New Year's Eve at Disneyland
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Editors Note: On page 5 of this article there is a link to a short video. But I wanted to mention it here also to make sure you don't miss it: It's video of the last 7 seven seconds of 1999 and the first 57 seconds of 2000. The video includes the stream of fire streaking across the sky and part of the fireworks show. Make sure you audio is turned up so you can hear the countdown! Midnight.mpg (1.3Megs)
By John Frost
"New Year's Eve at Disneyland? Are you Crazy?" Nine times out of ten that was the response I got when I mentioned my plans to party at the end of the year. As the day drew closer I began to wonder myself. The logistics involved to over come what was expected to be record breaking crowds seemed daunting at best.
Most expected the park to reach capacity no later than Noon on December 31st. From that point on, if you weren't in the park you were out of luck. Of course, being in the park with 80,000 of your closest friends, could be a miserable experience too.
There was only one hope. Rain. Cold Rain and enough of it to keep the crowds in the warmth of their living living rooms watching Peter Jennings on ABC. So I wished upon a star for some stormy weather and did a rain dance for good measure.
As it turned out, my rain dance worked. But I'm getting ahead of myself....
Knowing nothing of the impending rain I awoke at 6AM for a quick shower and then walk down Harbor Blvd to Katella and the Convention center gate. At 7:15AM the Timon parking lot was barely half full.
Flags flying of the train station pointed
directly down main street.
Walt Disney always took this as a sign that rain was coming. I should have too.
I expected huge lines at the entrance, as the park wasn't scheduled to open until 8AM. Except for those arriving for a Magic Morning at 6:30AM. However, the lines at 7AM were already long enough that all guests had been let in and on to Main Street. By 7:20AM, Main Street was busy enough that the rope was dropped and guests were free to roam the park (although not all attractions had opened yet).
That didn't seem to be much of a problem. Most people were looking for some sort of food. Lines for sit down, scramble, and buffet restaurants quickly grew to hour long waits.
The Line for the Plaza Inn curved all the way back to the Corn Dog Cart by 7:50AM when I joined in. A hostess came by and guestimated an hour and a half wait for us. A minute later the rain began.
I let those in my party with umbrellas hold my place in line and took off down Main Street to check out the crowds. A huge rush for ponchos was on. And magically they appeared from behind the counters.
Strollers and Wheelchairs also became a hot property. Electric Wheelchairs quickly sold out and regular wheelchairs quickly followed.
Rain was intermittent throughout most of the morning. But popcorn wstill had to be popped. Slowly the rest of the park came to life. By 8:30AM the information board showed lines as long as 2 hours.
