2008 - The Year in Review, new merchandise, +MORE
Welcome to the last Dateline Disneyland for 2008! This week we'll take a look back at 2008 at the Disneyland Resort and get a recap on all of the new attractions, special events, and big newsmakers of the year. We'll also take a look at some new merchandise the end of today's update.
Let's get to it, shall we?
2008: THE YEAR IN REVIEW
Looking back, 2008 was a busy year. While no new major E-Tickets opened, the Disneyland Resort never slowed down between various attraction and show openings, refurbishments, special events, and peak holiday seasons. The year was a mixture of brand new and new-but-old; Disney's California Adventure opened the brand new Toy Story Midway Mania dark ride, and Disneyland re-opened the old Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough. The year also brought the new Disneyland Mark VII Monorails on-line, and the old Ariel's Grotto in Disneyland made way for Tinker Bell's lavish new Pixie Hollow meet-and-greet.
As we get ready to ring in the new year later this week, let's take a look at what 2008 brought to us at Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom, shall we?
WELCOME 2008!
Of course, no year at Disneyland starts off without the traditional New Year's Eve festivities.
New Year's Eve also welcomes in Disneyland's new Ambassadors. The 2007 Ambassadors welcome 2008 Ambassadors Garnett Schoonover and Adonis Reeves to their posts.
DREAMSLAND
While the Year of a Million Dreams was introduced in late 2006 following Disneyland's 50th anniversary celebration, the year ended up becoming over two years and stretched all the way until the end of 2008. The extended campaign brought new decorations including the new lighted Floral Mickey display, which featured a great new "pixie dust" LED lighting effect.
The revised Year of a Million Dreams campaign ditched the tacky swirly pastel designs that plagued the parks in 2007 and the new dream cloud designs took over.
Even the banners on the Castle had dream clouds.
"it's a big refurbishment"
Once the holiday season wrapped up in early January, "it's a small world" went down for a lengthy refurbishment, lasting most of 2008.
While "it's a small world" got some much-needed TLC, Disney was met with heated dissent from fans reacting to highly controversial news that the classic attraction would re-open with Disney characters and would no longer feature the Papua New Guinea rainforest scene.
"it's a small world" re-opened in November in its annual holiday version.
While the verdict is still out on the addition of Disney characters (they will debut in 2009 when the attraction re-opens in its traditional version), "small world" fans saw that while the rainforest hadn't been removed, it had been relocated and downsized.
But as original elements to the attraction were altered, some were restored. The large new sun prop in this room isn't new at all, but a restored element to the 1964 New York World's Fair attraction.
YEAR OF THE MOUSE
Disneyland celebrated the Year of the Mouse on Main Street.
SWEET DREAMS
In February, Disney started awarding the Disneyland Dream Suite to a random family everyday as part of the 2008 Year of a Million Dreams promotion. The Dream Suite took over the former Disney Gallery in New Orleans Square, much to the dismay of Disneyland fans.
While beautifully themed, the vast majority of Disneyland guests would never get to see the Dream Suite, which is disappointing considering the space used to be an attraction that all guests were welcome to experience.
A WINDOW INTO THE FUTURE
In March, Disney's California Adventure said farewell to an opening day attraction, the long under-attended "Seasons of the Vine" film in the park's Golden Vine Winery district.
The film, a look into California's winemaking process, was part of the Robert Mondavi's sponsorship of DCA's Golden Vine Winery area. The attraction, while nicely produced, was sparsely attended, and contributed to Mondavi's withdrawal from the park. Even on its last day, most guests never knew the attraction existed or was even open to guests.
Seasons of the Vine closed to make way for the new Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar. The new attraction opened in late October and gives guests a look at the upcoming changes and new attractions coming to DCA in the next few years.
The Blue Sky Cellar will rotate exhibits as projects in California Adventure are completed. The new preview center is a great addition to DCA and an exciting glimpse at things to come
PIXAR PLAYS
On March 14, DCA debuted the new Pixar Play Parade. A similarly-themed replacement for the garish and obnoxious Block Party Bash parade that opened as part of the Resort's 50th anniversary.
