Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Hello there, Mouse Ears Universe. Thank you for joining us on the Mouse Ears podcast. Your go to source for all things travel, but mostly Disney. Sponsored by Fairy Tale Journeys travel. Whether you're a first time visitor or a travel pro, we're here to bring you the latest news, insider secrets and fun stories from the happiest and in this case, the most magical place on earth. Make sure to give us a like or follow on whichever platform you may be listening to or watching us on.
So keep your hands, arms, feet and legs inside the ride vehicle as we navigate through an overview of Disneyland's 70th anniversary celebration, because the adventure starts right now.
[00:00:58] Speaker B: Well, hello everyone. Welcome back to another episode of the Mouse Ears podcast. I am one of your hosts this evening, Stephanie. And with me I have Jen. How are you? Jen, hi.
[00:01:09] Speaker C: I'm doing well.
[00:01:11] Speaker B: And Kelton, how are you? Kelton.
[00:01:13] Speaker A: Hi Steph.
[00:01:15] Speaker B: Hi, Kelton. And Brooks isn't here. He's actually on a much needed family vacation.
[00:01:20] Speaker A: Well deserved.
[00:01:21] Speaker B: Absolutely, absolutely.
And tonight we have another special guest. This is a returning guest of ours, FTJ agent Brittany Young. Brittany, how are you? Thank you for being on. Round of applause for her.
[00:01:35] Speaker A: Round of applause. Here we go. Yeah.
[00:01:43] Speaker D: Thanks for having me back. I'm excited. I know I've got a, I got some ketchup to do with Elise, but.
[00:01:50] Speaker A: Oh, we got a lot of episodes to go.
[00:01:53] Speaker B: She hasn't been on this season, but we know she's been busy. But we're so, so, so thrilled to have you on and for this episode where we're going to talk about all things Disneyland 70th celebration. Oh, yeah, that's right. Our girl Brittany over here just got back not too long ago from California and she was able to experience all things. Things happy.
That is the theme. Yes, that is the theme for this 70th anniversary that Disneyland is currently well celebrating.
So a little bit about the 70th anniversary celebration and this is coming straight from the Disney Parks blog.
Now through summer 2026, the Disneyland Resort 70th celebration honors seven decades of happiness and many moments of joy in the making.
Guests can celebrate happy with limited time, entertainment, colorful decor, themed food and beverages, collectible merchandise, and so much more. Now this started May, I think it was like May 16th or 17th is when the celebration started. Brittany, when did you go?
[00:03:06] Speaker D: So we were there the week of Memorial week. So mate, May 25th through the 31st.
[00:03:12] Speaker B: That's exciting. Oh my gosh, I can't wait to get into this episode. But before we really dive in, we got a Trivia question for all of you trivia fans out there. Jen, you want to take that?
[00:03:25] Speaker C: I will take that.
So today's trivia question is brought to you by Fairy Tale Journeys Travel. Next time you want to book a Disney cruise, let the agents at Fairy Tale Journeys Travel take care of all the details for a stress free experience at no extra cost to you. And when you book with them, not only do you get the expert advice, but you can also get up to $1,000 in onboard credit.
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All right, today's trivia question.
And I don't even know this, but what was the theme of Disneyland's 50th anniversary celebration?
[00:04:22] Speaker A: I have no idea.
[00:04:24] Speaker C: I do not know.
We'll find out.
A giant cupcake themed castle. I think we're good.
[00:04:34] Speaker A: Kind of. Hope not.
[00:04:35] Speaker B: I hope not.
Listen, I came into this world with the best celebration possible. Are you kidding me?
That was the year of my birth. Yes. I had the cupcake.
What was it?
[00:04:50] Speaker D: The.
[00:04:50] Speaker B: The cake decorations on the. Cinderella's castle.
[00:04:54] Speaker A: Oh, it was horrible.
[00:04:55] Speaker C: I saw an old video of it and they were just so excited about this castle and I'm like, y' all.
But that's okay.
That's okay.
[00:05:06] Speaker B: That one was weird. I also thought the one where Stitch destroyed like quote unquote, destroyed Cinderella.
[00:05:12] Speaker A: Oh, vandalized it. Yeah, yeah.
[00:05:14] Speaker B: That one was also a little bit odd. Just, it looked like the castle got tped.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:05:22] Speaker C: That's a little crazy.
[00:05:24] Speaker B: But anyways, anyway.
[00:05:28] Speaker C: So stick around to the end for the answer that we completely went off the rails.
[00:05:35] Speaker B: In our good old fashioned mouse ears.
[00:05:38] Speaker A: It's just our ick. That's all it is.
[00:05:40] Speaker B: Truly.
So anyways, we were talking about.
We were talking about. We're going to talk about. This episode is all about Disneyland's 70th anniversary. But actually, for those of you that don't know, Disneyland does celebrate its 70th anniversary on Disney July 17th. So that's actually the day that the park actually debuted.
So in honor of that, that is actually going to be the date when the new show, Walt Disney A Magical Life will debut at the. What? What is it? It's the. The theater. Do we know what theater's called?
That doesn't matter. Anyways, that show is going to debut at the Disneyland park on July 17, but that is pretty much. I think it's one of the only things that Brittany did not get to experience when she went.
And we'll talk a little bit more about that animatronic show because it's worth mentioning. But to get started, Brittany, why don't you tell us a little bit about what were your first impressions for this celebration?
[00:06:50] Speaker D: Yeah, so of course, we kind of did our research.
Of course. Because that's what we do. Also, my daughter, my oldest has really gotten into, like, researching. Mom, did you know? I'm like, yeah, I did, but it's cool. So, you know, I just wanted. I didn't want to miss anything special that was going on.
So we kind of had. I had my list of, like, okay, if we do nothing else, I gotta do these things.
So we were very excited for it.
