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News and Views
Star Tours
It is looking like the end of the 50th Anniversary celebrations at the end of
2006 won’t mark a return to inaction at the Disneyland Resort. With Monsters,
Inc. replacing SuperStar Limo at Disney’s California Adventure and Finding
Nemo resurrecting submarines at Disneyland, park watchers already had a
couple of things to look forward to. Now, George Lucas has added to the fire.
Lucas has long wanted to update the movie in the Star Tours attraction,
particularly after the release of The Phantom Menace in 1999. Although
Imagineering has been on his side, things never quite worked out, and plans
remain speculative. Lucas dropped a hint or two at March’s ShoWest exhibitors’
conference in Las Vegas. He didn’t commit to it actually getting done, but
simply that if it were done, it would be digital.
He took a big step forward over the weekend at the Celebration III Star Wars
convention in Indianapolis, saying that the version at Walt Disney World’s
Disney–MGM Studios would soon be overhauled. If correct, it seems likely
that once done it could quickly be replicated at Disneyland, and with the 20th
anniversary of the ride coming in 2007 that seems an auspicious time to do it.
Of course, nothing official has come from Disney yet, so it could just fade
away.
Parade of Dreams (spoilers)
Below are a couple of photos from the new Parade of Dreams parade coming
to Disneyland. If you do not wish to see them, click this link
to skip to the next section.
The new 50th Anniversary parade for Disneyland, Parade of Dreams, has
been going through dress rehearsals and has even been seen on Main Street
during regular hours for the filming of a commercial.
At least one nighttime dress rehearsal was done shortly after park closing, and
a small group of interested passersby watched from outside the park’s exit
gate. You can find additional photos and some debate on whether we should even
show these (guess which side we’re on) on our MousePad message board (link).
Ursula from The Little Mermaid has a float. Photo by Adrienne
Vincent–Phoenix.
The well–received Lion King float. Photo by Adrienne
Vincent–Phoenix.
Particularly well received among those who saw the commercial filming was the Lion
King float, with very smooth and lifelike movements by Simba.
Over at Disney’s California Adventure park, though, a tighter veil of secrecy is
being maintained for the new Block Party parade. Though a later
rehearsal was done without them, for one dress rehearsal tents were put up to
block the view from the Esplanade.
These tents prevent rubberneckers from getting an early view of the Block Party
parade. Photo by Adrienne Vincent–Phoenix.
Contest Winners
Late in the day on April 19, people began to get e–mail informing them they
had won tickets to visit Disneyland on May 4, when the park is officially
closed to the public. 2,500 winners get to bring a guest with them to join the
media and an unknown number of radio station contest winners. Some were
disappointed to learn that they would only be at the park until 5 p.m., at
which time the park will really close for an hour and then reopen for a
VIP–only celebrity party that will include the premiere of the new
fireworks show.
Congratulations to all the MousePlanet readers who won these tickets.
50th bricks
The 50th Anniversary paving stones are being added to the Esplanade, so be sure
to check it out if you purchased one.
One section of the new 50th Anniversary bricks. Photo by David Michael.
Merchandise event sold out
Registration for the 50th Anniversary merchandise event opened last Thursday and
promptly sold out in all but the cheapest of plans. The Walt’s Dream plan
reportedly sold out in 11 minutes (50 tickets were available) with Roy’s Plan
and Lillian’s Inspiration not far behind. As of this writing, tickets are still
available for the Imagineer’s Quest package, the auction, and the Fess Parker
side event. Event information can be found at the Disney Gallery Web site (link).
The smaller touches
The last week has seen two more updates to the look of Sleeping Beauty castle
(yes, I know the difference, thanks for all the e–mail pointing out my
brain cramp last week). Large jewels now decorate the castle in many places and
the new lighting has been installed around the castle.
The lighting stations stick out pretty sorely, so hopefully that is temporary.
The large towers to the sides of the castle are for the tarp that will be put
up in front of it the night of May 4 and should come down shortly after that.
New “jewels” adorn the castle exterior. Photo by Adrienne
Vincent–Phoenix.
One of several new lighting projectors around the castle. Photo by Adrienne
Vincent–Phoenix.
This tower near the wishing well is temporary and has a twin on the other side
of the castle. Photo by David Michael.
Additional 50th Anniversary logos and photomosaics also continue to appear
around the park.
A more subtle logo on Tom Sawyer Island. Photo by David Michael.
