Happy October everyone, the spookiest month of them all. We had quite a week and there’s a lot to share. Maintenance issues continue to plague the parks. We are finally looking forward to cooler temperatures with the forecast calling for mid-80ºs this week and low 80ºs by next week. And, of course, as we get closer to Halloween and the weather becomes more enjoyable, you can expect to see the parks become a tad busier. We’re also asking for your help this week as we launch a new section to the Update that we hope will help shine a bright light on a few dark spot in the park experience.
Holiday Crowds Set In
It’s wild to think, but there are just 3 months left in 2022. And while the prospect of all the upcoming holidays is enticing, it’s also bringing people to the Disneyland Resort in higher numbers. Now through the end of the winter holiday season is the busiest time of the year, so if you’re hoping for a lightly-attended day in the near future, those will be fewer and far between.
The crowd pattern changes throughout the week, but you can count on moderate-to-high waits for attractions every day. Here is what they looked like at Disneyland on Friday evening:
During the week, the park is packed. This is a mix of ticketholders and plenty of Magic Keyholders as well. And although we have seen numerous signs around the entry to the parks (ie Mickey & Friends, security screening areas, the Esplanade) stating there are no reservations available, for the most part, the Magic Keyholder access calendar has plenty of availability— including day-of spots!
Below, you can see the Magic Key reservation calendar for October (screenshots taken at 6pm on 10/2/22).
Another thing that’s made the parks busier during the week has been the perfectly temperate weather. Because the high temperatures have only been in the low 80s, people stay in the park for a longer period of the day. And while that makes it much more enjoyable than the sweltering few weeks we’ve had, it means more people will be making the most of their Disneyland day.
During the weekends, Disneyland feels exponentially busier due to the nighttime entertainment. Because Halloween Screams fireworks and Fantasmic are only available Friday through Sunday, evenings during the weekend can be difficult to navigate. We watched fireworks on Saturday night, and people were staking out spots as early as 7pm! We’ll have more info and thoughts about nighttime entertainment in another section below.
Preparing for Christmas
Yes, October just started but it’s already time to be thinking about Christmas. You’ve likely already seen holiday merchandise in your go-to stores outside the park, and it’s only a matter of time before the resort starts debuting their holiday merch as well. But there’s a lot more that goes into a Disneyland Christmas than merchandise; there are all sorts of preparation and planning involved in making Disneyland the Merriest Place on Earth.
The Fate of Disney’s Merriest Nites?
There’s still no word on the poorly reviewed after-hours Christmas parties, Disney’s Merriest Nites, at Disneyland from last year. And lots of folks are starting to speculate that the parties may not be coming back at all this year. For us, that would not be bad news.
Parties mean that Disney scales back the daytime experience for regular guests so the real magic can be reserved for the extra-cost parties. At Walt Disney World, the Halloween and Christmas experiences have been so scaled back that much of the real holiday magic is done through lighting and projections in the after hours for very high prices. We don’t mind after-hours parties, but we don’t think that cutbacks for day guests isn’t the way to go… especially at the currently crazy average cost of admission and add-ons.
Believe…in Nightly Fireworks?
One of our favorite parts about the holidays at Disneyland is the fireworks spectacular, Believe… in Holiday Magic. And while it doesn’t have any of the familiar Disney tunes usually found in the parks, it has all sorts of nostalgia-inducing sights and sounds that make for a perfect kiss goodnight at the end of a long day. For the last few holiday seasons, Disneyland has proudly presented nightly fireworks. However, this year we’re not so sure that will be the case.
While this summer saw nightly presentations of Disneyland Forever fireworks, when Halloween started last month, the nighttime spectacular Halloween Screams was presented as projections-only during the week with fireworks added during the weekend. We are curious if something similar could be planned for this holiday season.
When asked about the decision for weekend fireworks for Halloween, we were told that Disney is going with that approach to be a good neighbor to the residents of Anaheim — particularly during the school year. Considering that kids only get a brief vacation for Thanksgiving and one-to-two weeks for Christmas, we’re wondering if Disney will be sticking with those principles. There are sure to be a lot of disappointed guests if Believe in Holiday Magic isn’t offered nightly.
Candlelight Dates Confirmed
One of the most famous events of the holiday season at Disneyland is the Candlelight Processional. And while the version at Disneyland is a lot more secretive than the one at Walt Disney World (particularly in regards to the celebrity narrator), the dates have been confirmed for this year for both resorts. At Disneyland, you can attempt to watch Candlelight for yourself on December 3 and 4. Just keep in mind that space is incredibly limited and this is a very popular event, so if you want to see the spectacle, you should start making plans sooner than later.
