Disneyland Update – Tiger Unleashed, Gate Update & Legal Fallout

The smell of gingerbread is in the air at the Disneyland Resort, with a mix of things coming soon, some re-opening, and a few hiccups to navigate. New digital turnstiles are streamlining park entry, while Pixie Hollow has partially reopened after a pixie-dusted makeover. But not everything is running smoothly—the extended queue at the Haunted Mansion still isn’t quite enough to handle the holiday crush. And watch out… there’s a tiger on the loose… at last! 

But first…

Disneyland Railroad Off The Rails Again

The Disneyland Railroad will take another brief break starting January 13 to allow for additional track replacement. This follows the lengthy refurbishment completed in the fall, making the timing of this closure unexpected.

Work during this downtime will focus on the stretch of track between Main Street Station and New Orleans Square. By moving up the schedule, the thought is crews can build on the progress already made and reduce the overall closure time.

The goal is to have the Disneyland Railroad back on track ahead of the park’s 70th anniversary celebration, ensuring this beloved opening-day attraction is ready to roll for the milestone event. Guests can look forward to hopping aboard again this spring.

Here’s a look at the complete grand circle tour:

New Turnstiles

After testing at Disney California Adventure, Disneyland has installed its first set of digital turnstiles. Guests will soon scan their admission at the screen in front of the doors and be let in automatically.

Each side of the turnstiles (although they are more like gates than turnstiles now) feature screens for “entrance” or “exit,” that can be switched easily throughout the day (previously, cast members would need to manually switch the signs around).

Our only concerns are that digital signs may be difficult to read in direct sunlight. The wait time board near the Plaza Inn is an example where it’s tough to read the signage at different angles and times of day. Also, that the nearly clear gates will be easy for guests to miss and run into. We’re curious why they are trying to make the gates appear invisible. Hopefully Disney has found a way around these issues.

We look forward to trying out the new gates and seeing if it makes the guest flow faster or slower than having cast members scan the tickets.  

Tiger Unleashed

It’s been about 13 months since a major structural failure caused the temple scene on the Jungle Cruise to collapse, resulting in a rushed refurbishment to get the ride reopened during the busy holiday season. The Bengal Tiger was temporarily placed in a giant box made to look like an archaeological site. And so it has been ever since… 

Well, we have good news for you… After spending the better part of a year and approximately $600,000 dollars to restore the scene,  The tiger has once again been freed! 

Much thanks to our friend Adam Carter for these great photos. 

Pixie Hollow

The Pixie Hollow lagoon has re-opened after a lengthy refurbishment. The water had been dyed over the past few years to obfuscate poor maintenance, but it’s now clear and sparkling.

The bottom of the lagoon has also been repainted a light tropical blue that matches the cool tones of the nearby Tomorrowland entrance well.

Some of the fixtures are still being installed, but the water effects were turned back on after a long hiatus.

The Pixie Hollow meet-and-greet area is still under refurbishment.

While many Pixie Hollow inhabitants have started moving back into their tiny homes…

…not all of them have returned yet.

This little pond is charming… but easy to miss. Make a point of taking the path less traveled on your next visit to Disneyland. 

Bayou to Virtual Queue

Last week we reported that the virtual queue requirement had been dropped at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a murky day for the return of standby. The attraction is only operating 8 a.m. – 10 p.m., but it often opens late and temporarily closes throughout the day.

These pictures are from Saturday and the attraction was down again when we walked by.

Wait times vary from a half hour to nearly an hour and a half — not too bad for a big E-ticket attraction. Yet, the early closing time and consistent down time has caused some inconvenience for guests. The attraction is far from the park’s central hub, making it a long journey for nothing if the ride is down. Our tip is to check the wait time map in the Disneyland app frequently if you’d like to visit the bayou.

This marks the second new attraction (Rise of the Resistance being the other) with an early closing time and reliability issues. While all new attractions have a breaking in period where unexpected maintenance issues and operations hurdles are addressed, we hope they can swat these issues quickly and get the ride up to full operations hours… Rise of the Resistance as well. It’s wonderful that Imagineering can create complex new attractions… but unfortunate that they aren’t reliable.  

Disneyland After Dark

Tickets for two Disneyland After Dark events went on sale this past week. There was little to no wait in the virtual queue for Sweethearts’ Nite or 90s Nite, but four of the five February dates for Sweethearts’ Nite sold out by the end of the first day.