The parade is creative, fun, and entertaining -- but guests who don't want to get wet should probably avoid the procession which features plenty of water.
MAGIC KINGDOM HONOREES
In March, Disneyland honored legendary Imagineer Bob Gurr with a window on Main Street.
Gurr is responsible for numerous attraction vehicle designs, including the Main Street Vehicles and the original Monorails.
In April, Disney Legend Julie Andrews was honored at Disneyland when Jingles, the lead horse at King Arthur Carrousel was re-dedicated to Ms. Andrews.
The horse got new decorative nods to Julie Andrews for her roles as Mary Poppins and Disneyland's Honorary 50th Anniversary Ambassador
And in September, former Senior Vice President of Resort Operations was honored for his service at Disney with a window on Main Street, between Disneyana and the Main Street Cinema
FOOD & WINE GROWS
Over at DCA, the third annual Food and Wine Festival was launched in April, bigger and better than ever, with free celebrity chef demonstrations, special events, wine tasting, and much more.
"I'M (FINALLY) GOING TO DISNEYLAND!"
In May, Superbowl XLII MVP Eli Manning made good on his promise to go to Disneyland following his big win. Manning originally postponed his visit to the park after flight issues, other parade appearances, and a Bahamas vacation.
AN INDIANA JONES ADVENTURE
On May 22, Indiana Jones kicked off the summer season at Disneyland park as Adventureland was home to the Summer of Hidden Mysteries -- a series of small Indiana Jones live shows, photo-ops, and scavenger hunts. While the promotion was small, it was fun while it lasted.
MONORAILS TAKE FLIGHT
After many months of technical issues, testing, and CM training, the first train of the new Disneyland Mark VII Monorail fleet regularly started taking guests around the park in July
Despite air flow problems and capacity issues, Monorail Red still continued to catch the eye of park guests as the sleek new train zipped by overhead.
The interior of the trains are lit with glowing blue lighting
A couple months later, the new Monorail Blue came online and now regularly carries passengers.
MIDWAY MANIA!
The big event of the summer, though, was the opening of the new Toy Story Midway Mania! over at DCA. The attraction takes guests on a zippy ride through 3D carnival games hosted by their Toy Story friends.
Imagineers take a spin on the new ride
TOMORROW'S NEW RESIDENTS
This summer Innoventions opened the new Innoventions Dream Home, a great, big reworking of the attraction's lower level where guests enter the home of the Elias Family who graciously welcome them in to see their fancy new house stuffed full of new gadgets and technology.
The Dream Home is a nice concept for Innoventions, and attraction which would otherwise be irrelevant in Tomorrowland with its upper level filled with large areas of video games.
Of course it isn't without its own problems, but at least Innoventions got some attention rather than continuing to grow more and more stale.
53 YEARS OF DISNEYLAND
Of course, Disneyland celebrated its birthday on July 17. The park marked its 53rd anniversary with a small, but much-attended rededication ceremony in Town Square.
A BIRTHDAY REAWAKENING
Disneyland officially announced the re-opening of the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough on July 17. The announcement was confirmation to fans who had long heard rumors of the Castle re-opening, and had been trying to see what was going on behind recent construction walls behind Sleeping Beauty Castle.
Imagineer Tony Baxter shows off a model of the new Castle walkthrough.
The "re-awakened" attraction is modeled after the original 1957 version, designed by Disney artist Eyvind Earle.
CLOSED, REMOVED, REPAVED
In September, McDonald's closed shop on its theme park dining locations. The exit from Disneyland left the Harbour Galley in New Orleans Square closed. The dining location was supposed to reopen in December with a new menu, but currently sits empty.
The Conestoga Fries wagon in Frontierland closed up and was removed shortly after.
Current plans are to turn the now-empty space into a fruit cart in early 2009.
...And Burger Invasion in DCA has since been closed with no replacement.
New Orleans Square and Tomorrowland also had big repaving projects this fall.
HALLOWEEN, FORTUOSITY, MUSICALS, AND CHRISTMAS
October was a busy month for Disneyland. HalloweenTime decked out the park in its seasonal finest.
