Disneyland celebrated the Independence Day holiday over the weekend with special performances from visiting U.S. military groups and, of course, fireworks. The holiday festivities came along with the reopening of the classic Peter Pan’s Flight attraction earlier in the week, which has reopened with some dazzling new special effects. Elsewhere in the parks, work continues on the still-unannounced Innoventions replacement and Disney gets tough with its new selfie-stick ban.
Don’t miss your weekly Disneyland Resort crowd forecast — provided by our friends at Mouseaddict — in the Weekly News and Information Roundup at the end of today’s update!
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We’ve got a special holiday update for you today, so let’s get started!
Welcome to Disneyland! |
Mickey’s Soundsational is still a great parade and afternoon break.
Minnie stands in front of a new “Celebrating 60 Soundsational Years” sign added for the Diamond Celebration
If you’re looking for a good time to visit, weekdays have been pretty great at Disneyland lately. Wait times have been low as temperatures rise – but no matter what day you visit, be prepared for big crowds at night for the new evening parade and fireworks show.
Meanwhile, Buena Vista Street at Disney California Adventure is as beautiful as ever…
Trolley Treats confectioners celebrate the holiday…
Selfie Stuck |
The new ban on selfie sticks at Disney’s theme parks went into effect on Wednesday. Disney is now handing out flyers to all cars arriving at Mickey and Friends Parking Structure and surface lots with the new policy explained in several languages.
If the flyer wasn’t enough, Cast Members and signs notify arriving guests of the new policy at bus and tram loading and unloading zones. If a selfie stick makes it past a tram or bus unloading zone, then Cast at security checkpoints will likely find it during bag check. It’s surprising to see Disney work so hard to enforce the new policy, but with the selfie sticks having become such a safety issue in recent weeks it’s understandable that Disney is pushing so hard to make sure they don’t make it into the parks.
Disney’s America |
Disneyland celebrated Independence Day this year with live performances from visiting U.S. military groups. Below, the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard from Washington, D.C. performed July 2-5 in both Disney California Adventure and Disneyland.
Watch a video of the Honor Guard performing in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle below:
This year, Disneyland opted to run its new 60th Anniversary fireworks show “Disneyland Forever” instead of running its “Celebrate America!” fireworks show for several days leading up to July 4th. The park celebrated the holiday by including a special patriotic grand finale to “Disneyland Forever” on the night of July 4th. Below, we celebrate the Fourth of July with a bunch of new photos of “Disneyland Forever”
In an effort to avoid another crowd issue similar to the one from the 24 hour party, this year Disneyland did not allow guests to camp out and watch fireworks from the main entrance esplanade.
For those who celebrated at Disney California Adventure, a Fourth of July pre-show ran before the new “World of Color Celebrate!” on July 4th.
Our friends at MouseInfo have video of this year’s Fourth of July fireworks finale
Peter Pan takes Flight |
In Fantasyland, the classic Peter Pan’s Flight dark ride reopened last week to long lines after a major refurbishment and enhancement project.
As always, the ride starts off in the nursery which is now much darker and features the Darling children floating in the air with a new Pixie Dust projection effect.
Flying into London Town has been totally refreshed with new colors and Pixie Dust effects
And London itself now features new colors, creating a much more stylized version of the London fly-over that is brighter and move vivid than ever but at the risk of appearing a lot more flat.
Take a full ride-through of the newly-enhanced ride in our video below:
Peter Pan and the Darling children can now be seen walking across the face of Big Ben — a nice new detail but easy to miss.
Throughout the ride, water now looks a lot more realistic and flows throughout the scenes with new digital projection effects.
Neverland looks great with newly-enhanced water and lighting effects.
Overall, the ride looks great after getting cleaned up and refreshed with care. While the re-imagined nursery scene with the children “flying” against the wall isn’t great, it also isn’t terrible. The new pixie dust, water and other lighting effects throughout the ride are nice additions and overall the ride just looks and sounds better than ever. It’s nice to see Disney continue to enhance these old Fantasyland classics without stripping them of their nostalgic charm. Hopefully they keep at it with continued success.
Disney released a behind-the-scenes video of the ride with Imagineers Larry Nikolai and Elisabeth Papadopoulos. Take a look:
Refurbishment Roundup |
Refurbishment projects are still underway in Tomorrowland, along with the installation of an all-new ride at Luigi’s Flying Tires in Cars Land.
In Tomorrowland, work continues at Innoventions.
Nearby the posters for the “Tomorrowland” sneak peek have been removed at the Tomorrowland Theater.
The marquee is still up, though.
The queue has also been stripped of its New York World’s Fair concept art and movie posters.
The “Tomorrowland” city skyline silhouette is still on the wall here
Meanwhile, the Starcade is still closed
And the “Tomorrowland” movie exhibit has moved out of the back half of the Starcade facility and is now completely walled off.