If you’re interested in attending an After Dark event, get your tickets early. It’s possible by the time of this article’s publication, even more dates will be sold out.

Haunted Mansion Extended Woes

The Haunted Mansion’s new extended queue has been open for a few weeks now, and we are enjoying the variety of gardens, shade, and story they have added to the outdoor portion of the line. 

One major reason for updating the queue was to prevent lines from spilling into New Orleans Square. While the queue now fits within the Mansion’s grounds most of the time, it still overflows into the walkways during busy periods. Although not as chaotic as before, it continues to create confusion and disrupt traffic in the narrow pathway between the Mansion and the River.

The gates in the back of the queue (near the train station) were opened to fill in a temporary, even more extended, queue through the new park space between the Mansion and Tiana’s Palace, which created havoc as the popcorn cart and Mansion lines intersect and any guests exiting through the new ADA elevator are required to cross through on their way back into New Orleans Square.

Of course, the mayhem is felt throughout New Orleans Square as the Pirates of the Caribbean queue often takes over large swaths of the recently redesigned river walkways.

But it’s all an ebb and flow. Sometimes the extended queues are packed and just a half hour later they can sit empty. Now that the Mansion queue project has been completed, Pirates is due for its own queue reconfiguration. 

Despite the craziness, the new Mansion queue is quite beautiful, especially in the evening.

Many of the new elements are difficult to see at night, but some are lit in ghostly blues, purples, and greens. It feels like a creepy old cemetery. 

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Returns

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad returned this week after a nearly month-long refurbishment.

Unfortunately, it too broke down right after we took these photos. Lots of up and down time for attractions lately. It’s particularly frustrating since Disney is charging extra for Lightning Lane on many of these rides. We’d like to propose that a larger portion of that Lightning Lane money be set aside to pay for better preventative maintenance. If they are going to charge extra for rides, above and beyond gate admission, they need to make the product (the rides) more reliable. Otherwise, perhaps guests should start demanding their money back for Disney’s failure to deliver the promised goods. There was a time when no one could match Disney’s maintenance standards. Perhaps they should have the Oriental Land Company visit and consult on how to relearn the principles that once made Disneyland the envy of the entertainment industry. You did it once… you can do it again!

Meet Santa Claus

Christmas is next week! We hope you’ve sent Santa your wishlist— but just in case— the jolly one is hanging out all over the Disneyland Resort. His new Disneyland spot this year is the Fantasyland Theater, where he’s brought along some friends and activities to enjoy.

Disney’s commitment to diversity rings true even at Christmas. Throughout the resort, Santa is represented in a variety of ethnicities. While he is often depicted as white, we also spotted an African-American Santa at the Fantasyland Theater and an Asian Santa at the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail in Disney California Adventure. No matter how he looks, Santa’s love for milk and cookies—and his mission to spread Christmas joy to children everywhere—remains the same.

Elsewhere in the parks, Santa is the big finale in A Christmas Fantasy Parade.

He’s also meeting at all three Disney hotels. Mrs. Claus has created special outfits themed for the Disneyland Hotel and Grand Californian.

Mid-century Santa is quite spiffy.

Arts and Crafts Santa has names of the cities he’ll visit on Christmas Eve embroidered into his vest!

At each hotel, Santa has different visiting times, but also a storytime!

Here’s Pixar Place Santa reading to the kids.

Santa’s schedule at the three Disneyland Resort hotels are as follows:

• Pixar Place Hotel: Noon – 4:20 p.m., story time at 2 p.m.
• Disneyland Hotel: 3:30 – 8:10 p.m., story time at 5 p.m.
• Grand Californian Hotel: 4 – 9:15 p.m., story time at 7 p.m.

Holiday Entertainment

Besides Santa Claus, the parks are packed with holiday entertainment. This will be the last week for passholders to take it all in (some are already blocked out).

While we do wish there was a proper show in the Fantasyland Theater, we are glad that the Dickens Yuletide Band is getting some stage time.

The Festival of Holidays is absolutely packed with live shows. There are four stages throughout Disney California Adventure that showcase a variety of dancers, singers and musicians celebrating Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Diwali and Christmas around the world.

