So, 2020… Disneyland may have only been open for a grand total of 75 days last year, but that doesn’t mean a lot didn’t happen at what we normally think of as the Happiest Place on Earth. As we enter what will hopefully be a brighter year, let’s take a look back at what we’ve left behind in 2020. Buckle up and take a deep breath, reliving 2020 will take some courage. But there’s still a lot to look forward to…
Rise and Fall of the Resistance
Disneyland kicked off the new year by opening the crown jewel of its Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge expansion.
The new 15-minute mega-attraction, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, had opened in early December 2019 at Walt Disney World but Florida’s early opening seemed to only increase demand at the opening of Disneyland’s identical version in mid-January. Below, massive crowds descend on Main Street on the attraction’s opening day.
The attraction was met with high demand, which saw virtual boarding passes sell out quickly every day via a reservation system built into the Disneyland app. Reserving a boarding pass required getting onto Main Street before official park opening and having fast fingers on your smartphone, leaving scoring a boarding pass for the new ride up to being an early bird with some good luck.
Regardless, the new E-Ticket attraction was met with resoundingly positive reviews, cementing it as Disney’s most technologically-ambitious attraction to date. The attraction takes guests on a multi-part journey through multiple locations into joining the Resistance to help fight Kylo Ren. From a secret Resistance base in Batuu’s ruins to Kylo Ren’s Star Destroyer, the attraction’s storyline starts from the second you enter Star War’s Galaxy’s Edge, taking you through caves, shuttle transports, Star Destroyers, and more.
While the attraction itself didn’t break any major new ground, it expertly marries various technologies, special effects, and storytelling techniques Disney has been perfecting over the last 60 years. From the latest in Audio-Animatronics, to the newest projection technology, and the latest generation of trackless ride vehicles, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is perhaps most notably a jaw-dropping showcase of the various technological innovations Disney has been developing and implementing at its properties around the world over the last couple decades.
Cleverly-implemented projections create Star Wars’ iconic holograms as part of the multi-part, story-heavy queue experience.
Animatronic Storm Troopers set against a window into the vastness of space showcases the latest in projection technology.
Projections of Kylo Ren and General Armitage Hux are stunningly convincing in the First Order holding cells aboard Kylo Ren’s ship, a part of the attraction’s intricate multi-part queue experience.
The latest generation of trackless ride vehicles transport guests through Kylo Ren’s ship, complete with on-board animatronic droids.
State-of-the-art animatronics take center stage in key scenes.
All in all, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is the new attraction to beat at Disneyland and Walt Disney World — stunning on every level from storytelling, to scale, to special effects. And even with so much story packed in, the attraction can still be enjoyed by just about any level of Star Wars fan, from novice to expert.
Due to the pandemic, Disneyland’s version of the attraction closed with the park in March and has yet to operate through a demanding Disneyland summer or holiday season, but hopefully it’ll have that opportunity in 2021. Perhaps the shutdown was a blessing in disguise for this particular attraction, which despite garnering great reviews, suffered from low capacity, reduced operational hours, and significant downtimes. A technological marvel that appears wasn’t quite ready for primetime. It sure would be a silver lining if Disney was able to iron out some issues during all these months without guests.
Disneyland Hotel Expansion
In late January, concept art for a new Disney Vacation Club tower for the Disneyland Hotel was released.
The new DVC tower comes in place of the previously-announced fourth Disneyland Resort hotel, which was canceled after Disney and the City of Anaheim were unable to come to an agreement related to Anaheim Resort area tax breaks. The planned 4-Diamond hotel would have been built over the west end of Downtown Disney. That 4-Diamond hotel was originally announced in 2017 and scheduled to open this year, 2021. The project was officially canceled in October 2018.
