"GREEN" - Bye to one Billy Team, Fries will power the Trains and much more news!
Posted 01-30-2009 at 06:54 AM by In the Parks
Good Day! A lot of interesting news this week, and of course, more refurb walls have been placed at Disneyland/DCA. (Tis the season), and the big 4th Anniversary of MiceChat is happening this weekend, so lets get to it!
Tragic Accident at Disneyland from 2000 makes the news again
This story has had a lot of media attention this week, and I think everyone wants to send there best wishes to the family of Brandon Zucker, who died this week.
Boy’s death recalls past fatal Disneyland accidents - Travel - LATimes.com
Boy hurt in 2000 Disneyland accident dies | changes, disneyland, orange, suffered, zucker - News - OCRegister.com
Alas, the situation was not totally Disney's fault, but the accident did force some major improvements to Disneyland, especially on how Ride Cast Members handle emergencies.
Accidents are never a good thing, but hopefully the lessons learned in the 2000 incident will prevent other tragic accident from happening.
Why riding the Disneyland Railroad will make you hungry
Disneyland has brought back "biofuel" to the Trains, and hopes to expand the use to other attractions.
Disneyland trains running on oil from chicken and fries - Around Disney - OCRegister.com
If you read the article, you will see that Disney ships its used Frying Oil to a processor, who then refines it and sends the "fuel" back to Disneyland. Also, Disney won't produce all the oil used, only about half the amount will come from the Disneyland Resort, the other half will come from other restaurants.
Easy Access to Lattes coming to Harbor Blvd
The McDonalds on Harbor Boulevard, just across the street from Disneyland, is installing a "McCafe", scheduled to open today, just in time for all the MiceChatters showing up this weekend.
They also took the opportunity of a few days being closed to do some other upgrades.
Billy Hill News
FYI, tonight at 5:15 at The Golden Horseshoe will be the last performance of the "Green" team of Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. Disney has decided to cut back the show to 5 days a week, and eliminated one of the three teams that perform the show. (No shows on Tuesdays and Wednesdays).
A Photo from the Last Wednesday show of the Billys
And if you want some "Billys" outside of Disneyland, the second Wednesday of the month, a couple of well known Billies perform in Long Beach. John Marshall and Duane Michaels are the regulars, but will be joined by John Eaden and Rick Dunham for the February 11th show.
Page 1
And yes, there is a lot more to talk about this great venue in Long Beach. Dana Daniels, who used to perform in the OLD Golden Horseshow Revue will be performing on February 19th.
www.thenoshow.com
Plus a spoof of Harry Potter starting in March.
If you love the shows you have seen in the past at Knott's Calico Saloon and the Golden Horseshoe at Disneyland, this venue is for you, make sure and click on the links for more info!
Amusement Park News
Universal Studios Hollywood had a 4% increase in attendance in 2008. (Universal Orlando had a 4% decrease).
NBC Universal operating profit declines 6 percent - Forbes.com
And Universal Studios Hollywood is getting a lot of new stuff in 2009.
Along with the new Musical, The Creature of the Black Lagoon coming the Spring. USH will also be the home of the Tonight Show when Conan O'Brien moves from New York to the West Coast this summer. (In case you didn't see the news, Jay Leno will remain in Burbank, with a 10 PM show weekdays). Plus the "New" New York Backlot area should be finished sometime this summer.
A story I found quite interesting, and reminds me of the SunCal battle in Anaheim, where a few selected folks tried to push the project by the public deals with Niagara Falls.
Niagara Falls Reporter Analysis
Talk about Favoritism and what is wrong with government.... YIKES!!!
Here is hoping that Ripley's Entertainment, Alcatraz Media and the Glynn family have a EQUAL opportunity to offer the best product and give the Canadian Government a good percentage of its profits if they win the contract.
No, this is not Six Degrees, but since we mentioned Alcatraz, how about Angel Island in San Francisco.
The "Ellis Island of the West" will be open to tours to the public starting next month.
The Associated Press: US immigration history preserved on Angel Island
Selected Photos from Darkbeer.Smugmug.com
The Main Pedestrian Entrance is getting the Celebrate! makeover
The first guests riding the reopened Grizzly River Run on Wednesday afternoon.
"Bathroom Row" is provinmg its nickname, as Disney starts work on moving the Bathrooms for the West Side (still open) to the East Side, to allow the new Little Mermaid Ride to use the West Side space.
The Refurb Walls in front of the former Golden State Amphitheater has gotten some signage
The low level "box" in front of City Hall has been removed. It was there to allow work on the switchpoint of the Trolley Tracks.
But another box has been placed where another switchpoint is.
How small can Disney make the word "Resort"???
Knott's has a new show in its Camp Snoopy Theater
For those who didn't get the joke in last weeks photo.... Look at the FEET!
