Thanks for following my thrilling journey as Disney Parks’ Chief Magic Official. I hope you enjoyed following my May assignment and I know you will love hearing about my June visit to Disneyland!
My second official trip as the CMO was an adventure I was eagerly anticipating. After about a month of the real world, it was time for me to pack my bags and head west. June 15th, ignited my first CMO journey to the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. To say I was excited for this experience would be a huge understatement! It had been nearly 20 years since I was last in Disneyland, and as a huge fan of Disney Parks, culture, innovation, and history, this was an opportunity that couldn’t come quickly enough.
My fellow Cast Members in Marketing, Promotions, and many other departments found plenty to keep me busy! I can assure you that my first visit to the original Disney theme park in almost two decades was packed full of incredible opportunities, lots of laughter, and a healthy dose of magic! The biggest reason for my visit was the chance to be a part of the grand opening ceremony for the West Coast Toy Story Mania! at Disney’s California Adventure.
Before that, though, we had the opportunity to share a brilliant new addition to Tomorrowland with the press (the Innoventions Dream Home), get immersed in adventure as a part of the Indiana Jones Summer of Hidden Mysteries, and soak up the fun with beloved characters from the incredible Disney/Pixar films in the Pixar Play Parade. Yeah, and that’s just day one!
This trip also allowed me the opportunity to spend another magic-filled day with the Dream Squad. When all was said and done, my first visit to the Disneyland Resort as Chief Magic Official exceeded all my dreams and expectations and showed me once again that, with Disney, truly anything is possible! Please keep reading because this adventure was full of so many thrills and surprises and I can’t wait to share them all with you!
Like any good adventure, this trip needed some excitement to get my heart racing before even touching down in southern California. My flight out of Pittsburgh was slightly delayed, leaving me 6 minutes to catch my connecting flight in Denver. I should have dressed for a track meet instead of in the business casual attire (hey, I was working on making a nice impression for my first job in California!). I ran through the Denver airport, barely catching the California flight. I slid into my seat just as the plane backed away from the gate, out of breath and grateful I made it.
Later at the LAX luggage carousel watching the last bags of others being retrieved, I realized that my sprint through Denver could not have possibly been duplicated by my suitcase. My suitcase (and my CMO wardrobe) was still somewhere near Denver! All I could do was head to the resort. Luckily, I was dressed for business.
My exhausting Airport experience vanished once I arrived at my Disneyland hotel!
When we pulled up to Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel, nestled onto a portion of the Disneyland Resort property with direct entrances into Downtown Disney as well as Disney’s California Adventure theme park, I knew I was in for a treat. Yet another towering achievement of design, storytelling, and attention to detail that instantly swept me away and had me more ready than ever to discover everything the Disneyland Resort had to offer. The resort, the nicest at Disneyland is a beautiful combination of stone and wood, with an immense lobby.
(This is the view of the lobby of the Grand Californian Hotel from the third floor hallway. Pretty spectacular, don’t you think?)
After checking in and receiving the customary stellar hospitality that Disney resorts are known for, I headed out to Downtown Disney to grab a meal and bask in the beautiful weather and atmosphere of the Disneyland Resort in June. I lunched at Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen where I was able to enjoy some delicious food and a wonderful live jazz band. The waitress was yet another fantastic example of how Disney and its on-property partners attract the best in customer service! She endured my tale of luggage woes and then cheered me up with some unbelievably delicious beignets (a delectable fried dough treat coated in powdered sugar!) on the house. I’d barely been in California for two hours and I could already tell I was going to love this trip.
After finishing my meal, listening to the rest of the set from the band, and calling the airline about my luggage, I still had time to spare (thanks to the change of time zones). I needed to find something to do while I waited for my suitcase to arrive. Now, what was a CMO to do with a few hours to spare and four days worth of exhilarating responsibilities ahead? A whirlwind "research" tour of Disney’s California Adventure and Disneyland, of course! I closed my bill, whipped out my park pass and headed toward the parks – slacks, loafers, sports coat and all!
My first stop was Disney’s California Adventure! Having never visited the most recent addition to the U.S. Disney Park family, I strolled under the mini replica of the Golden Gate Bridge and took a few moments to wander around. What a joy it is to experience a Disney park for the first time! I wanted to soak it all in from the Grizzly River Run to Monsters Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue. Of course I wanted to immediately run off and try to ride everything, but I reigned myself in just a bit and focused on what I needed to know for the coming days. I dashed over towards the Paradise Pier section of the park so that I could find where Toy Story Mania! was situated and where the majority of the events and interviews would take place. This area is the home of the giant Sun Wheel (pictured).
I found Mr. Potato Head, the host of Toy Story Mania! I was glad to see him, but I could not help but be distracted by his neighbor, the awesome California Screamin’coaster. It beckoned me. One quick ride became three before too long. If you’ve experienced Screamin’ before, I’m sure you understand!
I spent more time at DCA, enjoying my research. Feeling relatively confident that I could find my way around and offer assistance to guests if needed, I decided to head across the Esplanade and finally get reacquainted with Disneyland. While most of my work the next day would be centered around Tomorrowland – the location of the Innoventions Dream Home – I couldn’t resist the urge to quickly visit Fantasyland and take a spin on the ride that I still fondly remember from my childhood – Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. Remember, I was still in the "business casual" attire from the flight: I’m sure I was quite a sight to see making my way to the queue for this beloved classic attraction next to families in t-shirts. The ride was as wild as I remembered from Disney World.
With Toad out of my system, at least for now, I strolled over to get my first look at one of the key lands during my visit: Tomorrowland.
It was both refreshing and invigorating to rediscover Disneyland. Every sight, sound, aroma, and attraction caught my attention and reminded me of the joy that Disneyland guests have been experiencing for over 50 years. I wandered around the land, taking note of similarities and differences and paying particular attention to the location of things that I was certain would come in handy while working here the next day (i.e. bathrooms!).
I managed to experience a few more of my favorite attractions (nice that my accommodations were walking distance from the parks. Space Mountain, complete with the relatively recent high energy upgrades, was an absolute blast. Pirates of the Caribbean once again swept me away from reality (isn’t that the sign of great Disney attraction?) Finally, I abandoned my plan to wander aimlessly through the fascinating streets of New Orleans Square to instead pay a visit to the first Disney ‘mountain’ and ride the classic Matterhorn Bobsleds.
Despite the fact that I was starting to feel the effects of the three-hour time difference, I exited Disneyland that night with the same blissful smile on my face that I’m sure I had on my last visit almost 20 years ago. I made my way back to the splendid Grand Californian Hotel, found that my luggage had arrived and that Guest Services had already taken care of all the details. With the peace of mind that comes with knowing you are at a Disney resort, I headed to my room to try and get some sleep before my first real responsibilities as Chief Magic Official in Disneyland.
I’ll be back with all the details of a truly unforgettable CMO visit to the Disneyland Resort soon! Have a magical day!
