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the S factor
07-18-2010, 10:29 AM
Hello everyone
I really don't post much but I feel so strongly about this I have to see if I am the only one who feels this way.
Starting with the 50th- it was GREAT! Commerative ears, "welcome home" coming through the gate, a cupcake or piece of cake in the afternoon, all of which was included in your entry. I felt special, we all felt special. I just couldn't wait to see what we would do on the 55th!
What a tie in!!! Opening in 1955 and having the 55th come around? It is the biggest golden birthday on Earth. A serious no brainer on the marketing end of it. And it could have been a year long celebration.
Anyway...
I had hoped against hope the 55th would be at least what the 50th was.
I kept reading and hearing nothing special was going on...nothing overly celebratory, that is. I kept telling K&S they HAD to do something! We were still going, I had taken the day off work, it was the 55th!
The tram guide announced the 55th birthday at the Park as an afterthought on the ride into the Downtown Disney area.
When I arrived at the park and went through security, I asked about the special buttons being worn by cast members. The very nice 15 year veteran told me they were embaressed to say there were no pins or hats to give away. I told her I had been there for the 50th etc... and she said yeah, we aren't happy about it either. She then told me to go to City Hall and express my disapointment with the obvious lack of planning.
I met K&S and her DS in the park after going on Peter Pan (always a thrill! I love Peter Pan!) What we noticed was there were alot of people who didn't know it was the 55th! And why would they? No signage, one banner over the Gallery, and only the pins on Cast members.
We went for the dedication on Main Street, of course it was nice , it always is. One really great touch was one of the original children who ran across the drawbridge has come to work as a security guard at the Park, and has been there since 1971(I think) He came out and made a speech.
There were children singing in the native languages of the various Disney resorts. Very nice,they were great, but hey it is the 55th of Disneyland- the original! And now we know the sun never sets on the Disney Parks. It would have been a great line to add to a celebration, but not something to base a celebration on.
We came back to the hub for the Birthday sing-along. the charactors came out, and many cast members. The effort of the cast members showed they cared- they were upbeat and laughing, and really trying to do their part. ( In that heat? They deserve a bonus just for that!) It was obvious to us all they hadn't had much if any rehersal, but they had spirit!
I know I sound negative, but picture this...You are turning 21.Everyone knows you are, they have anticipated it for years! You turn 18,it is a big deal, everyone is happy and singing. 21 is just around the corner. Then, at 20, your parents tell you times are tough, not enough time to plan, we have to scale back. Then, 21 comes and you get some well wishers, and a speech about your life. You get a turkey sandwich and a cupcake. Nice, but not at all what anyone anticipated.
Life goes on. What a missed opportunity. One they can never get back.

K & S
07-18-2010, 11:09 AM
I was glad that at the last minute they decided to do something.

Disneyland has always had big celebrations for the five year increment anniversaries. Yesterday looked like exactly what it was, something put together at the last minute to address the fan’s complaints.

Thanks to all the cast members who gave such a great effort in the horrible heat.

Michael24
07-18-2010, 11:27 AM
I can understand them not doing something big. I mean, just five years ago they had the 50th anniversary, which was by far the biggest thing to celebrate a birthday for. I'm sure they spent a ton of money for it, too, so they probably wouldn't want to go to all of that trouble again just five years later. I wouldn't be surprised if the 60th, 70th, etc. aren't as big, either. The only other anniversary I could seeing being a huge a deal and cause for celebration as the 50th is the 100th. (Yes, I'm pretty sure that Disneyland will one day be able to celebrate it's 100th anniversary. :) )

ChurroGirl
07-18-2010, 12:04 PM
<snip> I wouldn't be surprised if the 60th, 70th, etc. aren't as big, either. The only other anniversary I could seeing being a huge a deal and cause for celebration as the 50th is the 100th. (Yes, I'm pretty sure that Disneyland will one day be able to celebrate it's 100th anniversary. :) )

Not that I completely disagree with you but I would think turning 75 is pretty important too to Disneyland.

For the 30th they had thier own parade! I am sure(or hoping) that they do something big for the 75th.

Plus at 65 they get medicare!:~D

Michael24
07-18-2010, 01:07 PM
True, 75th does seem to be one of the big anniversaries for most things. I remember Warner Bros., I believe, using a special "75th Anniversary" version of their logo on movies at the time.


