DATELINE DISNEYLAND: There’s always a lot going on at the Happiest Place on Earth, it seems! Last week, the debut of Pixar’s new “Inside Out 2” brought new offerings to the Disneyland Resort. In Disneyland, classic attractions turned 65 years old. And out on Downtown Disney, walls have come down at Downtown Disney’s new Michelin-starred Chinese dim sum restaurant. And that’s not all! Major construction continues in New Orleans Square and Critter Country as the Haunted Mansion’s queue expands and Tiana’s transformation continues. We also take a moment today to honor our dearly departed friend, MiceAge founder and Disney watchdog Al Lutz.
We’ve got a big summer update ready for you! Let’s get started!
Welcome to Disneyland!
It’s a beautiful time to visit Disneyland! We’re in a Goldilocks moment—summer crowds have been busy but not terribly overwhelming, and summer temperatures are warming up but not too hot just yet. For the busy season, conditions are just right.
A look at some summer wait times on Friday afternoon. Not too bad considering we’re in full summer season at the Resort!
Wait times were a bit higher at California Adventure, partially due to the fewer attractions in Disneyland’s sister park. It’s still mindboggling that they charge as much to get into this park as they do Disneyland.
Celebrating 65 Years of Disneyland ’59
June 14th wasn’t just another day at the park—it marked the 65th anniversary of what Walt Disney dubbed Disneyland’s “second opening.” Back in 1959, this massive expansion introduced the world to now-legendary rides like the Matterhorn Bobsleds, Monorail, and Submarine Voyage, rides so big they necessitated the creation of the coveted E-Ticket. And it didn’t stop there; Walt heralded the new path for the Skyway through the Matterhorn’s Glacier Grotto, spruced up the Motorboat Cruise, and even squeezed in a new Fantasyland Autopia alongside its Tomorrowland sibling. Talk about a summer to remember!
The E-Ticket designation was reserved for Disneyland’s best attractions and three of the six new Disneyland ’59 attractions — the Matterhorn Bobsleds, Monorail, and Submarine Voyage — debuted at the new E-Ticket level. Several preexisting Disneyland attractions were “upgraded” to E-Ticket status at the same time.
Disneyland ’59 was a huge deal for Disneyland — the six new attractions were unveiled to the public on a Kodak-sponsored TV special and include Monorail ribbon-cutting ceremony with then Vice President Richard Nixon.
Disneyland 1959 marked not only the park’s first major multi-attraction expansion but also secured Disneyland’s longstanding reputation for constant reinvention and innovation. The Matterhorn Bobsleds was not only the first rollercoaster in Disneyland but also the world’s first tubular steel rollercoaster. Impressive? Sure. But the real kicker? Disney didn’t just build a roller coaster; they wrapped a whole mountain around it. And not just any mountain, but an instantly iconic one.
The Matterhorn Bobsleds was popular on Saturday, often boasting 2-hour wait times on its 65th anniversary.
Disneyland’s Monorail was the first daily operating monorail system in the western hemisphere.
It may have been closed for a while in the 90s and 2000s, but Walt Disney’s fleet of submarines is operating daily and is now home to Finding Nemo. 65 years of taking guests into liquid space.
To celebrate the Matterhorn’s anniversary, Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel is releasing a new Matterhorn-themed mug on June 20, with mug designer Doug P’Gosh on hand for signing.
The new mug comes with pineapple-coconut flavored DOLE Whip and will be released via the Disneyland Resort mobile app on June 20, with mobile orders opening at 6:00 a.m. and arrival windows starting at 8:00 a.m.
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Celebrate Soulfully: Music, Animation, and more!
As part of Disneyland’s ongoing Celebrate Soulfully offerings, the Golden Horseshoe has a new exhibit on display highlighting Black music in America at the turn of the 20th century.
Unfortunately, the exhibit is on the stage here. This means that while this exhibit runs, we won’t be seeing any live music in the venue. This exhibit could have been installed in the Main Street Opera House lobby or even in the upstairs seating area of the Golden Horseshoe, freeing up the stage to have actual Black musicians performing throughout the day.
It’s a neat little exhibit but it would have been even better as a supplemental exhibit to live performances of ragtime music or Black cowhand music.
Over in Disney California Adventure is a display celebrating Disney’s first Black animator, Floyd Norman. The display has art and references to the various films he’s worked on throughout his wonderful career. This display made its debut last year.
From Sleeping Beauty to Monsters, Inc., Floyd Norman has left his mark on numerous Disney and Pixar classics over the years.
