Big things are happening at Disneyland this week, and we’re here to unwrap it all! From bayou adventures to holiday cheer, there’s no shortage of excitement. The official opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has drawn crowds eager to experience this reimagined attraction. Nestled between Tiana’s Palace and the Haunted Mansion, the new Magnolia Gardens opens, while the future Haunted Mansion shop has been teasing fans with its unwrapped façade.
But the bayou buzz doesn’t end there—a brand-new Louis’ Critter Club shop offers unique themed merchandise to commemorate your big splash. Meanwhile, Disneyland’s holiday celebrations are in full swing, bringing several new shows, returning favorites, and festive surprises to the parks. And just to keep things unconventional, Deadpool has joined the fun with his own holiday storytime experience—because why not?
Let’s dive into all the news, from bayou beauties to holiday hilarity, and everything in between.
But first things first: Today is Mickey’s birthday, so we want to wish him a very happy 96th!
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
On Friday, Nov. 15th, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure finally opened to all guests; we’ve written a lot about this ride over the last four years. We mostly like it, but it suffers from a lack of a villain to help set up the big drop. Still, it’s a musical adventure on an epic scale that appears to be delighting younger guests in particular. You can read all about the new ride and our thoughts in our guide: Everything You Need To Know About Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. But if you want to ride, the only way is via Disneyland’s Lightning Lane or Virtual Queue systems (there’s no standby queue at this time).
The good news is that there are three daily opportunities to request to join a virtual queue:
- 7 a.m. – Guests must have a park reservation for Disneyland Park, but don’t need to be inside the park to attempt to book a Bayou Adventure Virtual Queue spot.
- 12 Noon – Guests inside Disney California Adventure Park with a Park Hopper ticket or inside Disneyland Park can request to join the virtual queue.
- 4 p.m. – Guests inside Disney California Adventure Park with a Park Hopper ticket or inside Disneyland Park can request to join the virtual queue
Guests with a Magic Key pass or Park Hopper ticket who start their day at California Adventure can hop to Disneyland beginning at 11 a.m. to redeem their boarding group, but the ability to visit a park is subject to the park’s capacity limitations, and a boarding group does not guarantee park admission.
You may be able to get quicker entry to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure by purchasing Lightning Lane Multi Pass, which provides the ability to book an arrival window or Lightning Lane Premier Pass, which allows you to ride at any time (both subject to availability).
You can learn more about Lightning Lane options in our guide:
Disney Lightning Lanes: Premier, Multi, or Single – What You Need to Know
If you can’t wait to see what all the fuss is about, you can ride along with us here:
And read our guide for everything you need to know about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure:
🐸 Tiana’s Bayou Adventure NOW OPEN at Disneyland – Guide & Tips 👑
Have you had a chance to ride Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland? Be sure to share your comments and take our poll:
Louis’ Critter Club
Last Wednesday was also the debut of the new Louis’ Critter Club shop in Bayou Country. The new store has a big selection of Tiana’s Bayou Attraction merch, but even if you’re not making a purchase, it’s worth a visit to see the adorable theming.
We were among the first to explore the new store:
The shop is themed as a theater for the critter bands you see inside the ride. The cash wrap is the stage area, with dressing room doors on either side, and Mama Odie’s theater box is directly across from the stage.
High above the shelves on one side of the store is the Lillypad Lounge. The drinks are garnished with flies. Gross? Not if you’re a frog!
For all the new Tiana’s Bayou Adventure-themed merch, check out our guide:
UPDATED! Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Merchandise Guide – Shop ’til the Drop!
Critter Confusion…
Because of the heavy interest in the new ride and shops, Bayou Country was testing a limitation on strollers allowed into the land. Unless you had a medical need, guests were being asked to leave their strollers outside of Bayou Country. Cast members were taking a lot of heat from upset guests.
Keep in mind that this land also contains the Winnie the Pooh ride, Pooh Corner candy shop, and the Winnie the Pooh meet and greet. It’s going to be hard for the park to enforce a stroller restriction for very long.
Christmas in Disneyland
Disneyland’s holiday celebrations also got underway on Nov. 15th, and we were very happy to see Mickey and friends decked out in their new Letters to Santa-inspired holiday outfits.
