Today’s Disneyland Update title is a bit of a tease . . . for some of you the last straw is the prices, or Star Wars taking over the back of the park, or the crowds . . . but today it’s really just about straws. . . you’ll see. We also have updates from multiple Adventureland projects, a 2nd Pixar film fest, a strange delay in the new Disneyland hotel project, and the awkward stopgap attempt to make the west end of Downtown Disney not look like a wasteland. Let’s take a look around the resort and see what’s going on in the wonderful world of Disney.
Let’s start with the various Adventureland construction projects. For such a small land, there’s a lot of work going on here.
Tiki Room
The birds sing words as the construction booms near the Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room.
The wooden walls that separate Jolly Holiday from the Tiki Room are being replaced along with some sort of replacement for what I’ve always referred to as the tinkle room (or hidden bathrooms).
Tropical Hideaway
Associated with the Tiki Room project is the Tropical Hideaway construction. Jolly Holiday, Tiki Room and Tropical Hideaway all share common infrastructure. As a result, the Tiki Room will go down for an unspecified length of time starting August 6th while they wrap up both projects.
Tarzan’s Treehouse Construction
We aren’t sure what this project is all about, but a portion of the retaining wall that holds back the little stream (directly under the tree) is under construction with pavement torn up in front of it. It appears that they’ve removed a little built-in bench. Other than that, nothing much to see here. Likely just traffic-flow enhancement.
Pirates Fastpass
Fastpass is all ready to go at Pirates. That big blank sign on the left will give Fastpass info. The Fastpass return scanners have been installed for a while and await being uncovered. We can’t ring the warning bells loudly enough on this ridiculous expansion of Fastpass. Not only does this ride not need Fastpass, but lengthening the standby will further bottleneck both Adventureland and New Orleans Square.
Here are the results from our recent poll on whether you think Pirates needs Fastpass. With results like these, it would be wise for Disney to listen to its guests – we don’t want Fastpass for this attraction, it doesn’t need it, and adding it will create unnecessary discomfort for guests:
River Belle Terrace Breakfast Returns
Here’s some great news. Breakfast has returned to River Belle Terrace. It isn’t a buffeteria as it was before, this is a full-service restaurant now. We are looking forward to trying this out. Some of the dishes sound interesting. Have any of you had the chance to try out the new breakfast?
- Southern-fried Pork Chop with eggs, potatoes and bacon gravy – $21
- Mark Twain chicken sausage or bacon, eggs, potatoes, biscuits – $17
- Country Biscuits & Gravy crispy chicken breast, biscuit, bacon gravy, chicken crackling, blistered tomatoes – $17
- Becky Thatcher’s Fried Green Tomato deviled eggs, corn & avocado relish, chimichurri, red pepper coulis, blistered tomatoes – $16
- Mickey-shaped Pancakes seasonal berries, chicken sausage or bacon – $15
- Mixed Berry Parfait yogurt and granola – $9
And for those of you who miss the cinnamon roll, they’ve taken things up a notice with an irresistible sounding Southern Sweet Skillet Monkey Bread:
- Monkey Bread warm & buttery sweet bread, pecan butter, maple syrup, candied pecans & powdered sugar – $8
Nearby, we’ve been following the repainting the Fireworks sign between River Belle and Stage Door Cafe. The sign is still missing mention of Load Bhang, the proprietor. (We’ve posted one of our old photos below for comparison).
And this is what it looked like in 2011:
Mint Julep Bar
Lines are much shorter for the beignets now that the queue has been enhanced with external registers and the kitchen windows are now used for pickup only.
Pixar Film Fest Grows
Last week we showed you the return of the Pixar Short Film Festival to DCA’s old Muppet theater. This week Tomorrowland will begin showing Pixar shorts as well. It’s showing the three shorts that were previously at DCA (before the previews of the Incredibles 2 began showing).
Space Mountain New Queue Beats the Heat
It’s not a new attraction or a return of the old Starcade, but Space Mountains new indoor standby queue (in the space previously inhabited by the Starcade) is well themed and a much-appreciated escape from the heat.
The spacecraft hanging in the new queue has design elements which reflect the ship in the loading bay. You might remember an X-Wing hanging here in the Starcade days.
There are some cool googie-style light fixtures in the queue area.
Nemo’s SUBpar Adventure
And the bad news section . . . the subs on Finding Nemo’s Submarine Voyage have become a smelly, battered, and rusted – inside and out. We recently showed you photos of the attraction itself in similarly bad shape with dim screens, peeling and faded paint, and broken effects. This ride has seen better days.