As part of Black Music History Month, live music performances during select times can be enjoyed in the Disneyland Hotel’s Lobby Lounge, at the Downtown Disney LIVE! stage, and in the Grand Californian Hotel lobby.
‘Inside Out 2’ arrives at Disneyland Resort
Disneyland Resort is celebrating the debut of Pixar’s newly-released hit “Inside Out 2” with a variety of offerings, including the debut of a new Anger meet-and-greet character on Pixar Pier.
- Learn to draw “Inside Out 2” characters at Animation Academy: Joy, Sadness, Anxiety and Anger
- “Inside Out 2” collectible, limited time medallion at Bing Bong’s Sweet Stuff Medallion Machine.
- “Inside Out 2” inspired merchandise items, food and beverage offerings plus novelties including the Anxiety Straw Clip at select locations.
- Limited-time Disney PhotoPass lens with “Inside Out 2” characters (available with Genie+ purchase)
- “Inside Out 2” character art and character maquette exhibit at Pixar Place Hotel
Disney California Adventure guests can learn to draw an Inside Out 2 character in the Animation Academy attraction during select sessions.
The special exhibit of character maquettes in the Pixar Place Hotel is in the second level of the lobby.
Guests can take the glass elevator or the Soul stairs up to the second level to see the exhibit.
The space for the exhibit is a bit strange as it wraps around the lobby’s large open atrium entryway. There also isn’t any proper lighting up here for an exhibit like this, so the panel of character drawings and the character maquettes are unfortunately under-lit by ambient lighting from the colorful lobby that lights up the entryway.
Three standalone displays highlight three of the new emotions joining the cast of Inside Out 2. Below, Ennui:
Even though these maquettes are in such a strange space and not lit well, it’s neat to see them up close. 
A large panel display showcases prints of character studies and scene concept art.
Below, the maquette display for new emotion, Embarrassment.
There isn’t a maquette for the new “Envy” character, but there are window decals highlighting the character on a set of windows in this upstairs space.
It’s kind of a weird choice to showcase a new character this way when the others have maquettes on display. 
And finally, the maquette for the new emotion, Anxiety.
It’s a nice bonus to utilize parts of the Pixar Place Hotel to showcase new and upcoming Pixar films — we just hope that if they continue to use the upstairs space, they take a little more care next time to install some simple gallery lighting and maybe install a gallery wall system for printed art. The Pixar artists that create these movies and their hard work deserve to be showcased better than this first attempt.
Steaming Soon in Downtown Disney
In Downtown Disney, walls have come down around the latest big piece of the shopping and dining district’s big expansion and remodeling project.
The new Din Tai Fung dim sum restaurant is one step closer to opening in its beautiful new location at the far west end of Downtown Disney. The Taiwan-based, Michelin-starred Chinese dim sum and noodle restaurant is expected to open any time now next to the lovely Palm Springs-inspired, mid-century modern park and stage area.
New outdoor bench seating with metalwork based on the Mickey Mouse-shaped breeze blocks found elsewhere in this new area.
New lampposts 
Metalwork detail on the lampposts.
Detail of lighting fixtures on the side of the new restaurant
A peek inside reveals a stunning interior.
All in all, the new addition looks great — a beautiful new addition to Downtown Disney that will surely be one of the mall’s hot-ticket dining spots. 
Construction Kingdom & Refurbishment Roundup
Disneyland:
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure: Under construction. Opens late 2024
The Haunted Mansion: Closed for queue expansion and gift shop construction. Reopening TBA
The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln: Closed for refurbishment. Reopening TBA.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Closed during Critter Country construction. Reopening TBA.
The Briar Patch: Closed for re-theming to Ray’s Berets. Reopening TBA.
Pooh Corner: Closed for remodeling and to add Critter Club. Reopening TBA.
Davey Crockett’s Explorer Canoes: Closed for Critter Country construction. Closed July—TBA.
Hungry Bear Restaurant: Closed for Critter Country construction. Closed July 8—TBA.
Critter Country Fruit Cart: Closed for Critter Country construction. Closed July 8—TBA.
Fantasyland Theatre Popcorn Cart: Closed June 16—July 11.
Disney California Adventure:
Redwood Creek Challenge Trail: Closed for refurbishment through July 22
Hotels of the Disneyland Resort:
The Coffee House at The Disneyland Hotel: Closed for refurbishment through June 30
Main Street U.S.A. refurbishments
In Town Square, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln remains closed for refurbishment with no known reopening date.
