THE BIG 60TH (SANS SLEEP): Many people who consider themselves Magic Kingdom mavens but who have never attended an overnight, 24-hours-long Disneyland event often fill in the gaps of the experience by guessing that many visitors, on those special days, return to a nearby hotel room to catch 40 winks. Au contraire: Disneyland Resort's 24-hour events see throngs of park goers who push through the entire experience, only pausing to have a rest at the Plaza Inn or Red Rockett's Pizza Port when a rest is required. It's a rather amazing thing to see, and, yes, people get a little giddy around hour 20 or 21, but giddiness is expected and embraced, as a rule, at The Happiest Place on Earth. Which will soon, again, for 24 straight-through hours, become The Open-All-Night-iest Place on Earth, in honor of Disneyland's 60th anniversary.
MAY MERRIMENT: True, true, you know your trivia: The park debuted on July 17, 1955. But like all major Magic Kingdom celebrations, the anniversary fun will go on all summer, meaning that the summer celebrations start the Friday before Memorial Day Weekend. So get your stocking cap on, all-nighters, the kind Winnie the Pooh dons to head for bed, and plan to go major -- and Mickey -- from 6 a.m. on Friday, May 22 through 5:59 a.m. on Saturday, May 23.
WHAT'S ON TAP... for the daytime-nighttime-daytime to-do? "Special character encounters at locations in Disneyland and Disneyland California Adventure parks" are in the party plans, as is the debut of the new "Paint the Night" parade. A fresh "World of Color" will be unveiled on May 22 as well (listen for Neil Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse, the co-hosts of the new presentation). And the "Disneyland Forever" fireworks take off that evening, too. Goodness, Mouseketeers, alllll of this new-new-new stuff, all unrolling over one long night. We do believe it'll be pretty easy for everyone to keep their eyes open with the just-revealed stuff to look at and enjoy. The only question left is this: Where will you be at midnight? (We vote the wishing well in Snow White Grotto, of course.)
