The middle of summer is rarely this interesting. But Disneyland has a lot cooking right now with a big entertainment shuffle, some ‘sound’ changes to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, construction of the next big thing, and anniversary celebrations. Settle in for lots of photos and info today, folks.
Can You Believe It?
Disneyland celebrated its 64th anniversary on Wednesday with a special cavalcade, food and merchandise. And while the cavalcade was very much like previous years, it’s hard for us to believe that this park is over six decades old. With minor exceptions, Disneyland looks better at 64 than just about any other theme park in America.
This year’s anniversary cavalcade added a few more stops to the show. The Disneyland Ambassadors along with Mickey and 63 other characters stopped in Town Square, Main Street, the Hub, and Small World Mall to sing Disneyland Happy Birthday and shoot confetti everywhere.
They also did the birthday cavalcade twice. More stops, shows, and confetti mean more guests were able to enjoy the show. Watching Custodial cleanup so much confetti was almost a show in and of itself. But Disneyland’s efforts seemed to pay off; the day was much busier than most of the rest of the summer has been.
Special birthday treats included a cupcake and some cake pops.
While not directly related to the celebration, Disney also released an annual passholder tumbler that you can refill for $.99 (plus tax).
Discount Disneyland Tickets and Travel
Low crowd levels make this the PERFECT time to visit the Disneyland Resort. Check with our partners at Get Away Today and book discounted theme park tickets and hotel rooms while you still can: 
- Disneyland Birthday Special (must book today)
- Get Away Today Travel Search
- Extra Night Free Hotels
- Layaway Plan
Splash Mountain 30th Anniversary
This past week also marked the 30th anniversary of the original Splash Mountain. 30 years have flown by, but this attraction still pulls in happy crowds. Water rides require lots of maintenance, are expensive to operate, put a tremendous amount of extra wear and tear on props and animatronics, but somehow this epic attraction has survived and thrived.
Does it seem like Splash is splashier than usual right now? Even some Cast Members were saying our overly-soaked log was intentional.
Soundsational Makes Its Final Beat
Disneyland’s birthday was busy this year with many anniversaries and celebrations, including a bittersweet one, the final performance of the Soundsational Parade.
The parade has been performing at Disneyland since May 27, 2011, and its final day was July 17th, 2019, a lengthy eight-year run.
We caught the parade parked back behind Mickey and Friends on Thursday as it gets ready to be hauled off yonder. It’s expected that the parade bases will be reused (as designed) for new creative on top.
How do you feel folks, are you sad to see Soundsational leave or are you looking forward to a new parade?
Mickey and Friends Band-Tastic Cavalcade
Another cavalcade? Yep!
To fill the entertainment void left by Soundsational’s departure last week, the Mickey and Friends Band-Tastic Cavalcade is taking to the parade route twice daily through the return of the Main Street Electrical Parade on August 2nd.
This show is a rather odd one. It’s essentially the standard Disneyland Band march down Main Street, but with added characters, two Main Street vehicles, and less actual music.
Depending on where you’re waiting, you might see one of the stops, but even then the show lasts less than four minutes.
If wide images of this parade seem a little sparse, that’s because it is!It’s hard not to feel a little disappointed in this offering as it’s being billed as a fill-in for the parade. Guests still line up for a while beforehand to see it, blink and miss it, then turn and ask “Is that it?”
We’re always advocating for more live entertainment, especially when there’s a big void like this, but this will definitely be a thing to do only if you’re already in the area. We don’t recommend going out of your way to wait for it.
We do wonder why the decision was made to end Soundsational two weeks before the return of the Electrical Parade, it would’ve made a lot of sense to end Soundsational one day and start the Electrical Parade the next. It’s something they’ve done in the past.
You can view the video we captured of the cavalcade below:
Galaxy’s Edge Update
This week marked the millionth guest to fly with Ohnaka Transport Solutions. Disney welcomed the Ridgeway family onto the Falcon for their mission to Corellia and treated them to some blue and green milk afterward.
A million guests in the time frame Smuggler’s Run has been open shouldn’t really be a surprise to anyone, it means that the attraction has pushed through as many guests as it was expected to. That’s a good thing, though, as the design of the attraction has allowed it to be one of the more reliable rides Disney has built recently, it rarely ever goes down entirely.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Music
If you watched that video and thought “this video has more music than Galaxy’s Edge” you’d be right. Although, we have noticed that some areas of Black Spire Outpost have expanded their sounds zones a bit. Specifically, we’ve noticed more of the Batuu radio (the one that includes DJ-R3X’s broadcast from the cantina) creeping into different parts of the outpost, as well as the Docking Bay 7 Patio Music now being played in the side dining room where no music was being played before. We sure hope that the main dining room for Docking Bay 7 is next.
