This is a major news week for the Disneyland Resort as a whole new land prepares to open on Friday. We’ll share some surprises that have already opened in support of Avenger’s Campus. Last week we wrote that things were returning to normal quickly at the Disneyland Resort and that we expected your visit to feel mostly as you remembered in the days following June 15th. The pace has picked up since then and, in many respects, it’s good news we have to share with you this week. We’ll look at why lines are decreasing even as the number of guests increases. Plus our suspicions on fireworks returning this summer look more plausible than ever. Let’s dive into a load of Disneyland news, a few rumors, and a whole lot of photos from the Disneyland Resort.
It’s a monster-sized update for you today. Watch your step…
It’s Official – Out-Of-State Guests Return to Disneyland on June 15th
We’ve written a lot that we expected out-of-state guests to return to Disneyland on the 15th of June, but until it’s officially announced, things can always change. Well, Disney has finally made the commitment. Guests from outside of California can now book a park reservation. You will simply click a box on your park reservation that says you understand that before the 15th only California residents may visit the parks. And that all guests should either be vaccinated or have tested negative from this point forward. There is a service in the Downtown Disney parking lot where you can receive a test if you need one.
The Disney Parks Blog stated the following in their confirmation about Out-Of-State guests which confirms what we had been told, that masks would continue for a while longer:
“The State of California strongly recommends that all guests be fully vaccinated or obtain a negative COVID-19 test prior to entering the theme parks. In addition, all guests will be required to wear an approved face covering throughout their visit at the Disneyland Resort.”
We have a feeling that these rules will continue to evolve rapidly as every week seems to bring more news and easing of restrictions.
Theme Park Reservations Now Booking 120 Days in Advance
More big news. Because out-of-state guests need more time to plan a trip (hotels, airfare, rental car, etc.), Disney has doubled the theme park reservation window from 60 days to 120 days! As of today (May 31st) you can now book Disneyland or Disney California Adventure park reservations through September 28th.
HOWEVER, dining reservations continue to be just 60 days in advance. It would be nice to have those two reservation systems on the same schedule since it’s all too easy to forget to make a restaurant reservation and then get stuck dealing with Mobile Order on the day of your visit instead. Set reminders!
What Else Changes at Disneyland on June 15th?
That’s a big day for the resort. Many restrictions drop all at the same time. HOWEVER, that doesn’t mean Disneyland will make the changes they are allowed all at once. Some may take a bit of time to implement and others may be slowly changed to ease guests and staff into the new routines. The return to normal isn’t a light switch as much as it is a dimmer. But these are the things which you will start seeing changes on or shortly after June 15th:
- Park Capacity Unrestricted – Disneyland will be able to set the park capacity at whatever they want. However, Disneyland has committed to keeping park reservations for the foreseeable future. That’s VERY good news for guests as it prevents severe overcrowding. Expect capacity to slowly increase until the parks start to feel the pinch (don’t worry, you’ll hear me complaining). Then we’ll likely see Disney begin to play around with efficiency so they can start adding even more capacity here and there. But we don’t expect to see shoulder to shoulder conditions again for a very long time, if ever. The current park President, Ken Potrock, has prioritized guest experience and that means not setting the daily crowd limit to the insane levels of 2019 and before. Don’t worry about Disney’s profit margin either, with guests now gladly paying $154/day for a ticket, Disneyland is now making more money per guest than they ever have. Once capacity increases, this should be a very lucrative 2nd half of the year for Disneyland, perhaps their best ever.
- Ride, Shop, and Restaurant Capacity Normal. This will take a while as well due to staffing issues, and a cautious return to normal. But you’ll see more tables indoors, less physical distancing between tables (particularly outdoors), and lots more seats being filled on rides. Many things will start switching to an informal 3′ distance rather than the current mandated 6′ distance.
- Physical Distancing – NO RESTRICTION. This one is going to be hard for those of us who have appreciated not having strangers breathing down our necks in queues. But we can expect Disneyland not to give up on distancing completely at first. We think they’ll follow Walt Disney World’s lead and simply use a generic “For Your Safety, Maintain Physical Distancing” message. The length of many queues could drop by about half as a hard 6′ distance shrinks to an informal 3′ or so.
- Indoor Queuing – ALLOWED. This is HUGE news for Disneyland in particular, which has lots of indoor queue space and very little room to queue guests in walkways or between attractions.
