In the Parks

A bright and sunny new year begins and we are here at the Disneyland resort to
sample the new Jolly Holiday Bakery. Is the food as good as the hype? We shall see. Buena Vista Street and Cars Land continue to develop at Disney California Adventure. We get a possible opening date for the Transformers ride at Universal Hollywood and wonder when Christmas will finally be packed away at all the local parks. Plus, we announce the winners for the 2011 MiceChat SoCal Theme Park Awards. There's plenty to see!

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It all begins on Friday January 27, 2012. Join us on a very special one day Adventures By Disney "Hollywood Magic" trip that starts at the Walt Disney Studios and then takes you to other famous Hollywood locations with your MiceChat pals. We'll tour the Walt Disney Studios, see the famous Disney Archives, dine in the commissary and shop in the studio store. Then it's off to Hollywood where you'll tour the El Capitan and the Kodak Theaters (the latter the home of the Academy Awards) as well as other famous tinseltown and Sunset Strip sights and landmarks. The day wraps up with a cocktail reception on Malibu Beach at sunset. What better way to kick off the MiceChat anniversary weekend! The event is currently listed as SOLD OUT, BUT it is likely that we'll be able to add an additional 10 folks, so get your name in to Teresa Cory from Fairy Godmother Travel today:[email protected]

The fun continues on Saturday January 28th, with the MiceChat Celebrity Breakfast at ESPN Zone. A wonderful buffet breakfast/meet and greet with Disney celebrities including Susan Egan (Broadway's Belle and the voice of Meg from Hercules), Disney author Sam Gennawey, Margaret Kerry (the original reference model and actress for Tinker bell), and other invited guests. The event will take place from 9am-11am, Saturday, January 28th at the fabulous ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney. And YES, the world famous, ESPN Zone Maple Bacon will be served! Following the breakfast we will spend the day in Disney California Adventure. CLICK HERE TO BUY YOUR TICKETS

The grand finale is on Sunday January 29th which is our traditional Disneyland day with breakfast along the Rivers of America, a grand circle tour of the happiest place on earth and the classic noon meet at the right hand of Walt Disney himself. We hope you'll be able to join us. More details about the meets, events and special opportunities will be posted soon.

CLICK HERE FOR UPDATED INFO ON THE FUN-FILLED WEEKEND

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What was the very best that Southern California Theme Parks had to offer in 2011? Over 2,300 MiceChat readers from around the globe have voted! This was a write-in survey and we had a huge variety of responses. In some categories there was a wider array of responses than in others. We narrowed the results of each category down to either 5 to 10 to round it off. Congratulations to all winners and runners up in each category.


Followed by...
The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure - DCA
Windseeker - KBF
Superman: Escape from Krypton - SFMM
Soundsational Parade - DL
Special Effects Stage - USH



Followed by...
Universal Studios Hollywood
Disney California Adventure
Knott's Berry Farm
Legoland


(Park that offered the most for the money you paid)
Followed by...
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Disneyland
Universal Studios Hollywood
Disney California Adventure



Followed by...
Star Tours: The Adventures Continue - DL
Haunted Mansion - DL
Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye - DL
Space Mountain - DL
Toy Story Midway Mania - DCA
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror - DCA
Universal Studio Tour - USH
California Screamin' - DCA
Silver Bullet - KBF



Followed by...
Mickey's Soundsational Parade - DL
Fantasmic - DL
A Christmas Fantasy Parade - DL
The Hanging - KBF
Billy Hill and the Hillbillies - DL
Remember Dreams Come True - DL
Special Effects Stage - USH
Playhouse Disney Live Onstage - DCA
Ed Alonzo's Psycho Circus of Magic and Mayhem - KBF


Followed by...
Splash Mountain - DL
Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye - DL
All of Tomorrowland - DL
Ghostrider - KBF
Alice in Wonderland - DL
Calico Mine Train - KBF
Timber Mountain Log Ride - KBF
Revolution - SFMM
Animal Actors Stage - USH


(Most underrated attraction, park or theme park experience)
Followed by...
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room - DL
Disneyland Railroad - DL
It's Tough to be a Bug - DCA
Paradise Garden Grill - DCA
Mark Twain - DL
Ghost Town - KBF
Drawn to Animation - DCA
Storybookland Canal Boats - DL
Apocalypse - SFMM