An appropriate photomosaic for the Fantasmic viewing area in New Orleans
Square. Photo by David Michael.
Finally, the walls are down around the Opera House, and it is looking good.
The new sign for the new exhibit and show. Photo by Adrienne
Vincent–Phoenix.
Shag reception and merchandise
Walt Disney Event Services also announced another merchandise event for
Disneyland, to be held in June marking the sale of five original prints for the
50th Anniversary by the artist Shag—one
for each of Disneyland’s five original lands. A reception, scheduled for
Friday, June 24 at the Paradise Pier Hotel, also includes the opportunity to
pre–purchase the prints and related merchandise through a random selection
process.
Two packages are available. 50 tickets are available for the “Tomorrowland
Package.” This package includes one night at the Disneyland Hotel (couples
can get two consecutive nights), free valet parking at the hotel, entrance to
the reception and a meet–and–greet with Shag (Josh Agle), a
commemorative photo and keepsake, and access to the random selection process
for merchandise. This package costs $400.
For $150, you can get the “Adventureland Package,” which is
essentially the same thing, but without the hotel room. The number of tickets
available for this package is not announced.
Reservations are open for the event at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Monday, May 9th.
Official information is available here.
You can view photos of the merchandise here. For those who prefer their art cheaper (and
slightly dinged by the U.S. Postal Service), Event Services did send postcards
announcing the event to their mailing list. Each card had one of the five new
paintings on its back.
MousePlanet received four of the five postcards, scans shown below. You can see
the fifth, for Frontierland, at the merchandise link above.
Scanned image of postcard of new Shag painting of Adventureland for
Disneyland’s 50th Anniversary.
Scanned image of postcard of new Shag painting of Fantasyland for Disneyland’s
50th Anniversary.
Scanned image of postcard of new Shag painting of Main Street, U.S.A. for
Disneyland’s 50th Anniversary.
Scanned image of postcard of new Shag painting of Tomorrowland for Disneyland’s
50th Anniversary.
More firework effects
Presented here a couple new pictures from the April 21 test run of the new
“Remember…” fireworks show. Click this link,
to skip to the next section if you wish not to see them.
A Mickey head. Photo by Adrienne Vincent–Phoenix.
A very well–formed star. Photo by Adrienne Vincent–Phoenix.
Just turn that frown upside down. Photo by Adrienne Vincent–Phoenix.
Ears to the ground…
…[Updated] Tickets for Disneyland’s new 50th Anniversary guided tour went
on sale Wednesday, April 27, though the new tour may be one of the best-kept
secrets of the celebration. The 3 1/2 hour tour is $55, and will run four times
each day. Each tour can accomodate up to 16 guests. Depending on the time of
day, the tour includes the following elements:
- “Priority Boarding” for 3 (2nd, 3rd and 4th tour) or 5 (1st tour only)
attractions - Tour pin
- An illustrated replica of an A-E ticket book
- Commemorative photo
- Snack
- Priority seating to the Parade of Dreams (2nd & 3rd tours) or Remember… Dreams Come True fireworks (4th tour only)
Call 714-781-4400 to make your reservation.
Please note: Holding tickets or reservations for any tour or
special event does NOT guarantee park admission. If the park is full
to capacity, you may be offered the option of rescheduling your tour
to another date or time, or a refund in rare cases, but visitors should
plan to be inside the park as soon as possible on the day of their
event to make sure they are not shut out.
MousePlanet has reserved the 12:15 tour on Thursday, May 5. If you would like
to join MousePlanet staff and fellow readers, please contact
Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix to reserve a spot.
…Sunday saw the final showings of Mickey’s Magic Kingdom Celebration and
Sleeping Beauty’s Royal Celebration. These two mini–parades were developed
quickly to bridge the gap until the new Parade of Dreams premieres in May and
proved surprisingly effective and popular.
…An unofficial “Star Wars” day at Disneyland has been announced
for June 25. Organized by the Orange County Star Wars Society, the event will
gather for a group photo in front of the castle at three o’clock (link).
…The introduction of Honda’s ASIMO robot to Innoventions is official as
signs in the attraction indicate.
Coming soon sign in Innoventions. Photo by David Michael.
…The submarine lagoon is now drained, and David Michael got several good
photos (taken last Tuesday while draining was still in progress.
The Matterhorn end of the lagoon. Photo by David Michael.
By the Monorail station. Photo by David Michael.
The loading platform and waterfall. Photo by David Michael.
