It’s a world of construction, a world of scrims…
Yes, it’s that time of year again when the walls go up, and major construction and refurbishments begin around the Disneyland Resort. That’s a good thing too, many of the projects are sorely needed. There were also a few surprises this week, we’ll let you tell us if they were pleasant surprises or not. So, let’s take a look at what’s replacing the French Market, park-hopping changes, Anaheim Ducks Day, work beginning on San Fransokyo, a look at the fire damage at the New Orleans train station, and more… There’s a lot to get to this week. Let’s jump right into it, starting with a trip to Wall World.
It’s a Wall World
If you are visiting Disneyland in the next couple of weeks, set your expectations correctly. The post-holiday season this year is filled with construction projects all over.
Adventureland is a Dead-End
With the ongoing refurbishment at Indiana Jones Adventure and the major redo of the adjacent Adventureland Treehouse, Disney has taken the opportunity to redo the entire walkway from the Jungle Cruise to the entrance of Pirates of the Caribbean. There is a single lollipop sign in the middle of the entrance to Adventureland to direct guests to walk through Frontierland to access New Orleans Square.
Still, many guests make it all the way to Bengal Barbeque before realizing that they can’t walk all the way through to Pirates (or whereever they were headed). We’re glad Disney had the foresight to station cast at the entrance to the dead-end Bengal walkway, but we wonder if perhaps more and bigger signs that clearly state that Adventureland is closed to through traffic would help alleviate the buildup.
We also found that without the through traffic, both Bengal Barbeque and Tropical Hideaway could be pretty empty at times.
Though, at other times the dining location can be packed. Depending on the time of day (and ease of finding the spot), you may have better luck than others.
The Jungle Cruise remains open, but the stroller parking area is being used as a queue. The upstairs is being used very sparingly so queued guests don’t have to stare at construction.
Regardless, Adventureland’s entrance is a bit of a mess. Everyone looks a bit lost. Perhaps adding larger signs closer to Jolly Holiday and the walkway from Frontier Mercantile asking guests to utilize Frontierland to enter New Orleans Square would keep them from getting stuck in Adventureland.
Most of the reason for the closure of one end of Adventureland is to re-grade the path from Adventureland to the entrance of Pirates of the Caribbean. This should allow for a more gentle slope. If you’ve ever tried to push a stroller or wheelchair up that hill, you know what I’m talking about.
From the Mark Twain, we can see that work has already begun. Planters have been removed and things have been marked for removal. But you’ll also notice that it’s all covered in plastic due to the epic rains we’ve been having. Concrete work can’t begin until the ground is dry, so this project may linger for a while longer than originally planned.
Check out the X on the rock at the middle of the photo below. That’s at the entry to the Adventureland Treehouse. So, some of this walkway construction is likely also related to the Treehouse project. Remember that the Tarzan Treehouse entrance was demolished, so a new entry will still need to be built to climb all those stairs.
There’s really no avoiding this area entirely, but be aware on your next trip and navigate around the Adventureland construction like a Disneyland pro.
And, with guests not being able to exit New Orleans Square via Adventureland, the traffic in Frontierland has been doubled. So, Fantasmic just isn’t possible right now. That makes this the perfect time for a little Fantasmic refurb as well. You’ll have to wait until this pavement blockade ends next month to experience Mickey’s visions fantastic again.
Disney Home and Wonderground Gallery Gutted
The wall world continues into Downtown Disney, where large swaths of the shopping district are under heavy construction. Disney Home and the Wonderground Gallery are in the process of being gutted (at least in the areas we can see).
The question is how much is being changed? It seems as if the wall between the two stores has come down. While they are currently open to eachother, we don’t know what the final configuration will look like yet.
Black film was placed on the windows to cover up the Home store construction.
While the Wonderground Gallery is under construction, a temporary location has been set up in the old ESPN Zone in the space previously housing the Soul of Jazz exhibit.
There isn’t a lot of room in here, but many of the regular items are available.
Several signs were placed throughout Downtown Disney to help guests find the temporary location.
But very few guests are making the trek to this dead zone in Downtown Disney. The entry is just too remote from the regular guest flow.
Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen is also behind walls for its generic-fication.
A “temporarily modified experience” is promised, but there is no definite date for when this will happen.
For more information about the transformation, check out our article below:
Disneyland News: Wonderground Gallery & Disney Home Set For Transformation
La Brea Bakery Closes
Big news hit this week that La Brea Bakery would be closing its stores, including the one at Downtown Disney.
Earl of Sandwich will be temporarily taking over the location before being kicked out of the shopping district for a third time to make way for Porto’s Bakery in the future. Earl of Sandwich has been promised a permanent location near their original spot when the west side construction finishes.