Fantasyland Theatre Experience
A new holiday experience in the Fantasyland Theatre debuted on Friday. In addition to Santa meet and greets, there are also musical performances on the stage, dancing, crafts, character meet and greets, and the opportunity to send letters to Santa. We particularly enjoyed seeing Clarabelle Cow.
A Christmas Fantasy Parade
The tried and true (and maybe a little tired?) holiday tradition is once again making its way down Main Street, U.S.A.
And while we know many of you are nostalgic about this parade, the music is so short and repetitive, the parade breaks are so long, and most of the floats are small and basic. Other Disney parks have much better parades. While we would expect to see the snowmen, reindeer, and other popular elements return in some way, we do hope that there’s something in the works to plus this offering in the future. It’s time.
Believe… In Holiday Magic Fireworks
We were in the park on Wednesday night for a special early showing of “Believe… In Holiday Magic Fireworks,” and while the show itself may not be as high-tech as some of the newer nighttime spectaculars, the projections and “snowfall” on Main Street is just as magical as ever.
Small World Holiday Sets Sail
Small World opened right on time for the kickoff to the holiday season.
Festival Of Holidays Entertainment
In California Adventure, two new shows joined the Festival of Holidays lineup this year (both performing Monday through Friday only).
Mirabel’s Gifts of the Season
This musical celebration with a very loose holiday theme includes favorite songs from “Encanto” and features Mirabel, Isabela, Luisa, and Bruno (though Mirabel is the only member of the family Madrigal who sings in the show).
Performances are on weekdays at 1:10 p.m,, 2:10 p.m., 3:45 p.m., 4:45 p.m., and 5:45 p.m. (but please double check showtimes on the day of your visit and times can and do change)
While cute, this show is no substitute for the spectacular Viva Navidad, which is now only performed on the weekends.
A Musical Christmas with Mariachi Alegría de Disneyland & Miguel
The evening musical performance kicks off with a processional from Hollywood Land to the fountain in front of the Carthay Circle Theater. It culminates with a visit by Miguel from “Coco.”
Performances are on weekdays at 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 7:45 p.m., 8:45 p.m., and 9:45 p.m.
Like the Encanto show, this one is performed in the middle of a busy walkway, which makes crowd flow and waiting for the performance challenging. And, unless you get a front-row view, it can be difficult to see everything.
Disney ¡Viva Navidad! Street Party
Story Time with Deadpool
Here’s a nice surprise! Deadpool has gotten into the holiday spirit with a new holiday-themed story time that started on Nov. 16th.
The shows are short and very fun. It also takes place in the abandoned Hyperion Theater courtyard, which makes for some nice shade and is out of the way for guests who aren’t seeing the performance.
The Deadpool shows are also highly repeatable, as different holiday tales are told throughout the day.
We caught a performance of the new show over the weekend:
Construction
We have some fun things to show you this week as more construction walls on the west side of Disneyland start to come down…
Haunted Mansion Area
There are three projects right now around the Haunted mansion. One is the new gift shop, another is the expanded queue, and the final is a reworking of the abbreviated Magnolia Gardens between Tiana’s Palace and the Haunted Mansion queue.
Walls around the Magnolia Gardens area have come down, allowing guests to board the train once again in New Orleans Square. While the old circular garden surrounded by magnolia trees was much more charming… over the years, it had been absorbed by the Haunted Mansion as an overflow queue, resulting in a pinch point of guests accessing the train and trying to get to the Mint Julep Bar and restrooms beyond. The newly opened area has eased the traffic flow issues (though it’s still tight to get back to the restrooms). But we wish they had found a way to relocate it in this area. Instead it was turned into a planter and moved to the Haunted Mansion queue.
A piece of this project was the opening of the stage at Tiana’s Palace to both the eatery and Magnolia Gardens.
A decorative wall separates Magnolia Gardens from the new Haunted Mansion queue, which appears to be very close to completion as well.
Speaking of that new queue, we can now see a bit of it from near the train station…
The covered awning leads to the new disabled access elevator.