Fan-favorite Viva Navidad has been presenting on Saturdays and Sundays.

The finale of World of Color – Season of Light is breathtaking when snoap hearts fill the sky, but this year only one of the machines seems to work as well as it should. This is shame, because when it works as designed, it is a stunning way to emphasize the message of peace and unity in Season of Light.

Nightly showings of Believe…in Holiday Magic continue through January.

Each of the three hotels also have carolers in their respective lobbies throughout the day.

The Disneyland Hotel carolers are performing at the entrance of the hotel, which is unfortunately a bit tight for many guests to watch, and makes it difficult for arriving guests to push through the door with their bags. Hopefully they can find them a better spot in the future. Perhaps have them perform in the lobby near Goofy’s Kitchen and the Broken Spell Lounge. 

On select nights, the Grand Californian is hosting a jazz combo playing holiday tunes.

Finally, the new Downtown Disney stage is hosting nightly bands and carolers… with a special schedule for New Year’s Eve. 

Disneyland Holiday Treats

What’s the holiday season without holiday treats? With the last week of pass holder availability before all Magic Keys are locked out for the rest of the year, this might be the right time to find a new favorite; here are some of ours!

The Crackling Fireplace Hot Chocolate at the Royal Street Veranda was surprisingly tasty, especially as the weather turns more chilly. It’s a rich dark hot chocolate, but it turns into a bit of a s’more as the marshmallow topping melts. Soon after, the popping candy in the dark chocolate garnish starts crackling, creating your own warm handheld fireplace!

The Holiday Beef Dinner Potato at the Troubadour Tavern is three holiday favorites in one. A large baked potato, covered in a spinach-artichoke dip, slices of tri-tip, and covered in demiglace and crispy onions. Delicious!

The Gingerbread Cake at Plaza Inn in Disneyland with cream cheese filling and gingerbread crunch, finished with buttercream, glaze, and a cute chocolate gingerbread person is delish! And don’t miss the Gingerbread Cheesecake topped with vanilla mousse at Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta in California Adventure.

Check out our complete holiday food guide for all of this year’s festive bites and sips:

Disneyland Holiday Food Guide 2024 – A Jolly Good Feast

Disneyland Refurbishment Calendar

• The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln adding “Walt Disney — A Magical Life” show: April 16, 2024 – May 15, 2025 (the new show will open with the rest of the Disneyland 70th Celebration)
• Pixie Hollow: Sept. 16 – Jan. 18

• Grizzly River Run: Jan. 6 – TBA
• Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind: Jan. 6 – TBA
• Disneyland Monorail – Jan 6 – TBA
• Haunted Mansion – Holiday Takedown: Jan. 7 – 17
• Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe: Jan. 7 – TBA
• Disneyland Railroad: Jan. 13 – TBA
• it’s a small world: January 21 – Spring 2025

This & That

Live at 5

Last Thursday, Dusty and Mike were live at 5 PT, but also 8 ET because they were in Epcot at Walt Disney World! They tour the park, discuss their cruise on the brand new Disney Treasure cruise ship, and chat about Mike’s week of firsts… his first cruise, first time out of the country, and first visit to Walt Disney World. If you missed their tour, you can still watch it below:

Dusty will be back at Disneyland this Thursday at 5 pacific. Be sure to follow and subscribe to MiceChat on Facebook and YouTube. 

For more about their journey to see a new Disney ship and a new WDW hotel, read more: 

Everything You Need To Know About The Disney Treasure Cruise Ship!

Discover Disney World’s Polynesian Island Tower: Tropical Luxury on the Seven Seas Lagoon

 

Moana 2 Meet and Greet

“Moana 2” is currently dominating the box office, which makes it even more surprising that Moana herself doesn’t have a permanent meet-and-greet space at Disneyland (the original film is consistently in the top five most popular films on Disney+).

Nevertheless, the wayfinder is currently meeting in Hollywoodland. But we wish she was meeting in Adventureland. There are several possible spots where she could meet guests and she would add some additional character and energy to the land. 

The “Moana 2” meet and greet even comes complete with Pua and Hei Hei!

