Just when you think you know everything there is to know about the Disneyland Resort, things change. This week’s update brings news of some of the revisions expected for the new version of Fantasmic at Disneyland. New name, new scenes, new music, it’s a familiar but very different show. We’ll give you the scoop below. Also, word is leaking that Halloween may move from Disneyland to DCA for the 2017 season. Plus, photos and updates from around the Disneyland Resort. This is a big photo update with some juicy new details, so let’s get going . . .
FANTASMIC 2.0
All tarps and construction equipment were recently removed from Tom Sawyer Island to facilitate nighttime rehearsals for the new version of Fantasmic. Right off the bat we’ll assure you that the show LOOKS beautiful. The new projections are amazing, crisp, and have never looked better. The show also appears to have a new title. Instead of “Fantasmic!,” it’s now “Fantasmic!!” – the two exclamation points indicating “Fantasmic 2.0”
The big change in the show is the replacement of the Peter Pan scene with a Pirates of the Caribbean scene.
New digital mapping projectors have been installed for the show. While they work great on fixed objects and help make the show feel more magical, the Fantasmic team is having a great deal of trouble getting them to work on moving objects. Most notably, the attempt to project onto the Columbia and onto moving actors on the ship to make them look like skeletons is not working out. For this effect to work, the ship must be in exactly the right spot at the right time and all actors must hit their marks perfectly without fail every time. The current manual tracking of the ship and actors is frustrating everyone. There are tracking solutions available which Disney may opt to explore at additional cost to the show, or they could give up on the attempt to project images onto the ship and use florescent paint and black-light to achieve a similar effect (and with far fewer points of failure). Let’s hope they work this one out before show time as it really does look spectacular when everything is just right.
A Lion King segment now replaces Kaa (the snake), but the scene still transitions into the traditional monkey scene everyone loves. There’s also a new Aladdin section of the show. For the princess scene, Ariel will now be featured with legs and not in her fin; Belle remains still in her normal spot. However, a very top secret third princess will replace Snow White.
Much of the musical score also seems to have been updated. While the music is familiar, the show now has much more of a pop beat to it.
The changes are exciting, but there is concern that frequent Fantasmic viewers will find the show too drastically altered. We think that as long as the new segments match or surpass the quality of the old ones, the fans will likely embrace the revised show. After all, these updates help insure that Fantasmic will last for years to come.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Are you looking forward to the return of the reworked Fantasmic at #Disneyland?” quote=”Are you looking forward to the return of the reworked Fantasmic!!? ” theme=”style3″]
Saving Seats for Parade and Fireworks
Disney recently changed their policy regarding the saving of seats for Electrical Parade and Fireworks. The new rule prevents guests from saving spots until after the ropes go up. However, they don’t seem to be doing a very good job enforcing the policy. Only guests attempting to put down blankets early are being stopped for now. Or, perhaps they are already finding the new policy too hard to enforce.
MaxPass Coming Soon
Disney is working at a rapid pace to install the MaxPass scanners at the entry to all current FastPass attractions as well as to some news ones. If you see some strange new covered poles at your favorite attractions, it’s for MaxPass.
Red Rose Taverne
The Beauty and the Beast overlay of Village Haus restaurant has been a BIG success. The food is inventive and pretty good, folks love the desserts, the decor fits well into Fantasyland . . . and most importantly, the place is always packed.
Disneyland Photo Update
Upon walking into the park, we found a real treat . . .
Dave Avanzino was in the Disney Gallery this weekend. He’s one of our favorite artists. Such amazing and beautiful work! 
The Gallery also has some Beauty and the Beast merchandise on display right now.
The windows on Main Street are beginning to be dressed for Easter.
And then reality set in . . . it was going to be another very busy day. 
Something that really stuck out to me this week was the huge stroller parking areas all over the park. In some places, they really pinch off traffic, which is a rough thing on a busy day.
Matterhorn is under refurbishment. When it returns, it will have FastPass for the first time.
The switchback for Big Thunder was also beyond all reason.
Oh, wait . . . here’s the reason. . . Pirates of the Caribbean is one of the biggest people eaters in the Resort. Pirates being closed, along with so many other attractions, is REALLY having an impact on the park.