Small, but new to this year's HalloweenTime festivities was author Ray Bradbury's Halloween Tree.
As the plaque explains, the Halloween Tree was dedicated Halloween 2007 and is a fulfillment of Bradbury's dream to be part of Disneyland park.
On Main Street, the former New Century Timepieces re-opened as the Fortuosity Shop, a new store inspired by the old One of a Kind shop in New Orleans Square.
The store sells higher-end merchandise, unique finds, and a selection of artisan watches.
In New Orleans Square, the charming, quiet Court des Anges was converted into a Christmas store.
Over at DCA, the new High School Musical 3 street show debuted.
MILEY CELEBRATES
In October, Disney announced its new theme park promotional campaign for 2009: "What will you celebrate?" To kick off the new promotion, Disney staged a huge sweet 16 birthday bash with its biggest star - Miley Cyrus.
PIXIES MOVE IN
Earlier in the year, Ariel's Grotto went behind construction walls as the Little Mermaid was booted to make way for Pixie Hollow - a new meet-and-greet with Tinker Bell and her pixie friends.
Pixie Hollow opened in late October to big lines.
MAKEOVER IN PARADISE
In late October, the Sun Wheel and Games of the Boardwalk closed on DCA's Paradise Pier. Paradise Bay was drained in November and work got underway on the Sun Wheel, Games of the Boardwalk, and the upcoming World of Color show.
The Sun Wheel and Games of the Boardwalk will reopen in Spring 2009 with new themes.
A month earlier, in September, the nearby Golden Dreams closed for good. The attraction will be removed in 2009 to make room for the new Little Mermaid attraction.
HAPPIEST TURKEYS ON EARTH
The National Thanksgiving Turkeys called Disneyland home this year, after last year's turkeys went to Walt Disney World. The pardoned turkeys were grand marshalls for Disneyland's Thanksgiving parade.
SPARKLING WITH JOY
The holidays at the Disneyland Resort kicked off in November, and brought enhanced lighting and snow effects to Sleeping Beauty's Winter Castle and Main Street, USA.
The new snow lighting effects required the Disneyland tree to be artificial for the first time in 53 years to handle the amount of lights on the new tree.
This year also marked the 50th Anniversary of Disneyland's Candlelight Processional.
The event was hosted by big Disneyland fan, actor John Stamos.
MERCHANDISE ROUND-UP
The new New Year's Eve 2009 Ear Hats are available
Alright -- as we look back on 2008, Disney has been looking ahead. The new 2009 merchandise line has hit the shelves. We shared some of it with you last week, so here is part two of our 2009 merchandise round-up.
2009 license plate frame - $7.95
Wonen's shirt - $28 / Plus sizes $30
Women's hoodie - $49 / Plus sizes $51
Black baseball cap - $19.95
Large Mickey plush - $25
Small Mickey plush - $12
VALENTINE'S DAY MERCH
Yep, Disneyland is already selling Valentine's Day merchandise. It's a little jarring considering it isn't even the new year yet, but its not surprising, either.
Women's t-shirt and thermal - $32
Wall banner - $19.95
Mickey and Minnie plush - $11.95 each
Mickey "Cuties" plush - $11.95
Pooh and Eeyore plush - $11.95 each
Valentine's Day cards - $5.95
Jewlery - $18.95
Mugs - $11.95 each
Photo frame - $20
DISNEYLAND WEEKLY HOURS AND INFO
Happy New Year to all of you! Have fun and be safe!
- Andy
QUICK LINKS:
| 
| 
| 
Let's get to it, shall we?
2008: THE YEAR IN REVIEW
Looking back, 2008 was a busy year. While no new major E-Tickets opened, the Disneyland Resort never slowed down between various attraction and show openings, refurbishments, special events, and peak holiday seasons. The year was a mixture of brand new and new-but-old; Disney's California Adventure opened the brand new Toy Story Midway Mania dark ride, and Disneyland re-opened the old Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough. The year also brought the new Disneyland Mark VII Monorails on-line, and the old Ariel's Grotto in Disneyland made way for Tinker Bell's lavish new Pixie Hollow meet-and-greet.
