Disneyland Park — Attraction in Anaheim

✨ Three Hours of Magic: A Late-Night Visit to the Land of Dreams 🌙

Some of the best nights aren’t planned. They just… happen.

It was late. The kind of late where most people are winding down, turning off lights, brushing their teeth. But for us? It felt like the perfect time to start something. No plan. No schedule. Just a last-minute thought that turned into a memory.

We pulled in around 9:00 PM. Most would think, “Why go so late?” But sometimes, that’s the magic hour. The crowds thin. The air cools. The lights start to glow a little differently. It’s like the whole place takes on a new energy — something you can feel in your chest.

We walked through the gates just as the Summer Electric Parade was beginning.

I don’t have the right words to describe it fully. “Magnificent” comes close. Lights twinkling, music rising, characters floating by like they stepped straight out of your childhood. People of all ages lining the street, eyes wide, phones up, but hearts even more awake. The kind of parade that reminds you why this place is special — not just for kids, but for anyone with a little wonder still left inside.

We didn’t stay long to watch it, though. Something was calling us forward.

We made our way toward the train — that iconic Disneyland Railroad — and hopped on to head to New Orleans Square. There’s something about the train at night. The rhythm of the tracks. The glow of the lamps. You feel like you're going somewhere far, even though it’s just across the park. And that’s kind of the point.

Our destination? The Haunted Mansion.

We had heard it got a makeover. But wow… we weren’t ready for what we saw.

Outside, things looked familiar. That eerie charm was still there. But inside? They had changed it — and in the best way. Details were richer. Scenes were deeper. The story felt even more alive. You could tell it was the same ride — the same heartbeat — but polished in a way that felt respectful and fresh.

We all got quiet during the ride. Not out of fear, but respect. It was that good.

When it ended, we stepped into something totally new — the new Haunted Mansion store. And wow… just wow. It wasn’t just merchandise. It was an experience. You could get lost in the details. Hidden references. Little design choices that only the true fans would catch. It was dark and elegant and kind of mysterious in the best way.

We didn’t spend long there either. There was more to see.

Next, we made our way to what I still call Star Wars Land. (I know it has a real name, but this one feels right to me.) It’s like walking into another world. Everything around you shifts — the lights, the sounds, the atmosphere. You feel like you’re on another planet.

We had hoped to ride Rise of the Resistance, but it was down. That kind of thing happens. But it didn’t matter. Because as we walked near the Millennium Falcon, something caught our eye — a new projection show lighting up the rocks above the ship.

And let me tell you: AWESOME. No — ABSOLUTELY AWESOME.

The lights, the music, the way it made the whole space come alive — it was one of those moments that wasn’t in any guidebook. One of those things you stumble into and just feel lucky to witness.

We stood there for a while, not saying much. Just taking it in. Sometimes that’s all you need.

The night was getting shorter, but we weren’t done yet.

We zipped across the park to Big Thunder Mountain. There’s something about riding that rollercoaster at night — the wind feels faster, the turns feel sharper, and the lights of the park in the distance make it all feel like a dream. We laughed, we screamed, we held on tight. It was short, but perfect.

And then — with maybe an hour to spare — we made our way into Fantasyland.

Call them kiddie rides if you want, but the “dark rides” in that little corner of the park are something else when the clock is close to midnight. Peter Pan, Snow White, Mr. Toad, Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland… we hit them all. No long waits. Just one after another. Classic stories, glowing sets, and that soft, magical lighting that...

First time here and I’m an adult so take this review however you’d like. It’s long!

