It’s another busy week at Disneyland with various projects, Halloween parties, and guests looking to participate in fall festivities. Unfortunately, there is scarce availability for park reservations on short notice — and that could continue well into the holiday season. But it’s not all bad news: we’ll share interesting construction advancements, plus enjoy beautiful photos from around the parks. Let’s take a look at what’s been going on at the Happiest Place on Earth!
Now updated to include information on Plaza Point, Main Street, USA’s new holiday store!
Crowds and Park Availability
The last couple of weeks have been hectic at the Disneyland Resort. Last week we reported that it is becoming increasingly difficult to get park reservations on weekends. This week was quite similar with the exception that some additional availability suddenly opened up at the last minute. If you selected DCA as your starting park, you could park hop to Disneyland after 1pm on Friday and Saturday. The reservation calendar changes frequently, here are a few tips for scoring a reservation if the date otherwise appears to be booked.
- Check at midnight or early morning to see if the day you want is available. Many Keyholders are preemptively reserving weekends even if they aren’t sure they’ll be able to visit, because they don’t want to miss out due to limited availability. However, as long as you cancel by midnight the day before your reservation, you aren’t penalized for canceling. As a result, there tends to be a lot of last minute reservation opportunities.
- There may be added reservation availability throughout the day as well. Check the reservation calendar often in the hopes of getting a same-day reservation.
Last week we asked you how you would like to be able to use your Magic Keys. The majority of folks wanted to be able to make a reservation one week out or sooner.
There is an interesting duality about park attendance. It feels busy on the weekends based off of the number of people visible in walkways. However, the waits for attractions are significantly lower than in previous years (in part because the removal of FastPass speeds up the lines). Here’s what we’ve been noticing:
On Thursday evening, we found Fantasyland so crowded it was hard to walk through the area. Of course, Fantasyland is a well-known pinch point, so it’s no surprise to see some congestion.
Our go-to standard for measuring park crowds is by looking at the walkway in front of Pirates. Definitely a lot of people there.
However, for as crowded as the park looked, the waits weren’t terrible. Here are the wait times from Thursday around 7pm:
Preparing for Christmas Time at Disneyland
We are still a month out from the start of the Christmas season at the resort, but we’re ready for some of that holiday spirit. And snoap, because you can never have enough snoap. For now, we’ll settle with riding Haunted Mansion Holiday (which just celebrated its 20th anniversary yesterday! We’ll get to that later…) and spending some time with Jack Skellington.
The most controversial element of the upcoming holidays for this year, “Disney’s Merriest Nights,” still has availability for the early dates. The nights of November 16th and the 30th are still available. Based on the poll we took a few weeks ago, most folks seemed to be not interested in this new party offering, which would explain why only 3 of the 5 nights have sold out.
You can read more about the offerings for Merriest Nights in the article below…
Disneyland Christmas Parties for $165 or More – Here’s What They Offer
We’re wondering about the possible return of the iconic Disneyland Candlelight Processional. This is Disney’s biggest holiday event and brings dozens of choirs and community members together in Disneyland’s Town Square. It’s the emotional highlight of the holiday season.
While we don’t have word on a return to Disneyland, Candlelight has been confirmed for EPCOT, but this year’s iteration will not include choirs from the community. Disney has stated that they hope to bring back the community choirs next year. In the meantime, Disney plans on expanding the Cast Member choir to keep the grandeur and spirit of the event.
Inside the park, work has already started on the return of Small World Holiday. Sure, October may have just kicked off, but the holidays take time to prepare for!
Light strands can now be seen running along the back facade wall.
Here are a few close-ups:
It’s A Small World is scheduled to begin the heavy work inside the attraction to make it a winter wonderland on October 25th.
New Holiday Store on Main Street
“it’s a small world” isn’t the only Disneyland locale getting a holiday makeover. Disney revealed that the retail space that once served as the Main Street Photo Supply Co. would soon reopen as Plaza Point, a holiday store.
While it will focus on winter holidays upon opening, the Victorian-era shop will also celebrate Lunar New Year, Easter, and others all year-round.
Guests visiting Plaza Point can expect to find Christmas gifts such as ornaments, housewares, and more, in addition to these seasonal items, no matter what time of year. We don’t have an exact opening date yet but keep your eyes on MiceChat for updates.
