What a week. We take to the sky to bring you aerial images of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure as they prepare for reopening, and there’s a lot of progress to see. We also have news about Halloween, Christmas, and what’s canceled, as well as what may still be coming.
If some of the photos today look really hazy, that’s because the West Coast is on fire; smoke choking the air, millions of acres burned and entire cities lost. This isn’t a normal fire year. And though there aren’t any major fires near Disneyland, the effects are being felt. We’ll share a story at the end of today’s update which hit the theme park industry hard.
Hazy Disneyland Construction Update
Our spy in the sky was on the job for you this week. And there’s a lot for us to discuss . . . from what we can see through the smoke that is. These images were taken on 9/11. It was not lost on us that the last time Disneyland was closed like you see in these images was 19 years ago after the events of that terrible day.
Starting at ground level, the still closed gates of Disneyland reveal some projects just inside the park.
There are quite a few things going on here. A sanitation station has been plopped in near the entry tunnel. And just behind are scaffolds for the Emporium facade refurbishment.
From above, we can see that there are no scrims on the scaffolds as we’d normally see when the park is in regular operation.
It appears that only the tower on the Emporium has scaffolds at the moment. A cherry picker was being used to paint the rest of the building a couple of weeks ago.
At the other end of Main Street, the Hub spoke projects are wrapping up, and a big new project is underway . . .
The Hub itself has been completely scraped of floral details. The outer gardens have been empty for months, but the center garden around Walt and Mickey had remained planted throughout the shutdown. As of now, all the gardens are currently bare.
The Frontierland bridge expansion is just about done. There was a cherry picker on site for work on the new sign. Railings have been installed on the bridge.
On the reverse side of the Hub, the last of the Tomorrowland french fry rocks have been demolished. The stretch from Buzz Lightyear toward the Astro Orbitor is a mess as they clean up the rubble.
Here’s what it looked like a few weeks ago:
On to Fantasyland! Those flatbed trucks you see behind the castle are loaded with something. We believe it’s the scaffolds that have just been removed from the Snow White facade.
We can clearly see progress in Fantasyland. The Snow White facade has been revealed with a unique color scheme. The corner rooftop is turquoise. The bricks at lower levels have a pinkish tone, while the upper tier has more of the grey of the castle.
And for the first time during the shutdown, we see actual work on the Carrousel. The scrims on the sides have been pulled aside so workers can access the attraction.
Pushing back just a bit, we can see a little work going on along the loading platform on the Matterhorn. Materials are scattered along the track, and the bobsleds are covered in blue tarps.
And a bit further down from that is the Sub lagoon which is crystal clear with bubbles now operational.
Heading just around the river bend, we find some Fantasmic fountains being tested and work trucks in front of the Haunted Mansion. Let’s hope that means progress is being made. We sure would love for that attraction to open with the park. Though, we do wonder how they’ll handle physical distancing in the stretching room and tight portrait gallery.
Looking down on the beautiful Mark Twain, we can see that some additional tables have been placed on the pathway along the river
Workers and trucks at Haunted Mansion.
As you follow the train tracks back toward Critter Country and Galaxy’s Edge, there’s a yellow vehicle on the tracks. We aren’t sure what its purpose is. Can any of you fill us in?
And it doesn’t appear that anything major is happening in Galaxy’s Edge.
There’s a traffic jam in the circle in front of Mickey’s House. It looks like work is being done at the Gadget Go Coaster.
And now for the big project in the park: Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Last week we showed you that the first beams had gone vertical. You can see that quite a bit more has since been installed since then.
Let’s park-hop. . .
The entry gates to Disney California Adventure have been retrofitted with plexiglass shields. Some new iron work that matches the gates has been built to hold plexi-screens between sections.
Looking into the park from the front gate, there’s really nothing going on. The displays in the window remain unchanged from when the park shut down back in March.
So let’s see what’s going on from above . . .
While there isn’t much happening at DCA, there is a giant project rushing toward completion: Avengers Campus.
A large construction crane was on site this week, along with several smaller ones. Pathways appear complete in front of the Spider-Man ride, but it’s still dirt in the large plaza on the Guardians of the Galaxy side of the land.
The PYM restaurant walls are still open. We should see this space enclosed shortly.
And behind Guardians of the Galaxy, we spotted this flatbed truck hauling what appears to be a giant wrapped tree. Likely a bit of shade being added to the new land.
The new administrative building behind Luigi’s in Cars Land also appears to be mostly complete. While there are still scaffolds on the park side, the backstage side looks like it’s just about ready.
