Hey...you can't tell me that wasn't big fun

Maybe this isn't true for you, but when Disneyland announces special events there are a range of thoughts we go through. First, why can't Disneyland be closer? That six to seven hour drive makes it hard to just take off and go to the park at a moment's notice. Second, well...if we fly we would make it in plenty of time and flights are only $77 (assuming you are ahead of the two week window) - that's doable. Third, let's just check on hotels.....holy crow, the Candy Cane Inn has a room for $102 a night and somehow we just booked it. Fourth, we already have our park ticket - and we really need to use it to justify the cost of having an Annual Pass. So really, it all just spirals in to how can we afford NOT to go?
  

At this point, we should mention this is what we went through planning our 24-hour trip to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Indiana Jones Adventure ride at Disneyland park. That's right, twenty years...how can that be possible? In recognition, Disneyland offered two nights of Annual Passholder after-hours parties. Both evenings included select rides to remain operating, a late-night Fantasmic! showing, live entertainment, and a very special panel discussion with Tony Baxter.

We booked our flights, packed our bags, and headed down to Disneyland for this exclusive event. We won't go into too much detail about the panel discussion because you can hear all about it on our favorite podcast Mousetalgia, but we will offer some solid advice: anytime you have the opportunity to listen to a Disney Legend, do it! Also, next time you ride Indy, look for the thousand regular sized snakes in the snake room. Bet you never even knew those existed.

The night was more crowded than we would have hoped for, but we closed the park down! How often can you get a picture in front of the iconic Mickey Mouse floral arrangement without being jostled by frantic park goers? That in itself made the night magical. Advance registration was required for the event, but the AP attendees to that day's other special Annual Passholder event, Wednesdays with Walt, were invited to the party as well. We aren't sure if this is because the party was not full, or if they just wanted to create some extra magic for their guests - maybe both.

We experienced some extra pixie dust along the way as well. At the beginning of the party, while this was not officially part of it but rather a happy coincidence, the stars of the new live-action Cinderella turned up for a photo shoot in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. Another tip: if you see the makings of a photo shoot or taping popping up stick around, you never know who will show up! Seeing the stars in person only enhanced our excitement for the advance D23 screening we would be attending the next week.

Possibly the most memorable moment of the night was having the Haunted Mansion to ourselves - which raises the creep factor by about a billion. With no other people around you can hear every noise and whisper, which gives you a deeper appreciation for this spooktacular dark ride. As we took our time making our way to a doom buggy, Tina took some great pictures along the way. We even got to check off a Disneyland bucket list item: riding the entire Haunted Mansion track. We asked the Cast Member as we boarded if we could stay on for a second loop and she kindly agreed.

The whirlwind was definitely worth the effort and it was a nice change to visit the park during the "off" season and mid-week to boot. Thanks Disneyland for letting us join in celebrating this amazing attraction. Happy birthday Indy!