Disneyland Update – Red, White & BOO!

Today’s Disneyland Update is filled with Red, White, and New! Park capacity continues to increase, and so does ride, restaurant & shop capacity. You might be expecting to hear about huge 4th of July weekend crowds, but this holiday weekend was mostly mellow. Though, there was some insanity surrounding fireworks last night that we’ll explain below. There’s also some really exciting news for this fall which we can’t wait for. 

Happy Birthday Dusty! While the Sage of MiceChat was away in San Diego enjoying his birthday, I headed to the parks to pick up the weekly task of keeping you in the loop on what’s happening at the Happiest Place on Earth. It was an amazing trip, but there’s so much to share that we’ve had to break it up over a couple of days. So, don’t forget to check back again tomorrow for even more…

Fireworks Go Boom!

After 14 months, nightly fireworks have returned to Disneyland! While there was an unannounced test on June 30th, the first scheduled show was appropriately on July 4th.

The show currently being offered is Mickey’s Mix Magic. On the 4th, a short patriotic tag was added to the end which offered an appropriate finale for Independence Day.  

While Disneyland was comfortably uncrowded for most of the day, with attraction waits in the 20 minute range, it sure felt like old times in the hours leading up to fireworks. By 8pm, there were so many people waiting on Main Street that they stretched from the Castle all the way to the Train Station! No social distancing here: 

But if you don’t want to wait on Main Street, Small World Mall offers some unique views as well. Small World itself acts as a giant projection screen and the fireworks shoot off practically above your head.  

Mickey’s Mix Magic will run nightly until further notice.  

Are you a Mickey’s Mix Magic fan? 

As wonderful as it was to have fireworks return, there were some unfortunately consequences that come from the big show happening just before park closing with no extra time for guests to slowly make their way out of the park. 

An entire day’s worth of guests all watched Mix Magic and then turned around and exited the park at the same time. Generally, the park would be open for another hour or two to stretch out the exit process and prevent gridlock. But on the 4th, guests found themselves trapped at the exit tunnels on either side of the train station. 

With no trams running, the slow slog continued all the way to Mickey and Friends Parking Structure, where cars backed up on exit. At the Disneyland Hotel, guests waited for up to half an hour for an elevator back to their rooms. 

While it’s always busy after the nightly spectaculars, this level of crowding feels more like New Year’s Eve and less like a capacity-controlled day. We do hope the park will take swift action to extend park hours by at least an additional hour to help ease these conditions. 

Haunted Mansion Holiday Returns September 3rd!

On a search through the Disneyland website, we found the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay of the Haunted Mansion returning on September 3. The last day to ride the attraction in its normal state before the conversion begins is August 15th.

I’m personally thrilled that this holiday classic will be returning. I just hope that some sort of Halloween party will also be offered (Disney World will be offering a scaled-back event this year).  

Are you looking forward to a proper Halloween this year? What do you think Disneyland still has time to plan? 

Special Thanks

Before we get too far into this update, I’d like to send my sincere thanks to the Anaheim Hotel for their generosity, without which, this update would not have been possible. They graciously offered us a room on a busy holiday weekend so that I could visit Disneyland for you from out of town. Please consider them when planning your next Disneyland trip. The hotel is clean, quiet, family-friendly, and is located just across the street from Disneyland. Our staff always stays here when we can. More Info About the Anaheim Hotel

Crowds and Reservation Issues 

The massive crowding that was expected when Disney increased park reservations never materialized. Although some areas of the parks do get crowded at times, it usually does not last. A ride with a 50 minute wait at one point might be a 20 minute wait just an hour later.

Average wait times have been less than I can remember since way back in 2005. The reservation system and (temporary) removal of Fastpass have made visiting the parks a much more pleasant experience than it has been in years. 

Unfortunately, we still see too many potential guests show up without reservations, and they are denied entry. When the CM scans a ticket without a reservation, a large box shows up on their scanner that says that the guest does not have a reservation. When this happens the CM directs the guest to guest relations. If there are no reservations left for the day, there is no way to get in.

Matterhorn Opening

The official opening for the Matterhorn was July 2, but as they often do, Disney will open a ride a day early for testing. July 1 was no exception, and we were there around 9:15 to watch the first rider since March 2020, a lucky gent named Nathan.

