The return of the Southern California Annual Passholder to Disneyland plus More

Well, Summer is almost over already, and folks are getting ready to send family members back to school. Of course, they want to do one more event before heading back, so be prepared for busy parks no matter where you go to in the next few weeks.


Disneyland is preparing for large crowds on Sunday, August 16th

Let's check the calendar...

http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disn...utCalendarPage

Yep, with the exception of Sunday, September 6th, we are back to the Southern California Annual passholders being allowed to visit the Disneyland Resort six days a week until Thanksgiving. (Sunday, September 6th is Labor Day weekend, and the actual date of the Disney hosted Half-Marathon).

So what impact will this have, for this upcoming week (the last week of the Summer Nightastic! promotion and events) expect to see a large amount of the SoCal Annual passholders in the parks.

And one of the major impacts of the return is the "mix" of guests, and there will be more local guests, many of which who will drive to the park and will need a place to park.

Disney has scheduled additional CM's to handle the Parking issue, and expect to find Pumbaa, Anaheim GardenWalk and Simba being used, along with the Parking Structure. They are getting prepared to have to use other lots, such as the Anaheim Convention Center Parking Structure on Katella and the Buzz Lightyear lot, which is where the former Strawberry Field is located.

My advice, when you get off the freeway, just follow the signs and police direction and park where they first tell you. Timon is closed for good, and if you try and use the Harbor Blvd Parking Entrance, there is a very good chance you will end up parking in Simba, which has no trams or bus service, and it is a long walk from Simba to the Main Entrance Plaza.

And of course, when you get to the parks, bring your patience, a lot of the Southern California Annual passholders have been waiting a couple of months to return, and will be trying to ride as many of their favorites as they can, and then catch the special evening entertainment events. (Alas, it looks like they won't get to see Murphy the Dragon in Fantasmic!, it is still be worked on). Also, all the refurb walls in DCA don't help with the Electrical Parade viewing in the Paradise Pier area, and there is only one week to go before the Electrical Parade goes back on Hiatus.

Good News in regards to getting more Parking for the Disneyland Resort

The Disneyland Resort will be going in front of the Anaheim Planning Commission Monday afternoon to try and get permission to add another 2,570 parking spaces to the former Strawberry Fields to help with the current Parking problems, and to be prepared for even larger crowds when the World of Color show opens next year.

First off, if you want to see the actual report submitted to the Planning Commission, you can find it at this link...

http://www.anaheim.net/departmentfol...g/PC/Item2.pdf

But stock up on food and drink first, as it is 315 pages long. That's right, 315 pages just to build a temporary parking lot expected to stay open 6 to 10 years.

The Orange County Register has responses from a Disney spokesperson and others officials.

http://ocresort.freedomblogging.com/...11/#more-14811

Last week to get Disneyland tickets at a lesser price

Don't forget that the Summer Fun Pass 3 day ParkHopper Southern Californian special is only on sale until Sunday, August 23rd, and that the first day of use must be on or before the 23rd. The good news, the other two days can be used in the next 45 days, so if you save one day until the end of the promotion, you could check out Halloween Time and all the new rides and shows/fireworks on its opening weekend.

Also the Multi-Day ParkHoppers you can get from Travel Agents, Disneyland.com and other similar sellers are expected to go up in price on August 24th, so you might want to buy some this week. The first day of use on these tickets is January 4th, 2010. And these tickets only have a 14 day shelf life after the first day of use.

The 46th annual Cast Member Canoe Races Results

Many Cast Members got up very early yesterday morning to participate in the tradition, as the races were held before park opening.

Here are the results, courtesy of the Orange County Register.

http://ocresort.freedomblogging.com/...nounced/14927/

Men’s team: DC Last of the Rowhicans, 4:07:24

Women’s team: DC Bandits, 4:35:84

Coed team: DC United, The PB&J Edition, 4:18:08

Photos of the winning teams can be found at the link above.

Disneyland Hotel renovations to start next week

The Orange County Register reported some specific dates in regards to the Hotel projects this week.

http://ocresort.freedomblogging.com/...-hotels/14455/

Work will start on the Dreams Tower of the Disneyland Resort on Monday, August 24th.

The Grand Californian expansion is set to open on September 23rd.

Knott's to allow guests to enter the park at their new Steakhouse without a park ticket

Now with that headline, you might think you could go ride some rides, but that is not the case. You basically place a deposit down on a Credit/Debit Card before entering, go have your meal, and then after your meal, you must return to the Guest Services Booth within 30 minutes, or they will charge the Credit/Debit card with park admission.

Full details can be found it this OCR article.

http://ocresort.freedomblogging.com/...akhouse/14573/

Rocky Horror Picture Show revue to perform at Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights this year.

Brady MacDonald at the Los Angeles Times had an article this week talking about the addition of a classic cult film event.

http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal...081/#more-5081

Selected Photos from Darkbeer.Smugmug.com


Work on the area in front of the Disneyland Kennel Club in the Main Entrance Plaza. The Kennel Club is open, a pathway is located along the edge next to the buildings on the north side.



The tarps came down Wednesday for Pinocchio's Daring Journey. It should be open this morning to guests.



The Princess Fantasy Faire food service area is closed for repairs.



A look backstage at DCA, just east of the Monsters, Inc. building, from the nose of the Monorail.



Work is progressing on a new storefront next to the Build-A-Bear Workshop in DtD.



Haagen-Dazs in Downtown Disney now opens in the morning, and is serving Peet's Coffee.






A look at the former Timon Parking Lot as preperations start for Cars Land



The south side of the former Timon Lot.


The former Orange Stinger



Yes, they do paint the rocks at Disneyland



A look inside one of the "pits" that will hold special effects for the World of Color show.



Work continues on the Amphitheater area



And the Little Mermaid construction area


Anaheim GardenWalk has unveiled a bunch of Murals. (OK, the official unveiling is tomorrow, 8/15 at 6 PM.)



These Murals were designed by local artists and painted by budding young YMCA & high school artist from the Anaheim School District.





Fire and Ice is now open at Anaheim GardenWalk, though the patio is not yet open.










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