Disneyland Update – Flattening New Orleans Square & Evil Genie Tricks

The rest of the country may be frozen but it’s springtime at Disneyland, with the famous pink trees in gorgeous bloom. It’s also a time of renewal for the parks as many projects are underway. Meanwhile, major services and entertainment, festivals, and more are returning. But it’s not all good news. Genie is playing some dirty tricks on those not willing to fork over the extra cash. And a very interesting project may soon change the way the riverbanks in New Orleans Square look. Let’s take a journey to the Disneyland Resort to check it all out…

Flattening New Orleans Square

With Fantasmic returning just before the expected summertime crowd surge, Disneyland appears to be working on a long-considered project to flatten out all those terraces along the river, which impede traffic-flow during the day and cause the Pirate’s queue to snake up and down stairs and further block the easy flow of park guests.  

In the year leading up to the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, we wrote extensively about Project Stardust and the effort to widen walkways, remove traffic impediments, and make the park more friendly to strollers and wheelchairs. Most of that work also attempted some aesthetic enhancements to make the changes more palatable to guests. 

One of the elements of Project Stardust that we spoke with park staff about way back when was the removal of the terraces built to enhance Fantasmic viewing. While one section near French Market and Haunted Mansion was removed, the rest of the project was tabled for a later date. 

But with Lightning Lane causing lines throughout Disneyland to overflow, the park is right back at square one trying to manage guest flow in the busy pinch-points in New Orleans Square, Adventureland, and Fantasyland. As a result, we should expect to see more walkway changes coming in the weeks and months ahead. 

Removal of the walkways closest to Pirates will also allow the attraction to create a localized switchback area that doesn’t take over so much of the land, allowing guests not waiting for the attraction to flow freely throughout New Orleans Square.  

Stairs have also been an issue for guests with strollers and wheelchairs as well as limiting viewing area for Fantasmic as cast generally don’t allow guests to stand and watch the show from the stairs. 

These sorts of “Stardust” projects are designed to happen quickly. So if you see walls pop up in New Orleans Square, you’ll know what’s going on. We just hope that as many trees as possible are saved and that general shade in the area of the Pirates queue is considered. It’s hard to be too sentimental about the terraces because they aren’t original to the area, but there are some lovely details and gardens which may be lost. We hope new ones will be prioritized. 

Another thing we hope is addressed in this project is the awful stroller situation along river’s edge. This is one of the most beautiful spots in the whole park, why ruin it by keeping guests so far away and blocking crowd-flow. 

Trams Return

They’reeeeeeeee Baaaaaaaaack. Trams are once again ferrying guests to and from the parking structure. The operation is pretty efficient too. We were there as the first tram, loaded with Cast Members, rolled out of the Parking Structure on Wednesday (Feb 23rd) last week. We also spent some time watching the operation of the tram drop-off on the park side and were pleased to see plenty of staffing and an attempt to have one tram always waiting for guests. 

In the early morning hours on the first day, Mickey, Minnie, and Ken Potrock (Disneyland’s President) surprised tram cast members with a little ceremony to symbolize not only the return of the trams but the momentum that the Disneyland Resort is experiencing right now as well. In the last weeks, the resort has returned the trams, announced the return of major parades and spectaculars, reopened Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta, and returned many park operations to what you remember from 2019. If it weren’t for park reservations and Genie, it would almost be like old times (but those two things really do keep it from being business as usual).  Here’s what our new Resort Ambassador (Nataly Guzman) and Resort President had to say:  

While we watched around 5:30 PM on Saturday, one tram was dropping guests off, one was loading guests, and a special assistance van was also waiting to help disabled guests. The cycle of trams meant that there was always at least one tram in the load/unload circle and usually two (one dropping off an one loading).  We were not there during the busy period after fireworks and park closing. We’d appreciate your comments below.   

Guests not wanting to ride can take a bridge from the parking structure toward Downtown Disney and shop their way in and out of the parks. The security gates near the old ESPN Zone have reopened to guests as well.  

