Review: Celebrating Disneyland’s 62nd Birthday!

When I made plans to got to California for the D23 Expo this year, and then spend some time surrounding the convention, I was totally unaware that Monday, July 17th was Disneyland’s 62nd Birthday. I honestly just skipped my mind. I knew that it was announced that Fantasmic! would be officially reopening that day, and my friend Adam and I made dining reservations at the Hungry Bear Restaurant to coincide with that (the review of which is forthcoming this week). We were expecting higher than normal crowds because of the Fantasmic! reopening and D23 Expo. However, with it also being Disneyland’s birthday, would it be too much? We entered the park on Monday morning to find out.

How were the crowds?

Disneyland was not as crowded as when I went on the Monday post- D23 Expo back in 2015. I suspect that some of it had to do with D23 Expo being earlier in the summer this year, and therefore subject to blackout dates for some of the Annual Passes. Be that as it may, the crowds continued to pour in, and by the time Fantasmic! rolled around, New Orleans Square was a zoo. Luckily, our viewing for Fantasmic! was the earlier showing. That meant we were also able to see the fireworks show from The Rivers of America (if you haven’t seen it from that locale, you should), and then ride a few rides that were uncrowded because of people queuing up for the second (and third!) showings of Fantasmic!.

Was there any special merchandise for the 62nd Birthday?

Sadly, no. We tried multiple locations to see if there was a special pin or button or article of clothing released for the birthday. Even the cast members were surprised that there was nothing. Additionally, the only things released for the Fantasmic! reopening on that day were a t-shirt and hoodie. No pins on that day (those would unfortunately appear in the parks a few days later after we had already left). Needless to say, there were slim pickings when it came to remembering the day.

There were, however, special signs throughout Disneyland (and Disney California Adventure) with various cast members, so guests could take special photo ops in the parks if they chose to do so. I made use of them in three locations: Main Street’s Square, where Walt gave his opening day speech in 1955; in front of the Rivers of America, the location of Fantasmic!, and on the backside of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle in the courtyard. However, there were numerous other locations where these signs were… it would have been hard to spend the day in the park and not find one.

We also grabbed a couple of the Birthday Celebration buttons that they hand out when you are celebrating your birthday at Disneyland and created our own tribute to the day at hand. While it confused more than a few cast members who initially wished us a “Happy Birthday!”, there was quite a bit of merriment when they realized exactly why we were wearing the buttons.

 

Were there any special events throughout the day?

Yes. In addition to the fanfare over it being the return of Fantasmic!, every year on Disneyland’s birthday, there is a celebration in front of the Main Street Train Station. This year, the Disneyland Band and the Dapper Dans were joined by 62 Friends (from Mickey and Minnie to Mulan and Mushu) at 12:20pm, the time that Walt gave his famous speech back in 1955. After all the characters joined in the celebration, Walt’s speech once again rang through the air, and then everyone joined in singing “Happy Birthday”. After the Dapper Dans performed a number, white doves were released into the air, and the characters paraded off backstage.

Now, while we did not get a great view of the festivities, the OC Register was there front and center, and recorded the event for everyone to enjoy. You can view their video here. I will say, that being in Disneyland hearing Walt’s words from 62 years ago… for me, it was something special.

Additionally, and I don’t know if this was a regular occurrence because I am used to the proceedings at Walt Disney World, but there seemed to be a lot of characters out and about at Disneyland that day. Now, I know that without the extensive backstage areas and utilidors like the Magic Kingdom has in Florida, seeing characters walking around Disneyland is not a surprise. However, there seemed to be a lot of them that day. In fact, when taking a break near Fantasyland before our Matterhorn Fastpasses started, I ran around taking “walking selfies” with a bunch of characters out and about. NOTE: Unless they are actually in a Meet & Greet area, characters are not supposed to stop for pictures. However, if you should happen to have your cell phone or camera out and want to walk with them for a bit, they most of the time will be willing to snap a quick selfie.

 

Did you get on a lot of rides?

Overall, I would have to say “no” to that question. Both Adam and I have been to Disneyland before (we were even there earlier on this trip), so rides that we went on consisted either of ones that we really wanted to do one more time, or ones that we didn’t do yet this trip. All told, we rode:

~ Matterhorn Bobsleds

~ Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

~ Pirates of the Caribbean (twice!) <– SO much better than WDW!

~ Splash Mountain

~ The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

~ Snow White’s Scary Adventures

Since the wait times for some of them were so long, it wasn’t worth the time to wait on the line when we could simply walk around, trade pins, collect the Disneyland “Returning” Trading Cards, and have fun. All told, this trip there were only two rides I did not do that I would have liked to: Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin and Alice in Wonderland. Oh well, maybe next time.  

How was Fantasmic!?

I will delve into the details later this week when I review my Fantasmic!/ Hungry Bear Restaurant Dining Package, but the time leading up to the actual show could have gone a bit better. However, by the time the show was to begin, we had a pretty decent location to see the show, and it was enjoyable. This was actually our second time seeing it (we caught a preview showing two nights prior), so that changes from the original show were not surprising to me. However, that made it so I could focus on capturing some of the fun on my camera, which was nice.

Additionally, as I stated before, since we were seated for the first showing of Fantasmic!, we also got prime viewing for the Remember… Dreams Come True Fireworks Spectacular show above the Rivers of America. This show, unbeknownst to us prior, also utilizes the water screens from Fantasmic!, so the projections shown on Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, visible from locations at the Castle Hub, are also shown on these screens. To be honest, it made for a better viewing experience of most of the show itself, though it’s obvious that the show was choreographed and planned to be seen within the Castle Hub.

 

Was it worth it?

Yes. For me, being a Disney junkie like I am, to say that I was in Disneyland on one of its’ birthdays is something I will treasure. I made some amazing memories with cast members and friends old and new. Most importantly, my admiration and respect for Disneyland grew this trip. I will always prefer Walt Disney World and The Magic Kingdom over Disneyland. However, I was able to experience Disneyland, and Disney’s California Adventure, more this trip than I did in 2015 (I also went in 1997 prior to DCA being more than just a parking lot… but that trip I cannot remember much of). I have come to view the parks as more than just crowds of rude people and never ending lines. I enjoyed the parks this time around, and I cannot wait to make the trek there again.

Were you there for Disneyaland’s 62nd Birthday? What are your thoughts on the day? Sound off below.