It’s all so overwhelming! I’ve been covering the Disneyland Resort since 1998, and NEVER has there been a period of time with so much major breaking news. I’m physically and mentally exhausted just trying to keep up . . . but in the best possible way. The opening of Galaxy’s Edge will be much-needed therapy for me. Perhaps there will be a chance to rest for 15 minutes before things heat right back up with Marvel Land, D23 Expo, and then another massive slew of projects intended to follow up on the expected success of Star Wars land.  

The coming two weeks will bring us very close to a completed Star Wars expansion and related projects. While the new parking structure is still a ways off from being done (more on that later this week), the Castle wraps are already coming down, Stardust walls are receding, and all sorts of operations changes are now in effect. 


New Flex Pass 

If you follow us on social media, you saw our announcement about the new Disneyland annual pass option, the “Flex Pass.”  Why would Disney need a new pass option in an already crowded field of options? Let’s be clear, it’s all about managing park capacity. The new pass offers close to the park availability of the Signature pass, but at half the price. So, what’s the catch? Some of the potentially available days to visit require you to make a reservation up to 30 days in advance.  

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We wrote an article on Thursday with details on the new pass: 

Everything You Need To Know About Disneyland’s New Flex Passport

Who is this new pass for? If you are the kind of person who visits a lot during the week (when most days are “Good to go”), and if you are able to look at a calendar and plan your visits a month in advance, then you can take advantage of the HUGE savings (by Disney standards). This could be the perfect pass option for most pass holders. 

We do have some questions and thoughts. If too many people select this pass option, being able to obtain a reservation could be difficult. But if the reservation process helps Disney level out crowds and avoid overcrowding, we are very likely to see the reservation requirement added to other passes in the future.  

Which ticket type is right for you?  

Virtual Queuing Coming Soon

We also shared news on Thursday of Disney’s plans to use virtual queuing once the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge reservation period is complete at the end of June. Some may be wondering what the difference is between Fastpass and Virtual Queues. It’s actually quite simple. You let the park know that you’d like to enter the “queue.” And instead of physically waiting in line, you go out and enjoy the rest of the park until you receive a notification on your phone that it’s time for you to return. There aren’t separate lines for standby and Fastpass. The virtual queuing system helps keep lines short so guests don’t have to wait too long just standing around. It’s also a system that Disney can turn on and off at will if virtual queuing isn’t necessary at any given time.   

NEW: Disneyland Virtual Queues On The Way

While virtual queues will first be used only for access into Galaxy’s Edge, we can think of a few more places in the park where it would be advantageous to get rid of the long overflow lines on busy days.

It just so happens that the park was PACKED on the day I took these photos (Saturday). And despite using crowd management and plenty of switchbacks, there were three attractions with queues that overflowed into walkways. These attractions would be great candidates for testing virtual queuing on days with high traffic.

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First is Pirates of the Caribbean. Although it’s the highest capacity attraction in the park with the fastest moving line, the queue can quickly spill out into the bridges and walkways of New Orleans Square. On Saturday, the line wrapped up and over the bridge to Adventureland and then switched back almost to Haunted Mansion. The combination of the strollers parked along the river and the queue utilizing the walkway left little space for people just trying to pass through the land.

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Coming or going, the walkways back up as you approach the entrance tunnel to Pirates. It’s a situation with only one good solution . . . virtual queue. The park should simply not allow more people to enter the attraction than what can be comfortably held within the large courtyard queue.  

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Candidate #2 for a virtual queue is Indiana Jones. While it has an enormous queue, if it backs up even a little bit, it gives Adventureland a heart attack. 

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The standby wait was only 90 minutes, but look at what the attraction did to the land: 

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If a virtual queue was added to the attraction, Fastpass signage could be removed and all guests could enjoy the air-conditioned and well-themed queue as originally designed. Simply send only enough people via virtual queue that can fit within the indoor queue, and the problem of the blocked artery walkway would be solved.

The final attraction that I thought might benefit from virtual queuing is Peter Pan. But when I visited to take photos on this very busy day . . . I found the newly stardusted and expanded queue was managing its line well. So perhaps no Stardust is needed there after all. Which brings up this word of caution, use of Virtual Queues (and FastPass for that matter), should be limited. Every person who is out of a queue is out there blocking up an attraction or walkway somewhere else. So, while one or two attractions worth of people are easy to deal with, a whole bunch of them is not. Fastpass is a primary reason why Disneyland feels so crowded these days.  