Last year’s celebrity narrator at Disneyland was Sterling K. Brown. Any guesses as to who it could be this year?
For more about Candlelight at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, including an extensive history of the celebration, be sure to look at the article below.
Christmas is Coming: Narrators for the 2022 Candlelight Processional at Walt Disney World
Small World Holiday Coming Up
You can almost hear it now, the medley of “It’s a Small World” and “Jingle Bells” that fills the air of Small World Holiday. With every passing day, the transformation of Small World gets ever closer. This year, the holiday install is planned for October 24 through November 10, ready to open just in time for the first day of the holidays on November 11.
While we are looking forward to seeing (and smelling!) the holiday overlay, we’re keeping our fingers crossed that the attraction gets some much-needed TLC during its transition. We’ll get into the details about what we mean a little further down in today’s article. We’re also hoping that something disastrous like last year’s accidental flood of Small World doesn’t happen again… Last year was nearly the year when Christmas didn’t happen for the Happiest Cruise that Ever Sailed.
Holiday 2022 Guide
Want more information about the holiday season at Disneyland this year? Look no further than our handy guide that lists all the activities and festivities planned for winter this year. The winter holiday season officially kicks off on November 11, so be sure to keep an eye on reservations if you’re interested!
Disneyland Holidays Begin Here – Your Guide to 2022 Holiday Magic
The Disneyland Blues
As you may have noticed from recent updates, maintenance issues are piling up around the Disneyland Resort. Many of them go unfixed for weeks or months before getting taken care of. As a result, we are going to start tracking what’s broken and how long it takes to get fixed in its own section of the update. And while this list looks long, we haven’t even scratched the surface. We only had time to ride 4 attractions over the weekend and all 4 had issues— one of them should probably be closed until everything can be fixed since the quality of the show is not acceptable. This list will grow and we need your help to identify the important issues you’d like to see us track.
If the title sounds familiar, that’s because Al Lutz first employed the term “The Disneyland Blues” way back in 1997 during the summer of “Light Magic” at Disneyland during the Paul Pressler era (Paul was the disastrous President of Disneyland who presided over massive budget cuts which resulted in everything from burned out lightbulbs and cutbacks on food portions to ride failures and even the deaths of guests as a result of poor maintenance). Paul was so awful for the parks that he eventually got promoted to Chairman of all of Disney’s Parks and Resorts. Disney’s board of directors loves a person who can tighten a belt and still raise prices and Paul knew how to do that, even if it meant destroying the goodwill Disney had built with its guests and jeopardizing the Disney brand itself.
It was only when attendance began to seriously decline and there was no more cost to be wrung out of the threadbare parks that he was finally cut loose and then wreaked the same havoc on then retail giant The Gap.
A knight in white armor showed up in 2003 when Matt Ouimet was named President of the Disneyland Resort. He quickly focused on fixing everything broken and polishing up the parks for a hyper-nostalgic and very successful 50th anniversary of Disneyland. He was the opposite of Paul Pressler. While budgets remained tight, he put the money where it was truly needed and focused on things that touched the heartstrings of guests. He was so beloved by the fans that his bosses got jealous and ushered him out of the company… where he eventually ended up the CEO of Cedar Fair and turned that company (including Knott’s Berry Farm) around and back to being a major family entertainment brand (again, the opposite of what Paul Pressler did to the Gap). The point here is that there are good ways to cut a budget and bad ones… and we sense a disturbing (and all too familiar) trend at Disneyland that calls for a title that harkens back to a troubled era… The name says it all “The Disneyland Blues.”
Indiana Jones (Multiple effects broken)
This popular Disneyland attraction has been in horrible shape for months. Multiple special effects including the collapsing roof in the queue, mirrors at the beginning of the ride, random doors, collapsing bridge, animatronic snake, and boulder are all terminally broken. There are lots of other little things on this ride that are also non-functional, but it’s the boulder and snake that are the most noticeable to guests and which deprive guests of the big payoff at the end.
The interactive pole in the queue is missing. It’s the one that causes the ceiling to drop if you tug on it.
The random door effect at the beginning of the ride is one of the best in the whole resort… but hasn’t worked in years. You’ll always go through the middle doors these days since the walls on either side of the room no longer move (and because the doors don’t work, the mirrors that clue you in that you are going through different doors than the previous jeep are also turned off)
It’s an absolute shame that the snake is no longer working. It really sets up the tension in the ride. On paper, this shouldn’t be such a difficult effect to keep running. The snake isn’t a super complicated animatronic. Getting it fixed or replaced should be a priority.
