Seasonal rain washed out what could have been big crowds visiting the Anaheim area for various convention and special events. Despite the rain, Disneyland refurbishments and construction projects continue through the winter months. Guests visiting the parks will be greeted with construction walls as both parks undergo various refurbishment projects big and small as well as construction on the new Fantasy Faire princess meet-and-greet area next to Sleeping Beauty Castle. Meanwhile, Disney’s various Limited Time Magic offerings including New Orleans Bayou Bash! and the very popular Golden Horseshoe Revue continue to entertain weekend guests.
Get a closer look at today’s update! Click on any photo in today’s column for a large, high-resolution version of the image.
| Welcome to Disneyland! |
Main Street Station’s refurbishment project continues…
Our friends from Touring Plans have their weekly crowd forecast below:
The wonderfully low off season crowds continue this week. Except for Sunday. Something big happens on that day… Super something? Anyway, TouringPlans.com can help you navigate the parks with our per-park Crowd Calendar, Lines – Mobile Wait Times App that gives access to current and estimated wait times for attractions, and Touring Plans detailing the best plan of attack for hitting the attractions. Now more than ever, it’s a good time to subscribe to TouringPlans.com to plan your strategy to avoid the crowds!
Below are the predicted resort-wide crowd numbers for select days generated by the TouringPlans professional statisticians as measured for the upcoming week. For the access to the full year and per-park crowd level predictions, visit our Crowd Calendar.
— Fred Hazelton, Statistician, TouringPlans.com
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Crowd Prediction |
Crowd Tips |
| Tues., Jan. 29 | Here are some quick-hit notes that we hope you’ll find helpful as you prepare your visits for the week:
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| Wed., Jan. 30 | 2 /10 | |
| Thu., Jan. 31 | 2 /10 | |
| Fri., Feb. 1 | 5 /10 | |
| Crowd levels are based on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being the least crowded conditions and 10 being most crowded.See Disneyland crowds for the next 365 days. Get Disneyland wait times on your iPhone, Android, or Smartphone.Do more. Wait less.  Dateline Disneyland is sponsored by TouringPlans.com. |
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Our big MiceAge 10th Anniversary Celebration Weekend is almost here! Join us this weekend for lots of fun and excitement including Disney Legends, special events and much more.
Our big Disney Legends Breakfast and Book Signing and Yesterland tours have sold out, but you can still join us for our special Anniversary Cocktail Reception with Alice Davis — but hurry, only a few tickets remain! We’ve also got numerous other free meet-ups and events you can join in on — for more information, visit the full schedule here.
Construction Kingdom |
Construction on the upcoming Fantasy Faire, which we previewed for you last week with our tour of the new Blue Sky Cellar exhibit, continues next to Sleeping Beauty Castle.
Lots of nice detail work continues to emerge throughout the area…
Back in Fantasyland, not much progress can be seen yet at the upcoming “Mickey and the Magical Map” stage show coming to the Fantasyland Theater.
Nearby, “it’s a small world” is now closed while its holiday overlay is removed.
Some holiday garland and Christmas lights are still up for now…
Christmas lights are already down on most of the facade, though
In Frontierland, the Pioneer Mercantile is still getting some refurbishment work done…
Nearby, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad’s major 10-month refurbishment project continues…
A new “Happiest Horses on Earth” sign on the construction walls details Disneyland’s equine history.
Along the Rivers of America, the Fantasmic and Mark Twain Riverboat refurbishment projects continue…
Another Fantasmic! pit has been dredged in front of the Tom Sawyer Island raft dock.
Because of this, Tom Sawyer Island is currently closed.
A few steps down the river, the Mark Twain Riverboat is still in dry dock as it continues its restoration project
And nearby, Splash Mountain is now closed for its off-season refurbishment.
| Limited Time Magic: New Orleans Bayou Bash!, A Salute to the Golden Horseshoe Revue, and Lunar New Year Celebration |
Disney’s Limited Time Magic promotion continues this week with two offerings. The very popular Salute to the Golden Horseshoe show will run for its final weekend this week. Hopefully the show proved popular enough to warrant Disney adding a permanent version of the show to the Golden Horseshoe Saloon.
A Salute to the Golden Horseshoe Revue
Thursday through Monday, now through February 4
11:30 am, 12:45 pm, 2:00 pm, 4:00 pm, 5:15 pmAnnual Passholder Dinner Show Dates:
Thursdays through Mondays, January 10 through February 4, 2013Time:
6:30 p.m.Price:
$35 per Passholder, per showReservations:
Call (714) 781-PASS (7277) and select option 0Menu:
Starter: Corn chips in a souvenir Golden Horseshoe boot mug
Entrees: Black forest ham and roast beef sandwiches
Sides: Golden raisin and carrot salad, Yukon golden potato salad, Very Berry fruit salad
Children’s Menu: 2 PB&J sandwiches with sides
Vegetarian Option: Vegetable and cheese sandwiches with sides
Beverages: Mint Julep, water, coffee
Dessert: Walt & Lilly’s 30th Anniversary Celebration Cake
Continuing for a couple more weekends, Disneyland’s New Orleans Bayou Bash will continue to bring its fun Mardi Gras offerings to New Orleans Square…
New Orleans Bayou Bash!