Plus at 65 they get medicare!:~D
LOL!!

AJDerrick
07-18-2010, 02:55 PM
I remember some things for their 40th. I was a kid, but I remember there being a show and we all had buttons. I think it was '40 Years of Adventure'. I'm still holding out that they'll celebrate 60.

Michael24
07-18-2010, 03:37 PM
I remember going in 1985 during their 30th anniversary and there being some merchandise to celebrate. I remember getting a hat with the 30th Anniversary logo. I don't remember anything for the 40th when we were there in 1995, but I figure they had something. I probably just don't recall.

cstephens
07-18-2010, 04:04 PM
Starting with the 50th- it was GREAT! Commerative ears, "welcome home" coming through the gate, a cupcake or piece of cake in the afternoon, all of which was included in your entry. I felt special, we all felt special. I just couldn't wait to see what we would do on the 55th!

I guess I'm surprised that anyone expected anything big for this birthday, much less bigger than the 50th. 50th is a huge milestone. 55, not so much, even though the park opened in 1955, so I'm amazed that anyone would try to compare the 55th birthday of the park to a real person turning 21. Not a similar situation in the slightest. The celebrations at the park are generally very low-key. If someone came for the 50th and expected that to be the benchmark, then I think they made a mistake and had an unrealistic expectation of what would be happening.

The old man
07-18-2010, 05:13 PM
Hello everyone
I really don't post much but I feel so strongly about this I have to see if I am the only one who feels this way.
What a tie in!!! Opening in 1955 and having the 55th come around? It is the biggest golden birthday on Earth.
I'm no expert on anniversaries and gifts but I didn't think 55 was golden. I thought that was for the 50th.

I hope you're not saying that when the number of your anniversary, or birthday, matches your opening, or birth year, that that is a "golden" event. I never heard this before.

Michael24
07-18-2010, 05:50 PM
Well, this is from a list of wedding anniversary names, but I've seen them applied for an anniversary of anything: 5th Wooden, 10th Tin, 15th Crystal, 20th China, 25th Silver, 30th Pearl, 40th Ruby, 50th Golden, 60th Diamond. 55th is generally considered Emerald. :)

And yes, I believe "Golden Birthday" is when your birthday matches your age (say, you turn 21 and your birthday is on the 21st).

Malcon10t
07-18-2010, 06:13 PM
And yes, I believe "Golden Birthday" is when your birthday matches your age (say, you turn 21 and your birthday is on the 21st).Actually, Disneyland's "Golden Birthday" would have been its 17th, when it turned 17 on the 17th.

From Wiki:
"A person's Golden or Grand Birthday, also referred to as their "Lucky Birthday", "Champagne Birthday" or "Star Birthday", occurs when they turn the age of their birth day (e.g., when someone born on the 25th of the month turns 25)."

AVP
07-18-2010, 06:23 PM
Actually, Disneyland's "Golden Birthday" would have been its 17th, when it turned 17 on the 17th.
Or it's 18th... because old jokes never die, we just stuff and mount them... :D

AVP

Michael24
07-18-2010, 06:23 PM
Actually, Disneyland's "Golden Birthday" would have been its 17th, when it turned 17 on the 17th.
D'oh. That's what I meant. :)


From Wiki:
"A person's Golden or Grand Birthday, also referred to as their "Lucky Birthday", "Champagne Birthday" or "Star Birthday", occurs when they turn the age of their birth day (e.g., when someone born on the 25th of the month turns 25)."
And that was the information I was looking for. Thanks for finding it. :)

olegc
07-18-2010, 09:00 PM
Or it's 18th... because old jokes never die, we just stuff and mount them... :D

AVP

classic - and thanks for being the one to bring it up :D



Starting with the 50th- edit.....
What a tie in!!! Opening in 1955 and having the 55th come around? It is the biggest golden birthday on Earth. A serious no brainer on the marketing end of it. And it could have been a year long celebration.
edit..... What a missed opportunity. One they can never get back.

I think you don't know your Disney celebratory history - one in which you can match it with what folks do on their own outside the park. Mousepad is loaded with a lot of posts about it and they are all scattered around - but can you imaging even the 25th was kind of low key (I have a pair of ears from that - and that's it). the 30th and the 40th had prize giveaways and things all summer long for guests - and it was a way to draw them in. The 50th was huge in that not only could they use it as a reason to celebrate all year long - but the park was in dire need of polish and sprucing up and it was a great reason for it. In general, the 5's are not celebrated that much - and the flashmob dance and the addition dedication by CM George were a little extra.