The Disneyland Hotel’s new Disney Vacation Club tower will feature a Mickey-shaped whirlpool jacuzzi and an outdoor pool bar. The tower will be built on an area formerly occupied by the hotel’s long-gone Fantasy Waters fountain, a laundry facility, and some backstage space. Disney is currently still clearing the site and finalizing permit approvals. There is no clear timeline when the tower will open for Vacation Club members.
Magic Happened
Disneyland’s long-awaited new daytime parade, Magic Happens, officially debuted February 28 following a soft opening the day before. The new parade brought a contemporary spin on the classic Disneyland processional with modern float design, brand new music by popular artist Todrick Hall, and a fresh approach to costumes.
According to Disney, the guiding principles of the parades design were:
- Contemporary – they wanted the parade to feel modern. Which they expressed through the choreography and costumes.
- Artistic – they claim the fashion behind the costumes could almost have stepped right off of a runway. And the floats themselves are rolling pieces of art.
- Whimsical – the core of Disney magic, the parade should be fun and filled with playful details to be spotted on repeat viewings.
While your mileage may vary, I think Disney did a pretty good job of creating a parade worthy of replacing the excellent Mickey’s Soundsational Parade. The new parade felt fresh and energetic, without coming off as cloying or feeling forced. The floats, for the most part, are nicely designed, even if some of them suffered from lacking kinetic energy. Additionally, some floats were designed in a way that they need to be viewed from the front to be really appreciated.
A behind-the-scenes look at the parade’s design process:
The parade was a pretty solid mix of new and old Disney, with Frozen II to Sword in the Stone, and Princess and the Frog to Cinderella.
Unfortunately, the new parade operated for only a couple weeks before Disneyland was forced to close the gates. When parades and other crowd-generating shows can return, we can’t know, but rest assured that the parade will return at some point.
Magic Costs More
In early February, Disneyland got its annual price increase. The price increases didn’t hit day tickets too hard, following Disney CEO Bob Iger’s blaming of the tepid response to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge on high admission prices. In addition to more modest price hikes, the Resort also got a more fluid flex-pricing scale. Gone was the Value, Regular, and Peak designations, replaced by a more incremental 5-tier system based on anticipated attendance. On the lowest tier, the price for a one day, one park ticket didn’t increase at all. On the highest tier, the price jumped $10.
Meanwhile, all Annual Passports saw an increase, anywhere from $20 to $250.
Of course, these prices may not make much difference at all once Disneyland eventually reopens. Depending on the public’s trust in visiting theme parks once they reopen, these prices could move any number of ways with the new flexible structure. We’ll keep you updated on that here on MiceChat when the time comes.
Closed Campus
On March 11, the Disney Parks Blog announced the new Marvel-themed Avengers Campus would officially open at Disney California Adventure on July 18th, 2020.
The opening date announcement also came with the announcement of the notably clumsy, official name of the new Spider-Man attraction. WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure promised to put guests in the middle of a Spider-Man adventure in which they could, through “a seamless blend of 3D and new interface [ . . . ] experience what it’s like to have super powers and sling webs alongside Spider-Man.”
The new Marvel-themed land will feature WEB Suppliers gift shop, the PYM Test Kitchen restaurant, an acrobatic animatronic Spider-Man, and encounters with other heroes including Dr. Strange, Black Widow, and Black Panther.
Of course, Avengers Campus never made its July 18 opening date due to the closure of the parks. Its opening date is currently delayed indefinitely. That doesn’t mean work on the project has stopped; in fact, it continued throughout the closures and some lucky Cast Members were treated to a sneak preview of the new Spider-Man attraction in December 2020.
And in November, with no potential reopening date in sight, Disneyland released select merchandise from the upcoming Spider-Man attraction in Downtown Disney, including the new interactive Spider-Bot toys.
Management, Remixed
With Shanghai Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland closed due to the Coronavirus pandemic and reports that the pandemic would only become worse in America, Bob Iger stepped down from his role as CEO of the Walt Disney Company on February 25. Iger told investors his decision wasn’t accelerated by any current events and intended to stay on as executive chairman, allowing him to focus on Disney’s creative output until his planned eventual departure from the company in 2021. Disney stock dropped 2.7% following the announcement, a sharp decline for the company at the time, but a drop in the bucket for what would come not long after.
