DisLove Podcast with Vanessa and Kris

DisLove E158: Special Episode Reliving the Magic: Inside Disneyland's Sold-Out After Dark 90s Nite

Vanessa Ferguson and Kris Johns Season 6 Episode 158

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We review our experience at Disneyland's sold-out After Hours 90s Night event, sharing all the nostalgic goodness from character meet-and-greets to special entertainment offerings that made this $149 ticket worthwhile.

• Received a 90s-style fanny pack as the complimentary gift upon entry
• Character meet-and-greets included DuckTales characters, Rescue Rangers, Indiana Jones, and characters from 90s animated films
• Special photo backdrops featuring Inspector Gadget, Gummy Bears, and other 90s Disney shows
• Excellent themed food including a Dunkaroo-inspired churro with buttercream dip
• 90s sing-along featuring surprise guest Susan Egan from Hercules
• Special parade featuring Lion King, Hercules, Pocahontas and Mulan with an incredibly catchy theme song
• Unique Disney California culture with many influencers and photo opportunities
• Merchandise included a popular Powerline Max popcorn bucket that sold out quickly

Use code DISLOVE10 to save 10% off your next order with Kevin and Amanda's park scavenger hunts, which help you discover hidden details throughout Disney parks.


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Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Dids Love Podcast with Vanessa and Chris. I'm Vanessa Ferguson.

Speaker 2:

And I'm Chris Johns.

Speaker 1:

We would like to welcome you to show number 158. And for any listeners joining us for the first time. Our show features things we love at Disney and in each episode we have a guest who creates Disney magic for our listeners at home or on their Disney vacations. From vacation planners to product producers, our guests can bring Disney magic into your life. And, as a reminder to our listeners, we appreciate if you take time to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or any other platform where you listen. That helps new listeners find us and, of course, helps the show grow. Now, before we get started, we have a message from our friends Kevin and Amanda.

Speaker 2:

You've never experienced Disney. Until you experience what Kevin and Amanda have to offer. Their product when in the Park is awesome. What it is is it's a scavenger hunt for your favorite parks. What's great about this is that we Florida would be awesome we were. I've been to. Vanessa told me I've been to California twice before. I don't remember the first one, but what it does is you have these cards with clues and you go through different lands back and forth, finding things that you have seen but you've never seen.

Speaker 1:

Now we did way better. When we've done it at Epcot, we are going to be talking about some time that we spent at Disneyland Park and California Adventure. Not so good, it took us a lot longer, but it was still fun.

Speaker 2:

Well, we're just not familiar with it. But again, what was awesome is like I had the card, I'd be holding it up and I'd be looking around, and what was great and what cut this short is that you're going to see Disney like you've never seen before, and not only do they have Disney, but they have also parks like Universal. And use the code DISLOVE10, d-i-s-l-o-v-e 1-0-DISLOVE10 to save 10% off your next order.

Speaker 1:

And we will make sure to share that link in the show notes. And to add to what Chris said, what did we also get to do when we were using the cards?

Speaker 2:

We got to meet Kevin and Amanda, and that's why I think the one thing I'm kind of going a little longer with this promo is that Kevin and Amanda number one are awesome. Her mom is awesome and they created a product that just is generally really fun, and what's great about it is that unless you're really going to a ride, you know if you have a fast pass to your ride. You're just walking. With this, you have real intention and it is really so much fun. I'm looking forward to doing these again in the future.

Speaker 1:

Yes, for sure, and we have some pictures I'll share of us with Kevin and Amanda and doing some things with them when we were in the park. So super excited for you guys to check that out yourself. And again, if it's a park you not really know a lot about, it was fun for us because we got to see a lot of details that we might have missed. And for those parks that you love going to, you're just going to see so much more that you would never have noticed before. So today is one of our special episodes. We periodically have a special episode where we are talking about a special event or some sort of thing that we attended, and in this episode we are going to talk about our trip to California and, in particular, we are going to talk about an event we attended called Disneyland After Hours 90s Night, and this was on March 6th A note they only had two of these dates, so it was a sold out event and this was something that in February they had like Sweethearts Night and then in March they had the 90s Night and, as I mentioned, it was sold out. It was $149 for the ticket. We're going to talk about some of the highlights and some of the things that we thought were great, some of the things that we weren't as impressed with. So we're going to talk a little bit about all of the things related to the event.