Folks lament every year "why doesn't Disney do something really big for their birthday". well it costs money and planning - and that comes from somewhere (ticket prices, etc). If they did a huge bash every year then other prices, etc. would go up - and I doubt they would feel enough guests would show up for that specific tie in.

Regardless - folks need to get over the fact that Disney doesn't go all out every year. And, IMHO, the 55th should not have been bigger than the 50th. You can't do bigger than the 50th for quite some time - that was a lot of time and money spent to make it happen. I think what they did for the 55th was great - lots of nice touches for those that were there (the morning greeting at the gates, the dedications, the souvenirs for sale) and that's all that I think could be expected. The 60th could be nice, and other attractions and rides in the parks will have their own celebrations as well.

Gone2Disneyland
07-18-2010, 09:28 PM
Regardless - folks need to get over the fact that Disney doesn't go all out every year. And, IMHO, the 55th should not have been bigger than the 50th.

Thanks for saying perfectly what I've been thinking while reading some of these posts. :)

I was there yesterday, saw the "mob" thing, had fun with it and I moved on. It was pretty excited knowing something was gonna happen, so the build up was thrilling. In the end, my expectations were greater than the result, but it was fun. And then I moved on and enjoyed the rest of my day at the park. As a matter of fact, my friends and I had a really awesome day. So thanks for having a birthday, Disneyland, that spurred us to go when we originally didn't plan to.

AVP
07-18-2010, 10:04 PM
Here's video of the "Flash Mob" from Saturday.

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And don't forget the "newly discovered" footage of Disneyland's opening day playing in the Main Street Cinema.

SigalTchelet
07-18-2010, 10:47 PM
I saw that on FB. I shared it. Very cute!

Tan Da Man
07-18-2010, 10:52 PM
I dunno why or how anyone could be so upset over there not being so much goin on for the 55th. there had been schedules of events out for weeks, as the op stated he knew nothing was going to happen, and the 50th is really the only HUGE birthday we have had for disneyland. And they actually had a decent amount of stuff goin on, when in reality they dont need to really do anything.

adriennek
07-18-2010, 11:10 PM
I dunno why or how anyone could be so upset over there not being so much goin on for the 55th. there had been schedules of events out for weeks, as the op stated he knew nothing was going to happen, and the 50th is really the only HUGE birthday we have had for disneyland. And they actually had a decent amount of stuff goin on, when in reality they dont need to really do anything.

Uhm, yes and no.

I've got a bunch of birthday hats on my Disney shelf from the 40th and 45th birthdays. Everyone got a birthday hat on those days. We got there pretty late in the day on the 40th, so they didn't run out of them early in the day or anything. And I think that was the year they did the free birthday cake stations all day? Everytime you turned around CMs were giving away free cupcakes to people.

They weren't "huge" but they were definitely little touches done with forethought for the birthday those years.

That's not a commentary on how they handled the 55th but just a comment that they've definitely done things in the past.

I liked the maps. Those were cute.

Adrienne

Tinkermommy
07-18-2010, 11:15 PM
LOVE the video! We couldn't get close enough to see what was going on; we thought it was just a few characters dancing. It's great to see how much fun these CMs appear to be having!

cstephens
07-18-2010, 11:47 PM
I guess for me, Disneyland's birthday isn't about getting free stuff - it's about the experience, and it's about what Disneyland means to me, to my friends, to my life.

One of my friends expressed a sentiment that I very much agree with - it's not just about celebrating Disneyland's creation but about the friendships and relationships that have then come about because of our visits to and connection to Disneyland.

I don't generally go to Disneyland on a Saturday, and most of my friends don't either, unless there's a specific reason to do so. Disneyland's birthday is definitely a reason for us to visit, and each year, there are a number of us who always go and always spend the day together. We know there will be some sort of ceremony in Town Square, so we plan our day to attend that. This year, after the ceremony (which I thought was very nice - I enjoyed the reminiscing from someone who'd been there on opening day as a child [he even pointed himself out on the picture of the kids running through the gate of Sleeping Beauty Castle] and who has then subsequently worked at Disneyland for quite some time and I liked the song from the kids as well), we had lunch, and then because the husband and a friend are huge fans of the All American College Band, we went to watch their reunion concert in front of the castle.