As we get ready to ring in the new year later this week, let's take a look at what 2008 brought to us at Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom, shall we?
WELCOME 2008!
Of course, no year at Disneyland starts off without the traditional New Year's Eve festivities.
New Year's Eve also welcomes in Disneyland's new Ambassadors. The 2007 Ambassadors welcome 2008 Ambassadors Garnett Schoonover and Adonis Reeves to their posts.
DREAMSLAND
While the Year of a Million Dreams was introduced in late 2006 following Disneyland's 50th anniversary celebration, the year ended up becoming over two years and stretched all the way until the end of 2008. The extended campaign brought new decorations including the new lighted Floral Mickey display, which featured a great new "pixie dust" LED lighting effect.
The revised Year of a Million Dreams campaign ditched the tacky swirly pastel designs that plagued the parks in 2007 and the new dream cloud designs took over.
Even the banners on the Castle had dream clouds.
"it's a big refurbishment"
Once the holiday season wrapped up in early January, "it's a small world" went down for a lengthy refurbishment, lasting most of 2008.
While "it's a small world" got some much-needed TLC, Disney was met with heated dissent from fans reacting to highly controversial news that the classic attraction would re-open with Disney characters and would no longer feature the Papua New Guinea rainforest scene.
"it's a small world" re-opened in November in its annual holiday version.
While the verdict is still out on the addition of Disney characters (they will debut in 2009 when the attraction re-opens in its traditional version), "small world" fans saw that while the rainforest hadn't been removed, it had been relocated and downsized.
But as original elements to the attraction were altered, some were restored. The large new sun prop in this room isn't new at all, but a restored element to the 1964 New York World's Fair attraction.
YEAR OF THE MOUSE
Disneyland celebrated the Year of the Mouse on Main Street.
SWEET DREAMS
In February, Disney started awarding the Disneyland Dream Suite to a random family everyday as part of the 2008 Year of a Million Dreams promotion. The Dream Suite took over the former Disney Gallery in New Orleans Square, much to the dismay of Disneyland fans.
While beautifully themed, the vast majority of Disneyland guests would never get to see the Dream Suite, which is disappointing considering the space used to be an attraction that all guests were welcome to experience.
A WINDOW INTO THE FUTURE
In March, Disney's California Adventure said farewell to an opening day attraction, the long under-attended "Seasons of the Vine" film in the park's Golden Vine Winery district.
The film, a look into California's winemaking process, was part of the Robert Mondavi's sponsorship of DCA's Golden Vine Winery area. The attraction, while nicely produced, was sparsely attended, and contributed to Mondavi's withdrawal from the park. Even on its last day, most guests never knew the attraction existed or was even open to guests.
Seasons of the Vine closed to make way for the new Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar. The new attraction opened in late October and gives guests a look at the upcoming changes and new attractions coming to DCA in the next few years.
The Blue Sky Cellar will rotate exhibits as projects in California Adventure are completed. The new preview center is a great addition to DCA and an exciting glimpse at things to come
PIXAR PLAYS
On March 14, DCA debuted the new Pixar Play Parade. A similarly-themed replacement for the garish and obnoxious Block Party Bash parade that opened as part of the Resort's 50th anniversary.
The parade is creative, fun, and entertaining -- but guests who don't want to get wet should probably avoid the procession which features plenty of water.
MAGIC KINGDOM HONOREES
In March, Disneyland honored legendary Imagineer Bob Gurr with a window on Main Street.
Gurr is responsible for numerous attraction vehicle designs, including the Main Street Vehicles and the original Monorails.
In April, Disney Legend Julie Andrews was honored at Disneyland when Jingles, the lead horse at King Arthur Carrousel was re-dedicated to Ms. Andrews.
The horse got new decorative nods to Julie Andrews for her roles as Mary Poppins and Disneyland's Honorary 50th Anniversary Ambassador
And in September, former Senior Vice President of Resort Operations was honored for his service at Disney with a window on Main Street, between Disneyana and the Main Street Cinema
FOOD & WINE GROWS
Over at DCA, the third annual Food and Wine Festival was launched in April, bigger and better than ever, with free celebrity chef demonstrations, special events, wine tasting, and much more.