In Disney California Adventure, there’s still no visible progress at Luigi’s Flying Tires.
Views of Luigi’s from Mickey’s Fun Wheel:
Yo Ho! Set sail to a piratey retreat at the HoJo Presented by the Howard Johnson Hotel & Water Playground |
Last time we checked in at the HoJo, we gave you an up-close look at the Anaheim hotel’s unique pirate-themed water playground but the fantastic Castaway Cove isn’t the only pirate-themed escape at the HoJo! Perched atop the Howard Johnson Anaheim’s spectacular mid-century tower, a swashbuckling escape awaits…
Recently renovated, the HoJo Anaheim’s fantastic 700-square foot king suite now features a wonderful new Pirates of the Caribbean theme. The suite features a spacious bedroom, a generously-sized living room, a big bathroom and a dining area large enough for the the entire family. Themed furniture, lighting fixtures and lots of stunning Pirates of the Caribbean artwork (including some incredible, limited edition prints of work by Disney Legend Marc Davis) really make this an exciting piratey retreat that overlooks not only Disneyland but the HoJo’s own Castaway Cove pirate-themed water playground.
The suite’s bedroom features one of the HoJo’s top-ranked king size beds so you can the best sleep after a day marauding around the parks. A private balcony, a large high definition TV, an iHome alarm clock, and a desk round out the bedroom’s features. Across the hall, the suite features a large custom bathroom including his and her sinks and plenty of countertop so everyone in the family has space to get ready in the morning.
The living room features an extra-comfy leather sofa that pulls out to a comfy bed and there’s enough room to add an extra rollaway bed and a crib, if needed. If you’re just looking for a place to relax before heading back to the park, the living room features a large high-definition television, complete with an Xbox 360 featuring Kinect Disneyland Adventures, or step out onto the living room’s private balcony for great views of the park. Adjacent to the living room, the dining area features a dining table that can seat up to four along with plenty of counter space for meal prep and snack storage! A kitchenette with a mini fridge and a microwave comes built-in.
You may have noticed the suite’s soaring vaulted ceilings with skylights — a signature motif of famed architect William Pereria. Pereria, as we’ve mentioned before, was the architect behind the iconic Theme Building at LAX as well as the Disneyland Hotel. The suite’s two private balconies and large windows also provide great views of Disneyland, including its nightly fireworks spectaculars!
Enjoy retro fun just steps away from Disneyland at Howard Johnson Hotel & Water Playground A short walk from the park, HoJo Anaheim is conveniently located next to Matterhorn Mountain at Disneyland with nearby dining, freeway access, FREE parking and FREE Wi-Fi. For more information on HoJo Anaheim, room rates, or to book your stay today, visit HoJoAnaheim.com/MiceChat Save with MiceChat & Passholder Discounts Every Day! The HoJo Anaheim is now offering daily discounts for MiceChat members and even DEEPER discounts for Disneyland Resort Annual Passholders! For more information visit the HoJo Anaheim Innsider Boards which features an up-to-date listing of available nights, or call (714) 776-6120 and ask for In-House Reservations to book. If your date isn’t listed, the HoJo Anaheim still offers rooms for 20% off their best available rate if you call (714) 776-6120. |
Weekly News & Information Round-Up | ||
Weekly Theme Park Hours July 6-12, 2015 |
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[B]Disneyland Park[/B] | [B]California Adventure[/B] | |
Daily: 8 am – 12 am | Daily: 8 am – 10 pm | |
[CENTER]For a complete listing of theme park hours, visit the Disneyland.com Theme Park Calendar[/CENTER] |
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[center]Closure and Refurbishment Schedule[/center] | ||
[b][center]Disneyland Park[/center][/b] | ||
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[b][center]Disney California Adventure[/center][/b] | ||
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[b][center]Downtown Disney and Disneyland Resort Hotels[/center][/b] | ||
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July 6 — 12
The free Mouseaddict app for iPhone and iPad features more than five dozen categories of searchable resort information, weather forecasts, park and show schedules, the latest news and articles from MiceChat, and more. Download free on the App Store or at mouseaddict.com. |
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[center]Headline Roundup A quick look at noteworthy Disney theme park headlines from around the web.[/center] |
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Alright, that’s it for this week’s blog. What do you think of the new Peter Pan enhancements? Did you celebrate the Fourth at Disneyland? Let us know in the comments below!
Special thanks to our Dateline Disneylanders!
Benjamin! To help support Dateline Disneyland and get some fun swag in return, visit our Patreon page now! For more Disneyland news, be sure to read MiceChat’s weekly In the Parks blog. And be sure to check out our sister blog, Dateline Disney World – a fantastic weekly photo blog covering Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida! Thanks for reading. See you at Disneyland! |
FTC-Mandated Disclosure: Promotional consideration for this edition of Dateline Disneyland was provided by the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel & Water Playground. |