- Entertainment Allowed Indoors and Outdoors – While most indoor shows at the Disneyland Resort will take quite some time to return due to staffing, rehearsing, possibly replacing old shows with new ones, there are some things to keep an eye on. We hope to see outdoor bands return soon, and possibly small theatrical shows in open-air venues (such as the Royal Theater in Princess Fantasy Faire). But Fireworks are something big that could be returning sooner rather than later. We have more for you on that below, and some signs that preparations are already underway.
But there are a few things Disney developed during these early days of reopening that they are set to keep long term.
- Park Reservations – Disney loves park reservations. Not only do they help make sure that guest attendance never gets out of control, it also helps Disney keep tighter reins on labor hours. They always know how many guests they’ll have on a given day.
- Mobile Order – This contactless ordering system was perfect for a pandemic, but it also saved Disney money on labor since you ordered your food on an app instead of at a register. The push toward Mobile Order will continue and will likely start spreading into other areas as well (such as shopping and outdoor vending).
I’m a sucker for the bacon-wrapped asparagus “Safari Skewer” at Bengal Barbecue. This location seems to get Mobile Order right.
But the Tropical Hideaway can be difficult. The next available window to order can be hours in the future. Then, when you return, there is often a long line to actually pick up your food.
- Contactless Check-In – This one doesn’t really save Disney much labor, as they still need someone to verify you have a reservation and have been called for seating, but it does streamline the process and result in fewer queues in front of restaurants. That means you have time to visit more shops and buy souvenirs, which makes Disney more money.
- Virtual Queues – We consider FastPass and Virtual Queues to be siblings. FastPass is a potential future moneymaker for Disney as they’ve tinkered with all sorts of ways to monetize the digital MaxPass system while the program has been on hiatus (which is why you can be sure it will eventually return). But virtual queues are newer and operate differently. The VQ process simply lessens the impact a very popular attraction has on a land. For example, rather than a 5-hour line for Rise of the Resistance stretching from one end of the park to the other, blocking walkways and keeping guests from doing other things in the park (like shopping and eating that make Disney money), the VQ program helps Disney keep guests happy and makes it easier for guests to spend their hard-earned dollars in the park. Happy guests mean more money for Disney. We will see the program grow this Friday when the new WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure opens at Disney California Adventure. Indiana Jones is also currently using an as-needed Virtual Queue (in a different way than Rise and WEB SLINGERS). We’ll see how this one develops, but Disney seems committed to exploring this option.
- Characters Out and About – One thing both the park and guests have LOVED is the way characters have been presented in these opening weeks. If they seem more noticeable than ever before, that’s because they are. You see them out in the lands in visually appealing places, or in spots that look like they are part of the ambiance. Tiana waves from a balcony in New Orleans Square, Minnie on the front porch of her house, Donald atop his boat, the Chipmunks gardening on Grizzly Trail, etc. It’s magical and doesn’t require you to get in line. While some meet and greets will return, we’ll also see characters used more often as ambiance to lift spirits and make your park visit more special. We like this a lot.
Disneyland Staffing Challenges
For those of you worrying that June 15th is going to be a madhouse due to the lifting of restrictions, don’t. YES, there will be more guests in the parks, perhaps many more, but Disneyland will be able to accommodate far more guests beginning that date as well with increased ride, restaurant, and shop capacity as we spoke about above. There’s one other limiting factor that will help slow the growth of guests in the parks… a major staffing shortage for nearly all businesses in the area, including Disneyland.
We’ve covered the difficulty of getting cast to return and keeping them on the job if and when they do return. But a major morale issue is causing many cast to call out sick in record numbers and start seeking jobs elsewhere. And that’s easier than ever right now with every hotel, restaurant, and shop in the area posting help wanted signs in the windows, most at wages at or above Disney’s.
Some of the higher-end hotels in the area have bumped their wages high enough to woo quality applicants away from neighboring businesses. We spoke to one of our partner hotels who said a wage war is making it hard for them to staff jobs that would be filled as soon as they could post them in the past.
Disneyland has been handling staffing as well as they can so far. The resort had approximately 31,000 cast members before the shutdown. They have a little over half of them back now. Most of those folks were full-time union cast who were on furlough and not completely separated from the company. However, now Disney needs to start calling back (and already have started in most departments) part-time employees who were laid off from the company completely. That’s a harder and more involved process. We spoke to a cast member who has less than one year of seniority who was offered $15.50 to return to her old job, a 50 cent increase since she was laid off last year.