But the most heartbreaking broken effect, the one that makes or breaks the whole experience, is the boulder that rolls toward you, threatening to crash on top of your jeep. It sadly hasn’t worked in months and is generally kept in the dark behind Indy. As you can see from the photo below, we couldn’t even tell it was there. Which makes the next scene all the more confusing. It is now reminiscent of Animal Kingdom’s “Disco Yeti” scene in Expedition Everest that uses strobe lights to help hide the fact that the big jaw-dropping element of the attraction is broken.
Where did this crashed boulder come from… if you were never menaced by the previous one? Bad show, bad, bad show! Everything about this experience is just a sad reminder that Disney is forgetting their commitment to “Show” (The five Disney keys: Safety, Courtesy, Show, Efficiency & Inclusion).
Is Indy even worth riding if nearly all of the special effects are broken? Let us know your opinion. UPDATE (10/03/22): After this article ran, Disney listed an Indy refurbishment for November 14th. We hope it’s a major one.
it’s a small world (Missing characters and burned-out lighting)
After seeing all the videos of the lonely hula dancing doll, we decided to ride Small World as well. While the overall effect of the ride still manages to uplift guests with the happy music and whimsical scenes, burnt-out spotlights and broken or missing figures do take it down a notch.
The first thing we noticed inside the attraction is that many of the giant mobiles weren’t working. That goes for many of the auxiliary effects across the entire attraction.
There were figures that were either working intermittently or not working at all. Throughout the attraction, we noticed many lights that were burned out.
And vast areas of the attraction were in the dark.
The burned-out spots really take away from the show as you can’t see many of the characters well enough to enjoy them.
Even my favorite character of the attraction, the sparkly alligator, was fairly dark on this trip around.
For the last couple of weeks, we’ve been following the story of the broken and missing hula dancers. There used to be five, and one by one they have stopped working and were removed. Now, there’s just one sad little hula dancer all by herself.
Rise of the Resistance (Broken Cannons)
You might expect that our experience on this always broken attraction would be the icing on the cake… well, it really wasn’t too bad. Most of the effects that are constantly breaking down (both Kylo animatronics, the transport ships, the probe droid, among others) were all working. However, the blaster cannons were not recoiling. It’s a really cool effect when it works, as your vehicle dodges the moving cannons. But overall the attraction was in good shape and the cast seemed to be having fun with the guests in queue. But getting those cannons back online would truly push this experience over the top.
Splash Mountain
Another attraction we were told to check out by our readers was Splash Mountain. We also wanted to get a good final recording of the ride before the transformation to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (whenever that happens). We wish we could tell you what elements were broken… but the whole ride broke down as we reached the first drop and we had to be evacuated!
We got stuck just behind the boat you see in the photo below.
After about 20 minutes of waiting, cast members and maintenance helped us out of our logs.
Then off we went down an emergency exit.
We would have splashed down into this scene…
Animated Windows on Main Street (Princess and the Frog & Peter Pan)
The continually broken Peter Pan and Princess and the Frog windows on Main Street remain static and in the dark. Even the non-animated window next to the Princess and the Frog scene is mostly dark.
The Peter Pan window is really charming… but also not working.
Jolly Holiday (lights burned out on the roofline)
While most folks likely wouldn’t even notice. It’s particularly heartbreaking for us to see so many lights out on this building. And, quite frankly, it reminded us so much of the summer of Paul Presler back in 1997 that it triggered this whole section of the Update.
Did you spot something on a recent visit to the parks that gave you the Disneyland blues? Let us know and we’ll add it to our list. This will be a periodic section in our Disneyland Updates and these items will continue to be featured until Disney resolves the issues.
New Disneyland Survey
Disneyland has begun sending some very interesting surveys to guests. It seems they want to know how likely you are to keep your current park reservations. We’ve assembled two polls because we’re curious too. Please answer only the questions which pertain to you:
Are you planning to visit more or less frequently in the coming months?
Entertainment Scheduling
The entertainment lineup varies greatly from day to day. While some of the smaller things happen throughout the week (like the Dapper Dans and marching band), some of the larger-scale productions are now reserved for the weekends only. This is definitely the case for nighttime spectaculars, such as Fantasmic and fireworks.
Considering that fireworks are only offered during the weekend, any cancellation is a big deal. When we were in the park on Friday, the Halloween Screams show had to revert to the projections-only version (with low-level pyrotechnics) due to wind. There were a lot of disappointed guests with no fireworks, but Halloween Screams is still fairly entertaining without the pyrotechnics, and better than nothing at all.
Small World is actually a great projection spot. It’s easier to see the images here than on the castle.
You can still count on nightly showings of World of Color at DCA though, regardless of the day of the week.
