With Juneteenth crowds behind us and a long July 4th holiday weekend ahead, Disneyland is riding the summer roller coaster of crowd booms and busts. But amidst the heat and hustle, there are also plenty of refurb walls. This week’s update brings tributes, transformations, and a few surprises too. A legendary Imagineer gets her due, a fan-favorite ride gets its Lightning Lane freedom back, and some long-closed attractions finally spring back to life.
From magical Main Street windows to bubbly backlot parties, it’s a fascinating time to be in the parks—and we’ve got the photos, details, and behind-the-scenes news you won’t find anywhere else. So, join Dusty, Mike, and me as we take a stroll through the parks before the fireworks fly…
Lightning Strike for Pirates
After being added “temporarily” to the Lightning Lane Multi Pass on January 22, 2024 (due to both Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain/Tiana’s Bayou Adventure being closed and Disney wanting to have a longer list of Lightning Lane rides), Pirates of the Caribbean will finally be removed from the paid expedited entry service starting on July 1st.
With the removal of Lightning Lane, standby lines will move quicker at this attraction. This will also help lessen the load on the rest of New Orleans Square, where the Pirates line frequently snakes through the center of the main artery.
A shorter line will also make it easier for Disney to reroute the Pirates overflow line through the former Port Royal Curios shop, which is now a temporary seating location. We hope Disney will begin testing the new configuration soon so the rest of New Orleans Square can return to normal.
Oogie Boogie Bash On Sale
Oogie Boogie Bash returns to California Adventure on select nights from Aug. 17 through Oct. 31, and tickets are already on sale.
The 31 Oogie Boogie Bash party dates are:
- August 17, 19, 21, 24, 26, 28, and 31
- September 2, 9, 11, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23 25, 28, and 30
- October 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 21, 23, 26, 28, and 31
A limited number of pre-sale tickets went on sale for Inspire key holders on June 24th, with all Magic Key holders having access to limited pre-sale tickets the following day.
At 9 a.m. on June 26th, tickets went on sale for the general public. While we didn’t expect tickets to completely sell out immediately like they have in previous years, the parties on October 12 and October 31 already had limited availability only an hour after the sale began.
By 1 p.m., those two dates plus September 16 were sold out.
And at 4 p.m., three additional dates had limited availability.
By noon on Friday, August 17 and 31; September 9, and 16; and October 2, 5, 12, 19, and 31 were all sold out.
For all the details about Halloween Time 2025, check out our guide:
Disneyland Halloween Time 2025: Oogie Boogie Bash, Broken Spell & Beyond
Disney Jr. Playdate
The three-day Disney Jr. Let’s Play! event returns to Disneyland Resort from Aug. 8 through Aug. 10, 2025.
The celebration kicks off at California Adventure on August 8th with the Disney Jr. Let’s Play! Block Party featuring Mickey, Minnie, and other characters along the parade route and a special Disney Jr. Let’s Play! Live stage show at the Hollywood Backlot stage. Families also won’t want to miss the all-new Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live! show in Hollywood Land.
During the event, kids can decorate cupcakes at Confection Purrfection with the SuperKitties and learn to draw Disney Jr. characters at Animation Academy. Plus, photo ops include “Bluey,” “Spidey and his Amazing Friends,” “Iron Man and his Awesome Friends,” “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+” and “SuperKitties.”
On August 9th and 10th, the celebration moves to Downtown Disney with complimentary photo opportunities and the Let’s Play! bubbles experience at the Downtown Disney LIVE! Stage and lawn. Disney Jr. Let’s Play-themed merchandise will also be available at World of Disney.
If you just can’t wait for August, you’re in luck because the Bubbles Experience in Downtown Disney is starting on July 7th. If you’re wondering what a “Bubble Experience” is, it’s bubbles synced to Disney Jr music. A bit like the fake snow at Christmas time, but with bubbles.
The Bubbles Experience will take place from July 7 through August 10.
- Daytime Shows: 12 p.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., and 4 p.m.
- Nighttime Shows: 6:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m., 9:30 p.m., and 10:30 p.m.
Kim’s & Leota’s Window
Last week we told you that legendary Disney Imagineer, Kim Irvine, was stepping away from Disneyland after a lifetime working at the Happiest Place on Earth. At her retirement party it was revealed that she and her mother, Disney Legend Leota Toombs, will share one of Disneyland’s highest honors, a window on Main Street U.S.A.