Below is a map of the background tracks around Galaxy’s Edge. It isn’t all music, much of it is sound effects. Not mapped are the creature sound in the forested areas, nor the Spaceships, Droids, and mechanical noises in the settlement, which are heard all over.
Music is still a big point of contention for many Galaxy’s Edge fans. We still feel that the lack of John William’s beautiful music being played in the land is a misstep, but it appears that Disney is beginning to address the void many guests are feeling in the land.
Perhaps Disney should do a test of music in the land. Take a week or two and play real Star Wars music throughout the land to see how guests respond. We’ve assembled just a few examples of music which could be used for such a test. Let’s start with the iconic Star Wars title music in the entry tunnels to the land:
The Empire/First Order themes could be played on the East end of the land. Here’s the Imperial Suite from Rogue One for example:
The Spaceport theme from Solo could be used in front of the Millennium Flacon attraction:
For the Marketplace – here’s a sample of music from Epcot’s Morocco Pavilion, though I’m sure there’s actual Star Wars music which would work:
Near the Rebel Encampment:
Another interesting test would be for Disney to have C3PO, R2D2, Darth Vader, Boba Fett, Han, Leia, Luke and the well-known characters in the land and perhaps even do meet and greets in some of the unused spaces in the land. Give up on the backstory of the land for a few days and see how the guests react to a more traditional Star Wars “Land” with a collection of characters, entertainment, Jedi Training Academy, Star Wars music, and a general upbeat vibe.
Hopefully Disney is willing to try a few things and see how guests respond. We are still hearing from Disney folks that they think this new land is the best thing they’ve ever done, which indicates they may not yet be willing or able to see that changes are needed. They’ll get there eventually, but we hope it doesn’t take as long as it did for them to admit that Disney California Adventure 1.0 wasn’t what guests wanted or expected.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Merchandise
Merchandise has been hit and miss in Star Wars land. While some things aren’t selling, others can’t be kept in stock. Dok-Ondar’s shop has been running out of kyber crystals to power lightsabers and holocrons, they even had a restriction for a while that you needed to buy a holocron to purchase a kyber crystal. Now all colors but white and yellow are back in stock and you’re free to purchase a crystal on its own.
Droid Depot was also low on personality chips for a while, but they’ve slowly started to come back into stock.
We did recently learn that you can buy extra pieces for your custom lightsaber from Savi’s Workshop. Just make sure you return within two days of building your saber. You’ll only be able to purchase two pieces and they’re recommending using the same type you originally chose so the pieces line up properly.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge This & That
After all the excitement this week, I needed something refreshing, has everyone tried the Meiloorun Juice? While it’s a little too sweet, it’s the drink I like most in Galaxy’s Edge. You can find it at Ronto Roasters and is made of pineapple, lemonade, blueberry, white cranberry juice, lemon juice, and desert pear.
We also found the display screen for Rise of the Resistance Stand By has been removed for some reason.
And for more from Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, join Dusty, Doug, & Natalie as they discuss disappointment and fixes for Disneyland’s largest-ever expansion:
With cast previews of Galaxy’s Edge about to begin at Walt Disney World, we are looking forward to seeing what changes the Orlando folks will make to the land to better address the needs of their very different tourist demographic.
Marvel Land Update
Marvel Land construction is kicking into high gear as the 2020 opening date looms nearer. It’s now swallowed the street in front of Mission Breakout and forcing operational changes to be made for the attraction.
If you want to go standby, you have to go through what’s normally a gate used for the extended queue, and FastPass is going through the entrance.
The construction fences now surround the old Fastpass distribution machines
So, temporary Fastpass distribution machines have been rolled out for guests.
There is a construction box over a spot where a cement pillar was removed earlier this week on the standby side of the queue.
When Guardians took over Disney replaced an old Tower Hotel plaque with a Hollywood Land image. That sign has been removed.
There is still a single pillar remaining opposite the construction box. Soon, Guardians will officially move out of the Hollywood Land attraction listing and become part of Marvel Land.
Scaffolding is up all over what will become the main entrance to Marvel Land, just off the parade route. Drywall is also being installed.
The large L-shaped structure will likely house rigging for stunt shows. We certainly hope Disney is planning on opening this land with lots of live entertainment.
