Get ready for a packed Disneyland Update, everyone! The brand-new Disneyland Hotel Discovery Tower has opened its doors and we were there to capture it all for you. Plus, a jazzy new show has splashed onto the Rivers of America; we take you for a look. We’re welcoming new Disneyland Ambassadors, continuing a tradition begun by Walt Disney himself. But hold onto your mouse ears — we’re also bracing for Disneyland’s annual ticket price hike. And all that news is paired with gorgeous snapshots of the parks. There’s so much to explore today… Let’s jump in…
Disneyland Hotel Expansion Opens
The new Disney Vacation Club Villas at the Disneyland Hotel, Discovery Tower, opened late last week. We stayed a night to check out the facilities, and it’s mid-century marvelous! The new tower brings with it a new pool, a splash pad for the little ones, a poolside bar (not yet open), and a fitness center.
At 344 rooms, the new tower will bring up to a thousand extra guests to the Disneyland Hotel every night. So, Disney has increased the pool capacity at the resort to meet demand. In addition to using the existing pool facilities of the hotel complex, the DVC tower guests have their own new pool and Steamboat Willie splash pad, which should help with the demand for the other pools on the property.
As you can see from the pool map, the Disneyland Hotel really focuses on its pools.
The rooms of the hotel are lovely and well-appointed, but what’s really special about the hotel is the artwork. Each of the room types is inspired by different Disney films, but instead of simple artwork from the movies, the rooms take an original approach and lean in heavily on refinement.
The entire hotel has a unique mid-century modern meets Disney Animation vibe that should appeal to adults and children alike.
Our main gripe about this hotel is the lack of food and beverage service in general. All of the current food offerings were already available before the new tower was built and little additional capacity was added. Tangaroa Terrace is too small to act as quick service for the entire property (and with little indoor seating). Trader Sam’s was too popular long before the tower was even built. And Goofy’s Kitchen is an expensive and busy character buffet for kids that’s more for special occasions than grabbing a quick bite. Guests of the hotel are best served by eating in the parks or Downtown Disney, but those locations are frequently over-taxed as well. The Disneyland Resort simply doesn’t have enough dining capacity overall to meet the demands of its hotel guests and visitors… unless you are willing to settle for the least popular locations (some new options are on the way to the Pixar Place hotel and Downtown Disney – keep reading below).
There is a small pool bar still under construction, but as you can see from the concept art, it offers very little capacity:
For our full review of the beautiful new Villas at the Disneyland Hotel, please read our dedicated coverage:
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW: The Villas at the Disneyland Hotel – News & Views!
Disneyland Hotel Lounge Reopens
There is a bit of additional good news for the Disneyland Hotel. The old Steakhouse 55 bar reopened the same day as the Villas. It’s a small bar area with a limited menu, but if you need a spot away from the kids to get a drink and a bite to eat, this will be a great location… if you can find a seat.
The Lounge is currently open from 5 p.m. until midnight (they seemed unsure if those hours might change). Select nights also have live entertainment. The menu is very small but has some good items.
Mike and I shared the Steak Frites. It was simple but perfectly cooked.
New Villas Merchandise
Disneyland Hotel’s Fantasia Gift Shop has a small collection of items inspired by the Villas.
Disneyland Villas… The Photo Opp…
In the Esplanade, Disneyland pays tribute to the new hotel tower with a clever photo opp.
New Disneyland Ambassadors
Ladies and gentlemen, meet your new Disneyland Ambassadors: Jada Young and Raul Aquino Rojas. Their two-year assignment kicks off at the beginning of the year. This selection marks a historic moment for the resort, as they are the 50th team to assume the role.
The Ambassador program was started by Walt Disney himself in 1965. More than 40 previous Ambassadors showed up to wish Raul and Jada well.
If you’re wondering what the Ambassadors do and how they are selected, be sure to read our article:
Walt Disney’s Tradition Continues: Disneyland Selects Its 50th Set of Ambassadors!
Frog Jazz
With Fantasmic still down until sometime early next year, Disneyland has been toying around with entertainment on the Rivers of America. Queenie and the Jambalaya Jazz Band float on the rivers from dusk until fireworks most nights… and now there’s the charming “The Heartbeat of New Orleans – A Living Mural” projection show as well. But at less than 4 minutes in length, this is a blink and you’ll miss it sort of thing. It’s colorful, with great music, and absolutely adorable. But don’t camp out for a spot.
