On March 10, 2009, Disney launched a new fan club called D23 and one year later, they held their first anniversary party at Disneyland – a 3 hour event held after closing in Disneyland’s own Fantasyland and with last a last minute opening of Captain EO and Astro Orbiters for the guests to enjoy.

The event itself was something really unique and one wouldn’t have gone for just merely going to the park, but to experience an after hours private party within the heart of Disneyland.

In this posting, I will be sharing some photos of the event and some insight on the experience as it really was one of a kind. Out of all the times I’ve been to the park, this one will stand out the most as it is the one that will probably never happen again (or at least not for a while).

Upon arrival to the parking lot, we were greeted by all the guests leaving. It was weird arriving to the park at 8:45 PM when people were leaving or just arriving that late on a school night. We had the tram almost all to ourself which was great.

As soon as we reached the main gates itself, we got our tickets and welcoming packet which included a welcome letter from D23 founder, Steven Clark, along with a press release for their new 2010 event, Destination D: Disneyland 55. More information on that new event can be found on the D23 Official Website.

Not surprisingly, Disney had cameras all over the event, filming interviews with its thousands of guests along with cameras from FOX 11 news (more on this later).

The magic started as soon as we stepped inside when we were greeted by a nearly empty Main Street. Often, it’s filled with the hustle and bustle of guests and vehicles, but not tonight.

Of course, I took advantage of this opportunity to get some fun pictures for my Facebook

But soon enough, we reached the hub and were about to enter the “party zone.” What’s that I see in the distance? A D23 banner welcoming the guests?

Oh why, yes it is! This event definitely had D23 stamped all over it, really delivering the quality and experience they’ve provided its members the past year. Walking through the castle, the D23 team was standing along side the castle walkway and bridge, applauding and personally welcoming each guests, and once inside, the fun really began.

At first, I have to admit, it did seem not so promising as all the guests first headed to ride some rides. I headed for the one with the least wait – Pinnochio – and rode it. Fortunately, but unfortunately, the ride broke down on us. Typically, this would be exciting, but since it happened when we were the car next to the exit queue, we we didn’t get to see anything within the ride.

Once we got off the ride, the party was in full gear. Guests were socializing with each other and they had a full snack bar open for guests. As you can see, my brother was really excited for this.

The deserts were fabulous! I didn’t try everything, but the cookies and that little bread thing with a fruit on top was just so delicious! It’s something I definitely never had within the park. Any idea what’s it called or where they sell it?

And like D23 promised, rarely before seen characters came out for photo opportunities. In the next two photos, we see the Three Little Pigs and Band Leader Mickey.

They also brought out some of their iconic vehicles. Up top, their Grand Marshall car that they now use for the Honorary Volunteers Calvacade or whatever it’s called, and below, Cinderella’s transportation device.

It’s a Small World, being part of Fantasyland, was most definitely open. Notice the new sign. There was absolutely no line for this ride, along with all the others, as people were really taking in the out of the ordinary experiences D23 was offering for the night.

With no waits for virtually all the rides available, we took this opportunity to ride the often crowded rides. First, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride followed by Peter Pan.

And like I said, some rarely seen characters came out to play.

Cameras were definitely all over the park. Each guests brought their own cameras, but Disney had their own sets conducting interviews. Below, we see Disney interviewing Steven Clark of D23.

I apologize for the blurry pictures. Night shots are not easy to take so I tried my best.

Speaking of trying my best, I tried my best to get a picture with a Disney Legend present in the park – Richard Sherman – but he was quite popular and frequently moved that I didn’t get my chance to meet him. However, below is my best attempt at a picture of him.

So now off to the tea cups. As you can see, there were cameras present EVERYWHERE.

While waiting in line, I was just looking at the Matterhorn, wishing it was open for guest enjoyment. But nope, it reopens on Friday.

So enough with Fantasyland. My brother and I decided to go off to see Captain EO, but wait…what’s this? A group of people and some cameras?

Turned out to be Mark Thompson was at the event reporting it’s happenings. For anybody that was happening to watch the Fox 11 news at 10pm, you might’ve seen me in some of their D23 party coverage.

After they finished the short report on Disney’s D23 party, we went off to see Captain EO.

My thoughts on this? Not to be negative, but I was somewhat disappointed. The copy wasn’t that great of a quality and projectors didn’t seem to align properly with each other so my glasses often caused ghosting of the 3D image. I forgive them a bit on this assuming that these “faults” were due to the age of the film. I will admit though that the music was great and is a good replacement for Honey I Shrunk the Audience.

After EO, we headed back to Fantasyland. Little did we know, we were already hitting our last hour at the park, so we tried to get as much as we can. We right away headed for Cinderella again to get a picture with her.

Celebrities definitely were present in the park, most of which were Disney celebrities. Tony Baxter, Bob Gurr, Richard Sherman were the ones I recognized. However Bill Farmar, voice of Goofy, was also there. There was also this man below. People were flocking to him, but I could NOT tell who he was. If you know who he was, please leave a comment below. I definitely am curious.

UPDATE: So that man I didn’t know was Michael-Leon Wooley who played Louis the Gator from Disney’s film, Princess and the Frog.

Malificent was there. Very cool costume which I haven’t seen around.

With 30 minutes to go, we decided to start heading out.

Disney was running their Main Street vehicles for guests to enjoy. It was definitely fun riding them without the hustle and bustle of Main Street we typically see.

A double decker bus really provides a cool view of main street.

BUT WAIT! It’s not the end of the night just yet! Here are a few more characters we saw hanging out with us.

Things I missed to see was the actual opening of the party, which started at around 9pm. I arrived shortly after 9, maybe around 9:10pm, so I unfortunately missed this. From what I heard, they had a small fireworks show to welcome guests.

And that concludes the trip report. Once again, it really was an experience that really surpassed my expectations. The food was great and all the cast members were enthusiastic about the party just as much, if not more, than the members attending the party. Each guest left with a smile on their face and a new collectable pin in hand, obviously satisfied, but also sad that that the night was over.

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Lastly, to the D23 staff that put this all together, I want to say Thank You for a job well done. I look forward to the second year of D23 fun.