Happy Hallo-Christmas everyone, the whiplash of Holidays is upon us. Once upon a time, there was a little holiday called Thanksgiving which would span the gap between Halloween and Christmas. Pumpkins would linger along with fall colors and leaves, it was an easy transition from scary to merry. But those days are long gone. Now Christmas starts as soon as the last light in the jack-o-lantern is snuffed.
This week’s Disneyland Update will meander through the garland-strung streets of the park with an eye on construction projects, new merchandise, and entertainment cutbacks.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…
Hard to believe that just a few days ago we were celebrating Halloween . . . although, there are still traces throughout the resort just for a little while longer.
On Main Street, the giant Mickey Pumpkin has been removed. The spot where the Christmas Tree will be installed is empty and awaiting its true destiny. . . which will come as soon as the Christmas Day Parade filming is complete later this week. We believe that will happen on the 7th.
The other thing that will have to wait until after the parade shoot are the Mickey head garland which stretch over the street.
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There are still vestiges of Halloween inside the shops and windows of Main Street.
The ugly sweater spirit jersey is sort of cute.
Several shops have artists who can hand-embellish ornaments for you.
But the treats in the Candy Palace are still spooky.
By contrast, the Castle was snow-ready before Halloween this year. You can see Scott Attula’s gorgeous photos in last week’s update:
They refreshed the icicles this year, but they are still the same corkscrew design with bundled Christmas tree lights as before. While they look pretty good from a distance, they are a bit sloppy up close. In Florida, Disney uses molded plastic icicles on the castle which look much more realistic.
The other problem with the icicles is their inconsistent placement. From the front the coverage is good. But from the sides and back, there are areas with and without the curly plastic light bundles.
Over the years, they’ve added a bit more snow to the back and some additional icicles, but it still looks as though the Grinch stole some of their decorations. If they aren’t going to do the same look on both sides, some garland and traditional decor would go a long way toward dressing up the Fantasyland side of the castle . . .
Then again, the same could be said for all of Fantasyland which is inexplicably left undecorated at Christmas. Some wreaths and a little garland is all that this area needs.
As of yesterday, Frontierland was still decorated for Halloween and Dia De Lost Muertos. While some of the pumpkins have been removed, other details remain.
In years past, this area received natural looking straw and pine garland. It will likely be strung up this week.
Critter Country does a minimal amount of Holiday decor. I feel like this same amount of effort would go a long way in Fantasyland.
But perhaps the most fun display in the park is ToonTown. The whimsical decorations on the garland are a hoot and always make me chuckle. My thanks to Suzanne Lee for her photos below.
Tomorrowland, Adventureland, and Fantasyland are the primary areas left out of Christmas. Would you like to see the holidays expand to those corners of the park?
Candy Cane Schedule
The famous handmade Candy Canes will be available again starting on November 23rd at the Candy Palace on Main Street and on the 24th at Trolley Treats in DCA. The full schedule is below.
Candy Palace: November, 23, 26, 28 and 30th | December 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19, 21 & 24th
Trolley Treats: November, 24, 27, and 29th | December 1, 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 15, 18, 20, 22 & 25th
Starbucks Christmas Cups
Starbucks is serving up some really cute holiday cups this year.
Attraction-themed Christmas Ornaments
And we love, love, love the attraction themed ornaments now in stores. More attraction focused merchandise, please. This is exactly the sort of thing I want to see the parks offer.
Tropical Hideaway
Progress at the Tropical Hideaway is moving upward. Posts have been installed which will support the large patchwork shade structure which will be stretched across the area.
Speaking of the Tropical Hideaway, Disney has announced that a famous bird will be taking up residence:
“Rosita Flying into The Tropical Hideaway in Disneyland Park”
After years of performing with the bird mobile chorus of Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, Rosita is spreading her wings and taking flight towards a solo career. You’ll find her on the river’s edge at the loading dock waiting for her boat to arrive.