(Favorite Zoo/Museum/Tourist Attraction which is NOT part of one of the major theme parks)
Followed by...
Griffith Park Observatory
Discovery Science Center
Aquarium of the Pacific
The Getty Center
Gene Autry Mueseum
Bowers Museum
Medieval Times, Buena Park
Speed Zone
Huntington Library



Followed by...
Disney California Adventure
Knott's Berry Farm
Sea World
Universal


Followed by...
The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure - DCA
Pirates of the Caribbean - DL
Peter Pan's Flight - DL
Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye - DL
Mr Toad's Wild Ride - DL
Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin - DL
Revenge of the Mummy - USH
Toy Story Midway Mania - DCA
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters - DL


Followed by...
California Screamin' - DCA
Tatsu - SFMM
Matterhorn - DL
X2 - SFMM
Silver Bullet - KBF
Goliath - SFMM
Apocalypse - SFMM
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - DL
Riddler's Revenge - SFMM



Followed by...
Toy Story Midway Mania - DL
Pirates of the Caribbean - DL
Haunted Mansion - DL
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage - DL
The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure - DCA
Splash Mountain - DL
Big Thunder Mountain - DL
Soarin' Over California
Jungle Cruise - DLFollowed by...
Camelot - Anaheim
Boomers - Vista
Golf n' Stuff - Downey
Scandia - Ontario



Followed by...
Hurricane Harbor - Valencia
Knott's Soak City - Buena Park
Wild Rivers - Irvine
Soak City - Palm Springs



(Restaurant located inside of a theme park)
Followed by...
Wine Country Trattoria - DCA
Club 33 - DL
Cafe Orleans - DL
Ariel's Grotto - DCA


(Restaurant in a resort area but not within a theme park)
Followed by...
Steakhouse 55 - DLH
Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant - KBF
Goofy's Kitchen - DLH
Storyteller's - GCH
Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen - DTD
Hard Rock Cafe - USH Citywalk
Bucca Di Beppo - USH CityWalk
ESPNZone - DTD
Karl Strauss Brewery - USH CityWalk


(Theme park or resort area)
Followed by...
Paradise Garden Grill - DCA
Tongoroa Terrace - DLH
Pinks - KBF
Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta - DCA
Corn Dog Castle - DCA
International Cafe - USH
Lucky Fortune Cookery - DCA
Riverbelle Terrace - DL
Hungry Bear Restaurant- DL



(within one mile of a Southern California theme park under $100 per night on average)
Followed by...
Anabella Hotel
Red Lion Inn
Candy Cane Inn
Carousel


(within a mile of a Southern California theme park under $200 per night on average)
Followed by...
Hotel Menage
Universal Hilton
Knott's Resort Hotel
Sheraton Anaheim



(within one mile of a Southern California Theme Park over $200 per night on average)
Followed by...
Disneyland Hotel
Hilton Convention Center
Double Tree Inn
Paradise Pier Hotel

While the final week of Christmas comes to a close at the resort, a new resident moved into Main Street and Disneyland gets the opportunity to offer a latin Christmas tradition that it normally ends up missing.

JOLLY HOLIDAY BAKERY:
Yes, the Jolly Holiday Bakery finally opened its doors on Main Street. The normal baked goods that one encountered at the Blue Ribbon Bakery can again be found here in the lighted display cases. But what makes this new location unique are the flourishes of Mary Poppins and the new lunch menu items. Most of which we have tried, and agree are great.

'Opening day the bakery saw the usual rush of looky-loos. The line/queue extended out from the door and down the steps.

Little references are everywhere.



The fixture just above the entry.

A look at the menu.

LOOK! They serve Abuelita! GET IT NOW!

Upon entering the doorway, guests can choose to go to the left or right. The lines fan out then join back in the center of the room where visitors wait for the next available cashier. In the meantime they can soak in the luscious sights from the display case of goods in front of them.

Ham and Cheese quiche!



The registers too the right.

A close up of the wrought-iron railing of the queue.