Unfortunately, many workers are still saying ‘no’ when called by Disney. And there are lots of reasons for that, including being asked to accept new positions they aren’t interested in, an inability to take care of their children if they return to work right now, better pay elsewhere, and even receiving more on unemployment than they would make if they return to Disney (though that option won’t remain once unemployment benefits begin running out in the fall).
One growing issue in the parks is rapidly worsening morale. Much of this has to do with cast who have either been assigned new roles they don’t like, or are being asked to do double duty in their old roles due to understaffing at their current location. Work schedules have become unpredictable as well, making it difficult for cast to maintain 2nd jobs— something that’s necessary for many just to make ends meet. As a result of the issues above (and likely many other things), so many cast are now calling out ‘sick’ that it leaves their fellow coworkers stressed and feeling like calling out themselves.
For some reason, the call-out problem is particularly bad on Sundays, when many locations see multiple cast members all out on the same day.
To combat the call-out/sick issue, Disney has brought back their attendance point system, which gives point values to workers calling out for any reason (other than for COVID infection for which there are no points). Accumulate enough points and you are automatically terminated. That may sound like a good way to encourage folks not to call out sick, but it does nothing to solve the morale problem which created the situation to begin with.
In all my years visiting Disney, I’ve only rarely heard a cast member complain about their job, usually because it’s someone I know and it came up in private conversation. But during the last two weeks, we’ve observed a number of out-loud conversations between cast on-stage (and we’ve received emails and private messages as well) about how unhappy or concerned many cast are about a variety of issues. We don’t want to get anyone into hot water with Disney, but we hope Disney is paying attention here. There’s some serious unhappiness going on at the happiest place on earth. So, if the cast doesn’t seem as bubbly or fails to greet you in the weeks to come, understand that many of them are going through a hard time that’s only going to get worse as more guests arrive after the 15th. All that additional guest capacity is going to be met by cast who are either brand new or returning to work in a new location. And in many cases, there simply won’t be enough cast in every location, or too many new employees who are not up to full speed, placing ever-increasing pressure on the cast who are actually showing up to work each day.
We hope Disney will begin meeting with their front-line workers to figure out what is working and what isn’t before guest capacity explodes and workers begin quitting at the worst possible time.
Fireworks Returning?
Since the parks reopened, we’ve spoken a number of times about fireworks. Park officials had spoken to us about a desire to return fireworks since they happen outdoors and allow for guests to spread out over a large area. So, how soon could they return? We think it could be as soon as this Fourth of July.
There are a few things that make a quick return of fireworks possible. First, Disneyland has increased its park hours to 10 PM beginning July 1st. This will be the third increase in hours since the park reopened April 30th. Disney has long shown their nightly fireworks around 9:30 PM. Ending the day with a “Kiss goodnight,” as legendary Imagineer Marty Sklar called them, would be a great way to get more guests to stay for dinner, and adding an additional hour of shopping on Main Street would allow guests plenty of time to shop their way out of the park.
But there is another reason we think fireworks are returning. One of our staff members ran into a fireworks technician who has been recalled to the resort.
It is possible this is all just for the opening of Avengers Campus, local residents were notified of limited fireworks on the 1st and 2nd on the East side of the resort. But we think there’s much more coming beyond the Avengers Campus opening for Disneyland pyro.
Disneyland’s Confusing Crowds
Last week we showed you hour-long lines at Disneyland and a two-hour line at DCA. At that wait, the parks fill up with lines that spill out into pathways… particularly at Disneyland. But it’s not all as crazy as it seems at first glance.
Although the parks are at the same capacity (perhaps a smidgen more) this past Friday and Saturday, a holiday weekend no less, felt much easier. We noted lines for many popular rides at just 30 to 45 minutes this week and much less than that for the minor attractions. What changed? Not the guest count. We think they’ve just gotten a little more efficient at running the attractions and queues… AND they are getting a little better at estimating the actual ride wait times.
This was Disneyland’s official wait times around 1:30 PM on Friday (not too bad):
The issue is that lines still LOOK ridiculously long at these reasonable waits due to no indoor queuing and 6′ social distancing.
Both parks are dealing with average waits creating larger-than-life queue issues. But DCA’s generally longer waits (due to fewer attractions) make things even harder there.
Soarin’ was at a nearly one-hour wait on Friday and Saturday, but that sends guests wrapping around the side of the building and into the main pathway as well.
But lines are a bit self-limiting. The longer they look, the fewer people are willing to get in them. Which is why some attractions have been holding waits much shorter than you might expect.
