for the summer?

 

[AddictedtoDoleWhip]

I almost went yesterday but I am glad I didn't, lol.
I'm going this morning though so I am interested to see how many people are going to be at park opening today. :]
I hope all of you that went had a splendid time!

Question:
Did anyone go to the Mad T Party area last night and could you guys tell me what it was like/what the drinks were like (if you had any?)

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

@amyg1975 I believe the popcorn buckets will stay.

Some of the podcast team have been to all of the events, and we'll be talking about our experiences this Sunday, so the show will be up either Monday or Tuesday. If you would like to interact with us during the live show at 8pm Pacific, you can join us on Mxlr to chat. http://mixlr.com/dis-unplugged-disneyland-edition/

 

[beachdreamr1229]

This was an amazing event. I left about an hour after the fireworks as I started to feel lightheaded, but the whole thing was surreal. When I left the line through dtd to get in was back to dlh. I can't believe the numbers of people. By the way, viewing the parade and fireworks by small world is actually really good. The projections looked great on small world and the only downside was a tree blocking the matterhorn.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I actually got one of the wands. Unfortunately, I didn't take it with me when I saw the parade. It's in the shape of a paintbrush, and you are able to change the colors of some of the parade elements with the wand. I have to take it with me to figure out how to use it. You can also change the color of some of the other Made with Magic items (headband, Mickey Ears...). I'm excited to use it.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

So it looks like you can see something on the castle during the fireworks. Is this the same projection you would see on small world? Also do the paint the night parade projections also play on Small world?

Mary Jo how much was the wand? I'm guessing 15-25 but not sure how off I am.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I don't remember how expensive the wand is, sorry. I believe that each area that you are at gives you a different experience. The different areas that I know about: Main Street where you are in the middle of so much action, the hub, where you can see the castle and the Matterhorn and the projections there, the Small World area, with projections on Small World, and Fantasmic area, with projections and pyrotechnics there. Amazing.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

:: Update ::

I just called Disneyland's Lost and Found to check and see if my wallet turned up.

My wallet with the entire contents was turned in. I'm so relieved! I didn't cry yesterday, but I am now. lol That person has my heartfelt thanks and gratitude

 

[Sherry E]

So maybe it was never stolen, but just lost? That's awesome!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I'm thinking that it fell out of my backpack. It was really heavy (yes, I bought a bunch of stuff - different things, not a lot of the same), and Tom had thought that maybe the weight pulled the zipper rather than someone reaching in and taking it. That could have happened, but I didn't think it was probable yesterday. Changed my mind today.