Speaker 1:

I will preface this. We probably might have enjoyed it a little more. We had traveled that day from Michigan. We flew to Arizona, we drove from Arizona to Anaheim. We made a few stops along the way, so by the time we got to the party we had been up, I think, 20 hours. We were so happy to be there. Yes, so to get started, chris, just in general. I have some more specific questions to ask, but what was your overall impression of the event?

Speaker 2:

It was awesome. It was just one of those things where I mean I'll say I grew out a lot of those shows, but the ones I was really I got my foot with Scrooge McDuck. It's just an awesome vibe. And I think the one thing is you know, you go to a Disney park and you'll see people from eight days, eight months to 88 years old, and so I think the nice thing about this is that it did trend 40s and it's just a different vibe and just people having fun. There's nothing like nostalgia.

Speaker 1:

And to kind of add to that, I will say I was also surprised at how many people were not alive in the 90s that were there, that were totally into it too.

Speaker 2:

Correct, and it's just fun to see people enjoy the shows that you watched as a kid and got my photos that I love to do, but it was just a great night.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. So my overall impression was I did enjoy the event. I enjoyed the night. There's certain aspects of it that we're going to talk about. There were some things that we just we prioritized doing what we could get into and enjoying the night rather than spending two hours in line for one thing. So that was something that was kind of our priority. We did meet our friend that had came down from Northern California because we had a big group that was going to be actually going on a cruise a few days later, a Disney cruise, which we'll review on another episode. But overall I think it was well worth it. There had been rain earlier in the day. The rain stopped.

Speaker 1:

I got decked out in my 90s gear, so it was a lot of fun for that. It was very nostalgic. As Chris mentioned, there were some things that were dear to like my childhood and then other things that might have been a little bit older or different things. But overall I will say the night I thought it was great. We've been to so many after hours events at Disney World. We've done like the Villains Night, We've done the ones that are targeted for DVC, We've done just the regular after hours, and then the DVC ones are those Moonlight Magics. So we've been to a lot of nighttime events and like Christmas party, Halloween party, all of those.

Speaker 2:

All of them.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so we. I will say as a comparison it's very comparable. You did get when you went into the park, you got a fanny pack, which I thought was great and that was kind of your gift for the night. One thing that I thought overall was they had a lot more offerings than if you go to a park in Florida. I thought, like the Christmas party or the Halloween party, this one had a lot more offerings than you would have saw at some of those different parties. So, as Chris mentioned, there were a lot of great things Now they had. They gave you a guide that had all of the different food offerings. And we did end up we met our friend right away. We had dinner with her at the Riverbell Terrace. We went and had dining there and they had a full menu that was specifically for a 90s night. I will say the main food. I mean it was good. I don't think it was anything way awesome, but it was.

Speaker 2:

I don't remember any of the food.

Speaker 1:

It was a long day. You had some sort of rib thing and I had a taco thing. Yeah, I had a taco thing that was kind of supposed to be like a Crunchwrap Supreme kind of throwback. But then they also had just a whole slew of snacks and I only had a chance to try one. They had a churro that was like a Dunkaroo with a buttercream dip. I thought it was good. They had a lot of other fun ones that I would have loved to try.