Walt Disney World Turns 50!
If you’ve been following MiceChat at all this past week, you’ve likely been inundated with an influx of Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary content. This week, several members of our crew, including PhotoMatt and Dusty Sage, have been out at Walt Disney World to cover the World’s Most Magical Celebration. What started as a vacation destination with a single theme park and a lot of outdoor recreational activities back in October 1, 1971, has evolved into the largest Disney resort in the world. For the 50th anniversary, Disney World had rolled out a number of new and updated offerings, including shows, merchandise, the return of classic entertainment, and nighttime spectaculars.
The 50th celebration was a BIG deal for the resort, so we created a special page just for WDW 50th articles. Be sure to check it out for all the details from the anniversary. In the meantime, here are a few of the headlines from the past week we thought you might enjoy:
NEW Disney Enchantment Fireworks Light Up the Sky at Magic Kingdom
EPCOT Launches Harmonious to Mixed Reviews – What Do YOU Think?
EPCOT’s NEW Space 220 Restaurant Takes Imagineering Design to the Stars
You can catch everything here:
Disneyland Construction Projects
Back at Disneyland, we’re seeing some projects pick up around the resort. With lots of construction projects happening now, Disney is looking to bring more seating, create a whole new attraction for the main Mouse himself, bring back Fantasmic!, as well as create a more suitable walkway into Toontown.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Refurbishment
Big Thunder is slated to return on November 4th and Disney didn’t work very hard at covering up the attraction while they work on it. This has provided us with a great opportunity to see the visual progress!
We can still see the scaffolding around the mine shaft.
Tarzan’s Treehouse Refurbishment
Over in Adventureland, scrims continue to cover almost the entire structure of the famous Disneydendron semperflorens grandis as the attraction is currently scheduled to return on October 28th.
Work along The Rivers of America
There is currently work happening to bring seating and tables to the edges of the Rivers of America at Pelican’s Landing.
As we take a ride on the Mark Twain, we can see progress on this project that will add room for guests to sit and relax or have a meal close to Harbour Galley, at Fowler’s Harbor.
One of the first things we see as we set out on the Mark Twain is the work being done to the fountains that are used for Fantasmic!. We hope that this is an indication that the guest favorite will be returning to the park soon.
Toontown
The asphalt walkway into the land is being replaced with more decorative brick. It will be nice to see this completed soon as there is currently a tight bottleneck to get in and out of the land.
While in Toontown, we checked on the progress of the new Mickey’s and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Last week, we noticed they were installing what looked like the supports for the facade which will obscure the show building.
Apart from the construction on Runaway Railway, Toontown hasn’t changed much since we last checked in. The only food and drinks available are from the ODV carts stationed by the little shaded park.
We’ve been wondering when food will return to the area, especially with long lines at the ODV carts.
Finding Nemo and the Submarine Lagoon
At the submarine lagoon, home to Finding Nemo, the lagoon is still closed off with a tentative opening date for sometime in Winter 2021. The image below was taken several weeks ago and shows the vacuum lines stretching across the entire lagoon.
On Friday, we were able to get a peek into the lagoon, only to find that it has now been drained, with chain hoists over the docks. The lagoon looks completely different without the beautiful blue water in it.
Disneyland Monorail
The Monorail still hasn’t opened to guests, but it’s been testing up on the beam almost every day.
You can see Cast Members being trained in the shots below:
It was absolutely amazing to see the monorail glide slowly over Downtown Disney and into the Downtown Disney Monorail Station. It’s my personal favorite way into the park.
Disney California Adventure
Let’s pop over to DCA to see what’s new this week.
Paradise Bay & World of Color
The most obvious change at the park is that the lagoon has been fully drained. We’ve been keeping an eye on Paradise Bay which is in full refurbishment mode. Obviously, World of Color is getting some TLC, but according to some Cast Members, the bay itself is getting a bit of refurb done as well. Disney has been slowly draining the water for over a week now. This week, the water is mostly drained, exposing the fountains, concrete, dirt and mud.