The show doesn’t have an end date, but it is being billed as a limited-time offering. We’d expect something like this to last until Fantasmic returns.
Ticket Watch…
Just a tip… The Disneyland fall ticket price increase is coming soon. Last year, Disneyland raised prices on October 11th. Since this year’s changes could come sooner or later than that, if you have a trip coming up, it’s a good idea to lock in your ticket prices now.
Our travel partners offer discount Disneyland tickets…
Discount Disney Tickets and Travel
Are you ready to get away? Our travel partners at Get Away Today are here to help you make new family memories with discounted theme park tickets, hotels, and vacation packages.
Get extra days, big savings, and perks on travel to Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Adventures By Disney, and other theme parks and family travel destinations.
Snap up those deals while you still can, with your MiceChat partners at Get Away Today- HERE
(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)
Construction Kingdom
Some big projects have recently wrapped up at the Disneyland Resort: Disneyland Hotel Villas, Tiana’s Palace Restaurant, San Fransokyo, and the new Avengers Vault store. But there are still construction walls all over the Resort. Let’s take a unique look at some projects we’ve been following since the beginning…
Downtown Disney West End Expansion Project
Downtown Disney is changing. The side of the shopping district closest to the Disneyland Hotel is in the midst of a major reconfiguration. Where there was previously a large building housing a movie theater, some shops, and the Earl of Sandwich (in its original Downtown Disney location), will be a new shopping, dining, and entertainment plaza with a stage and viewing area in the middle and shops and restaurants surrounding it.
Along the Monorail beam is a new building for shops and restaurants. You can see the mod-style stage at left with viewing lawn and asmaller building at the back.
And if you look from the monorail toward the construction, you’ll see the back side of the long building.
Running the length of the new Downtown Disney area is an entertainment zone and lawn. The stage you see in the concept art below has been constructed. That will soon allow the temporary-looking Downtown Disney stage to be removed.
Beyond the round stage, closest to the Disneyland Hotel, will be Din Tai Fung. The new dumpling house is a sure-fire hit in the making. This chain has multiple locations in SoCal, and they are all difficult to obtain a seat, with waits in the hours. It should fit in perfectly with the Disneyland Resort.
The roof is going in now.
Paseo & Centrico – Downtown Disney
And in the center of Downtown Disney, the old Catal and Uva Bar are being redesigned as an upscale Mexican dining concept, Paseo and Centrico.
The old Uva Bar was wiped away completely. The new round Centrico bar is being built from the ground up. The good news here is that there will be much more shade than the old Uva Bar offered.
The indoor dining location, Paseo, is a major project. Catal was gutted, and the interior framing is happening now.
The new establishment is being built at a glacial pace.
Pixar Place Hotel Restaurant
Another restaurant is being constructed off the lobby of the Pixar Place Hotel. The Great Maple sign is now up and we should be able to mark it off the list soon. It’s another popular local chain with a great menu.
Princess Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
Inside the parks, Tiana’s new ride is reshaping the old Splash Mountain. More of the old facade was removed this week and you can see the skeleton of the mountain in places.
Looking through the scaffolds at the top left of this image, you can see beams with the mountain shell stripped away.
Adventureland Treehouse
This looooooooog project is just about done. We got some unique views this week and more effects are up and running.
Nearly everything is done now, with the exception of a set of stairs.
The waterfall at the back of the project is now running. Look below the large scrim at the back…
And the lighting has been installed and is on.
ToonTown Troubles
Big sections of ToonTown are already queued up for renovations. CenTOONial Park and fountain are behind construction walls as the ground under the tree is leveled AGAIN. And the fountain area is being bricked for better drainage. The fountain itself is being reworked so the water effects actually function. The new ToonTown is less than a year old, but has lots of broken elements.
Goofy’s How to Play Yard will be next to close. There’s so much broken here that they need to address.
The interactive birdhouse was the first thing to be removed. A rock small enough to be a tripping hazard was placed to cover the hole.
The teeter-totters were the next element that disappeared.
And all but one of the spinning flowers has also been removed. Trashcans are used to cover the missing elements here. The green scrim at back covers another missing element…
There’s still no word on why the Donald’s Boat splash pad hasn’t EVER opened.
The land itself remains very popular with guests, so the construction walls put a pinch on crowd flow and aesthetics.
Space Mountain
I had to chuckle a bit when I saw the scaffolding around Space Mountain this week… NO, THEY AREN’T TURNING IT INTO A SALT MINE! But the scaffolds remind me of an early concept for the attraction, which would have had some of the coaster track outside the building.
