The past week brought a fair amount of fun, pomp and pageantry to the Disneyland Resort. On Friday, the Disneyland resort celebrated the 50th anniversary of it’s a small world complete with a Richard Sherman sing-along. But it left many scratching their heads. There is also a resort-wide egg hunt being held which appears to be a big hit with visitors along with the continuing springtime round up at Big Thunder Ranch. We also bring you the latest pictures and news from around the resort along with a listing of what rides are planned to be refurbished in the near future . . . it’s a big Disneyland Update.

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The MiceChat Gumball Rally is coming up fast! Get your team together and let’s get ready to roll in the event that has you competing with other Disney fans to see who can ride the most attractions at Disneyland in a single day!  Yes, it’s a lot of fun.  If you’ve competed in the event in the past, we have added a few exciting twists to keep you on your toes.  READ MORE HERE

Addictometer Crowd Estimates for Disneyland Resort

April 14-20, 2014

MONDisneyland Update, Disneyland Update: Celebrating Small World and Easter Egg Fun
TUEDisneyland Update, Disneyland Update: Celebrating Small World and Easter Egg Fun
WEDDisneyland Update, Disneyland Update: Celebrating Small World and Easter Egg Fun
THUDisneyland Update, Disneyland Update: Celebrating Small World and Easter Egg Fun
FRIDisneyland Update, Disneyland Update: Celebrating Small World and Easter Egg Fun
SATDisneyland Update, Disneyland Update: Celebrating Small World and Easter Egg Fun
SUNDisneyland Update, Disneyland Update: Celebrating Small World and Easter Egg Fun

We expect significant crowds later this week…

  • Fine weather is expected all week, with nice temps, sunny days, and less than a 10% chance of rain.
  • WonderCon takes place at the Anaheim Convention Center starting Friday.
  • This is Easter weekend, which is traditionally busy.
  • Hotels are not sold out (and are offering discounts!) at the beginning of the week, but are busy toward the weekend.
  • SoCal and SoCal Select Passports are blocked all week, and Deluxe are blocked on Friday and Saturday.
  • You asked for it! Mouseaddict now features wait times in minutes as well as our unique bar display. To ensure accurate and up-to-date wait times for everyone, don’t forget to report your own wait times by tapping on the attraction’s wait bar. Thank you!

The free Mouseaddict app for iPhone and iPad features more than five dozen categories of searchable resort information, weather forecasts, park and show schedules, the latest news and articles from MiceChat, and more. Download free on the App Store or at mouseaddict.com.

Disneyland Update, Disneyland Update: Celebrating Small World and Easter Egg Fun

it’s a small world celebrates 50 years

This past Thursday, Disney celebrated it’s a small world celebrated 50 years of sailing the seven seas and happy tidings to all (the attraction actually opened at the World’s Fair on April 22, 1964). The event was marked by a taping of Good Morning America in front of Disneyland’s small world ride, a Google hangout with Richard Sherman (co-writer of the infectious song) and a sing-along cavalcade at two in the afternoon.

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While the Good Morning America event pretty much went off as planned, it wasn’t until later that guests became a little confused. During the Google Hangout time Richard Sherman played the piano out in front of the classic attraction and shared recollections despite the clueless visitors milling about around him trying to get to the ride entrance.

Then, crowds gathered along the parade route to see the “Sing-Along Cavalcade” that was promised at 2pm. Thought it’s clear that the majority of guests didn’t know what was going on, much less the meaning of the word “Cavalcade.” Were they aware, many probably would not have waited to simply see the Disneyland Band followed by Richard Sherman in a Main Street Vehicle leading a sing-along. In fact, one person was overheard asking, “That’s it? no fireworks or anything?”

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Many of the guests may not have known what was going on, but we are ALWAYS thrilled to see Richard Sherman.

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In all fairness, what was delivered was exactly what was promised. This was simply a sing-along down the parade route. But many people huffed off, disappointed. Yikes!

The good news is that management has listened to the concern about the attraction being scheduled for refurbishment on the actual 50th anniversary, and have changed the dates.  The attraction is NOW scheduled to go down on April 23rd, the day after the actual 50th anniversary of the ride. It will be closed to finish up the Cal/OSHA work through May 22nd.

We took a ride on the attraction and have pics and video for you below.

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A new water effect has been installed in the India section.

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In the sea of strollers outside it’s a small world people leave the darndest things…

Just after taking the pic above, the parent came to get their child.  We were just about to find the nearest cast member to report a lost child. It’s true that many guests check their common sense at the front gate.

Disneyland Egg-Straveganza

Last year’s popular DCA Easter Egg Hunt has expanded into Disneyland this year, guests pay $5 a pop to log their findings throughout the park. Once completed, a small prize is promised. This is actually a wonderful little game that enhances the experience in the park. What’s more, folks that choose not to play can still stroll through the park, spotting the eggs at their own leisure.