Entertainment Returns

In our last update we detailed why we thought nighttime spectaculars would return in late April (with Fantasmic lagging a month behind). Just one day later, Disneyland made it official. Main Street Electrical Parade, Disneyland Forever Fireworks, and World of Color will all return on April 22nd. Fantasmic will make it’s big return on May 28th. 

The big surprise was that the Main Street Electrical Parade will get a big new enhancement. The grand finale of the parade will now feature a seven segment float filled with current Disney characters represented in a Mary Blair Small World style.  It sure looks like the old Stars and Stripes float has been repurposed to us. 

In the early years of the parade, floats were updated and swapped out frequently. We’re looking forward to seeing how it integrates. Especially the new musical clips matching the characters as they roll by.  

Here’s what the last segment of the old finale of the parade looked like: 

And here’s the concept art for the new one. 

This is an example of a new initiative to get Disney’s most current characters into the parks quicker than in the past… in months or weeks instead of years. I’m expecting lots more overlays and entertainment updates in the years to come.

To get World of Color ready in time, crews are working around the clock on the infrastructure and testing and programming. 

The new projector towers are much larger and appear to have massive new projectors. We hope this translates into even brighter and higher definition projections on the mist screens. 

Similarly, Rivers of America is getting ready for Fantasmic! 

All three fountain pits are still drained. 

With the main Tom Sawyer Island Dock closed, Returning to New Orleans Square means taking a trip around the entire island on a Tom Sawyer raft. It’s a really fun little diversion. Those rafts move really quick compared to the big boats.  

What’s still missing from the entertainment lineup? Character meet & greets, Paint the Night, Royal Theater entertainment (though that may be coming soon), Hyperion Theater, and the Magic Happens parade which only briefly showed at Disneyland before the park shut down.  

We detail all the entertainment returning and take a look at what’s still missing in the article below:  

Big Disneyland Entertainment Finally Returns This Spring!

 

There’s a bit of entertainment ending and something new headed our way this week… 

Celebrate Soulfully Wraps Up

Celebrate Soulfully is now wrapping up for the year at Disneyland, along with the Gospel music at Fantasyland Theater. It was a pretty good first attempt in celebration of Black History Month, but there’s lots of room for growth. Lunar New Year was a huge and very popular celebration this year, we’d love to see Celebrate Soulfully become even more of a festival next year. 

If you missed out on Celebrate Soulfully, take a look at our article which explains the offerings and how we hope it will evolve in the future. 

Disneyland Celebrates “Soulfully” for Black History Month

 

Food and Wine Festival Starts THIS WEEK

But as Celebrate Soulfully ends, something new is starting. Disney California Adventure’s Food and Wine Festival will officially kick off on Friday the 4th… but the booths almost always open a day or two early. 

The booths (or “Marketplaces”) are already in place along the parade route . 

The merchandise hadn’t arrived yet when we shot this update, but the Lunar New Year merch location in front of the Little Mermaid ride is still selling items from the previous festival for the time being. 

But what I’m perhaps most looking forward to this year is the limited-time return of Soarin’ Over CALIFORNIA during the run of the festival. It was my favorite version of the ride and I’m so glad they bring it back from time to time for special occasions. 

You cân find the list of food in our full Food and Wine Festival coverage below: 

UPDATED GUIDE: Soarin’ Over Disney California Adventure Food Festival 2022

The Latest from Disneyland Park

Let’s take a walk through the parks and see what’s new, what’s going on, and what you might want to note.  

Crowds

I almost hate to talk about the crowds any more because everything fluctuates so wildly. But I do think it’s helpful for our readers to see what we experience when we shoot these updates. The Friday and Saturday we were in the parks felt fairly uncrowded at first. But how the parks feel doesn’t always translate into similar waits… and we saw some pretty epic lines during our visits. 

Main Street was easy to navigate (until the hour of fireworks and just after). 

Star Wars Land felt similarly uncrowded. 

