We are on the cusp of insanity at Disneyland. The coming week brings the first public previews of Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout to the Disneyland Resort. That, in turn, will bring crowds . . . but this past weekend was already one of the most insanely busy in recent memory. For a while on Saturday Disneyland had to close the front gates to newly arriving guests. Keep in mind that the summer season doesn’t even officially start for the theme parks until Memorial Day weekend. That sort of front gate restriction is generally reserved for major holidays. All signs point to some painfully busy days ahead.
Dog Days of Disneyland
These photos were taken on Saturday, in the midst of epic overcrowding. The temperature in the park hit a high of about 92º, the walkways were filled with people going nowhere fast, and it seemed like all the big rides were broken down . . . forcing even more people into the walkways.
Needless to say, I wasn’t feeling the magic. You’ll recall from my previous updates that I like to stop and smell the roses, I’m accustomed to crowds and adept at finding the little out of the way spots to keep me occupied. But this weekend was different. With the hoards of people all looking for an escape, most of those little out of the way spots were either used as queue lines for attractions, or were themselves packed with guests. Even the Tiki Room had lines outside the patio and was playing to a packed house show after show.
No Escape
So, what is causing all this unseasonable overcrowding? There are several factors. Chief among them SoCal 3 day for $150 ticket holders. This was the last weekend available to use up the last days of these tickets. In addition, Saturday was also Grad Night. Thousands of High School seniors have a full day of access to Disneyland, followed by an evening at DCA. Disneyland has a huge chunk of park capacity under construction for Star Wars land, which has put pressure on the West side of the park. In addition, many big attractions spent much of the day closed for breakdowns, making the rest of the park feel even more crowded as the masses were forced into the walkways.
But it wasn’t just the big rides with massive waits. The queue for it’s a small world filled the ENTIRE terraced parade viewing area.
Making things worse, Big Thunder spent hours broken down on Saturday.
But, when it reopened, the line immediately exploded.
If only I had listened to my gut. But I had photos to shoot. Lots and lots of very important photos. So, into the breach I go. I do it for you. If I perish, know that I love you. I loved you all . . . 😉
Tomorrowlanding
You have one week left to enjoy Hyperspace Mountain (for now). The attraction will go down for a brief refurbishment after Memorial Day Weekend and will reopen on June 1st as just “Space Mountain.” We hear that it’s a thrilling, high speed, turbulent roller coaster type ride in the dark with sharp turns, sudden drops, and stops.
We wandered into Star Traders for some much needed air conditioning and found some fun stuff (it’s not all new, but it is pretty neat) . . .
We love these pop art style Star Wars shirts and bags:
And this Dia De Lost Muertos style art. Pins are also available with these designs.
Construction Land
Even with all the people in the parks, construction continues at a fever pitch. The Rivers of America has been refilled and the coffer dam removed. That means that Fantasmic rehearsals can really ramp up.
The rafts to Tom Sawyer Island will hopefully be back in service soon.
And at the back of the river, the new rocks, railroad trestle, and waterfalls are fully visible.
Train testing is now underway. The little bridge which allowed you to walk across the tracks at the New Orleans Station has been removed. The barrier to the tunnel behind the Haunted Mansion has also been removed to allow the trains access to the full circuit.
The other river project is the retheme of Big Thunder Trail. With the overcrowding of Disneyland lately, this trail would be a huge relief of traffic. We hope they can get it reopen in time for Memorial Day weekend.
This and That
I popped into the Emporium on Main Street to have a quick look. I just love the way this store is decorated.
Merchandise for the new Pirates of the Caribbean film is now available.
The line for an ice cream can get really long. Perhaps they were thinking of that when they redesigned this space. Look at all that fancy woodwork above the order windows . . .
Does it look like a screaming baby to anyone else?
The Dream Suite logo has been removed from the blue sign at the base of the stairs. This space now belongs to the 21 Royal complex (Walt’s private dining room, which is now available for guest rental at the bargain price of $15k).
Have you noticed that everywhere you go there are bubbles in the air? It seems that every child now has one of these bubble wands.
Star Wars Land
If you missed Friday’s Star Wars Land News on MiceChat, here are a few of the photos from Dave. The progress is really coming along . . .
You can see the full Star Wars Land update HERE
Downtown Disney
The Monorails have finally gone down for their planned refurbishment.
The Coffee House at the Disneyland Hotel has a few interesting items other than coffee . . .
You can get a Dole Whip here . . . with a splash of RUM!!!
They also have some super luxe doughnuts.
But they close by 4pm each day, so don’t delay. 🙂
AMC is promoting the Pirates of the Caribbean film, which opens on the 26th.
All of the planters in Downtown Disney have been replanted over the last couple of months. We really like the standard Lantana in the garden below.
And Splitzville has finally gone vertical. We’ll all be bowling and eating sushi soon.
There’s some facade work going on at the Grand California Hotel.
Guardians of California Adventure
Summer of Heroes and Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT are sure to push DCA over the edge this summer. And that all starts in just a few days.
The banners in the Esplanade have been changed out for the new promotion.
Additional banners have been hung between the ticket gates.
Summer of Heroes has made its way to Hollywood Land.
The Hollywood Studios arch has been painted red.
There are also some props which are currently covered up.
Those appear to be iPads on stands under the round signs.
The strange arch below may be for the premiere of Mission Breakout next week and not for Summer of Heroes. But that’s just a guess based upon the temporary looking vinyl wrap and Guardians logos.
This structure likely will be used for the Summer of Heroes dance party. During the day, it is currently used for student performing groups.
Guardians get ready to BREAKOUT!
Are you ready to drop in?
This and That
How many attractions should be shut down so they can play movie previews at any given time? Two in one park at the same time seems like a bit much and the Resort really needs more attraction capacity right now.
Three attractions in the park were all listed as 120 minute waits. That’s 6 hours of waiting for just three attractions. Ouch.
Well folks, that wraps things up for this update. It was a challenging week in the parks, but there’s a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks. New rides, new entertainment, the return of the Disneyland Railroad and Fantasmic. Are you excited? Or are you worried that if Disneyland can’t handle a random weekend in May, that it’s not going to be able to handle a series of major new offerings?
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