WDWCelebrations Hits The Road To Celebrate “Fifty-Five”

WDWNT Author on January 1, 1970

WDWCelebrations Heads West in 2010 to present “Fifty-Five”, a WDWCelebrations Commemorative Event Honoring the 55th Anniversary of Disneyland®

Orlando, FL, July 15, 2009 – WDWCelebrations is pleased to announce an exciting new Commemorative Event for 2010, celebrating the historic 55th anniversary of Disneyland® Park in Anaheim, California. Dubbed “Fifty-Five”, this Commemorative Event takes place Thursday through Saturday, July 15th to July 17th, 2010, and will be produced in association with our newest partner, WindowtotheMagic.

During the organization’s longest and largest Commemorative Event to date, guests will be able to enjoy favorite WDWCelebrations signature offerings such as history walks, scavenger hunts, group rides, group meals, and, of course, a few very special surprises. This event will encompass the entire Disneyland® Resort, offering fans a taste of the West Coast Disney with an East Coast twist.

WDWCelebrations warmly welcomes WindowtotheMagic to our family of treasured partners.  Paul Barrie, Jr. and his team currently produce the internet’s preeminent Disney audio podcast “A WindowtotheMagic,” as well as numerous fan DVDs.  Paul has been creating Disney-related content for the internet since 1996.

Jason Diffendal, Co-Founder of WDWCelebrations, remarks, “We are constantly looking at new opportunities to bring like-minded Disney fans together to celebrate. We couldn’t pass up an opportunity to celebrate the fifty-five years since 1955 when Walt realized his dream.  Disneyland® is Walt’s place and sets the stage for what is sure to be a spectacular event!”

Jackie Steele, Core Team Member of WDWCelebrations, adds, “Our past events have focused on the Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida, but this is the perfect occasion to recognize Walt Disney’s first theme park masterpiece, the one that started it all.  We are also very excited to be working with Paul Barrie Jr. and his talented team for this event.  Paul does such a great job with his podcast, and it will be a pleasure to have him on our team.”

Registration for this event will open in December 2009.  More information about the event will be released in the coming months via the WDWCelebrations.com website and newsletter as well as the WDWCelebrations official fan page on Facebook and the WDWCelebrations Twitter feed.

About WDWCelebrations, L. L. C.

WDWCelebrations, L. L. C. is a Florida-based organization created by Disney fans, dedicated to “celebrating the magic of the past, present, and future, together.”  WDWCelebrations was founded by the organizers of Celebration 25, which commemorated the 25th anniversary of Epcot® in 2007.  WDWCelebrations Commemorative Events are designed to celebrate milestones in Disney park history.  More information about WDWCelebrations and its events can be found at http://www.wdwcelebrations.com.

About “A WindowtotheMagic”

WindowtotheMagic is owned and operated by Paul Barrie, Jr.  Paul has been creating Disney-related content for the internet since 1996, and visits Disneyland® many times a year to record audio and video for his podcast, “A WindowtotheMagic.”  More information can be found at http://www.windowtothemagic.com.

Disneyland® Park and Walt Disney World® Resort are registered trademarks of The Walt Disney Company.

Christmas Comes Early This Year

WDWNT Author on January 1, 1970

It looks like Christmas is coming even earlier this year, as the Costco Travel site is stating that Holidays at the Disneyland Resort will begin on November 13th, 2009:

Holidays at the Disneyland® Resort begins 11/13/09 through 1/3/10. Celebrate with family and friends as holiday magic unfolds all around you with seasonal excitement, like Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle, “Believe … in Holiday Magic” Fireworks Spectacular, “A Christmas Fantasy” Parade and Santa’s Reindeer Round-Up.

New Vacation Package Offers Fall Savings at Disneyland Resort

WDWNT Author on January 1, 1970

ANAHEIM, Calif. (Aug. 12, 2009) – Value-minded vacationers have plenty to celebrate this fall with a special travel offer: savings of $400* at the Disneyland Resort in Southern California.

