“One More Disney Day” Disneyland Trip Report Pt 5
Based upon our experience the previous day, when the “good” part of the sunrise didn’t appear over the park until almost 7 am, I figured there was no way that I’d be able to focus the second sunrise. Much to my surprise, security was in no rush to sweep guests from the park, and continued to allow everyone to grab their final photos of the day. PhotoPass was especially popular at this time, as guests probably wanted their evidence that they survived 24 hours in Disneyland!
The energy of guests in the hub was great. Everyone was excited, happy, and friendly. Given that many people in this group had been awake for far too many consecutive hours, I was a bit surprised by this. No one I encountered was on edge. Instead, everyone truly felt as if they had been a part of something special. No one was commenting on the lines or crowds. Everyone was just excited to draw their experience to a close.
Walking down Main Street at the end of the day gave me a tremendous feeling of satisfaction. I know staying in a theme park for 24 consecutive hours isn’t really much of an accomplishment in the grand scheme of things, but I felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment.
At the end of Main Street were dozens of managerial Cast Members waiting to high five the last stragglers as they exited the park. I’ve never run a marathon (although I wouldn’t be surprised if I walked 26.2 miles during the course of that day!), but I imagine this is what coming to the finish line of a marathon is like. It really felt amazing, and seeing so many genuinely happy Disneyland Cast Member faces was icing on the cake. Throughout the entire day, the Cast Members at Disneyland were awesome. Even as things got busy and crowded, my encounters with them were always wonderful. They seemed especially elated and energized at the end of the event, and I’m sure they felt a great sense of accomplishment for pulling the event off!
After all of us crazy straggling guests were cleared past this receiving line of Cast Members, Security Cast Members came running down the line, giving high fives to all of the managers and other Cast Members as they passed. I’m not speculating here–there was definitely a sense of accomplishment and elation among these Security Cast Members. They had done a great job managing everyone during “One More Disney Day,” and I assume it was a fairly busy day for them (even if most guests were well-behaved). They really deserved the congratulatory high fives.
Sleeping Beauty Castle at the end of Main Street as Disneyland falls quiet for a few hours…
Even though I was in the park for over 24 consecutive hours, it felt as if the day had flown by. I think this is partly because of how truly exhilarating and special the day was. Not only was the weather perfect, but the day just exuded fun. It was a really special experience in a day that just can’t be articulated into words. It had a kinetic energy that made me smile from ear to ear almost the entire day.
I’ve said it before, but this really can’t be overstated: “One More Disney Day” was absolutely amazing. Reading this report, it may seem like it was just a normal day with some special meet & greets and food, plus insane crowds and long lines. That couldn’t be further from the truth. It was an incredible experience, and it’s probably difficult to fully explain that after the fact in words.
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. Seriously, it was that fun. Better than our first-ever day in Disneyland, better than the day we went to Club 33, and better than the first time we saw Disneyland at Christmas. The rest of the trip was fun, but “One More Disney Day” really overshadowed it.
This sentiment 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 other similar events. Although my experience is entirely anecdotal, I didn’t encounter a single person who was not enjoying the festivities of “One More Disney Day” who was actually in the park, and I did engage a fair number of random guests during the course of the event. The general sentiment I encountered regarding “One More Disney Day” was that it was an awesome and unique experience. Many felt that it was something Disneyland should do more frequently. This is something I’ve consistently heard since returning home. People can’t wait for the “next” 24 hour event. At one point I probably thought it was a one-and-done event. Now, I’m not so sure. The demand is certainly there and both Disneyland and Walt Disney World saw huge numbers of guests during the event.
I almost didn’t want to leave the Esplanade, wanting to savor every last bit of the day (plus, I think the coffee REALLY jolted my system). 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 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 or from those bitter that they couldn’t enter Disneyland the previous night. 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. In fact, if anything, it incentivizes Disney to disregard all feedback that “serious” fans offer, as someone is always bound to complain about something. When you complain about everything, you invalidate even your meaningful complaints. (I remember learning that from some childhood fable about wolves…)
Nothing in life is perfect. 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 above, it was my best day ever in Disneyland.