Bob Chapek takes over as Disney CEO
Iger’s sudden decision to step down as CEO came with the confirmation that Bob Chapek, who was previously head of Disney’s powerhouse Parks and Resorts division, would become Disney’s next CEO. Chapek’s installation wasn’t totally unexpected but it did confirm that the head of Disney’s streaming businesses Kevin Meyer, who was favored as a potential successor, would not take the helm.
Ken Potrock steps in at Disneyland
Following his promotion to CEO in February, Chapek was quickly thrown into managing a major corporation in the midst of an ever-worsening global pandemic. By May, Chapek had reorganized management throughout various businesses in the company, including the Parks and Resorts division which was shaping up to be the hardest hit segment of the company. Josh D’Amaro, previously head of Walt Disney World (and a former Disneyland President) was promoted to oversee the entire Parks and Resorts division. At Disneyland, Resort President Rebecca Campbell had been moved to oversee the Direct-to-Consumer & International division of the company. Ken Potrock, former president of Disney Consumer Services, was named President of the Disneyland Resort. With the Resort largely closed for the duration of his tenure thus far (except for some expanded Downtown Disney shopping), it’s hard to tell what sort of impact, if any, Potrock has made. As an executive with no former theme park experience, now overseeing a closed theme park complex during a pandemic, it was the worst possible time to step into the head role at the most beloved theme park in the world.
Taste Test
Disney California Adventure’s 2020 Food and Wine Festival kicked off February 28 and was set to run through April 21. Unfortunately, the annual festival only lasted a couple weeks and was cut short by the Coronavirus pandemic.
The 2020 California Food and Wine Festival was shaping up to be a nice improvement on the annual tradition with ambitious new food items, kinetic signage, and plenty of entertainment and special presentations. 
In conjunction with the 2020 Food and Wine Festival, Disney California Adventure also brought back its popular, original Soarin’ Over California attraction for a limited engagement February 28 through April 21. Unfortunately, that limited time engagement was also cut short with everything else.
Pandemic: The Worst Ride in the Wilderness
Of course, the biggest news of the year for everybody, in every walk of life, in every industry was the global pandemic. At Disney, this was felt first in the company’s Asian properties, with Shanghai Disneyland closing on January 25th and Hong Kong Disneyland the next day. The Tokyo Disney Resort, operated by the Oriental Land Company, followed on February 28. Disney Cruise Line suspended all ships effective March 14. And the company’s fully-owned properties in California, Orlando, and Paris began closing at the same time. Disneyland closed on March 14th, with Disney World and Disneyland Paris following close behind.
The Disney College Program was suspended shortly after, with all of its participants sent home, and has since been canceled indefinitely. The spring closures marked the first time in history that all of Disney’s theme park properties were simultaneously closed.
The worldwide health crisis set in motion months of uncertainty, closures, furloughs, layoffs, and massive revenue loss that will inevitably require the company to navigate a painful multi-year path to recovery once the novel coronavirus is contained and the parks and resorts division of the company is able to be fully operational again.
Closures and reopenings bring uncertainty
Disney’s parks closures were initially only expected to run through the end of March but the pandemic had other plans. With the virus proving to be more dangerous than previously thought, Disney was forced to keep the parks closed for an extended period. The pandemic had effectively put over 100,000 of Disney’s frontline Cast Members out of work. Disney committed to paying furloughed Cast Members through April 18, but once that date came and went with no end in sight, Cast Members were eventually forced to enroll for unemployment benefits.
