All About the Parks

I am a Park Nerd. That is all.
A work in progress…
  
      What
      Description
      Disneyland
      DisneyWorld
      Disneyland Paris
      Hong Kong Disneyland
      Shanghai Disneyland
      Tokyo Disney Resort
    

  
      Mickey Shaped Sunglasses
      Sunglasses - but, like, shaped like Mickey Mouse... I'm torn because on the one hand, these are cool and I want people to have them, but on the other hand, these are cool and I don't want EVERYONE to have them ;)
      Nope!
      Nope!
      Yass! DLP Just started carrying these!
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      Nope!
      Yass - The originator! Of course. Who else?
    

      Early Entry/Magic Hour
      Disney Hotel guests are allowed into the park(s) a little earlier than everyone else - but only after their first night's stay!
      Early Entry: Half an Hour at Certain Parks only on Certain Days - includes the "good nieghbor" hotels along the perimiter of the parks.

When you buy tickets, you have to specify which park you're planning to visit on each day, so it's important to check which parks are offering early entry ahead of time. If you pick DCA as your first park and it's not an early entry day on that day, you won't get the benefit.

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      Typically half an hour before the regular opening time for any of the 25 resorts plus the 7 other on-prem non-Disney hotels.

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      30 minutes early at both parks. Disneyland Hotel guests have their own special entrance to Disneyland park! 

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      For Hong Kong, early park entry is just another ticket type anyone can purchase as an add-on to their regular ticket. Hotels guests do get the benefit of a separate entrance though, so the line moves more quickly. 

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      Shanghai Disney's early entry benefit for hotel guests is 1 hour, which is the best of the bunch! You can get a lot done in an hour. 

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      Happy Entry, as it's called is 15 minutes. It's basically a slight headstart in a flat out sprint to whatever the most popular attraction is. For Disneyland, that's Sleeping Beauty or (before it closed) Space Mountain. For Disneysea, unless you're staying at the Fantasy Springs hotel, which has its own entrance, everyone will sprint across the entire park to get to Fantasy Springs area as fast as they can. 

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      The Castle
      A big ole castle right in the middle of the main park
      Sleeping Beauty Castle: The original and tied with Hong Kong as smallest. Houses a walkthrough with diorama scenes from the story.
      Cinderella Castle: Second largest after Shanghai. Has "Cinderella's Royal Table" character dining right inside.
      Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant (aka Sleeping Beauty Castle): Mid-size, very pretty with a nice Sleeping Beauty walkthrough exhibit and "La Tanière du Dragon" in the basement!
      The Castle of Magical Dreams (fka Sleeping Beauty Castle). Re-dedicated to all the princesses in 2020. Small, but mighty with a gift shop and a character meet and greet area inside.
      Enchanted Storybook Castle: Like everything in Shanghai Disney the castle is on a massive scale and mixes different styles together in a general "princess" theme. It has a restaurant (similar to Cinderella's Royal Table, a storybook walkthrough, and houses part of the Crystal Grotto boat ride.
      Cinderella Castle: houses a large Cinderella walkthrough with photo ops where you can sit on a throne and snap a pic, or stand by the glass slipper and snap a pic... There's also a shop called The Glass Slipper selling glassware. Glassy!
    

      A Classic Carousel - you know, with the horses that go round and round...
      Walt dreamed up the idea for Disneyland during weekend visits with his daughters to the Griffith Park carousel, which is why nearly every main park has one! What you may not know is that in the two original parks, the carousels are actually refurbished carousels dating back about ~100 years, right around the time the Disney company was founded.
      King Arthur Carrousel - built in 1922 in Ontario and refurbished in time for the opening of the park in 1955.

(California Adventure also has Jessie's Critter Carousel - themed after Toy Story.)
      Prince Charming Regal Carrousel - (the Carousel Formerly known as Cinderella's Golden Carousel) a Cinderella themed carousel built in 1918 and - you guessed it! - refurbished in time for the park opening in 1971. This one is the biggest one in all the parks.

(No, the Carousel of Progress does not count as a carousel!)
      Le Carousel de Lancelot - a Knights of the Round Table themed carousel. Purpose built for the Park in 1992.
      Cinderella Carousel - I'll let you figure out the theme! Purpose built in 2005
      Fantasia Carousel - again, I'll let you guess what the theme is! And it was also purpose built for the opening of the park.
      Caravan Carousel - this one is a little different. First it's in DisneySea, not Disneyland. But it's worth a mention because 1) it's a HUGE double-decker and 2) it's the only one built by Disney Imagineering!
    

