PHOTO REPORT: Disneyland Park 1/13/15 (Rivers of America Closed, Train Experience, TV Special Filming Paint the Night, ETC.)

WDWNT on January 27, 2016

It has been far too long since we have had a photo report from the Disneyland Resort (in-fact the last one was December 2014), luckily Disneyland Reporter Tim Alcoser has returned to WDWNT to once again bring us the latest from the Happiest Place on Earth. 2016 is going to be a year of major changes here at WDWNT, and bringing back regular coverage of the Disneyland Resort will be among the many new offerings we have planned for thsi year. Without any further delay, welcome back to Disneyland:

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“You can’t bring Selfie Sticks, but we actually have discount tickets now…”

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Off to Disneyland!

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Metal detectors are here too

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The Diamond Celebration rolls on through September 2016 at the Disneyland Resort

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The Rivers of America closed on Sunday so that work could finally begin on the Star Wars-themed land for the park

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The Columbia is stationary, but entertainment is being offered on the ship and you can explore it all you like

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Tiana was greeting guests by the petrified tree, rumor has it she will be aboard the dry-docked Mark Twain for a dining experience soon

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While the Disneyland Railroad is closed for Star Wars construction, you can hop aboard at Main Street or New Orleans Square stations and check out the trains and talk with an engineer

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We have a video tour of the Ernest S. Marsh, which is parked at the New Orleans Square Station for you:

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Haunted Mansion Holiday is closed for the season and Haunted Mansion returns later this month

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The Explorer Canoes are closed until 2017, if they return…

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A quiet Rivers of America, as it will be until 2017

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If you feel the need to ride on water, Splash Mountain is still open

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And you never know, Tim might end up in the back of your photos…

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Big Thunder Ranch is closed too, but this closure is permanent. The back path around Big Thunder should close very soon to accommodate construction.

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Hopefully this Big Thunder photo-op will make the move instead of getting scrapped

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Season of the Force in full swing in Tomorrowland

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Path of the Jedi is the same clipo show you can see at Hollywood Studios

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One thing you cant see at Walt Disney World: Hyperspace Mountain

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And Marvel Super Hero HQ for that matter, now in the upper level of what was Innoventions

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Star Wars Launch Bay occupies the downstairs

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It’s been a long time since we’ve visited, so let’s stop and take in the Disneyland Forever fireworks

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The fireworks were displayed early to accommodate filming of the Disneyland 60th TV special that will air in February

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You still have some time to experience “it’s a small world” Holiday, open until January 25th

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Guests filled Main Street to see some castmembers from Dancing with the Stars perform alongside the Paint the Night Parade

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Those girls had to be cold…

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Tim also took some video of the filming, a full musical number concluding with fireworks above Sleeping Beauty Castle:

If you enjoyed this photo report from the Disneyland Resort and want to see more, let us know!

Welcome back Tim!

Kylo Ren Meet and Greet to Replace Darth Vader in February 2016 at Disney Parks

WDWNT on January 27, 2016

If you are planning to meet Darth Vader, you had better do so soon… for your sake.

Kylo Ren will begin meeting guests at Star Wars Launch Bay at both Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disneyland Park in February 2016, replacing Lord Vader. Chewbacca will continue to be offered on the light side for meet and greet opportunities. No word was given on who will meet guests waiting in the special Disney VISA card experience come next month.

PHOTO REPORT: Disneyland Resort 1/18/16 (Star Wars Construction, Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters Opens Soon, etc.)

WDWNT on January 27, 2016

Disneyland Reporter Tim Alcoser brings us back to the Disneyland Resort for the latest news, as well as our return across the Esplanade to California Adventure in this new photo report:

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It’s a beautiful evening at Disneyland!

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Paint the Night is a wonderful re-imagining of the old Electrical Parade, hopefully soon on the way to Walt Disney World

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Tim was nice enough to take video of the Paint the Night Parade for us, be sure to watch if you haven’t checked this out yet:

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Tim also checked out the stationary experience for the Disneyland Railroad at Main Street Station

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Here guests can check out the E.P. Ripley and take a peek inside the Lilly Belle

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While it is sad that it is closed, how often can you do this?