And fountains were running on the World of Color lagoon. You can also see a bit of tree pruning happening across from the Little Mermaid, most of the stationary gondolas removed from the Pal-A-Round, and all the swings removed from the Silly Symphony attraction.
Disneyland Reopening Survey
Disney has been sending a survey to annual passholders asking a variety of questions about when they’d feel comfortable visiting again, how often they would visit once the parks open, and if they might want to cancel their passes due to new safety measures and theme park reservations. If you are curious and would like to see how our readers answered some of the questions, check this out:
Disneyland Survey Wants to Know If You’ll Return & If You’ll Cancel Your Annual Pass
Downtown Disney
We headed back to Downtown Disney to check things out for you. Last week we noticed that the waits to get into Downtown Disney had swelled and that they were using a gigantic switchback line in a parking lot for waiting guests. We weren’t quite sure if this was just growing demand or a result of the holiday weekend. Well, the trend continued this entire week and became terrible this weekend when the line to get in hit 90 minutes at one point.
On Saturday afternoon, guests were warned that they might wait an hour or more to enter Downtown Disney and that World of Disney and Marceline’s had virtual queue waits between an hour and a half and 2 hours.
We decided to give up. But on the way out of the resort district noticed that a hotel on Harbor Blvd offered paid parking. We decided to park and walk to the Harbor entry (our first time doing so).
While there was a tiny line, we waited no more than 10 minutes, instead of an hour+.
This was the line on the harbor side in comparison to the main entry line we showed you above. Yes please . . .
As a note, both Downtown Disney entries have paper mask vending machines for those without masks or if their face coverings don’t meet Disney’s standards (no bandanas, gators, or single-ply masks). They are just $2, so there’s no need to go all the way back to the car if they tell you your mask doesn’t comply, just ask for the vending machine. There are both adult and child sizes available.
When you enter on the Harbor side of the resort, you’ll need to walk across the esplanade to get to Downtown Disney.
Once inside the Downtown Disney district, you’ll notice that they haven’t decorated with pumpkins this year (at least not yet), but they have replanted the gardens in fall colors.
The big news this week is that Orange County has loosened business restrictions on restaurants, as a result, most of the Downtown Disney establishments are accommodating indoor seating at 25% capacity. They all continue to maintain expanded outdoor seating as well.
One thing that hasn’t reopened yet is Sprinkles Cupcakes. We don’t know what has taken them so long. But the store appears ready and will likely open this week. They have a new register installed near the front door. The new credit card reader is turned on. Take out boxes have been assembled and are stacked up behind the counter.
But perhaps the biggest clue is the new sign in the window asserting that the establishment has submitted safety plans and employee training. It’s dated September 11th.
UPDATE: As speculated, Sprinkles reopened for business on Monday morning.
If you want to check out World of Disney, you need to put your name on the list. Cast Members are stationed at the tram loading area to take your name and number. You’ll get a text message when it’s your time to return. I put my name in at 6:30 pm.
At 8pm my phone received a text message saying it was time for me to return.
There’s not much new in World of Disney. They are still promoting Disneyland’s 65th anniversary . . . and next month Target, BoxLunch, and Amazon will too (more HERE).
Disneyland 65th Anniversary Merchandise Coming to Target, BoxLunch & Amazon
The entire center of the store is still selling Halloween Merchandise.
There is a new Mulan sipper bottle.
And these ears aren’t brand new, but they are newish and I hadn’t noticed them before. Sort of cute Mickey hand ears.
When we headed out of Downtown Disney, we couldn’t help but notice all the closed shops on Harbor Blvd.
The bar at the top of the Grand Legacy Hotel has reopened (The Fifth), but ALL of the shops at ground level are closed and appear to be out of business.
It’s a similar situation up and down the street. Even in the open hotels, most of the gift shops are now out of business and the rented storefront closed.
Halloween and Beyond
2020 has become a year of punches and disappointments. For the last month, it’s been a litany of Halloween cancelations. It was just a few weeks ago that we wrote up all the major theme park and haunt events taken off the books for this year. But this week, we were given a pleasant surprise as Knott’s Berry Farm announced a Halloween themed food festival.
Although Knott’s officially canceled their massively popular Knott’s Scary Farm event back in August, they’re tweaking their popular summer food festival with a “Fall-O-Ween” theme for the season. This festival runs on weekends September 25 through November 1, and features an entirely new selection of foods, fall and Halloween decorations. Guests will also be allowed to dress in costume! Camp Snoopy will offer a treat trail for the kids as well (and adults too for an $8 upcharge). And the best part is you can attend without breaking the bank: adults are just $35 (includes 5 menu items) and children are $20 (includes 3 items and the trick-or-treat trail).
