Walt Disney mortgaged nearly everything he owned and sold TV rights to ABC in order to get enough money to build Disneyland. Alas, the money didn’t go far enough to buy up more of the orange groves that surrounded the site in 1954, by the… Read More »Disneyland Acquires More Property for Cast Parking
runDisney continues its string of sold out events when it held the Disneyland Half-Marathon this weekend at Disneyland. Jimmy Grabow, from the aptly named town of Runner Springs, CA, repeated his champion run for the second straight year with a time of 1:07:41, slightly off his record-setting pace of 1:05:29 in 2012. Ricardo Ramirez finished second with a time of 1:14:30.
The female champion, Stephanie Dinius, crossed the finish line in record fashion, capturing the women’s title with a time of 1:15:47. Rachel Booth held the previous record, 1:18:01, from the 2011 Disneyland Half Marathon. Last year’s female champion, Cindy Lynch, finished as runner-up with a time of 1:25:29.
The half marathon field of 17,500 registered runners passed through Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, Angel Stadium and the streets of Anaheim. Along the route, runners were greeted by cheering fans, Disney characters, music and live entertainment.
Read More »Disneyland Half-Marathon Crowds Returning Champion
I know what you’re going to be doing for at least two hours this holiday weekend. Once you start listening to this wide ranging and entertaining interview with Disney Legend Dick Van Dyke on the Kevin Pollack Chat Show you’ll clear your schedule for next… Read More »Terrific Dick Van Dyke Interview
Rumors of a fifth gate at Walt Disney World occasionally bubble to the surface and more often than not it takes the form of a Disney Villains themed thrill park (or maybe Heroes vs Villains depending on who you ask). I think that might be… Read More »Disney Villains To Appear at Disneyland and Hollywood Studios this Friday the 13th
In 1958 legendary Imagineer Bob Gurr pointed out to Walt Disney that his Main Street USA had a Fire Station but didn’t have a fire engine. There’s a great quote from Gurr over on the Disneyland Compendium on how he got permission to build it.… Read More »Disneyland’s Main Street Fire Engine Turns 55
Welcome to the Magic is a Disneyland Timelapse by Matt Givot and Dan Douglas, both Orange County based photographers. They took over 20,000 images to showcase Disneyland and Disney California Adventure using timelapse photography. I love the way it captures crowds, lights, and the unique… Read More »Welcome to the Magic – Fan Made Disneyland Timelapse Video
Did Doofenshmirtz keep you from experiencing the Waffle-inator Challenge at the D23 Expo this past weekend, don’t worry. The larger than life interactive game will appear at Disneyland’s Downtown Disney this weekend, Friday through Sunday, August 16 through 18. As you might have guessed, the… Read More »Phineas & Ferb Waffle-inator Challenge At Disneyland Resort this Weekend
I never wanted to go to Disneyland. Sure, I’d heard all about how it was “Walt’s park” and how you could walk in Walt’s footsteps, but to be honest, I’m not very sentimental about those things. I love Disney World, all four parks, the dining options, and the resorts. It didn’t seem necessary to go all the way out to the West Coast (where I was raised, incidentally) when I had everything I needed just a few hundred miles from my front door. But circumstances change and an opportunity arose. I went to Disneyland.
Here’s what I found, in a nutshell: Disneyland is both the same and different. Disneyland feels like a “family” park, with a million pass holders for whom it’s like a second home; Disney World is everyone’s park, a destination for people from all over the world. Their castle is “cute,” not grand like “ours,” their quick-service food is better and the table-service food is spotty in places.Their Haunted Mansion has nothing on ours, except during the fall and Christmas, when they do a Nightmare Before Christmas overlay that is not to be missed.