Dateline Disneyland

Disneyland officially kicks off its extremely popular holiday season today with the return of popular attractions, shows and decorations in both parks. An invite-only list of select Annual Passholders will get an early fill of the holiday season with a special party tonight in Disneyland, but regular day guests will get treated to the first performances of "A Christmas Fantasy" Parade and the "Believe... In Holiday Magic" fireworks show. Also open now is an excellent new exhibit at the Disney Gallery celebrating history of Walt Disney's love of trains and the art of Disney's theme park trains. At Disney California Adventure, the park has introduced new holiday decorations along Paradise Pier and a holiday version of the Phineas and Ferb street show as construction on the major Buena Vista Street and Cars Land projects. Outside the parks, the Disneyland Hotel nears completion as the E-Ticket Pool area gets finishing touches and the main lobby emerges from construction walls.

As always, 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 big update for you today! Let's see what's new at Disneyland...

Inside Dateline Disneyland

Welcome to Disneyland! Touring Plans crowd forecast, Harbor Blvd arch disappears. Holiday Round-up A round-up of Disneyland's annual holiday goings-on... Christmas on Main Street Seasonal Snow "it's a holiday world" Holidays in Paradise (Pier) All aboard! The Disney Gallery celebrates the trains of Disney theme parks California Construction A look at the on-going construction at Disney California Adventure... Buena Vista Street Cars Land Disneyland Hotel remodel The Disneyland Hotel's E-Ticket Pool gets water This & That Downtown Disney gets in the holiday spirit Weekly News and Information Round-Up Weekly theme park hours, closures and refurbishments.

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WELCOME TO DISNEYLAND!
Our friends at Touring Plans are here with their weekly crowd forecast as Disneyland enters its first week of the holiday season...

Christmastime at Disneyland officially kicks off today. Expect crowds to increase over the weekend for the first official weekend of the Christmas 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. With holiday crowds on the horizon, 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

	Crowd Calendar Prediction	Crowd Tips
	DISNEYLAND RESORT
Mon., Nov. 14	2/10	Here are some quick-hit notes that we hope you'll find helpful as you prepare your visits for the week: Partial AP blockouts this weekend. Disney California Adventure's low day will be Monday, when it's a 2.1. Disneyland park's lowest days will be Monday and Thursday, when it's a 1.8.
Tue., Nov. 15	2/10
Wed., Nov. 16	2/10
Thu., Nov. 17	2/10
Crowd levels are based on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being the least crowded conditions and 10 being most crowded.
See Disneyland crowds for the next 365 days. Get Disneyland wait times on your iPhone, Android, or Smartphone. Do more. Wait less.

The old Harbor Boulevard entry archway has been completely removed. The entry marquee is no longer needed now with Cars Land construction taking over the former Timon parking lot and closing the guest car access behind California Screamin' that routed guests to the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure.


The removal of the archway started mid-week and there was hardly any sign of it remaining by Saturday.




HOLIDAY ROUND-UP
A look at the holiday goings-on around Disneyland...

CHRISTMAS ON MAIN STREET
The holidays begin today at the Disneyland Resort and the final touches were going up over the weekend.






The Christmas tree was up in Town Square over the weekend, but the garlands over Main Street were not yet up to accommodate the final weekend of Mickey's Soundsational Parade.




Garlands and lights are up along Main Street buildings


The folks over at the great Disney Food Blog have obtained the schedule for the Candy Palace's popular candy canes. The candy canes are always a wildly-popular offering, only available on a few select days of the season and sell out very quickly. If you want to try to get a candy cane this year, you should plan accordingly.

2011 Disneyland Candy Cane Dates
Candy Cane making dates are currently scheduled for:

• Wednesday, November 30th (9:00 park opening)
• Friday, December 2nd (8:00am park opening)
• Tuesday, December 6th (9:00am park opening, BUT Magic Morning hours at 8:00am)
• Friday, December 9th (8:00am park opening)
• Monday, December 12th (8:00am park opening)
• Friday, December 16th (8:00am park opening) &
• Wednesday, December 21st (8:00am park opening)

PLEASE NOTE that these dates are subject to change, additional dates may be added as well. I heard a rumor from a Marceline’s cast member that candy canes were also being made on Friday, November 25th (8:00am park opening), the day after Thanksgiving… [ FULL STORY ]

For more information on the Candy Palace candy canes including tips on how to get yours, check out the Disney Food Blog.




