“One More Disney Day” Disneyland Recap & Photo
“One More Disney Day” at Disneyland began with us arriving in Anaheim at 9:45 pm on February 28th, 2012 after flying into the Orange County airport from Indianapolis. As soon as we checked into our hotel, I wandered over to Disneyland to see how things were looking. At 10 pm, there were already hundreds of people–if not over one-thousand–lining up to get in the line for “One More Disney Day” ear hats. It was a cold night and the hats looked unimpressive to me, so I wasn’t exactly interested in waiting in a line overnight. This was especially the case given that I planned on spending a full 24-hours in the park the next day. I needed all of the rest I could get. That said, I can’t say I blame these people for staying out overnight. They were undoubtedly part of a spectacle and experience, and for them the journey of waiting overnight was likely more fun than the reward of receiving the mouse ears.
The next morning started for me at 4:30 am, as I entered in the already-huge line to get in the park. The line snaked a few times, but even with that, I was still back by Tower of Terror. One of my big goals with “One More Disney Day” was photographing the sunrise at 6:19 am, and given this line, I was worried that I’d still be waiting to get through security at 6:20 am. The line began moving around 5:30, and erupted when the clock struck 6 am and guests were allowed into the park. At 6:08 am, I was finally inside. I don’t have time to chronicle the whole day here right now, but suffice to say, it was a lot of fun, especially through the wee hours of the night when the crowd seemed to really, oddly enough, come alive. There was a real energy on Main Street USA at 6 am on March 1, 2012, when it was announced that “One More Disney Day” was over. I never had heard such an excited reaction from guests being told that the operating day of the park had concluded. As I was one of the last guests to walk down Main Street towards the exit at 7 am, it was fun to see Cast Members in a receiving line high five guests as they walked towards the exit. After Security finished cleared Main Street, even they ran down the receiving line giving high fives to the other Cast Members.
As I walked home, I was surprised to find that I wasn’t all that tired. Sarah and I both remarked that we felt energized, and we agreed that it was our best-ever day in Disneyland. This wasn’t unique to us. Despite the lack of sleep, throughout the day and night, everyone was in a chipper mood, as guests reflected back on other such similar experiences as the opening of the original Star Tours, Grad Nights, Captain EO re-opening, various New Year’s Eves, and opening of Indiana Jones Adventure. Although my experience is entirely anecdotal, I didn’t encounter a single person who was no enjoying the festivities of the day, and I did engage a fair number of random guests. The general sentiment regarding the day was that it was an awesome, unique experience, with many feeling that it was something Disneyland should do every week. I think Park Operations would probably shutter if they heard that last sentence.
I still couldn’t sleep when we got back to our hotel room, so I checked Twitter, expecting to see others sharing their positive sentiments regarding “One More Disney Day.” I was a bit shocked when I saw a lot of negative comments about the event. Comments ranged from dubbing it “One More Disney Disaster” to a criticizing it as a colossal embarrassment for Disney and a waste of time for guests. Unsurprisingly, many of these comments were from people thousands of miles away from the actual event. I am a bit puzzled how someone who wasn’t even in the state, let alone the park, is qualified to declare Disneyland’s “One More Disney Day” as a disaster. This is something that seems endemic in the Disney fan community, and the same sentiment coming from the same vocal minority gets tiring. To be sure, there were legitimate reports of some issues, but much of the complaining was seemingly done by those “fans” who are eager to find any faults with anything Disney does. I think constructive criticism of the Walt Disney Company is very important as a check on the Company’s actions, but condemning an action or offering of the Company in a snide and contemptuous way serves no beneficial purpose. The individual doing the condemning may feel some misplaced sense of joy or satisfaction, but it is in no way actually productive.
Nothing in life is perfect (I know I’ve never taken a perfect Disney photo!). This is especially true when you take a first of its kind event and add a record crowd to the mix. There will be some snags along the way. To fixate on the imperfect does a disservice to the wonderful, albeit slightly imperfect, aspects of life. It doesn’t take much effort at all to reflect upon the wonderful aspects of “One More Disney Day” at Disneyland. Like I mentioned at the outset, it was my best day ever in Disneyland. I’d rather focus on the amazing aspects of that day, but that’s just me. I’ll focus more on those wonderful aspects of “One More Disney Day” in the coming weeks, but for now, as I wait at the airport to head back to Indianapolis, here’s a photo that offers a taste of what we experienced on “One More Disney Day” at Disneyland.
