DISNEYLAND UPDATE: Construction Conclusions & Mansion Mysteries Revealed

As the pumpkin pies bake and holiday lights flicker to life, we find ourselves at the threshold of Thanksgiving—a time for reflection, togetherness, and, of course, a little Disneyland magic. For many of us, this week marks the true start of the holiday season, a time when the parks sparkle just a little brighter and the festive cheer is everywhere.

But, as much as Disneyland dazzles, it comes with a price—literally. Between peak ticket pricing, Magic Key blockouts, and sky-high add-ons, the happiest place on Earth is making it harder for families to gather in the parks this holiday season. Still, those who make it to the Disneyland Resort this week will find every corner dressed in its holiday best, from the twinkling castle to the merry gingerbread houses.

This week, we’re serving up a feast of Disneyland news and updates, from holiday highlights to construction progress and everything in between. So grab a cup of cocoa, cozy up, and let’s dive into this week’s Disneyland Update!

Construction Kingdom Projects Wrapping Up!

Many of the massive number of projects happening all over the resort are wrapping up. Walls recently came down around Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and much of the Haunted Mansion, and now the Parkside Market area of Downtown Disney is also about to be unveiled. Let’s take a look…

Haunted Happenings

Much of the long construction wall on the west side of Disneyland is now removed. Magnolia Park is now open, the walls around the upcoming Haunted Mansion shop are down (with new details appearing daily), and the extended themed queue for the attraction is now open to guests as well. The Virtual Queue will no longer be in use as of November 26th. 

Disneyland rushed to get this expanded queue open as quickly as possible so they can end the virtual queue. With both the Haunted Mansion and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure on virtual queues, it made things difficult for park guests. The pathways are complete, and a few minor details, touch-up painting and the planting of flowers, shrubs, and ground cover were conducted over the weekend.

The new queue opened to guests on Tuesday the 26th of November and has lots of new details. 

Two watchful ravens guard the grounds, symbolizing the connection between the living and the spirit world. You’ll also spot a crouching cat statue, ready to pounce from its hiding spot among the grasses.

Two sleepy lions guard the new crypt (which conceals a new ADA elevator). 

Master Gracey’s personal garden retreat features a fountain adorned with a sea maiden, an iron gazebo with a well-read book, and other thoughtful details reflecting his mysterious past.

All sorts of spirits can be found on these creepy grounds. 

Madame Leota’s enchanted garden is alive with mystical energy—frogs, lizards, and even a cymbal-playing monkey seem frozen in her spell. Her courtyard oak tree is adorned with fortune-telling orbs, chimes, and bells that tinkle in the wind.

At the rear of the garden lies the Mansion Greenhouse, a stunning iron-and-glass structure where ghostly green thumbs cultivate bizarre plants.

There’s much more to look at than the old switchback queue. 

Guests using mobility devices can now access the main queue and entrance of the Haunted Mansion. After their ghostly ride, they’ll exit via a new, accessible elevator that adds a little extra magic. The exit extends the attraction’s story with a gallery featuring original Imagineering artwork and other surprises!

The Haunted Mansion shop walls were removed before the official opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure to accommodate the expected influx of foot traffic to this corner of the park.

 The size and simplicity of the shop were instantly criticized, but now that some thematic elements are being installed, it does look much more promising. 

Shelves have been installed with colorful pots and dried flowers, similar to what we see in the concept art. But it is very interesting to see how different the final product is from the concept. Fewer doors, more exterior lighting… 

But do expect the entire exterior to be dressed up and ornamented as this project wraps up. 

Some new concept art shows the interior of Leota’s humble abode: 

The shop is also much larger than it appears from the front. Looking back at the shop from the bridge into Bayou Country, you can see how far back into the berm the store goes and how it even expands toward the back. 

Magnolia Park opened a bit before it was completely done to accommodate guest flow and the reopening of the New Orleans Train Station. The area didn’t just lose its iconic circular park and fountain; the large gardens on the small hill from the station down toward Tiana’s Palace restaurant were also carved into to create stroller parking and easier access to the Mint Julep Bar. 

The popcorn cart has also moved to a newly carved spot in front of the train station. 

And the dragon fountain, which wasn’t operating last week, is now functional. 

I feel personally attached to this fountain as my grandmother had two of this exact fountain, one on either side of the front door to her house. 

Unfortunately, the newly opened bandstand may end up being an issue as the walkway next to it is the main artery to the train station. We saw Disneyland testing a variety of locations for a band in Magnolia Park, which won’t block access to the train. An interesting predicament that may result in potted shrubs being placed at the back of the band shell and the bands just playing to the restaurant as originally designed, which would probably be for the best. There is also room near the new fountain (above) for small groups to play that won’t impede foot traffic… but that music would conflict with the new Haunted Mansion queue music, which is already loudly playing nearby.  

