It Was 25 Years Ago Today

Hmmm… Somehow that title just doesn’t seem to flow the way I thought it would. But it WAS 25 years ago today that I attended the 25 hour long party at Disneyland celebrating the park’s twenty-fifth anniversary.

To accommodate twenty-five hours of fun in a twenty-four hour day, Disneyland opened at 12:01pm on July 17, 1980, and stayed open until 1:00am July 18, 1980. I was there for a full twenty-four hours leaving just a little before the party ended, but only because I wanted to beat the crowds out of the parking lot.

That was the only trip to Disneyland in my life where I actually ALMOST became bored with it. Fortunately, with all that time in the park I was able to hit almost every attraction. From the Haunted Mansion and the Pirates of the Caribbean, to the Storybook Land Canal Boats and the Main Street Cinema, I saw it all.

Surprisingly it was pretty empty throughout the day, but as it neared 8pm, the crowd grew exponentially in anticipation of the highly publicized parade and fireworks show. Our little group staked out a spot at the hub, and had a great view of the fireworks, but afterwards we could hardly move through the throngs of people that had arrived.

It’s hard to believe it’s been that long since Disneyland’s twenty-fifth anniversary. I won’t be going this year, though. I think the crowds will be huge, it will definitely be hot, and I really can’t afford it anyway. Besides, it couldn't top the party twenty-five years ago anyway.

Posted by Jeff at July 15, 2005 6:40 AM