10:00 am – 5:00 pm
February 1-3, February 8-12
Next up for Limited Time Magic, Disneyland’s Lunar New Year celebration will return and move to Pacific Wharf at Disney California Adventure. The celebration will feature colorful performances from dancers, musicians, and martial artists as well as appearances from Mulan, Mushu, Mickey and Minnie.
Happy Lunar New Year Celebration
at Disney California Adventure
10 am — 5 pm, February 8 — 11
Disneyland also released information on special food items that will be available as part of the celebration, including potstickers and ginger milk tea.
| Welcome to California Adventure |
Disney has announced that Annual Passholders can enjoy California Adventure for up to two hours after regular park closing on Thursday nights throughout February.
Below, some information on the special extended hours for Passholders. For complete information, click here.
Annual Passholder Extended Hours
Dates:
- February 7, February 14, February 21 and February 28, 2013
Time
For 2 hours after regular park closingCheck-In and Wristbands
Check-in begins at 12:00 noon on the day of the event only, and must be completed in person.
Wristbands are required for access to attractions during Annual Passholder Extended Hours.
Wristbands are valid only for that day’s event and are subject to availability.
Passholders with wristbands may enter the event until thirty (30) minutes prior to the end of the event.
The off-season has brought along lighter crowds and some seasonal refurbishments to California Adventure as well. Grizzly River Run remains closed through the end of February for its refurbishment.
In Cars Land, work has wrapped up on one half of Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree’s resurfacing project.
The new floor treatment is perhaps a bit more plain than the original version, but hopefully it’ll last a little longer.
The other side of Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree (closest to the parade route), should go under the tents this week for its resurfacing.
| This & That |
A few new interesting merchandise offerings have recently popped up in various shops in the parks…
New Mickey’s Fun Wheel attraction poster t-shirt and hoodie
A new retro ceramic tumbler
Some interesting new magnets…
Oswald’s in California Adventure continues to get location-specific merchandise, which is really nice to see.
Oswald’s trading pin:
The popular Oswald ear hats are now in constant supply here
And finally, as part of Limited Time Magic, Disney has some specialty ear hats available only for a limited time.
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| Weekly News & Information Round-Up | ||
| Weekly Theme Park Hours January 28 — February 3, 2013 |
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| Disneyland Park | Disney California Adventure | |
| Monday-Thursday: 10 am – 8 pm Friday: 9 am – 11 pm Saturday: 8 am – 11 pm Sunday: 9 am – 11 pm |
Monday-Thursday: 10 am – 8 pm Friday: 9 am – 10 pm Saturday: 8 am – 10 pm Sunday: 9 am – 10 pm |
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visit the Disneyland.com Theme Park Calendar |
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1.8—6.6 out of 10 |
2.7—8.3 out of 10 |
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with 1 being the least crowded conditions and 10 being most crowded. For crowd predictions for the next 365 days, visit |
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A quick look at noteworthy Disney theme park headlines from around the web. |
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Alright, that wraps up this week’s edition of Dateline Disneyland! Thank you for reading and be sure to share your thoughts in the comments section below!
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| FTC-Mandated Disclosure: Promotional consideration for this edition of Dateline Disneyland was provided by TouringPlans.com | Do More. Wait Less. and the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel & Water Playground. |
January 28, 2013 at 5:50 am
Great Update Andy
I love all of the refurbishment work going on at the moment in the parks.
The Limited Time Magic events at the moment is better that what is happening at WDW.
Thanks Again Andy
Trumpet
January 28, 2013 at 5:53 am
Thanks for making Monday mornings a little brighter, Andy! Love the new Merch. Will definitely be picking up some magnets and postcards when I visit in late Feb. I wish they would make postcards/magnets out of the book cover art from the BVS windows.
January 28, 2013 at 6:39 am
Thanks Andy! Great work! I was there Thursday morning at opening with a light rain. I got tickets for the Golden Horseshoe, and some great shots of Disneyland with no people in them. I love rainy off-season days! And the show was great!
January 28, 2013 at 7:56 am
Thanks for the update, Andy!
I like two of the cards in the box set, but I don’t want the Goofy coaster card or the Arial ride cards. Wish they had the red street car poster and a Radiator Spring Racer & Luigi’s Tires cards instead.