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The engineers are also available to talk too, making this something really special for those of us who are real park fanatics

Tim also took a video of the Main Street Station stationary experience to share with us today:

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The Rivers of America remain quiet, awaiting Star Wars construction at the back end of the area

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The Mark Twain is docked, but should be home to a new experience soon

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If you’ll be dining at the Hungry Bear over the next two years, you’ll have an interesting view of things…

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What I mean is you will be staring at a tarp with trees on it

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Haunted Mansion Holiday is coming down quick this year, so don’t expect to see any maintenance performed on the much-maligned normal version of the ride

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Moving over to DCA…

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PIXAR Play Parade is still running

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The Aladdin musical closed last week, the FROZEN musical will start in the Summer

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This is still a thing…

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The Flying Tires replacement, Rollicking’ Roadsters should open very soon

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Don’t expect much from this attraction, it’s essentially the Aquatopia ride from DisneySea on dry land

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The new Moonliner Rocket statue has been released already at Disneyland

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Goodnight California Adventure!

“The Latest At The Land”: Star Wars – Season of the Force Debuts at Disneyland np

WDWNT on November 13, 2015

As what sometimes seems like the entire civilized world waits for the next installment of the Star Wars film juggernaut and theme park fans gaze into the night skies for a clues about the shape of the films’ brick and mortar edifies at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, a slight peek forward and long look back at the Lucas Universe, Star Wars: Season of the Force opened Monday November 16 at Disneyland.

This re-skinning of Disneyland’s Tomorrowland as Season of the Force, is certainly a placeholder for the full scale Star Wars land now beginning construction, but that doesn’t make this temporary fare insignificant. It uses the resources and rides of the area as a temporary exposition space, and arguably, the most ambitious movie promotion ever mounted.

This temporary fare elevates the area with the look and tone of the previous and upcoming films while building buzz for what is widely expected to be the highest grossing film of all time. It does that with a handful of “pavilions” and overlays at familiar Tomorrowland attractions.

Star Wars Launch Bay: Located in the former Innoventions/Carousel Theatre is primarily a photo meet & greet with Darth Vader and Chewbacca presenting considerable wait times. But not for lack of trying. Multiples of each of the characters, à la Mickey’s House, are tackfully deployed to at least double the capacity.  The rest of the downstairs area is essentially a “hardware” show. Here the wardrobe, weapons, and the vehicles, flying or ground-bound, of a galaxy far away, are on display in a fairly rich, art directed Star Wars environment.

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The Path of The Jedi: Taking up residence in the The Magic Eye Theatre (Yes, that really is the name again…) in the Space Mountain complex. The presentation is essentially a long film trailer, including material from all of the preceding Star Wars films and the upcoming The Force Awakens. It is light on new material, but if you have ever been a fan of the series, you may start to get that familiar feeling again.  Your milage may vary.

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Hyperspace Mountain: In what is certainly the best “Extreme Makeover: Space Mountain Edition” yet, this Disney Park classic get reconnoitered into an X-Wing space battle. It may be a little light on new scenes, and the additions probably wouldn’t pass muster on a long term basis. But when you are speeding through “outer space” at great speed, the new sights work pretty well.

Miraculously, this change was accomplished behind the scenes without significant downtime to the attraction, just a few late morning openings. This highlights Disneyland’s and Walt Disney Imagineering’s “out of the box” creativity, the blessing of proximity, and their willingness to use the So. Cal. Parks as a living laboratory. Lucky us!

Star Tours (with The Force Awakens themes): All Guests will see the new footage as a prelude to the normal randomized scenarios. Warning: This small change and the adventure that follows may serve to remind you that Star Tours is still one of the best simulator rides around.

Various Marvel Universe ephemera is on display on the upper level of the Tomorrowland Expo Center at Super Hero HQ, where guests can also now meet Thor or Spider-Man in meet and greet experiences.

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Giant movie promotion or not, Season of the Force brings a pulse to Tomorrowland, especially at night when dramatic lighting and the stars in the sky add to the atmosphere. And even for a minute, that awkward looking, sometimes rotating antenna/sculpture on the upper level where the Rocket Jets used to be looks okay… Maybe.

Spider-Man Meet & Greet Moving in at Super Hero Headquarters, Captain America Leaves Disneyland

WDWNT on October 7, 2015

 

Innoventions at Disneyland is currently being converted into the Tomorrowland Expo Center, home to Super Hero HQ and Star Wars Launch Bay, which will open on November 16th. When it does open, guests will be able to meet the one and only Spider-Man!

