Main Street gets more walls, Big Thunder Trail repaving, DCA work, new merch, +MORE

WELCOME TO DISNEYLAND!
The Main Street repaving project is picking up where it left off after taking a break during last week's long holiday weekend. This week, a third of Town Square and a stretch of Main Street is behind walls as it gets fresh pavement.











Down Main Street in the Central Plaza, the Plaza Inn has new signage for its "My Disneyland Birthday" parties. While some signs still say "My Disneyland Birthday" others now ask "What Will You Celebrate at the Plaza Inn?"








BIG THUNDER BBQ & REPAVING
Over in Frontierland, Big Thunder Trail has gone behind walls as it gets repaved. The construction walls start at the bridge across from the old Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland tunnel and next to Big Thunder Mountain.


The smoking section that is normally located further back in the trail has been relocated to the start of the construction walls, causing somewhat of a cloud of smoke that guests have to pass through to get to the narrow remainder of Big Thunder Trail.


Big Thunder Trail isn't completely walled off. There is a somewhat narrow path left while the rest of the trail gets worked on.



Over at Big Thunder Ranch, construction at the upcoming Celebration Roundup and Barbeque continues...






BIBBITY BOBBITY PROGRESS
Not much can be seen at the upcoming Bibbity Bobbity Boutique in Fantasyland. However, the location of the previous Once Upon A Time Shop's signage has been covered up by green tarps. Could new Bibbity Bobbity Boutique signs be hiding underneath?








CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION
Let's take a look at DCA's construction...

PACIFIC WHARF BRIDGE & CHRISTMAS TREE POINT
As we showed you last week, the area where DCA's Christmas tree usually goes up every holiday season is now behind construction walls as it gets bulldozed and remodeled as part of the new World of Color outdoor amphitheater project which will re-theme the area into a tiered, lush, Victorian park.


The walls around Christmas tree point have been decorated with some catchphrases and construction graphics.







As DCA's Christmas tree point continues to get bulldozed, the Pacific Wharf Bridge is now behind tarps.






WORLD OF COLOR AMPHITHEATER
The old Golden State Amphitheater now part of California history as it gets remade into the new 9,000 guest viewing area for the upcoming Disney's World of Color show.





MICKEY'S FUN WHEEL
The last section of Mickey's Fun Wheel is being prepped to get its red and black color scheme.


Some people in MiceChat's DCA Project Tracker have wondered about the Fun Wheel's bright yellow sunburst and if the lighter-yellow sunburst tips would be better blended.


Well, it looks like sunburst tips will be blended together to offer a subtle gradient radiating from the center.




GAMES OF THE BOARDWALK
The Games of the Boardwalk are progressing nicely. The new look of Paradise Pier is remarkable when contrasted against the original look from 2001.










DISNEY'S WORLD OF COLOR
The amount of work going into World of Color appears to grow every week.










ORANGE STINGER
Work around the Orange Stinger continues, and the new wall blocking water flow to and from the S.S. rustworthy play area is all cemented in now.









DESERTED DISNEY
Downtown Disney continues to see vendors leaving as their parent companies see financial hardships or simply because their high-end merchandise is being bypassed by budget-conscious shoppers.

Illuminations isn't closed yet, but is having an on-going "event" sale with prices slashed 25-50% on everything in the store. Normal shoppers may not realize that the store is going out of business, but this "Special Event" is, in all reality, a going-out-of-business sale after Illumination's parent company, Yankee Holding Group, discontinued the Illuminations chain of stores. Illuminations is scheduled to close April 30.




All sales are final at this "Special Event" sale.



Club Libby Lu is closed and gone, but apparently will be taken over by a new store called Disney Studio 365. The new store will be similar to Libby Lu's offerings, but will be Disney-branded celebrity-style makeovers for a broader age range. Disney has already sent out memos for training opportunities to Resort Cast Members.





Speaking of celebrities, the celebrity memorabilia store, Starbilias, has closed down.




ST. PATRICK'S DAY MERCH
Some new St. Patrick's Day merchandise is available at select stores.














And some new Easter character plush is already available.







AROUND THE PARKS
And finally, some photos from around the parks.






























DISNEYLAND WEEKLY HOURS AND INFO

THEME PARK HOURS 2/23 - 3/01
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 - Sunday: 8 am - 12 Midnight

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

CURRENT ATTRACTION CLOSURES & REFURBISHMENTS

Disneyland Park

• Remember... Dreams Come True Fireworks Spectacular: Show dark while Main Street is repaved. Will return to a regular schedule in early March.
• Goofy's Playhouse: Closes for refurbishment.
• Jedi Training Academy: Closed through February 27 for refurbishment.
• Matterhorn Bobsleds: Closed through February 27 and March 2 - 6.