4th of July Decor

Main Street was resplendent with its traditional July 4th bunting and banners.

Seeing the Main Street Marching Band felt amazing and patriotic to me.  

Buena Vista Street in Disney California Adventure was also decorated with a different style of patriotic designs.

Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln

The Main Street Opera House reopened on July 1, and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln opened on the 2nd. They had planned to open everything on the 1st, but the Lincoln animatronic had some mechanical issues due to the long hiatus.

 

 

Disneyland Hotel Reopening Brings Good News & Bad

Good news first… Trader Sam’s has returned!

(This section was written by our resident Tiki expert, David Yeh)

The local favorite watering hole at the Disneyland Hotel has been closed for over fourteen months and long-time locals have been eagerly waiting its return. But it wasn’t business as usual for Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar, as management have implemented a new virtual queue through the Disneyland App to enter the bar. The only problem was, the App wasn’t willing to cooperate all weekend long. But back to that in a bit.

New hours were assigned to the only operating eatery at the Disneyland Hotel, but it’s not terrible considering the Disneyland Hotel is only using the Fantasy Tower to start. The Tangaroa Terrace Tropical Bar & Grill, adjacent to Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar, is open early for your breakfast needs (as well as lunch and dinner), and does support mobile ordering.

The bar portion of Tangaroa Terrace now opens at 11am (used to be 11:30am along with the inside bar) and closes at midnight. And since the Mobile Walk-Up feature hasn’t been working properly, guests have been waiting in line for Cast Members to add them to their system manually, taking their phone numbers to text them when their time is called, similar to how it was done at the shops of Downtown Disney.

Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar now opens at 4 p.m. through Midnight, temporary hours for now while they get their rhythm going. Again, guests will need to queue up physically and sign up for their slot. The lines have been long, with waits to get in reaching about two hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Trader Josh and Trader Dave (@enchantedtikibar)

Once seated in any of the bars, you will be given a 90 minute window to enjoy your food and drink. They’re more flexible about that time frame if there’s no wait, but since it’s the first week, expect that window to be enforced.

Other points of interest: Trader Sam’s head shrinking business has come to an end. The Family Tree is now just a tree, the painting of Trader Bill holding a basket of severed heads is also gone. A few cartoons and signs with moderately questionable taste have also been replaced.

All souvenir mugs are available for purchase at both indoor and outdoor bars, so head on over to the hotel, which provides 3hr parking with Trader Sam’s.

And now the bad news: Steakhouse 55 Closed for good! 

We’ve been able to confirm with Disneyland that Steakhouse 55 will NOT be returning. While many Disneyland guests have likely never even heard of Steakhouse 55, it was one of the best restaurants in the resort.  

While we don’t know what Disneyland will be doing with the space, we are hearing rumblings that at least some of the space may become part of a Goofy’s Kitchen expansion. 

Will you miss Steakhouse 55? 

Cuckoo for Coco

Mickey’s PhilharMagic at Disney California Adventure (and other Disney Parks around the globe) will be getting a bit of an update with a new scene from Disney/Pixar’s Coco.  More details below: 

Mickey’s Philharmagic Adding New Coco Scene Starting July 17

 

Storybook Land Canal Boats

If there’s one thing I love, it’s taking photo essays of favorite Disneyland attractions. And all the tiny details of Storybook Land lend both the perfect subject matter and a challenge as well. I hope you enjoy these photos from my trip this week as much as I enjoyed taking them: 

The flora of Storybook Land is in wonderfully manicured shape. 

Let’s Hear From You!

Ok folks, it’s hard to believe, but we are only halfway done. Please check back tomorrow for EVEN MORE Disneyland Resort goodness and dozens more photos. Now’s your chance to weigh in. Are you glad to see the return of fireworks? Concerned about those packed conditions before/after the show? Will you miss Steakhouse 55? What would you like to see replace it? And will the Coco update to PhilharMagic be enough to boost attendance? What about Halloween – the return of Haunted Mansion Holiday is great, but what else will Disneyland need to do to get you back in the park this fall?

Sharing is caring!