... Some people love Disney theme parks so much that routine visits to Disneyland in California or the Magic Kingdom in Florida are simply not enough. Some people also make it a mission to visit Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland. And Epcot and Typhoon Lagoon and California Adventure. There are 13 Disney parks worldwide and the hardest of the hard-core Disneyphiles have visited them all. ...
In 2012, two Disneyland annual pass holders made news by going to the Happiest Place on Earth every day in a row for 366 days. ...
Long ago, I was employed as a Disneyland ride operator for five months. I worked afternoons and nights, and often went back into the park after my shift. I watched the fireworks display five days a week.
After I got laid off and returned to college, I didn't set foot in Disneyland or its sister parks for years. It was only when most of a decade had passed and I (through Diz Co. employment) got free park visits that I made the occasional trip to Anaheim.
You have glazed donuts ... or strawberry shortcake ... every day for months on end, you get tired of those things, too. But for a chosen few, Disneyland's allure never wears off.
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2 comments:
Interesting article. I didn't know this:
"...the original Disneyland in California relies less on tourists than on annual pass-holding locals."
I don't know if "relies" is the appropriate word, but Disneyland definitely has a higher percentage of annual passholders than other parks. This is causing them problems because annual passholders have different travel and spending habits than tourists. For example it is not unusual for a group of 4 annual passholders to arrange to meet at Disneyland for dinner on a weeknight. They all drive separate cars, ride one or two rides, buy dinner and nothing else. You just replaced a family of 4 that would spend 3 days at the park, staying in a local (or Disney) hotel, spending money on all of their meals, and buying souvenirs, with a group who took 4 parking spaces for 3 hours and spent practically no money.
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