We stayed at Pixar Place Hotel, let me tell you. We had a pool terrace, club level room. And I know it's very, you know, there's. You just have the three Disney Resort spot.
Hi. If you can stay in the Disney bubble, man. Stay in the Disney bubble.
It was fabulous.
[00:07:44] Speaker B: Feel free to tell us more about this room.
[00:07:47] Speaker D: Oh, okay. Yes. Okay.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:49] Speaker C: And I. I'm gonna heard mixed reviews about that club level. So I.
[00:07:54] Speaker D: Okay, first of all, let me just shout out Veronica, because the first time I say club level was at beach club with her last August before the Wish Cruise. And it's her fault. She has ruined me, and now I've tasted the good life.
So when I saw Club Life will.
[00:08:15] Speaker B: Do that to you, period.
Absolutely nothing else that comes after that.
[00:08:20] Speaker D: But I saw that, and I thought, pool terrace, club lounge. I got three kids.
I think this is a good move. So I loved it.
So it opens up. You're actually on the third level, but that opens up to the pool deck, where the pool is your steps away from it, and there's lots of just outdoor activity. Like, there's a foosball table and, like, you know, kind of patio games out there. That's where the fireworks viewing is at night.
And, like, you know, my kids, like, almost every day, they wanted to go back for a swim break. And so just being able to go in a room and then walk right out the back patio door to go to the pool or to go watch fireworks rather than, like, them being soaking wet and going, like, through the hotel elevators.
I loved it. And then just being able to go into the club lounge, get breakfast, get a snack. My favorite was the nighttime nums, you know, and grab, you know, grab some sodas and take those with us. There was no dog, Trevor, but, you know, it's fine.
But like the night when we were going back for the paint the Night parade, you know, I grabbed a couple of Cokes and put them in my backpack so we have something to drink while we're sitting there.
But yeah, so I, I did. I. We loved it. We did get to meet Bing Bong and see Joe Gardner playing the piano. So I really liked it. We were able to use the entrance or DCA through Grand Californian because the, the regular path that the hotel uses was under refurbishment. So that was great. We just hop across the street and walk through Grand California to go into dca.
And so that's where we started our first day, pretty much. Yeah. We spent all of Monday in, in California Adventure there.
There are some decorations, like, towards the front of the park.
Honestly, I really didn't see those until we. Until Friday when we hopped from California Adventure over to Disneyland. But lots of decor in Disneyland park, obviously in the esplanade between the two parks, which, you know, one of the things I love about the, about Disneyland Resort is that they're just right there next to each other. It's fabulous. But there's this.
It's like a sculpture, like colored panel. It's pretty good size where, you know, you could have your photo ops, but it's just like right there in the middle between the two parks. So that was pretty cool.
And then like, as soon as you enter Disneyland park, you've got in front the, you know, kind of the greenery in front of the train station. Before you go through, there's a photo op there with the celebrate happy big decor up there by the train station.
They have a magic shot with Peter Pan flying over.
So obviously I love getting the photo pass. I love getting all of those pictures, the magic shots and the ride photos.
So we did do. We got the Lightning Lane multi pass. We did that with our ticket.
And. Yeah. So lots of decor.
And even just like we spent a day in Downtown Disney. Lots of merch.
Yeah. And there are a few things, like on the right on Toy Story mania.
It has special 70s that pop up for you to fire away.
[00:12:20] Speaker A: That was a good integration.
[00:12:22] Speaker D: Yeah, I thought that was really cute.
I. I'll say. I did not score very well. I was trying to help my little guy. The 3D glasses did not fit him very well. So I was trying to like, hold his glasses with one hand and vibe with the other.
But it was great. Yeah, we had.
Yeah. Lots of decor.
There's also. I. Okay, don't come at me. You love Small World, but We did not end up writing Small World, but I think there's Miguel and Dante from Coco were added in Small World.
But yeah, so I like the, the ride inspirations I thought were cool. The 70s and the toy Story mania was very cool.
[00:13:11] Speaker A: I think that, I think that's pretty awesome. I mean decor. Why? Some of the pictures I've seen so far remind me a lot of kind of like walking into Epcot with, you know, pick a festival type of thing. I feel like it's really come, you know, from that. But you were talking about the merchandises before we started recording.
You said that you were able to go through Downtown Disney and actually I know I almost said Disney Springs.
[00:13:45] Speaker D: I can't tell you the number of times I did that.
[00:13:48] Speaker A: When you're so used to it. That's, that's just what it is. But so you were able to get some good photos and you know, really hands on stuff with some of the merchandise.
So why, I mean, because they've got spirit jerseys. I know they've got magic bands, ears and all of this other, you know, great stuff. So what did you see out there?
[00:14:09] Speaker D: Yes, all of those things. I will tell you the thing that stood out the most as a band nerd. It was it is this gold sequined it. It reminds me of, of a, of a shako of a band cat. But it's pretty awesome looking.
So that really stood out. But yeah, lots of, you know, they have the Disney Home Store there. So there's. They had some stuff in there, you know, I mean everything. You got this, the Starbucks Tumblr. You got the horse ears and spirit jerseys and T shirts and sweatshirts and I mean probably if you could think of it there something with that.
Definitely lots of merch I was going through taking pictures and then I had to like put some in like a photo circle album so I could clear space to take some more.
But yeah, and even there's lots of decorations. 70s decor in downtown Disney and photo ops there. So definitely a fun place to hang out. And again, just right there, you just can walk to it from all of the Disney hotels, which is so nice. You can just hop over there if you want to grab a bite to eat or whatever.
We definitely, we had a whole day where we just did, you know, resort day, Downtown Disney.
And that was, that was a lot of fun.
