Just 11 days until Disneyland reopens, and a million little things are happening to get ready for your return. But before anyone can set foot through the gate, tickets have to be sold and park reservations need to be made. And that’s where we find out what price fans are willing to pay in both time and money to see the parks again.
We have a lot of news for you today, including cast member previews, info on how food will be ordered in the parks, new/old friends in the Haunted Mansion, and the reopening of Universal Studios Hollywood. Won’t be long now…
Disneyland Ticket Drama
This won’t come as a surprise – Disneyland ticket sales were a mess when they became available on April 15th. In order to make a reservation to visit the parks again, guests need both a valid ticket AND a theme park reservation. And while making a Disneyland Reservation isn’t difficult in theory, actually getting one for opening day took a lot of time and patience. And far too many people wasted hours, only to be kicked out of queue due to system errors.
Let’s take a quick look at a bit of pain and suffering on April 15th, and then we’ll let you know why it doesn’t look like you’ll continue to have issues in the near future.
Committed To Disneyland
If you made a theme park reservation for Disneyland on April 15th, you likely made a decision to spend the better part of a day trying to make that happen. If you were lucky, you got into the “waiting room” around 7am and were let into the actual queue a little after 8am on the 15th.
And this is where the fickle finger of fate takes over. While there were certainly folks who were able to buy tickets and then make a park reservation within the first hour, many more folks waited hour upon hour. But it would have been hard to know that, because the approximate wait indicator would fluctuate, showing an hour or more wait, and then drop, and then recalculate again . . . over . . . and over . . . and over . . . for up to 13 hours. Yes, many folks ended up waiting longer to make a reservation for Disneyland then the park will actually be open on April 30th (Disneyland and California Adventure will operate just 10 hours – from 9am until 7pm – during the early opening weeks)
Some unlucky folks waited for hours only to eventually get a “Someone Ate The Page” error.
Other’s received an error telling them they’d been disconnected:
One of our staff members waited 12 and a half hours before getting the message that “It’s Your Turn,” only to then receive an error saying “Your Queue Number Is No Longer Valid.” Painful.
So, with so many people all vying for a reservation at Disneyland for a whole day, all the reservations must be taken . . . right?! Not exactly…
Disneyland Park Reservation Status
But even with all that waiting, by the end of the day on Friday the 15th, you could still make a reservation for opening day. That means that in an entire day, Disney was selling tickets and park reservations so slowly that they weren’t able to fully sell out Disneyland-only and Parkhopper tickets for opening day. Even after Disneyland-only tickets sold out, parkhopper tickets remained available for hours. As of last night, DCA-only tickets for opening day were still available. However, several Saturdays and one Sunday have completely sold out in June, and the day after opening (May 1st) has also sold out for both parks.
When looking at Disney’s park availability, a pink castle means that Disneyland is still available, a blue wheel means that DCA is still available (both means they are both available). We’ve added prices for each day on the calendar below so you can see how much tickets cost. We pulled availability last night at 8pm:
Disneyland is currently booking just two months worth of days. Few of those days are fully booked, and almost all days are available for Disney California Adventure. When you look at May and see all those blue wheels, it means Disneyland is booked, but DCA isn’t. Avengers Campus opens on June 4th, and that’s the only day on the calendar where DCA is fully booked but Disneyland isn’t. 4 days after that are booked for both parks, but the bulk of week days in June are still available for both parks!
Has Disneyland priced themselves too high? Are former passholders simply not willing to buy a day ticket when they had a much better deal in the past? Are folks just not quite yet ready to visit theme parks again? Is it all the blocked out of state guests that are causing the lack of bookings? Or do guests simply need more time to plan a trip to the Happiest Place On Earth? If you DIDN’T make a reservation for either Disneyland or DCA, please take our poll below and let us know why:
The Cast Ticket Effect
There’s another group of folks who will get to see Disneyland again . . . a bit early. Cast Member previews start April 27th and continue through April 29th. All three days sold out rapidly. Cast Members have been blocked from booking their comp tickets for the park (most Cast earn free tickets to the parks as part of their benefits package). However, they’ll be able to start booking again tomorrow (April 20th), so expect some additional dates to fill up on the calendar above from all those unused Cast tickets over the last year!
Just A Tip: Dining Reservations
If you’d like to book a theme park dining reservation, they begin booking on April 22nd! If you have a Disneyland park-hopper, keep in mind that you can’t switch parks until 1pm, so be sure to book your dining reservation for after that time if you plan to dine in another park. We bring that up because Disneyland will only have two small-ish table service restaurant open on the April 30th, Cafe Orleans and River Belle Terrace. California Adventure will have two table service establishments as well, Carthay Circle and Lamplight Lounge. It might be that you can make a reservation in another park, but not the one you are visiting. As long as you have a park hopper ticket, you should be able to switch parks after 1pm for your reservation. If the gate is currently blocked from entries due to park capacity, show your reservation to a cast member at the gate and they may allow you in. This is how Disney was handling reservations in Downtown Disney on days there were long lines outside the shopping district to get in.