This is a fairly extensive refurbishment for the attraction and the areas around it. Lots of purple scrims all over.
Tomorrowland DVC Kiosk
And, for some reason, the DVC kiosk in Tomorrowland has required a weeks-long refurbishment.
If this is important to you for some reason, they’ve created a temporary DVC stand nearby at the exit of the Buzz Lightyear shop. You can see the DVC guide standing next to a pull up banner and a desk at the center of the image below.
Mark Twain
Disneyland’s paddle wheeler has been completely wrapped while some major refurbishment work is completed. If this feels familiar to you, that’s because this old ship requires annual refurbishment of this sort.
Current Disneyland Refurbishments
- Tarzan’s Treehouse Transformation: (September 1st, 2021-2023)
- Splash Mountain – Conversion to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure: (May 31st, 2023-Late 2024)
- Schmoozies!: (July 30th-TBA)
- The Golden Horseshoe: (September 12th-October 2nd)
- CenTOONial Park: (September 15th-October 22nd)
- Mark Twain Riverboat: (September 17th-TBA)
- Space Moutain: (September 18th-October 25th)
Upcoming Refurbishments:
- it’s a small world – Holiday Install: (October 23rd-November 9th)
- Goofy’s How-to-Play Yard: (October 23rd-November 9th)
- Redwood Creek Challenge Trail – Holiday Change Over: (November 1st-9th)
Photo Fun
Now that the hard work is done let’s have a little fun. My buddy Mike took some amazing photos this week.
The weather provided some visual interest, with dramatic clouds and even a bit of drizzle at times. But it sure does add a perfectly moody Halloween feel to some of these photos.
Purple tree fans, let’s hear from you!
Tilly at the Main Street Cinema is usually redressed for Halloween. But this year, she remains dressed in her Disney100 costume.
She doesn’t seem happy about it:
Mike had to make a quick call… But he couldn’t get a word in edgewise. It appears that Dasiy had a party, and would you know that she didn’t invite her own mother-in-law? It’s true! And, I’m not one to gossip, but Trudy Featherbottom was galavanting through town with her bloomers showing! The nerve!
Tiana, wearing her new outfit, was greeting guests in front of her new restaurant.
We’re trying to enjoy the Magic Happens parade before it glows away again in a couple weeks. Strange that Disneyland is leaving a big hole in the entertainment schedule for a month until the Christmas parade returns in November.
But our viewing wasn’t without a bit of drama. The Princess and the Frog float had to be towed along the parade route.
Wait… There’s More!
Every Friday we stroll through Disneyland at 5pm to see what’s new. This week we were joined by Samantha Davis-Friedman. I had to trick her into doing this, but she sure was a lot of fun to hear from. When you get the two of us together, there are LOTS of opinions to share:
Don’t miss our videos, follow and subscribe on YOUTUBE & FACEBOOK
Discount Disney Tickets and Travel
Are you ready to get away? Our travel partners at Get Away Today are here to help you make new family memories with discounted theme park tickets, hotels, and vacation packages.
Get extra days, big savings, and perks on travel to Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Adventures By Disney, and other theme parks and family travel destinations.
Snap up those deals while you still can, with your MiceChat partners at Get Away Today- HERE
(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!
Another journey through Disneyland has come to an end. But never fear… we’ll always be here to bring you the latest from the “____ Place on Earth” (insert your own adjective).
Shall we start placing bets on how much Disneyland’s next ticket price increase will be (from insignificant to large). We’d hope that Disneyland’s annual pass program gets a reboot at the same time. The resort generally likes to have passes and new pricing well in place before people start buying tickets as Christmas presents.
What did you think of that new Vacation Club Tower at the Disneyland Hotel? Are you waiting with bated breath for the Adventureland Treehouse to wrap up? And how about that little animated surprise on the Rivers of America? They kept saying that more entertainment was coming, but we didn’t imagine that!
We look forward to hearing from you in the comments below!
Much thanks to Mike Kindrich for joining me this week. It was a joy to have such beautiful photos to work with!
Related Disneyland Reading:
Disney has MASSIVE expansion plans for the parks:
And where might some of those billions be spent in Anaheim…
IT’S APPROVED!!! DisneylandForward Moves Forward What You Need To Know
And, don’t miss the new Villas at the Disneyland Hotel…
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW: The Villas at the Disneyland Hotel – News & Views!