Over the course of the pandemic, Disney’s various properties slowly reopened in phased rollouts, all with reduced capacities, new face covering and social distancing guidelines, and numerous operational changes. Shanghai Disneyland was the first to reopen on May 11, followed by the reopening of Disney Springs at Walt Disney World on May 20. Hong Kong Disneyland reopened June 18 but has since had to close again in July and reopen September 25. Hong Kong Disneyland once again closed December 2 due to coronavirus and remains closed as of this writing. Tokyo Disney Resort reopened its theme parks on July 1. The Walt Disney World theme parks opened in phases, with Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom opening on July 11 and Epcot and Hollywood Studios reopening on July 15. Disneyland Paris reopened July 15 as well but closed again in October following a second lockdown in France. Disneyland Paris remains closed as of this writing.
Disneyland vs. the State of California
The original Disneyland in California is the only Disney property worldwide that has yet to reopen its theme parks for some length of time, but its isn’t for a lack of trying. In early June, Disney announced it would begin a phased reopening of the Disneyland Resort starting July 9 with the Downtown Disney District outdoor shopping mall. The theme parks were set to follow on Disneyland’s 65th birthday, July 17. Two of the resort’s hotels would reopen on July 23.
The proposed plans for reopening weren’t a surefire bet, however, and had to be approved by state authorities. Those state authorities proved to be the achilles heel for Disneyland and California state refused to issue its own reopening guidelines for theme parks until after the July 4 holiday. This move forced Disneyland to forgo the July reopening of its California theme parks and hotels and wait until the state issued its own guidelines.
California’s own guidelines wouldn’t come until late October, following former Disney CEO Bob Iger’s resignation from the California Economic Recovery Task Force, reportedly due to heightened tensions between he and Newsom. California Governor Gavin Newsom’s team eventually paid a visit to Walt Disney World in October to observe the implementation of the resort’s COVID-19 safety measures. The governor’s theme park team returned and on October 20 Newsom’s strict guidelines forced Disneyland to remain closed indefinitely, despite strong criticism and even calls from California mayors for guideline revisions.
Ultimately, California’s guidelines left theme parks at the mercy of their local COVID-19 infection rates, which all but made it impossible for Disneyland to reopen as Southern California’s infection rates have remained too high. As of this writing, Disneyland’s theme parks remain closed, and with post-holiday infection rates skyrocketing throughout California, they aren’t likely to be able to reopen anytime soon.
Cast Members carry the burden of layoffs
The real story here, however, isn’t the closure of theme parks, public petitions to keep Disneyland closed, calls from Disneyland labor unions to keep the parks closed (and later to reopen them), or the Governor’s highly criticized reopening guidelines — it’s the stories of tens of thousands of Cast Members that have lost their livelihoods. Once it was clear that Disneyland would not be able to reopen anytime soon, Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock issued a scathing rebuke to the state’s guidelines
We have proven that we can responsibly reopen, with science-based health and safety protocols strictly enforced at our theme park properties around the world. Nevertheless, the State of California continues to ignore this fact, instead mandating arbitrary guidelines that it knows are unworkable and that hold us to a standard vastly different from other reopened businesses and state-operated facilities. Together with our labor unions we want to get people back to work, but these State guidelines will keep us shuttered for the foreseeable future, forcing thousands more people out of work, leading to the inevitable closure of small family-owned businesses, and irreparably devastating the Anaheim/Southern California community.
The drama surrounding the issuance of state guidelines for reopening theme parks didn’t only prolong Cast Member’s unemployment, it cemented it. In early October, as Bob Iger was stepping down from the Economic Recovery Task Force, Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro announced 28,000 Cast Members would be laid off, laying blame on California for its “unwillingness to lift restrictions that would allow Disneyland to reopen.”
