Oswald the Lucky Rabbit made his first official in-park appearance on Disney California Adventure‘s Buena Vista Street on Sunday, marking the character’s big debut in American Disney theme parks. Despite the Southern California heat wave that bumped Disneyland temperatures over 100 degrees, fans turned out for Oswald’s first day, giving him an extra-warm welcome to Anaheim. Meanwhile, Disneyland‘s popular Halloween Time is now in full swing, with the park decked out with seasonal attractions like Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy and Haunted Mansion Holiday now running. On top of all of that, various refurbishments and construction continues, with the park getting spruced up here and there before next year’s big 60th Anniversary celebration.
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.
It’s a big Halloween Time update today, let’s get started!
Welcome to Halloween Time! |
Halloween Time has officially kicked off for the season and the park is all decked out with returning favorites.
Patriotic bunting has made way for fall color
Dapper Dans in their orange Halloween Time stripes
A look at wait times Sunday afternoon
In New Orleans Square, Haunted Mansion Holiday has returned with no major changes this year.
A look at this year’s gingerbread house, based on the medieval iron maiden torture device.
Over in Frontierland, the festive Dia de los Muertos altars and calacas are back in Zocalo Park.
Free face painting is available again – always a nice touch.
Nearby, Ray Bradbury’s Halloween Tree is back. Note the facade refurbishment underway…
I love this little Halloween Time feature, but would love to see more than just plastic pumpkins with Sharpie-d on faces here.
Further back in Frontierland, Big Thunder Ranch is all decked out for the Halloween Roundup and Carnival.
The Scaredy Crow Shack has taken over Miss Chris’ Cabin.
Back in the Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree, the annual Halloween Carnival is back. All of the usual favorites are here including the “Conjure a Villain” meet-and-greet tent, pumpkin carving, the Pirate’s League makeover area, and carnival games. Of course, Billy Hill and the Haunted Hillbillies aren’t here this year, instead a new magic show has filled their spot on the main stage.
The live pumpkin carving is always a crowd favorite
The Pirates’ League makeover experience wasn’t very popular on Friday. High temperatures may have lessened interest.
Nothing great on the menu at the snack bar
The hugely popular villains meet-and-greet tent has returned and this year a new gypsy fortune teller outside entertains guests waiting in the scorching hot line. She’s a lot of fun and a nice addition to a queue that can be pretty brutal on hot days.
A new character parade featuring Mickey and friends in their Halloween costumes along with a couple scarecrow stilt walkers and witches invite young kids to join along and parade through Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree before all dancing in front of the main stage.
Immediately after the new character parade, a new magic show has replaced Billy Hill and the Haunted Hillbillies on the main stage.
The show is only about 20 minutes long but it’s a pretty fun diversion with a great ending.
Over in Mickey’s Toon Town, there’s no major Halloween Time offerings but they did dress up the entrance to the land a bit for the first time this year along with some orange bunting on the gazebo in front of Toon Town City Hall.
And in Tomorrowland, Space Mountain is once again home to the delightfully campy Ghost Galaxy.
Oswald Arrives! |
Over in Disney California Adventure, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit finally made his theme park debut on Sunday next to the gas station that bears his name.
He’s as adorable as you’d expect and it’s really great to have him meeting with guests on Buena Vista Street.
Oswald drew long lines throughout the day, despite the 100+ temperatures. You can meet Oswald daily on Buena Vista Street from park opening until 7 p.m.
A look at DCA wait times Sunday afternoon
Refurbishment Roundup |
[center]Main Street Makeovers[/center]
On Main Street, the new Guest Flow Corridors continue construction behind the Main Street buildings.
Facade refurbishments continue along Main Street as well…
A portion of the Market House facade is now behind tarps for refurbishment…
The Castle Brothers sign has returned
The Main Street Photo Supply is completely closed until later this month for interior and exterior refurbishment.
[center]Rebuilding Bridges[/center]
At Sleeping Beauty Castle, the castle drawbridge was rebuilt last week. The cut-out seating along the bridge over the moat are still covered for now while work on those continue…
The new drawbridge looks great.
New fence along the sides of the drawbridge
Back in Fantasyland, the outdoor vending location at the base of the old Skyway Chalet has been removed for work.
[center]Courtyard Cleanup[/center]
In New Orleans Square, work continues in the Royal Courtyard. Since last week, the entire staircase has been removed and scaffolding has gone up. It’ll be interesting to see what Disney does here.
[center]Dry Docked[/center]
Nearby, the Mark Twain Riverboat, Fowler’s Harbor and a section of New Orleans Square riverfront walkway are all closed for refurbishment.
[center]RapidFill[/center]
In Tomorrowland, walls are down around the Submarine Lagoon and Cast appears to be in the process of testing out the newly refurbished attraction.
Not far away, the Magic Eye Theater is now finally closed to remove the Guardians of the Galaxy preview. The venue is set to reopen later this month but no word yet on if Captain EO will return.
[center]Grand Refurbishment[/center]
More scaffolding is going up on more of the park-facing facade at the Grand Californian Hotel after another section recently got refurbished. This new portion of facade is almost entirely covered by trees, so there’s not much to see.
[center]On Ice[/center]
In Downtown Disney, Disney announced late last month that the Studio Disney 365 tween girl makeover boutique would be rethemed to Frozen. Anna and Elsa’s Boutique was set to close at the beginning of September and reopen by this weekend. As of Sunday, the Studio Disney store has yet to close and Disney has yet to make any official statement on the status of the retail space.
Nearby, the repaving of the Mickey and Friends tram drop-off area continues…
Merch Madness |
More Haunted Mansion merchandise continues to slowly debut. You can find it all in the Port Royal shop in New Orleans Square.
This and That |
Back in California Adventure, Flo’s V8 Cafe recently got a new menu.
Pork roast is now gone entirely and rotisserie-fired meat platters have been replaced by sandwiches. If you’re looking for more than a sandwich, ribs and rotisserie chicken is available. Sides are still included with meals, but you no longer have the option of choosing your own.
In Disneyland, the waiting area at Space Mountain’s exit got some more thematic touches after its recent remodel.
Feels kind of Star Wars-y, no?
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Weekly News & Information Round-Up | ||
Weekly Theme Park Hours September 15-21, 2014 |
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[B]Disneyland Park[/B] | [B]California Adventure[/B] | |
Mon.-Wed.: 10 am – 8 pm Thursday: 9 am – 5 pm Fri.-Sat.: 9 am – 12 am Sunday: 8 am – 12 am |
Mon.-Wed.: 10 am – 8 pm Thursday: 9 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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September 15-21
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. |
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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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Alright, that wraps up Dateline Disneyland. What do you think of the Royal Courtyard possibly reopening as pure atmosphere space? Do you think the higher food prices are worth it? Let us know in the comments below!
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