Will you be my Valentine? Today’s Disneyland Update was mostly shot on Friday. We rushed to get as many photos as we could before the forecast rains arrived. But I assure you that there is a lot to share with you. Disneyland ticket prices have gone up again. AP Days delivers little, but is just enough to convince swarms of APs to line up for over an hour. Refurbishments, killer merchandise and the search for Valentines Day.

Tickets Go Up Like Clockwork!

It takes 365 days for the earth to orbit the sun. In that span of time a few things are certain . . . the Sun will rise and set, the seasons will change, and Disneyland will increase ticket prices. This year’s increase wasn’t really all that bad. Day tickets went up by a few bucks and annual passes had a modest increase with the most expensive passes remaining flat. Disney had been set to begin phasing out the annual pass payment program this month, but got cold feet at the last minute. Still, with Star Wars and Marvel Lands on the way and the parks bursting at the seams from overcrowding, the day of reckoning will eventually need to come.

We posted a full rundown on the new prices HERE yesterday.

Welcome To Disneyland

Let’s take a look through the park to see what’s new, what’s news, and look for evidence of cupid.

It’s hard for folks who aren’t from Southern California to understand that we just don’t get Winter here. For us, Fall just ended and Spring is starting to burst into bloom. It’s warm during the day, cool at night and we are getting occasional rain showers. But it’s really starting to look lovely.

The Alice characters are a delight. Alice stopped us to say that someone had given her a cutout of herself. She wanted to know if her face really looked that round.

Matterhorn is down for a refurb which will also install FastPass infrastructure.

 

Having Matterhorn, Pirates of the Caribbean and all the River/Train attractions closed at the same time is a HUGE impact on the resort. Waits are much higher than necessary at the remaining attractions as a result.

Space Mountain is starting to look disgusting on the exterior. Nothing says “Tomorrow” like a grimy and yellowing building.

 

Meanwhile, in Fantasyland . . .

A surprising amount of work is going on around Snow White’s wishing well.

 

The rock grotto which supported the Snow and the Seven Dwarfs statues has been completely removed. It’s likely coming back, but it sure does make your heart skip a beat when you see it looking like this. Many a Disney fan has been proposed to in this very spot. Hopefully Snow and the boys are getting a good bath and we’ll never notice the difference when this beloved little spot reopens.

File this next one in the “Adorable” folder . . . Merida was playing duck, duck, goose with the little ones in Fantasyland. SO cute!

The little shop between Pinocchio and Village Haus has reopened as the “Royal Reception.” It’s pretty basic inside with an uninspired product line, but it’s really nice to see this tiny shop return.

A door connects the shop to the Village Haus restaurant dining room.

Over at the former Heraldry Shop, that empty water bottle remains lodged above the door. It’s been there for months.

A new covered entrance has been built at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Behind Big Thunder, work is progressing at lightspeed on the new back end of the river and Disneyland Railroad re-route.

The scrims are down around the Fantasmic stage and most of the Tom Sawyer Island construction projects also appear to be wrapping up.

The Columbia continues her major refurbishment and re-rigging.

Although the trains aren’t running, it’s still a pleasure to visit them and interact with the Conductors.

 

New Orleans Square is decorated for Mardi Gras.

Pirates is down for refurbishment. That places extra pressure on Haunted Mansion to fill the void.

 

 

AP Days Dazed

AP Days are being held at Disneyland instead of DCA this time around. The celebration features the Main Street Electrical Parade.

AP Days runs daily February 10 to March 9, 2017, from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM in the Tomorrowland Starcade. The queue is in the Path of the Jedi (Captain EO) extended queue. The wait was well over an hour when we stopped by, so we don’t have interior shots for you. But they were handing out buttons near the exit to Star Traders. Passholders must present a valid Annual Passport to receive buttons or access the AP Welcome Center.

So, what’s the payoff? They are giving away buttons and recipe cards and rare characters are available for meet and greet.

Additional AP happenings are taking place in the Main Street Opera House, where a video is shown in the Lincoln theater at 5 PM, 6:30 PM, and 8 PM daily. You’ll also find a meager selection of merchandise at Disneyana,

I’m not a big fan of the AP Days merch. Step and repeat of the AP Days logo is just about the easiest thing they could do. Pass Holders would surely appreciate classic characters and attractions and merchandise featuring them would be very popular.

Safety First – Merchandise Recall

Alternate title: “What you don’t know about Disneyland merchandise that could kill you.”  LOL. Disneyland has recalled one of the Christmas night lights that can cause a fire. Yikes! I just saw this walking by, but what about all those tourists who will never return to the resort to see this? When you think of the thousands of items Disneyland sells, it’s amazing that you don’t hear about more recalls.

 

Valentines Day

I did my best to search for Valentines Day items in the parks for you, but they didn’t decorate this year. There are a smattering of merchandise items which might be considered Valentines related and there are some treats in the bakery.

The baked goods

I miss seeing Disneyland decorate for this holiday.

 

Rain, Rain Go Away

We’ve been getting a lot of rain lately. It’s unusual for us and something for which the parks weren’t built. We have very few indoor queues and dining spaces. Disneyland was made for that beautiful SoCal weather I was bragging about earlier. Still, there’s a magic quality to the rain and the way the lights of the park reflect when the streets are wet. As we were leaving the resort on Friday, the sky opened up. Here are just a few photos of Main Street as we conclude part 1 of our two part update.

            

So much left to share. Join us again tomorrow for more from the Disneyland Resort as we look at DCA, Downtown Disney, and Star Wars Land construction!

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Thank you !

All of us on the Disneyland Photo Update crew would like to thank you for joining us today. Today’s MiceChat Disneyland Update was shot and assembled by Dusty Sage.

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That’s it for this week’s Update.Are you a photographer? Do you love the parks? Would you like to contribute to the Disneyland Update or other MiceChat columns? Contact Dusty Sage: [email protected]