Rosita is a friendly cockatoo that looks forward to meeting travelers from around the globe who are also visiting The Tropical Hideaway. Pull up a nearby seat and say hello! But beware… she has a repertoire of jokes and one-liners that would make any Jungle Cruise Skipper proud!
Star Wars construction
It’s been two weeks since I last climbed Tarzan’s Treehouse to check on Star Wars construction. I took a two week Panama Canal cruise on the Disney Wonder with the MiceChatters. With 14 days at sea and only 3 ports of call, there was lots of time to eat. Time for a power-walk up the stairs. I’ve got to keep myself in shape so I can shoot these updates twice a week . . . now, where’s the buffet again?
From a distance, the Star Wars rocks (or petrified trees) look not unlike Big Thunder, just colored with a different palette.
Scaffolds on the tallest points have been removed, so this appears to be the final color scheme for the area.
It looks like they are getting close to being able to remove most of these scaffolds.
I’d have taken photos from the Mickey and Friends parking structure for you as well, but traffic was worse on Sunday than I’d seen it in recent memory, so I parked elsewhere. Did you get caught in parking insanity on Sunday?
Refurbishments
The Matterhorn should be returning on the 16th. It’s been down since the end of July! The area around the queue has been reworked and safety enhancements were also made in addition to the regular refurbishment work. Do you miss the Matterhorn or has it become too painful for you to ride?
There’s a spot on Matterhorn trail where you’ll find construction walls on both sides of you.
There’s some work being done on the overlook to the Sub Lagoon across from the Matterhorn.
Small World and Small World Gifts are both closed while the attraction receives its holiday overlay.
Some of the shop signage has been removed and decorations on the roof are also missing.
This and That
Luxo Jr. has made his debut on the Pixar Pier entry sign in DCA. Our thanks to Suzanne Lee for this great video of Luxo lighting up.
Festival of Holidays
The annual festival is setting up and will launch this weekend. This fest has really grown on us. The first year it was under-attended. Last year it seemed better fleshed out and was quite popular with guests. Do you make this festival part of your Disney agenda? (Thanks to Suzanne Lee for these photos)
Vegan Day
In honor of national Vegan Day on November 1st, the Harbor Galley offered some interesting dishes. Yesterday was scheduled to be the last day for these items. Suzanne tried the couscous salad and loved it.
Entertainment Changes
Yesterday was the end of the Pixar Play Parade at Disneyland as well as for the Jedi Training Academy in Tomorrowland. Paint the Night has its final performance on the 7th. In addition, the Jumbalia Jazz Band and the Royal Street Bachelors have had their schedules reduced. The live scarecrows were completely cut from the Mickey’s Halloween Party budget this year.
Jedi Training Academy had its final performance yesterday. Much of the cast and crew were on hand to say farewell and take a final photo. These photos were sent to us by a reader. You can see that it was a full and emotional house.
We are most sad to see Paint the Night close once again and hope that it returns to the Disneyland Resort in the near future. It’s a beautiful and energetic parade which never got a solid uninterrupted run, especially considering its cost. When you consider the decades that the Electrical Parade ran, PTN has only been here for the blink of an eye.
Salt and Straw Thanksgiving
The resort’s newest ice cream parlor is serving up some non-traditional flavors this Thanksgiving. Are you ready to try a caramel turkey flavored sundae? We have a feeling that most of the folks in this long line are waiting for something a little less adventurous.
Dapper Day
It was Dapper Day over the weekend. Part of the crowding in the resort was certainly due to this popular event. With Halloween concluded and Christmas yet to officially launch, the resort would likely have been uncrowded this week were it not for Dapper Day. Did you attend? We’d love to see photos of your dapper duds.
We loved this quartet in their cheerful yellow ensembles. They match the planter behind them.
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Thank you for reading everyone! We’ll have more for you later this week from DCA, Downtown Disney, and Disneyland holiday updates. Are you sad to see Jedi end? Concerned about entertainment cuts? Looking forward to the Festival of Holidays? We look forward to hearing from you in the comments below.
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