Disney passing the blame on California for laying off its employees was widely met with criticism (including from Senator Elizabeth Warren and Roy Disney’s granddaughter Abigail Disney). Disney’s decision to lay off 28,000 frontline Cast Members didn’t only affect Disneyland Resort’s California-based employees; the layoffs hit Cast Members in Florida, as well as Disney Store, Walt Disney Imagineering, and other non-theme park business divisions. Laying the blame on California’s strict theme park reopening guidelines proved to be a clear scapegoat, especially after Disney had reinstated full salaries for Disney and Fox executives in August, following temporarily reducing them at the beginning of the pandemic shutdowns. Apparently unbothered by harsh public backlash to its layoff announcements, Disney announced in November it would increase its domestic layoffs to 32,000 employees in the first fiscal half of 2021. As the layoff notifications began to be received by Cast Members and Imagineers, reality sunk in that the “magic” was gone. Our Disneyland Update from October 5th chronicled the painful moment the layoffs began to actually hit home.
Knott’s tackles the pandemic while Disney sleeps
Meanwhile, while Disneyland kept its gates closed, waiting for California to give them permission to reopen, just down the road Knott’s Berry Farm utilized its park in a series of food festivals that allowed the park to open its gates to dining and shopping to eager guests.
Disneyland remained largely closed, while Knott’s Berry Farm put as many of its employees back to work as it could, serving up delicious food festivals that included unique shopping opportunities, event-specific merchandise, and festive seasonal overlays.
Downtown Disney reopens
Downtown Disney officially reopened July 9 with strict safety guidelines. The reopening of the shopping complex proved to be popular, with long waits to enter being the norm on weekends. The reopening of the shopping mall included strongly policed social distancing measures, required face coverings, temperature checks, and more.
As the state of the pandemic fluctuated, so did Downtown Disney operations. At opening, various dining locations in Downtown Disney offered outdoor seating only, but by early December a spike in cases forced Disney to close outdoor dining, followed quickly by an end to all food service except select to-go offerings.
Buena Vista Street joins Downtown Disney
In October, Disney opened the Backlot Premiere Shop as an overflow retail space for seasonal merchandise. Halloween took center stage, followed by holiday merchandise. 
The success of the Backlot Premiere Shop eventually led to the reopening of Buena Vista Street as an expansion of Downtown Disney in mid-November. Just in time for the holidays, Buena Vista Street offered a much-welcome taste of the theme parks in their holiday finest.
Buena Vista Street reopened to big crowds but only offered shopping and select dining experiences. The minimal offerings didn’t stop Disney fans from attending in big numbers in the first week, and reservations for the outdoor dining terrace at Carthay Circle Lounge booked up fast and long lines formed daily at the shops.
Closed for Christmas
With the pandemic getting worse by the day and California implementing new stay-at-home orders over the holidays, Disneyland was closed on Christmas Day for the first time in its 65-year history. Park President, Ken Potrock, announced that the Downtown Disney District and Buena Vista Street would close for the day as well.
Everything must go
The pandemic has obviously hit Disney pretty hard and a big reminder of that was seen this holiday season with all holiday merchandise and other select items seeing drastic price cuts. By mid-December, Disney started slashing prices on holiday merchandise with a notable 30% off discount which stacked with Annual Passholder discounts.
That 30% discount later increased to a 50% discount and as of this writing was a whopping 70% off! Absolutely unheard of for Disney.
Plenty of other items, including t-shirts, dolls, ornaments, and plush all got their own special deals as well.
Mountain of Change
Amidst the raging pandemic, America came to a reckoning over social justice issues over the summer. The late-May killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police sparked #BlackLivesMatter protests across the globe, shining a light on America’s long history of institutionalized racism, civil rights shortcomings, and police brutality. This cultural reckoning forced corporations across America to reevaluate their relationship with their black employees and their black customers. Disney rose up to this with a $5 million donation to the NAACP and other social justice organizations:
“The killing of George Floyd has forced our nation to once again confront the long history of injustice that black people in America have suffered, and it is critical that we stand together, speak out and do everything in our power to ensure that acts of racism and violence are never tolerated,” said Bob Chapek, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company. “This $5 million pledge will continue to support the efforts of nonprofit organizations such as the NAACP that have worked tirelessly to ensure equality and justice.”
