Spring Break is over and we are back to the off-season (or “Value Season” as Disney now calls it) at Disneyland. Unfortunately, that doesn’t necessarily mean a lack of crowds. High heat returned to the Disneyland Resort this weekend with temps pushing 90°. Food and Wine Festival continues to do well at California Adventure and the Silly Symphony Swings has vanished (but don’t worry, it will be back). Oh, and there’s a little construction project you may have heard of . . . Star Wars Land!
April 18 – 24
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You’ll see our Addictometer Crowd Meters hit red on and off during the day for the foreseeable future, especially in the hour or so leading up to parades and fireworks. The projections you see here are averages across the entire day. Use these along with our unique color-coded crowd map to avoid the bottlenecks and plan your day at the parks. And plan even farther into the future with our Tomorrowplan feature.
Matterhorn Bobsleds are closed during the weekdays for the next three weeks, but open on weekends. And Grizzly River Run closes – yet again – through mid-May. Need to find a place to cool off? Tap “Search” and then “Cool Zones” in the Mouseaddict app.
The free Mouseaddict app for iPhone and iPad features more than five dozen categories of searchable resort information, weather forecasts, park and show schedules, the latest news and articles from MiceChat, and more. Download free on the App Store or at mouseaddict.com.
Star Wars Land
Let’s start with some overview shots of the MASSIVE Star Wars construction project.
Though hot, it was bright and BEAUTIFUL in Southern California this week, which makes for lots of glorious photos. This is a shot of what Star Wars Land construction is currently looking like.clearing and earth moving should continue for quite some time.
This shot gives you a better idea of just how expansive the Star Wars project really is.That’s the Fantasyland Theater in the center back. Just think how much area that is you are looking at.
Note the old Mine Trail rockwork in the background. Since everything else has been cleared, there’s hope that these will remain and be incorporated into the new design.
The rock arch and background rocks are where the old Big Thunder Ranch was.
Now, let’s take a gander at the clearing of the berm and area near Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
This is the closed section of Big Thunder Trail folks.
Lots of trees have lost their lives. But it’s amazing how quickly the entire area was cleared.
That’s the Big Thunder Trail bridge. Looks like it will stay.
And here’s the river and Tom Sawyer Island as seen from near Hungry Bear Restaurant.
Note that they’ve cracked the riverbed and removed the concrete on the outer side of the path. The river will be narrowed in this area to make room for a new walkway along the river (between Hungry Bear and the river).You can see for yourself how shallow the river really is.Many trees were saved and are sitting in the river bed. The structure behind the trees is the dam, which holds back the water on the front side of the river.That’s the canoe dock on the right.
This is the northern portion of the river and the berm beyond it.
You can see where the concrete in the riverbed has been removed to make way for reshaping. This is just beyond the Hungry Bear Restaurant.
Gumball Rally 2016 – Sign Up Now
The world-famous MiceChat Gumball Rally is rolling your way on May 14th, 2016. The Rally is a competition to see who can ride the most attractions at Disneyland in a single day. If you love Disneyland, this event is a must. Gather together 2 to 4 of your friends or family members and form a team today!
Marvel HQ didn’t last long, did it? Disney hasn’t announced what is going into the space upstairs, but it’s a likely bet it will be more Star Wars.
Tomorrowland
The paint job on Autopia (soon to be sponsored by Honda) is looking really good.
Sad to see the Peoplemover tracks just sitting empty. We’ve all heard that Disney can’t use them again because of ADA laws and structural issues . . . but couldn’t they at least have some moving props use that space? Something to provide kinetic energy to the land!
Tomorrowland does light up beautifully at night.
Jungle Cruise
The Jungle Cruise seems to still be on track to reopen on May 6th.
Crowds
It may be the off season, but there’s really no such thing any more. Even days which should be slow are likely to have at least moderate crowds these days.
Food and WIne
It was a hot and blustery weekend in Anaheim. As a result, the resort opted to tie up and keep all of the shade umbrellas closed. That may not seem like a big deal, but there’s a reason the resort has thousands of these umbrellas, guests need shade from the harsh California sun. Still, lots of guests took advantage of the Food and Wine Festival this week. The Festival seems to be a big hit with guests.
Dusty’s live video from the DCA Food and Wine Festival.
Photo: Shelly ValladolidLook at that sea of closed umbrellas. Photo: Shelly ValladolidPhoto: Shelly ValladolidLots of folks looking for a shady place to eat and drink their expensive nosh. Photo: Shelly ValladolidShelly and her husband were among the guests roasting away in the sun on Sunday. When she tweeted out to Disneyland Today asking why the umbrellas were all closed, here was the reply she got back. But the winds really weren’t too bad on Sunday. We’ve certainly seen umbrellas up on days with much stronger winds.Dusty decided to try the special Zootopia banana corn dogs from Award Wieners.These amazing treats come with strawberry and Chocolate dipping sauce.Just try it folks. REALLY good!
Silly Symphony Swings
The Swings have been completely disassembled for refurbishment.
Off The Page
We had some good friends at the artist nook in DCA’s Off The Page shop this weekend. The store is featuring different artists each weekend during the Food and Wine Festival.
David Bird had a booth across from MiceChat at the last D23 Expo. We’ve fallen in love with his work.
We sure would love to buy this for display at the Walt Disney Birthplace, it’s the Disney Family crest as a stain glass window!!! Amazing, right?Why, Ariel, what big arms you have . . .It’s none other than one of MiceChat’s favorite artists, Mike Peraza (father of the Little Mermaid).We were so delighted to see that Mike’s wife, Patty, also had a work at the event. Patty is a very accomplished artist in her own right. The Hatbox Ghost textile piece is hers. It was so popular that it completely sold out of prints, with only the original left. Fantastic!
It’s Still Magical
There’s still lots of Magic to find at Disneyland. Here are some glamor shots to leave you with.
Adorable, right?!
The castle is stunning at night. (But note that some of the lights on the roof are no longer working, with entire sections now blacked out.)
Have you been following the MiceChat Facebook Page? We’ve been sharing all sorts of photos, news and live streams from the parks. Lot’s of fun to be had. Here are a couple of our recent streams, but we encourage you to follow us so you don’t miss out.
Our sincere thanks to PhotoMatt and Anthony Hays (CakvalaSC) for their fantastic photos used in today’s update, and to Shelly Valladolid for her support with additional photos. Andy Castro is on vacation in Tokyo for the next few weeks. But never fear, we’ve got you covered and will continue to bring you Disneyland photos and news.