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Pictured here are the map and two of the prizes that players win after completing the hunt.
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The line to purchase the maps inside Disney Showcase stretched into the Magic Shop next door.

MC TIP Aside from Disney Showcase, here are two other spots in the park to purchase the Easter Egg Maps.

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You can pick the maps up at Fairy Tale Treasures in the Fantasy Faire Village and at Pooh Corner in Critter Country.


SPOILER ALERT!!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!! 

Below, we invite you to check out the pictures of all the eggs in Disneyland Park. We found them all, but we don’t want to spoil the game for you. We’ll show you a closeup of each of the eggs below. Try to figure out where it is located. To find the answer, click on the picture to see the larger view of where it is located.

Click to reveal location. Click to reveal location. Click to reveal location. Click to reveal location. Click to reveal location. Click to reveal location. Click to reveal location. Click to reveal location. Click to reveal location. Click to reveal location Click to reveal location.

End Spoilers

Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage

Here we share the recent pics from the submarine Lagoon.

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Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland is coming along nicely here as they appear to be prepping larger foundations for the exterior portion of the track at Alice in Wonderland.  Will they be demolishing the exterior track and changing the path?  We aren’t sure just yet.

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Mickey and the Magical Map Closures Continue

The problems with Mickey and the Magical Map that we told you about last week continue. On Sunday, all shows were canceled for “technical difficulties.”  That darn map is persnickety.  But, it appears that the real reason the show was down was that too many performers called out sick again, prompting the cancelation of all shows.  It is rumored that the show itself is scheduled to go down for refurbishment on April 28, lasting until May 17th.  At the same time, recasting for the show is currently underway.

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Refurbishment Round Up
Let’s re-cap what is scheduled refurbishments.

Space Mountain

While Space Mountain is getting an exterior cleansing, the attraction is scheduled to be closed for refurbishment May 12, 2014 to June 26, 2014.

it’s a small world

Closed for refurbishment April 23, 2014 to May 22, 2014.

Gadget’s Go Coaster

Closed for refurbishment April 21, 2014 to May 15, 2014.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye

Indy will be excavating deep inside the Temple of the forbidden eye until May 8, 2014

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Tarzan’s Treehouse

Tarzan will take a break from vine swinging for a week soon.  The treehouse will be closed for refurbishment April 21, 2014 to April 22, 2014

Pirates of the Caribbean

Avast me hearties!  The pirates will be setting’ sail soon for other ports.  The attraction will be down from April 28, 2014 to May 22, 2014.

King Arthur’s Carousel

Closed for refurbishment April 28, 2014 to May 1, 2014

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Disneyland Update, Disneyland Update: Celebrating Small World and Easter Egg Fun

Ongoing and Upcoming Scheduled Refurbishments at DCA

Grizzly River Run

Strangely, this water ride is scheduled to be Closed for refurbishment April 21, 2014 to June 19, 2014. Many online have questioned why this wasn’t handled during the winter months.

Redwood Creek Challenge Trail

The interactive play area, Redwood Creek Challenge Trail went down for refurbishment on January 6, 2014 and is scheduled to reopen April 20, 2014

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The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure

This Paradise Pier dark ride is now closed for refurbishment and is scheduled to resurface on May 9, 2014.

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It’s Tough to be a Bug

The “naturalistic underground setting” of the Bug’s Life Theater is currently Closed for refurbishment March 31, 2014 to April 18, 2014.  But when it reopens, it will feature an extended preview of the upcoming Maleficent film from Disney pictures.

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Boudin Bakery

The exterior refurbishment of the Boudin Bakery is nearly complete and it looks great.  They have made an effort to differentiate the various buildings from one another and the look is very interesting.

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DCA Easter Egg Hunt

Disney California Adventure is also running an Easter Egg Hunt.  It is pretty much a repeat of last year though.  In order to play, guests can pick up their map for $5.00 in Elias and Company on Buena Vista Street.

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SPOILER ALERT!!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!! 

Below are some of the Easter Eggs in the DCA Egg Hunt. If you would like to play along, try to figure out where the egg is located. To find the answer click on the picture to see where to see the wider view.

Click here to reveal location. Click here to reveal location. Click here to reveal location. Click here to reveal location. Click here to reveal location. Click here to reveal location. This egg is pretty lame. Just just stuck a wrinkled sticker on top of a yellow egg. Click here to reveal location. Click here to reveal location. Click here to reveal location. Click to reveal location.

END SPOILERS

That closes todays In the Parks, Monday edition.  Andy will be back in just two weeks with Dateline Disneyland.   Don’t forget to check us out on Friday, when we bring you more news from the parks in Southern California!

 

Norman Gidney
Norman Gidney, also known as Fishbulb, has produced and edited many of the articles on MiceChat over the years.