For more information about the La Brea Bakery changes, check out our article here:
Downtown Disney Updates! Earl of Sandwich, Porto’s Bakery, and More!
Downtown Disney Monorail Station Construction
A surprising addition to Wall World is the walkway around the entrance to the Downtown Disney monorail station.
As we walked through the Downtown Disney District on Monday morning, we observed crews installing the covers on the drab green chain link fences that blocked any views of work being done to the area next to the station.
Rest assured, that the Monorail is still operational with an alternate entrance directly next to the Pin Traders.
This appears to just be pavement work, but it’s all delayed by rain at the moment.
Tiana’s Palace to Replace the French Market
French Market, a popular quick service restaurant in New Orleans Square, will soon receive a cosmetic transformation to become Tiana’s Palace from the Princess and the Frog film.
Disney claims the updated eatery will take direct inspiration from Princess and the Frog, and will be facilitated by Imagineering’s collaboration with Disney Animation artists from the film to keep the restaurant true to design.
While we are thrilled to see Tiana finally get a resturant at Disneyland, we are concerned about the choice of location. French Market is already a very popular location which often runs out of available seating (they will often sell the food quicker than the tables turn). And the attached Mint Julep Bar regularly clogs up the walkway which runs along the train station toward the New Orleans Square restrooms. Giving this location a movie tie-in will likely make it all even more congested than it already is. Which makes us wonder where all those extra guests are expected to sit and eat.
The location will also remain quick-service (and not a character-dining experience). Tiana’s Palace in the film is a full-service restaurant inside a converted sugar mill. I understand taking inspiration from the film and not copying it exactly, but I fear it’s also a lost opportunity to build something new with the actual charm of Tiana’s restaurant she works so hard to build in the film.
What’s particularly odd about the placement here, is that there are several other opportunities for a more comprehensive Tiana theme. Why not turn Cafe Orleans, which is already a table-service restaurant into Tiana’s Palace? Or, they could easily adapt the Blue Bayou to give it Tiana flair. Dusty’s hope was to use the Hungry Bear footprint to build an elegant table service resturant, right next to the upcoming Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attraction. Instead, Tiana will be shoehorned into an existing establishment that she won’t even appear in.
French Market and the Mint Julep Bar will close on February 17th to begin the transition to Tiana’s Palace and will re-open later this year (Mint Julep Bar is promised to return… though we don’t know if it will have a modified location).
For more information about the upcoming transformation, check out our article here:
Tiana’s Palace to Replace New Orleans Square Classic in Disneyland
Park Hopping, Pricing and More
Disneyland is making several changes which are mostly modifications or reversals of recent unpopular operations decisions. Let us know how you feel about the following:
-
- Park hopping after February 4th will now begin earlier at 11am (from 1pm)
- The cheapest $104 tickets will be more readily available for nearly two months worth of dates in 2023
- For Disney100, all ticketed and Magic Key guests will receive free attraction PhotoPass
- Select Magic Keys will be available for new sales “from time to time” throughout 2023 as pass inventory becomes available.
We welcome anything that makes the park experience less exasperating. But these changes really don’t do much. On the other side of the country, Walt Disney World pass holders will no longer have to book a park reservation after 2pm on week days (except for the Magic Kingdom). And, Walt Disney World hotels will also stop charging for self-parking. We’d like to see both of those changes come to Disneyland as well.
But, nothing is really going to get better with the park experience until Disney deals with the nightmare created by the oversubscription of Genie+ and adds standby capacity back into the restaurants around the resort.
For more information about the changes, check out our article below:
NEWS: Disneyland & WDW Reservations, Parking Hopping & Other Big Changes
Anaheim Ducks Day
Last Thursday was the annual Anaheim Ducks Day. The hockey team took over Hollywood Land at California Adventure with events including a cavalcade, a fan zone, and a meet and greet with the players.
Of course, there was plenty of the team’s mascot, Wild Wing, to go around.
A few exclusive pieces of merchandise were also available. We heard that these items sold out quickly.
A special hockey puck-themed brownie was also available. It tasted much like a ding-dong.
New this year was the addition of a few Anaheim Ducks experiences around Downtown Disney.
These included a DJ, photo ops, appearances from Wild Wing, and a hockey skill shot activity.
Below, a gallery of all the happenings for Anaheim Ducks Day.
Pacific Wharf Begins San Fransokyo Retheme
As Dusty was first to let the MiceChat Twitter followers know early on Thursday, Pacific Wharf’s retheming to San Fransokyo has now begun. The area will soon be inspired by Big Hero 6.
