The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (215 page)

Commitment Ceremonies

Please s
ee “Weddings”.

Concierge Services

Traditionally, a hotel concierge is a highly capable individual who handles special research, arrangements, requests
, and needs for hotel guests.  The three hotels of the
Disneyland Resort
treat
all
Guests like VIPs, but beyond that they also offer
Concierge Services
that vary by hotel but can include, among other things, access to
Concierge
lounges with special amenities and/or views; breakfasts, beverages and snacks free of charge; complimentary wine and cheese tastings; complimentary
Disney
DVDs; and special concierge attention.  There is an additional fee for this level of consideration, and fees vary based on season and amenities.  As a general rule of thumb, expect
Concierge
charges to be:

Moderate
: 
Paradise Pier Hotel

Pricey
: 
Disneyland Hotel

Most Expensive; Can Exceed $500+
: 
Grand Californian Hotel & Spa

Families on a tight budget can safely forgo this additional expense, as the standard service at all three hotels is already superlative. 
This is an option for parties with money to burn, who want access to special lounges and like to be pampered with the royal treatment–and there’s nothing wrong with that if you can foot the bill!  For details on
concierge services
, call the resort hotel hotline at (714) 956-MICKEY or visit
www.disneyland.disney.go.com/hotels
.

Costumes

Cast Members don’t wear uniforms, they wear
Costumes
.  This is a term that reveals the show business roots of
Walt
and his
Imagineering
team.  It also reveals the special attitude that
Disneyland Resort
has toward its employees; staff members are not just punching a clock and performing a task; they are Cast Members in the grand and beautiful pageant that is
Disneyland
.  Cast Members staffing the
Disneyland
trains are dressed like engineers and conductors.  Cast Members at
Space Mountain
wear futuristic space-station jump suits.  Those piloting the
Tom Sawyer Rafts
are dressed like
Tom
or
Huck
would dress.  The Cast Members on
Main Street
wear the red and white garb, pinstripes, aprons and straw boaters that one would expect of idyllic, turn-of-the-20
th
-century small-town America. 
Conductors
on
DCA
’s
Red Car Trolleys
wear snappy dark blue uniforms based on original
Pacific Electric
uniform designs. 
Disneyland
’s elaborate costuming is part of the seamless
magic
of the immersive experience.  Note:  Guests over ten years old are not allowed to wear costumes or costume-like outfits into the park.  They can, of course, wear clothes with images of
Disney
characters or attractions on them–
Space Mountain
T-shirts, a
Goofy
hat,
Mickey
shorts, etc.  The only costumed adults allowed in the park are Cast Members.  On twice-yearly
Dapper Days
, Guests wear vintage clothing and accessories that add an extra bit of class to the resort.

Crowds

During
special events and peak seasons like spring break, summertime, and holidays, both parks, but
Disneyland
in particular, become incredibly crowded with, literally, tens of thousands of Guests.  Some of these Guests are babies, some frail and elderly, some in wheelchairs or leaning on walkers, some teenagers who like to shout and behave boisterously, some adults who are crowd-phobic and freaking out, some Type A’s who are feeling irritated and pushy–you get the idea.  There are times when you can hardly move and people are literally squashed against you, their elbows in your side or gut, their tempers frayed, and you might not like the crowd very much.  If you have a serious problem with wall-to-wall masses of strangers, visit the parks early in the mornings, right when they open (typically 8 am for both
Disneyland
and
Disney California Adventure
) or visit on off-season weekdays.  Avoid parades and special events; those locations and times are clearly posted in the parks’
Entertainment Times Guides
available at the park entrances and at information booths within the parks.

D23

Launched in 2009,
D23
is the official community of
Disney
fans. 
D23
publishes a colorful, handsome quarterly magazine with articles and inside information about
Disney Theme Parks
, entertainment, and characters. 
D23
members receive a membership card, subscription to the
D23
magazine (for Gold members), reproductions of
Disney
ephemera, access to the
D23
website and discounts on
D23
Expos and special events.  Guests and
Annual Passholders
don’t have to join
D23
, but if you’re a major
Disney
fan and want to be even more connected to
Disney
news, information, and updates, joining the official
Disney
fan community is a great idea.  The “D” stands for
Disney
, of course; the “23” stands for 1923, the year that
Walt
moved to Los Angeles and launched his first Hollywood studio. 
D23
held its first expo at the Convention Center in
Anaheim
September 10 through 13, 2009. 
Disney
executives,
Imagineers
, and entertainers hosted fun and informative panels about the
Disney
parks’ histories and futures, classic animated films like
Snow White
and
Sleeping Beauty
, and popular contemporary programs like
Wizards of Waverly Place
.  The second expo in 2011 featured glimpses of the new talking
Mickey
mask,
Walt Disney World
’s new
Fantasyland
(unveiled in 2012), and sneak peeks of
DCA
’s
Buena Vista Street
(also unveiled in 2012).  The third expo in 2013 offered attendees even more
magical
glimpses of
Disney
’s future.  While anyone can buy tickets and attend the expos,
D23
members receive discounts and special opportunities.  Interested in joining
D23
?  Go to
www.d23.disney.go.com
to learn more about registering.