Train station unwrapped

Just in time for Candlelight, Disneyland’s Main Street Train Station has been unwrapped and looks (mostly) good.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The entire building was reroofed, gilded elements gleam once more. Everything is ready to impress guests for the Candlelight Processional, as this building is the backdrop for the big event.

The displays inside the station have been dusted. 

Fun Tip: Did you know that the Disneyland railroad map inside the station actually shows how many trains are on the track and where they are currently located? When I took this photo, two trains were running… one in Tomorrowland and one at New Orleans station. 

Although she shines like a new penny, the glow is already fading. Since the big reveal, some of the lights are already starting to burn out. Disney may want to reexamine their light bulb choices for better durability (and/or check to make sure there isn’t some sort of electrical problem causing bulbs to burn out well before their time).  

While it’s a small thing that 3 bulbs were burnt out on this one section of this building (featured below), failures add up quickly and it would be a shame for all that beautiful roof work and detailing to be diminished by the early winking out of the station’s illumination. 

Parkside Market Grows Closer

It may not seem possible, but the Parkside Market hopes to soft open by Christmas if all goes well. They are planning for an official opening in January. Of course, there are all sorts of things that could push those days back (inspections, kitchen issues, staffing, etc.), but corporate staff (Chicago-based Levy Group, which will operate the Parkside Market) are already on site to prepare for opening.  

New signage was installed over the weekend and the exterior is fully buttoned up, allowing for the final finishing of the interior. 

The Parkside Market is a food hall located on the west side of Downtown Disney. It will feature coffee and tea drinks from Sip & Sonder, fried chicken from GG’s Chicken Shop, Korean rice bowls and salads from Seoul Sister, and craft cocktails from the upstairs Vista Parkside Market, which will have views of the park and entertainment stage between Parkside Market and Din Tai Fung.

See below for more Downtown Disney news:

Downtown Disney Transformed: Updates on New Restaurants & Shops!

D-Lander & Avengers Reserve Shops Opening December 6th

Next to the Parkside Market are two new Disney-owned stores which are set to be unveiled by December 6th. We expect the construction walls to come tumbling down very soon.

LEGO Store Reopens… 

And in keeping with the walls coming down theme, the LEGO Store has reopened earlier than its originally planned November 30th reveal. 

But this one’s a bit of a letdown, folks. Despite promises of new elements and sculptures, the LEGO Store has reopened looking almost identical to before, save for a few new shelves. The brick wall at the back of the store has been diminished to add more shelving and product. 

It’s unclear whether the promised sculptures are delayed or have been quietly scrapped, but for now, many faded old figures still adorn the exterior, and the interior feels surprisingly sparse.

The LEGO Store remains a fan favorite, often requiring a queue just to step inside. Unfortunately, the interior layout hasn’t improved and continues to create frustrating bottlenecks. Guests can easily find themselves stuck at the back of the store, waiting for others to browse in the cramped aisles.

What this store really needs is a proper refresh—or better yet, a complete redesign and/or expansion to handle its popularity. 

 

Thanksgiving Week Ushers In The True Start of the Holidays

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and millions are taking advantage of long holiday weekends away from work and school. Historically, this marks the real start of the holiday season for most travelers and has traditionally been one of Disneyland’s busiest weeks of the year. However, in recent years, the crowds haven’t always lived up to expectations, thanks to Magic Key blockouts and sky-high holiday ticket prices keeping some visitors at bay.

Speaking of prices, this week’s rates are steep—most days are set at the new peak rate of $206 for a single park ticket (and that’s before factoring in parking fees, Lightning Lane upgrades, or park-hopper add-ons). Even the two lowest-priced days this week will still cost you the not-very-low price of $196.

Most Magic Keys are blocked this holiday week, and for those that aren’t, availability is slim (as of noon on Sunday, here’s what availability looked like, with only Inspire Keys having any dates available to book):

Enchant Keys have just a few available dates left for the year, and Imagine Keys are blocked out all the way until January 6th… which is currently booked up. 

Turkey Time

If you’re planning to spend Turkey Day in the parks, two sit-down restaurants in Disneyland are serving a traditional Thanksgiving meal:

Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner at Carnation Café ($25) – Oven-roasted Turkey Breast, Mashed Potatoes, Turkey Gravy, Seasonal Vegetables and Cornbread Stuffing. Kid’s Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner is $15. Available Thanksgiving Day Only.

Thanksgiving Dinner at Plaza Inn ($18.99) – Carved Turkey, Dressing, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Green Beans and Cranberry Sauce. The Child Thanksgiving Dinner is $10.49. Available Thanksgiving Day Only.