With Mardi Gras over, the decorations have come down and the area has returned to normal for the first time since November.
Another big people eater is doing its best to absorb some of the crowds. Mansion has been slammed lately and the queues stretch into the surrounding areas.
Back by Hungry Bear, you can see the new back of the river rising very quickly. Rock work is rapidly coming together and the tracks for the river boats is just about to be installed.
And the walkway that will stretch from the Hungry Bear around to Star Wars land is also starting to come together.
I finally stopped to pick up my Moana Sipper from Bengal Barbecue. It’s also available at the Dole Whip stand.
Star Wars Land Construction
There’s a lot of work for Disney to complete between now and the 2019 opening of Star Wars land. But real progress is being made.
The Battle Escape attraction is growing quickly now.
Halloween Moves to DCA in 2017
We heard this week from a couple of our sources that the decision has been made to move Halloween from Disneyland back to Disney California Adventure in 2017. With Disneyland’s increased attendance and with Star Wars Land on the way, we can understand why such a change would be necessary. But DCA will really need to step things up to be an acceptable substitute for Disneyland’s great event. We’d like to hear your ideas on what DCA might offer which would make it a good Halloween Party destination.
[clickToTweet tweet=”What could #DCA do to be a spootacular Halloween party destination? ” quote=”What could DCA do to be a spootacular Halloween party destination? ” theme=”style5″]
DCA Food and Wine Festival 2017
DCA’s Food and Wine Festival will run from March 10th through April 16th this year. With the Festival launching this weekend, booths are already set into place awaiting their menus.
One thing we really like about the DCA festival are the standing tables which provide convenient spots to eat. 
Disney claims that the festival will be twice the size of last year’s event. And here’s the food, some of which sounds amazing:
Nuts About Cheese
- Brie toast with fig and mint and roasted California almond crumble
- Baked ham and Swiss cheese croque monsieur roll with smoked pistachios
- Chèvre fromage blanc tartine infused with rosemary and honey, topped with toasted hazelnuts
- Almond milk tea with pudding
Uncork California
- White wine flight
- Red wine flight
- Mimosa flight
I Heart Artichokes
- Artichoke carbonara with garlic aioli and smoked bacon
- Grilled and chilled artichoke hearts with Romesco sauce
- Creamy artichoke and dark chocolate cake pop
- Orange iced tea with orange pearls
Garlic Kissed
- Grilled beef tenderloin slider with chimichurri sauce
- Black garlic soy-braised pork belly bao with pickled vegetables
- Garlic-rosemary and avocado oil ice cream pop
California Craft Brews
- Southern California flight
- Northern California flight
Olive Us
- Chilled Cioppino soup with shrimp, crab claw and grilled olive bread
- Warm olive focaccia with olive oil and sea salt
- Vanilla bean crème fraîche panna cotta with Amarena cherry jus and EVOO madeleine
Bacon Twist
- Baby iceberg and heirloom tomato wedge with peppered bacon and blue cheese dressing
- Smoked bacon mac and cheese with barbecue-seasoned crispy onions
- Maple-bacon Whoopie Pie
Lemon Grove
- Roasted cauliflower and Meyer lemon-infused Dannon Oikos® Greek nonfat yogurt cauliflower puree with sundried tomatoes and fried capers
- Duck confit on potato smash with Meyer lemon preserves
- Meyer lemon macaron with blueberry marmalade, Meyer lemon cream and blueberry dust
- Cherry lemonade with cherry pearls
Seafood…Sustained
- Verlasso® sustainable salmon tataki with avocado-wasabi puree and Furikake dust
- Cage-free cream cheese deviled eggs with farm-raised smoked trout and chives
- Passion fruit posset and coconut chia with mango compote and jelly
- Mango agua fresca
The Onion Lair
- French onion mac and cheese topped with parmesan crumble and chives
- Braised Wagyu beef on creamy polenta with haricot vert and red onion salad and roasted Cipollini onion
- Chocolate-hazelnut and raspberry Feuillete tart
- Strawberry pineapple float with vanilla ice cream and strawberry pearls
Off the Cob
- Sweet corn nuggets with beef chili, spring onions and sour cream
- Jackfruit carnitas banh mi nachos with cilantro crèma and “pickled” de gallo
- Roasted sweet corn custard tart with honey tuille and smoked chili-infused chocolate sauce