Summer Crowds
We’ve been covering nearly two months of historically low attendance for summertime at Disneyland, but have you visited any of the other parks in the area lately? We were at Universal Studios Hollywood over the weekend and found that wait times were incredibly high. Jurassic World is commanding huge wait times, while Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, one of the highest capacity attractions in the world, reached a 2.5-hour wait. If you’re a Knott’s fan, many of the days we’ve visited lately have had wait times as long as two hours (for attractions like Ghostrider).
With so many passholders blocked at Disneyland, it really is the place to visit right now. Attendance has been slowly trending up, so if you have a chance to visit the park before APs are unblocked, you’ll find the park to be very manageable.
But keep in mind that DCA can get quite busy as many passes are unblocked there!
This and That
Disneyland
The Tropical Hideaway has introduced a new loaded whip, the Chile-Mango Whip. It’s intense, loaded with chamoy, mango, chile-lime seasoning, cucumbers, pineapples, and jicama. It was a little much for me, but the mango soft serve is available without any toppings and can be swirled like any other flavor (mango-pineapple is wonderful).
On Big Thunder Trail, the empty outdoor vending (ODV) location finally received its pretzel cart.
It’s not unusual for elements of attractions to be removed for maintenance between refurbishments. In Pirates of the Caribbean, the organ that plays itself in the Captain’s Quarters scene has been gone for a while. The audio still plays, so it’s a true ghost piano for the time being.
Barbossa seems to have had an intentional change in the way he’s lit. They’ve added a light that now backlights him, creating a foreboding shadow on the sail of his ship. It’s just a small thing, but it adds a little bit to his presence in the battle scene.
Before
AfterA strange change that I noticed was that the pirate that sits above the entrance to the jail scene seems to have cleaned his feet and perhaps shaved some of the hair from his legs.
Finally, the Jack Sparrow animatronic in the treasure room has been acting wonky lately. It’s one thing for Jack to seem drunk, it’s another for his mouth to not move when he talks.
Speaking of wonky…Mickey’s Toontown. The paint fading on the hills of Toontown becomes more and more noticeable every day.
But on a lighter note, over at Goofy’s Gas Station, both of the fish-gas pumps have returned. The one on the left had been missing for months.
Over in Tomorrowland, a new drinking fountain has been installed near the exit of Autopia.
This new fountain follows the trend of installing a water bottle filling station.
Monorail Closure
New hours for the Monorail have been instated this week. The Monorail will be closed from 11am to 6pm daily. While it has always closed during the hottest period of the day, this is the first time that the attraction is scheduled to be closed, particularly for long stretches of time. Could this be the result of cost cutbacks or operational changes?
Esplanade
Out in the Esplanade, new attraction banners have been installed on the Disneyland side. New to the set is It’s A Small World and Peter Pan’s Flight. Unfortunately, Pirates of the Caribbean banners were removed.
California Adventure
There are a couple of small construction projects happening at DCA right now. The first is the ongoing patio work for Award Weiners.
New signage has been added to direct you to where you can sit and eat.
Unfortunately, PhilharMagic still feels like it’s closed with all these walls. It already wasn’t getting much traffic, but these walls can’t be helping.
The second project is at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. The area under construction is usually used for meet and greets, including Santa Claus, and we’re wondering if this is being set up for Oogie Boogie’s Bash this Halloween.
Lights are being strung up all over the area.
Mickey and Friends Parking Structure Construction
Work continues on the tram courtyard. A small forest of trees is going in now.
Work continues on the new additional elevators coming to the Mickey and Friends parking structure. This week it looks like the cement forms have been placed to the foundation of the elevators.
Work also continues on the new bridge to Downtown Disney.
There’s a target deadline of September for this project. With much of the path now in place, including the bridge, it looks like they are coming along quickly.
BTW… the floors in the new Pixar Pals’s Elevators feature a Luxo Ball.
Disneyland Birthday Discounts – HURRY!!!
Our partners at Get Away Today are discounting Disneyland tickets in honor of the park’s 64th birthday and Today is the last day. While these deals can be used by the end of the year, they must be booked by Midnight today (July 22nd)!
To celebrate Disneyland’s big anniversary, our friends at Get Away Today have a special, limited-time offer for tickets. This is a great offer for a quick trip to the Happiest Place on Earth or if you’re planning a longer trip for the end of the year (book now for use by the end of the year). Click HERE for more info and to buy your tickets.
That’s it, folks! Let us know your thoughts on entertainment changes, music in Star Wars land, crowds, and where you’ve been spending your summer entertainment dollars.
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