There are also a couple of options for those of you just looking for a Thanksgiving-themed snack:

Turkey Dinner Potato at Troubadour Tavern in Disneyland ($11.99) – Pulled Turkey, Stuffing, Gravy, Cranberry Sauce and Whipped Cream Cheese, topped with Crispy Onions

Plus, Disneyland’s famous (or perhaps infamous) cured, smoked turkey legs are available at Hot Foods near Central Plaza, Ship to Shore Marketplace, and Edelweiss Snacks in Disneyland Park and at Poultry Palace in California Adventure Park.

A seasonal honey-baked turkey leg with a pineapple ring is also available in California Adventure.

A Christmas Fantasy

Like the Main Street parade earworm says (over and over and over), It’s a special magic at Christmastime this year. The entire resort is now fully decorated for the holidays. Downtown Disney and the hotels always take a bit longer than the parks to get all their decor in place, but Thanksgiving week is always the deadline for the holiday sparkle to be in full glow. 

If you had trouble catching the characters during the day, don’t miss the holiday dance party at the Tomorrowland stage. A DJ spins tunes while encouraging the kids to dance along. Various characters come to the stage in their holiday dance attire. It’s a high energy show with lots of characters dancing their hearts out. 

The showstopping Grand Californian gingerbread house and Christmas tree were installed last weekend. This year’s house features Chip and Dale in their new footie PJs from the new Mickey’s Pajama Party holiday brunch in Storytellers Cafe.

But all of the Disneyland Hotels have their own holiday magic and Santa meet-and-greets. 

Santa’s meet and greet at the Disneyland Hotel is located near Goofy’s Kitchen. 

And we’re looking forward to visiting the Pixar Hotel, where each of the Christmas trees is inspired by a different Pixar character. 

Limited-Time Disneyland Travel Deal

Want to visit? From now until December 4, 2024, get Adults at Kids’ Prices on Disney and Universal theme park tickets on both coasts! PLUS, $50 kids tickets, 3 days for the price of 2 (if you’re a Disney+ subscriber), and lots of hotel deals!!!

Most travel deals can be used with Get Away Today’s layaway plans – hold your vacations for just $200 down. It’s the perfect time to plan a trip over the holidays, or for 2025. 

With the holidays right around the corner, consider giving the gift of a theme park vacation with your MiceChat travel partners:

• Book Discount theme park tickets, hotels, and exclusive packages – HERE

Disneyland Refurbishment Calendar

Most refurbishments will be done in the next couple of weeks, except for Pixie Hollow, which now seems to have hit an unexpected snag, forcing the park to revert back to a TBA opening date. Sorry, Tink!

Currently Under Refurbishment:

• The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln adding “Walt Disney — A Magical Life” show: April 16, 2024 – 2025

• Pixie Hollow: Sept. 16 – TBA
• The LEGO Store: Is still listed as Oct. 7 – Nov. 30 BUT IS ALREADY OPEN!
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: Nov. 18 – Dec. 12

Upcoming Refurbishments:

• Storybook Land Canal Boats: Dec. 2 – 5
• Casey Jr. Circus Train: Dec. 2 – 6
• it’s a small world: Jan. 21 – Spring 2025

MiceChat LIVE From Disneyland

On Thursday, Dusty and Suzanne took you to Disneyland, where big projects are wrapping up and the holidays are sparkling. Be sure to watch this heartwarming video as we start with the lighting of Disneyland’s Christmas Tree! 

And don’t miss our upcoming video this Thursday as we go live at 5 on Thanksgiving day. You are important to us and we know that not all of you have somewhere to go this Thanksgiving, so we’ll be here with you and look forward to spending an hour with you on this day of thanks.  

This and That

There’s more!!! There’s always more at MiceChat…

Lightning Lane For Less

From January 6 through January 31, 2025, Magic Key holders can enjoy double their regular discount on the purchase of Lightning Lane Multi Pass on days when they use their Magic Key pass for park admission (subject to limited availability).

UPDATED! Disney Lightning Lanes: Premier, Multi, or Single – What You Need to Know

Soarin’ Makeover?

On Nov. 20, 2024, Soarin’ Around the World at EPCOT was quietly updated.

At EPCOT, the attraction’s Paris segment now features a less-curved Eiffel Tower, but more importantly, the Orlando attraction’s finale now features the current (aka post-reimagined) EPCOT, with Spaceship Earth illuminated with its 50th-anniversary “Beacons of Magic” lighting.

But what about Disneyland? While it’s unnecessary to update the Main Street U.S.A. finale (since we still have the same Christmas Parade), we’d certainly like to have the straightened Eiffel Tower.

Or perhaps you’d like to see Disneyland ditch the “Around the World” version of the attraction and get a higher quality print of the original “Over California” film the ride debuted with. Please select an option in our poll below: 

Moana Gift for Magic Key Holders

Magic Key holders who are fans of the Wayfinder can celebrate the upcoming premiere of “Moana 2” with a special custom print available at Disneyana, Kingswell Shop, and WonderGround Gallery from Nov. 27 to Dec. 6 (while supplies last).

