Refurb Season Is Coming!

WDWNT Author on August 11, 2008

UPDATED @ 11:00AM

We have a few more updates for you to the attractions refurbishment list. First up, over in Entertainment, for the week of August 25th, both Disney’s Electrical Parade & Fantasmic! will not be offered on the Monday through Thursday, due to a lot of kids being back at school. The following week, both will go on hiatus. Fantasmic! will return on November 7th, & Disney’s Electrical Parade will return in mid December.

August 17th will be the last day for the lovely Ariel’s Grotto meet ‘n greet. Work will then begin on changing over that area to Pixie Hollow for Tinker Bell & her fellow Fairies. So if you want your picture taken with Ariel in her Mermaid form, August 17th will be your last day to do it until 2010!

The New Orleans Square Railroad Station will close on September 2nd for repaving of the station & surrounding area (including the area in front of the Haunted Mansion). Trains will just go straight through that station, & continue on to Toontown. It’s due to re-open on October 17th.

Big Thunder Ranch will be closed from September 15th to the 25th (it originally was planned to be closed until the 27th) so they can add the Woody’s Halloween Round-up overlay. It will then be closed from November 3rd until the 20th for the Santa’s Reindeer Round-up overlay.

The previously planned Pirates of the Caribbean refurbishment that was to of gone from October 13th to November 14th seems to have been completely removed from the list.

A second Mark Twain Riverboat refurbishment will happen in November (the first is from August 25th-29th), from the 3rd to the 5th.

Finally for Disneyland Park, the new store, replacing New Century Timepieces will open September 30th, & the It’s a Small World Toy Shop will open before the attraction on September 28th. And over at It’s a Small World itself, the new flume has been painted.

One quick thing over at DCA, the Hyperion Theater refurbishment that starts on September 2nd, finally has an end date, that being December 18th.

Stay tuned to Disneyland News Today for updates on all attraction refurbishments. And for up-to-the-minute information on the various refurbishments, be sure to check our Attraction Refurbishments page!

Honey, I Shuttered the Magic Eye Theater

WDWNT Author on August 3, 2008

Rumors are floating around saying that Honey, I Shrunk the Audience could possibly be closing after Labor Day, & there are 2 possible reasons as to why:

  1. Disneyland is seriously looking at cutting down on the money spent, by closing shows during the slow season, & this seems to be stretching to Honey now, as it may join Fantasmic & Aladdin in the shuttered department this fall.
  2. And then there’s the reason everyone is hoping for, & need I say more than, a New Film?

Stay tuned to Disneyland News Today to find out the ultimate fate of Honey, I Shrunk the Audience!

See Within Your Mind… Lots of Refurbs!

WDWNT Author on August 1, 2008

As August has arrived, that means November is now available on Disneyland.com’s Calender, so it’s once again time for some changes to the attractions refurbishments list.

First up, the It’s a Small World refurbishment has long been rumored to end on November 28th, & we finally have official confirmation from Disneyland.com’s Calender that It’s a Small World will indeed re-open on November 29th.

Fantasmic! will have a 2 month long refurbishment beginning on September 2nd, & ending November 6th, due to the yearly maintenance for the Sailing Ship Columbia (which will be closed from September 2nd to October 25th), as well as more upgrades to the show itself.

The planned refurbishment for Gadget’s Go-Coaster that was to of started on October 20th seems to of been completely removed from the list.

Finally, the Pirates of the Caribbean refurbishment that starts on October 13th will last all the way through November 14th, re-opened just in time for Christmas.

Stay tuned to Disneyland News Today for updates on all attraction refurbishments. And for up-to-the-minute information on the various refurbishments, be sure to check our Attraction Refurbishments page!

I’m Lovin’ It!

WDWNT Author on July 24, 2008

A whole load of new refurbishments during September & October have been announced. There’s so many, that I’m just gonna bullet them bellow:

  • French Market – 9/2/08-9/19/08
  • Sailing Ship Columbia – 9/2/08-10/25/08
  • Conostoga Wagon – 9/2/08-????
  • Fantasmic – 9/2/08-????
  • Harbour Galley – 9/2/08-????
  • Big Thunder Ranch – 9/15/08-9/27/08
  • Pirates of the Caribbean – 10/13/08-????
  • Jungle Cruise – 10/20/08-10/22/08
  • Gadget’s Go-Coaster – 10/20/08-????
  • Burger Invasion – 9/2/08-????

It’s interesting to note that all 3 McDonalds locations in the Resort (Conostoga Wagon, Harbour Galley, & Burger Invasion) will be closed starting September 2nd, for an undetermined amount of time. Could this be the end for McDonalds at the Disneyland Resort?

Also, the Hyperion Theater refurbishment has been pushed back to start on September 29th, instead of September 2nd. We still have no information on when it will end, but it should be in time for the Christmas season.

Finally, I just want to remind everyone of the already announced refurbs:

  • Plaza Pavilion – 1/11/08-10/10/08
  • It’s a Small World – 1/22/08-11/28/08
  • Mark Twain Riverboat – 8/25/08-8/27/08
  • The Haunted Mansion – 9/8/08-9/25/08
  • Flik’s Flyers – 9/2/08-9/12/08
  • Sun Wheel – 9/11/08-????

Stay tuned to Disneyland News Today for updates on all attraction refurbishments. And for up-to-the-minute information on the various refurbishments, be sure to check our Attraction Refurbishments page!