For more information about Knott’s Taste of Fall-O-Ween festival, and to see their lineup of amazing (if artery-clogging!) foods for the festival, take a few minutes to read the article below.
Candlelight Canceled
While things out in California are still developing in regards to theme park reopening, Walt Disney World is planning ahead for Christmas. They announced last week that the holidays are still on, albeit with a few cancellations and modifications. While the iconic Candlelight Processional and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party won’t be happening, Magic Kingdom is still preparing for wintertime decorations, plus EPCOT’s International Festival of Holidays is still a go.
Now it appears that Disneyland’s Candlelight has been canceled as well. Whether Disneyland is reopened in time for the event or not, it just wouldn’t be possible to put on a properly socially distanced event in the tiny Town Square area of Disneyland with hundreds of choir performers and hundreds more guests. . . all while keeping the park open to regular guests and maintaining traffic flow in the entry/train station area of the park. But we do hope that California Adventure will be able to host a Festival of Holidays this year as EPCOT will.
Battle of the Halloween Parties: MiceChat Reader Photos
In any other year, Disneyland would start hosting their Halloween parties right about now. With the inaugural launch of Oogie Boogie Bash last year, fans were divided on which park did Halloween best, Disneyland’s discontinued Mickey’s Halloween Party or DCA’s Oogie Boogie Bash. While it’s no surprise that the special event wasn’t possible this year, we asked the MiceChat Facebook group to put the two parties to the test with their favorite photos from each. Take a look at Halloweens past and let us know which event you think scares up the most bang for your Halloween buck.
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
When many people think of Halloween at Disneyland, the first memories that usually spring to mind involve visiting Disneyland and leaving with bucketloads of candy from Mickey’s party. With a special parade and nighttime spectacular exclusive for the parties (that is, right up until last year), you really saw a different side of Disneyland. Sadly, these parties are a part of history now, but we’ve got some happy memories to share with you today.
Oogie Boogie Bash
Although Oogie Boogie Bash is the newcomer to Disneyland’s Halloween parties, it’s really made a name for itself. It’s significantly darker (without being overly scary) and more approachable for older kids and adults. The party transforms DCA into a villain’s wonderland! We were looking forward to seeing how Disney would expand the party this year, but we hope that this year off will give them more time to improve those ideas!
If I wasn’t missing out on Halloween before, I certainly am now! Thank you to everyone who shared a photo with us today. To see the rest of the photos from Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and from Oogie Boogie Bash, take a look at the post in the MiceChat Facebook group! And be sure to keep an eye out for next week’s theme soon.
And The Winner Is . . .
Last week we held a special reader photo contest where we asked you to share your best Disneyland nighttime shots. We were dazzled by all the great photos and it really made us miss Disneyland. We just couldn’t pick a winner, so we asked you to decide.
And after thousands of votes, we’d like to congratulate George Landis for this incredible shot of Sleeping Beauty Castle:
Please join us in congratulating George and stay tuned to the MiceChat Facebook Group for another fun reader contest coming very soon.
This & That
There are a few remaining items we wanted you to be aware of this week.
Heartbreak
We write this section with a very heavy heart. Last week, tragedy struck in Oregon as an uncontrollable forest fire devastated a family who has brought so much joy to others. We were notified by a longtime MiceChat reader about a horrific situation regarding the Tofte family who created the Enchanted Forest theme park.
“Hello Dusty,
Years ago, I wrote a trip report about going to a quaint theme park in Oregon called Enchanted Forest, built by the Tofte family. I’m very sad to report the Toftes just lost a grandson and grandmother to the Oregon fires. I thought Micechat might want to pass along the heartbreaking story of the Tofte’s father’s attempt to save his family. Get the tissues; you’re going to need them.” – Wanda Woman
This is a painful story of a father who risked everything to save his family and the tragic outcome. You can read the heartbreaking story in the Statesman Journal here. The extended family of the Toftes has created a relief fund for Angela and Chris Tofte. We are beyond saddened to write this, and hope that our readers can help share their story.
Disneyland 65th Anniversary Merch Lands at Target
Back in July, there were hopeful aspirations for Disneyland to reopen in time for the park’s 65th anniversary on the 17th. While the planned reopening didn’t come to fruition, Disney created a TON of merchandise for the would-be celebration. While Downtown Disney has been featuring the collection prominently in the World of Disney store, Target, BoxLunch and Amazon will soon be selling 65th merchandise as well. Strangely, it appears that the Disney Stores which have reopened do not have Disneyland 65th anniversary merchandise. To see what’s coming to the participating retailers (and some of their exclusive items), take a look at the article below.