A couple of closing comments. First off, to all the readers on the East Coast of the USA, our thoughts are with you with the major cold front you have been hit with, and hoping that you are all OK. To all the Football (and TV Commercial) fans, here is hoping you have a great Sunday watching the BIG game, and that it will be entertaining. And for those visiting Disneyland this weekend, looking forward to saying Hi at one of the many MiceChat meets. Here is a link to the schedule of events.
http://micechat.com/forums/ann/MC4.pdf
Let me finish with a BIG, MAJOR Thank You to everyone. It is amazing to see the amount of viewers that read this column and check out my Smugmug photos. Thank you very much.
But the biggest Thank You goes to my Beautiful, Wonderful Girlfriend Lisa, who I met 4 years ago this month at Disneyland and puts up with me on a daily basis. So I get to celebrate BOTH MiceChat's Anniversary and my personal anniversary this weekend. But then, everyday is "I Love My Girlfriend" day!
Tragic Accident at Disneyland from 2000 makes the news again
This story has had a lot of media attention this week, and I think everyone wants to send there best wishes to the family of Brandon Zucker, who died this week.
Boy’s death recalls past fatal Disneyland accidents - Travel - LATimes.com
Boy hurt in 2000 Disneyland accident dies | changes, disneyland, orange, suffered, zucker - News - OCRegister.com
Alas, the situation was not totally Disney's fault, but the accident did force some major improvements to Disneyland, especially on how Ride Cast Members handle emergencies.
Accidents are never a good thing, but hopefully the lessons learned in the 2000 incident will prevent other tragic accident from happening.
Why riding the Disneyland Railroad will make you hungry
Disneyland has brought back "biofuel" to the Trains, and hopes to expand the use to other attractions.
Disneyland trains running on oil from chicken and fries - Around Disney - OCRegister.com
If you read the article, you will see that Disney ships its used Frying Oil to a processor, who then refines it and sends the "fuel" back to Disneyland. Also, Disney won't produce all the oil used, only about half the amount will come from the Disneyland Resort, the other half will come from other restaurants.
Easy Access to Lattes coming to Harbor Blvd
The McDonalds on Harbor Boulevard, just across the street from Disneyland, is installing a "McCafe", scheduled to open today, just in time for all the MiceChatters showing up this weekend.
They also took the opportunity of a few days being closed to do some other upgrades.
Billy Hill News
FYI, tonight at 5:15 at The Golden Horseshoe will be the last performance of the "Green" team of Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. Disney has decided to cut back the show to 5 days a week, and eliminated one of the three teams that perform the show. (No shows on Tuesdays and Wednesdays).
A Photo from the Last Wednesday show of the Billys
And if you want some "Billys" outside of Disneyland, the second Wednesday of the month, a couple of well known Billies perform in Long Beach. John Marshall and Duane Michaels are the regulars, but will be joined by John Eaden and Rick Dunham for the February 11th show.
Page 1
And yes, there is a lot more to talk about this great venue in Long Beach. Dana Daniels, who used to perform in the OLD Golden Horseshow Revue will be performing on February 19th.
www.thenoshow.com
Plus a spoof of Harry Potter starting in March.
If you love the shows you have seen in the past at Knott's Calico Saloon and the Golden Horseshoe at Disneyland, this venue is for you, make sure and click on the links for more info!
Amusement Park News
Universal Studios Hollywood had a 4% increase in attendance in 2008. (Universal Orlando had a 4% decrease).
NBC Universal operating profit declines 6 percent - Forbes.com
And Universal Studios Hollywood is getting a lot of new stuff in 2009.
Along with the new Musical, The Creature of the Black Lagoon coming the Spring. USH will also be the home of the Tonight Show when Conan O'Brien moves from New York to the West Coast this summer. (In case you didn't see the news, Jay Leno will remain in Burbank, with a 10 PM show weekdays). Plus the "New" New York Backlot area should be finished sometime this summer.
A story I found quite interesting, and reminds me of the SunCal battle in Anaheim, where a few selected folks tried to push the project by the public deals with Niagara Falls.
Niagara Falls Reporter Analysis
Talk about Favoritism and what is wrong with government.... YIKES!!!
Here is hoping that Ripley's Entertainment, Alcatraz Media and the Glynn family have a EQUAL opportunity to offer the best product and give the Canadian Government a good percentage of its profits if they win the contract.
No, this is not Six Degrees, but since we mentioned Alcatraz, how about Angel Island in San Francisco.
The "Ellis Island of the West" will be open to tours to the public starting next month.
The Associated Press: US immigration history preserved on Angel Island
Selected Photos from Darkbeer.Smugmug.com
The Main Pedestrian Entrance is getting the Celebrate! makeover
The first guests riding the reopened Grizzly River Run on Wednesday afternoon.
"Bathroom Row" is provinmg its nickname, as Disney starts work on moving the Bathrooms for the West Side (still open) to the East Side, to allow the new Little Mermaid Ride to use the West Side space.
The Refurb Walls in front of the former Golden State Amphitheater has gotten some signage
The low level "box" in front of City Hall has been removed. It was there to allow work on the switchpoint of the Trolley Tracks.
But another box has been placed where another switchpoint is.
How small can Disney make the word "Resort"???
Knott's has a new show in its Camp Snoopy Theater
For those who didn't get the joke in last weeks photo.... Look at the FEET!