Disney's California Adventure Park

• Bakery Tour: Closed for refurbishment through March 13.
• Sun Wheel: Closed. Will re-open as Mickey's Fun Wheel in April 2009.
• Games of the Boardwalk: Closed. Will re-open with new themes in April 2009.
• Paradise Bay: Drained for construction of upcoming Disney's World of Color show.
• Disney's World of Color Nighttime Spectacular: New show under construction. Debuts Spring 2010.
• Golden State Park and Amphitheater: Closed. New, larger amphitheater for Disney's World of Color viewing under construction in same location. The new amphitheater will open December 2009.

DISNEYLAND GUESTS HELD BACK AS MYSTERIOUS POWDER IS INVESTIGATED
Disneyland Resort guests were held back from entering the Main Entrance Plaza for about an hour early Sunday morning as a mysterious powder caused a scare at Main Entry Ticket Booths. While guests who had already entered the park were unaffected, guests wanting to get in were locked out from the Main Entry Plaza and unable to purchase tickets and enter Disneyland as a hazardous materials team inspected the substance. The news that the Entrance Plaza was on lock down swept through MiceChat Sunday morning with a guest posting the news to the Disneyland discussion boards from their cellphones, looking for answers. Eric Carpenter at the Orange County Register cleared up the incident in a blog later in the afternoon.

Disneyland booths reopen after powder found harmless

ANAHEIM – The ticket booths at Disneyland Resort were temporarily shut down this morning but have reopened after authorities determined that a suspicious white powder found on the park's ticket booths was harmless, authorities said.
Cleaning crews reported early this morning that they had spotted an unusual white substance at the windows of several ticket booths. Police were called in at 7:30 a.m.
Some guests entered Disneyland when the park opened at 8 a.m. (California Adventure was not yet open), Disney spokeswoman Suzi Brown said. But when the powder was found on more ticket booths, park officials decided to temporarily hold back all guests from the ticketing area until police could investigate the powder. The booths were shuttered at 8:45 a.m.
Disneyland was never closed, as some guests were allowed in. The ticket areas were closed down for a while, though, keeping other guests out.
"We thought it would be best to close off all ticket booths until we could make sure there was nothing hazardous," Brown said.
Anaheim police called in a hazardous-materials unit from the Anaheim Fire Department. Samples were tested and soon determined to be nothing more than a fine, nonhazardous sand, said police Sgt. Rick Martinez.
Guests and employees who were held back for more than an hour were allowed to enter the ticket area at 9:45 a.m. Martinez said. California Adventure opened at 10 a.m.
"The safety of our guests and our cast members is our top priority," Brown said. "The measures that were taken today were done so in an abundance of caution."
Investigators were working with park officials to review surveillance video, looking for who might have deposited the substance on the ticket booths. No arrests had been made.
"We're not sure if it was a prank or a deliberate attempt to disrupt park operations," Martinez said. "Either way, this is serious business. And we will be following up."

REMINDER: SMALL WORLD PRODUCT RELEASE WITH ALICE DAVIS

Don't forget that Disney Legend Alice Davis will be at Disneyland this Saturday for an "it's a small world" product release and signing event. If you plan on attending, be prepared for long lines for this short two-hour event -- Imagineers past and present always bring out the fans!

"it's a small world" Product Release & Signing

Special Guests: Artist, Dave Avanzino & Disney Legend, Alice Davis
Date: February 28, 2009
Time: 10 a.m. to 12 Noon
Location: Disneyana Shop, Main Street, U.S.A., Disneyland park

Product Information:
Join us Saturday, February 28, 2009 as we welcome Artist, Dave Avanzino and Disney Legend, Alice Davis who will be on hand for a special appearance and signing of our theme park exclusive it's a small world merchandise commemorating the re-opening of the beloved attraction. Alice and Dave will be on hand from 10 a.m. to 12 Noon in the Disneyana Shop on the day of release.

Available as part of this special signing will be original and limited edition it's a small world artwork by Former Walt Disney Imagineer, Jimmy Pickering, mixed media sculpture by Artist, Dave Avanzino and three it's a small world doll costumes replicated from the original designs that are represented in the attraction for Bolivia, Hungary and India. The costumes come complete in a framed shadowbox with a reproduction of the original sketch by Disney Legend, Alice Davis.

FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL REGISTRATION

And a friendly reminder... the registration for special ticket events at the 2009 Disney's California Food and Wine Festival will open Tuesday, February 24 at 10 a.m. If you want tickets for popular events like Taste: Food - Wine - Life and Napa Rose Cooking School be sure to register early. Also, the new Behind the Scenes... events with celebrity chefs like Food TV's Guy Fieri and winemakers like Pixar's John Lasseter will likely be extremely popular with guests -- so if you're interested in attending, get your tickets early!

For complete information, event prices, dates, and other information visit the "Signature Events" page at www.DisneysCaliforniaFoodandWineFestival.com

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