Speaker 1:

We were full because we ate dinner at Riverbell Terrace and that, but I will say they had a lot more offerings than you typically see at the Christmas or the Halloween parties. I think a lot of that has to do with the culture in California in terms of the Disney culture. They're really into having things that they can have for, like pictures and stuff like that. So some of the other aspects besides the food. They had character meet and greets, as Chris mentioned. There were quite a few of those With the characters. We went and saw some of them and then they also had backdrops. So one of the things that I thought was kind of unique is that there were a couple of characters that they knew were going to be super crowded. So they had Launchpad, huey Dewey and Louie Darkwing, duck and Scrooge McDuck, and what they ended up doing is, I think they just called them walk-by greetings. I don't.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you couldn't go up and get next to them. There was a barrier, but I understand why.

Speaker 1:

And so it moved fast.

Speaker 2:

It did move fast and it wasn't a case where there was, you know, maybe if it was 901 or it was the first meeting, but if you get a little later into the night the characters were so easy to approach you could still get your photos. There's no issues. Just kind of consider it like almost like a COVID photo back when you do like a big selfie and if you have a decent camera it wasn't a problem.

Speaker 1:

So some of the other characters they had was they had Baloo and King Louie, they had Pocahontas and Miku. They also had Belle and Beast, they had Esmeralda and Phoebus and then they had Flick and Princess Etta I think I said that right from Bugs Life. They had Indiana Jones, which I kind of wanted to make it over there to see him but we didn't. They had the monkeys from Fantasmic and then they had Fat Cat and Monterey Jack in Toontown. They also had Rescue Rangers, chip and Dale. Now, some of those did have longer lines so we didn't do all of them. But they also had really cool photo like backdrop things that they've started to do at like the Christmas parties, and we did a lot of those. We did Inspector Gadget and then they had from Rescue Rangers and a bunch of the different cartoons. So that was fun and we were able to.

Speaker 1:

As part of your ticket you got the photo downloads from the PhotoPass photos. So that was nice. We were able to get quite a few nice photos that evening and those were all included evening and those were all included. So if you didn't have a I don't even know what they are for the PhotoPass in California to be able to have the unlimited downloads, but you got all of your photos from that night. So everything that we did get we were able to download. And of course, they had you do lots of different scenes. They were doing super cool projections on the castle, so they also had the projections on the Matterhorn and you were able to get photos and that was really great. We got some really good photos and we looked nice in them For once for me at least, and we had been up for a long time, so I was impressed it rained on us a little bit.

Speaker 1:

We'd been up a long time, but those photographers were great. Now they also had one of the infamous popcorn buckets.

Speaker 2:

Which one was it?

Speaker 1:

It was Max from the Goofy movie. Okay, so I felt like I wanted one, just because everybody was in a frenzy for one. But we didn't get it because I really have nowhere to use that particular one. Plus it's Max. I mean, if you are really like you're into figment, if there was a figment in the 90s bucket?

Speaker 2:

yeah, of course, but for Max it's just no, thank you.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we didn't stand in line for him and they also had some merchandise for the event. I went over and I got an ornament, my friend got a pin. They were out of some of the items by the time we got there, but I got what I wanted. I love Christmas, as most of you know, put lots of Christmas trees up, so it was. It was great. I was able to get exactly what I wanted. They also had, so it's okay. Here it was Powerline Max bucket, so he was from the Goofy movie, so he was Powerline Max. So that was the big deal about it. I will say especially about the popcorn bucket and in particular, maybe it's my Midwest point of view, but the California people are way more into taking photos of themselves than when you go to Florida.

Speaker 2:

Well, I think, yes, that is true. There's a lot of selfies, a lot of photos.

Speaker 1:

I think influencers were there a lot.

Speaker 2:

Yes, and there was, there was crews, there was people who were dancing, and then you had people with lights and I mean it wasn't professional, but it was what you would expect to go on TikTok and Facebook reels and IG, whatever. It was a lot of it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so. So we love all of our Disney, whatever. It was a lot of it. Yeah, so we love all of our Disney California friends. But I will say it's just changed a lot in the last six or seven years since we were out there.