The line for Midway Mania was stretched into the walkway near the Pal-A-Round at one point, yet the wait was just 20 minutes. A short wait for a normally very popular attraction.
To make a long story shorter, check the Disneyland App to see what the real wait is. The lines may look INSANE, but in many cases, they aren’t.
While you are looking, you’ll find lots of opportunities.
No wait at Luigi’s.
Same at Mater’s
Don’t play follow the leader with strangers. Little Mermaid suddenly developed a 30-minute queue. DON’T GET IN IT! This is generally a short wait. Just keep an eye on the app and ride when the wait is less than 15 minutes, sometimes a walk-on!
Even at 35% capacity, the parks are still quite enjoyable. Friends of ours rode EVERYTHING they wanted at Disneyland before 5pm on Saturday, joined us in Downtown Disney for a 2-hour dinner, and still rode 6 more attractions at DCA in the final 2 hours of the evening! 18 rides in just 10 hours of park time is amazing, but not uncommon right now.
Rise Resists
Disneyland’s most problematic attraction lived up to its unreliable reputation yesterday when an alert was sent to park guests that Rise of the Resistance wouldn’t be opening at all for the day. Ouch!
You’d think that would send other attractions into a tailspin, but it really didn’t. At one point on Sunday, Rise, Big Thunder, and Pirates were all down, but the nearby Haunted Mansion remained at a 45-minute wait. That’s much better than would normally be expected under those conditions.
What’s Red and White and Blue All Over? Disneyland!
The parks got dressed for Memorial Weekend and will stay in patriotic mode through much of the summer. 
More Shopping Returning
Disneyland has been quietly reopening more stores. Mad Hatter on Main Street, and the Westward Ho Trading company and pin cart all reopened recently. Pin collectors will be very happy.
Since we have a wonderful merchandise reporter, Natalie Kipper, who covers the shops, I often going in them myself. But I decided to peek inside Port Royal (essentially the Haunted Mansion shop). They’ve done an interesting bit of guest control here. You enter through Port Royal, walk through the adjoining small courtyard, and then exit through Pieces of Eight (the Pirates of the Caribbean gift shop).
We have more shop news for you below since a MAJOR shopping experience for Avengers Campus surprise opened on Friday.
Choo Choo News
We had no idea you all were such avid train people. But we have been positively SWAMPED with requests for more information on what’s happening with the Disneyland Railroad operation. After weeks of limited hours, the Disneyland Railroad was finally listed as open all day yesterday. Additionally, instead of just loading in ToonTown, it was also loading elsewhere (though we aren’t entirely sure if it was all stations). That’s great news, we hope that’s true for every day and not just a fluke. We’ll keep an eye on the situation for sure and let you know if the hours become reliable.
Grand Cal Hotel Entry
Guests of the Grand Californian Hotel will be very happy to know that the DCA entry from the hotel has reopened. While hotel guests have been able to exit DCA into the hotel for a while, Friday was the first day you could enter the park from the hotel.
MARVELous Things
Avengers Campus opens on Friday and lots of little things are leaking out from the land. As we rounded the corner on Hollywood Blvd headed toward Guardians of the Galaxy, we noticed that an outdoor vending cart, Shawarma Palace Too, has been placed near the Hyperion Theater.
Just behind it, the old outdoor queue area for the Frozen Musical is now overflow seating for the Pym Test Kitchen in Avengers Campus.
Some of the table coverings have themed details.
This week, the Disneyland app’s map was updated to include Avengers Campus. Let’s take a look:
In the grand scheme of the park, Avengers Campus isn’t all that big. Let’s zoom in and take a closer look:
From left to right. The new Spider-Man ride is located just off the parade route. Across from it is the main shop in the land. And next to that is the fancy Dr. Strange interactive character area.
Next stop is the Pym Test Kitchen. Across from it is Avengers HQ, which is a meet and greet area.
And Guardians of the Galaxy (a pre-existing attraction) wraps up the new land.
In a similar manner, Avengers Campus was also added to the Play Disney Parks app in the latest update.
Avengers Campus Merchandise
Although Avengers Campus doesn’t open until June 4, the Disneyland Backlot Premiere Shop (formerly called Stage 17) has a bit of a sneak peek of the merch from the land. The large warehouse-like store has been converted to all-things Marvel, including from properties not currently contained in the MCU. The only caveat is you can only visit the shop while visiting Disney California Adventure. Once inside, you can find an assortment of apparel and toys, plus Spider-Bots and the WEB-Shooters that interact with the WEB SLINGERS attraction. Our merchandise expert wrote up a guide to the items now available to DCA visitors. Check it out in the article below.
