Disneyland‘s iconic Submarine Voyage reopened over the weekend after a lengthy refurbishment that included repainting sections of the outdoor lagoon. The Finding Nemo-themed attraction closed earlier in January amidst rumors that it might not reopen due to future plans for the Tomorrowland real estate. Nine months later, the ride has reopened after rumors failed to pan out. Meanwhile, Disney is promoting its upcoming feature animated film Big Hero 6 in Tomorrowland with a special 3D sneak preview of the film. Elsewhere in the park, various refurbishments and construction projects continue along Main Street U.S.A., through Frontierland, and into Fantasyland.
Don’t miss your weekly Disneyland Resort crowd forecast — provided by our friends at MouseAddict — in the Weekly News and Information Roundup at the end of today’s update!
Get a closer look at today’s update! Click on any photo in today’s blog to see a larger, high-resolution version.
There’s a lot to see this week, so let’s get started!
| Welcome to Disneyland! |
Halloween Time is well underway now, with the special-ticket Mickey’s Halloween Party up and running on select nights.
A look at wait times on Friday afternoon. Not too bad!
In Big Thunder Ranch, the pumpkin carvers continue to carve up great little seasonal works of art.
Loved this one of Disneyland’s Pearly Band
Meanwhile, a slow off-season continues at Disney California Adventure…
Oswald continues to be a popular new addition to the park…
A look at wait times Friday afternoon
The latest edition of the Buena Vista Bugle has hit newsstands along Buena Vista Street
| Resurfacing… |
Back in Disneyland, the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage has resurfaced after a major nine-month closure. The attraction closed in early January surrounded by rumors that the scheduled refurbishment was actually a permanent closure to save on operations costs. With rumored Star Wars projects for Tomorrowland put on indefinite hold, the Submarine Voyage sat dormant for the better part of its refurbishment, with some exterior repainting done near the end.
The attraction is open once again now, despite delayed openings both Saturday and Sunday. The lagoon looks as beautiful as ever, with the show scenes inside the expansive cavern complex looking mostly the same as before.
The buoy with the Finding Nemo “MINE! MINE! MINE!” seagulls didn’t return.
Take a video ride-through on the refurbished attraction below:
Fresh from refurbishment and one of the Darla figures is missing her captured fish.
The outdoor lagoon portion is really beautiful
It’s great to have the subs back again. I hope they stick around for a long time.
| Big Preview 6 |
Nearby in Tomorrowland, the Magic Eye Theater has reopened with its new extended sneak peek of Disney’s upcoming animated feature “Big Hero 6.” The attraction poster for the “Guardians of the Galaxy” preview has been replaced by one for the “Big Hero 6” preview.
The big marquee is really nice.
Attraction posters line the waiting area
It’s nice to see Disney using the Magic Eye Theater for these last two movie previews, rather than evicting the Muppets in California Adventure. The preview itself is a fun little diversion — the movie trailer along with an extended scene from the main film.
| Refurbishment Roundup |
In the Esplanade, the terrazzo compass rose is still behind construction walls this week…
Views from the Monorail show that Disney has removed it… it’ll be interesting to see if they just install a new one or something else entirely.
[center]Main Street Makeovers[/center]
Inside Disneyland, construction continues on the new Main Street Guest Flow Corridors, which are expected to open later this fall.
The main door and walkway for the Mad Hatter on Main Street is now behind walls…
The Disney Showcase, Main Street Magic and 20th Century Music facade refurbishment has wrapped up but shop marquees have yet to return.
Meanwhile, the facade work on a portion of the Market House continues…
China Closet is currently closed for refurbishment
And at the end of Main Street, the Photo Supply has reopened and has its signage back now.
It didn’t seem like much changed inside the Photo Supply, but I’m glad little thematic details like these turn-of-the-century electric wires remain…
Meanwhile, work continues at the far end of the Main Street Guest Flow Corridors and First Aid expansion.
