In the Parks

Well, as predicted, last weekend was very busy, this weekend should be a lot lighter, but there is always those unknown things, like Dance/Cheer competitions that are held in the Anaheim area every year.

A few interesting things to talk about, so lets get to it.

What to do in the Current Economy to streamline Park operations?

A major news story this week has been the offering of buyout packages to Senior Management in the Disney Parks division.

We all know that Disney has been looking at the parks budgets and looking for areas to cut back. Entertainment has gotten a lot of the cuts, which requires a lot of employees (labor) to run. Now its time to look at other areas.

One important thing to note, the offer is not the same as laying off 619 executives. Disney does not expect all the employees to take the offer, more than likely they expect less than half to take the deal and leave the company.

Disney has stated if not enough "suits" take the offer, Disney will think about laying off some employees in the higher positions.

Over at Universal Orlando, about 70 employees, mostly Management, were laid off this week.

Alas, the streamlining and the need to do more with less will be a trend in business, and that does include Theme/Amusement parks.

In case you want so more info, here are a couple of good news links in regards to the planned labor reductions.

Disney offers voluntary buyouts to 600 executives - Around Disney - OCRegister.com

Orlando Sentinel - Universal Orlando lays off 70 employees on Tourism Central Florida

Disneyland/Anaheim Parking problems

Last Sunday, the Disneyland Resort ran out of Parking multiple times due to the NAMM Show and Holiday weekend crowds.

Unfortantely, the Disneyland Resort has actually lost quite a few parking spaces since the opening of California Adventure and Downtown Disney in 2001. Yes, DCA did not deliver the expected large crowds that Disney hoped for back then.

Since 2001, Disney has eliminated a lot of the Timon parking lot for DCA expansion, and just recently, the addition of a new Bakery building in a Cast Member Parking Lot and other expansion projects have caused the lost, and Disney has not yet replaced any spaces lost.



The City of Anaheim also has been expanding and growing its Convention Center facilities in the last few years, just across the street from the Disneyland Resort, which has expanded the amount of events and visitors to the area, and has plans to expand the facilities even more to handle large events like the NAMM show.

The combination of less parking, and more guests visiting compared to early 2000's has brought the issue to the forefront.



On Sunday, January 18th in the afternoon and evening, there were times that all the Disneyland Resort parking, including the Downtown Disney lots were closed, and guests couldn't find anywhere to park.

While Disney is planning for the long term by building a new parking structure, in the short term, Disney will have to do something, or the problem will return the next time you have a combination of Holiday sized crowds heading to the Theme Parks and a major convention across the street.

An interesting thread at MiceChat has been discussing the issue, and I have written about the issue in more detail in it.

Fiasco to Park at the Parks - What can be done?

Here is hoping that Disney and the city of Anaheim can find both short and long term solutions to the problem.

Knott's Berry Farm changes its Kids pricing policy



Knott's has decided to eliminate Kids or Child Tickets. No, before you get too upset, it is the terms, Kids or Child that are no longer being used.

Instead, Knott's has "Junior" tickets, and a different way to calculate who is eligible for the lower rate.

Knott's now has three different types of tickets for sale, Regular tickets is basically the old "Adult" ticket, the new Junior ticket, and Senior tickets, which happen to be the same price as a Junior ticket.

As in the past, kids under 3 years of age are free. Once a child turns 3, they need a Junior ticket until they turn 48 inches in height.

Anyone under the age of 62 will need to buy a Regular ticket if they are 48 inches or taller.



This helps with a major issue, and that is trying to tell how old a child really is. In the past, Knott's offered a Child's ticket to those between 3 and 11 years of age, but many folks would try and claim a 12 year old (and yes, even those older than 12) as only being 11. And with not too many kids having an government issued ID to prove their age, Knott's pretty much had to accept the word of the parents.

Knott's has installed a height check device in front of every ticket booth, and has height marks at the turnstiles to enforce the new rules.



The same issue is not a problem for Senior tickets, as Seniors have proper ID to prove they 62 years of age or older.

The use of height instead of age is used at other Theme/Amusement parks, including Six Flags Magic Mountain. Since many thrill rides are restricted due to height, it does make sense to use height as a guide to offer the lower priced tickets.

Who knows, Disney has the same "little white lie" issue in regards to what age a child actually is, and might want to switch over to the much more verifiable height requirement instead of age.

Disneyland Resort Construction Update

For those planning a trip to Anaheim in the near future, here is what is currently closed/walled off.

At Disneyland, they installed additional Refurb Walls on Main Street, and now 4 areas are walled off.





The small fence near City Hall is still there, along with the large set of walls near the entrance to Tomorrowland in the Central Plaza are still in place.



They added a large set of walls next to the area where the Parade floats exit next to the Opera House and and an area in front of the Market House.





All Attractions, restaurants and shops are open during the refurbishment of Main Street. Disney is trying to get this done in the next few weeks, as they want to be able to start rehearsals of the new Celebrate! A Street Party event after hours before its scheduled opening on March 27th.

Other areas that currently have walls including the former Once Upon a Time shop next to the Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthrough, the Big Thunder Ranch area where the new Celebration Roundup and Barbecue Dining event is being planned. Disney has removed all the concrete in the area, and is redoing the entire area. The Big Thunder Petting Zoo area remains open, as does the Festival Arena private event venue (Guests will use the Big Thunder Petting Zoo area to access the Festival Arena).





Walls remain up in front of "it's a small world" as Disney finishes up its removal of the holiday overlay and finished up the last touches on the "enhanced" version, scheduled to open to the public on February 6th.





Over at California Adventure, the work continues in the Paradise Pier area, with new concrete being placed in the lagoon for the needed footings that will hold the powerful water jets needed for the new World of Color show.





Mickey's Fun Wheel remains closed as the painting continues. The wheel has been rotated, and they are starting to work on the second section (out of the three planned). Across the way, work continues on the Boardwalk Games makeover. Unfortunately, it looks like the makeover to the shops in the area will not happen anytime in the near future, as Disney has decided to reallocate the funding to other projects.



Grizzly River Run is closed to allow the replacement of some of the wood used mainly for decorations due to water exposure. The back pathway of Grizzly River Run is also closed, and the smoking section has been relocated to a nearby area until they can reopen the attraction.





A few news links

Brady MacDonald over at the Los Angeles Times talks about the new Celebrate! A Street Party event that is replacing the Parade of Dreams at Disneyland.

Disneyland’s new parade isn’t a parade (even though it is) - Travel - LATimes.com

Adam Townsend at the Orange County Register discusses the fact that the several hundred packages for the planned Haunted Mansion 40th Anniversary event sold out within minutes, even with some packages costing $475.

Haunted Mansion 40th anniversary tickets sell out in minutes - Around Disney - OCRegister.com

The last link is proof that Disney is a major part of Orange County. A major news story in the area has been the trial of Former Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona, who was found guilty of one out of 6 Felony Charges.

The tie-in, that one of the jurors portrays the Mad Hatter at Disneyland.

2 Carona jurors say they felt pressured to acquit | juror, carona, jurors, number, surj - News - OCRegister.com

Selected Photos from Darkbeer.Smugmug.com


























Another "What's wrong with this?" photo

That should do it for this week, I hope everyone has a great weekend, and don't forget that the MiceChat 4th Anniversary events are coming up January 30th through February 1st. Hope to see you all there!

Check out this link for details:

http://micechat.com/forums/meets-eve...save-date.html