D
apper Day

Once upon a time …
Guests donned their natty best to visit
Disneyland
.  Just glance at any photo of
Disneyland
from the 1950’s or 1960’s, or view
Imagineer
concept art from those decades, and you’ll see Guests strolling the park in suits and dresses.  Well, some folks with an awful lot of moxie thought it would be neat-o keen to bring that style back to
Disneyland
(and other
Disney
parks too), if only for a couple of days a year.  And bring it back they do, on
Dapper Days
, once evey spring, and once every autumn! 
Dapper Day
in fall 2013 was held on September 6, 2013, and what a sight it was!  Sure, there were plenty of Guests wearing the usual board shorts, tank tops, and flip flops, but large groups of Guests brought style to
Disneyland
and
DCA
by sporting stylish vintage threads.  Men wore suits (or at the very least vests or suspenders and ties or cravats), dapper caps or top hats, and well-shined shoes, while women sported dresses from the Titanic era through the early 1960’s, period makeup, parasols, and even flowers in tresses which were styled to suit the decade represented by their ensemble.  According to a
Dapper Day
participant,
Dapper Day
’s basic fashion guidelines include clothing, accessories, and hair styles from 1910 through the 1960’s.  Participants in
Dapper Day
enjoy discounted park entrance fees, outstanding deals on resort hotel rooms, fun meet-ups and meals, and little perks like free shoeshines.  Do
you
want to join in the fun in 2014?  To keep up-to-date with
Dapper Day
fashions, events, and products, visit the group’s website at
www.dapperday.com
or friend them by “Liking” their
FaceBook page at
https://www.facebook.com/DapperDay
.

Disabled Guests

Disneyland Resort
is committed to ensuring that it’s
the happiest place on earth
for everyone, regardless of abilities.  Provisions have been made to offer Guests with disabilities assistance as needed and alternatives for certain attractions.  All hotels, restaurants, and shops are wheelchair and ECV accessible.  Wheelchairs and electric convenience vehicles (ECVs) can be rented for $12 and $50 respectively from a convenient, centralized location to the right of the
Disneyland Park
main entrance.  (An additional, refundable deposit of $20 is required.)  Wheelchairs and ECVs rented from
Disneyland
cannot be used in
Downtown Disney
.  Disabled Guests riding in wheelchairs or ECVs and the party accompanying them follow special instructions for loading at most attractions.  Ask Cast Members at each attraction for specific guidelines.  Until recently, disabled Guests and their parties simply boarded attractions via the exit/unloading zones, skipping the lines.  But as reported by NBC on September 23, 2013, due to recent scandals involving “rogue” disabled tours, as of October 2013 disabled Guests now need to speak with CMs in advance and obtain special boarding passes (not unlike a
FastPass
).  Bring a doctor’s note with you, especially if a disability isn’t visilbe (like a heart condition, severe arthritis, or autism—anything that makes standing in lines or navigating stairs impossible).  The boarding passes will display the time that the Guest and their party should return for special boarding. 
Disney
hopes this additional step will reduce the “rogue” operations, in which “disabled guides” were charging strangers hundreds of dollars to pose as family members, allowing the strangers to skip the lines and use the disabled entrances.  Earlier in 2013, NBC’s “Today” program had conducted an undercover investigation and reported that disabled persons were running these “disabled tours” under the radar at
Disneyland
.  Well-heeled Guests were hiring disabled people to
pretend
to be family members; the disabled person gave the Guests a “tour” of
Disneyland
, which consisted of helping the Guests to skip long lines by using the disabled entrances at most attractions.  (Since
Disneyland
already offers official VIP tours that feature priority access to attractions, it seems that Guests who want to pay good money for a special tour should simply pay
Disneyland
, not a rogue tour operator.) 
Disneyland
investigated disabled persons advertising rogue tours, and vowed that anyone caught running such an operation on resort property would be prosecuted
and
lose
Disneyland
access. 
Disneyland
is concerned with scofflaws, but remains committed to accommodating law-abiding disabled Guests.  At some attractions where disabled boarding isn’t possible,
Disneyland
has created an alternative experience.  There’s a wheelchair entrance for the play area of
Tarzan’s Treehouse
, for example, located near
Pirates of the Caribbean
, and there’s a virtual tour of
Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough
for those unable to climb the stairs, and of
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
for those unable to descend into the subs.  For the hearing-impaired, assistance devices are offered for many park attractions, including the
Disneyland Railroad
,
Haunted Mansion
,
“it’s a small world,”
and
Space Mountain
in
Disneyland Park
, and
Monsters,
Inc.
,
Muppet*Vision 3D
, and
Soarin’ Over California
at
DCA
.  The resort also conducts events celebrating Guests with challenges, such as
SIGNin’ in the Streets
, March 17 – 18, 2012, a
Downtown Disney
extravaganza in honor of deaf culture.  If you or someone in your group is disabled, you can learn more that will help you plan your visit by going to the
Disneyland Resort Guest Services
webpage via the
Disneyland
site
www.disneyland.disney.go.com
and downloading the
Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities
.  If you’ll be accompanying a disabled Guest, planning ahead with them so that they have fun is a must. 
Disneyland
is designed to provide fun for
all
.  It just takes a little research and planning to make sure all the Guests in your party get the most out of
Disneyland
.