Happy Birthday Disneyland! Is anyone at the park today?

[Pluto468]

I couldn't be there today but luckily went last month so I saw alot of the 70th things.

Is anyone there today? If so, how are the crowds? Is there any new merchandise or special events?

 

[Wilcojoe]

Just took a Quick look at the wait times on the app and they are very low overall. Night and day from what I saw the last couple of days. Guessing a combination of Disney ride operations having their A game going today with so many suits in the park and the fact that a lot of the die hard regulars aren’t focused on rides today.

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

I didn’t get here with open, around 8.30am, but the queue to get into the park wasn’t bad at all, waited behind 2-3 people. They have CMs standing just after you scan in giving guests commemorative pins and day-of guide maps.

Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto and Chip&Dale are all out in their 70th outfits for photos around the hub. The vibes are incredible.

There’s a queue to get into the Emporium. Probably 30-40ish people but it moves quick. Then there’s a line for the register which basically wraps around the entire main store, it’s bananas. Seems like there’s a special MK tshirt and an ‘I was there!’ shirt and a few pins.

 

[Wilcojoe]

I didn’t get here with open, around 8.30am, but the queue to get into the park wasn’t bad at all, waited behind 2-3 people. They have CMs standing just after you scan in giving guests commemorative pins and day-of guide maps.

Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto and Chip&Dale are all out in their 70th outfits for photos around the hub. The vibes are incredible.

There’s a queue to get into the Emporium. Probably 30-40ish people but it moves quick. Then there’s a line for the register which basically wraps around the entire main store, it’s bananas. Seems like there’s a special MK tshirt and an ‘I was there!’ shirt and a few pins.

Love the “I was there” shirt. Very cool get for anyone there today.

 

[Pluto468]

I didn’t get here with open, around 8.30am, but the queue to get into the park wasn’t bad at all, waited behind 2-3 people. They have CMs standing just after you scan in giving guests commemorative pins and day-of guide maps.

Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto and Chip&Dale are all out in their 70th outfits for photos around the hub. The vibes are incredible.

There’s a queue to get into the Emporium. Probably 30-40ish people but it moves quick. Then there’s a line for the register which basically wraps around the entire main store, it’s bananas. Seems like there’s a special MK tshirt and an ‘I was there!’ shirt and a few pins.

Those buttons are so cool! I love the special guide maps. It looks like a wonderful day. Have fun!

 

[Beatitude]

It’s busy but extremely manageable at the moment in DL. Retail is another story. Aside from the items posted above, there is also 7/17/25 merchandise that is only available from the registers in the center of the Emporium (it’s why that line is so long and moves so slowly). There are 3 7/17/25 pins (1 has already sold out), about 10 pins from “the Vault” and another exclusive 7/17/25 shirt that is not being stocked on the floor.

 

[Beatitude]

For those focused on the merch: at DCA, 5 & Dime has all three 7/17/25 shirts stocked on the floor and the sold-out 70 pin (Tinkerbell) is still available at the upfront registers. And there currently is virtually no line.

 

[Wildcat1144]

isitpacked has Disneyland at "Hey, It's Alright" currently.

 

[Wedgeout]

Was a good morning. Bob Iger & Josh D’Amaro gave an opening message. Gates then opened. Main Street lined end to end with welcoming cast members from all departments. Three pins were released for today. Two Limited Editions (larger Tinkerbell 2,200 and a magic key character pin 5,000) could buy 2 each. The other Mickey I Was There was more plentiful and could buy up to 10.

 

[Rissie15]

I hope they do one of those special anniversary cavalcades where lots and lots of characters, some quite rare, come out.

 

[Wedgeout]

Grab yourself a slice! Happy 70th.

 

[LKing]

I hope they do one of those special anniversary cavalcades where lots and lots of characters, some quite rare, come out.

Nope, it was a disappointment for me.

 

[LKing]

The MK tshirts have been available since July 8. The Lug bag has been around since May. The teal shirt was not released before today.

They have peach Dole Whip starting today.

I thought it was very crowded. Long queues for everything. I enjoyed A Magical Life but didn't get much time to look at the exhibits. I thought the last verse was a little choppy. It needed a better transition.

DCA has a special map today as well.