From Aug. 12 through Dec. 19, 2009, guests will save $400 when they book a 4-Day/4-Night Disneyland Resort vacation package, featuring Disneyland Resort hotel accommodations – Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, Disneyland Hotel and Disney’s Paradise Pier – and park hopper tickets. The offer is valid for arrivals Aug. 23 through Dec. 20, 2009. Pricing starts as low as $87 per person, per day, at Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel.*

Each package includes four-day park hopper tickets and many extras, such as one Magic Morning admission per person. Magic Morning admission allows families to enjoy select Disneyland attractions – including Finding Nemo’s Submarine Voyage, Peter Pan’s Flight, Dumbo the Flying Elephant and King Arthur Carrousel – before the park opens to the general public. The new package also provides guests the opportunity to interact with some classic Disney characters in Mickey’s Toontown Morning Madness one hour before Mickey’s Toontown opens to the general public. (Mickey’s Toontown Morning Madness and Magic Morning early entry do not operate daily and are subject to restrictions.) Preferred seating at select attractions and restaurants in Disney’s California Adventure are also included.

Seasonal Fun

Beginning Sept. 25 through Nov. 1, the resort celebrates Halloween Time, a season filled with whimsical décor, a new fireworks show and some traditional spooky fun. This season of tricks and treats will feature some of Disney’s most popular villains and will unveil Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, a themed experience with haunting music and ghoulish sound effects. A new, nightly fireworks display will light up the autumn sky with a wicked sense of fun, while the traditional giant Mickey Mouse jack-o’-lantern returns to Disneyland Town Square. Also, the eerily popular Haunted Mansion Holiday attraction in New Orleans Square and Disney’s Happiest Haunt Tours will return for guests to enjoy.

For more information and to book a Disneyland Resort vacation package, guests can call the Walt Disney Travel Company at 800/854-3104 or book online at www.disneyland.com/Save400.

Let the Adventure begin!

WDWNT Author on January 1, 1970

This Friday, December 17th D-Street in California will release 2 of the 5 Disneyland exclusive Disneyland ’55 Attraction Poster 9″ Vinylmations ($44.95). Yesterday I told you about Tommowland, today we travel to Adventureland.

Walt Disney loved nature and adventure. This is evident in his award winning True-Life Adventure documentaries. Adventureland was meant to be based on these films and feature real life animals in the Jungle Cruise attraction. Since that was not feasible, Walt had his imagineers create the automatronic animals we all enjoy today. This Vinylmation features the attraction poster from the famous Jungle Cruise ride.

Interesting to note is the placement of the world “Adventureland”. In the original poster, “Adventureland” is under the depticted elephant and boat in the brown space at the bottom of the poster.
What was designer Alex Maher’s reasoning for this? To fill up the empty yellow space on the back? Or was it difficult to write the word across the Vinylmation feet? Also, how about the missing hippo? I would have liked to see the hippo on the finished Vinylmation. There appears to be room to wrap him from the right side to the front, or even on the back… there is some empty green space there as well. Those are 2 questions I will ask him if I get the chance… or if there is an artist signing out at D-Street in California, maybe you can ask for us? A nice Vinylmation gift may be in it for you!

The Future… as seen in 1961

WDWNT Author on January 1, 1970

I love retro Disney merchandise… so this Friday, December 17th’s release of 2 of the 5 Disneyland ’55 Attraction Poster 9″ Vinylmations ($44.95) designed by Alex Maher is very exciting! These Vinylmation are only available at D-Street in California. Today, I will talk about Tomorrowland…


Here is Walt Disney’s vision of Tommorwland in his own words: “Tomorrow can be a wonderful age. Our scientists today are opening the doors of the Space Age to achievements that will benefit our children and generations to come. The Tomorrowland attractions have been designed to give you an opportunity to participate in adventures that are a living blueprint of our future.”

Tomorrowland opened with Disneyland in 1955, but didn’t feature many must-do attractions until its 1959 update when the Disneyland Monorail, the Submarine Voyage and the Matterhorn (later part of Fantasyland) opened. Oddly enough, this series of Vinylmation is named “Disneyland ’55”, but the ride depicted on this poster is from a ride that wasn’t built until 1961…

The Flying Saucers attraction only lasted 5 years, but became a cherished childhood memory for many who experienced it. Guests rode in these “Flying Saucers” and played a game of bumper cars. The Saucers floated on a cushion of air, similar to air hockey, and were controlled by the rider leaning in the desired direction of travel. Here is a vintage photo from Disney of the former attraction.
The ride was expensive to operate and was shut down in 1967 when the refurbished Tomorrowland opened. But the memories live on…
Coming to Cars Land at Disney California Adventure in 2012:
Luigi’s Roamin’ Tires concept art