Dateline Disneyland
Halloween Time, A Good Look at Buena Vista Street, Cars Land, Hotel progress +MORE!
by , 09-26-2011 at 03:08 AM
Halloween Time is in full swing at the Disneyland Resort with the return of the popular Haunted Mansion Holiday and Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy attractions. Yet, the big news this week wasn't the return of the annual holiday offerings, but the updated Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar in Disney California Adventure. The preview center's new exhibit focuses on the park's new Buena Vista Street main entrance plaza, which will take guests back to an idealized version of 1920s Los Angeles. The displays give guests a sneak peek into the creative process as construction crews build the new land just on the other side of the park. Elsewhere at the Resort, work continues on California Adventure's Cars Land project as well as the Disneyland Hotel remodel.
Don't forget—you can always click on any photo featuring a Project Tracker watermark to learn more information on the project or join on-going discussion on the MiceChat forums!
We've got another full update for you today, so let's get started!
Inside Dateline Disneyland
- Welcome to Halloween Time!
Touring Plans crowd forecast, Halloween Time arrives- Refurb Round-up
A look at the current refurbishments and construction projects underway at Disneyland...
- California Construction
A look at the on-going construction at Disney California Adventure...
- iDateline
An app review: Disney Photo a Day- Disneyland Hotel remodel
A look at the Disneyland Hotel's ongoing remodel- This & That
Duffy's pumpkin patch, DCA merch carts- Weekly News and Information Round-Up
Weekly theme park hours, closures and refurbishments.
Sponsored by TouringPlans.com | Do More. Wait Less.
WELCOME TO DISNEYLAND!
Halloween Time is now in full swing at Disneyland! Crowds are light during the week, but if you can only visit on a weekend, some touring help from our friends at Touring Plans might be a good idea!
Light crowd levels continue throughout the late September off-season weekdays, but pick up on the weekends as crowds take advantage of Disneyland's popular Halloween Time offerings. TouringPlans.com can help you navigate the parks with our per-park Crowd Calendar, Lines - Mobile Wait Times App that gives access to current and estimated wait times for attractions, and Touring Plans detailing the best plan of attack for hitting the attractions. Now more than ever, it's a good time to subscribe to TouringPlans.com to plan your strategy to avoid the crowds!
Below are the predicted resort-wide crowd numbers for select days generated by the TouringPlans professional statisticians as measured for the upcoming week. For the access to the full year and per-park crowd level predictions, visit our Crowd Calendar.
— Fred Hazelton Statistician, TouringPlans.com
Mon., Sept. 26 Here are some quick-hit notes that we hope you'll find helpful as you prepare your visits for the week:
- Partial blockouts this weekend.
- Resort-wide crowd hit their peak on Sunday with 6-level crowds.
- Disneyland park's lowest days will be Tuesday and Thursday, when it's a 1.1.
Tue., Sept. 27 Wed., Sept. 28 Thu., Sept. 29
Get Disneyland wait times on your iPhone, Android, or Smartphone.
Do more. Wait less.
Disneyland launched its annual Halloween season last week with the usual jack-o-lantern decorations and orange bunting along Main Street, U.S.A.
The Main Street Photo Supply is behind some tarps for repainting.
Back in Frontierland, Big Thunder Ranch has its annual pumpkin carvers and Halloween decorations. The Big Thunder Ranch marquee is still missing, however.
The pumpkin carvers create some great Disney character jack-o-lanterns
In New Orleans Square and Tomorrowland, the Haunted Mansion Holiday and Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy holiday overlays are back and popular with guests.
REFURB ROUND-UP
A look at the current refurbishments and construction projects underway at Disneyland.
TOMORROWLAND REPAVING
In Tomorrowland, the repaving work in front of Captain EO and Space Mountain has wrapped up. The gray cement that has slowly been making its way through Tomorrowland has replaced the red pavers in the area.
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN REFURBISHMENT
Over in New Orleans Square, Pirates remains closed for a refurbishment that will stretch into November.
Work being done at the attraction's exit
FRONTIERLAND BOARDWALK
Nearby in Frontierland, the boardwalk along the west-side shops continues its refurbishment as portions around the Golden Horseshoe have been completed.
CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION
Work continues on the remainder of California Adventure's $1 billion-dollar remodel and expansion...
BUENA VISTA STREET
Construction continues on the major Buena Vista Street project at the front of Disney California Adventure park.
From outside the park, you can catch glimpses of gutted buildings along the former Sunshine Plaza
Inside the park, you can see more of the progress...
The former Engine Ears Toys shop
Greetings from California has been gutted
A look at the Carthay Circle Theater
You can spot newly added features from Mickey's Fun Wheel
A look toward the Carthay Circle area from the Monorail
And a view of the park's main entrance from the Monorail
A new planter has been added in front of the Condor Flats marquee. It's a nice little addition.
New palm trees at the Red Car Trolley station/pump house
A GOOD LOOK AT BUENA VISTA STREET
The Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar reopened on Friday after a brief closure in which the Little Mermaid ~ Ariel's Undersea Adventure exhibits were replaced with new displays previewing the upcoming Buena Vista Street area.
The exhibit is largely dedicated to the park's new entryway, with only a small mention of Cars Land.
As you enter, three great new attraction posters for the park are on display: the Red Car Trolley, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Soarin' Over California
Buena Vista Street elevations
Red Car Trolley details
Buena Vista Street cast member costumes
Buena Vista Street shop facades and interiors
Carthay Circle Theater renderings and historical photos
Historical reference photos
A large display case has sketches, tile samples, facade models, and floor plans of various shops and dining locations along Buena Vista Street. The display gives an interesting look at what the creative process may have been like when the Imagineers were working on this project.
Also on display are the Buena Vista Street scale model and "Storytellers" Walt and Mickey statue that were on display at this year's D23 Expo.
At the back of the Cellar, the viewing room has a slick new video playing previewing Buena Vista Street.
The Cellar also gives a small sneak peek at the marquee designs coming soon to the Disneyland Hotel towers. Here, a look at the Adventure Tower's marquee:
HOLLYWOOD LAND
Back in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot, walls are still up at one of the entrances to the "Hollywood Studios" portion of the land, which also serves as the hub of ElecTRONica, which is set to return from its hiatus this weekend.
The back entrance to Hollywood Studios now has a new ElecTRONica sign.
PARADISE PIER
On Paradise Pier, California Screamin is still closed for refurbishment, but the roller coaster's new loop has been installed.
New blue paint continues to replace the old teal paint
CARS LAND
Construction in Cars Land continues...
Luigi's garden is going in at the queue to the Flying Tires attraction
The Courthouse
The backside of the Cars Land mountain rage that overlooks Paradise Pier is starting to take shape now.
It's expected to look like a wind-swept sea bluff rising next to Paradise Pier when completed
iDateline
An App Review — Disney Photo a Day
Today we take a look at a new iPhone app hitting the App store. Available starting today, the Disney Photo a Day app is a project from the folks who run DisneyPhotographyBlog.com and who co-authored the great Fireworks Photography eBook we recently reviewed here in Dateline Disneyland. Do note that for the purposes of this review, Dateline Disneyland received a free copy of this app.
The new Disney Photo of the Day app from master Disney fan photographers Cory Disbrow and Adam Hansen is a nice addition to the growing list of Disney theme park apps. Somewhat refreshingly, the app doesn't try to offer news or wait time information (there are plenty of apps that do that, the best of which is—in our opinion—Touring Plans' LINES app). Instead the app simply offers really fantastic images from Disney's theme parks in a "photo-a-day" format. The photos are gorgeous and are accompanied by a short photo description. Of course, you can view photos from previous days and you can also tap to get a randomly-selected photo.
The app is quite simple, but offers high-quality daily content in a well-designed interface. The big selling point of this app is, for me, the ability to save high quality versions of the image that are suitable for use as wallpaper on your phone. An added bonus is that the photos come without pesky watermarks that would otherwise ruin a great image and be an annoyance as part of your iPhone's wallpaper. The app also has built-in sharing features that allow you to Tweet, share on Facebook, or e-mail any photo with a quick tap of the finger.