The World of Color show is much needed at DCA and would give guests a reason to stay late. We hope the refurbishment goes well. However, don’t expect a quick return. We have repeatedly heard that it is not expected to return until 2022.
New Merchandise at the Disneyland Resort
Haunted Mansion Holiday 20th Anniversary Merchandise Arrives at New Orleans Square
It is hard to believe but Haunted Mansion Holiday turned 20 this year. The Nightmare Before Christmas seasonal overall for the Haunted Mansion opened its creaky doors on October 3, 2001. To mark the milestone, two commemorative items were released last week a shirt ($39.99) and a water bottle (also $39.99). This limited-edition merchandise was sold at Port Royal Curios & Curiosities in New Orleans Square.
The defining feature of both pieces is Oogie Boogie in the Santa outfit he wears in the closing scene of the attraction, hovering ominously behind the Haunted Mansion while Lock, Shock, and Barrel look on with glee.
On the T-shirt, the image has glow-in-the-dark details.
The water bottle, made by Corkcicle, has the art on one side, leaving the other blank. A spooky Jack-o’-Lantern is printed on the bottle’s top.
For more about the Haunted Mansion Holiday’s 20th anniversary, be sure to take a look at the article below. There are some fabulous shots of the attraction…
Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion Holiday Celebrates Its 20th Scary Christmas
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure Merchandise at Pixar Pier
This was a pleasant surprise. When Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure opened to guests at EPCOT in Walt Disney World on October 1, some of the attraction’s merchandise magically appeared at Knick’s Knacks on Pixar Pier.
Among the pieces included were kitchenware, such as an apron, kitchen towels, bottle stopper, cooking timer, mug and spoon set, and notepad. There’s even a cookbook!
But there was also plenty of just plain fun stuff, too. The Remy plush speaks (squeaks?) either French or English depending on what paw you squeeze. And the little remote-controlled Remy will actually attach to your shirt (or other fabric) and scurry about at your command.
This and That
Disney’s Muppet Haunted Mansion
If you have walked the tram route from Mickey and Friends lately, then you have likely seen the Muppets Haunted Mansion Display where the Cruella De Ville display was. The new special airs this Friday only on Disney+.
Loving the humorous take on the Mansion. This would make some fun merchandise.
We have some info for you on the Muppet Haunted Mansion movie here:
Look Alive! The Muppets Scare Up Fun in Muppets Haunted Mansion
Popcorn Buckets Make Brief Return
Upon entering the park on Thursday, we were surprised to discover more Mickey Mouse Halloween Popcorn Buckets had returned to the resort. Of course, with that popcorn bucket meant that crowds of people were swarming to get onebof their own. By Thursday evening, the resort had apparently ran out of the popcorn buckets again.
De-Kugeled
Currently, at the parks, both of the Kugel Balls (located in Tomorrowland and Pixar Pier) have been turned off. It’s something minor, but we’ll be keeping an eye on them.
Downtown Disney Entertainment
There was no formal announcement, but entertainment has returned to the DTD district, at the stage just next to the Star Wars Trading Post.
Photos from Around the Park
As always, we take great pride in our photos, and I personally love sharing them with you. This week, Brian Pinsky and I took photos of some of our favorite spots and events around the parks. We hope you enjoy them!
Don’t miss this opportunity….
Nightmare Before Christmas LIVE
Discount Tickets and Giveaway
We’ve got something really cool for you folks. See The Nightmare Before Christmas with live performances from Danny Elfman, Ken Page, and Weird Al Yankovic! Best of all, MiceChat readers get a big discount. Be sure to USE CODE: MICE25
Nightmare Before Christmas Live: TICKETS HERE
AND… we’re giving away a pair of tickets each week between now and the event. You can enter by doing three simple things:
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- Share the link to this article on social
- tag MiceChat
- and use the hashtag #JackIsBackMC
Disney Theme Park Tickets and Hotel Discounts
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Let’s Hear From You
We’ve reached the end for this week. Are you ok with park reservations filling up on the weekends as long as wait times remain reasonable? Should Magic Keyholders be penalized for snapping up reservations weeks in advance and then canceling them the night before? Can you believe Haunted Mansion Holiday has been with us for 20 years? And who do you think did their 50th Anniversary best, Walt Disney World or Disneyland? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
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