On the other side of Town Square, refurbishment work is underway on the Emporium Annex facade.
Further down Main Street, refurbishment continues on the China Closet facade. The shop remains open.
Haunted Mansion construction
Major construction continues on the expansion and reimagining of the Haunted Mansion’s outdoor queue and the nearby Magnolia Park area.
It may not look it from these photos, but the project is coming along well. Once the new ADA elevator is installed where the old crypt was in the queue, things will come together quickly.
On the exit side of the attraction, the new gift shop has yet to go vertical.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure & Critter Country Construction
You can spot some work on the former Briar Patch shop, soon to be Ray’s Berets.
A ride on the Disneyland Railroad gives unique views of construction underway in Critter Country. Below, the view from the Disneyland Railroad on the bridge over Critter Country, facing the Rivers of America. The entrance to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is on the left, with the Hungry Bear Restaurant just beyond it. On the right, the edge of the former Splash Mountain.
The marquee for Winnie the Pooh is gone but the entrance to the attraction is closed off while construction is underway.
The former Briar Patch shop, which will reopen as Ray’s Berets, is below, with heavy construction surrounding it.
Facing backwards, toward the entrance of the former Splash Mountain and toward Pooh Corner…
The load area for Winnie the Pooh looks like it will remain largely untouched.
If you missed our recent Walt Disney World Update, you should take a look for Dusty’s review of Magic Kingdom’s version of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. It’s beautiful, there’s no doubt about that, but there are some issues down on the bayou. While nothing can make up for the fact that they forgot to set up the thrilling drop with a villain element, we do think that Disneyland’s version of the ride will benefit from a tighter enclosure and shorter ride length, which will help compress the show scenes closer together.
Open this one in a 2nd window so you don’t lose your place in this update:
WDW Update: Frontierland’s Last Shot, Tiana’s Splash, Country Bears Croon New Tunes & More
Disney Vacation Club’s new Golden Vine Room
Work seems to be nearing completion on the Disney Vacation Club’s new Golden Vine Room – Welcome Home Center in the middle of Disney California Adventure. The space, most recently home to the Blue Sky Cellar Preview Center, will now be used by Disney Vacation Club to sell timeshares — not my favorite use of valuable in-park real estate.
No official opening date has yet been announced.
Redwood Creek & Paradise Park
The Redwood Creek Challenge Trail’s refurbishment continues and is now set to run through July 22 but that date has been in flux.
Over in Paradise Garden, a section of the seating area next to the meet-and-greet gazebo is closed for refurbishment.
Disney Hotel Happenings
At the Disneyland Hotel, the giant 1960s-era Fun Map has been replaced with a more vibrant print and looks great. Unfortunately, it looks like the projection effects that previously brought elements of the fun map to life, have been removed. This makes sense as the projections were always a bit hard to see during the day with too much natural light coming into the building from the large entry doors. Not only that, but this large fun map is pretty frequently swapped out with themed displays for holidays and special promotions. We’re sad to see the fun projections glow away but it’s a change that makes sense.
Meanwhile, the coffee shop next to Goofy’s Kitchen remains closed for a remodel.
Over at Pixar Place Hotel, there is STILL work going on. While all the guest areas are now complete, not all of the rooms have been switched over to the new Pixar style. It’s been slow going on this project.
Downtown Disney: Disneyland Hotel security entrance
The Disneyland Hotel’s old security entrance into Downtown Disney has been removed and the entire area has been cleared for new construction. Expect a new permanent security gate here for Disneyland Hotel guests.
A peek at construction work underway
Downtown Disney: Parkside Market progress
Across from Din Tai Fung, construction continues on the upcoming Parkside Market. The new facility will be home to multiple quick-service food options and a rooftop lounge serving cocktails and mocktails.
Concept art of the upcoming indoor-outdoor rooftop lounge at Parkside Market.
Below, concept art of the building seen under construction above.
Downtown Tortilla Jo’s, Marceline’s Confectionary, and Earl of Sandwich
Work continues on some additional Downtown Disney projects… Tortilla Jo’s old place will become two new dining concepts.
Marceline Confectionary’s expansion project continues.
And Earl of Sandwich’s temporary location in the former La Brea Bakery space remains open, while the Porto’s Bakery & Cafe project is seemingly stalled…
The temporary trailer pop-up location for Earl of Sandwich next to Star Wars Trading Post remains in place but hasn’t yet been put to any use.