As you know, I had an absolute blast at Disneyland for One More Disney Day. Easily my best Disneyland experience. I contemplated whether to spend the day at DLR or MK and I have to say I am glad I chose my “home” park. I think that made the experience much more meaningful.
My original plan was to drive up after work in the evening and spend the night at the park to enjoy the unique after-hours experience. Afterall, the daytime was just an ordinary operating day, right? Then I realized that most people were probably going to think the same way. As the date approached, I could tell One More Disney Day was going to be very popular with locals, especially annual passholders. Taking that into consideration as well as thinking about the best chance to photograph the sunrise, I got the day off of work and focused my plans on staying the entire 24 hours. At first the idea didn’t seem too appealing, but I felt it was necessary to have the best possible time. That’s exactly what happened. I was a little worried when I got in line at 5am. I thought for sure we would miss the sunrise. But the line moved incredibly fast and all worked out PERFECTLY.
The people who chose to come late in the evening only have themselves to blame. Sure there are real-world obligations that might prevent one from being able to spend all 24 hours at Disneyland, but that is in NO WAY Disney’s fault! I was able to work things out and get the day off work. I did what I needed to do. I planned for the worst and worked around it. Personally, I expected the park to reach capacity at 10am, not 10pm. I was expecting heavier crowd levels during the day but was pleasantly surprised to see it was no worse than an average summer day. Things got crazy at night, but that added to the energy. It was really interesting to see the place buzzing with such excitement at 3:00, 4:00 in the morning.
Besides wishing I had taken a few more shots, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.
I couldn’t agree more, Tom. It seems like most of the people who are complaining about it (besides the ones several states away) are the ones who decided to come late in the day on the 29th. There are around 900,000 annual passholders–of course a ton of them were going to do the same thing, coming after getting off work to spend the night at Disneyland. Why would this surprise them?
For those of us who were there all day, like you & Sarah, and my brother-in-law, Stuart, and me (we arrived at 5am), it seems like the vast majority of us had a great time. Fairly light crowds through most of the day, and then taking advantage of what unique opportunities we could–I got my picture with Mickey & friends in PJ’s–and accepting that there would be long lines.
Like you, I’m choosing to focus on all the great parts!
I (obviously) agree completely. To be upset that many of the local AP holders had the same idea as you is a bit silly. If people would have planned better, they could have avoided a lot of headaches. If Disney would’ve planned better, it could NOT have increased capacity in the park. People still would have been turned away and upset.
Great photo. I had a excellent time at the event. I think it really helped that the crowed was really in to it. Also, I was thinking if people didn’t have a good time it could possibly be that they (or the people they are with) were being a farty pants. My only regret is not being hungry enough to try more of the special foods.
You also had the rare privilege of hanging out with us. By the way, you owe me $467 for that.
From the reports that I read, it was the people who were stuck outside that were the most vocal. But when you’re sitting in your car for hours not moving, that does give you ample time to complain via social media. I don’t really think its fair to say that those traffic jams were Disney’s fault, but if they ever do this again in the future, hopefully Anaheim will have a better idea of how to handle traffic flow.
Commando touring benefits strike again! Get there early and those problems would have been avoided.
I was in the Magic Kingdom for all 24 as well and I had an absolute blast! I had zero complaints and I pretty much saw nothing but smiles and laughter with the occasional stretch and yawn. Haha. Good times were had by most, if not all.
Kudos for doing the full 24! I’m sure a few people complained that Sarah and I weren’t there, but the day at the Magic Kingdom couldn’t be TOO perfect! 😉
I disagree with Meagan…I spent all 24 hours in the Magic Kingdom at WDW and saw nothing but people having fun, the dance party was CRAZY!
