Dateline Disneyland

The big storms have come and gone and construction crews are getting back in the swing of things at big projects in both Disneyland Resort theme parks. At Disneyland work continues in Tomorrowland's Magic Eye Theatre as Captain EO prepares for his big return. Nearby, the Starcade is undergoing a much-needed refurbishment, and in Frontierland, work continues on a several-month refurbishment of the Rivers of America. Of course, construction presses on at Disney's California Adventure as crews work on numerous projects from World of Color to the new Red Car Trolleys. Many thanks to our photographers this week — Mac Daddy and MonstersGoBoo! for their help in bringing this week's update to your computer screen.

More information and ongoing discussion on many of the various construction projects featured in today's update can be found in the Project Tracker threads on MiceChat. Simply click on a photo with a Project Tracker watermark and you'll be linked up to the latest news and discussion on the various projects underway at the Resort.

There's a lot to get to, so let's get started!

Inside Dateline Disneyland

Welcome to Disneyland! Rainy days, Main Street Cinema reopens Captain EO moves in Work continues on the Magic Eye Theatre, the Starcade gets a refurbishment Rivers of Refurbishment The lengthy Rivers of America refurbishment continues... California Construction The latest photos of the on-going $1 billion remodel and expansion. World of Color and Paradise Park Viewing Area The Little Mermaid & Cars Land Silly Symphony Swings Red Car Trolley This and That Other Resort refurbishments, Disneyland Hotel construction Weekly News and Information Weekly theme park hours, closures and refurbishments, MiceChat celebrates 5 years, Toy Story 3 preview, Disney names Hawaiian resort

WELCOME TO DISNEYLAND!
The rainy winter weather turned the Disneyland Resort theme parks into a ghost town last week as the wet weather scared away both tourists and locals alike.


The weather was more than just simple rain showers — the winter storm included tornado warnings for the Orange County area, heavy flooding on Main Street USA, the necessary relocation of California Adventure's 'High School Musical' street show, and the prompting of early park closures three days last week.


By the weekend the weather had cleared up, but power outages in several areas of Disneyland on Saturday caused headaches for guests and Cast Members.







Inside Disneyland, the Main Street Cinema reopened earlier than expected after a brief closure in which the floor was replaced.







CAPTAIN EO MOVES IN
Work continues at Tomorrowland's Magic Eye Theatre as Imagineers reinstall the necessary components for Captain EO.











Next door, the Starcade has been emptied as work gets underway on a much-needed refurbishment of the dated arcade.


The Starcade is set to reopen at the start of next month.



RIVERS OF REFURBISHMENT
The bridge to Frontierland is still closed during its refurbishment.





Work continues on the major Rivers of America refurbishment...









CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION
Construction continues throughout California Adventure as the park undergoes a multi-year $1 billion remodel and expansion.

DISNEY'S WORLD OF COLOR & PARADISE PARK




The DisneyParks Blog released two videos last week giving readers a behind-the-scenes look at World of Color construction.

An Entertaining Look at “World of Color” Construction


How Everything is Coming Together for “World of Color”

THE LITTLE MERMAID AND CARS LAND

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure





Cars Land / Radiator Springs Racers





SILLY SYMPHONY SWINGS
The new red-and-white circus tent canopy for the Silly Symphony Swings was installed late last week.











RED CAR TROLLEY
Over in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot, work continues on the track work for the upcoming Red Car Trolley line that will run from California Adventure's main entrance all the way back to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. The entire width of Hollywood Blvd. has been walled off now as the street is torn out to lay new trolley track. Sidewalks down Hollywood Blvd. are still open, but if the sidewalks get too congested, guests can go through the Hollywood Studios area to go around some of the construction.





THIS AND THAT
DCA's Wine Country Trattoria is currently closed for refurbishment.





Back in Disneyland, the old stroller rental shop is now behind construction walls.



"it's a small world" is closed to remove the holiday overlay. The ride reopens on Friday.



Nearby, Le Petit Chalet gift stand is closed for some work.



And work continues on the Disneyland Hotel's multi-year remodel:









DISNEYLAND WEEKLY HOURS AND INFO

THEME PARK HOURS JANUARY 25 — 31
For a complete listing of theme park hours, please visit the Disneyland.com Theme Park Calendar

Disneyland Park
Monday - Thursday: 10 am - 8 pm
Friday: 9 am - 12 midnight
Saturday: 8 am - 11 pm
Sunday: 9 am - 11 pm

Disney's California Adventure Park
Monday - Thursday: 10 am - 6 pm
Friday: 10 am - 9 pm
Saturday: 10 am - 8 pm
Sunday: 10 am - 9 pm

CURRENT ATTRACTION CLOSURES & REFURBISHMENTS

Disneyland Park

• Starcade: Closed through February 1 for refurbishment.
• Matterhorn Bobsleds: Closed February 1 through March 11 for refurbishment.
• Le Petit Chalet Gifts: Closed through February 10 for refurbishment.
• "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience:" Closed. Captain EO is returning for a "special limited engagement" in February. It is unknown if "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience" will return following Captain EO's run.
• Tomorrowland Terrace: Restaurant closed through July 2 for refurbishment. Stage will remain open for shows and performances during restaurant closure.
• Rivers of America: Closed through May 6 for a major refurbishment. The closure of the river will result in the necessary closure of the following attractions:
  
  • Sailing Ship Columbia: Closed through May 6
  • Mark Twain Riverboat: Closed through May 6
  • Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes: Closed through May 6
  • Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island: Closed through May 14
  
  

Disney's California Adventure Park

• Francis' Lady Bug Boogie: Closed through February 4.
• Golden Zephyr: Closed February 16 through April 2 for refurbishment.
• Award Wieners: Closed through April 18.
• Wine Country Trattoria: Closed through April 26.
• Silly Symphony Swings: Orange Stinger is now closed for retheming. Reopens as the Silly Symphony Swings late April.
• The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure: Under construction.
• Souvenir 66 and Corn Dog Castle: Store and dining location closed for remodeling through May 2011.
• Disney's World of Color Nighttime Spectacular: New show under construction. Debuts Spring 2010.
• Paradise Park: Former Golden State Amphitheater area is closed and a new, larger viewing area for Disney's World of Color viewing under construction in same location. The new viewing area is scheduled to open February 2010 as Paradise Park.

MICECHAT CELEBRATES 5 YEARS! Come join us as we celebrate 5 years of friendship, community, and fun at our favorite place on earth! Whether you've been with us from the beginning or just found us today, we hope you'll join the fun of a MiceChat anniversary meet. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION! In Celebration of MiceChat's 5th Anniversary, we are also giving away a free iPod Nano and 3 Amazon Gift Cards. Anyone can win: CLICK HERE - ENTER TO WIN AN IPOD NANO OR AMAZON GIFT CARD

ANIMATION ACADEMY GIVES GUESTS SNEAK PEEK AT 'TOY STORY 3'

Disney is now showing guests of California Adventure's Animation Academy attraction an exclusive sneak peek clip of the upcoming "Toy Story 3." The DisneyParks Blog made the clip available online for blog readers:

New Featurette for Disney•Pixar’s “Toy Story 3″ Can be Seen at Animation Academy
Most people go to Animation Academy at Disney’s California Adventure park to learn how to draw Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters. Did you know that you can also see exclusive video of Disney and Disney•Pixar movies at Animation Academy?

Videos created exclusively for the Animation Academy usually feature one of the filmmakers giving a brief overview of the film and introducing the film’s main characters. In this featurette, “Toy Story 3″ Director Lee Unkrich explains the premise for the long-awaited third installment of the beloved “Toy Story” films. In this comical new 3D adventure, Buzz, Woody and the gang face an uncertain future as Andy gears up for college. When the toys unexpectedly land in a room full of untamed tots who can’t wait to get their sticky little fingers on them, it’s pandemonium as they try to stay together, ensuring “no toy gets left behind.”

For the full article, visit: DisneyParks Blog: New Featurette for Disney•Pixar’s “Toy Story 3″ Can be Seen at Animation Academy

DISNEY ANNOUNCES NAME, WEBSITE FOR HAWAIIAN RESORT

Disney finally gave its new Hawaiian Resort a name last week and opened a website for the new Disney Vacation Club property located in Ko Olina, Hawai'i.

Art © Disney

Disney Announces Name and Launches Web Site for New Family Destination Resort on O‘ahu
KO OLINA, Hawai‘i (Jan. 19, 2010) – The highly anticipated Disney destination resort currently under construction on the Hawaiian island of O‘ahu now has an official name and a dynamic new Web site offering an inside look at the project. The resort’s name – Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, Ko Olina, Hawai‘i – reflects the company’s deep commitment to celebrating the islands’ rich history and traditions. Plans call for the first phase of the resort to open in fall 2011.

“We want this resort destination to reflect the vibrant culture that surrounds it. The name ‘Aulani’ expresses a connection to tradition and deep story-telling – and its roots are here in this land,” said Joe Rohde, senior vice president, Creative for Walt Disney Imagineering. “We’re so grateful to the local Hawaiians who led us to the discovery of this name, and our goal is to live up to its meaning.”

Rohde noted that Aulani translated from the Hawaiian language to English means “the place that speaks for the great ones” or “the place that speaks with deep messages.”

For the full press release, visit: Disneyland News: Disney Announces Name and Launches Web Site for New Family Destination Resort on O‘ahu

Okay — that wraps up this week's edition of Dateline Disneyland. Thanks again to our photographers this week - Mac Daddy and MonstersGoBoo! — and of course, thanks to all of you for reading! Be sure to discuss in the comments section below. See you here again next week! Your support keeps these updates coming! Money and time goes into these weekly updates and without you they couldn't happen. We all know that times are tough, so any amount of support helps. If you can donate to Dateline Disneyland please consider doing so via a safe and quick PayPal donation. To donate, click here. Don't forget that MiceAge and MiceChat has loads of new content weekly! If Dateline Disneyland isn't enough to satisfy your Disneyland itch, then don't miss David "Darkbeer" Michael's In the Parks column which runs here every Friday and is packed full of Southern California theme park news, photos, and gossip. And if you want even more Disney theme park goodness, don't miss MiceChat's Weekend Update, which takes a look at Disney theme parks and other international landmarks, curiosities, and oddities every Saturday! Dateline Disneyland is on Twitter! We now have over 5,700 followers! If you still haven't checked us out on Twitter, head over there now for updates throughout the week with links to breaking news, mini updates, photos, and links to newsworthy MiceChat discussions. Visit Twitter.com/DatelineDisney, or check out the widget to the right to follow us! See you here again soon! -Andy

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