Dateline Disneyland: Character Conundrum, Spring Sprung & Construction Hum

The Disneyland Resort’s popular Lunar New Year festival is in full swing at Disney California Adventure but the park just can’t seem to keep up with demand.  Meanwhile, refurbishments and construction projects are underway throughout the resort, with Downtown Disney next to become an active construction zone as it begins a major, multi-year project that will re-imagine the mall’s west end with new shopping, dining, and mid-century modern vibes.  In the parks, Disney Legend Dave Smith was honored with a window on Main Street last week and the new Genie+ service could soon mean meeting your favorite characters at Disneyland could take a lot longer if you aren’t willing to pay extra.  

We’ve got a big update for you this week with lots of photos, so let’s jump right in! 

Welcome to Disneyland!

The first signs of spring are already arriving at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure with fresh floral and color as warm So Cal temperatures return during the day and the winter fades away. 

Archivist Dave Smith Honored with Window on Main Street

Last Monday, Disney Legend Dave Smith was posthumously honored with a window on Main Street, U.S.A. for his work establishing the Disney Archives in 1970 and serving as Chief Archivist for decades.  Smith’s window was dedicated before a small, private audience of invited guests and fellow Disney archivists.

Dave Smith was named a Disney Legend in 2007 before retiring in 2010.  Smith died in 2019. Smith left an incredible mark on the company, saving countless Disney treasures from being lost and preserving them for future generations to enjoy.  His new window was installed above the Fortuosity Shop, which was previously home to New Century Timepieces. 

The window reads “New Century Historical Society, Dave Smith, Town Archivist, Preserving, Protecting & Presenting Our Fond Memories of the Past.”  It’s a lovely design befitting of Dave’s contributions to, and impact on, the Disney Company. 

Would You Pay For Characters? 

Last week, Walt Disney World announced certain character meet-and-greet locations would be added to the Genie+ Lightning Lane service.  While the change doesn’t lock out guests from a standby queue option, it does underscore the flexibility of the new Genie system to be applied across multiple types of attractions and experiences.  

For now, Disneyland hasn’t announced adding character meet-and-greets to its version of the Genie+ service, likely because the Anaheim theme parks are still offering character greetings strictly on a socially-distanced basis. Most characters are greeting guests without queues; instead, guests are encouraged to walk up, wave, and snap selfies with characters from a distance.  In some cases, like with princesses, guests can walk past two or three princesses at Fantasy Fair for socially-distanced banter and selfies.  Other princesses and characters are found elsewhere at unpublished times.  

Why do we think this might happen at all? Because Disney Parks management is in the process of being consolidated in Florida and more and more operations are being standardized between the Orlando and Anaheim resorts. But with traditional, queued, one-on-one meet-and-greets with character simply not yet available at Disneyland due to health and safety protocols, it might be a while longer before we see Mickey Mouse or the princesses added to Genie+.  

But what happens when the need for socially-distanced greetings goes away in the future?  Well, it’s likely certain character meet-and-greets like Mickey’s House and Fantasy Faire will be added to Genie+. It’s even possible certain characters could be added to the Individual Lightning Lane roster in the future…  for example, would you be willing to pay $10 extra to meet the main character from Disney’s latest hit movie? And, while standby lines would still be offered, they would no doubt swell as all other lines at Disneyland have due to the monumental impact Genie+ is having on guests who don’t pay the up-charge.  

At Disneyland, this change could unfortuantely lead to a shift in how some characters have interacted with guests for decades.  Free-roaming, spontaneous character meet-and-greets are the norm at Disneyland and even characters like the Princesses or Mickey Mouse that have their own dedicated meet-and-greet locations are often found walking around freely throughout the day elsewhere in the parks, such as on Main Street, U.S.A.  This differs greatly from Walt Disney World, where character meet-and-greets are more scheduled and structured.  

If Disneyland’s character meet-and-greets begin to become monetized through Genie+, will the park’s more spontaneous and arguably more magical style of character appearances go away so more structured and scheduled meet-and-greets can be more easily monetized? And is it fair to reward some kids and punish others based solely on whether or not you can  afford the extra $80 for a family of 4 to buy a day of Genie+ with Lightning Lane? 

Magic Key Goes Club 33

Last week, Disney California Adventure’s Magic Key Terrace began a phased remodel project, which was touted by Disney Imagineer Kim Irvine as being akin to giving Magic Keyholders their own version of Club 33.  The lounge, located above the Wine Country Trattoria, was originally a fine dining location in the park’s early days.  It has gone through several iterations since, but has most recently been a bar and lounge for Annual Passholders and, now, Magic Keyholders.  

