Disneyland News Update: Success Ruins Everything

It’s been another busy week at the Disneyland Resort. Between the Lunar New Year festival, Sweethearts Nite after hours party, and the kickoff of Magic Key Holder appreciation month, there’s been a lot going on. But, of course, it isn’t all sparkles and smiles. Many Disneyland locations have been struggling with big crowds and staffing issues, a combination which leads to long lines. There’s a lot to cover this week, so let’s get started!

Downtown Disney Reimagining

Work has already begun on the overhaul of Downtown Disney’s west end. Starbucks, SugarBoo, and Earl of Sandwich have all now closed and construction walls have already gone up around the old AMC complex. 

This transformation will add a mid-century look to this small corner of Downtown Disney that will feature new shopping and entertainment. More details on the big renovations of Downtown Disney below:

Disneyland News: Monorail & Downtown Disney Shops Prepare to Close in Advance Renovation

Celebrate Soulfully

This year, Disney is recognizing Black History Month with the theme, “Celebrate Soulfully.” Beautiful art is displayed around the west end of Downtown Disney, and music and food will be a part of the celebration of Black heritage and culture through the month of February.

This is just some of the artwork that is displayed along the walls surrounding the construction project. Much of the art has previously been featured at EPCOT for the release of Disney/Pixar’s Soul.

But for some of the most impressive artwork, you’ll need to look down. Marcella Swett is a chalk muralist and Senior Production Artisan at Disney Live Entertainment. She’s adding chalk murals to the pathways of Downtown Disney every week during Black History Month. Her art is absolutely beautiful and should not be missed! 

Additionally, Downtown Disney will host live music with genres like R&B, reggae, funk, and jazz throughout February. On Saturday afternoons, there is also Gospel music to enjoy. And Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen will have live jazz piano nightly.

There’s also some celebrating happening inside Disneyland. The Fantasyland Theater will be hosting “Celebrate Gospel” (it was previously held at DCA’s Stage 17). On February 19-20 and 26-27, guests can hear prominent Gospel singers and choirs from SoCal as they take to the stage from 3-7pm. On Februrary 19, award-winning Gospel singer, actor and fashion designer Kierra Sheard will be performing with a capella Gospel group “Sacred Groove.” On Feb. 26, Grammy-award winners Jonathan McReynolds and Mali Music take the stage, along with “The Singers of Soul,” performing in their unique a capella style. 

AND… if you happen to stop by the Grand Californian Lobby, you may be in for a treat of live jazz on evenings Friday-Sunday! And while you’re there, you can enjoy a selection of beverages from Black-owned companies at the nearby Hearthstone Lounge.

Magic Key Holders Month

Disney has taken the month of February to celebrate their Magic Key Holders. Key Holders can expect exclusive menu items, photo spots, collectable prints, and more. Check out an updated article about this celebration by clicking the link below.

UPDATED INFO: Disneyland Magic Key Holder Celebration Month Details!

The Magic Key program got off to a rough start with hard to get park reservations. But things have improved a bit in that regard (though weekends still fill up). How is the program going for you now? What do you like most about the program? And what would you most like to see changed? 

Sweethearts Nite: “Party in the name of love.”

Last week, we saw the return of special ticketed after-hours events at Disneyland. The first two nights of “Sweethearts Nite” ran, and there are still several days left for the love-filled party. However all tickets are currently sold out for every remaining date.The ticket price started at $114 and parking was NOT included. 

Check-in can be done at the old Starcade or at a portion of the front gate. You can arrive up to 3 hours early (at 5pm) and mix in with day guests at Disneyland. The park ends its usual operating day early so that the special event guests can enjoy the park to themselves. The party runs from 8pm-12am.

This event includes love-themed photo opportunities, special event menu items, entertainment and more. If you’re a fan of character interactions, and want to have some fun photos, these after-hours events might be for you. But at the high cost, they don’t offer much more than that for just a 4 hour event (with 3 additional hours of regular park time).  

Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year will soon be coming to a close on February 14th. And while this is the smallest of the festivals lined up at DCA, we wonder if it’s time for Disney to expand it.

There is VERY high demand for just about everything this festival offers, from character meet and greets, special food booths, entertainment in Paradise Gardens, and a short procession hosted by Mulan.

This festival has beautiful decorations and some good food, if you can stomach the lines to get it. Wait times of up to and hour and a half for food has made for a rough dining experience. With just 4 booths, this festival clearly needs more food locations! But booths are sometimes closed early, due to staffing and shortages.

Throughout California Adventure, there have been nights where multiple quick serve stations have closed as early as 5pm due to staffing shortages.

While I would love to see more festivals like this throughout the year, long lines in the marketplace are taking away from some of the enjoyment. If I had a choice in new festivals to add, it would definitely be Mardi Gras and Flower and Garden. What are your ideas?

The Busy Off-Season

There’s just not an off-season this year. While it’s less crowded than Christmas, the lines remain longer than they were during the holiday season before Genie launched. 

Over this past week, there hasn’t been much change in the crowds. But lines have been a bit longer for some attractions. We attribute some of that to the current refurbishments and Lightning Lane (which has ballooned lines everywhere). Let’s take a look at some key locations that really tell the story of park conditions.

The front gates to Disneyland get very busy first thing in the morning, but that tapers off quickly and the lines to enter the parks are maybe 5 to 10 minutes a little after the opening rush subsides. The lines get long again at 1pm when guests are able to park hop. 

New Orleans Square is always busy and when multiple attractions are down at the same time. Mid-morning on Friday, both Indy and Jungle Cruise were temporarily unavailable at the same time and the resulting crush was strongly felt in pinchpoint areas of New Orleans Square.

