The holidays are now in full swing at Disneyland following this weekend’s official launch for the holiday season. While most of the holiday offerings soft-launched last week, this week some notable offerings opened, including the enhanced Jingle Cruise in Disneyland and the excellent Viva Navidad Street Party at Disney California Adventure. The weekend also hosted runDinsey‘s inaugural Avengers Half-Marathon at Disneyland, Disney’s first superhero-themed marathon event.
And hey, we’re celebrating our 7th anniversary this month! Big thanks for all of your support over the last seven years!
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 an up-close look at the magic! Don’t forget — You can click on any photo in today’s post to see a larger, high-resolution version!
We’ve got another big holiday-filled update today, so let’s get started!
Welcome to the Holidays! |
[center]Main Street, U.S.A.[/center]
Disneyland’s Christmas tree is now in place for the holiday season and it looks great as ever!
Mickey garland is now up across Main Street, USA
[center]Jingle Cruise[/center]
Over in Adventureland, the Jingle Cruise has returned for its second season.
A lot has changed at the Jingle Cruise for its second outing, after the first year of simple decorations in the queue and only holiday-themed jokes on the ride failed to impress most guests. This year Disney has decorated just about every scene in the ride and to justify Christmas in the jungle, a rather flimsy backstory has been introduced and plastered throughout the queue.
Boats are renamed with holiday puns again this year.
The ride is still stuffed full with groan-worthy holiday jokes but now the jokes reference the various decorations strewn about in the jungle — and there are a lot of decorations.
There are a lot of fruitcake jokes in the Jingle Cruise this year
If you were disappointed that the Jingle Cruise didn’t have any decorations last year, well, Disney has heard your cries and you have been rewarded with this.
Tacky Christmas sweaters on the natives
Disneyland puts a lot of money behind their holiday offerings every year and that certainly shows in this year’s version of the Jingle Cruise. The new decorations and props look great, but sometimes Disneyland’s efforts go a bit overboard and end up being tacky rather than tasteful. This year’s version of the Jingle Cruise is exactly that situation. Some will argue that the Jungle Cruise is tacky by nature and so the Jingle Cruise overlay fits. I’d argue that’s a misunderstanding of the slapstick humor the skippers employ, rather than a legitimate description of the ride itself. Regardless, there’s no denying it—the holiday overlay is over-the-top tacky cheesiness. If that’s your cup of tea, then you’ll love this year’s version of the ride.
[center]Jingle Jangle Jamboree[/center]
The Jingle Jangle Jamboree has returned in Big Thunder Ranch with meet-and-greets with Santa and Mrs. Claus and classic Disney characters in their holiday finest.
With Billy Hill and the Hillbillies gone, a new holiday-themed stage show has taken over the main stage.
The new show is actually pretty fun, with a lot of fun family humor, similar in style to the Fantasy Faire stage shows. The show clocks in at 25 minutes, which might be a few minutes too long, but all-in-all, it’s worth checking out.
The show tells the story of some local townsfolk trying to save the Horseshoe Road Inn from being shut down from the tax man before the Christmas Train arrives in town.
The set is nicely done, with some clever little features that play roles in the show.
Mrs. Claus even makes an appearance!
Of course, there’s gotta be a snowfall finale!
A coloring station and carnival games for the kids
Of course, you can meet Santa — and other friends, too
[center]Buena Vista Street[/center]
In California Adventure, the Christmas decorations are finished up on Buena Vista Street and everything looks really fantastic.
I love the garland and Christmas decorations on Buena Vista Street!
The spectacular 1930s-style department store Santa meet-and-greet is back in Elias and Co.
New this year, lighted snowflakes have been added to the streetlights, starting in Carthay Circle and running along most of the parade route toward Paradise Pier.
[center]The Little Mermiad[/center]
The lamppost decorations turn to this design in front of The Little Mermaid
And on the Palace of Fine Arts rotunda, new garland and “sand” decorations have been added this year.
[center]¡Viva Navidad![/center]
Meanwhile, the really spectacular Viva Navidad Street Party and cultural entertainment has returned for the season. I really feel like I can’t praise Viva Navidad enough — from the food, to the live entertainment and character meet-and-greet, to the street party — the whole package is wonderful and I am so pleased to see it return for a second season.
Great live cultural entertainment
And the Viva Navidad Street Party is easily some of the best holiday entertainment in both parks — I’d personally watch Viva Navidad before I’d watch Disneyland’s aging A Christmas Fantasy Parade.
The whole thing is incredible fun and high-energy without feeling forced or like it’s pandering. The performers, most of which have returned from last year, somehow give it their all every time and always seem genuinely happy and excited to be there.
At one point in the show, Donald proclaims “This is the best!” and he really isn’t lying. If you missed Viva Navidad last year be sure to see it this year — it is an absolute must-do for the holidays.
[center]Downtown Disney Winter Village[/center]
In Downtown Disney, the Winter Village has returned, along with Olaf’s Frozen Ice Rink.
Refurbishment Roundup |
[center]Royal Remodel[/center]
In New Orleans Square, scaffolding has come down from the Royal Courtyard, but construction is still seemingly underway…
[center]Riverboat Refurbishment[/center]
Nearby, the Mark Twain Riverboat’s refurbishment was wrapping up on Friday and the riverboat should be back on the Rivers of America as of this posting.
[center]Food Fixes[/center]
In Fantasyland, the big outdoor vending fruit stand is still being rebuilt
[center]In Crust We Trust[/center]
Over at Disney California Adventure, the Bakery Tour is still closed for a refurbishment and a refresh of the show.
runMarvel |
Over the weekend, runDisney held its inaugural Marvel-themed Avengers Half-Marathon at Disneyland. We stopped by the event’s Health and Fitness Expo to check out the superhero-themed marathon merchandise
Below, the medals for the weekend’s events
And of course, Dooney and Bourke runDisney/Marvel-themed purses and accessories… of course.
Enjoy retro fun just steps away from Disneyland at Howard Johnson Hotel & Water Playground A short walk from the park, HoJo Anaheim is conveniently located next to Matterhorn Mountain at Disneyland with nearby dining, freeway access, FREE parking and FREE Wi-Fi. For more information on HoJo Anaheim, room rates, or to book your stay today, visit HoJoAnaheim.com/MiceChat Save with MiceChat & Passholder Discounts Every Day! The HoJo Anaheim is now offering daily discounts for MiceChat members and even DEEPER discounts for Disneyland Resort Annual Passholders! For more information visit the HoJo Anaheim Innsider Boards which features an up-to-date listing of available nights, or call (714) 776-6120 and ask for In-House Reservations to book. If your date isn’t listed, the HoJo Anaheim still offers rooms for 20% off their best available rate if you call (714) 776-6120. |
Weekly News & Information Round-Up | ||
Weekly Theme Park Hours November 17-23, 2014 |
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[B]Disneyland Park[/B] | [B]California Adventure[/B] | |
Mon.-Thu.: 10 am – 8 pm Friday: 9 am – 11 pm Saturday: 9 am – 12 am Sunday: 8 am – 12 am |
Mon.-Thu.: 10 am – 8 pm Fri.-Sat.: 9 am – 10 pm Sunday: 8 am – 11 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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November 17-23
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 this week’s edition of Dateline Disneyland. We’ll be taking the next couple weeks off to enjoy a bit of a holiday vacation.
Be sure to discuss this week’s update in the comments section below! Your donations really do help keep Dateline Disneyland alive! We’re still here because of your help. If you enjoy getting your weekly Disneyland fix from Dateline Disneyland, please consider helping us with a safe and fast PayPal donation — 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. |