DISNEYLAND, CA—Under ominously cloudy skies and unseasonably cool temperatures, Southern Californians by the thousands began lining up at Disneyland's gates more than three hours before the park was scheduled to open. Well before 8 AM, the Esplanade, the open plaza between the gates of Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure (DCA), had reached capacity and park officials were forced to halt admission to the area.

A backlog of guests immediately formed at the two parking lot tram stops, located at either end of the Esplanade, as guests by the hundreds continued to disembark from fully loaded trams. At the Western entrance, guests eager to be there from the start of the celebration quickly backed up well past the World of Disney store into the walkways of Downtown Disney.

As the massive crowd slowly made its way around Disneyland's various attractions, park regulars were overheard to say, "This is like New Year's Eve," and, "We should probably just stake out a spot and stay in it for the day."

From the World of Disney Store in Downtown Disney to the shops on Disneyland's Main Street USA, the lines of guests lined up to pay for merchandise looked more like ride queues than checkout lines.

Throughout the day, guests and Disneyland event planners were under the constant threat of a Pacific storm literally raining on everyone's parade. Just minutes before the official opening ceremony, Disneyland cast members hurriedly passed out vinyl Mickey Mouse ponchos to invited guests. The end result was the audience looked more as if it were about to be attend a Gallagher concert than a Disneyland event.

In the end, while there were a few sprinkles and brief light showers throughout the day, events, for the most part, proceeded without a hitch.

Permanecer Sentados por Favor

Without question, the biggest hit of the day was the new nighttime spectacular fireworks display Remember…Dreams Come True. Disneyland guests started seeking out optimal viewing spots just as soon as the evening performance of Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams concluded.

That evening, a Disneyland cast member reported that more than 62,000 guests had entered the park. Tens of thousands packed Main Street from the Town Square Disneyland Railroad station all the way up to the Hub located immediately in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle more than an hour before the scheduled opening night debut of Remember….

Clouds hung ominously over the Magic Kingdom and there was still a chance that the weather might force the cancellation of the first official performance of Remember… Dreams Come True. "I don't want to be here if that happens," said a journalist covering the event for his hometown television station. "We might witness the first riot in Disneyland history," a colleague facetiously chimed in.

Just a few minutes past Remember's scheduled starting time, however, the lights in Disneyland dimmed, the music came up, and a huge cheer was heard throughout the Magic Kingdom. The show had begun!

Disneyland first-nighters were primed and ready. The appearance of Disney favorites Mickey Mouse and Tinkerbelle brought cheers and rounds of thunderous applause. Mickey's familiar three-circle silhouette appeared as three precisely timed fireworks starbursts. As promised, Tinkerbelle did more than just sail past Sleeping Beauty Castle from the top of the Matterhorn. She now swoops up, down, and seemingly around the castle just as fans have seen her do for years at the opening of various World of Disney television shows.

The portion of Remember… that pays tribute to the lands and classic attractions of Disneyland also thrilled the crowd. Virtually everyone within earshot joined in with late legendary character and voice actor Paul Frees as the recording of his admonition to visitors of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion echoed throughout the park.

The unison recitation was interrupted only briefly when a loud cheer went up from the crowd for a dazzling pyrotechnic effect simulating the Mansion's famous stretching room. So spectacular was the effect that when Frees' Ghost Host arrived, with the audience still faithfully chanting the dialogue along with him, at the portion of the spiel that goes,

This chamber has no windows and no doors, which offers you this chilling challenge…to find a way out!

Of course there's always my way.

virtually the entire crowd, from one end of Main Street to the other, looked straight up into the night skies above Disneyland expecting to see some representation of a skeleton hanging by a noose, just as they do in the opening moments of the actual Haunted Mansion ride.

The joyous interaction of Disneyland guests with the audio portions of Remember… reached a rousing crescendo with both the English and Spanish versions of the Matterhorn's final safety warning:

Remain seated please.

Permanecer sentados por favor.

Dance With Me

Throughout the day, despite the size of the crowd and the continual threat of bad weather, guests, many of whom had driven all night to be at Disneyland for this the first day of the Happiest Homecoming on Earth celebration, lavished praise on virtually every aspect of the celebration.

Echoing statements made by longtime Imagineers and former cast members attending the preceding day's media event, guest after guest raved about "how good the park looks." Referring to the benign state of neglect Disneyland had fallen into during the 90s, guests repeatedly said things like, "Disneyland is back and it's better than ever," and, "Walt would have been so proud of what they've done for his Disneyland." Judging by the length of the checkout lines in the shops, guests also loved the new commemorative 50^th Anniversary merchandise offerings.

On and off throughout the day Disneyland guests formed a waiting line to see the new Disneyland: The First Magical 50 Years exhibit and film featuring former cast member Steve Martin and Donald Duck. They even staked out prime viewing sites along the parade route hours before each performance of Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams.

The only minor criticism expressed at any point during the day involved a single aspect of the parade. Guests reported that they loved the Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams parade units, special effects, and performances of both the live and animatronic characters. A great many of them, however, said they were a "bit" or "a little" disappointed with the parade's "performance stops."

Several times during the parade, all the parade units and their respective musical scores come to a complete halt for what is called a performance stop. The live performers line both sides of the parade route facing the scores of guests watching the parade and sing and dance to the parade's signature tune Welcome from Disney's animated feature Brother Bear.

The highly infectious Phil Collins song along with the fresh, bright, warm, and inviting faces of the energetic singers and dancers just inches away from them left many of Disneyland's guests with an overwhelming desire to join in the celebration.

This proved to be especially true of guests who had recently experienced one of the preview performances of DCA's Block Party Bash, a highlight of which is mass audience participation in this rolling street party.

"I guess I was just so ready to join in," said one Disneyland guest following a performance of Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams. "After Block Party (Bash), it just seemed like what I expected to be able to do."

Guests may be expecting to join in both Disneyland's and DCA's rolling street performances but that's not what Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) had in mind.

"We wanted both parades to be two unique guest experiences," said Steve Davison, Creative Director Parades and Spectaculars Disney Creative Entertainment. "Because Block Party Bash is intended to be such an immersive guest experience, we consciously decided not to involve the guests in Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams."

Whether Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams eventually includes Disneyland's guests in its performance stops or not doesn't seem to really matter. According to Davison, Disneyland Resort management currently plans to run the parade twice a day, as is, everyday from now "until at least this time next year."

Honorary Ambassador for the Happiest Homecoming on Earth celebration Julie Andrews welcomes everyone.