We had an excellent visit to the parks on Saturday. Some of the details are on this thread:
http://micechat.com/forums/disneyland-resort/178196-rainbow-peter-pan-ride-looks-filthy-other-notes-today-d-land.html
My only negative comments were the filthy rainbow you fly over in Neverland on the Peter Pan ride,
and
the weird first half of “A Whole New World” during the Aladdin show when we can’t see Aladdin and Jasmine, but mostly just watch two guys in camel costumes trying nobly but unsuccessfully to distract the audience from the big gap left from the flying carpet scene.
January 28, 2013 at 7:58 am
Grrrr. Unable to fix embarrassing typos in post above.
January 28, 2013 at 8:00 am
Sorry for my typos above. I did edit some out of my brief trip report.
January 28, 2013 at 8:36 am
Don’t worry about the typos. They happen from time to time, especially when you’re in a hurry.
January 28, 2013 at 8:29 am
LOL @ the Orange Bird magnet showing up in DCA
January 28, 2013 at 7:58 pm
My sentiments exactly. It’s almost as if they WANT the West Coast to stop bothering flying to WDW, since we can get their merchandise here.
January 28, 2013 at 8:43 am
The Fantasy Faire wood detailing is amazing!!! I thought the quality level was going to be that of the new Fantasyland theater gate(thick unrealisticly bending wooden beams that look like paintd concrete).
I wish the actual cups etc. said Disneyland too instead of the soulless “Disney Parks.”
Great update! I wish I was there for the short lines.
January 28, 2013 at 9:01 am
The printed schedule at DCA says there’s some sort of Lunar New Year / Chinese New Year (it mentions both, one in print and the other in a graphic) dance troupe appearing tomorrow (Tuesday, 1/29) at Pacific Wharf. Do you think that’s accurate or possibly was intended for the next week’s schedule?
January 28, 2013 at 2:57 pm
The Lunar New Year dance troupe will be performing Tuesday, 1/29 in addition to over the weekend during the Lunar New Year Celebration.
January 28, 2013 at 9:49 am
Although I LOVE refurbishments, that seems like a lot of attractions down at once, at least major attractions.
January 28, 2013 at 10:41 am
You missed one thing on the refurb schedule, although its not really a big refurb but Tower of Terror is reduced capacity during monday thru thursday for the next 3 weeks, and has been for the past 2
January 28, 2013 at 10:46 am
Tempting to say that the new Fantasy Faire area has the level of detail that the NEW Fantasyland has….but then I remember: Disneyland’s entire Fantasyland has this top notch look. Amazing how fast they are getting it together.
January 28, 2013 at 11:39 am
Thanks for putting some pictures of new merchandise. I know some people seem to despise merchandise as crass commercialism, but I’m a bit of a collector, and I really enjoy it. And then I know it’s time to make another trip to Dland or find some other creative way to come up with some of these items! (I already picked up the ceramic cup a few weeks ago – it was hidden on a bottom shelf in the Emporium, but I considered it a pretty good find!) I would be all for a weekly merchandise update (hear that, Al?).
January 28, 2013 at 12:19 pm
Thank you for the update!
January 28, 2013 at 12:29 pm
That’s one of my few problems with Disneyland. There never seems to be a perfect time to visit.
If you go in the Summer, it’s insanely crowded, the lines are long, the waits are forever, and the restaurants are crowded. But almost all of the rides are open and all of the parades, shows, fireworks, street entertainment, etc. is in full swing.
If you go on a weekday in off-season to avoid crowds, you get a wonderfully uncrowded park, short lines, almost no waits, easy access to restaurants, etc. But it seems like half of the attractions are either closed or behind walls for refurbishment. And most of the events, parades, shows, etc. that help make the park exciting, aren’t even scheduled.
Management acts almost as if the park is closed this time of year, and they can afford to go about maintenance, as if the guests who DO show up don’t really count and can settle for half of the usual Disneyland experience.
I wouldn’t mind management’s attitude if they offered half-price tickets during the off-season, in recognition of the difference in value. But to charge full price and then give visitors less value in return isn’t exactly honest. As a local (and former AP), I know what to expect, of course. But I pity the poor tourists who arrive for a once-in-a-lifetime Disneyland visit, only to be forced to settle for only part of the usual Disneyland experience.
January 29, 2013 at 11:17 am
if they charge half price this season, people who are planning they’re vacations will know about it and try to come in an off season, only to spend a fortune flying out to Cal. with their family from whatever state/country they are from and find half the rides under refurbishement, and no shows. People will see this season as more of a deal then find out the hard way that the park isn’t in full swing. Its better to have a few people dissapointed, then to have people disappointed year-round. Plus, most people that visit in the off-season are local’s because foreigners know of California’s summer weather, and locals know (after 57 yrs) that Disneyland is mostly under refurb around this time.
January 28, 2013 at 1:02 pm
Great update as always!
January 28, 2013 at 1:32 pm
Did I spot an Orange Bid?
January 28, 2013 at 2:58 pm
You sure did!