At night, the tree lights up wonderfully





SEASONAL SNOW
The Castle's icicle were up by the weekend following the previous weekend's Christmas Day Parade taping.


Unfortunately, the icicles remain the same as previous years. They look horrible during the day, but at night they look great. It's too bad they can't find a more attractive solution for these...



"IT'S A SMALL WORLD" HOLIDAY
"it's a small world" holiday is back. The attraction remains a great part of the park's holiday offerings.




The attraction has a new centerpiece for the finale room this year — a giant LED snow man has replaced the former giant snowflake tree.


It doesn't look that great in photos, but it works well in the attraction, even if it does play like a giant holiday lawn ornament. Removing the snowman's "Happy Holidays" sign might be a good idea.


At night, the "it's a small world" facade, shrubbery and topiaries sparkle with thousands of Christmas lights.





HOLIDAYS IN PARADISE (PIER)
Over at California Adventure, Paradise Pier got a couple more minor holiday decorations at the Little Mermaid attraction and Paradise Gardens dining area








The Phineas and Ferb Dance Party that plays near the Little Mermaid attraction has been given a makeover for the holiday.


Some new holiday songs and decorations have been added to the show and parade float, but the show remain loud and obnoxious.





Santa has returned to Paradise Pier for the holidays, taking over Mickey's gazebo near Ariel's Grotto









On Friday, Disney California Adventure celebrated the 1,000th performance of the popular "World of Color" show. The milestone performance also introduced a new pre-show segment for the holidays featuring characters from ABC's holiday hit, "Prep and Landing." We'll have full coverage of the new holiday pre-show in next week's column. The Disney Parks Blog announced the milestone:

‘World of Color’ at Disney California Adventure Park Celebrates 1,000th Performance Tonight
Tonight marks an exciting milestone for “World of Color” – its 1,000th performance. Since the nighttime spectacular debuted in June 2010, the show – conceived as a kind of “living ‘Fantasia’” has used music, animation, color, light and water to amaze millions of guests at Disney California Adventure park.

“World of Color” employs brand-new technologies developed especially for the show by Walt Disney Imagineering – fountains with multiple moving heads, a “movie screen” on water – but one of the most amazing aspects of the show is its ability to continuously change.

“I am so proud that ‘World of Color’ has reached its 1,000th performance,” Steve Davison, Vice President, Parades & Spectaculars for Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Entertainment and Creative Director for “World of Color,” told the Disney Parks Blog. ”For me, one of the most exciting aspects of the show is that the technology that we developed has the flexibility to adapt and change without taking the show down for refurbishment. We’ve already had a lot of fun with the TRON tag, and we’re really excited to be introducing another new segment in time for the holidays!” [ FULL STORY ]

ALL ABOARD!
Back on Main Street, the Disney Gallery's latest must-see exhibition has opened — "All Aboard... A Grand Circle Tour of the Trains of Disney."


The clever exhibit banner features a train that has a working "headlight" as well as a smokestack that periodically erupts with steam. It's a great little touch.


The gallery's first exhibit space after the gift shop features new train-related art work by Disney artists.








A model of Walt's Barn, which currently resides in Los Angeles' Griffith Park, is on display here. The real barn is open to the public and maintained by the Carolwood Foundation. More information can be found at Carolwood.org



The exhibit's main room features a great selection of historical Disney concept art and artifacts as well as trains that run continuously on tracks in the center of the room and along the perimeter of the room.










The short video clip below shows the exhibit's animated marquee and the trains in the gallery.














Disney train artifacts are on display, many of the items on loan from the Carolwood Foundation.









The bank vault in the Gallery's gift shop area contains some incredible artifacts from Disney train history.


The train car and section of track are really special pieces







Some of the exhibit merchandise available for purchase:








CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION
Work continues on the remainder of California Adventure's $1 billion-dollar remodel and expansion...

Contact us at [email protected]!

BUENA VISTA STREET
Buena Vista Street continues to make progress...




The Guest Relations trailer got a couple potted Christmas trees for the holidays












The Carthay Circle pump house now has a podium and computer for the Guest Relations Cast Members.






CARS LAND
Work continues at Cars Land...








Spark plugs are up at Flo's V8 Cafe




Wires are up at Tow Mater's Junkyard Jamboree







AVATAR director James Cameron toured the Cars Land construction site Friday on an "inspiration tour" of the Disneyland Resort as he works with Imagineers to plan the major AVATAR-themed expansion at Disney's Animal Kingdom park at Walt Disney World.

