It’s been a busy week at the Disneyland Resort. With two concurrent events happening in Disneyland, the Haunted Mansion’s 50th Anniversary and the return of the Main Street Electrical Parade, people have been coming to see the spectacle in the last stretch of summer. Although the days have been fairly light, tourists have been packing the park nightly. But beware, the parks are expected to become MUCH more crowded beginning today, when the Deluxe Annual Passes are unblocked from Disneyland at long last.
We’re also starting to see the first signs of Halloween decorations around the park. The big D23 Expo hits this coming weekend. And fall construction projects are starting to pop up . . . including a fond goodbye to Tomorrowland’s French fry rocks!
Tomorrowland Construction
After a few months without construction walls at Disneyland, it looks like Project Stardust is back in full swing. As Dusty explained earlier this year, the hub project would continue after Star Wars land opened. And indeed, walls are up from the outer ring of the Hub to the entrance to Tomorrowland.
There are two parts to this project, curb lowering and removal of some of those obstructive rocks at the entry to the land.
The main focus right now is on the curb. But the Tomorrowland logo sign has already been removed as a part of the walkway changes and lowering of the curb. We aren’t sure if it will be returning.
The entire entry walkway has been torn up. We assume that means they’re creating an entrance with less of a steep incline.
The only problem with this project is that it comes right as the Main Street Electrical Parade is creating a lot of extra traffic at night along the parade route. Since the parade crossing had to be moved closer to the Plaza Inn and Jolly Holiday to accommodate construction, the entire walkway is entirely gridlocked during parade performances.
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Buzzin’ 2: Eclectic Bugaloo
It’s Revenge of a Bugs Land this week with a few stories from our readers about insects taking over portions of the park.
Here’s a story from a reader about a cockroach swarm right before the MSEP. Several of the comments in the MiceChat Facebook Group mention similar swarms:
This is the time of year where cockroaches are everywhere in Anaheim, so this problem isn’t going to be exclusive to Disneyland. Hopefully, they’re doing something to mitigate the issue.
Here’s another story from a reader from National Honey Bee Day, August 17, where a swarm of bees decided it was a good time to visit Fantasyland:
Fantasyland is not new to beehives, they liked to hide in the now-demolished skyway station, but something so close to such a popular attraction is a bit alarming.
Adventureland Bridge Construction
Construction continues on the walkway between Adventureland and Frontierland.
Even peeking over the construction walls, we’re not entirely sure what they’re doing here.
Matterhorn Repair
Last week we reported on the door-sized chunk of the facade that fell off the Matterhorn. A construction scrim was quickly erected and it’s all we can see right now. Here’s hoping the replacement facade is installed soon as the wait times for Matterhorn Bobsleds have skyrocketed since one side of the track isn’t operating.
Hello, Halloween!
It’s only mid-August, but Halloween is starting to creep into the Resort. The first decorations popped up at the entrance to Frontierland…and a lot of it is a bit creepy. The shop itself is full of Halloween merchandise already, but it is the same stuff that can be found all over the resort.
Personally, I love the vintage-y Halloween decor, it really suits Frontierland.
Ghosts and Lights: a Two for One Special
There are two simultaneous promotions happening right now, the limited engagement of the Main Street Electrical Parade and the Haunted Mansion’s 50th Anniversary. Both have had a surprisingly large stock of merchandise. They also both have great offerings in terms of limited-time food, snacks and drinks.
Haunted Mansion has taken over the west side of the park, and all the offerings we’ve tried so far have been delicious. The Pickwick Punch at the Royal Street Veranda is a bit of an oddball drink since it has orange sherbert in it, but we thought it was quite refreshing. Usually, this kind of stuff loses its flavor in the sweetness, but thankfully that wasn’t the case here.
We also tried Professor Phineas Plump’s “Cure-All” Fritters and thought they were some of the best fritters the Veranda has ever made. Deep-fried cheese balls are really all they needed to advertise, but the ghost pepper ranch dipping sauce enhanced them and was not as spicy as you might expect.
The Midnight Mint Julep is likely the big-ticket item for this promotion, there’s a reason why there’s always a big line at the Mint Julep Bar right now. I’d say it’s probably the most approachable mint julep that Disneyland has served; the blackberry flavor actually manages to overpower the mint flavor a bit. If you’re planning on swinging by the Bar, definitely use the newly-added mobile order option. Oh, and we’re pretty sure the Midnight Mint Julep and Honey Beignets replaced the Watermelon Mint Julep and Sour Cherry Beignets (those did not last very long).