[center]Safety Beauty Castle[/center]
Over at Sleeping Beauty Castle, the remaining walls on the castle bridge have been removed to reveal little alcoves with their nearly 60-year-old benches removed.
These little benches might not seem like a big deal but it’s exactly these sorts of unnecessary but very friendly features that help make Disneyland’s environments charming and inviting. It’s sad to see them go due to Disneyland’s continued park-wide safety-proofing.
From New Orleans stairs to Castle benches… more and more unique little family picture spots keep disappearing…
And that’s not all — in addition to the seating removal, the entire parapet along the castle bridge will soon be getting new safety railing. Apparently that Castle bridge is just too unsafe today, despite being just fine after six decades of use.
The wall was being prepped for its new safety railing late last week.
[center]Royal Remodel[/center]
In New Orleans Square, the Royal Courtyard remains closed and under construction…
[center]Fixing up the Frontier[/center]
Nearby, the Mark Twain Riverboat’s refurbishment continues…
In Frontierland, a couple of facades that were getting some work done are out from behind tarps and look fresh and new again.
[center]it’s a refurbishment world[/center]
Back in Fantasyland, work continues on portions of the “it’s a small world” facade.
On the other side of Fantasyland, the outdoor vending area across from the Village Haus is still gone for now…
Out in Downtown Disney, work is finally underway on switching over the Studio Disney 365 shop into its new Frozen-themed counterpart.
With such a quick turnover, I wouldn’t expect too much to be done with the space…
| Merch Madness |
In New Orleans Square, more new Haunted Mansion merchandise continues to hit the shelves and some of it is really great. Below, a die-cast model of the Haunted Mansion hearse.
Bat stanchion ice trays!
A Ghost Host shirt with a lenticular changing portrait.
Cloth napkins based on the stretching portraits
| This and That |
On Saturday, Disneyland’s interactive “Legends of Frontierland: Gold Rush!” game finally closed after being extended for about an extra month.
I personally never got into the game but quite a few folks did and “Legends of Frontierland” gained a unique following of dedicated fans that helped shape the game as they played it. While it was certainly not for everybody, Legends of Frontierland was an interesting experiment and it’ll see what Disney does with the lessons learned in the future. Below, the new one-sheet “newspaper” that was implemented as part of the game in its final days.
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| Weekly News & Information Round-Up | ||
| Weekly Theme Park Hours September 29—October 5, 2014 |
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| [B]Disneyland Park[/B] | [B]California Adventure[/B] | |
| Monday: 10 am – 8 pm Tue.-Wed.: 8 am – 6 pm Thursday: 10 am – 9 pm Friday: 8 am – 7 pm Sat.-Sun.: 8 am – 12 am |
Monday: 10 am – 8 pm Tue.-Wed.: 8 am – 8 pm Thursday: 10 am – 8 pm Friday: 8 am – 12 am Sat.-Sun.: 8 am – 10 pm |
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| [CENTER]For a complete listing of theme park hours, visit the Disneyland.com Theme Park Calendar[/CENTER] |
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| [center]Closure and Refurbishment Schedule[/center] | ||
| [b][center]Disneyland Park[/center][/b] | ||
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| [b][center]Disney California Adventure[/center][/b] | ||
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| [b][center]Downtown Disney and Disneyland Resort Hotels[/center][/b] | ||
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September 29-October 5
The free Mouseaddict app for iPhone and iPad features more than five dozen categories of searchable resort information, weather forecasts, park and show schedules, the latest news and articles from MiceChat, and more. Download free on the App Store or at mouseaddict.com.
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| [center]Headline Roundup A quick look at noteworthy Disney theme park headlines from around the web.[/center] |
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| Alright, that wraps up this week’s edition of Dateline Disneyland! What do you think of the Sleeping Beauty Castle safety changes? A necessary evil or safety-proofing overkill? Let us know in the comments section below!
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