Disneyland All-Nighter 2014 RECAP

For the second time in my life, I have spent 24 straight hours at Disneyland. This year, I decided not to show up for the opening of the park, because last year I just wasn't able to get enough sleep. Unfortunately, I missed the opening ceremony with Josh Gad from Frozen, but I saw plenty of other recognizable faces (most notably Drake Bell), wandering around the park. This year, my friends and I showed up at 7:45AM May 23rd and stayed until 7:45AM May 24th. We had just finished high school, and wanted to celebrate by having the time of our lives. Having gone to last year's all-nighter, I can say that Disney outdid themselves this year.

Everything that went wrong last year was fixed this year. No rides closed after midnight, as far as I could tell. Fastpasses were accommodated all morning, so I was able to use my Space Mountain Fastpass from 2PM, at 4AM. As expected, many rides shut down over the course of the all-nighter, but that was only a bonus, as it meant we could come back and use our Fastpasses later.

The only downside to this extravaganza was that spending that much time at Disneyland really puts the cost into perspective. I have an annual pass, and I still spent almost 100 dollars on food alone. Of course that isn't a typical Disneyland experience, but it made me realize how much I take for granted the ability to spend a day at Disneyland and bring my own lunch or eat outside the park. I have occasionally defended Disney's high price range, but I just think it's a matter of smart spending. With the upcoming price increase, I think my next annual pass will be a couple notches lower.