[00:15:33] Speaker B: And totally irrelevant to the 70th celebration. But downtown Disney is getting a lot of refurb. Like they're, they just got some new stores up that just opened up now. I think they announced that Earl of Sandwich is going to be changed completely. And it's just get. I mean, it's such a great hub to begin with. And like you said, the convenience of having everything there, just a blessing for my little feet. But also, it's just.
It's nice. There's just a lot there.
But anyways, yeah, I just. I've seen some of the merch, and I'm just like, yep.
Between that and the parade, I just don't know what I want more.
And not only that, but I saw the pictures of the outfits for Mickey and Minnie, and they are so stinking cute. Did you by any chance get to see them maybe in the parade or show or something with their outfits?
[00:16:30] Speaker D: Yes, they have the Celebrate Happy Cavalcade.
And so we did get to see them in their outfits. And of course, you know, my favorites, Chip and Dale, I got to see.
[00:16:41] Speaker C: Them.
[00:16:43] Speaker D: In their outfit during the Cavalcade.
When we met them, we had some. We did a character breakfast at Plaza Inn.
The best character dining I have ever had. It was like the. When we did it. So my cousin, and she has seven.
She has five kids, or seven of them total.
They were also in Disneyland. We were. It just was like, we weren't doing the whole vacation together, but we were like, let's do one meal together.
So we did Plaza and breakfast, and it was amazing. And I think because we were there towards the end, we got just lots of time and interaction. I mean, like, my oldest was doing leaps with Tigger. I don't know if you saw my. My video the other day of Daisy. She was phenomenal.
I mean, I know they say Donald is number one duck, but Daisy rocks even though she was trying to steal my man.
I know she just needs Donald to put a ring on it.
But, I mean, we were talking about the.
[00:17:51] Speaker A: Out. You were talking about the outfits.
And I have it up. Give me just a second, because now I don't want to click on the wrong one.
Okay, there we go. I'm gonna. I'm gonna try to show it.
So there's your outfits for, you know, the characters. If you're, you know, watching on YouTube now, I do want to talk about one thing. Like, so we went from the diamond celebration at their 60th, if I remember correctly. Then we had the, you know, the 50th of Magic Kingdom and Walt Disney World.
I might be the odd one out. I just don't know how I feel about these outfits.
[00:18:30] Speaker B: Talk to us.
[00:18:31] Speaker A: I could be the only one. I'm okay with that.
[00:18:33] Speaker B: What are you liking?
[00:18:34] Speaker A: It's.
This was not. It's just not what I was expecting.
[00:18:41] Speaker B: You see, I like these a little bit more than the. I think it was the hundredth, where it was just.
It was Gatsby in a way.
But I don't know. I just felt like it wasn't as. Whoa.
This, to me, does.
It's more fun. Yes.
[00:19:00] Speaker A: It's almost like, finally went back and, you know.
You know, brought things back into, like, the late 90s, early 2000s, when we kind of went to more of the fancy stuff with the 60th celebration, the 50th at Disney World. And now we're back to kind of like what our parents put us in and then some of those outfits. It's, like, nostalgic, but I think it's fun. I mean, it just threw me when I saw it last month. That's. That's all. I don't. I don't think it's anything bad.
Just not what I imagine.
[00:19:39] Speaker C: Yeah, I. Yeah.
[00:19:42] Speaker B: I mean, I do. Everything is purple and blues for the most part, right?
[00:19:49] Speaker A: Everything is.
[00:19:51] Speaker B: Please, please, correct me if I'm wrong.
[00:19:53] Speaker D: Yeah. Purple, blue and pink.
[00:19:55] Speaker B: Purple, blue and pink. So, yeah.
Anyways.
All right, so we talked about decor. We talked about merchandise. You mentioned character dining, food. Kelton.
I know. We love to talk about food. And Disney does food. Fantastic. I mean, they. Specialty experiences, specialty food, treats, drinks. They know what's up.
And, you know, the 70th celebration is no exception to this.
Kelton, do you have it pulled up that maybe you can.
[00:20:30] Speaker A: I do. And there's a lot.
Like, y' all.
There's a lot of food. I'm not going.
[00:20:37] Speaker D: You weren't hungry before. You are now.
[00:20:39] Speaker A: I mean, so, like, we're just gonna throw this first off out right here.
Grilled tahin ribs.
And they look. This picture that they took looks excellent. Oh, it's beautiful. Saucy. I bet you just bite in and they come right off the bone.
So good.
But that comes with, you know, some rice and pineapple slaw. Not a coleslaw fan. Might have to try it. I don't like coleslaw. I know, I know. Sorry, guys. But along with that, and in Disney fashion, they've got a bunch of different dessert parties. You got the World of Color Happiness dessert party. Your Pixar Pal Celebration Parade dessert party. And of course, paint tonight, paint the Night dining package as well.
So there's just a lot of different specialty foods, drinks, especially over at, like, the Bayou, the Blue Bayou restaurant with a ribeye steak. And it looks awesome. Apparently I am just in a mode to eat some steak and ribs because that is what is catching my eye. Then you get your quick service stuff, like snacks, like some churros and some. What are these called?
Hold on. These are. Oh, cowboy french fries.
French fries. Nacho cheese, sauteed ground beef burger sauce and butter pickles.
I did not ever think that you could have butter flavored pickles.
Not on my 2025 bingo card.
So all in all, there's just a ton of specialty food for the 70th and we've got till summer 2026 to try it all.
So I think we need to take a trip out.
[00:22:35] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:22:37] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:22:38] Speaker B: Yes. Yes.
And like we saw in the 50th anniversary over here in Walt Disney World, there's also a lot of chili because that was Walt Disney.
[00:22:47] Speaker A: One of Walt Disney's favorite, the Wed Chili baked potato.
[00:22:53] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:22:53] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:22:54] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:22:56] Speaker A: But on top of that and not food, but food related.
Have you all seen the like, souvenir stuff that they have come out.
[00:23:07] Speaker B: Oh my gosh.