The rust may be the most obvious thing at first glance, but the subs are worn all over.
A rolling rehab of the subs and replacement of the screens and projections are needed at the very least. But a full refurbishment replacing and repainting props in the lagoon would be optimal.
But here’s a thought, perhaps they should rethink the ride a bit and use the newer type of subs that LEGOLAND California recently opened in San Diego. They are smaller, continuously loading, and you can step in via a door on the side (rather than slowly via spiral stairs). While that would mean the decommissioning of the old fleet, it would also dramatically increase capacity and make the attraction more accessible for guests.
The Last Straw
Disney announced last week that they plan to eliminate single-use plastic straws, drink stirrers, and polystyrene cups across the company by mid-2019. They anticipate a reduction of more than 175 million straws and 13 million stirrers annually.
Disney won’t be alone, there’s a worldwide push to reduce single-use plastics from landfills. Companies such as McDonalds and Starbucks and cities across the country are mulling plans to curtail the use of such plastics.
Ironically, Splash Mountain just got a new sponsor in Florida: Ziplock. They’ll give you a Ziplock bag to help keep your things dry during the ride. One of our readers made the connection in the comments below.
Will guests sympathize with the environmental need over their own comfort and convenience? How long until guests force Disney to change their mind:
Refurbishments
The refurbishment schedule is interesting. In the past, summers were the one time of the year when all of the attractions would be open. But even though Disney is charging their high summer rates at the moment, they also have a slew of refurbishments on the schedule.
- Big Thunder has just returned after a ten-day refurbishment.
- Matterhorn is closed as of today with an unknown return date.
- Pinocchio is also closed as of today and will reopen August 3rd.
- The Enchanted Tiki Room closes on the 6th and doesn’t have a return date yet.
Haunted Mansion will soon close Aug. 20 through Sept. 6 to transform for the holidays . . . it’s almost that time of year again!
- Mickey’s House will close Aug. 27 and does not have a return date.
That’s a lot of downtime for the summer season, especially at the highest rate Disney charges. But with Halloween and Christmas as the actual busiest seasons, Disney would have to wait until January for refurbishments if they didn’t close attractions in summer.
Hotel Access to Downtown Disney
The 4th hotel at the Disneyland Resort is set to be built on the land between the Monorail Beam on the west side of Downtown Disney and the current Disneyland Hotel. All of the establishments in that area (ESPN Zone, AMC Theater, Starbucks, Rainforest Cafe, etc) have been closed. Demolition should have already begun, but things seem to have stalled.
While the project is delayed, they’ve tried to give a bit of life to the area by redressing the AMC Theater facade and bringing in food trucks.
Entertainment has returned to the Downtown Disney stage as well. Looks like it might be a while before real construction gets underway.
But there is a bit of unnoticed construction which is going on behind the old AMC Theater . . . a walkway is being constructed so guests of the Disneyland and Paradise Pier Hotels can access Downtown Disney (and the parks) via an entry between AMC and the LEGO Store.
There are lots of other projects in Downtown Disney right now. Two new gastro-pubs are being constructed in the heart of the shopping district, World of Disney is getting a new look, and a new ice cream shop is set to open later this year.
Wetzel’s Pretzels is closed for refurbishment while the rest of the building is under construction. However, there is a Wetzel’s cart across from World of Disney.
Naples and their quick serve spot both remain under construction. Most of the outdoor seating is now available while much of the interior is under the knife.
The living wall on the outdoor patio at Starbucks (near World of Disney) has been removed.
The World of Disney, like the Disney Stores nationwide, has moved from a whimsical design to a more modern and urban look. But there’s still a hint of the old Disney Stores on the property . . .
The sales counters are made to look like animation desks and drawers. Historically, this is an interesting concept, but the store has overall lost the whimsy and bright colors of the past for a more sedate, elegant, and SoHo warehouse vibe. They are trying to make the merchandise the star. We’ll see what guests think when the store officially launches in the fall.
A short walk to the Disneyland Hotel reminds us of an older school Disney shop design.
The Fantasia Shop is awaiting the return of its sign . . . but I still dig the retro vibe of the fully modeled characters.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
And a quick look at the only project that really matters to Disney right now . . . bringing Star Wars land to life.
From behind, Star Wars land looks like a jungle gym in places.
From the river bend . . .
And from Tarzan’s Treehouse . . .
Well my friends, that brings us to the end of another fun-filled romp through Disneyland. What are your thoughts on major refurbishments in the summer season, the end of straws as we know them in the parks, and the delay of the new Disneyland Hotel?
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