With sustained civil unrest in the streets, Disney’s Splash Mountain attractions, themed to the animated sequences of Disney’s controversial 1946 Song of the South film, quickly came under scrutiny by the public. By late June, Disney announced it would overhaul the attractions at Disneyland and Walt Disney World to become Princess and the Frog-themed attractions. Imagineers including Bob Weiss and Scott Trowbridge said that Imagineering had been working on the project for over a year, suggesting the civil rights unrest pushed Disney to fast track and announce the attraction sooner than expected.
While Splash Mountain’s original designer, Disney Legend Tony Baxter will serve as a creative adviser for the new attraction, the project is appropriately being overseen by Imagineer Charita Carter, a black woman.
As described by the Disney Parks Blog, the reimagined attraction will be set after the events of the film and take riders on a Mardi Gras adventure through the bayou:
We pick up this story after the final kiss, and join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure – featuring some of the powerful music from the film – as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance.
Disney has yet to announce a timeline for Splash Mountain’s closure and the construction and opening of the yet-to-be-named Princess and the Frog-themed attraction. Splash Mountain continues to operate at Walt Disney World, which is currently open to guests.
In November, Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro announced in a keynote address at IAAPA that the new Princess and the Frog attraction had been fast-tracked; that a fifth key, “inclusion,” had been added to Disney’s “Four Keys” guiding principles; and that Disney was strengthening its relationship with historically Black colleges and universities to create a stronger pipeline to careers in finance, human resources, legal, communications, production, and technology.
“We believe that truly inclusive environment is critical to fostering ideas from all people to help us grow, innovate, and create the best stories possible” — JOSH D’Amaro
Scary-No-More
In late November of 2019 we reported that Disneyland’s classic Snow White’s Scary Adventures ride would close January 7 to be refreshed, making it less scary in the process and putting more emphasis on Snow White and her happily-ever-after.
Disney released concept art of two new ending scenes showing Snow White waking from her death and another of her being reunited with her forest friends with her shimmering castle in the distance.
The attraction did close in early January and over the course of the tumultuous year, news of its remodel sort of got lost in the noise. That is, until in late December 2020, when Disney gave fans a behind-the-scenes sneak preview of the remodeled and renamed attraction from Disney Imagineer Kim Irvine. With the attraction’s scary elements stripped away, the ride name has now been changed to Snow White’s Enchanted Wish, which doesn’t make much sense and just feels like Disney buzzwords as a ride title. Snow White’s Enchanted Wish is expected to reopen with Disneyland featuring a happier storyline full of enhanced and updated special effects throughout.
Hopefully, the overhaul of this attraction enjoyed the same level of enhancements and care that we saw transform the Alice and Wonderland and Peter Pan attractions for the better in recent years.
Welcome, 2021
Aside from the reopening of the parks themselves, the opening of Snow White’s Enchanted Wish at Disneyland and the Avengers Campus in Disney California Adventure will be the big-ticket offerings guests will be greeted with when Disneyland reopens, hopefully sometime soon. While Disneyland has no publicly-announced reopening date to mention here, with the vaccination rollout underway, we hope to see a path to reopening the resort in the works in the first half of 2021.
In addition to Snow White and Avengers Campus, the Haunted Mansion is expected to reopen with some enhancements both behind-the-scenes and for guests. The attraction closed early 2020 to remove the annual holiday overlay and was expected to be closed for an extended refurbishment that would bring enhancements to take the attraction well into its next 50 years.
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That Was 2020 – Let’s Hear From You
Well, that wraps up our 2020 year-in-review. Even with Disneyland closed, there was plenty of news (albeit unfortunate news) last year. What were you surprised to remember happened in 2020? Let us know in the comments below and let us know what you’re looking forward to when Disneyland reopens. Here’s to a brighter, happier 2021 with a healthy world and an open Disneyland! In the meantime, stay safe!
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