[00:23:08] Speaker A: See any of that?
[00:23:09] Speaker B: We forgot to mention the freaking key.
[00:23:12] Speaker D: Oh, yeah, Giant key.
[00:23:14] Speaker B: Oh, sorry. Kelton, you're awesome.
[00:23:17] Speaker A: Food related, is it? No, that's not food related.
But it lights up though. I think so I'm. I'm gonna have to get it because it lights up.
But so for your specialty stuff, you've got your just your standard typical popcorn bucket that's mediocre. However, we've got Mickey in his excellent, you know, black jacket with his little red pants for a popcorn bucket. We've got a yeti as well, a snowman. They call it an abominable snowman zipper.
He looks pretty cool. He'd be great up there on the wall as well. Your popcorn bucket, your regular sipper. And there was, ooh, the new celebration stainless steel tumbler that I could use for work for my coffee.
And then they've got straws and just. I really like these, you know, celebration D glow cubes. So in. In the old, you know, Disney just design D that lights up blue.
[00:24:17] Speaker B: Oh, it's just take my money.
[00:24:20] Speaker D: Just, just here.
[00:24:21] Speaker A: I know, I know. Here we are.
[00:24:22] Speaker B: Why even direct, you take the credit card. It's just the Disney fund.
[00:24:27] Speaker A: And then of course, over at Trader Sam's, they got a couple of specialty 70th anniversary drinks there as well.
But that's your report for the food. I hope you're hungry and thirsty now.
[00:24:39] Speaker B: Always.
[00:24:41] Speaker D: You know, the paint the night dessert party.
Dessert party. Yeah. So if it's Unless you had someone else we can jump into talking about those things because.
[00:24:53] Speaker A: Go for it.
[00:24:53] Speaker D: Fabulous. Okay.
[00:24:54] Speaker A: We're here for it.
[00:24:55] Speaker D: So let's start World of Color.
There is, you know, you can. There's a virtual queue for. You can do a dessert party for reserve seating. There's a virtual queue at noon that you can get in to just try and get the bird seating.
So of course we did that.
And they had a new thing where you've got to vote for.
It was like, which inside out character you wanted to be. I don't know. I'm not really sure how it impacted the show, but it said, you know, so we voted, so that was cool.
[00:25:32] Speaker A: Who did you vote for?
[00:25:34] Speaker D: Who did I vote?
[00:25:36] Speaker A: Hold on. I will give you a refresher here.
[00:25:38] Speaker D: I'm pretty sure I voted discuss.
[00:25:42] Speaker A: And why can I not find.
Oh, there it is. Okay, so we have envy, sadness, anger and disgust.
[00:25:53] Speaker D: Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm about anger. Pretty sure I did envy because, you.
[00:26:00] Speaker A: Know, but so to go along with that.
Yeah. You would see them featured in special scenes throughout both of the day show. Oh, both them of both days show. I don't like how they worded that.
[00:26:14] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:26:14] Speaker A: Be sure to enable push notifications and location services on your device so you know when it's time to vote.
[00:26:22] Speaker D: Yeah, so that came through. And so, yeah, so we did the virtual queue and then we got a little notification saying, here's when you can, you know, come. And there's still like, obviously like within that. Everybody's in that. It's still first come, first serve as far as your spot. So I think we got there about 45 minutes to an hour before it started.
And then I think I took most of my crew back and my husband and my oldest went hit incredicoaster again after that for the late night. Their youngest is five, so he.
He slept through a lot of the evening entertainment, but he rolls with it.
And then the night parade. Okay, I'll be honest.
Confession time. Was not prepared for how early people get in place for this parade.
I will say, feeling a secret tip coming along.
What's the secret tip is just get, be ready two hours before.
[00:27:32] Speaker C: Oh, my.
[00:27:33] Speaker D: Yeah. So you know everything. I've been to Disneyland before, but it's been a hot man. I was, you know, a little girl, which is a lot of the reason why I wanted to get back out there.
But everything when people talk, they're like, oh, it's way more laid back and it's, you know. And I will say that was very much the vibe in California Adventure. But and of course this was the week after, you know, we're going Memorial Day. We were in DCA and it was still pretty.
It was great, just wonderful park day. And. And then the next day, Tuesday, we were in Disneyland and it was, it was, it was a good park day. But like, I don't. It felt like all of LA was in Disneyland that day. It was so crowded and.
And so. Yeah, so paint the night. I had, you know, on my. That was on my list at very top. Like, I've got to see pain the night. And so I don't. I. I remember seeing like people sitting. They had. I saw a person with like a chair sitting down on the parade route and I was like, I don't know. It was like. I mean, it was. Had to have been like, 6:45.
[00:28:38] Speaker B: Those are your locals.
[00:28:40] Speaker D: Yeah.
And I was like, wow, that's really early to get down for the parade. And so I.
The first on that Tuesday night, I think the parade was at 8:45 and by 8 we were looking for a spot. And I mean we, we like found a spot, but we were like in the back and it was then, you know, and I was like, ah. And I'm thinking I'm not going to get the content I need for this. Okay, let's just.
We'll try again on.
On Friday night. So, yeah, you can get in your space two hours before it begins.
And I think one of the cast members, like, this is a very popular parade. I'm like, oh yeah, obviously. So, yeah, so if you want, if you want a prime curb thought because in Disneyland you can sit down and wait.
And so we.
By 6:15, I was kind of like in the spot where I wanted to be. And we couldn't sit down yet.
People would start to sit down. Then we kind of like inch closer and then the caster would come by. We were like, okay, you can't sit yet. So we'd move kind of back against the fence again and then.
But I was like, very territorial about my spikes. I'm like, I'm getting it this time.
And so, yeah, 6:45, we plopped right down on the curb on Main street. And we were like kind of on Main street where it. Where the circle start so that we could be in position for the fireworks afterwards. So because at. Right after the parade they have you stand up and they move you into the street for the fireworks.