"I'M (FINALLY) GOING TO DISNEYLAND!"
In May, Superbowl XLII MVP Eli Manning made good on his promise to go to Disneyland following his big win. Manning originally postponed his visit to the park after flight issues, other parade appearances, and a Bahamas vacation.
AN INDIANA JONES ADVENTURE
On May 22, Indiana Jones kicked off the summer season at Disneyland park as Adventureland was home to the Summer of Hidden Mysteries -- a series of small Indiana Jones live shows, photo-ops, and scavenger hunts. While the promotion was small, it was fun while it lasted.
MONORAILS TAKE FLIGHT
After many months of technical issues, testing, and CM training, the first train of the new Disneyland Mark VII Monorail fleet regularly started taking guests around the park in July
Despite air flow problems and capacity issues, Monorail Red still continued to catch the eye of park guests as the sleek new train zipped by overhead.
The interior of the trains are lit with glowing blue lighting
A couple months later, the new Monorail Blue came online and now regularly carries passengers.
MIDWAY MANIA!
The big event of the summer, though, was the opening of the new Toy Story Midway Mania! over at DCA. The attraction takes guests on a zippy ride through 3D carnival games hosted by their Toy Story friends.
Imagineers take a spin on the new ride
TOMORROW'S NEW RESIDENTS
This summer Innoventions opened the new Innoventions Dream Home, a great, big reworking of the attraction's lower level where guests enter the home of the Elias Family who graciously welcome them in to see their fancy new house stuffed full of new gadgets and technology.
The Dream Home is a nice concept for Innoventions, and attraction which would otherwise be irrelevant in Tomorrowland with its upper level filled with large areas of video games.
Of course it isn't without its own problems, but at least Innoventions got some attention rather than continuing to grow more and more stale.
53 YEARS OF DISNEYLAND
Of course, Disneyland celebrated its birthday on July 17. The park marked its 53rd anniversary with a small, but much-attended rededication ceremony in Town Square.
A BIRTHDAY REAWAKENING
Disneyland officially announced the re-opening of the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough on July 17. The announcement was confirmation to fans who had long heard rumors of the Castle re-opening, and had been trying to see what was going on behind recent construction walls behind Sleeping Beauty Castle.
Imagineer Tony Baxter shows off a model of the new Castle walkthrough.
The "re-awakened" attraction is modeled after the original 1957 version, designed by Disney artist Eyvind Earle.
CLOSED, REMOVED, REPAVED
In September, McDonald's closed shop on its theme park dining locations. The exit from Disneyland left the Harbour Galley in New Orleans Square closed. The dining location was supposed to reopen in December with a new menu, but currently sits empty.
The Conestoga Fries wagon in Frontierland closed up and was removed shortly after.
Current plans are to turn the now-empty space into a fruit cart in early 2009.
...And Burger Invasion in DCA has since been closed with no replacement.
New Orleans Square and Tomorrowland also had big repaving projects this fall.
HALLOWEEN, FORTUOSITY, MUSICALS, AND CHRISTMAS
October was a busy month for Disneyland. HalloweenTime decked out the park in its seasonal finest.
Small, but new to this year's HalloweenTime festivities was author Ray Bradbury's Halloween Tree.
As the plaque explains, the Halloween Tree was dedicated Halloween 2007 and is a fulfillment of Bradbury's dream to be part of Disneyland park.
On Main Street, the former New Century Timepieces re-opened as the Fortuosity Shop, a new store inspired by the old One of a Kind shop in New Orleans Square.
The store sells higher-end merchandise, unique finds, and a selection of artisan watches.
In New Orleans Square, the charming, quiet Court des Anges was converted into a Christmas store.
Over at DCA, the new High School Musical 3 street show debuted.
MILEY CELEBRATES
In October, Disney announced its new theme park promotional campaign for 2009: "What will you celebrate?" To kick off the new promotion, Disney staged a huge sweet 16 birthday bash with its biggest star - Miley Cyrus.
