Welcome to the Disneyland resort edition of In the Parks. Wednesday was Halloween, and by the next morning, we found that Christmas had expanded substantially. We’ve got the photos for you below. But the tasty treat of the week was the opening of Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney. We stopped by to wait in a very long line for lunch. We’ll let you know if the taste lived up to the wait. We’ll also stroll through Disneyland to survey the latest construction projects at Fantasy Faire Village, Fantasyland Theatre, Storybookland Canal Boats and beyond. Quite a bit to see today, so let’s get going!
EARL OF SANDWICH OPEN
The long awaited opening of Earl of Sandwich officially happens today, November 2nd. But, the eatery has been enjoying outlandishly long lines and non-stop crowds since it soft opened on Monday morning. We jumped at the chance to get a taste of the highly regarded food spot. This is what we found.
With a line out the door and around the patio, we dutifully took our place in line (the things we do for you!).
The line moved surprisingly fast for such a new location. The protracted queue took about 25 minutes to reach the register inside.
Once at the counter, we placed our order for a sandwich and were given a beeper that would let us know when to return for our sandwich. Most folks chose to simply stay in line along the front facing displays of chilled pasta salad, desserts and bottled drinks to wait. About 8 minutes after placing an order for the Cannonballs sandwich (Meatball), the buzzer went off and the sandwich lept into my belly.
Let them eat cake
The seating options are limited inside. The only indoor seating that is available is in the same rotunda that previously housed the coffee shop portion of Compass Books.
The old coffee shop is now the only indoor dining area.
There are power outlets here too!
Outside, there is quite a bit more seating on the patio. There are plenty of lights and overhead heaters ready to keep diners warm. A canopy covers the seating area to keep elements at bay.
The small portion of pasta salad, on the other hand, was a bit of a let down. At $1.99 for roughly 4 oz of pasta, the price seems a bit high – but perhaps not so much when compared to other options at the resort. Regardless, we decided to give it a shot since here, it really isn’t about the quantity, it’s about the quality. While the pasta was firm and edible, the scant amount of vegetables and overabundance of gelatinous dressing created an experience more akin to cold vegetable soup. Edible, but not really worth the price.
In the end, we would certainly recommend grabbing a bite at Earl of Sandwich. The crowds will be insane here for a while, but it will subside to a tolerable degree soon enough. Get out there and give it a try. We think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
WATCH COUNTER DOWNSIZED
It’s a sign of the times really. The popular watch shop location inside Fortuosity on Main Street will no longer be selling custom art watches. Sadly, the watch artists working behind the window on Main Street are no more.
They will still sell a collection of watches, just no custom art.
Inside, one of the two artist stations sits, completely empty while the other only has a few remaining supplies in place. The move apparently came after increasingly poor sales for watches overall. This is blamed, for the most part, on an increasing dependence on cell phones and other electronic devices to tell time. Do you still wear a watch? According to a cast member close to the situation, none of the artists were let go. Rather, two of them are now currently working at the Disney Gallery doing sketches there, while the remaining three are currently being trained to paint animation cel reproductions inside the park.
The remaining inventory will be sold off and then the custom watch program will be no more. It’s the end of an era, but the beginning of a new one. Change isn’t always bad, but it does leave us feeling sentimental. We’re glad to hear that the cast members are being taken care of, which was our immediate concern.
DISNEYLAND’S CITY HALL UNWRAPPED
City Hall finally came out from under the construction scaffolds revealing a gleaming, bright, facade.
The patio for Walt’s Apartment is still being worked on.
it’s a small world holiday
The holidays officially begin on Monday, November 12th. But it’s a small world holiday is planning to be open by Friday November 9th. All indications point to that opening being met.
Rolly Crump’s clock face has donned its Santa hat
FANTASYLAND THEATRE
More work is visible on the projection booth at the Fantasyland Theatre. But isn’t it time for that big pink princess sign to go? The facility is not longer open, why advertise?
FANTASY FAIRE VILLAGE
Meanwhile, more peaks and spires are becoming apparent at the construction site for the new Fantasy Faire Village.
FRONTIERLAND
Refurbishment continues in Frontierland on the facade of the shop near the Golden Horseshoe.
But, more importantly, the Fast Pass Distribution for Big Thunder Mountain is now under refurbishment as well.
STORYBOOKLAND CANAL BOATS AND CASEY JR. CIRCUS TRAIN
We see that the Storybook land canal boats and Casey Jr. are still deep into refurbishment.
FINDING NEMO QUEUE
We recently noticed these interesting ridges that were installed on the queue railings for the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. Obviously installed to deter children from climbing, the move is as clever as it is cruel.
Now, if they just sharpen them a bit, that would really serve as a deterrent!
MICKEY’S TOONTOWN
Ready to be underwhelmed again for ToonTown Christmas this year? Excellent. ToonTown’s recycled Disney World plasticized decorations are returning for another year of artificial cheer.
Minnie’s house
Mickey’s house
The worst offender is the City Hall Christmas Tree
The seam is still insanely apparent and ugly.
The sad thing is that ToonTown had GREAT decorations for many years. There was no need to bring in these ugly WDW castoffs. After all the criticism last year, we had hoped for an improvement. Sadly, it looks worse than ever this year. A decline in charm to be sure.
Still no Bennie the Cab. We miss him.
CHRISTMAS MOVES IN
Minutes after the final Mickey’s Halloween Party ended on October 31st an army of Cast Members moved right in and began to transform Main Street, Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, and nearby Frontierland for Christmas. A big push was made to get Everything from Town Square to the castle ready for this weekend’s taping of the annual Christmas Day Parade. We hate to spoil the magic for you, but Disney doesn’t bring the Christmas Day parade to you live. Shocking, I know.
Not a single pumpkin to be found on Main Street.
Town Square is all set up to host the celebrity commentators for the taping of the Christmas Day Parade. It’s also the spot where the Christmas Tree goes, so we can expect the tree to be delayed until the taping is done.
Well on its way to being fully decked out for the Christmas special.
Presents flank the sides of the castle.
Meanwhile, Christmas has also begun moving into Frontierland.
The final touches being installed in New Orleans Square.
The Court of Angels has been reclaimed from the pirates for now.
DCA ENTRANCE
The other planter, on the right side of the Disney California Adventure entrance, is well along its development now.
CHRISTMAS ON ITS WAY TO DCA
Chriastmas is making a more subtle entrance at DCA. Hollywood Land and Cars Land are untouched at the moment. But Bug’s Land is already decked out.
These bugs are festive.
CARS LAND
A quick look at Cars Land gives a real indication of how crowds have died down since the Summer.
Yes, 35 minutes for the ride that commanded 3 to 4 hour waits all summer.
The Ramon shop expansion is still being worked on. They are hoping to get things done in time for the holiday shopping season. It’ll be a race to the finish.
And that should do it for us this week from the Disneyland Resort. We have just a couple more weeks before the Holidays are upon us at the Disneyland resort, but you’ll be able to preview it all starting right now, with more added every day.
Well folks, what caught your eye today?