Hitchhiking ghosts grace a photo collage outside the Haunted Mansion -- and what's that on the portico?

The vehicles set outside attractions are easy to find - just wait your turn and hop in for your picture moment. To ride one of the golden vehicles on Dumbo or Snow White's Scary Adventure, you'll just have to get lucky in line - there's no more than one at each attraction!

Happiest Faces on Earth
The Insider reported last winter on the effort to collect photographs for the Happiest Faces on Earth, a photo-collage project to adorn Disneyland park for the 50th celebration. We're happy to report that you delivered - by the thousands! The collages can be seen throughout the Park, and they're spectacular. In different shapes and sizes, they're a visual treat. Happiest Faces coordinator Sayre Wiseman pointed out that one of the coolest collages is easy to miss - tucked away in Critter Country is a hanging mobile featuring Winnie the Pooh, his balloon, and a swarm of angry circling bees - all rendered in photo collage. Have you got friends and family among the swarm?

Remember...Dreams Come True
For the grand finale, we've come to the event that closes a day at Disneyland park with a bang - and a sparkle. "Remember... Dreams Come True" is the latest pyrotechnic marvel to grace the skies over Disneyland park, and show designer Steve Davison says that it's so much more than fireworks. Incredibly, he took on the challenge of simultaneously working on the new parade, Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams, and Remember... Dreams Come True.

 

What do we see in Mr. Toad's hand? Maybe a closer look will make it clear...

"My conception was, we're going to do e-tickets in the sky. We're going to take everything people love about Disneyland and weave it through the park," he says. "We spent about a year and a half developing the soundtrack with composer Greg Smith."

The show incorporates custom pyrotechnics in unusual shapes and colors, but also an audio track drawn from all over the Park - the familiar spooky sounds of the Haunted Mansion, the Disneyland Railroad, and even the familiar voices of Julie Andrews and Walt Disney himself.

Far from watching the show transpire at a distance, guests will find themselves surrounded on all sides by fireworks, lasers, and sound. Sleeping Beauty Castle changes color, sounds "move" through the park via an elaborate new speaker system, and Tinker Bell herself soars over the crowd as you've never seen her before.

"Usually when you see fireworks, they're so far away that they look like flat circles," explains Steve. "But they're actually three-dimensional balls, and 'Remember... Dreams Come True' puts you completely in the middle of the show.

"Someone described it last week as 'the biggest dark ride ever created,'" he continues, a comparison that connects the show to archetypal Disneyland attractions like Space Mountain, the Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean.

 

The Happiest Faces on Earth collages are everywhere at Disneyland park.

We asked Steve the crucial question: What's the prime spot from which to catch the show?

"There are different places," he explains. "You can stand right in front of the castle, which is a great place - you get a great view of the new Tinker Bell. Or you can stand at the hub, where Main Street empties into the center of the park. A really cool place to go is the train station in Town Square, because you get to see the entire show. Fantasmic!'s a great spot. It's really a beautiful sight to see the fireworks on the water, and you still see Tinker Bell. To be honest, you can see it anywhere. You can be on Small World and have the experience of being right under the fireworks.

"But where I always stand," he admits, "is between the Walt statue and the end of Main Street. I stand right in the middle. If you ever want to see me and I'm here, that's where I will be. I film it from there."

There's still more to the Happiest Homecoming on Earth - special events and decorations at Disney parks around the world, a new parade at Disney's California Adventure, brand-new attractions, and 18 months of party fun and surprises. It's a splendid way to say, "Happy golden anniversary, Disneyland!"