This weekend’s heatwave didn’t slow down crowds from hitting the parks en masse for this year’s Dapper Day event, the on-going 60th Anniversary celebration and the popular Halloween Time offerings. Temperatures hit 90 on Friday, but Disneyland was on a brink of hitting capacity. Temperatures continued to rise over the weekend, with highs climbing over 100 degrees on Sunday but the parks remained busy. Meanwhile, as Halloween Time continues to heat up the end of summer, Disneyland is quietly getting ready for a whole lot of Star Wars coming to Tomorrowland later this fall.
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 quick off-season update for you today, so let’s get started.
Welcome to Disneyland! |
Disneyland’s traditional fall off-season is looking quite different than a normal off-season. Disneyland saw huge crowds on Friday afternoon and prepared to start restricting entry of new guests, the first phase of Disneyland’s phased capacity closure. Luckily, the restrictions never went into effect, but the park was prepared to begin restricting park entry if needed.
A trifecta of popular events and offerings including the unofficial Dapper Day event, Disneyland’s ongoing Diamond Celebration and the popular Halloween Time offerings all brought big crowds to the park, making Friday’s potential capacity closure not terribly surprising.
A look at wait times early Friday afternoon, a few hours before the park nearly hit capacity.
Meanwhile, over at California Adventure…
The Packard is missing from Oswald’s Filling Station
A look at wait times early Friday afternoon
Refurbishment Round-up |
A look at refurbishment projects underway in both parks…
The walkway between Frontierland and Fantasy Faire is still behind walls…
Inside Fantasy Faire, Figaro is missing from his perch…
Some new walls up near Big Thunder Mountain for some pavement work
Walls across the walkway are for the annual Mickey’s Halloween Parties
In New Orleans Square, Pirates of the Caribbean remains closed for refurbishment through September 29.
In Tomorrowland, work continues on the new Star Wars Launch Bay and Marvel Superhero HQ in the former Innoventions building.
Not much has changed from the outside since we last checked in…
Nearby, this month marks the final performances of the nighttime live music at Tomorrowland Terrace. There’s no word yet on if this is a permanent change or only temporary.
There’s a lot happening in Tomorrowland in the next couple months — the new Star Wars Launch Bay opens later this year, a rumored early opening of the Hyperspace Mountain overlay at Space Mountain is now expected in early November, and a 3D sneak preview of Star Wars: The Force Awakens is planned for the Tomorrowland Theatre. With so much Star Wars, could the Tomorrowland Terrace stage be gearing up for an expanded schedule for the popular Jedi Training Academy show, or better yet a new Star Wars evening show for older fans?
Disney has yet to announce anything other than issuing end-of-run notices to the long-time performers here. We wish them well in the future and look forward to seeing what Disney brings in to fill this space.
Hyperspace Mountain was originally announced as part of the spring’s upcoming Star Wars Season of the Force promotion, but is now rumored to debut as early as November 14, after Halloween Time and a brief downtime.
No official opening has been set but Disney is hoping to bring an Episode VII preview to the Tomorrowland Theater this fall.
Will Star Wars take over the shuttered Starcade facility as well?
Still no visible progress from the guest view at the former Luigi’s Flying Tires.
The Flying Tires name is still painted on the windows
No official date for Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters has been released but an early 2016 opening is expected.
This & That |
We’re hoping Disneyland will replace the 60th Anniversary bunting and banners on Sleeping Beauty Castle soon, as the summer sun has been pretty rough and they’ve faded quite a bit. The overlay still looks great but a little love for the banners and bunting would help a lot as the celebration is expected to continue for about another year.
In Downtown Disney, the new D-Tech on Demand customized cell phone case program is now available at D Street.
You can order your customized case at one of several touch screens at the front of the store. Of course, expect Disney prices for your Disney phone case. A stock case with your choice of artwork is $36.95. If you want it personalized with your name, you’ll pay $44.95.
Display cases showcase a variety of options you can go with.
If you’re looking for something to dress up your iPhone, then this is for you. If you’re looking for protection, then you’re probably better off getting an Otterbox case on Amazon for about the same price — you won’t have Mickey on your case, but you’ll actually have protection for your phone.
D-Tech on Demand offers cases for the following phones: iPhone 4, iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, Samsung S5, and Samsung S6.
And the cases are able to be picked up in the back of the store where they’re made.
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Weekly News & Information Round-Up | ||
Weekly Theme Park Hours September 21-27, 2015 |
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[B]Disneyland Park[/B] | [B]California Adventure[/B] | |
Mon.-Tue.: 9 am – 10 pm Tue.-Thu.: 9 am – 11 pm Friday: 8 am – 7 pm Sat.-Sun.: 8 am – 12 am |
Mon.-Thu.: 9 am – 8 pm Friday: 8 am – 12 am Sat.-Sun.: 8 am – 10 pm |
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[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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September 21-27
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 wraps up this week’s Dateline Disneyland. Are you ready for Star Wars in Tomorrowland? Let us know in the comments below!
We’ll be taking a vacation break next week, but keep an eye out for a special edition of In the Parks on Monday while we’re away! Special thanks to our Dateline Disneylanders!
Benjamin, Mark D., and Bruno! 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. |