This & That
Last week, Disneyland rolled out new functionality on the official Disneyland App, giving guests the ability to upgrade park tickets directly in the app. Previously, guests would need to visit a ticket booth or call Disneyland’s ticketing line for upgrades. The new functionality for ticket upgrades include:
- Upgrading to a higher-tier ticket
- Adding days to tickets
- Adding Disney Genie+
- Upgrade to a Park Hopper ticket
- Visit the Tickets and Passes screen and link your ticket to your Disney account.
- One-day tickets – upgrade by midnight on the day of your visit to the Disneyland Resort.
- Multi-day tickets – upgrade by midnight on or before the last valid day of your ticket.
Over on Main Street’s East Center Street, a small Cast Member gate next to the long-abandoned ice cream cone window has been redressed as the Main Street Painter’s Supply.
The new signage and theme for this previously unmarked gate is part of a multi-year deal between Disney and paint manufacturer PPG. The multi-year partnership was announced in June 2022 and made PPG the official paint of Walt Disney World and Disneyland. This new theme for this little Main Street facade is part of that multi-year partnership deal.
The facade update here is subtle, well-done, and in-theme with the rest of Main Street. It looks great!
Around the Parks
Let’s wrap up today’s update with some summertime views from around the parks…
Remembering Al Lutz
Last week, the Disney community lost one of its most influential voices with the passing of Al Lutz. Al was the founder of MiceAge.com, sister site to the MiceChat discussion forums. But before MiceAge and MiceChat, Al made a name for himself in the Disney corners of the early internet by being a sharp-witted, keen-eyed critic of Disneyland’s budget-slashing management of the 1990s and early 2000s.
Al garnered a towering reputation for reporting on Disneyland’s suffering maintenance issues by regularly updating his readers on how many bulbs on Main Street were burnt out. But to say Al was just counting light bulbs on Main Street would be a disservice to his actual work and impact. Al was the Disney watchdog of his time — Al reported throughout a dark period of Disneyland history, with observations and critiques that were searing but balanced with his obvious love for the company, its products, and its legacy. Al held Disney’s feet to the fire because he loved it so much and his reporting came from a desire to see Disney be the absolute best that it could be.
Personally, I became highly active in the Disney community in the early 2000s and I would eagerly await new Al Lutz articles. Tuesday mornings were my favorite because I knew the latest from Al would hit MiceAge. Al’s articles fed my love of Disney and gave me hope for a brighter future at Disneyland as the Resort maneuvered its way out of a long period in the 90s and early 00s riddled with corporate mismanagement, poor maintenance, and a series of expensive flops including the opening of Disney’s California Adventure.
I eagerly joined the MiceChat forums once Dustysage opened those as an extension of Al’s MiceAge blog — and I officially joined the MiceAge/MiceChat team as a columnist in 2007. As a longtime reader, it was an honor to be a part of the team with Al. MiceChat was much smaller back then with just a few of us writing on the site. Ever the night owl, Al would stay up late until I emailed him links to my photos and column so he could make a banner and post it to the MiceAge front page. In these late-night emails, Al was always so kind to compliment me on my photographic eye.
MiceAge’s longtime slogan was “A different look at Disney” — and Al was always so encouraging of me to offer my honest viewpoints on the latest happenings at Disneyland. Al wasn’t interested in sugarcoating things for Disney — if something needed to be said, I always knew I had the support to say it. Indeed, there were at least a few times when my commentary struck a nerve in the community and was getting some heat and I’d find a note from Al in my inbox, encouraging me to keep my head up and keep fighting the fight.
One of my favorite moments in working with Al was a casual e-mail from him just before my first blog on the site launched. He suggested a different name for my blog than what had been pitched — “Dateline Disneyland,” Al suggested, and so it was. I was proud to write under that title every week for so long, alongside Al.
It’s been a while since our last Disneyland update from Al and even though I had known Al had long been battling Parkinson’s, there was always a part of the young Disneyland fan in me hoping that one day I’d see another Al Lutz column pop up on MiceChat.com. Part of me is sad to have to let that hope go now but I am so grateful to have known Al, been a fan of Al, and been mentored by Al. Al’s bulb hasn’t flickered out — no, his legacy is shining as brightly as ever as it lights the way forward for our Disney community.
Thank you for everything, Al.
A Tribute to Al Lutz: The Unyielding Guardian of Disney’s Legacy
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Let’s Hear From You!
Alright, that wraps up this week’s Disneyland update. Thank you for reading and please be sure to share this update with your friends and fellow Disney fans! Are you excited for Din Tai Fung? Did you see Inside Out 2 over the weekend? Did you click through to watch Dusty’s video of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
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