Strong winds and high temperatures hit the parks over the last week as guests continued to maneuver the on-going construction and refurbishment projects around the parks. Today we take a look at the continued work on Disneyland‘s Club 33 expansion, Alice in Wonderland safety upgrades, and the fantastic new color scheme and place-making at Disney California Adventure‘s Pacific Wharf. We also take a look at more new merchandise and take a side trip to the 2014 Fullerton Railroad Days where the Disneyland Railroad’s Ernest S. Marsh locomotive was on display and open for tours.
Don’t miss your weekly Disneyland Resort crowd forecast — provided by our friends at MouseAddict — in the Weekly News and Information Roundup at the end of today’s update!
Get a closer look at today’s update! Click on any photo in today’s blog to see a larger, high-resolution version.
We’ve got a full update today, so let’s get started!
Welcome to Disneyland! |
Strong winds knocked out power to 18,000 customers across Southern California last week and caused Disneyland and Disney California Adventure to close some attractions for safety.
Horse-drawn carriages on Main Street were closed on Wednesday due to winds, along with Jumpin’ Jellyfish, Golden Zephyr, Silly Symphony Swings and the Sun Wheel in Disney California Adventure.
By Friday the winds had died down but the heat had climbed to the 90s.
Disneyland wait times Friday afternoon weren’t terrible. Did the heat help keep folks away?
California Adventure wait times Friday afternoon
Kingdom Closures |
[center]Plaza Inn[/center]
Plaza Inn’s refurbishment continues through next week, reopening by the weekend.
Would be nice to see the old “What Would You Celebrate?” campaign signage changed out.
[center]Temple of the Forbidden Refurbishment[/center]
Indiana Jones Adventure is set to reopen by the end of this week following a much-needed refurbishment.
[center]Yo Ho…[/center]
In New Orleans Square, Pirates of the Caribbean is now closed through May 22 for refurbishment. The Blue Bayou Restaurant remains open during the ride’s closure.
[center]Members Only[/center]
Meanwhile, the Club 33 expansion project continues throughout New Orleans Square.
The windows and doorway at the Le Bat en Rouge shop closest to the original Club 33 entrance have now been closed and blacked out as work on the Club 33 project seeps into the shop’s space.
Walls inside the shop block off a small corner.
The old Court of Angels entrance
On the backside of the French Market..
[center]Alice in Blunderland[/center]
Work on retrofitting the old “vine” portion of the Alice in Wonderland ride track with Cal/OSHA-approved safety upgrades is really starting to move along with major new steel additions.
[center]“it’s a Cal/OSHA world”[/center]
“it’s a small world” remains closed through May 22 for its own Cal/OSHA safety enhancements.
Nearby, Mickey and the Magical Map is dark while the Fantasyland Theater is closed for work.
[center]Toon-Ups[/center]
In Mickey’s Toon Town, the fountains are still dry and behind construction walls along with Gadget’s Go Coaster.
Gadget’s Go Coaster behind walls
The Go Coaster’s refurbishment means the waterway around Donald’s Boat is dry.
[center]Out to Dry[/center]
In Tomorrowland, the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage is still closed through the fall for an extended refurbishment.
[center]Refurbishment Wharf[/center]
In Disney California Adventure, the Pacific Wharf placemaking project is just about done with all of the newly-repainted facades uncovered and scaffolding up just around the Boudin Bakery’s grain silo.
I really love the Wharf’s new color scheme and the new faux business logos added to the building. It really compliments the work they did in the Grizzly Peak, Paradise Pier and Hollywood Land when those areas got cosmetic makeovers as part of the larger California Adventure remodel project.
Love the new details like this.
It’s really great to see little placemaking and minor retheming projects like this take place around the park when areas go down for refurbishment. Kudos to Disney for continuing with these efforts, it looks great and really does make a difference.
[center]The Little Refurbishment[/center]
Nearby, The Little Mermaid dark ride will reopen by the end of the week with some show enhancements.
Across the bay, the gazebo structure near Toy Story Midway Mania is still behind walls while Disney works to replace sections of rotted wood.
[center]Dry Run[/center]
Meanwhile, Grizzly River Run is closed for its ongoing refurbishment which will run through mid-June. If you’re looking to beat the recent heat with a water ride, Splash Mountain will be your only option for a while.
More Merchandise |
Nearby at Rushin’ River Outfitters, some nice new Grizzly River Run items hit store shelves recently. I really like the t-shirt design, which is available for men and women.
On Buena Vista Street, the Atwater Ink and Paint shop has a new line of ceramic mugs and plastic plates (not microwave safe and dishwasher safe on top rack only) that are based on Disney candy/treats.
