At the Disneyland Resort, there’s no time to visit quite like the holidays, with gorgeous decorations, lights, familiar favorites like the It’s a Small World holiday makeover, and new features, like Disney California Adventure’s new take on the popular Festive Foods Marketplaces, presenting a side-by-side mix of holiday comfort dishes that bridge many diverse cultures and family traditions.
But there will be one popular element missing this year: the Jingle Cruise holiday overlay of the Jungle Cruise.
Disney brass made the decision to forego the Jungle Cruise makeover in late August, but I was hesitant to share the news at that time, because for more than a week after that, Disneyland.com was still promoting that the overlay would be among the Christmas-oriented offerings coming to the park in November (formerly at disneyland.disney.go.com/attractions/disneyland/jingle-cruise).
It took nearly two weeks, until about September 6, for the site to be updated with the revised holiday offerings—minus the Jingle.
Disneyland’s Erin Glover confirmed the Jingle Cruise would be a no show in 2017, but declined comment on why, as well as if it might return in 2018.
Skippers are hearing a couple different stories on why the promotion was mothballed. One heard that, due to the park’s already strapped-capacity, “they wanted to avoid the downtime before and after setting it up.” Another skipper was told “the whole thing is going to be retooled for next year.”
The overlay premiered to so-so reviews in 2013, but was steadily improved each year since.
Monorail Down
Anyone notice the Monorail suddenly go down during the CHOC Walk in the Park Sunday August 27? Apparently a mylar balloon from either one of the participants or decorations got loose, brushed against the track, and short-circuited the ride system. A tug had to retrieve and bring the Monorails back to the Roundhouse.
A Date with Disneyana
This Sunday October 1, the Disneyana Fan Club is staging their mega-Disneyana Collectible Show & Sale at the Wyndham, on Harbor and Chapman in Garden Grove, Ca.
This show promises to be one of the group’s better off-season shows, since it replaces its big summer Show & Sale, which is typically held the Sunday closest to Disneyland’s anniversary. This past July 17, though, would have placed it in head-to-head competition with D23. The club wisely moved the event to this coming weekend.
You’ll have a chance to meet, among others, The Happiest Millionaire’s Joyce Bulifant, historian Jim Korkis, and puppeteering sculptress Terri Hardin. I’ll be there signing books all day, from 9 AM to 5 PM, and pioneering cast member Bob Penfield will join me from 11 AM to 1:30 PM, signing copies of his book, The Last Original Disneylander: Stories & Secrets from the Last to Retire of the First to Be Hired.
Swing by and say Hi!
David Koenig is the prolific author of many popular Disney books, including these:
*Our thanks to Andy Castro of MiceChat’s Dateline Disneyland for the Jingle Cruise images
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