But wait times for Rise of the Resistance fluctuated wildly. While standing by the queue entrance, we watched the wait time jump from 60 minutes to 80 minutes. And then, an hour or two later it was 180 minutes! 

And, on Saturday, there was a time when the ride posted a 200 minute wait! 

Here’s the crazy thing, the exterior line for the attraction was nearly empty at the time the ride posted the 200 minute wait. We clarified with a cast member to see if the wait time in the app was in error and were told that it was accurate. Lightning Lane guests must be accommodated and at that moment they were letting 200 Lightning Lane guests enter for every 1 standby.  If you are wondering why aspects of the park experience feel broken, this is a big reason. 

As we walked past Haunted Mansion just moment later, the line was only 30 minutes long. But this line can also suddenly balloon at any time of the day. Disney claims that Genie gives them incredible data they use to help guests plan their day. But the exaggerated and erratic queue lengths throughout the park are a clear sign that something is terribly wrong with Genie.

Another Genie induced pinch-point is Big Thunder Mountain. Not only does the overflow standby line often take over the entire area between the ride entry and Rancho Del Zocalo, but the Lightning Lane line can extend up Big Thunder trail, making an already tight walkway even tighter. 

Fantasyland is always a busy area, especially when stroller parking takes up so much of the walkway (as in this spot between the carrousel and Pinocchio).

And while all that crazy was happening in the park, it’s a small world was practically a walk-on with less than a five minute wait. See what we mean by erratic?!

Disneyland Projects & Construction

The bad news/good news is refurbishments. Although guests hate to see construction scrims and closed attractions, it also means the park is being maintained. So we’re always glad when we see the scaffolds go up. The first few months of the year have always been the season for refurbishments and projects, and this year is no different. 

Main Street Facades

Main Street Electrical Parade is returning, and the last thing Disney wants in the background of millions of photos is burned out lights and faded paint.So, you’ll spot work on the facades on both sides of Main Street. 

Crystal Arcade has been covered up for weeks. It’s just painting and wood repair, but when the high winds forced Disney to pull the scrims down last week, we could see shiny bright paint. 

China Closet on the opposite side of the street is also being repainted. 

Royal Theater

The theater in Princess Fantasy Faire is having some major work done. The wood has all been sanded for repainting and the tarp roof has been removed to be replaced.  

The stage has been used as a temporary princess viewing area since the park reopened last year. However, the open air stage would be a great place to see some actual entertainment return. We’re hoping that’s what prompted this refurbishment. 

The princesses have moved over to the queue area of Royal Hall, which is where they should have been all along. We hope it stays this way until Disney feels comfortable moving the princesses back inside their actual meet and greet building.  

Last Call For ToonTown!

This is it, your last chance to see ToonToon the way it is now. The land will close on March 9th for major reimagining in preparation for the E-Ticket Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway ride in early 2023.  While Roger Rabbit and Mickey and Minnie’s Houses will remain, much of what’s on the south side of the land will be redeveloped or rethemed. 

A new ToonTown hills facade is being erected on the exterior of the Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway building. 

And new scaffolding is wrapped around what will be the new El Capitoon Theater entry to the ride. 

This area is developing quickly. 

When the land returns, it will have a greener look. 

An expanded park will take over the entry area of the land with a large tree at its heart. 

The park will also have a new fountain, which appears to feature the new animation version of the characters. 

Early concept art showed the Roger Rabbit area almost intentionally rubbed out. But it has been confirmed that the ride will return. 

A Walk In The Park With Dusty

Before we get to DCA, let’s take a stroll through the entire park. I recorded this video live while Mike Kindrich followed along and shot most of the photos you see above (Thank you Mike!). So if you want to hear more about my thoughts and see more of the park, please click play: 

Disney California Adventure (DCA)

Time to park hop!!! While most of the big projects are at Disneyland right now, there’s still some things to note at Disney California Adventure. 

Construction & Projects

Hollywood Blvd has a lot of work underway on both sides of the street. Because the construction walls jut out into the street, there may be some curb work and/or sidewalk repaving being conducted here. 