      Main Park Fireworks
      The Big Nightime fireworks show at The Castle
      
      
      
      
      
      
    

      Parades
      Not all parades happen every day - or during every season - but there's always something going on (weather permitting). Every day is The Day they've been dreaming about, saving up for, and looking forward to so it's got to be spectacular - and it always is! It's one of the things I love about going to the parks.
      
      
      
      
      
      
    

      Monorail!
      The transportation of the Future!
      Yes - a small loop that drops you off right in Tomorrowland, so it's a hybrid transport & park entrance.
      Yes - takes you on a loop around the "monorail resorts" (Contempo, Poly, and Grand Flo), to the Transportation & Ticket Center (aka TTC) and to EPCOT.
      No
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      Yes - a big resort loop with 4 stops - Disneyland, DisneySea, Ikspiari (the shopping area) and Bayside/Fantasy Springs - and some nice Mickey theming.
    

      A Big Ole Victorian Greenhouse
      ... sometimes with character dining, often a buffet.
      The Plaza Inn. A "Breakfast with Minnie" buffet character dining experience
      Crystal Palace. A buffet where you can meet Winnie the Pooh and his friends
      Plaza Gardens. Character dining (breakfast or dinner) with Mickey & Minnie plus a rotating roster of pals
      The Plaza Inn: a Cantonese Restaurant in a Victorian Greenhouse setting.
      As ever, Shanghai does it their way with no Victorian Greenhouse IN the park - although Donald's Dine n Delights in Disneytown looks like what you'd build if Crystal Palace needed an escape pod...
      Crystal Palace: A Classic 3-domed Victorian conservatory with an expansive buffet.
    

      The Disneyland Hotel
      Signature Hotel. Typically a delux 4 or 5 star hotel with fantasy theming - even in the most basic room.
      When Disneyland was being built, Retro Futurism was all the rage. Tthe result definitely skews Tomorrowland rather than Fantasyland. Compared to the others this one is... ecclectic. The rooms are actually really nice and would not look out of place in a fantasy-themed setting, but they don't really go with the architecture of the building itself. The pool is awesome (My little neice loves it - which means it gets a 10 out of 10 from me!). Official Rank: 4 Star. Have we stayed there: Yes.
      Disneywolrd doesn't actually have a "Disneyland Hotel" - and I get why - but is has The Grand Floridian, which is the EXACT SAME THING only with a different name. Official ranking: 5 Star. Have we stayed there? Not yet - but I have 2 nights booked in January.
      A 5 start pink princess fantasy with 5 "signature" suites themed after Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Tangled, and Frozen. It is next level. And it spans the entrance to the park. Official Rank: 5 Star. Have we stayed there: Yes.
      This one has more in common with the Grand Flo than the Disneyland Paris version. It also has a hedge maze. Official Rank: 5 Star. Have we stayed there: Yes.
      The interior is more fantasy-oriented than the exterior - especially the lobby, which has some nice sculptures and a lot of stained glass. It's a bit of a mish-mash. That's kind of the vibe at Shanghai Disney Resort. The rooms had remote control curtains, which I thought was cool. Official Rank: 5 star. Have we stayed there: Yes.
      This one is based on Beauty & the Beast. Tokyo gets the assignment. Every time. Tokyo and Paris have the best Disneyland Hotel hotels. The lobbies, the twinkly music, the rooms... everything down to the faucets has been carefully considered. Official Rank: 5 Star. Have we stayed there: Yes.
    

      Space Mountain
      It's a rollercoaster in the dark. Fun story: when I was a kid, Space Mountain broke down when we were on it and they had to stop the ride!
      
      
      
      
      
      
    

      Resorts Parks
      The actual separate theme parks within the resort
      two parks: the original Disneyland (opene d July 17, 1955), and Disney's California Adventure (February 8, 2001)
      Magic Kingdom - October 1, 1971; River Country (w) - June 20, 1976 (closed November 2, 2001); EPCOT - October 1, 1982; Disney Hollywood Studios (nee MGM Studios) May 1, 1989; Typhoon Lagoon (w) - June 1, 1989; Blizzard Beach (w) - April 1, 1995; Animal Kingdom - April 22, 1998;
      Disneyland Paris (nee Eurodisney) - April 12, 1992; Walt Disney Studios Park - March 16, 2002
      September 12, 2005
      June 16, 2016
      Disneyland - April 15, 1983; Disneysea - September 4, 2001
    