While we think the show has been stale for quite some time now, we’re really looking forward to the upcoming new version, “World of Color: One,” that premieres sometime next year in honor of Disney’s 100th anniversary.
For more about the upcoming World of Color show and the brand-new firework spectacular, “Wondrous,” take a look at our updates from D23 Expo:
Disneyland Resort Project & Rumor Tracker: What’s New and What’s Next for Disneyland!
The other entertainment that has appeared to move to weekends-only has us a little puzzled. The Tale of the Lion King has only had shows Friday through Sunday, with no shows scheduled this upcoming week from Monday to Thursday. This seems like a really odd choice to us, especially considering that weekends already have so much entertainment compared to weekdays. We’d love to see them offer the show on weekdays as a substitute for the missing spectaculars. Especially considering those weekdays can sometimes feel more crowded than the weekends.
We’re big fans of the entertainment around Disneyland; it’s part of what makes it so incredible. That said, you should definitely check out the entertainment schedule before making your trip out to the park just to be in the know of what you can and can’t find on stage.
A Penny Saved
Everyone loves to save a little money— especially in a place as expensive as Disneyland. Right now through October 14, Magic Keyholders can enjoy an expanded discount on merchandise purchases. Usually, Keyholders will get 10-20% on merchandise (based on Key level), but for now, all Keyholders can take advantage of the 30% discount for a limited time!
If you’ve been eyeing a piece of Halloween merchandise, this discount is a great opportunity to save a little. There’s a lot of great Halloween merchandise out in the parks right now. Natalie Kipper fills us in below:
Disney Merchandise Update: Vintage Mickey, Classic Characters & Exotic Offerings
Speaking of saving some money, here’s a little tip that you may not know about. Just across from Soarin’ next to Humphrey’s Service and Supplies, there’s a drink station with two Coke Freestyle machines (the third is currently out of order). This is a rare location where you can use the larger discount for merchandise since the drink station is considered “merchandise” and not an outdoor vending (ODV) location. Good to know, right?
Avengers Campus Notice of Filming
On our trip around DCA this week, we saw something a little interesting at Avengers Campus. At the entry to the land, there was a sign stating that there was recording going on in the area. While this isn’t particularly news, the recording wasn’t being used for promotional purposes. Instead, the sign mentioned that the recording was being used for research.
We have a feeling they want to see crowd patterns, perhaps in preparation for the final design details for the new Avengers attraction headed to the spot directly behind the Avengers HQ.
So many characters meet and greet here, as well as the little shows above, that they may be trying to figure out how to continue doing all that and also have an active open attraction in the same space.
More about the new Avengers attraction and other projects (both confirmed and rumored)…
Disneyland Resort Project & Rumor Tracker: What’s New and What’s Next for Disneyland!
Refurbishments
Work continues around the park for the various projects under refurbishment. Plus, there are upcoming refurbs to be aware of.
Currently Under Refurbishment
Adventureland Treehouse (September 1st, 2021 – TBA)
Not much has changed on the Treehouse on the border of Adventureland and New Orleans Square. It does look pretty cool lit up at night, though.
Mickey’s ToonTown (March 9th, 2022 – Early 2023)
There’s not much we can see happening with ToonTown right now. But in the meantime, here’s a look at the entry portal without all the strollers in front of it:
Matterhorn Bobsleds (August 8th-October 13th)
We’re just about a week and a half away from the Matterhorn returning after a lengthy refurbishment. We hope to see the mountain’s waterfalls returning soon.
There’s still some equipment here and there on the site. But the scaffolds have all come down and it looks like there’s a lot less activity on the exterior of the mountain.
Upcoming Refurbishments
Some planned refurbishments are coming soon. Here’s what’s listed so far:
it’s a small world Holiday Install (October 24th-November 10th)
As we mentioned earlier, Small World will be going down to be holiday-ized just in time for the Christmas season. We hope that Disney takes the opportunity to fix some of the glaring problems we found during our recent ride-through.
Redwood Creek Challenge Trail (November 1st-November 10th)
This is another Christmas overlay. In order to make this possible, all of the Halloween elements must be stripped out that were used for Oogie Boogie Bash’s Villains Lair. After the transition is done, you’ll find Santa here.
Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! (November 1st-TBA)
This refurb is a strange one. The attraction just returned from refurbishment even though the exterior repainting still hasn’t been completed. When we visited on Saturday, the wait was 45 minutes… mostly because this attraction offers Lightning Lane, which unnecessarily inflates wait times for regular guests.
Trees in Cages
In the Esplanade, the caged juniper trees are being replaced. The tops were cut off all of the trees last week. Now the cages are being removed two by two so the old trees can be removed and the new ones planted. Then the cages are returned.