While the Mansion celebration takes place all over the west side, the Main Street Electrical Parade has taken over Main Street. Although, compared to the Mansion foods, the offerings for MSEP aren’t quite as exciting (and are almost entirely sweets and candy). The one savory thing we tried was the Firefly Chips, which is essentially corn chips topped with chili. I actually enjoyed this more than I anticipated because the chili at the Refreshment Corner pairs pretty well with the corn chips. The trouble is that the serving size is rather small. But it’s a fun little snack that’s great to eat while watching the parade.
Run, don’t walk to the Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor and grab a scoop of Fantasia ice cream. It’s back after a long hiatus from the park, and the banana, cherry and pistachio flavored ice cream is just as delicious as before. If anything sticks around after the promotion, we hope it’s this one.
We also tried the Linzer Cookie and Macaron, both were sweet and delicious as expected.
DCA
Lucky Fortune Menu Change
The Lucky Fortune Cookery at Pacific Wharf received a much-needed menu refresh this week.
Everything sounds pretty good, definitely better than what they had before. Gone are the choose-your-own rice bowls, and now a variety of entrees are available instead. Although, we’re confused at the fact that the Pork Ramen is the most expensive thing on the menu and doesn’t include any toppings…
Marvel Construction
Marvel Land (or…Superhero Land? Hopefully, we get an official name this week at the D23 Expo) continues to rise in the shadow of Mission Breakout. What once was a pile of dirt just a few weeks ago is now full of vertical construction.
From the parade route, we noticed that a lot of the buildings in front of the Spider-Man show building are now receiving some of their final insulation.
From above, there’s a lot more to the puzzle.
The building being constructed in front of the Spider-Man show building (aka the old Bugs Theater) is really taking shape.
Check out all the steel behind the restrooms at the Guardians-side entrance to the land.
Villains Grove
Walls are still up around the Camp Circle at the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. It looks like it’s currently storing all of the Villains Grove construction equipment.
Villains Grove will be a sort of mild Haunt-style attraction that will take over the trail during the Oogie Boogie Bash party nights. It will be utilizing music, projections and lighting to create the semi-scary effects, and that’s why most of what we’re seeing in the camp circle is a ton of electrical equipment.
Over by the waterfall, lots of show elements are being installed and covered in plastic camouflage. This is where you’ll find Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, and the waterfall should look a bit like fire.
I assume the tall posts like the one below are going to hold the projectors.
Some projector bases do have more detailed coverings
Award Weiners Construction
The construction on the seating area near Award Weiners is starting to finish up. Some of the scrims came down this weekend.
Posts for signage and possibly awnings are sticking out of the building. Could this be the new attraction entry as well?
Around the corner at the temporary dining area for Award Wieners, a new metal Art Deco-inspired barrier has been installed to separate this temporary area from the exit to the Sunset Showcase Theater.
This and That
MSEP Crowds
We’ve observed some interesting crowd patterns since the return of the Main Street Electrical Parade. Most days during the morning and afternoon, wait times for attractions and overall crowd level of the parks can be pretty low. . . but by evening the park is packed. Due to Electrical Parade, Fireworks, AND Fantasmic, by 6-7pm the park can be intensely crowded.
It reminds us of crowd patterns during portions of the 60th Anniversary where guests were showing up just to see Paint the Night, Disneyland Forever, and World of Color: Celebrate. We’re led to believe that these patterns are similar due to the popularity of the Main Street Electrical Parade. Disneyland has even hit capacity and stopped admitting guests for a short time during the evening. What makes it even more strange is during a MSEP performance, crowd levels can feel light if you’re not near the parade route.
As usual, we suggest attending the second performance of the MSEP. We also suggest staying away from the parade route, and especially Main Street if possible, whenever a performance is happening to avoid the major gridlock we’ve observed. While the construction at the Tomorrowland entrance isn’t the only thing to blame for the Main Street traffic jam, there’s really nowhere else it could be moved to until construction finishes.
But keep your eye on the Passholders blockout calendar . . . the Deluxe passes unblock today! That could drive crowds way up.
In addition to the unblocking of passes, area hotels are reporting higher occupancy for fall travel dates. But there are still great deals available.
Oga’s Cantina Changes (and Glitches)
11pm closing times are beginning for Disneyland now that summer’s peak season is coming to an end, and we stumbled upon a mistake. We had a reservation one evening for Oga’s Cantina at 10:55pm, which obviously wouldn’t work because the park would have closed 5 minutes after we entered the cantina. Fortunately, Disney caught the error and called us offering a replacement time or to cancel the reservation at no charge. If you somehow find yourself in that situation, talk to a Guest Relations or Cantina cast member to get the situation rectified. For us, they were more than willing to let us in 30 minutes earlier.
The menus have been updated to reflect a change in drinks available. Many of the souvenir mugs have been out of stock, so the menus now list the cost of the drink without it. If you decide to order either the Yub Nub or Cliff Dweller, the bartender will offer you the souvenir mug if they have them, otherwise, the drink will be served in one of the plastic cups that the milk stand uses.