PIXIES MOVE IN
Earlier in the year, Ariel's Grotto went behind construction walls as the Little Mermaid was booted to make way for Pixie Hollow - a new meet-and-greet with Tinker Bell and her pixie friends.
Pixie Hollow opened in late October to big lines.
MAKEOVER IN PARADISE
In late October, the Sun Wheel and Games of the Boardwalk closed on DCA's Paradise Pier. Paradise Bay was drained in November and work got underway on the Sun Wheel, Games of the Boardwalk, and the upcoming World of Color show.
The Sun Wheel and Games of the Boardwalk will reopen in Spring 2009 with new themes.
A month earlier, in September, the nearby Golden Dreams closed for good. The attraction will be removed in 2009 to make room for the new Little Mermaid attraction.
HAPPIEST TURKEYS ON EARTH
The National Thanksgiving Turkeys called Disneyland home this year, after last year's turkeys went to Walt Disney World. The pardoned turkeys were grand marshalls for Disneyland's Thanksgiving parade.
SPARKLING WITH JOY
The holidays at the Disneyland Resort kicked off in November, and brought enhanced lighting and snow effects to Sleeping Beauty's Winter Castle and Main Street, USA.
The new snow lighting effects required the Disneyland tree to be artificial for the first time in 53 years to handle the amount of lights on the new tree.
This year also marked the 50th Anniversary of Disneyland's Candlelight Processional.
The event was hosted by big Disneyland fan, actor John Stamos.
MERCHANDISE ROUND-UP
The new New Year's Eve 2009 Ear Hats are available
Alright -- as we look back on 2008, Disney has been looking ahead. The new 2009 merchandise line has hit the shelves. We shared some of it with you last week, so here is part two of our 2009 merchandise round-up.
2009 license plate frame - $7.95
Wonen's shirt - $28 / Plus sizes $30
Women's hoodie - $49 / Plus sizes $51
Black baseball cap - $19.95
Large Mickey plush - $25
Small Mickey plush - $12
VALENTINE'S DAY MERCH
Yep, Disneyland is already selling Valentine's Day merchandise. It's a little jarring considering it isn't even the new year yet, but its not surprising, either.
Women's t-shirt and thermal - $32
Wall banner - $19.95
Mickey and Minnie plush - $11.95 each
Mickey "Cuties" plush - $11.95
Pooh and Eeyore plush - $11.95 each
Valentine's Day cards - $5.95
Jewlery - $18.95
Mugs - $11.95 each
Photo frame - $20
DISNEYLAND WEEKLY HOURS AND INFO
THEME PARK HOURS 12/29 - 1/04
For a complete listing of theme park hours, please visit the Disneyland.com Theme Park CalendarDisneyland Park
Monday - Tuesday: 8 am - 12 am
Wednesday / New Year's Eve: 8 am - 2 am
Thursday - Sunday: 8 am - 12 am
Disney's California Adventure Park
Monday - Tuesday: 10 am - 10 pm
Wednesday / New Year's Eve: 10 am - 1 am
Thursday - Sunday: 10 am - 9 pm
NEW YEAR'S EVE ENTERTAINMENT
- "Believe... In Holiday Magic" Fireworks Spectacular: 9:25 pm
- New Year's Eve Countdown Central at Sleeping Beauty's Winter Castle - 9 pm - 12 am
- "it's a small world" Promenade Dance Party: 7 pm - 2am
- New Year's Eve "Fantasy in the Sky" Fireworks[/b]: 12 am Midnight
- Fantasmic!: 9:00 pm - 10:30 pm - 11:59 pm
- Jump, Jive, Boogie Swing Party Featuring Doc Anello and the Swing Machine: 7:30 p.m. - 8:45 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
- Tomorrowland Terrace Dance Party with Suburban Legends[/b]: 8:30 p.m. - 9:45 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. - 11:45 p.m.
- Hollywood Pictures Backlot Dance Party: 9:30 pm - 1 am
- Pacific Wharf Dance Party: 9:30 pm - 1 am
- New Year's Eve Fireworks at DCA: DCA will reportedly have some small, low-level fireworks go off at midnight in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot and next to Golden Dreams.