Sailing Ship Madness!

WDWNT Author on May 6, 2008

2 new refurbishments have been added to the Attraction Refurbishments list. Mulholland Madness will be closed for one day on May 7th. And the Sailing Ship Columbia will be closed from May 12th to the 15th, & then from May 19th to the 21st. That also means that Fantasmic wont be performed on those days.

Stay tuned to our Attractions Refurbishment page for the latest attraction refurbishments!

MiceAge DLR Rumor Update

WDWNT Author on April 9, 2008

The plans for the DCA renovations always keep changing, & the latest changes were reported today in Al Lutz’s latest column on MiceAge. We’ll also take a look at some other new stuff supposedly coming to Disneyland, & the resort as a whole:

  • The Walt Disney Story show that was supposed to of gone into the new Walt Disney Plaza has been dropped from the plans. Team Disney Anaheim’s idea behind this is that DCA already has too many shows, & too little good rides. So the last thing DCA needs is another new show! But the extravagant Carthay Circle Theater will still be built, but will only be a facade.
  • With the Walt Disney Story not happening, this now may have Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln being re-installed into the Opera House on Main Street.
  • When Sunshine Plaza is under refurbishment, the temporary entrance may now be the big gate right by Soarin’ Over California, instead of the Millionaire building. You can see exactly where this is by viewing this picture.
  • A water play area themed to King Triton is now planned to be put right next to the new Little Mermaid attraction.
  • The Ariels Grotto restaurant may be re-themed a general Princess restaurant, Princess Palace. The more modern sections of the current exterior of the restaurant would be made more “Princessy”.
  • Originally, the renovation plans for the Disneyland Hotel was to of had each building extensively refurbished, one at a time. Well now, TDA & WDI are looking to completely rip down the current Disneyland Hotel, & re-build it all from scratch!
  • This summer, a Indiana Jones stunt show should take place in Adventureland. We’re not sure if it will last past the summer though.
  • No new attractions are currently planned for the resort in 2009, except for the new It’s a Small World. So Disneyland Park will have a major entertainment themed ad campaign, which will include the proposed new Wonder day-time parade, a new ending to Remember… Dreams Come True, new effects added to Fantasmic, & get this… the return of the Main Street Electrical Parade!

For complete details on all of the things mentioned above & more, check out this MiceAge article!

July 4th Trip Planner

WDWNT Author on January 1, 1970

To prepare everyone visiting the Disneyland Resort during this holiday weekend, I wanted to go over the entertainment schedule for July 4th, as well as the park hours, to make sure everyone can successfully see what they want to see:

  • Disneyland will be open from 8:00am to 12:00am all weekend.
  • “Celebrate! A Street Party” will be performed every day at 3:30pm and 6:30pm.
  • The special fourth of July holiday fireworks show, “Disney’s Celebrate America! A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky”, will be performed at 9:25pm starting tonight and running through Sunday night. According to D23, the shows on July 2nd, 3rd, and 5th will be a condensed version, only 8 minutes long, compared to the full show on July 4th which is 13 minutes long and will have much more pyro. The regular fireworks show, Magical, will return on Monday.
  • Fantasmic will have three performances on July 4th, at 9:00pm, 10:30pm, and 11:30pm.
  • Suburban Legends will be performing through-out the night on July 4th at the TLT Dance Club, beginning at 7:00pm.
  • Disney’s California Adventure will be open from 10:00am to 10:00pm on July 4th.
  • The Pixar Play Parade will be performed as usual at 5:15pm.
  • Disney’s Electrical Parade will also be performed at its usual time of 8:45pm.

If you are planning to visit the Disneyland Resort this weekend, be aware crowds will be massive. Disneyland may even be closed in the afternoon due to the park reaching capacity, and you’ll be re-directed to DCA. Parking may also be an isssue, as I explained in this recent post. For the full entertainment schedule on July 4th, which includes smaller entertainment venues around the parks, click HERE.

Buy Three Nights, Get Two Nights and a New Fireworks Show Free!

WDWNT Author on January 1, 1970

A press release for an excellent new vacation deal holds more to it than just that deal:

Get Two More Days & Nights FREE, When You Buy Three at the Disneyland Resort

It’s an offer as exciting as summer itself! You can get two extra hotel nights — plus two extra days of Theme Park admission — FREE with the purchase of a 3-night or longer Walt Disney Travel Company package to the Disneyland® Resort. That gives you extra time to enjoy all the classic shows and attractions in both Parks by day, then see the night in a whole new light with this summer’s electrifying lineup of after-dark entertainment:

  • A bigger, brighter and bolder Fantasmic! ignites the night
  • Disney’s Electrical Parade, where a twinkling Tinker Bell brings new sparkle to a dazzling classic
  • Magical, the new fireworks spectacular, illuminates the sky with Disney magic

This offer is valid for travel April 1 through Sept. 26, 2009, but must be booked by Aug. 11, 2009.

Plus, book before May 31, 2009, and kids fly free on Alaska Airlines from select cities through June 15, 2009.

Hopefully you picked up on the last of the 3 entertainment offerings described, which is supposedly Disneyland’s new fireworks show, simply called Magical. The title is all that is known at this time, but stay tuned to Disneyland News Today as we get more in on this breaking news story.