We saw that one tree had already been replanted with the metal grate installed around it. Another tree had been planted but was missing its metal cage.
We’re not entirely sure what the reasoning for replacing the trees was. The trees appeared to be healthy and not diseased, and are being replaced with the exact same kind of tree. The other thing that is really odd to us is that the metal cages are not getting cleaned up or repainted before being reinstalled.
Disneyland This & That
We have a lot of smaller stories to catch up on. We’ll keep things nice and brief.
Mishmash of Merch
On our visits to the parks this week, we saw some… interesting things in regard to the merchandising in some of the stores. There have been some odd choices.
There was an alien sighting at Bing Bong’s Sweet Stuff at Disney California Adventure’s Pixar Pier. The store, which typically stocks Pixar goods and sweet treats (although more general Disney merchandise has started to creep in recently), also had the Porg puppet, traditionally sold at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, on its shelves. Because of Disney’s emphasis on theming in their parks, it seems weird that this toy, which, according to Galaxy’s Edge lore, is a creature available for adoption at the Creature Stall, would be sold anywhere but in the Star Wars-themed land (or Tomorrowland, if we really stretch it). While the Porg’s presence can likely be chalked up to supply chain woes, we can’t help but wonder if Disney could have found something more thematically correct to use instead.
Another set of things we found this week was Oogie Boogie Bash merchandise. You’d think that these would be reserved for the specially-ticketed party, but these are being sold during the daytime hours. You can find these items around DCA, like at the festival booth in front of The Little Mermaid, Elias & Co., and Gone Hollywood. Many of the apparel items have glow-in-the-dark elements and Oogie Boogie Bash written on them.
We love the relatively new Lock, Shock, & Barrel straw clip. It’s available in several locations all around the resort.
A Whole Pie is Better than a Slice
At Plaza Inn on Main Street, the dessert has switched from a slice of pie to a mini pie in an aluminum dish.
“Jack” Finds a New Home
ToonTown is currently going through a major overhaul, but one of the elements being evicted has just been “adopted.” The pumpkin version of the beloved first president of Disneyland, Jack Lindquist, has found a new home outside of Disneyland. The bespectacled pumpkin now resides in the home of David Lindquist, Jack’s son. Here’s a reminder of what the pumpkin looked like:
While we’ll miss seeing this goofy and wizened pumpkin in Disneyland, we’re so glad Jack’s family now has this delightful remembrance of their dad. For us park-goers, we can still enjoy seeing Jack’s window on Main Street as the Honorary Mayor. We’ll always remember Jack as the Disney Legend he was.
A Walk with Dusty
Every Friday (generally around 5pm or so), we take our social media followers on a tour of Disneyland to catch up on the latest news from the parks. This week, we go through Downtown Disney and Disneyland and talk about the state of the resort and the future of what’s coming. You can watch the latest video below, and be sure to follow us on Facebook to watch us live this week!
Pictures from the Parks
To finish out today’s Disneyland Update, we’ve got some photos to share from our trips to the resort this week. Mike and Dusty must have easily shot a couple thousand photos between the two of them this week! But we’ll just share a few of our favorites.
There is an incredible amount of detail in Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. From the queue to the attraction itself, there’s a lot to see… Unfortunately, so many of the elements are broken…
Although Rise of the Resistance can often hold a long wait, it sure is pretty and oh, so photogenic.
Since Halloween Screams was projections only on Friday, we returned on Saturday to see the full show.
After the firework show ended, we saw the fly line that Zero travels across go back into its station in Matterhorn.
One of the best parts of fireworks closing Fantasyland attractions temporarily is getting photos of the area completely empty.
This week we saw some of Disney’s villainous ladies out and about together. We found Cruella, Lady Tremaine, and Anastasia and Drizella walking through Fantasyland.
Beignets are always a good option… unless the line looks like this! It was around 8:45pm and the line stretched all the way to the New Orleans Square train station entry!
We really never get tired of seeing Disneyland in Halloween decorations, especially at night.
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LET’S HEAR FROM YOU
Well, folks, it’s your turn. Have you noticed the gradual decline in show conditions at the Disneyland Resort? Do you find it acceptable that you are paying more for a degraded park experience? Since the overall experience is still quite entertaining for most guests, the temptation is to let things like this slide. Unfortunately, we all know that when we accept less without complaining that becomes the new normal. In our opinion, it’s better to nip these problems in the bud before it results in damaged public opinion (or worse) as happened in the Pressler era.
Many thanks to Dusty Sage, Mike Kindrich, Nathan Villamor, and Natalie Kipper for their help shooting and assembling today’s Disneyland Update.
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