For previous installments in this Disney trip report, visit its index.
PLUG: since the whole purpose of taking the trip was to create the Disneyland: Sunrise to Sunrise eBook, the majority of the “best” photos I took on “One More Disney Day” are not presented here. If you like Disney photos, I strongly encourage you to check out the eBook, Disneyland: Sunrise to Sunrise, by clicking here. If eBooks don’t interest you, fret not, as there are still a lot of good photos here, but they’re generally the ones that didn’t make the cut.
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Loved the trip report as I love all of them.
I know this post is over 2 years old and this is some major post-necromancing, but my goodness!! That man is tall! I always pictured you to be easily 6′ tall. That would make him close to 7. o.O
I loved reading this!!! I can’t wait till May 24th!! What do you think the crowds will be like at WDW?
Insane.
I was at the Magic Kingdom for the Monstrous Summer event, and it too was magical. Yes, it was filled to capacity for a while, and the lines were prohibitive from 5pm – midnight or 1am, but other than that, I wouldn’t say it was insane at all.
It’s near impossible to describe what it’s like to be at an event like this; the early morning hours before and celebratory end of the event are especially something special. It definitely is addicting, and I can’t wait to do it again.
Totally agree!
Great photos and trip report. I really wish I’d stayed all the way until the “kicked me out”, but I left about 6:20 a.m. 🙁
Do you know of anyone who recorded those hourly announcements & songs? I missed a couple and didn’t think to record any.
Really enjoying the trip report! Every DLR trip report I read strengthens my resolve to make a trip out there happen in the near future (maybe 2013 will be our year!).
I absolutely LOVE the pink flowering trees around the hub! They added so much to every shot they were in.
I would love to hear Sarah’s point of view or commentary too.
Disneyland is awesome–you’ll love it.
I keep trying to get Sarah to post more; perhaps she’ll respond to your comment!
I agree–I’d love to hear Sarah’s point of view too! (though I do find your commentary quite entertaining Tom)
I just bought and read the eBook and it was amazing! I haven’t been to Disneyland since I was little and this definitely made me want to make the trip out there and see it again! I would love for you to make a Disney World one, as I’m in full Disney trip mode for my Honeymoon in August! Can’t wait! Thanks again Tom for the eBook and this amazing blog!
Glad you enjoy the eBook. I put a LOT of work into it, as it definitely was a labor of love! I may be a bit biased, but I think it turned out really, really well, too!
Glad to see that you both had a great trip, it looks like it was a fantastic day! Even the one friend that I had out there (who isn’t into Disney like myself) had an awesome day/night during One More Disney Day.
Glad that you mentioned the “vocal minority!” It’s annoying that it’s always, always complaining by them and never anything positive. It may be that I don’t love everything Disney does, but it’s still the most magical of places and I’ll love all the trips I can take there (DL, WDW, hopefully elsewhere)!
Thanks for the great trip report (and the e-book, which is full of amazing pictures)! I completely agree with your assessment of the event–it was fantastic. It was really Disney at its best, and it was a day I’ll never forget.
This might sound a little cheesy, but your trip report has actually made me want to visit Disneyland during the next Leap Year celebration! I always thought big events were overcrowded and rather stressful, but now I really wanna go and just enjoy the ambience. Thanks for sharing your enthusiasm!
This was a great trip report and sounds like the day was pretty incredible from start to finish. Curious, did you go back to the parks after this or sleep the whole day? 🙂
We were in Disney California Adventure 3 hours later.
That’s amazing. TRUE Disney fans! lol
It looks like you had an amazing day. I can scarcely imagine the sense of connection and elation you and Sarah must have felt with the other guests experiencing such a monumental day. I hope you’ll be reporting on the rest of this visit as well! I look forward to reading (and seeing) more.
Yep, the rest of the trip will be reported on. I’ll have a lot more photos for those days, too, since those photos aren’t in the eBook!