The first thing I notice is this place is cool and instantly has old time nostalgia feel. That’s about all the good feeling you get when you realize what it really is, which is a huge money grab. I get it, businesses need to make money. This business averages 12 million a day though and parts of it felt dated. I guess I expected more for how much it costs. The app is so ridiculously convoluted it’s not even funny. You’re lucky if it even works properly. You can get the genie pass but it’s just a money grab because you still have to wait until your time slot is ready, you also can’t pick another ride until that rides time slot is used. So technically you still wait to ride but just not in the line, sometimes the wait time for your time slot is longer than actually standing and waiting. We kept getting an issue with time slots, it would say something like 4pm and we click confirm and it would move it to 4 hours later at like 8pm. It made absolutely zero sense. I feel like with all the money Disney has, you should have a simple ticket app that is quick and easy. Instead they try to jam everything into one app and it just gets weird. Lightning pass was confusing too, it comes with genie+ but it also doesn’t. If you want it for Star Wars rise of the resistance you have to pay an additional $26 per person. Again another money grab. Food I feel was overhyped and overpriced, I know there are plenty of Disney loyalist but the $24 monte cristo that was 90% dough and 10% meat/cheese wasn't good. I wish I were exaggerating. We also felt rushed to eat, not much service at the cafe just an eat and get out. I did get a wrap at the Star Wars area and it was much better, cool coke bottle too. The Rides were underwhelming, most were over an hour wait and I just didn’t understand what all the fuss was on some. Smugglers Run was odd that we had to push buttons and just made the ride unenjoyable and seemed to just use the old mall rides technology. Cockpit moves with the screen, it was alright. Rise of the resistance is definitely the winner at the park, with all rides here it was more of an adventure ride than thrill ride. The rest of the rides just seemed to have cult followings and were fun but not really exciting, rides like pirates, haunted mansion, Indiana jones, space mountain, Matterhorn. Yawn, some of these rides are decades old and you feel it, the nostalgia I get but I wouldn’t mind some rides that make your stomach drop a little. I know I know it’s for kids but adults enjoy Disney too and we have the money. I thinks it’s time to update that entire park. And it wouldn’t hurt to have a couple days a year for adults only… which leads to my next topic. STROLLERS AND ELECTRIC WHEEL CHAIRS. Not sure how many times someone clipped my heels with their strollers or I had to jump out of the way (even when I am as far right as I could possibly go) to avoid them. I can’t imagine it is that enjoyable to push around a 3 year old who will never remember this day. Then for the wheel chairs of people who weren’t actually disabled and would just get up at each ride and walk like nothing was infuriating. Just a bad look. Place is already crowded enough, wish they had more size regulations of how large of strollers you can bring. I know this will get me some heat, yes it’s a kid place, and strollers make it easier for the parents. I get that but at least be polite and not so entitled like everyone has to move for you. Or Disney should have a cut off of where you can bring strollers, no need to walk 3 strollers wide with your crew and block the entire walkways. I went on a Monday after Halloween was over, thought it would be slow since it said it was one of their slower days of the year, kids were in school and it was well before the big holidays. It was jam packed. I guess I’m just old and grouchy now. $300+ later for one person and one day is a bit much for...

The attractions are constantly breaking down and people are cutting the lines pretending to look for relatives. To charge $224/per person for the day when the rides are nonstop broken, and the wait times are super long (encouraging the line cutting), is a little Frye Festival-esque. In addition to the 4 rides that are currently closed for refurbishment, ~13 rides closed temporarily on March 17 (some multiple times). This makes planning out your day impossible as you end up running all over the park and barely get on any rides even with Genie+. Further, all the malfunctions make the Genie+ (Lightening Lane) upgrade not worth getting since everyone gets a “multi-ride pass” when a ride breaks down.

It also makes me worry how safe these rides are. Disney stock hasn’t performed well until recently, and I wonder if they are trying to extend their current parts for as long as possible vs replacing parts before issues arise. The rides didn’t breakdown this much pre-COVID (I was a passholder).

The employees are either super dismissive about the constant ride failures or just desensitized by how often this happens. If you complain/mention anything, they pawn you off on guest services. After the 6th ride failure of the day, I went up to guest services by Matterhorn, the guy looked super bored and stared past my shoulder, then said ok and dismissed me. The departments also alert one another if a guest has a complaint and likely badmouth the guest. When I entered City Hall guest services they were definitely combative. As an adult with fairly thick skin, I am embarrassed that I gave those people the satisfaction of seeing me cry. I was genuinely not expecting them to bully me, humiliate me, gaslight me, and call me a liar (they track when the rides get temporarily shutdown…so how/why would I lie about that).

It took a lot for me to say something to guest services about all the issues at the park (I also had my hair pulled, hoodie pulled, had my seat kicked and had a little girl scream directly into my ears on the Small World ride where a Disney employee saw everything but said nothing…further some teens kept screaming and shoving me while waiting in the RoR line). When the City Hall guest services noticed that my face was red from embarrassment at having to complain, they condescending smiled at me, started talking loudly about their terms and conditions, and refused to refund the useless Genie+. I don’t understand people who enjoy being mean to others. What did I do to deserve that?

Also, be careful if you buy anything at Disney. I bought one of the “sturdier” $60 backpacks and the clasp that adjusted the straps was loose; I only had the bag for a few hours. Guest services refused to let me return it. I had to jump through hoops and show them that the strap adjuster wouldn’t clasp. I felt like I was being taken advantage of; they were basically gaslighting about all of their ride and product quality issues.

As a now former Disney Adult, I see why none of my SoCal friends wanted to go to Disney even after I offered to pay. This is not a magical place, it is a money place for Disney to charge you $224 while they conserve power with ride failures and/or spend time extending their life on your dime.

The most tone deaf aspect about all of this has to be Disney sending me a “very important” survey about how to get me to spend more money on food in the park. First, why don’t you fix the rides, long queues, line cutting, inappropriate cast members and say something about children/teens not touching people, so that folks want to be in the park in the...