The wallpaper trim along the ceiling.






There is also a lovely tile mosaic in the floor.






While waiting there is plenty to look at.



There is also a small reference to the artwork that was destroyed during construction.

The Jolly Holiday Bakery is a fine addition to Main Street, even though a little off in theme to turn-of-the-century USA. It still fits the visual aesthetic.As we mentioned before the sandwiches are particularly good. The Roast beef on Onion roll was great. It came with sautéed onions and a horseradish cream that was perfect. We will be returning for sure.

MAIN STREET:
Mary moved in and everything from Carnation Cafe to Coke Corner, essentially, moved out. With the new bakery aiming to help with the shifting demands of park goers, Disney was now able to close down Carnation Cafe, Blue Ribbon Bakery, Candy Palace, and Coke Corner, basically the whole northwest corner of Main Street, to prepare for the expansion of the Carnation Cafe restaurant and the required infrastructure adjustments. Keep that in mind when heading for a coffee.

THREE KINGS DAY:
Normally Christmas is over just after the new year at the resort. However, this year it was extended. This lead to the opportunity to incorporate the traditional latin festival of Three Kings Day. Christians believe that on this day the three kings, also known as wisemen, arrived in Bethlehem bearing gifts for the newly born Jesus. It is marked by caroling, music and, of course food. The three day celebration will begin today in the Zocalo Park area near Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and include such yummy treats as...

• Rosca de Reyes, the “Mexican Kings Bread” with a hidden whole almond nut or “almendra”
• Sweet corn tamale with pineapple and cajeta (caramel sauce) dessert
• Savory blue corn tamale with Monterey Jack cheese and a green chili tomatillo sauce, with a corn chili relish
• Strawberry-filled churros

Go have some Churros!

MATTERHORN:
This weekend is also the last chance to ride with your snuggle buddy on the Matterhorn. Come Monday morning, the roller coaster will be going down for a major overhaul. Speculation still circulates regarding possible enhancements and changes to some of the show scenes. One of the biggest changes will be the new ride vehicles that feature three single seats per bobsled as opposed to the current configuration that allows two people to share a seat.

HAUNTED MANSION HOLIDAY:
If you haven't seen Jack this year, and goodness knows you have had plenty of time, his run ends on Monday as well. So get on down to see what Jack has in store.




Most intriguing of all the parks right now is Disney California Adventure. The appearance changes drastically on a weekly basis as the June target date for its relaunch draws near.

BUENA VISTA STREET:
Here at the front of the park the new entry-way continues to take a more concrete form. The metal framing is rapidly being surfaced with sheetrock and plywood and buildings are becoming more apparent.













The effort that has been put forth to give this cityscape a multifaceted depth and texture is apparent with angles and rooftops jutting out from nearly everywhere. The place is looking pretty good.Inside the shops more of the same work is going on.

Square footage has been greatly expanded as is evident in the next shot where you can see the old facade with the new steel beams built in front of it.






The street will be more narrow, but a lot nicer to look at we assume.

The Carthay Circle Theater was nearly completely unveiled last week. More has become visible this week too, with the bits of the marquee's iron trim becomming visible through the green mesh.

CARS LAND:
Here we are in Cars Land where progress seems to have stalled out slightly. The only real change that is quickly noticeable was on Sarge's shop.

The real cement truck in comparison to the structures in the land.


Sarge's shop is now enclosed.

The perimeter fence for Mater's Junkyard Jamboree can be seen here.



You can see the surface of the Flying Tires area in the middle right of the shot

The Courthouse

The cones are getting cozier.

The scale of the work is truly impressive.

KNOTT’S CELEBRATES 60th ANNIVERSARY OF CALICO AND GHOST TOWN RAILROAD:

From January 12-15 Knott's will be celebrating 60 years of Ghost Town. Scheduled activities include tours of the Knott’s Calico and Ghost Town roundhouse and private car the “Edna,” a model train display, atmosphere talent, and a historic photo display.Knott’s Boardwalk Ballroom will be the site of the Del Oro Pacific Modular Railroad one of the largest and oldest “G” scale modular layouts in the United States. The layout includes elaborate displays including a forest scene, Hollywood soundstage, industrial area and a model airplane park. The Boardwalk Ballroom will also feature a historic photo display with images from the opening day of the train in 1952.