This likely will be a gradual process as elements are worked on over time so as to not impact operations too heavily in the area. It’s also probably not going to be very extensive besides a few added details to the bridge, some replaced signage, and a repaint of the land.
For those looking for Baymax in the meantime, he’ll be flying over Sleeping Beauty Castle during the Disney100 fireworks show, Wondrous Journeys, starting a week from this Friday.
Adventureland Treehouse Progress
Due to high winds, scrims were down around the Adventureland Treehouse this week… so we were able to take a little peek into the progress. The above photo is of the room that previously housed the projector with Tarzan and Jane. Below, an archive photo of Tarzan’s Treehouse for reference (that room is the one with the Union Jack on top). While not completely different, it definitely looks like some major changes have been made to the individual rooms in the treehouse to fit the Swiss Family Robinson inspiration.
Looks like the foliage has begun returning.
We can now clearly make out a few stairways and rope bridges. It seems like things are finally starting to come together.
Toontown and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Toontown will soon open its gates for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. While Toontown proper won’t open until March 8, the new attraction will be opening January 27th! In preparation for this, the entrance is getting freshened up a bit. New paint and some structure for the Toontown sign are in place.
Taking a peek inside, everything looks quite vibrant. Runaway Railway will be quite hard to miss, it’s going to be the very first thing you see when you walk into Toontown.
Cast members have reported backstage opportunities to ride during what’s called “test and adjust.” For those familiar with the Orlando version, this is almost exactly the same ride, but with an incredibly improved queue full of “props” from Mickey Mouse’s past escapades. It’s a fantastic attraction, we can’t wait for a chance to ride it soon. Get a preview of the attraction in the article below:
UPDATED! Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Are you excited for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway?
New Orleans Square Train Station Fire
The Disneyland Railroad station in New Orleans Square caught fire back in December; with the scrims down for wind, we can now see the extent of the damage. The strong fire smell still lingers in the area.
Take a look at the photo above and look for a clear line of green to black in the trees where the fire dried them out. We noticed fresh cuts on them as well; it’s possible the fire may have killed some of the tree limbs, necessitating removal. Also, take note of all the soot on the ends of the building. The photos below have some close-ups of the charred roofs.
The roof on this side of the building looks like someone just took a bite out of a Snickers bar— it’s partially melted!
While the trains are operating, they have been moderately impacted by the fire. Cast confirm that they’re only running two of three trains currently, since the systems that control the station’s lights were affected by the situation. The trains are currently relying on radios to relay their location. If you find you are waiting a bit longer in a station that usual, that’s likely because your train is waiting for the other one to arrive in the opposite station.
This means that capacity will temporarily be a bit lower on the railroad.
Disneyland has five live steam engines. They generally run three at a time, with one in reserve, and one in teardown for refurbishment.
Refurbishments
There’s always something more planned in terms of refurbs around the resort. Here are the current and upcoming refurbishments.
Currently Under Refurbishment:
- Adventureland Treehouse Transformation: (September 1st, 2021-2023)
- Mickey’s Toontown (March 9th, 2022-March 8th, 2023)
- it’s a small world: (January 9th-19th)
- Indiana Jones Adventure: (January 9th-Spring 2023) – For me, this is the most important project currently going on in the resort. Indy is a cornerstone attraction. Before it closed for this refurbishment, nearly every major effect was broken. It was a terrible example of the new low standard for the Disney parks experience. Hopefully much of the Indy luster can be restored, and perhaps there will be some new surprises tied into the upcoming Indy film.
- Grizzly River Run: (January 9th-Spring 2023)
We sure do hope the water wheel at Grizzly River Run will be completely refurbished so it will work again when the ride returns…
Mike pointed out quite a lot of corrosion.
- The Disney Gallery: (January 9th-25th)
- The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln: (January 9th-25th)
We expect this is for a Disney100 exhibit installation.
- Fairfax Market: (January 9th-28th)
- Radiator Springs Racers: (January 17th-23rd)
Upcoming Refurbishments:
- Mickey’s PhilharMagic: (January 24th-February 3rd)
- Haunted Mansion: (January 30th-February 9th)
- Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind: (January 30th-February 9th)
- French Market and Mint Julep Bar: (February 17th-TBA) – This is the Tiana resturant overlay project.
This and That
And now for just a few of the smaller stories from around Disneyland.
Holiday teardown is still happening all over the resort. Most of it is done by now, but there are still a few decorations up.
Small World still had a few lights up on Friday. It’s supposed to be back up as its usual self without the holiday overlay on Thursday.
Mardi Gras decorations will remain in New Orleans Square for a bit, but there are a few holiday decorations that still needs to come down here as well.