So I. It was kind of hard to see the projections on the castle. We might have. Should have Been closer. But I, I don't know, I don't think you have to be pretty close for a, for the projection.
But it was great for the parade. And honestly, the time went by pretty fast. Like I said, we took some snacks and some drinks and then we just grabbed some hot dogs from refreshment corner across the street and just passed the time there. And then I'm trying about an hour. They kind of got the ropes out and we're sectioning off the different areas where you, you know, could be to wait for the parade and then come parade time. So the people, like we were on the very front, so we were. They said, you know, you're going to sit on the curb, everyone else behind you is going to stand.
Um, so if you want to be able to remain seated on the curb. Yeah, you definitely want one of those early spots.
And yeah, so it was, I mean, and the per. I mean, it was great. It's, you know, it's not a short cavalcade. It is a full parade. And it was amazing. My and my kids are like, mom, that was so worth it. Like they didn't even care that they had to sit and wait for two hours to watch it.
Yeah, it was, it was fabulous.
Yeah, definitely a highlight. I'm glad that we figured it out by the end. But yeah, there's a dessert party if you don't want to wait the soup.
You can pay for the dessert party and get the birds or I think it's the.
They have a dining package with, with Plaza Inn. If you do lunch.
We did the character breakfast. We had to have the characters, but yeah, I think you do. You can do the dining package with Plaza in to get the.
[00:32:17] Speaker A: That almost sounds like that's the way to go if you want to secure.
Yeah. A prime spot for paint the night. You know, it's the same way when we do, you know, like the eat to the beat sear, you know, food and wine. If you want your prime seating for Joey Fatone and friends, you just got to pay, you know, to do the dining. That's what it comes down to.
So I'm glad they're doing the same thing out there at Disneyland.
[00:32:49] Speaker D: Yes.
[00:32:50] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:32:50] Speaker D: So, you know, you can do it the hard way or you can pay for the easy way.
I mean, if you're eating anyway, then.
[00:32:59] Speaker B: It sounds like a no brainer to me. Pretty, pretty good pro tip. So I actually did want to mention real quick, you know, there's. Honestly, I think the most exciting thing about the Disneyland 70th anniversary is the entertainment and the Walt Disney Animatronics show that's coming, you know, next month. But before we get into that, I wanted to go over, like, the scheduling so people can kind of have a better idea. So we've got the Paint the Night Parade and that happens nightly at 8:50 and at 10:50pm you also have the Celebrate Happy cavalcade. And that's 1:30 and 2:45pm over in Disneyland theme park.
Then you also have Fantasmic at 9:05 and at 10:30pm at Magic Geez.
Disneyland theme park.
Ooh, Fire of the Rising Moons.
That's over in Galaxy's Edge at 9:35pm Those two are completely independent of the 70th. Same with Shadows of Memory, a Skywalker saga at 10:15pm over in Galaxy's Edge. And we've got the Tapestry of Happiness. We haven't mentioned that one. Did you get a chance to see that?
[00:34:21] Speaker D: No.
[00:34:22] Speaker B: Yeah. Okay.
So the Tapestry of Happiness, from what I did see, it's basically a projection, a beautiful projection on the It's a Small World attraction over at the Disneyland theme park also looks unbelievable. And that runs 10pm, 10:15pm, 10:30pm and 11:45pm so it's kind of like running all night long, basically.
And then we've got Wondrous Journeys with Fireworks, which is new, and that's at 9:35pm so you basically have Tapestry of Happiness and Wondrous Journeys with Fireworks that are new for the 70th over at Disneyland.
[00:35:06] Speaker A: So there's just entertainment all over the place.
[00:35:08] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, you can't even talked about dca.
[00:35:11] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah. DCA has the Pixar Pals Parade.
[00:35:21] Speaker B: So parades. Yes, you got the Better Together. A Pixar Pal Celebration over at Disney California Adventure that runs at 2.30pm and at 5pm Then you've got the fireworks and nighttime entertainment of World of Color Happiness, which is at 9pm and at 10:15pm now, this is something that they do always have. However, they've updated it specifically for the 70th anniversary. So just a little, you know, let, you know, do your homework like Brittany did, because there is a lot of things going on in. And honestly, with so much that they're offering for the 70th, I almost would suggest, you know, definitely getting your Lightning Lanes, because, goodness gracious, these shows will take up a good chunk of your time, especially if you're having to wait it out a little bit and get a good spot wherever it is that you go. So I wouldn't want to Go over there and miss out on these things. But I also want to be able to enjoy the park. Right. So I don't see you being able to go and not have a lightning lane unless you're going for many, many days, which we'll talk about ticket deals.
[00:36:32] Speaker D: Include your photo pass. So just get it.
[00:36:37] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a no brainer as well, for sure. So what was your favorite show that you watched?
[00:36:46] Speaker D: I mean, as far as all the entertainment, the Paint the Night was, definitely was, was the best. I mean, that was just.
That was really cool.
[00:36:55] Speaker A: Who doesn't love a parade?
[00:36:57] Speaker B: I remember when they announced that that specific nighttime parade broke the Internet. I mean, people were through the roof, so excited that this was coming back. And you know, we were able to see a little bit of a clip of that before we recorded. And we're just in awe. Like, we're just like, we're ready. Let's just pack our bags and go.
[00:37:18] Speaker D: Yeah.
And you know, you know, to be able to watch the kids watching it, I mean, that's one of my favorite things. Like a lot of times I'm looking over at my kids and just seeing them.
I love it for myself, but I love seeing them love it too.
[00:37:34] Speaker B: Oh yeah, absolutely.
[00:37:36] Speaker A: Going to Disney with your kids is a whole different, you know, it's a whole different ball game.