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What do you think folks? If used only where and when absolutely necessary would virtual queuing help beyond Galaxy’s Edge? 


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Stardust Wrapping Up 

It may seem like all of Disneyland has been under the knife at one point or another this past year. Well, that’s because much of it has. Curbs, gardens, shop and line reconfigurations, pathway obstruction removals, and hundreds of other little changes have been made to channel guests away from obstructions, speed them through the park, and enhance their overall experience in the resort.

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Castle beautification was indeed part of the stardust initiative. The giant printed scrim has loomed over the park as a symbol of the renovations happening in nearly every corner of Disneyland. As we expect the scrims to come down within the next few days, it will signify this period coming to an end.

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At first blush, the colors seem familiar. But there is a little more stagecraft to the paint job this time around. Colors of the bricks are designed to shift from top to bottom to create the illusion of height.  The new blue rooftops are saturated and gorgeous. 

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Mr. Disney . . . drop that scrim . . . 

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Last week we showed these same rooftops and the ones in the back were turquoise. And look at those blue, purple and gray bricks. 

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Not all of the rooftops are the same. The lower roofs are bright blue. But the ones at the very top are lighter and add some purple.  

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Some of the details have yet to be reinstalled . . . like these light fixtures: 

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The built-in benches were sanded and repainted this past week. 

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This wall near Snow White’s Wishing Well is a great example of the new look. The gold accents on the castle battlements are subtle but very attractive.  

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To finish the bridge painting, the moat was drained.  

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Unfortunately for the poor Koi in the lagoon by the wishing well, it’s not quite enough water for them to be happy.

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The water is stagnant and smelly.  Not optimal for these fish friends. While Koi can actually handle some extreme water conditions, it would be best for these guys if they had flowing water or additional aeration soon. 

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Fantasyland

At the back of the castle, you’ll note that most of the scrims have been removed. Though, Prince Philip sill battles Maleficent in dragon form.  Snap those pics while you still can.  

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The Castle Holiday Shoppe has popped out from refurbishment looking better than I’ve ever seen it. We’ve been sharing maintenance issues of this location for years. Now it’s shiny, fresh, and looks like new.  

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The stardusting of the Peter Pan queue is complete and has added quite a bit of additional capacity.  

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The darker colored bricks in the foreground below are the original pathway, the more orange colored bricks are the new queue area reclaimed from a garden which was removed.  

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Not far away, Storybook Land is closed for “tiny” improvements through the 29th of this month. 

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Main Street

The facade painting and repair on the Mad Hatter should also be complete soon.

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It was so busy the parade overflow route was opened before the Soundsational Parade began.  

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Guest Relations will be getting digital signboards before the end of next month.  

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The line got really long on Saturday. 

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Across the way, in front of Plaza Inn, the planter bisection is mostly complete. I appreciate that they are just using barricades instead of tall construction walls here. Much less obstructive.  

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The fencing is still being worked on. 

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One thing that I found interesting is that there are little half round cutouts on both sides of the walkway. Are these for cast members to stand in when directing crowds at night? 

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, Disneyland Update – Announcement Overload Therapy

The loooooong wall around the west side of the hub should hopefully be coming down this week or next.  

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, Disneyland Update – Announcement Overload Therapy

Adventureland

The new Adventureland sign should be coming soon as well.  

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But due to the castle moat being drained, the stream between Adventureland and Frontierland is stagnant and quite pungent right now.  

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The stardusting of Adventureland has been extensive and changed the way the park operated many of the spaces in the land. Strollers were moved into an old beverage station, two shops became Bengal BBQ seating, planers around trees were removed, and the Tropical Hideaway was built on the spot of a mostly unused restaurant. But on a busy day, things still back up here. 

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The line for Dole Whip has been flowing out of the Tropical Hideaway lately onto the pathway near the Tiki Room exit.  

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Frontierland 

Frontierland garden reshaping appears to be complete. But there’s another little project in the works.  

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Disneyland has filed permits to build two signs for $52,750 on the gun turret at the entry of the land. The signs will say “Fastpass” and “Standby.” This must be for Galaxy’s Edge, but strange considering that the park has decided to go with virtual queuing, which is unlikely to result in lines this long.  

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The gardens in front of the Bonanza Outfitters have been revealed. They look very similar to how the looked before. However, the gardens now have more cut throughs to the wooden boardwalk along the building.  

