Twas the week before Halloween and all through the park, the guests were all queuing and the lines hit high marks. The pumpkins were nestled all snug in the hub while Christmas creep began with holiday grub.
It’s that time of year folks. Halloween isn’t even here yet and Christmas can’t wait to move in. We’ve got all sorts of things to show you this week, including holiday merchandise, Star Wars Land construction and the park in the rain . . . with a bit of electrifying video.
Disneyland |
DUMBO IS 75
We’d like to lead off with a happy birthday to Dumbo, which turned 75 yesterday! The film was released in 1941. The Dumbo the Flying Elephant attraction at Disneyland opened in October of 1955 (It wasn’t ready for opening day). The ride remains a Disneyland classic and is one of the few attractions to have been built in every Magic Kingdom style park around the world (including Shanghai).
A Rainy But VERY Crowded Day At Disneyland
Every day at Disneyland is special. But there are those days which try your soul. Yesterday (Sunday the 23rd) was one of those days. The morning started out with perfect temperature and a nice overcast sky. There was only a 10% chance of rain and it looked like it was going to be a great day to visit the Happiest Place On Earth. However, crowds were very heavy with Fall break for some schools & Halloween Time packing folks in. It’s not fun to wait an hour for Pirates, or an hour and a half for Space Mountain. It’s even harder to navigate Tomorrowland or Adventureland when it’s wall to wall people. But, thankfully, the rain came without warning and began to flush crowds out of the park. There are some great Disneyland attractions which you can experience without a wait, even on the busiest days of the year.
All the major attractions had lines in the hour+ range on Sunday.
Sunday was the last day for “it’s a small world” before its holiday overlay is installed. We had intended to ride . . . but the line was very long. Oh well. The Holiday version is less annoying anyway. 😉
I was at the park with the MiceChatters for our regular Sunday meet-up. We frustrated that we had to wait 40 minutes just to buy our lunch and that all of the lines for the rides we’d normally visit were too darn long? But, as they say, every cloud has a silver lining. There are ALWAYS attractions you can visit without a wait, even on the busiest days. You just need to shake off your expectations and open your mind a bit. We did a few of those things . . .
Love, love, love the next one. . . but lots more steps . . .
Of course, there’s lots of construction and refurbishment going on at Disneyland as well.
The Columbia continues her renovations for the new Fantasmic.
Tall scrims have returned to the stage on Tom Sawyer Island. There’s also a large piece of equipment visible.
What’s that big gray box above the turquoise boat?
Looks like it might be a projector.
Splash Mountain is down until November 5th for refurb. As a result, all of Critter Country closes during the week-days. . . but the land does reopen on the weekends so you can ride the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
Tomorrowland remains a land between themes. Part retro-future, part Star Wars, part Pixar
And then the rain came. I LOVE the park in the rain.
It’s Christmas Everyone
Well, it well be very soon. Some early decorations are going up now, merchandise is making its way into the parks, and the upcoming week should see a tremendous amount of change in the parks.
Main Street is getting into the Holiday spirit, with Christmas beginning to edge out Halloween.
These dress ornaments are adorable:
Star Wars Land Construction Update
This construction project is hitting warp speed. The river is scheduled to return by summer. We should start seeing the rock work go up around the new train tracks soon.
Sorry these photos are all so dark. It was a dreary day. In fact, it was sprinkling at the time these photos were taken. You know what’s even more rare than rain in Southern California? Lightning! As I was taking these photos, I saw several large bolts. Unfortunately, I was unable to capture any on camera. But I did get a short video of one of the smaller displays. There’s been a disturbance in the force!
Disney California Adventure |
We are going to try something a little different this week. We’ll be bringing you Disney California Adventure and Downtown Disney photos tomorrow.
Get Disneyland Wait Times with Mouseaddict |
Get Mouseaddict Here You can keep track of the wait times and even where in the park people are congregating by downloading the app (iPhone only at this time).
Thank you ! | |
All of us on the Disneyland Photo Update crew would like to thank you for joining us today. Each week we’ll feature different photographers and commentators (often more than one). Today’s MiceChat Disneyland Update was photographed and assembled by DustySage. Are you a member of the MiceChat Sunday Meet-up Facebook group? If you are interested in meeting up with fellow theme park lovers in the parks, please be sure to follow this group: MiceChat Sundays in the Park. And please follow the MiceChat Facebook Page for news and updates from the Disneyland Resort and beyond: |
Goodbye For now!
That’s it for this week’s Update.Are you a photographer? Do you love the parks? Would you like to contribute to the Disneyland Update or other MiceChat columns? Contact Dusty Sage: [email protected]
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