Ray Has Redecorated

The firefly jar inside Ray’s Berets in Bayou Country that previously featured tiny jack-o’ lanterns and other Halloween decor is now decked out for Christmas. We had been told by Imagineers that Ray plans to decorate for all the holidays (similar to the Little Man of Disneyland in Adventureland).

 

If you haven’t visited this shop, please do so. And take the time to look beyond the merchandise and explore the charming decorations and firefly jars. 

The shop also has the new Tiana’s Bayou Adventure themed merch, but only in a small portion of the store. There’s still a lot of generic Disneyland and holiday merchandise. 

Sensational Snack

The Garlic Cheesy Brat (bratwurst in a cheesy garlic pretzel bread) introduced at Halloween Time at Edelweiss Snacks was so popular it has stuck around for the holidays – and now there’s a taped-off line to manage the queue.

Our tip for this location is to mobile order. We avoided a 30+ minute standby wait to get you the photo below by ordering in the app and picking up 5 minutes later. 

Popcorn Bucket Snafu

The cute new Gingerbread House Popcorn Bucket comes filled with cookies at Harbor Galley (a definite plus), but it seems faulty straps are causing buckets to crash to the ground and pop apart. Since this is a hot ticket item this holiday season, protect your investment and don’t carry it by the straps. 

In addition to the Gingerbread House, two additional new novelty items have also arrived at the parks: The Mickey Elf Bucket at Disneyland and the Monsters Inc. Bucket at California Adventure.

Another tip for you today, the relocated popcorn cart next to the New Orleans Train Staion in Magnolia Gardens has candy mix-ins available. I really love this mix. 

Gingerbread Cookies at Harbour Galley

You all know about the craze for the fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies at Harbour Galley… well, get ready for something even better… fresh-baked gingerbread cookies!!! They are delicious folks! 

You can even get them in that faulty plastic gingerbread house bucket that we mentioned above. 

Din Tai Fung Holiday Merchandise

With the holiday season already underway at the Disneyland Resort,  Din Tai Fung is joining the seasonal celebration with the release their first-ever holiday gifts available for purchase in limited quantities at all U.S. restaurant locations (now available at the Downtown Disney location).

We love the adorable Bao Bao accessories featuring Din Tai Fung’s dumpling mascots, Bao Bao and Shao Mai, including the Bao Bao Plush Purse for $30 and Clip-on Plushies of each mascot for $22 (sold separately):

In addition, a pair of holiday ornaments for $38 feature Xiao Long Bao in a steamer basket (and wearing a santa hat) and the iconic Din Tai Fung takeout bag.

See below for more exclusive merch available at the restaurant:

Disneyland News: New Din Tai Fung Holiday Merch!

Magic Key News

After reopening on Nov. 6, 2024, Magic Key sales were locked only 6 days later on Nov. 12.

This is why we always recommend buying Magic Keys as soon as they become available for purchase because the window of opportunity is highly unpredictable.

LOCKED! Disneyland Magic Key Sales Paused: Everything You Need To Know

Mickey’s Birthday & The Next Big Thing

Mickey celebrated the big 9-6 last Monday, and Disneyland threw him a “birthday party,” which included… a cavalcade and a cupcake with a sugar candle.

But the next big thing for the resort after the holidays is Disneyland’s 70th anniversary! A new Walt Disney show will move into the Lincoln theater, Paint the Night will return to Disneyland, Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run will get a Mandalorian update (not very Walt Disney-focused but at least it’s something new), and the park will be decorated for a celebration with new merchandise and special food. Dates and additional details are coming very soon. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. YOU are who we are most thankful for around here. If you read us every week (or even if you just found us today on Google), we are so very appreciative of your support. We’ve been doing Disneyland Updates for about 25 years now, and we’re continually astounded not only by how quickly things change at the Disneyland Resort, but also by your dedication to wanting to know every detail and your passion for Disneyland maintaining the highest standards… something they sometimes do well and at other times don’t. 

Let us know your thoughts this week. What is the park getting right, what have they gotten wrong, and how will you celebrate the season at the resort… if at all?! 

MiceShots

And here’s a little kiss goodnight (or good day if you are reading this early). Some parting shots from the Disneyland Resort as it prepares for Thanksgiving. 

Did you know… to perfectly space the wreaths on Main Street, the wreaths on the corners of the buildings are split in half so they will fit just right. 

The long view of the Disney Emporium: 

And one of those corner wreaths up close: 

Please mark your calendar for Thursday at 5p (Pacific) for our very special MiceChat Live on Thanksgiving day.  

Have a very happy Thanksgiving everyone!