The Disney Junior Dance Party is hidden by walls, but not closed! 

That’s a lot of walls!

Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta Reopened

The last of the big restaurants has finally returned to the resort. Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta isn’t known for good food, but it’s a welcome return none the less. All the major restaurants in the parks have now reopened at least partially. 

It’s salads, pizza or pasta here. 

I needed a quick bite, and with Paradise Garden Grill closed until the Food and Wine Festival opens this weekend, I popped into the newly reopened Boardwalk Pizza. A spaghetti and meatballs and a bottle of water later, I felt much better. Though, honestly, I can’t recommend the food here. Unless you just can’t wait another minute (as was the case with me), there’s much better food to be had almost anywhere else in the resort. 

There are a few restaurants in the resort the are in DESPERATE need of a culinary makeover. This is one of them. 

Pacific Wharf 

Here’s the difference between the way Disneyland is run and how DCA is run. At Disneyland they are doing everything they can to make crowd pinch-points easier to navigate. And at DCA, they are making them worse. Over the last week, they added tables to the bridge that connects to the busy Pacific Wharf dining area. The popular Cappuccino Cart is on one side and three restaurants and two adult beverage stands are on the other. Quick service dining is yet another thing negatively impacted by Genie/Mobile Order. While guests are waiting for the order to be processed, they tend to grab tables so they can be comfortable. Unfortunately, that means folks picking up their food often can’t find a seat. So, Disney now needs to create tons of new seating in busy dining areas to accommodate those actively eating AND those waiting for their mobile order to complete. 

Of course, one easy way to fix this problem would be to simply remove mobile order from establishments and areas that can’t accommodate the doubling up of guests caused by the system. 

Attraction Refurbishments

Lots of attractions under refurbishment or going under soon. Here’s the most recent Disneyland refurbishment schedule. Know before you go!

Currently Under Refurbishment (Last updated 2/25/2022)

• Tarzan’s Treehouse: (September 1st, 2021-TBA)

We’re still not entirely sure why this refurbishment is taking so long. The attraction closed suddenly way back in September of last year. 

At least there are signs of activity. Workers were all over the scaffolding during our trip. 

• Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage: (July 12th, 2021-TBA)

The sub lagoon is still drained. It’s looking less likely that it’s going to be a Winter 2022 completion. We could be wrong, but maybe they should change those “resurfacing this winter” signs posted around the attraction as they have just 3 weeks left until spring (this attraction was originally supposed to have opened before the end of 2021).  

• Sailing Ship Columbia: (January 9th-March 25th)

• Splash Mountain: (January 10th-March 7th). This one is almost complete. We love riding Splash after a refurbishment with all the animatronics and lighting working. 

These guys don’t have to look far for visitors. Although Splash Mountain is closed for refurb, Critter Country is still busy with folks visiting Winnie the Pooh and Pooh’s Corner. 

• Grizzly River Run: (January 24th-March 30th). There’s still a full month of work to complete on this water ride. 

• Disneyland Monorail: (February 14th-March 6th). This one was closed mostly to accommodate the demolition of the old AMC building in Downtown Disney.  

Upcoming Refurbishments

Lots of popular attractions scheduled for refurbishment in the month ahead. Thankfully, many of these are just for a few days. 

• Matterhorn Bobsleds: (February 28th-March 3rd)
• The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure: (February 28th-March 3rd)
• Indiana Jones Adventure: (March 8th-11th)
• Mickey’s Toontown (March 9th, 2022-2023)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: (March 14th-TBD) 

Downtown Disney Construction

The massive overhaul of the west end of Downtown Disney is well underway. The old AMC building is in the slow process of being torn down. And when we say slow, we aren’t kidding. Usually demolition is a somewhat speedy process, But they are taking this building apart a little bit at a time. 

From the front, you might not notice many big changes yet. 

But from behind, you can see that the east end of the building has already been demolished. 

They are hosing down the demolition as they go to keep dust particles at a minimum. 