While the Club 33 comparison may be a little over the top, the remodeled lounge will certainly be a much nicer space than the how that upstairs location has looked until now, sparsely themed. The new space will feature new art, lighting fixtures, tile-work, and more seating — it’ll be far more comfortable and feel a lot more “Disney”  It’s great to see Disney committing to offering a unique and dedicated space to its Magic Keyholders.  The Magic Key Terrace remains open during its remodeling and is expected to be complete later this spring. The outdoor patio of the lounge remains open during the interior renovations, and requires a reservation.  

Downtown Disney Closures

Meanwhile, last week also saw the closures of more of Downtown Disney’s west side, which will soon be bulldozed to make way for new retail and dining space.  The existing AMC Theaters has been shuttered for years now after Disney evicted the movie house to make way for a major new hotel which was eventually canceled.

The storefronts on that theater building, however, eventually reopened once the hotel project was canceled and have been serving guests since.  The Sugarboo & Co. store moved into a space previously occupied by Disney Vacation Club and sold home decor and other goods.  As of Sunday, the Starbucks location is now closed, marking the end of all three retail and dining locations here and freeing up the entire AMC Theater complex to be replaced with new shops and dining facilities which will have a trendy marketplace vibe.  

The popular Earl of Sandwich dining location is now closed as well but it is expected to return as part of the reimagined Downtown Disney. We’ve also heard Earl of Sandwich could operate out of a temporary space elsewhere in Downtown Disney until the new location is ready to open. 

Earl of Sandwich staff are removing decor and equipment from the location for a 2nd time. 

For now, there’s no clear word on when the old ESPN Zone and Rainforest Cafe buildings will move into Downtown Disney history.  Currently, a portion of the Rainforest Cafe is being used to house the Star Wars Trading Post, which opened up to sell Galaxy’s Edge merchandise during the park’s closure.  

The nearby ESPN Zone was most recently used for some merchandise releases during the park closures.  It’s also used as rehearsal space for the theme park’s live entertainment groups, such as parades and stage shows.  It’s unclear what Disney’s plans are for this building or if it will also be demolished and replaced with new facilities.  Both ESPN Zone and Rainforest Cafe are huge facilities that are hard to justify keeping in their current states, especially the Star Wars Trading Post, which uses but a fraction of the massive restaurant’s footprint.  Disney has yet to elaborate on the future of these buildings and their footprints are notably absent from concept art for this project.

Meanwhile, the nearby stage continued to be used over the weekend but its time is limited as well, with a new stage coming to the reimagined west end of Downtown Disney.  

It’ll be interesting to see this project take shape.  It will bring a major midcentury modern presence to Downtown Disney, which is already an interesting blend of craftsman and art deco.  Reimagining the west end of Downtown Disney as a midcentury modern oasis could be a nice way to more clearly integrate the midcentury-style Disneyland Hotel as part of the space, just as the east end of Downtown Disney leans heavily into the Grand Californian Hotel’s craftsman style.   

In fact, a full-scale midcentury modern remaining of the entire shopping mall could be in the works. The announcement of this project back in November was pretty vague on details, with only the above concept art for the west end being released and Disney describing the project as a “multi-year project to reimagine Downtown Disney District.”  Even a couple recently-opened new shops in the central portion of Downtown Disney sport bright white, modern facades — so perhaps those are first glimpses of what’s to come.

Hopefully the reimagining of Downtown Disney will also bring some nicer, more exciting entry spaces to the shopping district.  The current entry arch is located where the old Downtown Disney guest parking lot was located but which has since become exclusively Cast Member parking.  But even that old arch is fairly underwhelming.  It would be nice for Downtown Disney to get a proper grand entrance as part of this project.  

Construction Kingdom

There’s a lot of various refurbishment and construction projects underway in the parks.  Let’s take a look:

Main Street, U.S.A. 

On Main Street, the Muppets Haunted Mansion exhibits in the Disney Gallery space were removed from the Main Street Opera House.  The 50th Anniversary Haunted Mansion exhibit that has been there since before the closure remains but it’s certainly time for a refresh here. 

Meanwhile, the Crystal Arcade facades are getting some refurbishment work.

Tarzan’s Treehouse

In Adventureland, the very lengthy Tarzan’s Treehouse refurbishment project continues without an announced end date…

Fantasmic!

Over on the Rivers of America, work is underway on the main stage and in all three fountain/pyro pits for the popular Fantasmic! show.  Disney announced the show will reopen in 2022 but no specific date was given. But the sudden flurry of activity hints at a sooner rather than later return.

