Here Are the Best Things That Happened at Disneyland in 2023
Disneyland Resort just experienced arguably its best year since Walt Disney was alive. I’m not even joking.
Thanks to a once-in-a-lifetime event and plenty of park expansion, West Coast Disney fans were living their best lives.
Let’s talk about the best things that happened at Disneyland in 2023.
Disney100
Everything we discuss counts as a byproduct of this single event.
The Walt Disney Company celebrated its 100th anniversary, something only one out of every several thousand businesses achieve.
As the preeminent storytelling company in the world, Disney wasn’t about to let this event occur without a party.
Both Disneyland and Walt Disney World commemorated an event none of us will see again in our lifetimes.
Disneyland Resort hosted the official festivities, with Sleeping Beauty Castle turning platinum as a way to highlight the remarkable achievement.
Management plotted several new offerings to punctuate the centennial event, as the rest of this list will show.
The Governor Attends Disneyland After Dark
In 2020, Disney feuded with a governor. It was in all the trades at the time, as that sort of thing hadn’t happened much before the 2020s.
The surprise is that the governor wasn’t the one in Florida. Instead, it was Gavin Newsom of California, who argued with Disney regarding pandemic safety.
At the time, nobody could have imagined that Disney would have a better relationship with Newsom in 2023 and 2024 than Florida’s Ron DeSantis.
Alas, time heals all wounds. Disney currently wants governmental approval to expand at Disneyland Resort.
Meanwhile, Newsom covets headlines in case he can elevate himself to the national political stage.
These mutual needs led to Newsom appearing at Disneyland After Dark’s Pride Nite in 2023.
Newsom took pictures with and glad-handed anyone he met at the park.
For its part, Disney hyped the appearance across social media to make a point toward its less friendly politician in Florida.
Disney’s political relationships in California and Florida flip-flopped so quickly that you could have gotten whiplash watching the whole thing.
Mickey’s Toontown
I’m very rarely satisfied with my own writing, but this article from April aptly describes my feelings.
Mickey’s Toontown had lost its verve many years ago. It’d become a place where guests visited out of obligation inasmuch as anything else.
Park officials admitted this hard truth and did something about it. They reimagined the themed land.
In the process, Disney breathed new life into a family-friendly section of the park, making it substantially more inclusive and accessible.
Mickey’s Toontown is now one of the best places to hang out at the park, and you’ll feel the spirit of caring Imagineers while you visit.
This place is one big hug that seemingly welcomes as you enter.
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
And the signature attraction here is the new Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.
The first version of this ride debuted at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but it happened during a pandemic.
Oddly, that aspect helped the ride keep somewhat of a low profile before its West Coast debut.
Disneyland fans immediately recognized the genius of the ride, which encapsulates the joy of a Mickey and Minnie Mouse cartoon.
You ride through several classic cartoon sets like the carnival, the boat rides near the waterfall, the desert, and a picnic.
Along the way, hijinks ensue to the point that one of your favorite cartoon mice almost gets squished like a bug. But it’s all in good fun!
The showstopper here is the dance sequence, which never fails to get a gasp from first-time riders. It’s a masterpiece and the perfect addition for Disney100.
Rogers: The Musical
Ten minutes into the Hawkeye television series, the story had hooked everyone.
First, Kate Bishop accidentally collapsed a bell tower. Then, Hawkeye watched in horror as he re-lived the biggest fight of his life…in song.
Clint Barton’s family (theoretically) enjoyed an evening on Broadway as part of a holiday visit to the city.
Rogers: The Musical was the ridiculous fictional play that they watched, but a funny thing happened while Marvel filmed the scene.
The creative team started taking the idea more and more seriously, mining it for all the laughs they could.
Within minutes of the episode’s airing, Rogers: The Musical had already gone viral, and Disney knew what it had to do.
Park officials created a real expansion of that throwaway gag, creating an attraction brimming with hope and love.
Fans flocked to Rogers: The Musical, which proved so popular that Disney California Adventure needed a virtual queue for it.
While the show ran for only a few weeks, it left quite the impression on fans. And Disney really needs to make this one permanent.
San Fransokyo
As a film analyst for many years now, I’ve tracked a cyclical kind of behavior among cinephiles.
When a Disney animated movie debuts in theaters, it suffers from over-analysis as fans expect an absolute grand slam.
Such lofty expectations are often hard to meet, which sometimes causes a film to seem like a letdown to some.
A few examples include Treasure Planet, Lilo & Stitch, and Big Hero 6.
All of them were delightful on day one, but fans judged them too harshly. Upon rewatch, they more fully appreciated the genius of each.
I was early on the bandwagon of two of those titles, and I maintained early on that Big Hero 6 was among Disney’s best-intended films.
I’m thrilled that the characters found new life on Disney Channel and Disney+, and I’ve relished the franchise’s expansion.
Now, Disney has done what once seemed unthinkable. It has added the whimsical world of San Fransokyo at Disney California Adventure.
Now, life imitates art as the fictional combination of San Francisco and Tokyo is on display at a Disney theme park…and Baymax is always there to hug your problems away!
Tiana’s Palace
In The Princess and the Frog, noble Tiana worked hard in hopes of making her dream come true.
As one of the finest chefs in the south, Tiana aspired to create a restaurant that would honor her family.
She often dreamt of building Tiana’s Palace and serving her delicious cuisine to all the locals.
In 2023, Disneyland Park opened the real-world version of Tiana’s Palace, and guests marveled at the theming and the flavors.
A quick trip through the restaurant reveals all the New Orleans and jazz touches while the recipes pack a wallop.
Disney got this one very, very right.
The Villas at Disneyland Hotel
Finally, we have the Disneyland highlight that matters most to vacationers.
We all know that Disneyland Resort suffers from a shortage of official hotel rooms. Disney only owns and operates three of them.
Well, I should say that they had owned three. Then, Imagineers constructed the new expansion tower on the grounds of the Disneyland Hotel.
Now, we have a luxury tower resort that’s only a few minutes from Disney California Adventure, Disneyland Park, and Downtown Disney.
Even better, this place offers the history and significance of the Disneyland Hotel, but its rooms are brand new!
You get modern amenities that Disney built into the hotel’s foundation, but you’re just a short work from the first theme park hotel in the world.
Everything about this place is great, and that statement applies to everything else we’ve discussed here as well.
The Happiest Place on Earth was somehow even happier in 2023!
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Feature Photo: Disney