[00:37:44] Speaker B: And frankly, you know, I just love that Disney is always doing new things too. I think that's like the biggest thing. It's like, you know, could you get tired of all these celebrations? Honestly, I feel like we're still celebrating the 50th over here at Magic Kingdom felt very long.
But at the end of the day too, the fact that there's always something new to look forward to and each celebration, each season, each whatever always brings with it something, something unique just keeps us wanting to come back more and, and like you said, see, being able to see it through your child, you know, your children's eyes or any other family member or friends that have never done it, I've never experienced. They're just, it's completely new to them and it's. Disneyland is so different from, you know, Walt Disney World.
Despite having many, many, many similarities, they're very, very different. So it's a totally different experience no matter what. But that being said, I did want to.
Okay, let's see my notes. Okay. Attraction overlays. You did mention Toy Story Mania had like some cool different screen. Not screen projections, but yeah, they had target targets. The targets. Thank you. That, you know, to celebrate this. I mean, I did see somewhere that Coco or Miguel was also added to like It's a Small World and things like that, you know, and you know, these little things that just make it so cool. Like I love it's Small World out there in Disneyland. And being able to see the different Disney characters sprinkled throughout all the different countries. Wish we had that here in this state. But you know, one day.
All right, Walt Disney, a magical life.
We're so waiting, waiting for this one. I am so stoked. So people who don't know Walt Disney's head is not in an ice box underneath.
[00:39:49] Speaker A: No. It's getting ready to come to Disneyland.
He is finally unfrozen.
All right. Just kidding.
[00:39:57] Speaker C: Oh my goodness.
No comment section.
[00:40:01] Speaker B: Oh yeah.
So Walt Disney Imagineering finally came up with this brilliant idea which I can't believe it took this long to even come up with it. It's like, why? How did no one think about this before? And it was to make the first ever audio animatronic of the man himself, Walt Disney. And that is coming to the Disneyland park, like I said, later this summer. And it's supposed to have a little like pre show thing where you're gonna see a little show about Walt. It's actually.
What's the one that we have over here in Hollywood Studios, Jen.
[00:40:37] Speaker C: One man's dream, that one.
[00:40:39] Speaker B: So we're gonna see like a clip of that and then it's gonna segue into whatever show we're gonna be able to see with, you know, a realistic version of Walt Disney. So I know once that comes around, I feel like maybe the crowds might also go up. Actually, speaking of crowds, Britney.
[00:41:01] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:41:02] Speaker B: You went on, you know, Memorial Week.
[00:41:03] Speaker D: But yeah, it was like two different worlds being in California Adventure and being in Disneyland. So it, it felt when we were in Disneyland park, it felt very crowded when we were in dca.
Did not feel as. I don't, I don't know if it's normally like that or for just a holiday week combined with the 70th, but yeah, DC, I definitely had this like laid back vibe. I. You know, we just easy breezy and I mean we still had a great time in Disneyland, but I just. There were definitely more people or more people in a smaller space. I don't know. But, but that just means people are excited to come for the 70th.
[00:41:51] Speaker B: So once again, Lightning Lane people, pro tip. You're going to go. You might as well do it. You won't regret it. I don't think I've ever known anyone Who'd be like, oh, I did not want to get it. I regret it. Whatever. Anyways, so we talked about the overlays, we talked about the shows, we talked about, you know, the new Amatronic coming up, you know, and. And at the end of the day, all of this could not be possible without the incredible cast members that really just truly make this special. I mean, the ones at the parade, the ones working behind the scenes and shout out to them, I wish they had their own little outfits for the 70th anniversary. Disney, are you listening? That's what we want. We want them to also have cute outfits in celebration for whatever we're celebrating.
So we talked food, we talked merchandise, we talked entertainment, we talked decor.
What else is there left to talk about other than tips?
Unless I'm missing something, Brittany, if I'm missing something, please let me know.
[00:43:02] Speaker D: I would have a first time note, but.
[00:43:05] Speaker B: Oh, absolutely.
[00:43:06] Speaker D: Speaking of cast members, something that was super helpful for us. Okay, so we had our little guys, five.
He really wanted to get. He loves Spider man and he wanted to get a Tracy, you know, like the little spider bot.
And so it was in DCA and you know, we waited till the end of the week. We're like, okay, let's make sure this is what you want. Keep looking around. So end of the week, he's like, yep, this is what I want. So he had saved his money and so we bought it. And it's, you know, a decent size purchase, size wise, that we would be carrying around all day.
You know, they don't do like where they'll send it back to your hotel, but they do have a place in each tark where you can drop it off and they'll hold it for you.
So in California Venture, I'm blanking on the name now, Elias.
It's towards. It's close to the entrance, it's inside the park, and it's like a store. I'm totally blanking on the name now that I'm trying to think of it. But then over at Disneyland, it's at the stroller rental. Before you go into the park, you have to have bought it that day. You have to have your receipt.
And there are a few things, like limited edition items that they wouldn't hold. But all we had to do, we showed them our receipt, they filled out a little form, they took the Tracy bot and they held it for us so we didn't have to carry it around all day. So then when we left the park, went by, gave them our little piece of paper and they handed it to us and we went back.
So yeah, if you end up with merchandise in the park that you don't want to carry around, that's where you can go. Leave it.
And then of course specials like who doesn't want to save some money? So there's a Discount up to 20 off stays at Disneyland Hotel.
And then they have special ticket offers. There's a three day ticket and a four day ticket starting from I think a hundred dollars a day.
But yeah, so now is the time.
Lock in your, your Disneyland, your Disneyland day and get these special deals and definitely stay in the magic. Stay in the magic.
[00:45:38] Speaker B: I could not agree more. I mean, if you're going to go, you might as well go all out, right?
Speaking of going all out, one thing that they're actually doing this time around and it is a special, special 70th anniversary guided tour over at the Disneyland park. And basically for $120 per person, taxon included, guests can basically make a reservation for a two hour guided tour. And on this tour, you Disneyland.