That worked out for me because I wanted to try the Cliff Dweller but didn’t necessarily want to buy the Porg mug. And yes, it’s actually pretty good.
If you do want to bring home a Porg mug or Endor-inspired tiki mug (for your Cliff Dweller or Yub Nub drinks), they are still available for purchase, but only if they are in stock at the time of ordering.
Our new Digital Media Director, Trevor Perez, has a special cinematic look at Galaxy Edge. Take a look and help us welcome him to the team:
Where would you like Trevor to take us next?
Splash Queue
Over in the Splash Mountain standby queue, a new (or new to us) bear statue has been installed.
Buena Vista Street Trolley Station Construction
Work continues on the Buena Vista Trolley Station while the Trolley is under Refurbishment. This week, the heavy construction equipment moved out of the walls to make space for the real construction to begin. It looks like Disney is adding an additional set of battery charging pads under the stop. Hopefully, the project will be done and the walls are down by the first Oogie Boogie Bash in a few weeks.
Refurbishment Calendar
Speaking of refurbishments, the Disneyland Resort has a slew of refurbishments coming up in just a few weeks:
Currently Under Refurbishment:
- Red Car Trolley: April 1st, 2019-2020
Upcoming Refurbishment:
- Golden Zephyr: August 25th-31st
- Haunted Mansion Holiday Transformation: August 26th-September 5th
- Hyperspace Mountain: August 26th, 28th, & September 19th
- Sailing Ship Columbia: September 9th-12th
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh September 16th-26th
- Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island: September 16th-19th
- Mark Twain River Boat: September 23rd-26th
Parking Structure Construction Update
Over at the Mickey & Friends Parking Structures, the outside Tram Plaza continues to receive new foliage. Most of the palm trees were planted this week. It’s become quite the forest.
Also, the new Elevator Project continues to reach new heights as the supports now span the top floors.
The new pedestrian bridge to Downtown Disney also makes progress as curb lines have been laid and more trees have been planted. Also, more of the Magic Way pathways have had their cement laid.
Meet The Original Disneylanders August 21st
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D23 Expo 2019
if you don’t already have tickets to the D23 Expo this coming weekend, we don’t want to get you too excited because it’s already sold out. But not to fear, we have a team of reporters and photographers going to the show to cover everything for you as it happens . . . and we are excited to announce the return of Andy Castro!
If you are attending the Expo, be sure to stop by the MiceChat booth for a chance to win one of hundreds of prizes from our partners at Get Away Today, The Anaheim Hotel, and The Howard Johnson Anaheim Resort. Get a photo with a Disney Legend. Pick up some rare autographed Disney collectible books.
We’ll also have some great Disney Legends, artists, Imagineers and talent at the booth, including theme park animatronics designer Garner Holt and a display of animatronics. Plus these amazing folks:
MiceChat Disneyland Resort Halloween Party Meet-Up September 17th
The Halloween party at Disneyland is moving over to Disney California Adventure this year thanks to Oogie Boogie—and we’ll be making opening night (Tuesday, September 17th) extra special with an official MiceChat Meetup. We’ll trick or treat, catch the new World of Color, enjoy the parade, and live it up with the villains throughout the night. Don’t miss out on purchasing tickets to the Oogie Boogie Bash before they’re sold out (there’s a pass holder discount available), it’ll haunt you for sure.
You can find out more information about our upcoming meets and events and meet-up locations by adding your name to our event list here:
Already have your ticket? Join our Facebook event here!
Disneyland Ticket Opportunity! 2020 at 2019 Prices!
MiceChat’s partners at Get Away Today offer you amazing savings on Disney tickets and travel from coast to coast! And they’ve JUST released their tickets and packages for 2020, so you can start booking now. But here’s the really great news, they’ve got Disneyland tickets for use throughout 2020 at the current price (no increase)! Lock in the discounted rates right now (before they go up) for travel through the end of next year!!!
There are a lot of great things coming up . . . Halloween, Christmas, opening of Rise of the Resistance, Lunar New Year celebration, Food & Wine Festival, Marvel Land opening, and more. Lock in the savings now!
WAIT . . . THERE’S MORE . . .
Looking for more Disney goodness? We’ve got HOURS of content for you right here. Enjoy a 45 minute walk-through of Disneyland with Trevor:
AND the latest MiceChat Podcast is filled with juicy gossip and bitchy commentary from the crew about new attractions, announcements, new theme parks on the way, and suggestions for fixing Star Wars land:
Well folks, that should do it for this week’s update. What do you think the crowds are going to look like now that some of the passholders are unblocked starting today? Are you looking forward to Halloween at the Disneyland Resort? Will we see you at the MiceChat booth at D23? Let us know in the comments!
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