Another week and another big reveal for the Disneyland Resort. On Friday, Dumbo reopened to guests . . . with a newly expanded circus-themed queue. We’ve got photos and video for you.
But that’s certainly not all. The closure of Pirates of the Caribbean for its transformation leads to interesting crowd patterns, which has us thinking about crowds in general and the steps Disney is currently taking to mitigate the effects of empire sized crowds storming Disneyland’s tight walkways when Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens next year.
I seen a peanut stand, heard a rubber band
I seen a needle that winked its eye
But I be done seen ’bout ev’rything
When I see a elephant fly
Dumbo Dazzles
The ride itself is the same as before. But you’ll immediately notice a semi-circle of circus tents toward the back of the attraction, those are the new queue.
Guests now queue up in front of the Calliope at the back of the attraction, which makes the perfect queue entertainment. And come the high heat of summer, parents will be singing the praises of the newly covered line for one of Fantasyland’s most popular, and slow-loading, attractions.
The ceiling of the circus tents are adorned with stars. Some new posters line the walls.
And here’s a bit of video I shot on Saturday of the Dumbo area:
[clickToTweet tweet=”What do you think of Dumbo’s new circus queue @disneyland” quote=”What do you think of Dumbo’s new circus queue @disneyland” theme=”style3″]
Breakdown
We get a lot of mail here at MiceChat from folks who get trapped on broken attractions or find themselves waiting in a long line only to have the ride break down before they can board. Sadly, that’s just the way it is with complicated amusement park attractions. It’s been that way since the earliest days of the park. However, when multiple attractions all break down at the same time, and when one of the biggest people-eating attractions is closed for refurbishment, that makes things really difficult for guests. Such was the case for hours on Saturday when Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Matterhorn, and Dumbo all broke down at the same time while Pirates is down for a major refurbishment.
I had just walked to the back of the park to see how Splash Mountain was holding up. It has been unreliable since it returned from refurbishment. Cast Members indicated that the attraction was finally starting to stabilize. No sooner did I hear those assurances and enter the line than the attraction broke down.
On my way out of the cul-de-sac that is Critter Country, I found that Haunted Mansion was also down (and remained closed for quite some time).
Pirates of the Caribbean is closed for an update to the Auction Scene (as we’ve previously discussed).
Ironically, even with attractions down, because Pirates is closed, the walkways in front of the attraction are easy to navigate. This area is often a tangle of queue lines when the park is busy, as it was over the weekend.
Grad Nights
Speaking of crowds, make note of Grade Night dates:
May 4, 5, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, 22, 23, 29, 30 and June 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9
The parks can be difficult on these dates as regular crowds swell with the addition of thousands of sometimes rowdy grads. Do you avoid Grad Nights or do they not bother you? Looking forward to your (respectful) comments below.
Cart Crazy
If it seems like the Outdoor Vending Carts (ODV) are busier than usual it’s because they are, especially the ones with Pixar Fest featured items. Folks seem to be going nuts for Coco themed churros, Monster’s inc. popcorn buckets, and especially the Passholder exclusive Green Alien popcorn bucket.
Of course, it’s this little fellow that everyone wants:
Park Updates
It’s a good thing Walt is facing the train station, otherwise he’d probably be screaming for someone to fix the castle roof. There are lots of dents, dings, rust and cables that need to be dealt with. 
The good news is that 99.9% of guest probably never notice. But we are the tenth of a percent who DO notice . . .
But even from a distance, there are a few signs that things aren’t quite right. Finials are missing from the tops of some of the turrets. There are dents big and small on the rooftops. And there are some elements that look like they don’t quite match up correctly:
And the missing gold spires are something I can’t help but fixate on (I know I’m all by myself in this obsession, but it bugs me).
And I just can’t deal with this fully exposed electrical conduit. Hide it! Build a faux stone box or put a gargoyle there, flower pot, fake vine or something. . . anything would look better.
Just behind the castle is a turret that we’ve been pointing out for over a year.
Rust and peeled paint. Again, you’ve got to look for it, so I know why it isn’t a priority. But you’d think that a year would be a long enough time to get it sanded, primed and painted.
And I’m not sure what this next thing is. Look above the sign for the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique . . . is that a wifi antenna, RFID sensor, or some other device. Any ideas?
If they painted it the same color as the roof, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed it.
In ToonTown the hills are alive with the sounds of fading. It’s looking more and more like they’ve given up on this land. Rooftops, backdrops and prop maintenance are all lacking. And likely because they don’t want to fix something which may soon be going away. The Fantasyland expansion pressure is building. This area could become Arendelle or Beauty and the Beast village . . . though, I’d like to make a pitch for Zootopia (anyone with me on that?). There’s a lot of land with room for show buildings on the other side of those hills (a major expansion pad sits just behind Chip and Dale’s Treehouse).