Conversely, Batuu wasn’t terribly busy. So if you’re hoping to interact with some storm troopers, now may be a good opportunity to keep an eye out for them. 

But Toontown has been very busy. It is a smaller closed off area with characters, and soon to close for a reimagining. 

Toontown is scheduled to close sometime in March for a complete remodel and will not open again until 2023. Hopefully they use the time to remove the unused trolly tracks that twist so many ankles and that strollers get stuck in. 

Until March 6th you can celebrate a special occasion with Mickey at his house. The 90 minute experience is a pricey $350 for a group of up to 10 people. 

Some areas of Fantasyland can get pretty congested, but traffic was consistently moving forward.

Lightning Lane has become very popular with guests, but I noticed over the past week that the Lightning Lane lines can get fairly lengthy. Is Lightning Lane worth it to you? Are you ok with paying extra per person to stand in a line that is just faster moving? 

The Lightning Lane line for Big Thunder Mountain ran almost back to the exit of the attraction. The section of the line in the photo below was just for guests to scan in before they get into the Lightning Lane line. 

Projects Around the Resort

This time of year we always seen an uptick in projects and refurbishments around the resort. Let’s take a look at what’s currently under wraps. 

Tarzan’s Treehouse: (September 1st-TBA).  This attraction has been under scrims since September and there hasn’t been any information given on when the attraction will return. But with the high winds last week, we were able to take a peek… though, we really didn’t learn anything new.  

Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage: (July 12th-Winter 2022). Winter 2021 became winter 2022… but still no word on when this one will actually return. The one good thing is that the heavy refurbishment indicates that the subs are here to stay for at least a few more years. I’m not a huge fan of riding in a tin can with folks packed in like sardines, but I may have to ride just to see how all the colorful new corals look

Splash Mountain: (January 10th-March 7th) This general refurbishment is quite visible to guests who are walking through Critter Country. 

Masonry workers can be seen working on the rocks out in the open.

The conveyor belts for the lifts have been removed. I’m looking forward to seeing this one open back up with fresh paint and show lighting refreshed. Over the past year we’ve noticed dark scenes and animatronics with torn faces or not working at all. We hope to see all of that fixed. The biggest issue with maintaining this attraction is the lack of access to lighting and characters up high, so many things just can’t be repaired without scaffolding.

Grizzly River Run: (January 24th-TBD)

Grizzly Peak is one of the most beautiful, tranquil areas in California Adventure, and the water ride adds a lot of kinetic energy into the land. They try to do the refurbishment on this attraction during the cold season… but it’s supposed to be near 80 degrees this week!

Mark Twain River Boat: (January 31st-February 7th, 9, 11th-13th, 15th-25th)

Yes, that’s a wild refurbishment schedule. But the ride should be open for the upcoming Sweethearts Nights.  

Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind: (January 31st-February 10th)

Main Street Arcade facade:

The Main Street Arcade still remains open for shopping while the facade is covered for repairs and repainting. The doors on the side are closed, so you need to enter from either end.  

World of Color: (no return date yet)

Fountains have been testing after hours and we’ve seen the platforms raised and lowered. We’re just waiting to see the projection towers return to the back of the lagoon.  Hopefully there will be some good news soon.  

Fantasmic! (no return date yet)

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the Fantasmic! fountain pits drained. Hopefully this means that this guest favorite show will be returning soon!

COMING SOON: There are other projects starting soon, such as the Matterhorn refurb on Feb. 28th, as well as Ariel’s Undersea Adventures starting the same day. We’ll keep you in the loop as schedules get fleshed out. 

This and That

And now for a few of the other stories from around the Disneyland Resort.

ESPN in Paradise Bay Park at DCA

ESPN has set up in the Paradise Bay Park area in preparation for the Super Bowl coming to California on Sunday February 13th. This is where you will be able to see ESPN personalities from Feb 9th through the 13th. 

Tram Route Construction

The recent tram route construction appears to be complete at the tram loading/unloading area of Downtown Disney, with new sensors placed in the fresh pavement. Hopefully this is an indication of trams returning very soon. There have been many sighting of trams running the route after park closing. This will be a very welcome relief for guests parking at Mickey and Friends. 

You can see a sensor in the shot below: 

Trams, the long walk to and from the parks, and increased parking rates have been a hot button topic amongst Disneyland fans. Getting the trams running again will go a long way toward making the arrival and exit experience more enjoyable for guests… if they run enough trams to keep lines short.  

Valentine Swirl

There’s a special Dole Whip for Valentines season at the Tropical Hideaway. The watermelon and cherry swirl with candy heart sprinkles is actually pretty good. You can get it with just one flavor as well if you prefer. 

Cheers.

Photos from around the parks:

We take pride in our photos, and my favorite part of these articles is sharing some of my favorite park images from the past week.

This hummingbird was flitting around the Hibiscus plants along the Splash Mountain queue. I was able to get just close enough to snap several shots.

The Haunted Mansion reopened a couple of weeks ago. I enjoy the holiday version, but after nearly half a year I was ready for a real Haunted Mansion experience. 

Let’s Hear From You

It’s been a busy week, and we look forward to seeing the participants at the Gumball Rally and our 20th anniversary celebration this weekend. Thank you for following along with me at “The Happiest Place on Earth”. Do you think it’s time that Disney expands the Lunar New Year festival to meet the demand? Are you looking forward to the redevelopment of Downtown Disney in the near future? What should Disney do about the long lines caused by Genie/Lightning Lane? We appreciate hearing from you!

Hurry back…