 

Spider-Man can already be seen at Walt Disney Studios Paris, but this will be his first meet and greet appearance in the Disney Parks here in the United States. The attraction will also include the returning Thor meet and greet experience, Iron Man Tech exhibit, a MARVEL gaming zone, and small store selling super hero goods.

While the Captain America meet and greet is going away, Disney has promised that Cap will return soon. The space being used for the Spider-Man meet and greet is flex space and will change to a different MARVEL character every few months.

Season Of The Force Begins at Disneyland November 16th, 2015 np

WDWNT on September 3, 2015

The Disney Parks Blog has just provided us with an update of new and exciting information regarding Seasons Of The Force, which is the upcoming Star Wars event that will be celebrated at the Disney parks.

From Disney Parks Blog:

At Disney Parks, we’re preparing to celebrate the excitement around all things Star Wars with brand-new themed experiences. Guests in Tomorrowland at Disneyland park in Southern California will soon be able to experience their favorite Star Wars stories when Season of the Force begins November 16. We’ll have opening dates to share for these new Star Wars experiences at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida soon.

Season of the Force at Disneyland park will take guests to a galaxy far, far away with these special experiences:

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Star Wars Launch Bay

This new area will offer opportunities to visit with favorite Star Wars characters, special exhibits, peeks at the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens and much more. Here’s a look inside!

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  • Choose Your Destiny with Special Character Experiences
    • Dark Side – Encounter one of the most iconic villains from Star Wars, Darth Vader.
    • Light Side – Fly casual at this makeshift Rebel base, and meet the most famous co-pilot in the galaxy, Chewbacca.
  • Explore the Dark and the Light in Themed Galleries
    • Dark Side Gallery – Get a look at authentic pieces of stormtrooper armor as well as famous Sith lightsabers once wielded by masters of the dark side.
    • Light Side Gallery – Explore a gallery filled with Rebel flight helmets and lightsabers once wielded by Jedi Knights.
    • Preview Gallery – See props from the upcoming film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
    • Starship Gallery – Discover models of famous starships and their pilots from throughout the Star Wars saga.
  • Join the Battle in the Star Wars Game Center – Play the latest games from the Star Wars galaxy, including Disney Infinity 3.0 – featuring park-exclusive Toy Box levels.

Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple

Coming in December, experience a twist on the Jedi Training experience when you will encounter new characters and a new villain from the popular Disney XD series, Star Wars Rebels.

Star Tours – The Adventures Continue

This popular attraction will feature a new scene inspired by the upcoming film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

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Limited-Time Experiences

  • Hyperspace Mountain – Climb aboard a reimagined Space Mountain attraction, in which guests will join an X-wing starfighter battle.
  • Revisit favorite scenes from classic Star Wars films at Tomorrowland Theater.
  • Try new themed food.

Choose your side during Season of the Force, beginning November 16 at Disneyland park in California. And keep an eye on the Disney Parks Blog for dates and details on these new Star Wars experiences coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida.

Source: Disney Parks Blog

Disneyland Diamond Celebration Finally Receives An End Date

WDWNT on September 3, 2015

When the Disneyland Diamond Celebration was announced, we were never given an end date for all of the fun and festivities centered around the 60th brithday of the Happiest Place on Earth. Disney finally announced this week that the Celebration will not conclude until September 6th, 2016, so you still have plenty of time to “be dazzled” in Southern California.

Everything We Know So Far About Star Wars Land at Disneyland & Disney World np

WDWNT on August 3, 2015

Unless you have been living inside a Taun Taun all weekend, you have no doubt heard or read about the long-awaited Star Wars themed land that Bob Iger announced for Disney Parks on Saturday at the D23 Expo. The new land will be constructed at both Disneyland Park and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the U.S., with no word yet as to if the construction will take place simultaneously on both coasts (or when it might actually open to guests). If it is simultaneous, the official Disneyland Today twitter account is claiming construction will begin no later than the end of 2017. Now, this does not mean that construction won’t start early, but the project is still in the design phase at this time. The twitter account also confirmed that Mickey’s Toontown at Disneyland will not be affected, but Big Thunder Ranch will close to make room for the land which will also take the place of many current backstage buildings.

Paul Nguyen @PaulYankees

@DisneylandToday are they building it behind Fantasyland or Tomorrowland at Disneyland?

Disneyland Today

✔@DisneylandToday

@PaulYankees It’s going to be in the Big Thunder Ranch area, inclusive of some backstage locations.