Dedicating windows on Main Street is a tradition started by Walt Disney himself to honor the people who contributed to the development, design, storytelling, and magic of Disneyland. Walt personally selected the names that would appear on windows for the park’s opening day; however, his “window rules” stated that all future Main Street windows would only be dedicated to someone who has retired from the company.
In addition to being an Imagineer, Leota Toombs is the disembodied Madame Leota in the Haunted Mansion.
And when it came time to re-imagine the attraction for the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay, Kim stepped into her mother’s shoes… or crystal ball as the case may be.
Fun Fact: Kim’s father-in-law, Disney Legend Richard “Dick” Irvine—and his father, Alexander Irvine (Walt’s eye doctor)—both have windows on Main Street.
To learn more about all the Main Street Windows, you can read our four-part series here:
- Disneyland Main Street Windows Part ONE
- Disneyland Main Street Windows Part TWO
- Disneyland Main Street Windows Part THREE
- Disneyland Main Street Windows Part FOUR
The most recent Main Street windows were dedicated in 2023 honoring Make-A-Wish. You can read all about them here:
Wishes Granted: Touching New Windows on Disneyland’s Main Street
Constructionland
It’s always construction season at Disneyland… and today there’s some happy progress to report with the reopening of two attractions which have been closed for long refurbishments…
Pixie Hollow
The good news is that Pixie Hollow has finally reopened after an excessively long refurbishment. The bad news? It will only operate five days a week (closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays). The meet-and-greet area also closes at 2:30 p.m., so if you want to meet Tink, make sure to get there early.
Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room
We’re really happy to see the Tiki Room return. As the days get hotter and summer crowds pack the parks, this tropical serenade is a real oasis. Grab a Dole Whip, enjoy the refurbished garden of Polynesian gods, and relax with Jose as the birds and flowers put on the show.
While the attraction isn’t scheduled to return until July 3rd, the patio, Dole Juice Bar, and and the pre-show were all operating and there were some soft opening shows over the weekend, but keep in mind that the show schedule may fluctuate until the official re-opening date.
During the refurbishment, Tangaroa was replaced. But, not to worry, I think you’ll agree that the figure looks just as you’d expect.
The only issue we noticed was the audio levels in the patio of gods was too low to hear the whole show. You could hear the figure closest to you, but not the ones on the opposite side of the patio. But those things are generally easy to fix.
Matterhorn
Unfortunately, the Matterhorn refurbishment lingers on, with all the waterfalls now behind tall construction scrims.
The return of this Disneyland classic is still TBD.
Disneyland Refurbishment Calendar (updated 06/27/25)
Star Tours began its refurbishment today, joining Matterhorn on the TBA timeline. But July is looking to be a busy month of refurbs.
- The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln adding “Walt Disney — A Magical Life” show to theater: April 16, 2024 – July 16, 2025
- Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room: April 28 – July 2
- Matterhorn Bobsleds: May 5 – TBA
- Star Tours – The Adventures Continue: June 30 – TBA
Upcoming Refurbishments
- Pixar Pal-A-Round: July 14 – 24
- Main Street Cinema: July 15 & 16 (to install the Sherman Brothers tribute show)
- Storybook Land Canal Boats: July 21 – TBA
- Redwood Creek Challenge Trail – Villains Grove installation: July 21 – August 2025
- Casey Jr. Circus Train: July 28 – TBA
- Incredicoaster: July 28 – TBA
This & That
Live at 5
Your MiceChat crew hit the parks on 6/26… STITCH DAY… to bring you the latest from the Happiest Place On Earth. Construction, rumors, and furry aliens abound…
Speaking of Stitch Day…
Stitch Day
June 26 (6/26) was Stitch Day and our favorite alien was in California Adventure all day to celebrate.
Learn more about all the fake holidays you can celebrate in theme theme parks here (up next is Harry Potter’s birthday on July 31st):
Happy Star Wars Day! Let’s Talk About Fake Theme Park Holidays
Cavalcade Change-Up
When the Celebrate Happiness Cavalcade debuted for Disneyland’s 70th celebration, Duffy and ShellieMay were proudly leading the way on twin bicycle-powered chariot-style vehicles, but last week, the pair was spotted riding the finale float with Max taking the lead in a solo chariot.