HOLIDAY ATTENDANCE WARNINGAlright -- that should do it for this week's Dateline Disneyland. Thanks to all of the contributors to this column over the past year especially David "Darkbeer" Michael, Fishbulb, MacDaddy, 2DieFR, and everybody else who leant their photographic talents to Dateline Disneyland. Also, thanks to Dustysage, Al Lutz, and everybody else who make MiceAge and MiceChat a reality. And of course, many, many thanks to all of you, the readers, for reading and discussing the columns every week.If you are planning to visit the Disneyland Resort this week, please be aware that the theme parks will be extremely busy.CURRENT ATTRACTION CLOSURES
Expect huge holiday crowds
Expect the parks to be extremely busy. Plan accordingly. Arrive early, stay late, and do not expect to do everything you normally would do on a slower day. Eat at non-peak times, avoiding the lunch and dinner rushes. If you plan on watching the parade or fireworks, get a spot early. Remember to be courteous to the Cast Members and fellow guests - it's the holiday season and you're all in the same boat together. Have fun, and take it slow.
Be prepared for park capacity closures
The theme parks will remain very busy leading up to the New Year's Eve holiday. Do not be surprised if Disneyland reaches capacity at any time this week, especially New Year's Eve. If you plan on exiting the park and returning later, make sure you listen to Cast Members at the exit turnstiles, they will notify you if admission is being restricted, and you should be given the option to stay in the park if they are no longer letting guests in. Please be aware that it is the fire marshall's decision to restrict admission, so please be courteous to Cast Members.
Attraction tips and the joy of FASTPASS
You can escape the chilly weather and take advantage of lower-demand warm indoor shows like Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years, Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular, Muppet*Vision 3D, and It's Tough to Be a Bug! Also, walkthrough attractions and exhibits like new Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough, Innoventions, and the Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar will likely have lower demand than bigger E-Ticket attractions. If you're determined to get on some rides, be sure to utilize Disney's FASTPASS to increase your ride count. David "Darkbeer" Michael has a big thread on MiceChat detailing all the ins-and-outs of the FASTPASS system, check it out.Disneyland ParkANNUAL PASSHOLDER BLOCKOUT DATES
- Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams Dark indefinitely. News has circulated that the cast and crew of the Parade of Dreams has been told that the parade will not return as planned in March 2009. There is an on-going discussion on the MiceChat forums about this news here.
Disney's California Adventure Park
- 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.
Blockout dates for December 20083rd ANNUAL MICE CHAT NEW YEAR'S EVE MEET
Southern California Select: Through January 4
Southern California: Through January 3
Deluxe: Through December 31st
Premium: No blockout datesIf you're planning on visiting the parks on New Year's Eve and want a unique New Year's Eve party at the parks with your MiceChat friends, then check out the lineup for this year's 3rd Annual MiceChat New Year's Eve Meet-Up!
- 12 Noon: Meet at the hub
- 12:40-ish Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room group show
- 1:00-ish: Following the Enchanted Tiki Room - Late lunch at White Water Snacks at the Grand Californian Hotel
- 3:00 pm: Wine meet-up Golden Vine Winery/Blue Sky Cellar outdoor patio.
- 4:05 pm MiceChat Movie Madness - Muppet*Vision 3D followed by It's Tough to be a Bug.
- 7:30-ish Dinner - Location TBA
- 10:00 pm MiceChatters of the Vine meet at the Golden Vine Winery.
- 11:30 pm Fireworks meet in Sunshine Plaza to watch the Disneyland NYE fireworks from DCA.
To RSVP and for more information, check out the thread on MiceChat.
Happy New Year to all of you! Have fun and be safe!
- Andy
QUICK LINKS:
| | | Total Comments 33
Comments
-
Good job. There's also the WALL-E photo op in DCA. I would have assumed the real WALL-E might have visited.