A couple of closing comments. First off, to all the readers on the East Coast of the USA, our thoughts are with you with the major cold front you have been hit with, and hoping that you are all OK. To all the Football (and TV Commercial) fans, here is hoping you have a great Sunday watching the BIG game, and that it will be entertaining. And for those visiting Disneyland this weekend, looking forward to saying Hi at one of the many MiceChat meets. Here is a link to the schedule of events.
http://micechat.com/forums/ann/MC4.pdf
Let me finish with a BIG, MAJOR Thank You to everyone. It is amazing to see the amount of viewers that read this column and check out my Smugmug photos. Thank you very much.
But the biggest Thank You goes to my Beautiful, Wonderful Girlfriend Lisa, who I met 4 years ago this month at Disneyland and puts up with me on a daily basis. So I get to celebrate BOTH MiceChat's Anniversary and my personal anniversary this weekend. But then, everyday is "I Love My Girlfriend" day!
Total Comments 21
Comments
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Thank you mr darkbeer im in oregon. on friday morning im up early to see what you have to say im coming in march and hope to meet all of you great people on here.TO MEET YOUR GIRLFRIEND AT DISNEYLAND IS ONE OF THE COOLEST THINGS A HAVE HEARD I COULD ONLY HOPEPosted 01-30-2009 at 07:34 AM by OREGONLVSDLAND
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Great update darbeer! I look forward to your column every week!Posted 01-30-2009 at 07:42 AM by WheresMickey -
I knew about the melodrama theater in Long Beach but haven't been yet. A friend went and had a blast. I'll have to think about this.
Also, on Thursday Feb. 5 Kirk Wall (Billy Elvis) will be doing his Elvis act at 8 PM and 9 PM at Azteca Mexican Restaurant, 12911 Main Street in Garden Grove. Click here for all the info.
I hope to go see the final Green Team show tonight (if my sore throat doesn't get any worse). I saw the show on Wednesday and talk about this change in my picture Trip Report thread that I put up yesterday.Posted 01-30-2009 at 08:40 AM by Wendygirl
Updated 01-30-2009 at 02:12 PM by Wendygirl -
BILLY!
That was the team we saw when we were at DL in December and thought they were terrific. I wish them the best of luck.Posted 01-30-2009 at 08:55 AM by Silver7 -
Awesome update, as usual. Hope all mice chatters have an amazing weekend at the 4th anniversary! High of 7 degrees in southeastern WI today, wish I was there with all of you!Posted 01-30-2009 at 09:47 AM by saphron37 -
Great update!
Posted 01-30-2009 at 10:34 AM by SouthHrbrBlvd -
Great Update...sad to see the green Billy team go.Posted 01-30-2009 at 12:04 PM by MickeyMousePal -
Always enjoy your updates!Posted 01-30-2009 at 12:34 PM by DonDuck -
great update!! have fun this weekend!!! i wish i was therePosted 01-30-2009 at 02:41 PM by aussiedave -
Congratulations! Now go propose already!Posted 01-30-2009 at 07:57 PM by CandyPandora - Green was my favorite Billy Hill team
(John Eaden is so much funnier than Kirk Wall to me.)
They were the best and I will miss seeing them.
Thanks for the update Darkbeer - love the kitty/train picture.Posted 01-30-2009 at 08:32 PM by Tinkbelle
Updated 01-30-2009 at 09:21 PM by Tinkbelle -
Great update this week.
Will next week's update include a picture of an engagement ring?Posted 01-30-2009 at 09:58 PM by kjorgensen43 - Great photos and updates. Does anyone know if Costco still offers the $50 gift cards with a season pass purchase in their Southern California stores?Posted 01-30-2009 at 10:39 PM by scottc
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Nifty...Posted 01-30-2009 at 11:12 PM by b236en -
May I ask a few update questions? We are coming on three days notice and know literally nothing!
1. With all the refurb walls up, are the crowds down?
2. With Crowds down, do they still use fastpass?
3. I see they added a fireworks show in January. ANY news on one in the first week of February?
4. Holy Smokes.... is that the lagoon drained in DCA?
I am worried that we spent all this money to come to a construction site with little outdoor entertainment!
Should I be?Posted 01-31-2009 at 02:13 AM by Beatle_johnny -
Can't wait to see Conan O'Brien tape his show at USH. Glad that USH kicked USF off of it's attendance high horse during '08. Perhaps the company will take it more seriously in terms of future quality attractions and overall expansion.Posted 02-01-2009 at 12:46 AM by Ride Warrior 
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great as alwaysPosted 02-04-2009 at 01:21 PM by raiderpt -
What a cute stray Kitty by the rails!Posted 02-05-2009 at 12:12 AM by TDLFAN - hello all!! just so everyone knows the mcdonalds mc cafe on harbor blvd is not open yet.they told us it will open in may.there is a mcdonalds on state that is serving expresso drinks.
Posted 02-07-2009 at 01:17 PM by stezmouse
Updated 02-07-2009 at 01:26 PM by stezmouse - Posted 02-07-2009 at 01:27 PM by stezmouse