And with a whole new fireworks show a little over a week away, Disneyland has been testing Wondrous Journeys after hours. A MiceChat reader sent us this clip of pyro testing. Note the increased amount of pyro off the castle (the fireworks you see on the left) and the variety and color of the shells. It’s going to be a colorful show!
The show, which celebrates all sixty-one Walt Disney Animation Studios films, debuts next Friday, January 27th. I’m a huge fireworks fan, can’t wait for this one. What about you?
Two new refurbishment projects have popped up in California Adventure. The first is facade work at the end of Hollywood Land.
Guido is behind walls in Cars Land.
Around the Park
Disneyland is gorgeous in the rain; There are some amazing opportunities for photos if your gear is up for the job. Although, not all cameras are “weatherproof”. Mike was out shooting in the rain and included some beautiful photos for us.
It wasn’t rainy all week, though.
On Friday, the water level on the Rivers of America was a bit lower than usual, possibly in anticipation of the coming rain that arrived on Saturday and Sunday.
With all the rain, Alice in Wonderland tends to be closed often…
Nintendo World Soft Opens
Yes, this is the Disneyland Update, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Universal Studios Hollywood’s latest addition. We hope Disney’s Imagineers visit this highly interactive land for a little inspiration on how they can give Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge a little extra life. There’s a lot to be learned from universal and how they create interactive and joyful experiences.
Dusty and Nathan were there for the soft opening for Super Nintendo World this weekend and thought it was quite spectacular!
The land is in a series of technical rehearsals (Universal speak for a soft open), meaning it is not officially open, but it is available to guests in the park from time to time. Universal doesn’t announce when the land will be open— or if it even will be— so you’ll just have to get lucky.
Although Dusty isn’t much of a Nintendo gamer, he found the land to be joyous and uplifting. There’s so much motion and energy in every part of Super Nintendo World that you could stay there for hours just soaking everything in. Plus, with all the interaction found in the land, it’s everything that was promised for Galaxy’s Edge that Disney didn’t actually deliver. The land officially opens February 17th.
With the rapid pace of expansion and high level of creativity Universal is putting into its new experiences, we wonder how much pressure this might put on Disney to do more. This land seems like a slam-dunk win for the park.
We have a couple of Super Nintendo World articles for you to check out:
Checking Out Toadstool Cafe at Universal Studios Hollywood Super Nintendo World
When Runaway Railway opens next week, there won’t be any attractions currently under construction at the Disneyland Resort (though a ride is promised for Avengers Campus, and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will eventually start construction). Universal, on the other hand, has something major in the works on the upper lot that they haven’t announced yet (though they’ve already closed the Animal Actors and Special Effects shows), AND they’ve announced a new theme park for Texas, a haunted experience for Las Vegas, and have a massive new theme park under construction in Orlando.
More on Universal’s two surprise announcements last week:
Universal Attraction Expansions in Vegas & Texas: Kids & Horror!
Sign Up for MiceChat’s Gumball Rally!
It’s time to bring out your competitive side. MiceChat is hosting its annual Gumball Rally on February 4th. The Rally is a competition to see which team can ride the most attractions at Disneyland in a single day. Don’t miss out!
For more details, visit the link below:
Dusty’s Disneyland Walkthrough
It was an amazing Disneyland Live with Dusty Sage! In this week’s video, he shows us the post-holiday look of the parks, visits the wonderful world of walls, explores the New Orleans train station fire, Tiana’s future restaurant, and looks at current crowds conditions in the parks. He also answers questions from our viewers. If you want to watch his walkthroughs as they happen, be sure to tune in on MiceChat’s social accounts at 5pm PST on Fridays! And be sure to subscribe to the MiceChat YouTube.
Discount Disney Theme Park Tickets & Hotels!!!
MiceChat brings you the BEST theme park ticket, hotel & package deals! (You’ll find extra nights free, big discounts, and special offers as well).
Check out the latest offers for Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, and Knott’s Berry Farm:
If you live in Southern California, there’s a very special ticket offer for you that runs from January 9th through May 25th:
(MiceChat works with Get Away Today to provide you with the best theme park travel deals and we may make a small commission on any sales made through our links)
Let’s Hear From You
It certainly was a busy week — thank you for reading all the way down here. What was most surprising for you? Between Tiana’s Palace, updates to reservations, the damage to the train station, and everything else, there’s quite a lot to discuss. Were the operations changes announced this week enough for you or is there still more that needs to be done to restore the Disneyland magic? Do you think the big additions at Universal will prompt Disney to reverse Bob Chapek’s creative cuts and get big projects back in the works? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
You must be logged in to post a comment.