Zach Breashears @ZachTWB

@DisneylandToday Any idea on where “Star Wars Land” will be and when construction will begin?

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✔@DisneylandToday

@ZachTWB It will take place in the Big Thunder Ranch area. We haven’t announced a date yet, but it would be no later than the end of 2017.

Why was Toontown spared? Well, our guess is that this 14-acre Star Wars land with two attractions may be just the beginning. The two new attractions will center around the story (or at least take place around the time) of The Force Awakens, but there are still two more Star Wars episodes to follow and many “A Star Wars Story” stand-alone films on the way. I can’t imagine a scenario where more Star Wars attractions aren’t added over time to both Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios to include the stories following Episode VII. It is likely Mickey’s Toontown is simply a placeholder at this time for more Star Wars adventures to come at a later date several years from now.

While we still don’t know exactly where Star Wars land will be located at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, just north of Star Tours seems like a good bet. Yes, that might mean the end of Muppetvision 3-D, but we’ll have to wait for some official announcement on that.

 

The land will represent a new planet on the Outer Rim, sort of the last stop before the deep reaches of space in the Star Wars universe, so it would be a good place for anyone in the galaxy to stop on their journey. This will be a world where it is believable that anyone and anything from the franchise could appear and not seem out of place.  The land will feature two new attractions:

These authentic lands will have two signature attractions, including the ability to take the controls of one of the most recognizable ships in the galaxy, the Millennium Falcon, on a customized secret mission, and an epic Star Wars adventure that puts guests in the middle of a climactic battle.

We expect the Millennium Falcon attraction to be a simulator-type ride that allows guests to control the movement and fate of the vessel. The details on the other attraction are a little more vague, but rumor has it that it may be a type of shooting ride along the lines of the cutting-edge version of Buzz Lightyear being designed for Shanghai Disneyland.

The remainder of the land will feature shops, restaurants, and lounges operated by the inhabitants of the planet. You may not find cast member name tags throughout the land, but maybe strange alien creatures who own and operate the establishments. The only venue we have heard anything about so far is a Cantina, different in design but similar in overall concept to the one you would find in Mos Eisley space port on Tatooine. There also appears to be a nightclub with live musical performances, but this could be another part of the Cantina.

It seems that Star Tours will cover the entire Star Wars series, while the new land is mostly inspired by athe new films being released over the next few years. It feels like a bold move for the company ahead of the release of Episode VII, but I’m sure now that Bob Iger has seen the finished film product and is pleased with it that there is enough confidence in the future of the franchise to move forward with this project as is. Only time will tell if this is a wise decision.

Stay tuned for more details on the Star Wars themed-land as the become available.

RUMOR: Mickey’’s Toontown at Disneyland to Close in 2016, Star Wars Land on the Way np

WDWNT on August 3, 2015

A few months back, we told you that the Disneyland Resort had purchased the Carousel Inn across the street from the resort. Well, it seems Disney has now purchased two plots of land located behind the Carousel Inn, 1515 and 1585 South Manchester Avenue. Disney will reportedly use the land for new “backstage facilities”, replacing facilities currently located behind Disneyland Park, due north of Mickey’s Toontown.

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Mickey’s Toontown would close after 23 years if rumors are true, taking away Roger Rabbit’s Cartoon Spin and Gadget’s-Go-Coaster from the park.

Rumors have circulated that Mickey’s Toontown would be bulldozed to make way for part of the rumored Star Wars themed land at Disneyland Park. If these rumors are true, the new land would have entrances at the northern end of Critter Country/Frontierland (just north of the Rivers of America), and next door to “it’s a small world” (where the Toontown entrance exists today). The land would stretch across the entire north end of the Disneyland Resort property, making it one of the larger areas in the park.

If there is to be an announcement soon, we expect it to be made next week at the D23 Expo. Star Wars Land should also be announced for Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World whenever it is announced for California.

PHOTOS: Disneyland Releasing Special Souvenir Food & Drink Items for 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration

WDWNT on June 5, 2015

An inside source has sent us some internal images promoting the special food and beverage souvenir items coming to Disneyland Resort when the Diamond Celebration kicks off later this month:

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Diamond glow cubes that will be available with select beverages

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32oz sipper artwork, available only on 5/22

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Artwork for souvenir mugs

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Specialty popcorn buckets

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Plastic stein, Dinoco cup for Cars Land, and popcorn bucket art

Which ones do you NEED to own?