There's also the new version of Playhouse Disney LIVE which I think opened around the same time as Pixar Play Parade. PPP hasn't been using water lately since it's just too darn cold for it. Perfect time for photos and videos.Posted 12-29-2008 at 01:34 PM by filmfreak11
-
This is probably one if my biggest updates so far, and I still didn't get to cover everything. There were the smaller things like the WALL-E photo-op and Playhouse Disney, and then there were bigger Resort-wide things like the Grand Californian Hotel expansion. I also left out the Department 56 downsizing, and the French Market's new menu. I skimmed over the rebuilding of the Submarine Voyage's exit waterfall, and the re-opening of the Gepetto's Workshop store as Wishing Star Magic Crystals. And I completely forgot the return of the Fred Gurley as Steve pointed out earlier...Quote:Originally Posted by filmfreak11Good job. There's also the WALL-E photo op in DCA. I would have assumed the real WALL-E might have visited.
There's also the new version of Playhouse Disney LIVE which I think opened around the same time as Pixar Play Parade. PPP hasn't been using water lately since it's just too darn cold for it. Perfect time for photos and videos.
This year was busy, busy, busy.
I just couldn't include everything here 
- AndyPosted 12-29-2008 at 01:50 PM by MasterGracey 
-
Wowie! What a recap! Thanks for all of your amazing work this year, Andy. I got you this trophy-
Posted 12-29-2008 at 02:26 PM by SusieP. - Thank you for the wonderful update, Andy!Posted 12-29-2008 at 02:37 PM by DizWiz
-
Nice job Andy! I quite enjoyed the retrospective. It's been quite a year, hasn't it? Here's to an even better 2009!Posted 12-29-2008 at 02:46 PM by Club 33 -
Great year in review. It's amazing how much went on this year.
Only one small correction...the 2007 Ambassadors (pictured in order) were Adonis Reeves and Garnett Schoonover. The 2008 Ambassadors (again, in order of the picture above) are Liz Hetzel and David Gill.Posted 12-29-2008 at 06:32 PM by LeakiTiki -
Andy, as always....such a delight to read! Thank you so much for filling up your reports with all the wonderful pictures! When I can not go to the parks...I come to read your reports and look at the pictures...helps me get through those "not able to go right now" moments.
You are a treasure!!
ChristinePosted 12-29-2008 at 08:20 PM by 3wishesforu -
Andy, you rule.Posted 12-29-2008 at 11:35 PM by dsnylndmom -
Those pictures are AMAZING.Posted 12-29-2008 at 11:46 PM by PretzelSouls -
Thanks for a great look at this year! Happy New Year EveryonePosted 12-30-2008 at 09:58 AM by Jacky B -
Great review of the year at DLR. And not to be forgotten, a Tiki Room merchandise fiasco, another one for Nightmare Before Christmas 15th Anniversary, which was really just more Haunted Mansion Holiday merchandise.
Oh, with the preparades, we saw Prince Caspian at the beginning and end of 2008. Bolt, Mitten, and Rhino were also welcomed in DL! And a new Toy Factory Float premiered in the Christmas Fantasy Parade.
And JR is still being a butthead by placing the "Disney Parks" logo on Disneyland merchandise, napkins and cups, and souvenier Popcorn buckets, instead of just "Disneyland" even though "Disney Parks" takes away the magic of being at Walt's original Park. And will 2009 finally bring the death to the market "Where Dreams Come True" and replace it with the Better and Original Logo "The Happiest Place on Earth"? Let's hope so!Posted 12-30-2008 at 09:44 PM by Aladdin -
While not a perfect year, it still did have some beautifully magical elements to it that makes it a year to remember.
Thanks for the updates, and for the wonderful year in review here!!!
While we won't be down here for the Micechat New Year's Eve gathering we are going to be down there January 22 thru 24 for my husband's birthday. Hope to see some of you there!!!Posted 01-01-2009 at 12:20 PM by AzGizmo - There is??? Please tell me where as I wasn't the least bit aware of it. I LOVE WALL-E!!!Quote:There's also the WALL-E photo op in DCA. I would have assumed the real WALL-E might have visited.Posted 01-01-2009 at 12:22 PM by AzGizmo