34 Disneyland Resort Restaurants NOT Reopening With The Parks On April 30th
DisneylandForward Update
A quick bit of info on the DisneylandForward project. Disney Parks recently shared a video of models from the upcoming Tokyo Disneyland Fantasy Springs expansion. Much of this project is also being shared by the Disneyland Anaheim team to help explain what ‘could’ happen with the Disneyland expansion project in California. This particular part of the project is very similar to the mixed-use permits Disneyland is seeking with hotels, theme parks, and shopping all sharing the same space.
In this overview of the expansion model, you see Neverland (from Peter Pan) on the left, hotels in the back middle, and a Frozen land on the right. This is very similar to the tight space available between hotels on the west side of the Disneyland Resort, where Imagineers are currently planning theme park expansion.
The Tangled area mountains mask a show building, That’s the Snuggly Duckling pub on the left.
Here’s the simple video from Disney Parks:
Check out this new concept model video just released of Tokyo DisneySea’s Fantasy Springs! Watch this sneak peek of the “Tangled” area and be sure to get the scoop on all three new areas here: https://t.co/3E4qt2VRDl pic.twitter.com/L88cLOsuZW
— Disney Parks (@DisneyParks) April 15, 2021
Look interesting to you? Can you imagine this project weaving its way through the West side of the Disneyland Resort between the hotels? Keep in mind that if this project were to end up as part of DisneylandForward, it would only take a small-ish portion of the expansion zone on the West side.
Disneyland News
As we head into the final stretch before Disneyland’s reopening, there are a few things to be on the lookout for.
Attraction Updates
While Disneyland was closed, several attractions were given some new updates. First and foremost, Snow White’s Enchanted Wish brings a new storyline and all-around enhancements to the classic attraction. Last week we took a look at the attraction poster that’s in the entryway to Main Street USA.
The full poster is below.
Now, here’s the original attraction poster for comparison:
Which version do you like best?
To read more about the changes to Snow White’s Enchanted Wish, take a look at the article below.
Another attraction that got a renovation during the park’s closure was King Arthur Carrousel. Legendary Imagineer Kim Irvine talks about the iconic attraction plus a little history about Jingles, everyone’s favorite carousel horse:
Finally, many of you are looking forward to some changes coming to the Haunted Mansion. With new additions to the pet cemetery in the outdoor queue, the return of Miss April-December to the portrait gallery inside, and some enhancements to the loading zone, we’re practically dying to see how it looks.
Take a look at the article below for a more in-depth look at the changes to the Haunted Mansion:
Disneyland Foodie Guide
The Disneyland experience is changing. From the way that you buy a ticket, even to how you order food. As we predicted in our last Disneyland Update, the resort’s quick-service will focus on mobile order as the primary method for purchasing food. Based on our most recent experience with mobile order at A Touch of Disney, there’s still a lot of kinks to be worked out. Between the ineffective system for actual placing an order and receiving the food in a timely manner, converting the parks to a primarily mobile order-first operation will take some getting used to. Hopefully Disneyland has been paying attention to feedback and frustration from a Touch of Disney and will make some adjustments before the reopening of the theme parks.
Mobile order won’t ‘be the only thing that’s different once the parks reopen. There will be a lot of restaurants closed around the theme parks on April 30. We took a look at what food options will be open and closed when the parks reopen, and detailed it all for you in the article below. Similarly, menu options will be reduced around the resort. Set correct expectations before your upcoming Disneyland trip.
34 Disneyland Resort Restaurants NOT Reopening With The Parks On April 30th
A New Disney Look
Back in September, we shared an internal Disney memo about the addition of a fifth Key of “Inclusion” to Disney’s training pillar stones.
This week, Disney made that official with a lengthy statement from Parks Chairman, Josh D’Amaro.
We’ve excerpted some of the key provisions in the new Disney dress code look book.
The by-the-book guidelines for Cast Member appearances has been relaxed so that Cast can be more expressive of themselves. This means that tattoos and a wider variety of hairstyles are acceptable (as long as it’s appropriate). Here’s the less rigid guide:
Universal Studios Hollywood Reopens!
It’s an exciting time in California. Although theme parks have been reopened in Florida and other parts of the country since last summer, they are only just returning in California. While everyone was struggling online to get tickets to Disneyland on Friday, I was at a passholder preview for Universal Studios Hollywood. The park opened for all guests the next day on April 16th. With the exception of a few long lines, the reopening went smoothly. I was able to ride all the big attractions and have lunch in the Wizarding World, including a refreshing Butter Beer. It was a real treat.
For the most part, the park felt empty. Guests were generally spaced quite far apart. Everyone seemed to be complying with health and safety procedures. And it felt very safe to me. But there were some issues…
While most lines were under 20 minutes (especially if you were willing to use the park app to monitor current queue lengths and ride when the waits drops), the updated Jurassic World ride ran very long waits, as did the Studio Tour (I’ll show you why).
The reason for the long waits is difficulty spacing guests in ride vehicles. On my ride through Jurassic World, there were two guests in the front row, 1 guest in the middle of the boat, and me in the back row – leaving an empty row between guests, and only one party per filled row, that makes for extremely low capacity per boat, I estimate just 20-25% capacity on most boats being dispatched.