Crowd Flow
Disneyland has been making lots of little changes to get ready for Star Wars Land. The expected crowd crush is going to put extra pressure on Disneyland’s tightest spots. In recent months, the park has removed planters and created new queue and stroller parking all designed to unobstruct walkways. Adventureland moved stroller parking into a previous beverage stand, removed a tree and moved quick serve seating inside a previous shop. Tomorrowland removed some built-in benches at the base of the PeopleMover supports. Small World has dramatically expanded its queue and moved stroller parking. Dumbo moved and expanded its queue to get more people away from the walkways (and possibly to test the use of MaxPass at the attraction). But there are many areas of the park that are still cramped and in need of a fix. Adventureland will soon begin construction on the Tropical Hideaway (old Aladdin’s Oasis) which could move the Dole Whip and Bengal BBQ into the Hideaway and free up two pinch-points in the land. Tomorrowland’s entry area is hampered by rocks and an attraction plopped right in the middle of the a major pathway. New Orleans Square can gridlock in front of Pirates even though there are multiple bridges and levels of walkways for guests to take (because some of them become queue and others become stroller parking). And Fantasyland propper can be a zoo on a busy day.
Just look at this scene from Saturday. Peter Pan’s queue is fully extended into the walkway on one side and stroller parking is on the other side. Leaving a tight path in the middle for two way traffic.
Here’s that Tomorrowland pinch-point I referenced above. At the least, they should probably remove the rocks. But the absolute best would be to also remove the Astro Orbiter, which completely clogs the entry to the land. The Orbitron on the top of the old Peoplemover platform is actually the Astro Jets mechanism. It could be converted back into the ride it once was and guests would be delighted with the view from on high. But that may not be in the cards until final plans for the Tomorrowland redo are greenlit.
The main pathway through Adventureland between the exit of Tiki Room and the Dole Whip stand is another difficult spot. The only solution to this growing mess is to move the Dole Whip into the new Tropical Hideaway. The sooner the better. It is so frustrating to navigate this tight passage and that only gets worse before/after Fantasmic and fireworks.
[clickToTweet tweet=”What are the three most congested areas in Disneyland that you’d like to see them fix? #Disneyland #crowds” quote=”What are the three most congested areas in Disneyland that you’d like to see them fix? #Disneyland #crowds” theme=”style3″]
Star Wars Land Construction
There are four main views of Star Wars land at the moment. ToonTown, Rivers of America, Big Thunder, and the parking structure. Let’s take a quick look at the photos and then press play on the video below. Use the force!
Last week we noticed some very Star Wars looking antennas. Now we are geeking out over this domed structure.
Here’s what it looked like last week:
And in ToonTown, the Star Wars range is unmistakable.
But it’s the view from the Parking Structure and from Big Thunder Railroad which capture the mind by exposing the scale of the project.
We have a few views and some slo-mo video for you below:
This and That
Crowds seem to like the new “Pizza Planet.” It’s cute, but they unfortunately haven’t improved upon the food quality. Last year’s overlay of Village Haus came with an ambitious menu as well. No such luck here. Though, if you haven’t tried the cheeseburger pizza yet, it’s worth a taste.
The Adventureland themed Starbucks mug is available at the Market House on Main Street. It’s just Tiki enough that I can’t live without it. I’m getting two. One to use and one for when I need to replace it (I’m all thumbs in the morning when I make my coffee).
Those construction walls at Star Door Cafe aren’t as exciting as you may think. They had to pull out one of the old trees and have replaced it with another large-ish tree.
The lines for Stage Door’s fried foods can get pretty long, and they are one of the slowest service lines in the park.
The photo below is for reader Cathy, who wanted to know if the sea dragon topiary survived the queue construction at Small World. . . Good news, the dragon was relocated closer to the actual queue and looks great (I believe he’s missing one hump in the new location).
Speaking of the queue, once all these trees grow in, it will be like walking through a forest. It was a great idea. Now the full queue can be kept on the Small World side of the parade route. Of course, they wouldn’t need that much queue space if they’d just get rid of Fastpass/Maxpass.
New parade lighting towers are in the process of being installed.
Guests were packed around the river to see this gaggle of goslings. SOOOOOOOOO cute.
I keep checking to see if they’ll do the Pixar Ball as a carmel apple. So far I’ve only seen the green alien and the Unicorn (which almost every guest calls a pig).
Thomas Kinkade died in 2012, but that hasn’t seemed to slow him down. They were “signing” his Disney artwork at Disneyana over the weekend.
And a quick heads up from DCA. There are a lot of character meet and greets going on right now. You can catch several different Pixar characters at the Pixar Pals character spot in Paradise Gardens.
And, in anticipation of huge demand from the new Avengers film, Captain America now has his own photo spot directly across from Spider Man.
Are you happy with the changes to Dumbo? Have a comment on which pinch-points in the park should be addressed next? And what do you think about the big new details rapidly being installed in Star Wars land? Lots to discuss in the comments below!
Thank you for joining us today. Be sure to follow along on social so you don’t miss out on all the fun.
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