The Characters Are Coming!

WDWNT on January 13, 2009

Pin releases aren’t usually something I like to talk about here on DLNT, but I thought these upcoming releases at Disneyland were appropriate to talk about:

On January 25th, Disney will be releasing a 6 pin set (plus 2 completer pins) featuring various Disney characters that will be featured in It’s a Small World come the attraction’s re-opening on February 6th. Most of these characters look the same as they do in the Hong Kong Disneyland version of the attraction, with the acceptation of Cinderella who is in her peasant dress as opposed to her royalty dress.

Bellow are bigger images of each of these individual pins:

The characters are coming, whether you like it or not!

The Haunted Mansion Just Got Scarier

WDWNT on January 5, 2009

Both Haunted Mansion Holiday & It’s a Small World Holiday close tomorrow to have their respective holiday overlays removed. In honor of this, I felt it right to post this little bit of interesting Haunted Mansion Holiday related news:

Quirky filmmaker Tim Burton gets a first glimpse of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion Holiday attraction, which is based on his 1993 film ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas.’

Burton was accompanied by his partner — actress Helena Bonham Carter — for his first look at the mansion, which undergoes a Christmas makeover each year at the Anaheim, CA theme park.

I find it really shocking that Tim Burton has not once been on the attraction since the holiday overlay started in 2001. Shows that he cares about his creations, huh?

Both attractions will re-open in their original forms (well sort of for It’s a Small World) on February 15th. There may be some small changes/additions to The Haunted Mansion, & of course It’s a Small World will see a ton of changes! But I’m sure you already know about those…

Myrna Litt’s 11/19 Nighttime Shots

WDWNT on November 22, 2008

Here are a collection of some of Myrna’s favorite nighttime shots from around the Disneyland Resort from her trip on Wednesday:

It’s a Small World Holiday continues its holiday light-up tradition this year. Absolutely stunning!

The full castle lighting ceremony will debut tonight.

A look up Main Street towards Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle.

The LED lighting effects on the Main Street Christmas tree should also debut tonight too.

Read More about Myrna Litt’s 11/19 Nighttime Shots

Myrna Litt’s 11/5 Photo Report

WDWNT on November 7, 2008

It’s once again time for a photo report from Mrs. Myrna Litt. She visited the Disneyland Resort yesterday as Christmas decorations have started to be put up:

Anyone know why there was a conductor in this restaurant’s train?

 Christmas decorations have started to be put up in Sunshine Plaza.

Scaff-holding is up around the Sun Wheel.

I absolutely love these construction walls at the bottom of the picture! An absolutely fantastic design choice.

Read More about Myrna Litt’s 11/5 Photo Report

Kenny Siegel’s DLR Photo Report

WDWNT on November 1, 2008

My good friend Kenny Siegel was at the Disneyland Resort last week & sent us in this photo report:

A look around the Princess room that was attached to Kenny’s main hotel room at the Disneyland Hotel.

Now a look around the main part of Kenny’s hotel room.

What an awesome closet design!

Gotta love the awesome complimentary toiletries.

A look outside Kenny’s window.

A look at construction on the It’s a Small World Toy Shoppe. The store has since re-opened.

And we end off this photo report with some construction pics from It’s a Small World.

Walls, Walls, and More Walls…

WDWNT on October 25, 2008

We received some very interesting new refurbishment dates, & I want to take the time here to go through some of them. First up, the walls around the Plaza Pavilion are scheduled to come down on November 7th, so we’ll finally see something nice in that corner of Main Street. It’s a Small World will now re-open on November 29th, as opposed to the previously scheduled November 21st, as they probably still have quite a bit of work left to do on the attraction. Finally for Disneyland Park, Fantasy Faire Gifts over at the Princess Fantasy Faire will be closed from October 27th, through November 21st. Being closed for a month, they must be doing something pretty extensive, seeing as it’s just a small outdoor shop.

Over at DCA, the Midway Games close on Monday for their conversion over to the new Games of the Boardwalk. Both the Games & Mickey’s Fun Wheel will re-open on April 24th, 2009. The really interesting thing, is that Burger Invasion is now scheduled to be closed all the way through May 7th, 2010! That pretty much confirms that they’re doing much more than just ripping out the kitchen, & are probably re-theming it to the Beer Garden during this time. The Vineyard Room is listed as closed through October 3rd, 2009, so there’s a pretty good chance it could re-open around that time. Finally, the Orange Stinger will be closed just for November 4th, most likely so that Imagineers can look at what they’re going to do with it when time comes for the Silly Symphony Swings.