Also useful is the app's "Favorites" feature, which allows you save a list of your favorite photos that can be accessed at any time in the future. So, if you really like today's photo-of-the-day, but aren't ready to change your background from yesterday's image, then just add it to your favorites and you can come back to it later. It would be great to see this app expanded in the future; a photo tip-of-the-day would compliment the daily photo quite well, and would enhance the value of this app. Still, at an introductory price of only $1.99 it's not a bad idea to try this app out. It's less than that pumpkin spice latte you picked up on the way to work today and you'll be getting a great little taste of Disney every day on your iPhone.
For more information or to purchase the app, visit www.DisneyPhotoApp.com!
DISNEYLAND HOTEL REMODEL
Work continues on the Disneyland Hotel remodel...
Mickey-shaped holes in the wall give guests a view of the work-in-progress
The Fantasy Tower's lobby continues to get remodeled...
The new look of the main lobby:
The Fantasia Shop
New Fantasy Tower furniture
E-Ticket Pool area
Adventure Tower entrance
THIS & THAT
Duffy's photo op on Paradise Pier got a makeover for Halloween.
Last year's popular Mickey ghost popcorn buckets are back again
The merchandise carts along the temporary entrance in DCA have been replaced with bigger display cases
And finally, the Disneyland marquee at the Harbor Blvd pedestrian entrance is behind tarps as it gets repainted.
Dateline Disneyland is sponsored by our good friends at the
Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel - Anaheim Resort.A short walk from the park, HoJo Anaheim is conveniently located next to Disneyland with nearby dining and freeway access. For more information on HoJo Anaheim, room rates, or to book your stay today, visit HoJoAnaheim.com/MiceChat.
Rooms now available for as low as $59 per night!The HoJo Anaheim is now offering deeper discounts for Disneyland Resort Annual Passholders! On select nights, Disneyland Resort Annual Passholders can get rooms for as low as $59 per night, plus tax. 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.
Experience Disneyland at home with the HoJo Mattercam!See Disneyland from home via a live rotating video feed of Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park from the rooftop of Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel - Anaheim Resort! The HoJo Anaheim's newly upgraded Disneyland webcam now features new views including video feeds of Disneyland's nightly fireworks! Check it out now!
Friday: 8 pm - 7 pm
Saturday-Sunday: 8 am - 12 midnight
Friday-Sunday: 10 am - 10 pmMEDIUM 4.6—6.4 out of 10
with 1 being the least crowded conditions and 10 being most crowded.
For daily crowd predictions for the next 365 days, visit
- Disneyland Monorail: Running on a shortened schedule due to Buena Vista Street construction. Monorail opens late at 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Monorail operates normally Saturday and Sunday.
- Mark Twain Riverboat: Closed September 26 — 28 for refurbishment.
- "it's a small world": Closed October 24 — November 10 to install holiday overlay.
- Pirates of the Caribbean and Blue Bayou Restaurant: Closed through November 23 for refurbishment.
- Redwood Challenge Creek Trail: Closed October 3 — 28 for refurbishment.
- California Screamin': Closed through October 14 for refurbishment and loop replacement.
- It's Tough to be a Bug! Closed October 24 — November 11 for refurbishment.
- Sunshine Plaza: Main entrance plaza and related dining, retail and guest services are closed. Space will reopen as Buena Vista Street in 2012.
- Red Car Trolley: Attraction set to open spring 2012.
- Fantasyland Tower lobby areas, Never Land Pool, Adventure Tower-area walkways: Areas closed for remodel and re-theming. Hotel remodel set to be completed in November 2011.
Okay, that ends this week's edition of Dateline Disneyland. Big thanks for reading and please be sure to say hello to our sponsors at Touring Plans!
Are you looking forward to Buena Vista Street at Disney California Adventure? Let us know by joining the discussion below!
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Don't forget that MiceChat has lots of new content throughout the week! For even more Disneyland news, photos and information check out the In the Parks column on Fridays. And MiceChat's Weekend Update, tours the world of Disney theme parks and other worldly sights and landmarks!
See you at Disneyland!
- Andy
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FTC-Mandated Disclosure:
Promotional consideration for the September 26, 2011 edition of Dateline Disneyland was provided by
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