A fish out of water. Photo by David Michael.
Don’t keep it to yourself! Send us your news tips, rumors, and comments.
E–mail us
here.
Current Refurbishments and Attraction Closures
Disneyland
Note: Disneyland is progressively refurbishing more and more attractions as the
park readies for its 50th anniversary celebration in 2005.
-
Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln opens May 4 with installation the 50th
Anniversary exhibit in the Main Street Opera House - Disney Gallery opens May 4
- Disneyland Railroad
Tomorrowland station opens May 3
Jungle Cruise opens May
Casey Jr. Circus Trains opens May 4- Goofy’s Bounce House opens May 4
- Storybook Land Canal Boats
opens May 4 - Space Mountain opens July 15
- Haunted
Mansion closed September 6–29 to install Haunted Mansion Holiday
overlay; closed Jan. 9–25, 2006 to remove overlay - Pirates of the Caribbean closed October 3–December 13
- Submarine
Lagoon is now behind a construction wall.
Disney’s California Adventure
-
SuperStar Limo building has ongoing construction for an unannounced (Monsters,
Inc.) new attraction.
Note: Refurbishment schedules are estimates only. All information is subject to
change without notice. To get the most recent updates, call Disneyland at (714)
781–7290.
Park Events
May
-
Disneyland closed on May 4, 2005
to “put the finishing touches” on the 50th Anniversary celebration.
DCA open on May 4. -
Disneyland’s 50th Anniversary
celebration begins May 5. -
Mother’s Day Brunch
at Disneyland Hotel on May 8. Sold out, but information available at
714–781–DINE.
June
-
Robert Olszewski merchandise release. June 18 at Disneyland Park.
Two new Main Street pieces in his “Disneyland in Miniature”
collection: Main Street Train Station and Main Street Train. Also released will
be Dapper Dan and Fab Five character packs. -
Shag merchandise release and reception. June 24 at the Paradise Pier Hotel.
Five new Shag paintings and associated merchandise will be sold and a reception
and meet–and–greet with the artist will be held. Reservations open
May 9 (link). -
2005 Summer Pin Festival. June 24 – Aug. 15 at the Disneyland
Resort. No details have been announced (link).
July
-
Disneyland 50th Anniversary special event. July 15–17. Three days
of merchandising events with multiple purchase plans (link). -
July 2005 NFFC convention.
July 9–13. The Show and Sale is scheduled for July 10. -
Robert Olszewski merchandise release. July 16 at Grand Californian
Hotel. The first non–Main Street piece in his “Disneyland in
Miniature” collection: Mad Tea Party.
September
-
Robert Olszewski merchandise release. September 10 at Disneyland Park.
Several new pieces in his “Disneyland in Miniature” collection:
Disney Showcase/Magic Shop/20th Century Music and Jungle Cruise as well as a
pin trading cart and a marching band character pack.
Current Discounts & Promotions
Several current promotions offer discounted admission to the Disneyland Resort.
For convenience sake, we have grouped the discount offers based on the number
of days the tickets are valid. Check out the category that best matches the
amount of time you plan to spend at the resort, and pick the offer which works
best for you. And keep those tips coming – let us know if you find a
better / different offer, so we can share it with other readers!