Thankfully, it seems one of the bikes was just in the shop because Duffy and ShellieMay were back at the front on Wednesday. Now, about that Duffy merch we’ve been hoping for… Anyone else waiting for Duffy to make a reappearance in the shops?
Coca-Cola x Star Wars x Disney Parks
Coke and Lucas Film have come up with 30 new cans, including some park exclusives. There’s also a really clever AR application that anyone can play around with just by scanning the QR code on one of the new cans.
If you missed our article about the big Coke collaboration, you’ll want to take a look:
Coca-Cola x Star Wars: 30 New Designs, Disney Parks Exclusives & AR Fun!
Acai At the Disneyland Hotel
MiceChat contributor David Yeh reports that a strange little vending cart has popped up at the Disneyland Hotel for summer. The third-party vending cart sells acai bowls.
Sounds like a refreshing start to the day.
Sweet News From Salt & Straw
The Salt & Straw Berries Series is back! The sweet summer menu features unique ice cream flavors incorporating berries.
-
Birthday Cake & Blackberries – Party-ready birthday cake flecked with rainbow sprinkles, folded into salted vanilla ice cream and ribboned with juicy blackberry jam.
-
Strawberry Pretzel Salad – A mash-up of Midwestern salad culture and Japanese strawberries: cream cheese ice cream with a crunchy pretzel crumble and a swirl of vibrant strawberry jam.
-
Goat Cheese Marionberry Habanero – A sweet and spicy combo of tangy goat cheese and a fruity, fiery marionberry-habanero jam swirl
-
Huckleberry Cornbread Pudding – Wild-forged huckleberry ice cream swirled with a smooth cornbread pudding and studded with hunks of rustic buttermilk cornbread
-
Banana Bread with Strawberry Jam (v) – Hunks of GoNanas salted caramel banana bread tossed into a banana caramel coconut cream and rippled
Let’s All Sing Like The Birdies Do
On June 23rd, Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room celebrated its 62nd anniversary, but if you’ve ever wanted your very own animatronic singing bird, now’s your chance.
Garner Holt Productions has recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to manufacture Animatronic Songbird Mini kits so Disney (and tiki) fans can make them at home. Not only can you build your own custom bird, you can program it to talk (or sing) and decorate it however you want.
Read all about the Kickstarter campaign here:
Build Your Own Animatronic Tiki Bird at Home – Garner Holt’s New DIY Bird Kit Takes Flight!
It’s a MiceChat Meetup!
Join us July 17 at the Walt & Mickey statue in Disneyland’s Central Hub as we celebrate 70 years of the Happiest Place on Earth!
View this post on Instagram
🤝 Reconnect with old friends, make some new ones, and help us sing a birthday tune to the park that started it all.
🍽️ Stick around for lunch with the crew, ride an opening day attraction, and—if the stars align—catch the brand-new Walt Disney show!
✨ Come “Celebrate Happy” with us—MiceChat style!
MiceShots
We’re just a couple weeks away from Disneyland’s actual 70th anniversary. And the park is ready for the occasion…
With Mr. Toad having a Wild Ride lately (with falling roof tiles), we took a ride. And what a charming attraction this is:
And, since Pirates was in our news this week, we took a ride on this attraction as well…
Follow MiceChat on social: MiceChat Facebook Page, MiceChat Facebook Group, MiceChat Instagram, MiceChat Threads, MiceChat X, MiceChat YouTube
Discount Disney Tickets and Travel
🚨 DEAL ALERT: Snag the latest Disney travel deals from our partners at Get Away Today!
Check out the latest offers for Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, Knott’s Berry Farm, and Disney Cruise Line, including new low hotel rates, extra days and nights for free, special perks, and limited-time opportunities…
(MiceChat works with Get Away Today to provide you with the best theme park travel deals. When you purchase from our travel partner, you not only get great rates and service, you also help support MiceChat. We sincerely thank you for your support!)
Let’s Hear From You!
Will the removal of Lightning Lane help Pirates—or is this just a drop in the Caribbean? What are your thoughts on Kim Irvine and her mother sharing a window on Main Street? And which summer event are you most excited about: Oogie Boogie Bash, Disney Jr. Playdate, or bubble-powered dance parties in Downtown Disney?
Share your thoughts in the comments below—we love hearing from you!