The line waiting to see Mickey and Minnie in their pajamas was 100 minutes at 4am and everyone was still in a good (albeit tired) mood! The young girl behind us in line actually started crying when she saw Mickey in his pajamas she was so happy and excited!
Everything about the day was wonderful, got to see Snow White and all seven Dwarfs!…and I got the free ears!
Awesome story! We didn’t even bother with the (awesome looking) PJ meet and greet because the line looked way too long. I wish I had gotten at least a few photos of them, but c’est la vie!
The PJ meet at DL was a little crazy. We went to the location around 10:10 because the lines were long for rides and at that point we just wanted to sit. When the line formed at quarter of 11, it was mass confusion, and we ended up pretty far back. Mickey, Minnie, and Donald came out for 30 minutes. We barely moved (as a clump became a line). Daisy joined them for the next 30 min. We got to meet them at the end of this time period. I would guess we were in the first quarter of the line when our first formed. No photopass. By way of comparison, we saw the country bears next and it only took 30 min and they had a photopass photographer.
We didn’t see either sets of characters, and that’s probably the one thing I regret. That, and not making reservations for Cafe Orleans. If Disney does this again (personally, I think it’s a one-and-done event), I’m making a plan in advance!
Great post. As someone who watched online from a few states away, I’ve enjoyed the reports and pix of this fun, unique event!
And I’d say your sunrise photo is darn near perfect …
Tami *o*
The Colorado Mountain Mom
Glad you liked the first photo…many more sunrise photos to come
Thanks for sharing your experiences. We were there too, although we said uncle around 12:30. It was a really magical day. When I saw people lined up to camp out in the cold at 9:15 the night before, I thought maybe we had miscalculated and made a mistake, but even at night, when everything was packed, it was a great time! I was impressed at how quickly they moved everyone through security and into the park in the morning. It was almost unbelievable.
I was a bit shocked to see so many people lined up the night before…and then many of them left as soon as they got their ears!
Tom and Sarah! Thank you guys so much for sharing this brief overview of your time at D24. I am hopeful that in four years they plan to do this again. Our son will be 13 then and that will be a fun trip for his mother and I to share with him. I am looking forward to the Epic Trip Report. I have not caught up on all of them yet, but I am working on it.
The trip report will be coming soon. We have a WDW one to finish first, though!
Although I am a DL local and APer, I was unable to get away from the office that day. Thinking I might head down for a couple of hours that evening wasn’t going to happen either after hearing about the traffic jams and large crowds around the resort. I hope they do this again in the future – glad you two had a good time – looking forward to your photos – @TommyPix
One of our friends watched the traffic reports and ended up heading to Disneyland at 2 am. He said traffic was clear by then and had no issue getting into the park.
Totally agree with your sentiment about the “fans.” Nothing is good enough and most just lay in wait almost willing something negative to happen. I think the response online was overwhelmingly positive…especially from those at MK. Maybe I’m naive or easy to forgive but I thought MK did a great job all day long with managing the event and the crowds. Not only were those in attendance energized but the cast members seemed on 100% for the full 24 plus hours.
The Cast Members were great at Disneyland, too!
It sounds like DL was in a much better mood that WDW. Sadly, we ran into sever very cranky guests here in Florida.
I am so glad to hear of your positve experience…as a recent follower of your blog and a HUGE fan of your photo’s I was holding my breath as word of the disgruntled fans started trickling in. Good for you and the good attitude going into the event. OF course it was going to be busy…of course it wasn’t ALL going to be smooth sailing but as in everything it is all in Attitude!! Keep up the good work and I look forward to many more pictures!!
It wasn’t tough…at all…to have a good attitude during the event. Most of the complaints I’ve heard concerned traffic outside the park (not Disney’s domain) and the long lines outside the park after it hit capacity (capacity is capacity…what can be done there?).
It was an awesome event and we’re incredibly glad that we experienced it!
Great photo, I definitely wish I got to expericence One More Disney Day, in person, I experienced it over Twitter haha.
After reading this post I felt like giving you a standing ovation [:
Glad you liked the post! You sound like me during the D23 Expos. I’m glued to Twitter all day anxiously awaiting updates!