Disneyland 65th Anniversary Merchandise Coming to Target, BoxLunch & Amazon
Speaking of limited-edition merch, we saw something online that made us scratch our heads. Last year was Mickey’s 90th birthday, and the Disneyland Resort went all out with the Get Your Ears On Celebration for the big cheese. One of the items that they pushed at quick-service windows, popcorn carts, and refreshment stands were limited-edition Mickey sippers. At first, guests had to wait in hours-long lines to buy them. But they apparently had many left at the time of the shutdown. . .
This week, the thrift store Goodwill posted a picture to their Instagram account featuring rows upon rows of these Mickey Birthday Sippers. I guess Disney had to unload their merch somewhere and donating it is better than trashing it. But, look at that price tag . . . for a donated item at a thrift shop. I guess Disney product sells at a premium everywhere.
Freeform Road to Halloween Sold Out, but Contest Ahead
Last week we wrote about Freeform’s (formerly ABC Family) drive-through haunted house, Road to Halloween. Tickets for the free and extremely limited 3-day event were available on the 12th, and sold out in a minute. At one point, there were 26,000 people ahead of one of our team members, and unsurprisingly most people were left without tickets. Well, here’s your 2nd chance. Freeform is hosting an Instagram contest starting on the 16th for a handful of tickets to the event.
For more about Freeform’s Halloween Road, take a look at the article below.
Disney Offers Free Drive-Through Haunted House to Promote Freeform’s 31 Days of Halloween
A Little Disney at Home
If you’re like us and missing Disneyland, we’ve got a special treat for you. We recently ran a story with recipe recreations from the dearly departed Big Thunder Ranch BBQ. The recipes aren’t all that hard to make at home, and it’s a great way to enjoy a memory of simpler times at Big Thunder Ranch. Click the article below to see what you’re making for dinner!
Disneyland’s Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue Recipes – The Wildest Restaurant in the West!
Give Your Family Something To Look Forward To!
Theme parks are reopening, and whether you are ready to travel yet or not, there’s no better time to lock in low rates on future travel. But waiting on hold and not knowing what questions to ask isn’t the magical part of a vacation. That’s why MiceChat has partnered with Get Away Today to handle all the difficult stuff for you . . . all for no extra cost. That’s right, they do all the work and it doesn’t cost you extra.
Our travel partners at Get Away Today are here to help you with your theme park booking and rescheduling plans. We know you’re as uncertain about the future as we are. That’s why Get Away Today is offering the most flexible Disney travel options available. Ask about:
Price Protection – If a better special comes out after you have booked, you’ll get the better deal.
Peace of Mind – Make hotel changes, reschedule dates, drop nights, change ticket vouchers and more, as many times as you’d like for a small, one-time fee.
Layaway Plan – Lock in your 2020 or 2021 Walt Disney World Resort vacation for just $175 down. By booking early, you secure your availability and have the flexibility to pay as you go. Make as many interest-free payments as you’d like, whenever you’d like, with final payment due just seven days prior to travel.
Give your family something to look forward to:
- Visit Get Away Today HERE
- We are expecting high call volume as Disney resumes hotel bookings and tickets sales. So, please fill out our request form and a vacation advisor will call you back: Vacation Information Request Form HERE
Let’s Hear From You
Let’s put the pandemic, fires, tragedy, business failures, record heat . . . and related horrors of 2020 behind us for a moment and think about a time when things are back to normal. That time will come. We really thank our readers for supplying some wonderful images of Halloween past to help transport us to that magical place in the future.
As we wrap up today’s update, we encourage us to us know what you spotted in our newest aerial images of Disneyland. Are you surprised by how quickly Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is moving all of the sudden? Do you like the new color scheme for Snow White’s Adventure? Sad to hear that Candlelight won’t take place this year? Encouraged by altered Halloween activities at Knott’s and Disney World? How can Disneyland cash in? Let us know in the comments below . . .
EDITORS NOTE: We appreciate your comments and value your opinion. However, please keep in mind that we are a family-friendly theme park site. Keep politics, heated discussion, threats, and hostility out of our comment section.
More Theme Park News
Here’s a few other theme park stories you might find interesting:
Disneyland Code Red: Orange County California Restrictions Loosened
Walt Disney World Update – Send Us a Message From Somewhere Beyond!
CONFIRMED! Universal Orlando’s Mini Halloween Horror Nights 2020
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