The Disneyland Bucket List: 40 Things You Need to Do Before You Die
33. Earn a Disney Coast to Coast medal
Takes major time and money investment and some serious training if you
aren't already a runner. But if you complete the half-marathons at both
Disneyland and Disney World in the same year, you earn a special
"Partners" medal. At the very least, do a 5K or 10K walk inside and
outside the park; whatever the route, you'll still see sides of the
place you didn't know existed.
34. Dine at Club 33
It's almost become a cliché to boast about having eaten here, but for
almost a half-century this has been THE finest way to lord your Disney
elitism over envious friends -- in large part because it costs upwards
of $25,000 a year to be a member. The food is very good, not exactly
great. Crashing the exclusivity of it all, including movie props and
costumes only located inside, is what makes it a must.
35. Relax in 1901
If you can find someone to take you to Club 33, use that person again to
get you into this exclusive lounge inside the Carthay Circle Theatre,
after you've sampled treats from the restaurant downstairs. This
leather-chair space, named after the year Walt Disney was born and
affixed with animated cels from the studio's early days, is intended to
give off an animators' club vibe -- a secret respite amid the bustle of
California Adventure.
36. Spend a night in the Dream Suite
One more gotta-know-someone experience, but perhaps the ultimate, um,
dream to achieve. Back when Walt was alive, he, his wife Lilly and
Gone with the Wind
set designer Dorothea Redmond started building a luxury pad atop
Pirates of the Caribbean as a VIP space to entertain guests. For nearly
two decades after Disney's death in '66, it languished uselessly, then
functioned as an art gallery for two more decades, starting in '87. In
2008, the original plan was resurrected, complete with two master
bedrooms -- one in Frontierland style, the other Adventureland -- a
trove of special effects in each room, and a massive bathtub adorned by a
giant stained-glass window. Staying here also gets you access to the
balcony overlooking New Orleans Square (best seats in the house for
Fantasmic!) plus a nighttime walking tour. In your jammies, if you wish.
37. Find all the Hidden Mickeys
There are more than 100 of them hidden throughout the park, from manhole
covers in Toontown to a silhouette of one in the Big Ben clock tower on
Peter Pan's Flight. You've got the rest of your life to find the rest.
38. Step inside Walt's apartment
Again: good luck. Disney's private home away from home looks down upon
the Main St roundabout from atop the nearby fire station (the light is
always left on, in tribute). It's typically only seen via V-VIP tours --
and even then it isn't always included, or approached for more than a
glimpse. Still something of a mecca for those who think the innovator
might someday be cryogenically unfrozen and reside here once more.
39. Do Disneyland and Disney World in the same day
This'll cost ya, obviously, and it's a rather dubious honor, but still,
how cool would it be to say you rode BOTH Space Mountains in less than
double-digit hours? Answer: VERY COOL. It’s also entirely possible:
start when Orlando opens, catch a timely flight, and you could make it
to Anaheim well before fireworks. Abet such madness by purchasing a
bicoastal annual pass for just over a grand.
40. Play basketball inside the Matterhorn
Listen: you very likely will never accomplish this. There's only one
conceivable way to get to what's referred to as "the fifth floor," upon
which there is indeed a small court, where years ago mountain climbers
took breaks to shoot hoops. That way is to actually work at the
Matterhorn. And at a high-enough clearance level that you won't get
fired for entering this minimalist man cave. Pulling off that feat is
equivalent to checking off the rest of this list combined.