One Day |
No discounts offered to the general public for single–day admission. You |
Two Days |
Southern California 2Fer Ticket ($53/$43) through April 28, 2005 – Tickets: $53 for ages 10 and older, $43 for ages 3 to 9. You must use the second According to the official promotion details, Southern California residents can Reader James tells us that he purchased these tickets at the Disneyland Resort |
Southern California 2–Day Park Hopper at 1–Day Park Hopper Price Tickets: $73 for ages 10 and older, $63 for ages 3 to 9. You must use the second According to the official promotion details, Southern California residents can |
|
Good Neighbor Hotel Park Hopper Plus tickets ($105/$85) through April 28, |
|
AAA Flex Passport ($98/$78) – Some AAA offices offer a 2–day A reader let us know that AAA offices in Oregon and Idaho do not offer the |
|
Three Days |
AAA Flex Passport ($129/$99) – Some AAA offices offer a 3–day |
Good Neighbor Hotel Park Hopper Plus tickets ($114/$114) through April |
|
City Pass ($185/$127) – The cost of a CityPass |
|
3–Day Park Hopper Bonus tickets If you plan to visit the Disneyland resort after April 28, take advantage of the Advance Both offers are available at the Disneyland Web site (link), some Southern California AAA offices, some Several readers wrote to tell us that the Safeway stores in Central and Northern |
|
Four Days |
Good Neighbor Hotel Park Hopper Plus tickets ($134/$134) through |
4–Day Park Hopper Bonus tickets ($129/$129) ($159/$129) If you plan to visit the Disneyland Resort after April 28, you can still take Both of these ticket offers are available through the Disneyland Web site (link), through some Southern California AAA offices, |
|
Five Days |
Disney’s AAA Passport Plus Package 2005 ($169/$139) – The
An additional handling fee of $10 is charged per mailing address. These tickets Several readers report that their local AAA offices do not offer this ticket, or MousePlanet has contacted AAA offices around the country and encountered the The Auto Club of Southern California (ACSC) is not participating in this offer, |
5–Day Park Hopper Bonus tickets ($139/$139) ($169/$139) If you plan to visit the Disneyland Resort after April 28, take advantage of the Advance Both of these ticket offers are available through the Disneyland Web site (link), through some Southern California AAA offices, |
|
Alaska Airlines “Kids Fly Free” promotion through June 29, 2005 – |
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Six or Seven Days |
Disney’s AAA Passport Plus Package 2005 – The Parkhopper Plus
An additional handling fee of $10 is charged per mailing address. These tickets Several readers report that their local AAA offices do not offer this ticket, or The Auto Club of Southern California (ACSC) is not participating in this offer, |
Special thanks to MousePlanet reader David Michael for some of this
|
50th Anniversary Package, revised
The Happiest Homecomings on Earth package has been revised for the new year. The
previous promotion was good only for three–night stays at the Disneyland
Resort hotels; the new offer is valid on longer stays and includes Good
Neighbor Hotels as well.
Instead of the 50th anniversary commemorative clock and Walk in Walt’s Footsteps
tour, the new packages include all the following:
- “Enchanting” commemorative certificate (one per package)
-
Park Hopper bonus ticket, which includes one early entry into Fantasyland and a
$10 ESPN Zone game card. (Park hopper tickets can be upgraded to an annual pass
for an extra fee) - Preferred seating to select shows at Disney’s California Adventure
- Entry into Mickey’s Toontown Madness
- Walt Disney Travel Co. lanyard and pin (one per person)
- Walt Disney Travel Co. luggage tag
- Walt Disney Travel Co. fun book (one per package)
The “Happiest Homecoming on Earth” package is available for arrival
dates through December 31, 2005. The package can be booked through the
Disneyland Web site (link), or by calling (714) 520–5060.
ESPN Zone MVP Club
If you sign up online for ESPN Zone’s MVP Club (link)
you can receive a $20 voucher (for food, merchandise, or game cards), a
40–point game card (about $10 worth), and an ESPN Zone mini–cooler.
ESPN Club in Orlando is excluded from this offer. You must pick up these items
in person, although they do not have to be used as the same store from which
you get them. There are some fairly strict requirements for registering and
getting your rewards, so make sure you read the details carefully (link).
Park Schedule/Blockout Dates
DL: Disneyland
DCA: Disney’s California Adventure
Annual Pass blockout dates:
-
SL – Southern California Select Annual Pass
- SC – Southern California Annual Pass
- DX – Deluxe Annual Pass
Sun |
Mon |
Tues |
Wed |
Thurs |
Fri |
Sat |
4/25 | 4/26 | 4/27 | 4/28 | 4/29 | 4/30 | |
|
DL: 9a–7p | DL: 9a–7p | DL: 9a–7p | DL: 9a–7p | DL: 9a–Mid | DL: 8a–Mid |
5/1 | 5/2 | 5/3 | 5/4 | 5/5 | 5/6 | 5/7 |
DL: 8a–11p | DL: 10a–8p | DL: 10a–8p | DL: Closed | DL: 9a–11p | DL: 9a–Mid | DL: 8a–Mid |
5/8 | 5/9 | 5/10 | 5/11 | 5/12 | 5/13 | 5/14 |
DL: 8a–11p |
DL: 10a–9p |
DL: 10a–9p |
DL: 10a–9p |
DL: 10a–9p |
DL: 9a–Mid |
DL: 8a–Mid |
Visit our Annual
Passholders Blockout Dates 2005 page to see more dates. You can
see future calendar schedules at Disneyland.com here.
Entertainment schedule: Go directly to the Disneyland Resort schedule
for this week at Disneyland.com here.