Disneyland has invited guests to celebrate milestones, imagine endless possibilities and embrace new stories. And the tradition continues. Today you will be able to journey through the festive past, experience some original attractions such as Mark Twain Riverboat and the Disneyland Railroad. Enjoy Lightning Lane entry for a select attraction, get access to a reserve viewing area for Paint the Night, munch on some popcorn and other snacks and receive a special tour keepsake. Oh, oh, that's cool. I would absolutely invest in that because a.
[00:46:57] Speaker A: It's Paint the Night special.
[00:46:59] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:47:00] Speaker A: The Paint the Night spot pays for itself right there.
Plus all the other history. You know, they know you were talking about step that.
[00:47:09] Speaker B: Yeah, that's awesome.
[00:47:11] Speaker A: Killer.
[00:47:12] Speaker B: That's awesome. And it's unique to just the 70th anniversary. We don't know at this time if this is something that's going to continue beyond next summer.
But for right now, this is a 70th anniversary guided tour, a story of celebration.
So if you're planning on going, I recommend you check to see if there's any tours available on the days that you are. Because there it's. There are multiple times throughout the day. You have a morning slot of 9:15 or 9:45am or you have afternoons starting at 12:30 or 1:00pm So I don't see how big the groups are.
But honestly, pretty cool. I think that's pretty unique that they're also offering that.
Another thing that I cause I was trying to wrap my head around, like what else am I missing? I know There's a lot.
And so I don't know if people have been able to see your. Jen, you want to talk about this.
[00:48:14] Speaker D: Or no?
[00:48:15] Speaker C: Talk about the.
The big key.
The big key is so cool.
[00:48:21] Speaker B: I love it.
[00:48:22] Speaker C: I love it. My son's like, mom, is that, like a Kingdom Hearts thing? And I'm like, no, baby. It's a 70th anniversary thing.
But he's all about the Kingdom hearts. So any kind of big key he sees for Disney, it's automatically Kingdom Hearts.
So I've only been able to see pictures.
I don't have my hands on one. I would like my hands on one. I'm gonna. I'm gonna pull it up, actually. Calton, can you pull up a picture.
[00:48:55] Speaker A: Of it working standby?
[00:48:58] Speaker C: Okay. Calton's the best.
Look at it.
[00:49:02] Speaker A: I'm in tech mode.
Yo. I need one of these for my office, right?
Not this office. My work office.
[00:49:11] Speaker C: I love it, love it, love it, love it.
So obviously it has the big Disney D and it has.
Are those, like, the core memory ball things in there?
[00:49:28] Speaker A: Yep, the core memories.
[00:49:29] Speaker C: Oh, I love it.
[00:49:32] Speaker B: So you basically go, I think. I think if I remember correctly, or. Brittany, did you get to see this, experience this, or anything like that?
[00:49:40] Speaker D: I did. I did not get my hands on a Biggie. I did not.
[00:49:45] Speaker B: So from what I had read, basically, and I know Brooks, he was very passionate about this one, too, basically. The key, obviously, when you get it, when you purchase it, it's not lit up. And the way to light it up is if you insert it. Insert this massive key into locks that you can find throughout all the different lands in Disneyland Park.
[00:50:12] Speaker C: Yeah, it's interactive.
[00:50:14] Speaker B: It's so cool.
How freaking cool, Div.
[00:50:16] Speaker C: I love it.
[00:50:18] Speaker A: So they took keys to the kingdom and glow with the show and put it together into this.
[00:50:28] Speaker B: And it really.
[00:50:29] Speaker A: It really does look like a Kingdom Hearts key. I am here for it.
Let's all get one.
[00:50:38] Speaker C: That's all Jonah said. He's like, it looks like something from Kingdom Hearts. Is it going to be in the next game? And I'm like, it might. Well, maybe in 25 years when the next game comes out, we might have that before.
[00:50:52] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:50:54] Speaker C: It's amazing. I love that it's interactive. I love. There's the core memories in there.
It's so sweet.
[00:51:01] Speaker B: And like the. You see the castle at the very end? That's like the key bridges. Oh. Anyways, do we know about any popcorn buckets by any chance? I don't recall.
[00:51:12] Speaker A: I talked about those already. But I can show you.
[00:51:15] Speaker B: Oh, I'm so sorry.
[00:51:16] Speaker A: Hold on.
And.
Oh, now I gotta go to the food. One too many tabs. Open.
[00:51:27] Speaker B: It happens.
[00:51:28] Speaker C: It's okay.
[00:51:29] Speaker A: There we go. Okay, so there's Mickey right there.
[00:51:32] Speaker B: Wait, no, we don't see it.
[00:51:35] Speaker A: I don't see it. I'm on the wrong tab. Dang.
[00:51:38] Speaker B: Now hold on.
[00:51:41] Speaker A: I gotta share.
Let's see. Just try this again. Screen.
No, no, the system.
[00:51:52] Speaker B: Yeah, right. Did you see any popcorn buckets?
[00:51:56] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean, they had the popcorn bucket. I, I, I really wanted them to be refillable.
That's what I.
No, they didn't have any. Because I. Listen, we will eat our weight in popcorn if, if.
[00:52:14] Speaker B: Oh, you did mention the yeti. That was the popcorn bucket, man. It went right over my head.
[00:52:19] Speaker A: Zipper.
[00:52:20] Speaker D: Oh, yeah, yeah, the yeti is a.
[00:52:22] Speaker B: Zipper one right over my head.
[00:52:24] Speaker D: Because yeti. Yeah, we at the, at the other place out on the other theme park out on the go.
I, we got a popcorn bucket. It was $14 and unlimited refill.
I'm telling you, I got so many refills that day. Like, I can make my money's worth on that. And it was really cute.