Speaker 1:

So at this party there were so many people posing with the Max popcorn bucket everywhere, so that was kind of a fun thing to watch. Now, later on in the night they of course they had special stage shows. So there was a good mix of entertainment. And one thing that we couldn't figure out why there was a line out the door for they had a 90s sing along. We're like, oh, that would be fun to go to. Well, there was a line out the door because they had a special guest that showed up totally unannounced, planned, and I think that's why the line got so long, because word got out, probably online. The special guest that appeared at the sing-along was Susan Egan and she, of course, is from Hercules. So I guess that I've saw some videos that look super cool. We walked by. We're like, why is there such a long line for the sing-along? Well, now we know, because my friend and I we wanted to go in there. They also had some dance parties going on over where Fantasmic is Just a lot of just a fun vibe and atmosphere throughout the night.

Speaker 1:

What was your favorite character that you saw? Rouge McDuck, okay, well, I particularly liked some of the backdrops. I will say I was really into some of the backdrops. They had gummy bears. I liked gummy, not gummy bears. You eat gummy bears. Liked gummy, not gummy bears. You eat gummy bears. The show of course that was fun.

Speaker 1:

Um, they also we also did like the duck tails one. Just there was tail spin which I totally would have. I had forgot about until I saw it. Um, we didn't do all of them but, like I mentioned, we did the inspector gadget and that. So I think that was a lot of fun to me, really enjoyed it and overall I think that we I felt like we got our bang for our buck. We stayed till the end when the well, here's the best part though the parade. I was going to say the parade.

Speaker 2:

Well, wait there, there is no event that we are not there till the very end.

Speaker 1:

That is true.

Speaker 2:

We get our value for our vanessa rings out every penny of entertainment now that kind towards the end of the night.

Speaker 1:

So they had a special fireworks which we didn't watch that. But they had a parade and it was on twice and we did our normal strategy. We watched the second one and there, like at magic kingdom we would have watched like from frontier land, there we went to Small World by Small World and that's where the parade kind of ended. The parade has the most catchy fun song.

Speaker 2:

It is the best song.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Speaker 2:

We've listened to it. Number one when you're in the parade, you hear it at least five to six times.

Speaker 1:

Oh, it's so great.

Speaker 2:

It's awesome. Then you want to listen to it on YouTube. And then there's certain are they stanzas? I'm not really certain lyrics like verses. Okay, thank you verses that you just can't understand what you're saying and your mind is scrambling to make up something that makes sense. I think we've listened to a lot. I'm sorry, go ahead I was gonna say.

Speaker 1:

We even went on youtube and put on the the captions, and in those sections that it's driving us crazy. It just says music. So we are on a quest to get the words to this song, but I don't know the words.

Speaker 2:

I want to know who the singer is. I want to follow them. It is such. It's because you hear like those brain worm songs where once you hear, it's like in your head this is one that you're like, please be in my head.

Speaker 1:

So I will put a link to one of the YouTube clips that somebody posted, because we again we can't get it out of our head. But so the parade had this great song and then what they did is they had floats for some of the big, big cartoons that came out during that era. So there was Hercules, there was Pocahontas, there was Mulan I feel like I'm missing another one but the oh Lion King. So they had floats and walking characters for that. So it was a lot of fun. It wasn't super long, but the song was great. I think on the loop that I've watched online there's, it's about 11 minutes long the whole thing, but well worth it. And then those characters they had all of the characters from the parade at the end, kind of like a kiss, good night, almost at the train station when you were leaving, and there was a couple of the characters that were so into because they played that song again. So you heard the song again when you were leaving the park and there were some characters that were so into it, which was super fun to see.

Speaker 1:

And I think overall I don't know this was our first after hours event at Disneyland, so I really don't have a comparison, but it was something I would highly recommend If we, even though it was the day we got there, I am so glad that we spent the money and we went to it because it was just a fun night. I think it was a great way for us to kick off our trip because this was the first day of our trip and they had, besides the parade, they also had, like I mentioned, they had the sing-along. They did have a dance party that was with Goofy and Max. We saw that one kind of from a distance when we were waiting in line for some things. They had a couple other just kind of like random pop-ups. But overall, I think it was really great. I would recommend it. Hopefully Disney does it again because it seemed to be very popular. It did sell out. So definitely, if you are at Disneyland, I would recommend doing any of after-hours events. It seemed like it was a great time.