 

[KimberMama]

We were there, and I was reminded why we don’t got on weekdays, lol. Left home at 6 on the dot, but with some extra traffic, plus the buses being slow from Toy Story and lines at the gates (even though we found a good one), we weren’t in the park until about 8:25. We were group 42 for Walt, and our group was called at 8:10 before we even got to the gates lines.

All I can really say about Walt is that I probably need to see it again, from a closer seat (we were halfway back with the other people using mobility devices). As my son said, all of the show that wasn’t the animatronic was information we knew well — images, video, and audio we’d seen and heard before. I think I was expecting the animatronic portion to be longer too. I did think the mannerisms were well done.

We got the freebie pins and the maps, but didn’t spend any time shopping whatsoever. The morning wasn’t too busy at first because people were shopping and doing other things. Ride lines got a bit longer after 10, and then quieted down again when people started lining up for cavalcade by 11(!). We tried to focus on opening day attractions + Space Mountain (always Space Mountain!) + the band. We always enjoy the band but compared to 7/4 the performances were shorter and weren’t nearly as good (no Mitch, no Tiffany). We saw the band on Main Street at 11:25 and it was as crowded as could be, with people stuff and blankets everywhere even if they weren’t occupying them.

We managed to see Walt, see a fantastic set with the Straw Hatters (that’s us!), ride Storybookland, have a snack at Edelweiss, see the band, ride Space, see the band on Main Street, eat lunch at Jolly Holiday, ride Jungle Cruise, ride the train, ride the Mark Twain, and get Dole Whip. We were out of the park by 2:20, at the van by 2:40, and it took 2 1/2 hours to get home when it’s usually just over an hour.

 

[OKW Lover]

We were there and yes it was crowded!

 

[LKing]

I agree that you can't judge how busy the park is by wait times. Main Street was packed all day. We ate dinner in NOS and they had plastic silverware. When I asked about it, they sighed and said that it had been a really busy day.

We walked by the castle around 5:30 pm and there were already several rows waiting for fireworks. I guess they threw out the 2 hour rule today.

I was really disappointed that they didn't include the guests in much of the festivities. It seemed like the focus was on the VIPs. The Iger/D'Amaro speech and characters on the train were done before guests were allowed in the park. As I mentioned before, I thought the 70 cavalcade was pretty wimpy.

It was an interesting mix of guests. I'll elaborate more when I am home and on a keyboard.

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

We booked a trip for yesterday and today without even realizing today was the 70th. For today we bought the premium pass and also had tickets that included LL. We rode an insane amount of rides. I was worried with how long the lines were to get into the park at 730am....but they moved relatively fast.

Were not really shoppers but thought a lot of the vault collection was really cute. We did buy an old school ticket book Xmas ornament which I think is awesome. Did see a few people who were obviously reselllers loading up.

All in all a fun day. As WDW regulars it was neat to be here at DL on a big day.

 

[BellaandMickey]

We were there and it was very busy. Also, lots of ride breakdowns, just about every single ride we rode either broke down with us in the ride, or in the line, or while walking to the ride. We still got a lot done and had a great day, but it was most definitely packed.

 

[KimberMama]

I forgot to add we did think it was incredibly busy, and that was walking out the gates at 2:25, so probably before the evening hordes descended. We’ve yet to see any of the evening entertainment for the 70th, as we were hoping to give the crowds a chance to die down. We’re going to plan a few evening only visits soon.

We didn’t watch the cavalcade, we wanted to enjoy the park and not spend 1-2 hours parked on a curb. I predicted it would add in the rolling birthday cake, and watching a video of it this morning, it did. DH did think it might have been cool to see the vehicle with the original cast members from 1955, but it wasn’t worth giving up park time to save a spot.

 

[KimberMama]

I thought it was very crowded. Long queues for everything. I enjoyed A Magical Life but didn't get much time to look at the exhibits. I thought the last verse was a little choppy. It needed a better transition.

The cast members at A Magical Life told us once we entered the exhibit, we could spend as much time as we wanted looking at it before we went into the show. This was confirmed to us by another group of guests, who had already decided not to go into the show when it was called for their virtual queue group (before we were admitted) because they wanted to look at the exhibit, and was going to see our show instead. We didn’t linger because we had other things we wanted to do, but I’ll keep it in mind for next time. Of course, the exhibit should be up for a long time.