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Disneyland Resort Gets Patriotic, Wet and Wild

June 20, 2014

We’d like to offer a sincere thank you to Andy Castro who kept MiceChat running while Dusty, Monorail Man and myself were in Europe for the past two weeks. Andy’s work was outstanding and he kept the info flowing for all you readers. Thanks Andy, you are awesome!

Now, on with the show. Both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure have donned the red, white, and blue for the patriotic summer months. Meanwhile the roster of refurbishments has dwindled. Space Mountain plods along with a refurbishment as Captain EO “temporarily” closes to make way for a new movie preview. Alice in Wonderland continues with its epic refurbishment while work finally becomes apparent at the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage in Tomorrowland. Some Club 33 scaffolds have come down, revealing a look at the new windows and stained glass that club members will soon be enjoying. Over in DCA, the Grizzly River Run attraction has reopened, looking clean and spiffed up.

The summer season begins and the flora is out front and center to set the stage. New plantings in the front planter and within Town Square lend pops of color to the first act of the park.

As Town Square has grown in, the patriotic tones are bursting from the flowerbeds with the help of lobelia, begonia, salvia and more.

Bunting along the rooftops and eaves of Main Street give a festive punch to the town.

As we head to the castle, flags and decorations line the street.

Space Mountain

The dome of Space Mountain is finally getting some much needed attention as its scheduled refurbishment rockets onward. The recently grungy looking sides of the mountain are turning white once more. The refurb is supposed to last through the 3rd of July, opening on July 4th.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Captain EO is currently closed to make way for a preview of the upcoming film, Guardians of the Galaxy. Just like the upgrades that occurred when Muppet Vision 3-D housed previews of Tron, and It’s Tough to be a Bug hosted a Maleficent preview, it’s likely that the Magic Eye Theater is getting a digital upgrade as well.

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It’s a clever finance shell game being played in order to get the projectors in the theaters upgraded. The Walt Disney Pictures division can pay for these improvements under the banner of marketing and promotions, while very little park funds are spent in maintenance and upgrades.

Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage

Nemo is finally seeing significant work. For the first time since its closure at the beginning of the year we are seeing some actual refurbishment taking place.

While they aren’t taking the time to polish the bleached out “glass paint” in the lagoon, they are touching up some of the more detailed bits of coral.

Above ground, the rolling hills that were left to wither are become green again, thanks to the revitalized sprinkling system.

Alice in Wonderland

Now on to Alice in Wonderland. This classic attraction continues its restructuring and refurbishment, aiming for a return on July 4th. As you can see from the pictures below, the exterior portion has become more of a platform than meandering path. We are eager to see what the new hand railings will look like.

Club 33

The opening date has been set and Club 33 will finally reopen to members on July 18th. From below, regular park guests can see the new windows.

Above French Market, the newly painted balconies have also been unveiled, allowing a glimpse at the new stained glass windows in the jazz themed lounge which was built inside the previous storage space.

We can also see some work continuing on the rooftops.

Turnstiles

Just outside Disneyland, the bank of turnstiles facing Downtown Disney has now gone down for maintenance.

MICECHAT PODCAST

Here’s a fun diversion. If you haven’t listened to the latest MiceChat Podcast, you’ll want to do that this week as a new show will soon be released. This time around, Doug Barnes, David Yeh and Dusty Sage take you on a field trip to Disneyland! Along the way we discuss what’s going on in the park, history, Imagineering and more. We also run into lots of MiceChat readers and get their thoughts on their day in the Happiest Place On Earth. We wrap things up with a discussion on which Disney resort has the most rides . . . Walt Disney World or Disneyland. Join the conversation and enjoy the show:

Listen on iTunes | Direct Download

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Disney California Adventure has joined in the patriotic spirit by coating Buena Vista Street in the traditional Red, White, and Blue tones.

A bit of red, white and blue has made it into the store windows as well.

Grizzly River Run

officially returning today, after a two month refurbishment, is Grizzly River Run. The water ride will make a very welcome return after a strangely placed refurbishment. Upon inspection, we really didn’t see too much that has changed on the ride aside from a few mechanical alterations.

At the time of this writing the water effects on the lift hill were off.

They have raised the roller bars just before the final drop to insure rafts move smoothly in this area.

It’s not the most elegant presentation, sticking out like a sore thumb against the otherwise naturalistic setting.

They have also reinforced the spinner bumper at the top of the final drop.

Rotten Rotunda

The epic refurbishment of the rotten rotunda in Paradise Pier continues. Yes, we are happy to see the work being done. Yes, they need to get the job done properly. But does it seem odd to anyone else that it is taking this long?

With all of the refurbishments and enhancements, both parks are reaching their optimum show standard in time for Disneyland’s big 60th anniversary next year. Next week we will take you back to Universal Studios Hollywood for a park wide update from the Entertainment Capital of Los Angeles.

We’ll see you again soon, In The Parks.