Madame Leota’s Somewhere Beyond

The new Haunted Mansion shop, Madame Leota’s Somewhere Beyond, has been looking ready to open for a while now. It won’t be too much longer…

Anaheim Measure L Update

Last year, Disney lost a lawsuit relating to Measure L, the Anaheim minimum wage law. Part of the lawsuit included paying back wages for the five years Disney cast members had not been receiving Anaheim’s minimum wage. As of Saturday, the company has finally reached a settlement.

Here’s what was posted on a union website (UFCW324)

Disney has agreed to a $233 million settlement in the Measure L living wage case! As part of the settlement, cast members at the Resort will receive:

• 100% of their back wages, including overtime payments, minus the usual tax withholdings
• 10% interest on back wages and overtime pay
• 100% of 401(k) matching contributions Disney would have made based on the Measure L rates plus 10% interest
• Additional penalty payments

This settlement is the largest class action wage theft case in California history, and would not have been possible without cast members’ willingness to fight for what they deserve from Disney. Workers, our fellow unions, and community members, fought hard for Measure L, Anaheim’s minimum wage law, in 2018, so resort area workers who make the magic for guests from around the world would have a living wage.

Throughout these five years, we’ve shown we’re stronger together and when we are united we can ensure Disney workers are treated with dignity and are respected for their work.

This settlement agreement now goes to the court to get the judge’s approval. After that, members in the class will get an individual notice with the amount you will be receiving from the settlement. If there are no appeals from class members, payments are expected in about July 2025.

This is yet another win for Disneyland cast members. But each time cast members take a step forward, Disneyland retaliates with labor and budget cuts. Performers got a raise, so Disneyland canceled shows. Front-line workers got a raise, so Disney reduced hours in many departments and is rushing automated gates and expanded do-it-yourself mobile options so they can cut even more hours to compensate for rising labor costs. We’re waiting for the other shoe to drop on this latest settlement because budgets don’t just get expanded for things like this. The money comes from somewhere else. So, it’s likely that some big future ride or expansion will be pushed back, budget cut, or canceled to make up for the shortfall. That’s the way Disney does things. Yes, they were wrong, and resort cast and guests shouldn’t be punished… but we expect that’s exactly what will happen anyway.

MiceShots

Let’s round out today’s update with some beautiful MiceShots. This weekend was warm, but often cloudy. This is delightfully comfortable weather here in Southern California for December. When the sun did peek through the clouds, it created a beautiful golden contrast against the clouds.

Taking a trip into Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the generic Star Wars merchandise has crept further and further towards the entry portals. At this rate, the entire walkway will soon be a retail store.

Somebody was driving around a custom Santa-Chop!

Just around the riverbend, it’s beautiful weather to row out in a canoe.

Or meet Pocahontas!

Small World Holiday – ear worm and all – seems extra magical this year. Everything is incredibly vibrant.

Additionally, the ride is actually in great working order. Things that looked unfinished or worn out for years have been spruced up and given new life. Perhaps this is a glimpse of things to come for its continued refurbishment after the holidays.

One unfortunate omission this year was the last remaining Jingle Cruise decoration. The holiday overlay for the Jungle Cruise hasn’t returned since 2017, but up until this year, the Jingle Cruise tree was still being installed above Tropical Imports.

We’ll jog your memory. This is what it looked like: 

While we’re in Adventureland, let’s take a trip up into the treehouse. There’s no wait!

With all the construction walls down across the park’s west side, the views from the top of the Adventureland Treehouse are much improved.

All the characters at Goofy’s Kitchen and Storyteller’s Cafe are dressed in their holiday best.

Santa Ana winds forced the cancelation of fireworks several times this past week and caused the usual havoc for the poor balloon vendors. This one took shelter inside the Main Street Firehouse.

With high winds comes lots of wind debris. The Custodial team has been on top of keeping it picked up, although one creative Downtown Disney cast member built this beautiful Minnie Mouse out of leaves on the bridge to the parking structures.

We also stumbled upon another Custodial cast member who was creating this adorable Chip n Dale water art.

 What do you think of the new turnstiles? Are you excited (or not) for the upcoming Haunted Mansion shop? What’s your favorite holiday entertainment this season? And how do you feel about the growing issues with attraction reliability? With Disney charging so much extra for Lightning Lane, should they prioritize ride maintenance so guests get what they’re paying for?

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Deepest thanks to my bestie Suzanne for all her hard work on this Update and to Brian and the entire MiceChat crew. Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and make as much magic as you can this season.