On the other side of the Haunted Mansion, the future gift shop has come out from behind construction walls. While it isn’t open yet, having the construction walls down helps the area feel less constricted. If it looks a bit plain, like a horse stable, right now, we expect quite a bit more set decoration before it’s all done.
Nearby, the Mansion gift cart has returned.
Main Street Train Station
The long refurbishment of the Main Street Train Station is nearing its completion. Scaffolds have been removed from the sides of the station, but the center was still wrapped when we took these photos.
This should all be complete in time for Candlelight setup.
Disneyland Refurbishment Calendar
The never-ending stream of refurbishments continues…
- The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln adding “Walt Disney — A Magical Life”: April 16, 2024 – 2025
- Pixie Hollow: Sept. 16 – Nov. 30
- The LEGO Store: Oct. 7 – Nov. 30
- The Little Mermaid – Ariel’s Undersea Adventure: Nov. 4 – 22
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: Nov. 18 – Dec. 12
Upcoming Refurbishments:
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant: Nov. 19
- Storybook Land Canal Boats: Dec. 2 – 5
- Casey Jr. Circus Train: Dec. 2 – 6
- it’s a small world: Jan. 21 – Spring 2025
Downtown Disney Reboot
And if it seems like we’ve covered everything today, we haven’t! There’s a tremendous amount of news from Downtown Disney, where new restaurants and shops are on the way.
New Steakhouse & BBQ
The old Tortilla Jo’s will soon transform into two new restaurants. A table service steakhouse called Arthur & Sons will take up part of the complex, next to it will be a quick service establishment called Pearl’s Roadside BBQ.
Parkside Market
A number of quick-service eateries will open in the complex, but upstairs, you’ll find the Vista Parkside Market lounge, which will hopefully offer views that live up to its name.
Downstairs will be the Chicken Shop, Seoul Sister, and Sip & Sonder.
New, New, New Earl of Sandwich
An all-new Earl of Sandwich is under construction near the Parkside Market building. In addition to the familiar Earl of Sandwich planned for the ground level, the second floor will be home to an all-new table service concept, The Carnaby Tavern. The Tavern is an homage to the ‘60s “British Invasion” pop and rock bands from the U.K.
Portos
The long-awaited sandwich shop and bakery is finally on track to take over the old La Brea Bakery/Earl of Sandwich building. This establishment will also offer a table service option in addition to the quick service options the chain is best known for.
In addition to all of the restaurants headed our way, there are also some new and reimagined stores…
D-Lander
This shop will have several store within a store concepts (such as Kate Spade and Pandora)
Avengers Reserve
A new shop for your Marvel gear is on the way in the Parkside area. You won’t be able to miss this store, with the huge Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man figures at the door.
Wonderful World of Sweets
The name may be uninspired, but this expanded candy store is shaping up to be a big hit. The new line of treats will include the Werther’s Originals caramel corn that is so popular at EPCOT.
Lego store
And, finally, the LEGO Store is getting a refresh. New brick sculptures are on the way. While this refurbishment isn’t as ambitious as most of the other Downtown Disney projects, it is one of the most popular brands in the shopping district, and fans are anxiously awaiting news on the creative changes.
For a more detailed look at the massive Downtown Disney redo, please visit our guide…
Downtown Disney Transformed: Updates on New Restaurants & Shops!
MiceChat Live
We produced a lot of video content for you in this week’s update… but we have one last gem… a MiceChat LIVE from the parks. Join our crew as we show you around the resort. Visit one of the new shows at DCA, the new Magnolia Gardens, the Haunted Mansion gift shop, the Critter Club, and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure…
Mice Shots
In Adventureland, the Little Man of Disneyland‘s house is decorated for the holidays!
Follow MiceChat on social: MiceChat Facebook Page, MiceChat Facebook Group, MiceChat Instagram, MiceChat Threads, MiceChat X, MiceChat YouTube
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Let’s Hear From You
What are your thoughts on all the excitement this week? Are you planning to brave the virtual queue for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure or check out the newly opened Magnolia Gardens? Maybe you’re here for the holiday shows—or just curious about Deadpool’s holiday antics.
We want to know! Share your thoughts in the comments below and let us know what you’re looking forward to most as Disneyland’s festive season gets into full swing!