Candy Cauldron is a reference specific to Walt Disney World.
Nearby, Clarabelle’s Ice Cream has lost its unique Red Car Trolley ice cream dish for a strange “kitchen sink”-style ice cream dish modeled after Mickey Mouse’s pants. Apparently this same dish is now being used at locations at Walt Disney World, so sorry if you wanted that souvenir Red Car – Disney’s more interested in saving a few bucks by cutting the location-specific dishes and using the same one at locations on both coasts.
Back in Disneyland, a few more new items in the retro and Adventureland lines that we showed you last week are now in stores.
I really love this new glassware.
New Enchanted Tiki Room bamboo coasters are available as part of the new Adventureland line. $12.95/set of four
If the retro or Adventureland lines don’t catch your eye, maybe the new black-and-white chalkboard line will.
Looks like this was designed for the Be Our Guest Restaurant fans at Walt Disney World…
New patriotic Mickey and Duffy plush are also available now
The popularity of Frozen remains strong and along with Olaf caramel apples, new Olaf marshmallow treats are now available at Candy Palace and Trolley Treats. And yes, they’re as terrifying in person as they look in the photo below.
This month’s gourmet candy apple is now available – it’s covered in peanut butter cups.
Fullerton Railroad Days |
Over the weekend just a few miles up Harbor Boulevard from Disneyland, the Southern California Railway Association held its annual Railroad Days event at the Downtown Fullerton train station. The two-day event had numerous model trains on display as well as tours of Disneyland Railroad’s Ernest S. Marsh Locomotive #4, opportunities to have your photo taken on the Kalamazoo handcar, and an up-close look at the now-retired boiler for Disneyland’s Engine #2.
The event is small but always a fun outing for Disneyland and train fans alike.
You could climb up into the cab, take a look inside, ring the bell and pull the steam whistle. A really fun and unique experience.
The Kalamazoo handcar, which is usually on display at Main Street Station. Guests could climb on the handcar and take a photo as part of Railroad Days.
This year the now-retired boiler for engine #2 was on display and Disneyland Railroad engineers explained how the whole thing worked to interested guests.
The Carolwood Pacific organization had a booth, promoting the wonderful Walt’s Barn in Griffith Park.
A big draw of Railroad Days includes lots of working model trains on display.
This and That |
Back in Disneyland, the Main Street Photo Supply has received its new Nikon signage, now that the camera company has taken over the photography sponsorship of U.S. Disney parks.
Inside, most Kodak references have been removed, but a couple remain for sharp-eyed guests.
The signage has been updated at Buena Vista Street’s Kingswell Camera Shop as well
And finally, don’t miss the latest MiceChat podcast, where the MiceChat team takes a walk through Disneyland. Enjoy!
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Weekly News & Information Round-Up | ||
Weekly Theme Park Hours May 5 — May 11, 2014 |
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[B]Disneyland Park[/B] | [B]California Adventure[/B] | |
Mon.-Thu.: 10 am – 9 pm Fri.-Sat.: 9 am – 12 am Sunday: 8 am – 12 am |
Mon.-Thu.: 10 am – 8 pm Fri.-Sat.: 9 am – 10 pm Sunday: 8 am – 10 pm |
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[CENTER]For a complete listing of theme park hours, visit the Disneyland.com Theme Park Calendar[/CENTER] |
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[center]Closure and Refurbishment Schedule[/center] | ||
[b][center]Disneyland Park[/center][/b] | ||
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[b][center]Disney California Adventure[/center][/b] | ||
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[b][center]Downtown Disney and Disneyland Resort Hotels[/center][/b] | ||
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[center] A weekly look at projected crowd levels at the Disneyland Resort.[/center] |
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[center]Headline Roundup A quick look at noteworthy Disney theme park headlines from around the web.[/center] |
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OK — That’s it for this week’s Dateline Disneyland! Congrats to all of the MiceChat Gumball Rally teams that competed over the weekend! It was great seeing all of your thoughts on the new merchandise offerings in last week’s comments section! Thanks for reading again this week and please be sure to join in the discussion below!
Dateline Disneyland is only here because of you. We’ve been able to bring Dateline Disneyland to you each week because of your generous donations. Consider helping us out by donating via PayPal, click here! For more Disneyland news, be sure to read MiceChat’s weekly In the Parks blog. And be sure to check out our sister blog, Dateline Disney World – a fantastic weekly photo blog covering Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida! Thanks for reading. See you at Disneyland! |
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FTC-Mandated Disclosure: Promotional consideration for this edition of Dateline Disneyland was provided by the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel & Water Playground. |