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Hungry Bear

The back patio of Hungry Bear is in the process of being covered.  Since this restaurant is located right at the exit of Star Wars land, Hungry Bear is very likely to be busier than ever. While shade is always appreciated, we’d like to put in a request that they eventually enclose and air-condition this location as well.

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The wooden supports below are all new, and will be topped with a roof.  

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New Orleans Square

Cafe Orleans is doing some painting inside and out.  

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Tomorrowland

There’s a big project in Tomorrowland which impacts the whole corner in front of Pizza Planet all the way across the entrance to the Tomorrowland Theater in front of Space Mountain

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It appears that the large planter/queue area at the entry of the theater is being removed or reduced. The planters in front of Pizza Planet are also behind wraps.  

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The large planter in front of Autopia has become stroller parking. 

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Speaking of Tomorrowland . . . The Fabulous Disney Babe ran a rumor update about the land last week which got me thinking. . . 

Rumor Update: Tomorrowland’s Future at Disneyland

There are large sections of Tomorrowland which have become defunct or underused. Then there are areas which are in use but not successful, and areas which are fairly successful but no longer futuristic. The Peoplemover Tracks have sat empty for nearly two decades. It has been a very long time since the Tomorrowland Theater has played to packed houses. Innoventions/Launch Bay is a big building which is only half occupied and which few guests visit. The Autopia uses riding lawnmower engines which belch gas and oil fumes and are anything but futuristic. And the Subs are rusting away, have a very difficult entry/exit process, and don’t feel remotely like they belong in Tomorrowland.  

Then there’s the massive unused area which was once the Motorboat Cruise: 

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And looking at those Monorail beams, they don’t appear to have been painted in decades

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That’s just my long way of saying that the plans for Tomorrowland must address all of these issues. Aside from the TRON coaster that Shelly spoke about, what else would you like to see in a new Tomorrowland? 

GALAXY’S EDGE 

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has been turned over to Disneyland Operations. The turnover was celebrated with a little party in the land in which they served . . . what else . . . turnovers.  True story.  

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, Disneyland Update – Announcement Overload Therapy

Cast previews were scheduled last week. But unlike reservations for guests which went off with only minor issues, the cast portal (the HUB) crashed. Though it looks like Disney was prepared with a witty response that we thought was pretty funny: 

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Disney Ambassador Justin Rapp has posted his latest “Know Before You Go!” video about Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge.  Essentially, they are going to open the parking lots at Midnight for the opening day of Galaxy’s Edge. But there’s no standby line, so they don’t really want you to arrive that early.  

Bob Iger has been bragging on Twitter. If his friends look familiar, it’s because they are Kathleen Kennedy, JJ Abrams, and Steven Spielberg.   

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That’s Scott Trowbridge on the far right below. He’s the Imagineer in charge of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.  

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THIS AND THAT

A new shop has opened in Downtown Disney, Rinse Soap. They sound familiar because they’ve been selling their wares at the DCA food festivals for a few years now.  I’ve become addicted to some of their products, including “Pepper Foot” which helps soothe tired feet after a day of trudging through Disneyland.  

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Unfortunately, they are in the worst possible location . . . OUTSIDE the security zone and hidden around the corner from Earl of Sandwich (in the old Hertz car rental spot).  

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I sincerely hope they are getting the best lease deal ever from Disney because this location is so out of the way that it’ll be next to impossible to survive there.  

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Grand Californian Pool Bar

The new pool bar was announced for Spring. But it sure does look like it will stretch to summer. 

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Inside Out 
Some artwork for the Emotional Whirlwind was released by D23 this past week. 

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Our deepest thanks to our newest sponsor, Get Away Today for their support. They are great folks and offer low rates on theme park tickets and travel.  

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We’ll see you again real soon folks. Now, if you appreciated today’s update, we’d appreciate you taking just a moment to share on social or comment below.

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Dusty Sage
Dusty is the founder and CEO of MiceChat.com. When he's not visiting theme parks and writing, editing or speaking about Disney and theme parks worldwide, Dusty is involved in multiple Disney related projects and charities. He helped save and restore the charming Walt Disney Birthplace in Chicago, launched the Dick Van Dyke Foundation, and is the curator of Walt Disney's historic 1930's estate in Hollywood. If you've got news or photos to share with the MiceChat community, or would like to book Dusty for an upcoming event, please contact [email protected]