If you think about it, Disneyland for free on your birthday is a genius idea concocted up by the Disney execs. Nobody goes to Disney alone, so even if you get in free, you'll be bringing others with you. You still have to pay for parking, food, souvenirs (and hotels if you stay for more than one day). And, for people like myself (cheap and busy) who would probably never go back to Disneyland in their adult life, the invitation to go for free on my birthday is compelling.
But lucky for me, and my significant other, we share the same birthday. (How often does that happen though?) So while the regular admission price is about 70 dollars for a regular day pass, we both got in, completely free, on our birthday.
I highly recommend that people try and date only people who share a birthday. The possibilities are endless! Free Disneyland is just the beginning. You never forget their birthday. You can have two parties in one. You can blow out the candles together. And if you're really cheap like we are, you can just agree not to get each other presents, because you already have Valentine's day for that. Now if both of your birthdays are February 14th... wow. I think we're onto something here.
If you are a resident of California, and you take advantage of this Disney for free thing, you also get a free pass to go to California Adventures for free, as long as you go within a month's time. We're planning on going in a few days.
You can also save even more money if you A. Bring a sack lunch. B. Park in downtown Disney where it's free if you wake up early enough. C. Don't buy souvenirs. And D. Stay at a friend's house in the area.
The only problem with my birthday in particular is that this year it fell on the Saturday directly before Easter Sunday, a weekend among spring breakers, and family vacationers, who all decided to take themselves to their nearest theme park featuring a small mouse with big ears. In a very understated word, it was "crowded." And with even a hint of claustrophobia, this particular day would make you cry.
You'd think our economy was doing just fine on a day like that.
We arrived at Disneyland just after it opened, and we stayed until midnight, after the fireworks display, and after going on a few of our favorites a second time. Yes, that's right. Pirates of the Carribean, and Haunted Mansion are worthy of a repeat. It had been 10 years since I had been on those rides, and it may be 10 before I go again, so we decided to cleanse our system of it. We were fortunate enough on our second run-through, to be at the front of the boat in Pirates. The experience of being at the bow was fantastic. You don't even notice there are other people in the ride with you. It's a bit more immersive, and totally worth it if you can snatch that spot.
I was also surprised to see the revisions made to fit with the Pirates movies. A few anamatronic Johnny Depps were in motion around the ride. It was occasionally like a moving Where's Waldo, a game of "find the Depp." And the audio recordings had been changed to fit the franchise as well; animated Pirates now speak about Jack Sparrow and his whereabouts.
Otherwise the ride was the same. Awesome. But the same. Personally, I am glad they didn't change too much.
The Haunted Mansion was exactly the same as it was 10 years ago (and probably 20 before that). No additions of Eddie Murphy to be found (thank goodness). And it was amusing to hear guests recite the narrator's lines at the beginning of the ride as the walls stretch upwards. I think my birthday partner might just know most of them herself.
At the end of the day, my feet were tired, my back was sore, and my camera's SD card was getting full. We saw everything from Toon Town, to Tomorrow Land, to Critter Country. We went on every ride we could stand waiting in line for. We skipped a few big ones and went on some unpopular little ones instead (Pooh's ride, the canoe thingy, Honey I shrunk the Audience, etc.)
In the end, I've satiated my desire to go to Disneyland at least until next year, when I may just go on my birthday again (if the marketing people stick with this idea).