[00:52:50] Speaker A: Can we also talk about how the other theme park that we're not speaking about this episode also does free unlimited refills on their cold beverages that it's not alcohol as well, for about the same 14, $15 price.
Disney, come on.
[00:53:07] Speaker B: The vinyl scratch.
[00:53:08] Speaker A: I mean, we, we like it at the resorts, but bring it to the parks.
[00:53:13] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:53:16] Speaker C: Hey, Brittany, I have a question for you. Are there any experiences that you missed that you really wanted to do? Like, now, looking back, like, I really wish that we had been able to do that.
[00:53:30] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean, we didn't get to do all of the entertainment. I definitely prioritized World of Color and Wondrous Journeys and Paint the Night. But, like, we didn't get over to Fantasmic, which the plan was to do one. It just, it was a lot, you know, and little guy got kind of tired most times, so.
So, yeah, I mean, definitely would have liked to have done Fantasmic or just. Or the, you know, overlay or the, you know, projection over at Small World.
Even with three days, it was hard to pack everything in.
And then riding Indiana Jones, we had lightning lanes for it. I think every park day.
And every time our time came up, it closed down. And then we would try to go back later because they would give us the, like, you know, multi experience pass. And every time we. I'm not Even kidding. It came back up. We hustled over there. By the time we got over there, it was down again. I was like, we were not meant to go on Indiana Jones, so it was. It escaped us. But.
Yeah, but really, I mean, we did get to do so much.
Like I said, we had three park days, and we still got. We had time at our resort.
Yeah, we really. We.
It's hard to get everything, but we did a lot, and I'm very happy with everything that we were able to do.
[00:55:04] Speaker B: Good, then. It was a successful trip.
[00:55:06] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:55:06] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:55:07] Speaker B: Definitely celebrated the 70th. Check.
[00:55:10] Speaker D: Happy.
[00:55:11] Speaker B: Okay.
Yeah, exactly.
So final question before we wrap up. If you could Describe the Disneyland 70th celebration in one word, please don't say happy. What would it be?
[00:55:26] Speaker A: To give you a minute to think about it, too.
[00:55:28] Speaker D: Okay. Yeah.
[00:55:31] Speaker A: Because one word. I mean, there's a lot of pressure.
[00:55:35] Speaker B: Riding on this right now.
[00:55:38] Speaker A: One word. This is the word that people are going to remember you by.
[00:55:42] Speaker D: Is it cheating if I say joy? Because I think joy. Because it's just like that, you know, that feeling inside where you're just like, get all the happy Disney feels and all the magic and everything just bright and happy and fun. Yeah. Joy. Can I say joy?
[00:56:01] Speaker B: I think they nailed it with the theme of happy, happy, happy, joy, joy.
[00:56:09] Speaker A: I think that's a very acceptable answer.
[00:56:12] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:56:13] Speaker B: Well, Brittany, honestly, thank you so much for coming on here, telling us all about your Disneyland experience escapade, making us want to go over there, especially that parade. Oh, we're going to be dreaming about the parade, people. If you haven't seen it, go see it. Whether it's YouTube or in person. Please do yourself a favor. You won't regret it. But, Brittany, we love having you. We hope to see you again on the Mouse Ears podcast.
[00:56:39] Speaker D: Definitely.
[00:56:40] Speaker B: But before we leave, we do have a trivia question for all you guys out there. And, Jen, would you like to take it away?
[00:56:47] Speaker C: All right. To remind you, our trivia question was, what was the theme of Disneyland theme park's 50th anniversary celebration? To have any guesses?
[00:57:00] Speaker B: I'm not gonna guess because I picked it.
[00:57:03] Speaker C: Okay, so the 50th anniversary celebration, which kicked off on May 5, 2005, and it ran through September 30 of 2006. Because Disney celebrations are long, this anniversary was known as the happiest homecoming on Earth.
And this one was not only celebrated in California, but also in all Disney theme parks around the world and. And Disney Cruise Line.
[00:57:32] Speaker B: So what's with Disney and Happy? I mean, this is just another variation of the word happy.
I mean, I get it. It's the happiest place on Earth, but.
[00:57:41] Speaker C: I mean, if it works, stick with it.
[00:57:45] Speaker B: But happiest homecoming on Earth is cute.
Yeah, it's cute. It's cute. Well, anyways, thanks, Jen. Thanks, Brittany. Thanks, Kelton. And thank you, Stephanie.
[00:57:58] Speaker A: Well, just, you know, like. Yeah, thank you, Stephanie. Yeah.
[00:58:03] Speaker B: Okay, so if you guys are watching this.
Earlier on in this episode, my recording session ended. Something happened. I had tech issues and my brain just went splat after that.
This is the result of me being frazzled when we have technical issues, myself particularly having technical issues in the middle of a recording session. Okay, just don't judge me.
Don't judge me too hard.
[00:58:32] Speaker C: But we're.
[00:58:32] Speaker B: We're gonna talk about happy.
[00:58:34] Speaker C: Look, we came, we had fun, and we're happy. There we go.
[00:58:38] Speaker B: Well, folks, that about does it. For this week's episode of the Mouse Ears podcast, don't forget to join our Mouse Ears Podcast Facebook discussion group and our Facebook page. You can also follow us on Tick Tock X and Instagram to stay up to date with all things travel, but mostly Disney. And if you're interested in having a Fairytale Journeys agent, book your next trip to Disneyland, visit fairytalejourneys.com and let them know that the podcast sent you. Lastly, if you enjoy our weekly episodes of the Mouse Ears podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review wherever you listen to us until the next episode, where we will be covering Royal Caribbean with a new guest, FTJ agent, Sarah Allen. Brittany, thanks again. We loved having you. Until the next episode. Bye, everyone.
[00:59:26] Speaker A: Bye.