The same was true on the Studio Tour. Trams were loading every other row, with only one party per row. A single rider gets an entire row to themselves. The car I was loaded into had just 6 people in it. The cars normally seat 30 to 35 guests on average, but are seating an average of 10-12 guests per car at the moment (depending on group sizes that can be even less). And that makes for VERY long lines.
But not all queues were horrible. Far from it. When I arrived at opening, the brand new Secret Life of Pets ride had about a 10 minute wait. A little later it switched to a mandatory virtual queue (you can access the virtual queue from the Universal Hollywood app or from a kiosk next to the attraction). That means no long waits for this ride. And it’s a GREAT attraction. The ride is absolutely FILLED with animatronics. At least 64 of them. From the moment you enter the indoor queue area you are surrounded by completely realized sets, animatronics setting up the story of the ride to come, and a neat visual trick that casts the guests as stray puppies looking for adoption. The ride itself is a delightful family experience. Everywhere you look there’s something to see. There’s lots of action, some neat visual effects, and a charming narrative.
I had lunch at noon at the Three Broomsticks in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Normally there would be a line out the door . . . but not on opening day. I walked in and went straight to a register to order. They are currently seating indoors and outdoors. Half the tables have been removed (they are actually stacked up in the Hogshead Tavern). There were only 5 tables of guests sitting inside, and about 5 outside.
The food was great! Crispy fish and chips for me . . . and a Butter Beer!
Afterwards I decided to ride the Forbidden Journey of Harry Potter (I know, I know, always ride BEFORE you eat!). Although the wait was listed at 20 minutes, it was a complete walk-on. The way they are handling the no indoor queuing orders from the state is to have guests wait in the outdoor queue and then send just enough guests inside that they can walk through the queue without stopping. There were no guests in the outdoor queue when I arrived at 12:45 pm. I walked through the beautiful indoor queue without obstruction and onto a ride vehicle. As a single rider, I got the whole vehicle to myself . . . but there weren’t any other guests waiting anyway. A dream. I was able to re-ride immediately.
On the Upper Lot, there are a few closed attractions and food service. Of note, both the Simpson’s Ride and the Despicable Me attraction are closed. The Water World stunt show is also closed. However, they did manage to reopen the Animal Actor’s show (it’s an open air theater).
Three of the park’s most popular attractions are on the lower lot. Headed down I noticed that half of the escalators have been disabled. Every other set is roped off.
My main reason for heading down was to experience the revised Jurassic World attraction. The climax of the ride has been updated with a massive new dinosaur and extra action. It’s a great enhancement.
Even if you watch my video ride-through below, it doesn’t give too much away, as it’s very dark in the final scene and I just couldn’t capture it on video. So you’ll get a good idea without giving away too much:
Just around the corner from the Transformers Ride is the construction zone for the upcoming Super Nintendo World. We are REALLY looking forward to this.
You can find out more about the reopening of Universal, tips, and issues, along with more info on Super Nintendo World in our article:
Universal Studios Hollywood Returns With New Ride and Enhancements!
This & That
A few more things you are going to want to know:
Knott’s Berry Farm Reopening Next Month
For a park that wasn’t able to celebrate its centennial anniversary last year, they did find a creative way to reopen with back to back food festivals since July of last year. Once they’ve wrapped up their current festival, they’ll reopen theme park operations on May 16th.
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Because last year delayed the park’s big plans for its 100th birthday, they’re taking this year as a re-do. To celebrate the big 100, the park has all sorts of exciting things lined up, like the unveiling of the brand new Knott’s Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair attraction, the popular Summer Nights event (albeit modified from previous years), and much more.
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Tickets and reservations will be available starting April 26. For those of you who will miss the Passholder lifestyle at Disneyland, Knott’s has passes starting at just $13.50 a month (for 6 months). This might be something for you theme park lovers out there who have found yourselves shut out of regular Disney visits. Just keep in mind that you’ll still need to make reservations, even with a Knott’s Season Pass. But given how much we have absolutely LOVED visiting Knott’s over the past year, we strongly encourage anyone reading this to give them a visit (I mean, a season pass here is still cheaper than a single-day ticket to Disneyland…) and you’ll see what we mean!
Downtown Disney Splitsville Now Open
This week, the long-closed bowling alley/restaurant at Downtown Disney, Splitsville Luxury Lanes, has finally reopened for both bowling and food. We’re glad to see another restaurant in the mix at Downtown Disney. It’s good to have more dining options available, especially if dining inside the parks continues to be a problem with mobile order.
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Let’s Hear From You
Did you expect that the first day of Disneyland ticket sales would result in up to 13 hour waits? Did you score an opening day reservation? With reservations in the first two months a bit on the soft side, what do you think the sweet spot for pricing should be to ensure the park can hit that 25% capacity mark? Also, since annual passes are off the table for a while at Disneyland, are you considering passes to other parks? We’d love to hear which ones, along with any other observations or thoughts you have in the comments below.
If you enjoyed today’s Disneyland Update, we’d really appreciate a share on your social media!
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