Speaker 2:

It was awesome. It's just it's a great time and if you're over, I would say probably 38, 35, you'll love it. I mean just because it's not just characters that you've watched but you grew up with and that you before dvds and youtube. It's just a great time and people are happy.

Speaker 1:

It's a great time yes, so I will share. We'll share lots of pictures, I'll share some links to that song so you can get that song in your head as well, and we'd love to hear from you and hear some. If any of you have attended different events at Disneyland, I will say there's just a little bit different vibe there than what you experience in Florida, I think, because there are so many local people there that attend those events. So it's just kind of a good experience and a great way to kick off our time there. So definitely we'll share lots of information about it. But before we wrap up, Again.

Speaker 2:

We just wanted to share a great message from our friends Eric and Alexa, with BabyQuip. We used them on our trip Top service, excellent product. We got a stroller just because it was one of those things where we traveled across the country. It was too big and so, again, we're just very thankful. Things where it's we traveled across the country, it was too big, and so again, we're just very thankful they. They came right to the hotel, they were prompt, they were on time and very nice and gave great instruction. So with that, as your baby quip independent quality provider, they will provide you with excellent customer service. Like we mentioned, awesome products that you can use to make your vacation easy. Check the show notes for more information.

Speaker 1:

Yes, and the great thing, as he kind of mentioned, is that you can do it coast to coast. Baby Quip offers, eric and Alexa can service you in California I'm sorry in Florida, and then we have some great friends out in California that were able to help us out while we were there. So let's go ahead and wrap up our show as usual with our two-minute trivia and our wisdom from Walt Quote Chris, you are up with trivia.

Speaker 2:

So I'm going to ask you one very easy question. It's not the lyrics to that song, is it? It is not, but what was the highest grossing Disney animated film in the 90s? Lion.

Speaker 1:

King, maybe You're right, and that was very easy.

Speaker 2:

I mean that's.

Speaker 1:

No, I wasn't sure.

Speaker 2:

Okay, so after that would be, I'll give you two.

Speaker 1:

Hercules maybe.

Speaker 2:

No, not even close. Mulan, Not even close as well. Hercules, Mulan is 10. And this is animated movies, but it's all Disney at the top. Mulan 10. Herculescules 11. So my question was number two was Aladdin. Oh, I didn't think about Aladdin, I forgot about Aladdin. Number three was Toy Story 2. Which made more money? Tarzan or Beauty and the Beast? Beauty and the Beast no.

Speaker 1:

No, I should have known that was the trick.

Speaker 2:

But here's the thing In 1991, beauty and the Beast made $424 million and eight years later, 1999, tarzan earned $448. So, you'd think, with just inflation. So that's the part. I would argue that because I have never seen Tarzan and I've seen Beauty and the Beast, beauty and the Beast is technically the fourth highest.

Speaker 1:

Tarzan has some good music.

Speaker 2:

Yes, but I just reordered this list because of my preference.

Speaker 1:

Well, that's very interesting for sure. So let's go ahead and we will wrap up with our Wisdom from Walt quote. And I thought this was great because we talked about something at Disneyland. Disneyland has that thing the imagination and the feeling of happy excitement I knew when I was a kid. So, hopefully, exactly what Chris just said, and I picked the quote before he even talked about it. Just that nostalgia, taking you back to that time when you were a kid. That's what that whole event was all about. So make sure to check us out on Buzzsprout and all of our social media pages. You can see links to all of our other episodes and, of course, listen to us on any platform where you listen to podcasts and follow us for even more Disney magic. So thank you so much for joining us on this episode of the Dislove Podcast with Vanessa and Chris. I'm Vanessa.

Speaker 2:

And I'm Chris. This podcast is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company or its holdings, and it is intended for entertainment purposes only.