A pile of rubble awaits removal. 

This & That

And now for some of the other news from the Wonderful World of Disney…

Galactic Starcruiser Launches at Walt Disney World

If you’re a Star Wars fan, you’ve probably been keeping an eye out for info on the new Star Wars hotel at Walt Disney World called the Galactic Starcruiser. Chloé Ferreira on our WDW team was able to preview the experience. We’re including it here because originally there was a plan to also build a version at the Disneyland Resort, but that was postponed indefinitely pending the reception in Orlando.  

Take a look at the article below and let us know if you’d like to see a version (perhaps enhanced or different) here at the Disneyland Resort. 

Walt Disney World’s Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser Lifts Off!!!

 

Raya = Popular

If you’ve been wanting to meet Raya, the character photo op is still set up in Redwood Creek Challenge Trail in DCA. We’re not sure how much longer this experience will last, but the long lines indicate that she’s very popular.  

Photos from Around the Resort

And to cap off today’s Disneyland Update, we’ve got some beautiful shots from the parks from our photographer Mike Kindrich. We hope you enjoy these!

The flowers around the resort certainly say springtime. And, of course, this season is all about the Pink Trumpet trees in bloom throughout the Disneyland Resort. 

The pink trees show up everywhere. Even at the edge of the galaxy. 

Tomorrowland has a huge Pink Trumpet Tree next to the Monorail ramp at the exit of Autopia. 

Carthay Circle fountain is ringed by pink trees. 

And the Mickey and Minnie topiary are backed by pink trees as well at the Disneyland Hotel. 

If you live in one of the frozen parts of our country, I apologize in advance. It’s BEAUTIFUL here…

Are we ever going to see bands perform on the Tomorrowland Terrace stage, again? Come on Disney, give us a few good Friday and Saturday nights. Or at the very least have Stitch dance on stage with a DJ. 

The model speeders out front of Toydarian Toys are so detailed. It makes me want to build one of my own! If only…

We always love to see the Dapper Dans singing as they ride on the horse-drawn trolly down Main Street.

Beautiful flower baskets have returned to the Hub as springtime color is added everywhere. I’ve been trying to find an old photo that really shows the difference, but the old baskets were MUCH larger than what’s being used now.

Rancho del Zocalo has a nice collection of succulents. 

If you follow my livestreams around Disneyland, you know that the spot below is near and dear to me. There’s majesty here. I love the shade of the tree, the alpine gardens, the waterfall, the bobsleds swooshing by, the sound of the wind in the caves, and a stunning view of the Matterhorn itself. This particular view is just across from the “Mine, mine, mine” seagulls in the Sub Lagoon.  

While we were in the park on Friday, we watched the Pearly Band perform by it’s a small world. Their whimsical arrangements are always a well-appreciated pick-me-up.

Bert was enjoying the music nearby, and even conducting them for a bit with his cane.

We’re still wondering what’s happening with these decorations out on Pacific Wharf lagoon. At first, we thought they were leftover from Christmas and then were repurposed for Lunar New Year. But now that one of the floating light trees has a star starting to fall over, and Lunar New Year is long departed, we’re not quite sure what the deal is… Any guesses?

And you can’t have a day at Disneyland without a couple character encounters!

A rose by any other name would be FAKE! And while the roses in the pots at Carthay Circle Fountain are beautiful, they are indeed fake, fake, fake. 

You will notice the same thing about the potted azaleas by Pooh’s Corner too. Silk!

Let’s Hear From you

Well folks, it happened again, a MUCH longer update than I had originally planned. Disney really keeps us on our toes with constant updates and changes for us to document, discuss, praise or complain about. And this week has many items worthy of discussion in the comments below. Are you thrilled about trams, parades, and spectaculars returning? What do you think about the likely flattening out of the terraces in New Orleans Square? Are 200 to 1 Lightning Lane to standby ratios ok with you? With the Star Wars hotel now open at Walt Disney World, do you want Disneyland to adapt a version for Anaheim as well? Let’s hear from you!

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