Seasonal Closures and Reopenings

On the mainland, the Haunted Mansion has reopened following the removal of its holiday overlay.  

Over in Critter Country, Splash Mountain has closed for its annual winter refurbishment.  There’s no indication yet that the closure is at all related to the upcoming Princess and the Frog-themed re-imagining of the log flume attraction.  This is just general maintenance while Imagineers continue to work on the planning for the upcoming re-imagining. 

And in Fantasyland, “it’s a small world” is closed while its holiday overlay is removed.

Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway

Back in Mickey’s Toon Town, construction continues on the upcoming Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction.  The entirety of Mickey’s Toon Town will close in March to undergo a major land-wide reimagining, which will open alongside the new Runaway Railway attraction in 2023.

Construction walls have been extended, now covering the facades of the trio of Toon Town quick service dining locations. 

Hills are starting to take shape along the top of the massive Runaway Railway show building.  Expect the entire building to be themed as a backdrop for the land when finished in 2023.

Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage 

Over in Tomorrowland, the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage continues to get some TLC, with the entire lagoon being repainted in vibrant colors. 

Boxes of vibrant new corals have shown up and await installation. 

Hollywood Land 

Over in Disney California Adventure, some facade refurbishment is underway in Hollywood Land.

World of Color

Meanwhile, work on World of Color continues.  The bay is now refilled but scaffolding along the back of the bay remains in place as the new lighting towers are yet to be installed…

Disneyland Hotel

Work continues on the new Disney Vacation Club tower coming to the Disneyland Hotel.

Mickey and Friends Tram Route 

And near the main entrance esplanade, the Mickey and Friends Tram loading zones is getting a lot of repaving work, and Trams have been seen testing as Disneyland prepares to return the service soon.

Happy Lunar New Year! 

We’ll wrap up this week’s update with some photos of Lunar New Year happenings in both parks and some thoughts on Disney California Adventure’s big festival to celebrate the holiday.  But first, in Disneyland, the new Plaza Point Holiday Shop has changed up some of the shop’s decor for Lunar New Year.  While most of the shop remains in perpetual Christmastime decor, the Lunar New Year flourishes on the main display at the entrance and on a large wall display are quite nice.  

The quality of these temporary Lunar New Year props are on par with all of the permanent props.  It’s great to have a shop like this in the park and it continues to be a wonderful example of representation done well and in-theme.

Lunar New Year plush from Shanghai Disneyland is available here!

Beautiful Lunar New Year props for the central wall display showcasing the special merchandise offerings for the holiday. 

Over in Disney California Adventure, the park’s popular and ever-growing Lunar New Year festival is in full swing.  

The Lunar New Year festival really showcases how Disney California Adventure is able to act as a canvas to celebrate the cultures that make this state so great.

  

But, if you plan on attending, be prepared for long lines at food locations as demand is incredibly high. With fewer food festival booths than the park’s Festival of Holidays or Food & Wine Festival, there’s simply not enough options to go around.  I tried all weekend sample some of the offerings but lines were so long I opted for other food in the parks instead of waiting in crazy-long lines for small tasting portions of the festival food.

On Sunday, a queue to pick up food from a festival booth snaked along the waterfront in Paradise Park (that’s just the pick up, guests had to wait in a similar line to order as well!!!).  If Disney California Adventure is going to be hosting seasonal food festivals on a regular basis, Disney really does need to work on figuring out how to meet the demand that comes with these events. With so many festival booths in storage, it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch to add a few extra locations to help soak up the demand.  

Also, there has be a better way for Disney to manage these festivals so ordering and picking up small tasting portions of festival foods doesn’t take up a guest’s entire afternoon. I really hope Disneyland can finally crack the code as it’s clear that guests want to love this festival, but Disney makes it so difficult to participate without insane lines.

Tigger meets guests in his Lunar New Year finest in honor of the Year of the Tiger.

Reading other guest’s wishes for the new year can be touching… 

…and sometimes funny.

New this year, the meet-and-greet for Raya from Disney’s animated film “Ray and the Last Dragon” is a magical little escape in the Grizzly Peak area of the park — and absolutely beautiful at night.  

Let’s Hear From You

Alright, that wraps up this week’s update.  Special thanks to Mike Kindrich for extra help with photos this week.  Are you ready to pay extra to meet Mickey?  Excited for a reimagined Downtown Disney?  Or did you wait in long food lines at Lunar New Year?  Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments section and please be sure to share today’s article with your fellow Disney friends and family!