The 24 Hour Event--My First Solo Trip

Where do I start?  I got down to Anaheim on Thursday afternoon after spending the entire morning biting my fingernails waiting to leave and immediately went to California Adventure, knowing that I would not make it in during the actual event.  It was not at all crowded (at least by weekend standards since I rarely go on weekdays) and between single rider and short lines, I was able to go on RSR, Tower of Terror, Goofy's Sky School, and Grizzly River Rapids in just a couple of hours.  The re-imaging of the aviation area was nice and feels more cohesive now.  I can't wait until they do that with the Hollywood area.  For lunch I tried something I hadn't before and ate a chicken rice bowl with coconut curry sauce.  It was actually pretty good except I found the chicken to be a little salty.  I also got my first 60th-specific treat--a delicious rice crispy Minnie Mouse with 60th blue theming.  Here are a couple of pictures from DCA:

After that, I checked into Best Western Stovall's for the weekend festivities.  I only started staying off-site this year, so I don't have a lot of experiences to compare it to, but it was less expensive than hotels on Harbor or onsite, which was a plus since this was a trip just for me.  Check in was easy.  There was a rude guest who cut in line to complain that one of his 3 key cards didn't work and once that was taken care of, he interrupted again while the people at the counter were taking care of me, but they were very polite and apologized for he rude guest.  Parking was $10.  I liked that parking was behind locked gates and my vehicle felt safe.  My room's key card reader had broken lights.  The door and lock still functioned properly, but I couldn't tell that unless I fought with the door first.  The other rooms looked to have readers that were not falling apart, so I think this was just for my room.  The hotel room itself felt dark.  This was fine for me since I planned on sleeping and went to bed at 7PM, but I can see how it might not be ideal if you spend a lot of time there.  The beds were double beds.  They were fine, but too hard for me as I am used to a pillow top on my mattress.  Still, it was a place to sleep.  Walking distance to the parks wasn't bad, either.  Only about a block more than the walk from Paradise Pier.

Friday morning came a bit too quickly for my taste and I got up at 1:30AM hoping to be one of the first people in line so I could get the commemorative item.  Little did I know, about 5,000 people had the same idea and beat me to it.  (Un)Surprisingly, many camped out in the bus area from about 10PM onward.  This was the sight that greeted me on arrival:

Two and a half hours later, they finally let my section of the line into Main Street.  By then, Main Street was almost full already:

Countdown eventually came and at 6AM, the excitement started.  News programs from all over the world were there to broadcast as we all walked down the road toward the castle. 

I chose to do most of my attractions/rides in the morning since I go often enough that I knew I wouldn't miss out by not riding something.  I single-rider'd the new Matterhorn refurb first off, which was a complete success as I only waited about 10 minutes (the regular line was already wrapped around the mountain).  I also got to see Hattie!  Yes, the hatbox ghost is finally functional in Haunted Mansion.  He's a beautiful piece of technology and that ride feels so much more complete now.  Other highlights included Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and the train.

I meant to go to a meet-up with some of my "friends" from the DIS boards, but our meeting area was a disaster, roped off with film crews, so I couldn't find anyone.  But, hey, I got a beautiful picture of the castle:

After lunch, I walked around, taking in the scenery, before running into one of the managers around 1:30 PM, who told me I should grab a spot for the parade and fireworks soon as they were filling up.  So, armed with my late pizza lunch, a pop tart, and a large drink, I got the best seat I could, in the elevated area across from Small World.  I had planned on viewing from Main Street the first time, but I was comforted when another manager told me that the location I picked was one of the best locations.  A few hours later, I found out I was seated right behind the VIP area.  So yes, good spot.

Not too much to report from the wait.  I listened to It's a Small World on loop for hours upon hours.  Someone at one point jokingly asked if the song ever ends.  My response, "In the 5 hours I've been here, it still hasn't."  I read some of my book, people-watched, and met some truly fantastic people, including a family with 7 well-behaved children, 2 older women who arrived at the same time I did in the morning, a group of young adults who were very kind and got me through the wait talking, a Micechat member who actually liked Dreamlights, and a former imagineer who had a fascinating conversation with me about Tomorrowland's failures, the cost of tickets, and the new entertainment's strengths and shortcomings.  Finally, Paint the Night began, albeit a little later than scheduled:

All in all, it was stunning.  A few of the floats could have done more with the lighting effects, but for the most part, it was gorgeous.  I especially enjoyed the final float, which Mickey drives.  Unfortunately, my picture of that one didn't come out, but it was beautifully done and you really have to hand it to the designers.  I also loved that they used notes from the Baroque Hoedown, but tied in a new main theme song, "When Can I See You Again?" from Wreck it Ralph, and wove themes from other movies into the music.  It was energetic, beautiful, and meaningful for today's audience.  The fireworks, also highly anticipated, were breathtaking.  The projections were incredible and the use of Matterhorn as Mt. Wannahockaloogie was clever.  I found it challenging to focus at times as I was looking from the sky to the projections, unable to focus my attention as I would have preferred, but I think this may have been easier in Main Street where everything is in front of you instead of surrounding you.

I left about an hour after the fireworks ended.  My body said "No More!" and I knew I'd be sick or pass out if I stayed.  So, that was that.  It was a wonderful day.