For a small fee guests can sign up for a tour of the Ghost Town and Calico Railroad Roundhouse and the private car the “Edna.” Built in 1881 for the personal use of the President of the Rio Grande Southern Railway, the Edna private car features a sitting/dining room, bedroom and galley. The Knott’s Ghost Town and Calico Railroad Roundhouse tour takes you backstage to see where Knott’s repairs and stores their locomotives and passenger cars.

This sounds like it will be a must-do for train enthusiasts.

You want to know when Transformers will open? How about when Harry Potter construction will begin? Read on.



UPPER LOT:
The upper lot, where your movie adventure begins. We can't really blame Universal all that much for not removing Christmas fast enough when it is still going full force at the Disneyland resort. But still...

How in the WORLD do they get all of that fake snow off of the buildings?

The double decker bus is still parked in front of the Fast Five Photo op much to the chagrin of Vin Diesel.

"This bus better be moving soon."

A new actress is playing Lucy now.

Dracula and Frankenstein discuss business.

Say what you will about the characters that some may not have heard of, but you will not walk into Universal without seeing a ton of characters mingling with excited fans. They are always out there. It is commendable.

Vampire in Brooklyn.

There is a new Studio Directory sign up now at the top of the Starway.

GLOBE THEATRE:
It's a small change, but one worth pointing out - the wall on the Old Globe Theatre, that faces Terminator, was given the SoundStage paint scheme recently.








Nice



HARRY POTTER:
There are rumors flying around the Potterverse regarding when the ride will begin construction and where it will go. From what we are hearing now, the expansion will break ground in 2013 and will have a target opening date of 2015. It will most likely be going just to the right of the entrance of the park where Gibson Amphitheater and Waterworld are now.







GRINCHMAS STORE:
For now, the Grinchmas store is open and has become a repository for all things Suess. Look for this merchandise to be slowly migrated from here and into the Hollywood store across the way and out in CityWalk into the Universal Store.









HOUSE OF HORRORS:
The House of Horrors is one of our all-time favorite things to do when at the Studios. The attraction is still amazingly fun, but the lobby has been left without exhibits for a few months now. Let's hope they find some things from the prop house soon.







SIMPSONS THE RIDE:
The exterior of Simpsons has been repainted and looks as eye-poppingly good as when it first opened.








STUDIO TOUR:
If you plan on riding the Studio tour between now and Memorial Day weekend be prepared to watch the trailer for the new Transformers ride until opening.

A look into a soundstage reveals… Hills? Clouds? Pine Trees?

Not to gloat, but we still have OUR Jaws. Sadly, his counterpart in Orlando is now history.

On Wisteria Lane, Desperate Housewives was filming this week.

They finally removed the zombie bodies left over from Halloween.

A new set is being constructed at Falls Lake. The tour is not taken by it at this time.




Just after reconfiguring the queue and unload for the tram tour last year, they are at it again.

Are we at DCA?

They are really trying to keep up with the increasing demand for the Studio Tour and thats a good thing. The new expansion will allow for more stroller parking and another smoking area.


LOWER LOT:
As we stroll the lower lot, we notice that the some of the remodeled store exteriors are done and the shops are reopened. They are already stocking Transformers merchandise. Some of which is actually very clever.

LOL!











Panda Express is now behind walls.

Instead of a new anything, we have the same old arcade in the new facade.




Ben and Jerry's has reopened as well.

Some of the street is still being worked on.

MUMMY LOCKERS:
The new locker configuration at the Mummy has been opened for guest use. The area is far more open and seems to work nicely now.










TRANSFORMERS:
We are told that Transformers could open as early as Memorial Day weekend to capitalize on a summer kick off. This seems pretty reasonable as everything has been going like clockwork inside.

We can now see that both Single Rider and Gate A will be available on Transformers.

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Today's update was edited by Fishbulb and Dustysage and brought to you by members of our fantastic and talented crew of photographers and news contributors including Capt. Phoebus and F!AN.(If you've got breaking news or photos to share, we'd love to hear from you. Contact Dusty today.)



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