Sweet & Sourdough
- Bay shrimp Louie salad served in a mini Boudin sourdough boule
- White cheddar lager soup topped with bacon, served in a mini Boudin sourdough boule
- Milk chocolate sourdough bread pudding with vanilla bean sauce
LAStyle
- Chicken Teriyaki slider with spicy Dole® pineapple jam
- Korean barbecue beef short rib tacos with Kimchi slaw
- Fresh strawberry compote, lemon verbena and vanilla bean shortcake parfait
- Dole® Pineapple-strawberry Float with vanilla ice cream and strawberry pearls
Paradise Garden Grill Beer Garden
- Beer-battered cod served with steak fries, sweet slaw and spiced remoulade
- Potato and cheese pierogis with vegetarian sausage served with grilled Anaheim chilies, caramelized onions and sour cream
- Beer-braised pork tacos served with pickled apple slaw, black beans and queso
- Sausage platter trio served with braised red cabbage and warm potato salad
- Large soft pretzel served with beer-mustard dipping sauce
- Salted caramel budino with vanilla bean Chantilly cream
- Bienenstich cake with honey-glazed almonds, filled with vanilla bean custard
The festival continues in the Hollywood Backlot area, featuring wine flights at Wineology, beer and beer floats at The Brewhouse and wine at the Festival Merchandise & Bottle Shop at Stage 17.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Are you ready to get your food and wine on?! #Disneyland #DCA” quote=”Are you ready to get your food and wine on?!” theme=”style3″]
Cars 3 In – Guardians Out
June 10th the Resort will be hosting the movie premiere for Cars 3. The plan to host the Guardians of the Galaxy premiere at DCA have fallen through because the ride won’t be ready until late May, but Cars 3 will be shown at the Anaheim Convention Center and then a big celebrity party will be held in Cars Land after the movie that evening. Cruz Ramirez will join the roving Cars characters in Cars Land this summer.
Guardians of the Galaxy Construction
This was a significant week in Guardians of the Galaxy construction. The construction scrims were removed from the back of the tower and some additional details were added to the top of the structure. We are very curious to hear what you think of the new color scheme.
From the back side of the tower (off of Harbor Blvd.) you can see what the color scheme will look like.
DCA Photo Update
There are a few other little things in DCA we’d like to share:
Downtown Disney and Grand Californian Hotel
Before we go, let’s take a look at what’s going on outside the parks.
If you like to walk to the resort by passing through the Grand Californian Hotel from the Disneyland Drive side, please note that non hotel guests are being turned away from this entry. It is recommended that you enter the hotel from the the Downtown Disney side instead.
The Grand Cal pool project continues.
On a very busy Saturday night, Disneyland security was operating with only a couple metal detectors in use on the Disneyland Hotel side of Downtown Disney. This resulted in a ridiculously long line of guests waiting to get into the secured zone. This is really going to start hurting the business of Downtown Disney tenants unless something is done. While guests may be willing to wait in long lines to get into theme parks, fewer folks are likely willing to deal with this sort of security hassle just to get a sandwich, a coffee, or see a movie. At the stratospheric rents that Disney charges, we hope the tenants are screaming at the top of their lungs at Downtown Disney management.
Some colorful tables and chairs have been added to the bridge area of Downtown Disney.
We were finally able to visit Curl Surf.
Construction hasn’t gone vertical yet at the new bowling alley.
Well folks, are you willing to keep an open mind on Fantasmic changes? How confident are you in DCA being able to host the Halloween parties? Anything else in the Update catch your eye? Let’s hear from you below!!!
All of us on the Disneyland Photo Update crew would like to thank you for joining us today. Today’s MiceChat Disneyland Update was shot and assembled by Dusty Sage with additional photos from Brian Pinsky.
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Posted by Dusty Sage on Sunday, March 5, 2017
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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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