James Cameron Gets Further Inspiration at Disneyland Resort

On Friday, legendary film director James Cameron and fellow Lightstorm Entertainment production partner Jon Landau toured the Cars Land expansion site at Disney California Adventure park, accompanied by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs and a team from Walt Disney Imagineering.

While there are no immediate plans for an AVATAR-themed land at the “Happiest Place on Earth,” Cameron and Landau used the visit as inspiration and to further familiarize themselves with the immersive Disney Parks experience as their team begins design work on the first AVATAR-themed land set to open at Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort.

The team studied the details and storytelling elements in the 12-acre world of Radiator Springs that will open at Disney California Adventure park in summer 2012, before touring other parts of the Disneyland Resort. [ LINK ]

DISNEYLAND HOTEL REMODEL
The Disneyland Hotel's remodel continues to race toward completion and the results look great. It might not translate well in photos, but the property has a great fresh, open and retro vibe that plays heavily on nostalgia but offers modern amenities and features.


The large fountains that were hidden behind shrubs for some time have been uncovered and restored for use once again at the Hotel's main entrance.




It'll be great to see these working again.


The main entrance remodel continues...




The main lobby's registration counter has reopened after a complete overhaul.








Clean and fresh.


The main lobby elevator area's remodel is done.





The E-Ticket Pool and surrounding area is just about ready to open. Finishing touches are being applied over the weekend.








The walls are down from around the Coffee House and Goofy's Kitchen area. It looks great over here.










With the walls down around the area, the pedestrian bridge over the D-Ticket Pool has completely opened up now.




Looking back









The Mickey Mouse spa








Captain Hook's pirate ship used to be here



The new tower marquees have been installed at the Frontier and Adventure Towers


The new marquees look good, but it's a bit of a shame Disney didn't take the opportunity to let these give the Towers a splash of color instead of more blue.











The old Fantasy Waters area is out from behind walls and is was getting some final landscaping done over the weekend.


It's just a lawn now. No more water-and-light shows.





THIS & THAT
Back in Disneyland, the information board's refurbishment has wrapped up.


The Pirates of the Caribbean refurbishment is set to finish later this month...


The stairs at the Disneyland Dream Suite are being refurbished.

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WEEKLY NEWS AND INFORMATION ROUND-UP
Weekly Theme Park Hours November 14—20, 2011
Disneyland Park	Disney California Adventure
Monday-Thursday: 10 am - 8 pm Friday-Sunday: 8 am - 12 midnight	Monday-Thursday: 10 am - 8 pm Friday-Saturday: 10 am - 9 pm Sunday: 10 am - 10 pm
For a complete listing of theme park hours, visit the Disneyland.com Theme Park Calendar
Expected Crowd Levels presented by TouringPlans.com
Disneyland Park	Disney California Adventure
LOW-MEDIUM 1.6—6.4 out of 10	LOW-MEDIUM 2.1—5.7 out of 10
Crowd levels are based on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being the least crowded conditions and 10 being most crowded. For daily crowd predictions for the next 365 days, visit
Closures and Refurbishment Schedule
Disneyland Park
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. Pirates of the Caribbean and Blue Bayou Restaurant: Closed through November 23 for refurbishment. Jolly Holiday Bakery Café: Opens January 2012 in location of the former Plaza Pavilion. Blue Ribbon Bakery, Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor and Candy Palace: Food service locations and shops close January 2012 for major restaurant and shopping expansion projects affecting current spaces.
Disney California Adventure
Toy Story Midway Mania! Closed November 15 — 17 for refurbishment. Buena Vista Street: Re-themed main entrance including new Red Car Trolley attraction are under construction through summer 2012. Cars Land: New 12-acre land in former Timon Parking Lot opens summer 2012.
Downtown Disney & Hotels of the Disneyland Resort
Fantasyland Tower lobby areas, E-Ticket Pool: Areas closed for remodel and re-theming. Hotel remodel set to be completed in November 2011.

Okay, that's our update for this week. Thanks for reading and be sure to visit Touring Plans when planning your holiday visit! Join the discussion! Will you be lining up at Disneyland for one of those famous candy canes this holiday season? We're only here because of your support. If you enjoy Dateline Disneyland every week please consider helping us out by donating a buck or two so we can pay the bills and keep the updates coming! You can donate with a click of a button via PayPal — click here! 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 Interested in sponsorship or advertising opportunities with Dateline Disneyland? Contact us!

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