We attended the sing-a-long of "happy birthday" in the afternoon, which I'll admit I found to be a bit odd, but the upside was that there were a ton of characters present, so guests were able to get pictures afterwards with a lot of characters who aren't normally out - we had the good fortune of happening to sit down in the middle of Town Square in front of Ariel's meet-and-greet, so we were able to watch her and all the fans who came to have a word with her and have their picture taken with her.

We then stayed for flag retreat, and it turned out to be a very special flag retreat. Not only did the current All American College Band provide the music for flag retreat, but we also learned right beforehand that the lead behind-the-scenes entertainment person was retiring that day. The husband sort of knew him, and I only really knew him peripherally, but we've known about the contributions he's made to the park's entertainment and have appreciated them. At the very beginning of flag retreat, his retirement was mentioned by Ernie, and it was nice to have that acknowledgement for him. Before flag retreat, I'd also had a very short interaction with Ernie as he came around to greet everyone waiting, and while it would probably be regarded as stupid and small, it was something that made a definite impression on me. There were quite a number of military personnel who stepped forward during the armed forces tributes, and the ceremony was well attended. We go to flag retreat on a fairly regular basis, probably once every month or two, but this was really one of the most memorable for me because of everything that happened.

Later in the day, we met up with more friends and then had a wonderful dinner (food was good and the conversation and fun was even better) and then we got a good view for World of Color. Some of us spent some time at Glowfest before the show and had a blast. We went back for a few minutes after the show, but the park closed shortly thereafter. We then spent some time at the Hearthstone Lounge, enjoying drinks and just visiting with friends, friends we see all the time and friends we don't see often, and we all really just enjoyed hanging out together.

Did Disney engineer most of what I experienced that day because of Disneyland's birthday? No, not most. But I celebrate the opening and existence of Disneyland, I celebrate having discovered and nurtured my love for the place, I celebrate the experiences I've had there, and I celebrate the friends that I've made because of Disneyland and the memories we shared of past visits. No free cupcake or free hat would have made such an amazing day any better.

disneylandgirl
07-19-2010, 11:37 AM
Thanks for saying perfectly what I've been thinking while reading some of these posts. :)


Ditto.

Niwel
07-19-2010, 11:48 AM
I still think that that the lack of a TV special (http://www.mouseplanet.com/7246/Disneyland_on_TV) for the anniversary is ridiculous. :crying:

K & S
07-19-2010, 11:55 AM
For those who don't understand the disappointment some of us feel about the lack of celebration for the 55TH Birthday, I compiled the following from various web sites:


45TH - There was the 45 Years of Magic Parade, a new fireworks show, Birthday Party hats for the guests and special decorations all over the park. As part of the February 16th festivities inaugurating a yearlong celebration of "45 Years of Magic" at Disneyland, Kenny Logins made a special appearance at Disneyland to sing "Your Heart Will Lead You Home."

40TH - A parade featuring the original Mouseketeers, free Birthday Party hats and Birthday cakes for all guests, Randy Travis on top of the Matterhorn singing The Mickey Mouse Club March, a corridor of balloon arches over Main Street and special decorations all over the park.

35TH - The Celebration starts with an all night 24-hour party, the premier of the Party Gras Parade, a television special, hosted by Tony Danza, and the "Dream Machine" where each guest had a chance to win prizes from a free box of popcorn to a trip the WDW, and special decorations all over the park.

30TH - A television special hosted by John Forsythe and a very young Drew Barrymore, the Gift Giver Extraordinare machine at the front of the park. The machine offered prizes to every 30th guest. Some were minor prizes like pins and free Disneyland passes, but once every day the machine gave away a free GM car, and special decorations all over the park.


Disney has a history of celebrations every five years, this year they broke that tradition. Why wouldn't long time fans be disappointed?

Gramiangel420
07-19-2010, 12:11 PM
My daughter loves to go to Disneyland on her birthday, it is also July 17th, she made it to the 50th. This year she has to wait until August.

Thank you AVP for posting the mob video, it was so fun to watch. I understand it was very hot that day. The castmembers looked like they were enjoying themselves despite the heat.
Thanks again.