Avengers Campus Merchandise NOW AVAILABLE at Disney California Adventure!
Special Guests at Avengers Campus
As we approach the grand opening of Avengers Campus, the land has been previewing to Cast Members. There were a few high-profile guests that visited this week, including Ken Potrock, the President of the Disneyland Resort, along with the Disneyland Ambassadors. Both of them shared on social media about their trip to PYM Test Kitchen.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CPRK3vPhtok/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
https://www.instagram.com/p/CPYpcR5hIn-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Downtown Disney
Let’s head out of the parks and make a trip to Downtown Disney to see a few interesting notes from this week.
For the last few months, the gardens of Downtown Disney have been simple floral arrangements. But as of this week, there are now some familiar sculptural elements that have been added back in. The unique abstract sculptures of Disney characters from last year have found their way to various gardens around Downtown Disney. Approaching the sculpture from any direction other than intended, it just looks like an amalgam of shapes and colors. But when you line up just right, the character comes into focus. It’s nice to have a little whimsy to look at again on the way to the parks.
If you’re craving something sweet, Downtown Disney has no shortage of treats for you to choose from. But as of this week, one more storefront has returned that specializes in sugary goods. Sprinkles Cupcakes is back with their array of cupcakes and some new additions.
The bakery has a wide assortment of cupcakes and other goods like cookies and brownies, but there’s a new focus on DIY cupcake decorating kits and new Sprinkles-inspired chocolate. We did notice that the cupcake display case was obscured by a large print of their menu, and employees were pulling cupcakes off of a rolling rack instead of from the display case.
And in case you want to make a quick pitstop on your way in or out of Downtown Disney, mobile order is available for your convenience.
As if Downtown Disney isn’t sweet enough, there’s another bit(e) of good news for you sugar fiends out there. Over at Jazz Kitchen Express, there’s a new seasonal beignet: Bananas Foster! There are four pillowy beignets covered with a banana and caramel sauce, served alongside a pot of creme anglaise.
Reopened Restaurants
Disneyland foodie fans, rejoice! This week an assortment of restaurants are now open to guests once again. At the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, two restaurants have newly reopened. Napa Rose and Storyteller’s Café are open and accepting reservations for dining. Although there are some modifications to the experience, like no character dining until further notice, it is very comfortable with only 50% capacity indoor seating.
Additionally, you no longer need to be a guest at the Grand Cal to visit the hotel’s Craftsman Bar & Grill. Just keep in mind that reservations are highly recommended. The nachos at the Craftsman Bar are a caloric bomb in the best way possible!
Popping back into Disneyland for a second, we just want to remind you that the Blue Bayou has reopened as well. This is a very popular restaurant, so be sure to book reservations 60 days in advance if you can. New reservation windows appear to open at 3am every day.
Cruella Movie Photo-Op in Downtown Disney
Disney’s latest movie, Cruella, has made its way to both the big screen and the small screen with Disney+ Premiere Access. To celebrate the movie’s release, there’s a new photo op featuring Cruella’s car from the movie.
It’s placed in a somewhat unusual spot for a photo op, near the tram loading station in Downtown Disney. However, since that is the only location accessible to both Downtown Disney guests and theme park visitors making the trek from the Mickey & Friends parking structure, it does make more sense than in front of the defunct ESPN Zone.
Grand Californian Valet Returns
Since the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa reopened, guests have had to self-park in a lot across the street near the Paradise Pier Hotel. However, this week valet has returned to the hotel.
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Let’s Hear From You
We made it to the end of this week’s Disneyland Update. As usual, we covered a lot of ground. Between the staffing issues at the resort and the unveiling of Avengers Campus, there’s almost too much going on. How do you feel about the continued use of park reservations and virtual queuing? Is there something more that Disney could do for its staffing shortages? Are you happy to see the abstract character sculptures back at Downtown Disney? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
More Theme Park Reading
There’s always more to see here at MiceChat. Here are a few articles about Disneyland and other theme parks from this past week that you’ll enjoy:
Disneyland Merchandise Update: New Marvel, Americana, Pins & More
Attraction or Shop? Incredible Jurassic World Tribute Store Opens at Universal Orlando!
Knott’s Berry Farm 100th Anniversary Harvests Music and Nostalgic Fun