As always, keep an eye out on our Attractions Refurbishments page, as we’ll update it with any new information we get, when we get it!

MiceAge Disneyland Update

WDWNT on October 8, 2008

A treat I look forward to every other month is a Disneyland Update from MiceAge‘s Al Lutz. Al knows his stuff very well, & the articles always feature interesting information that usually comes to pass. Let’s take a look through some of the things spoken about in today’s update:

  • DCA’s upcoming re-do has been split in to 4 phases of sorts. Here’s how the phases pan out:

    World of Color, Paradise Pier     makeover, completed spring 2010
    Main Entrance     makeover, Red Car trolley, initial Hollywood work, completed mid 2011
    Little Mermaid     pavilion and E-Ticket attraction, completed late 2011
    Cars Land     attractions, shops, restaurants, completed mid 2012

    Al says that the current financial crisis in this country shouldn’t have any affect on DCA’s re-do. The first phase will actually start in just 2 weeks, with the closing of the Sun Wheel. Around Thanksgiving, the Paradise Pier lagoon will be drained in preparation for the World of Color nighttime show.

  • Plans just keep expanding for The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Adventure. This attraction is going to be so extravagant, that Ariel’s hair will actually be a seperate animatronic from Ariel herself, due to her hair flowing, as we are supposed to be “Under the Sea”. The various Ariel animatronics in the attraction are said to be some of the most sosphicated ever produced by WDI.
  • While it’s too much to explain in a short recap, Al does have a complete listing of what you will be able to find in the Blue Sky Cellar once it officially opens on October 20th. Check the second page of the linked article for that.
  • Get ready for the controversy to start. The Disney characters & the American scene (this scene replaces the old Rainforest scene before the Grand Finale scene)have both been installed in It’s a Small World. But don’t expect to see them when the attraction re-opens as It’s a Small World Holiday on November 21st. For they will both be hidden from view until the original version of the attraction debuts sometime in February (yes, there will be a 1 month long refurbishment in January, beginning January 5th).
  • Sometime this winter, all 3 Mark VII Monorails will go under the knife to fix the horrible problems that they are currently faced with. The windows will be completely ripped out, & replaced with windows like those seen on the Mark V’s.
  • An idea being thrown around for next year’s What Will You Celebrate? campaign is to “plus” a couple of attractions in the Resort, with some Celebration themed things. One such idea is for some new elements added to the Many Adventure of Winnie the Pooh attraction, with similar decor around Critter Country.

There’s plenty more to be found in this article, including Disney possibly buying both the Anaheim GardenWalk & SeaWorld San Diego (of all places). Be sure to check it out.

Fortuosity Shop Now Open!

WDWNT on October 4, 2008

The Fortuosity Shop, the replacement for New Century Timepieces, finally opened up today. We’ll have pictures of the interior for you very soon, but for now here’s a picture of the new sign for the store, courtesy of the lovely MintCrocodile:

Be sure to check out the link to MintCrocodile’s latest photo report for plenty more lovely pictures from the Resort today, including Christmas lights & decorations starting to go up over at It’s a Small World, as well as some great new Nightmare Before Christmas related merchandise.

Myrna Litt’s 9/11 Photo Report

WDWNT on September 12, 2008

Myrna Litt is back with another excellent, yet small photo report. Here are a few updates from the Resort on September 11th:

The Town Square flag was held at half mast to honor the tragic events of September 11th, 2001.

A look at some of the Halloween merchandise & displays inside Frontier Mercantile.

The Golden Dreams banners have been removed from the Palace of Fine Arts.

Walls up for some reason at Carnation Plaza Gardens.

The smallest construction wall I’ve ever seen outside River Belle Terrace.

Myrna however did pass on some interesting information to me that she received from various Cast Members around the Resort. Here’s what she had to say:

They are currently testing the new boats at It’s a Small World. The Pirates of the Caribbean are not testing the new boats with the public. They may start using them in November and they are lighter boats. The concrete is being replaced in front of the Haunted Mansion (I tried to take a picture but was stopped). Also they are testing a new guest interactive exit at the Haunted Mansion. The ghosts will mimic what the guest does and react to them. We were told there will be a lot of new surprises.

Thanks again Myrna!

Fill Up The World!

WDWNT on August 29, 2008

The re-filling of the It’s a Small World flume started yesterday, & by now should hopefully be completely filled. You should be able to make out water in the flume in this picture of MintCrocodile’s: