Disneyland Park Update

Update for December 17 – December 23, 2007

Go directly to: News & Views | Current

Refurbishment/Attraction Closures | Park Events

| Discounts and Promotions | Park

Schedule/Blockout Dates

News and Views

Annual Passholders, check your parking receipts | Candy Cane Craziness | Join DoomBuggies for a Haunting Special Event at Disneyland | “National Treasure 2” chalk drawings at Downtown Disney | River Belle reopening delayed | Anaheim Resort housing proposals coming out our ears | Holiday Photo Contest! | Disney Gallery events for 2008 | This ‘n That

[Ed. note: MousePlanet will not be publishing next Monday or Tuesday as

we spend the holiday weekend with our families. Next week’s Park Update will

run on Wednesday. Have a great holiday weekend!]

Annual Passholders, check your parking receipts

Earlier this month, MousePad discussion board members noticed that upon entering the Mickey & Friends parking structure, their Annual Passports were being scanned and the receipt was personalized with their name and Passport number. Previously, all an AP had to do was flash their pass and they’d be given a generic parking receipt. We suppose this is an attempt by Disney to crack down on re-use of Annual Passholder parking privileges, where Passholders would meet up with friends or family in another vehicle and accompany them into the parking structure to obtain free parking. We haven’t actually heard that this practice is widely used or abused, but we can’t conceive of another reason for the change other than just raw data collection.

There is a potential privacy implication, since the parking receipt now shows

both a name and a Passport number—information that could be used to aid

in accessing a Passholder’s account on the Disneyland.com Web site if a discarded

parking receipt was picked up by someone with less than altruistic intentions.

It’s also important to remember that when you renew your AP by mail, your

old Passport becomes invalid as soon as the new one is mailed—not

when you receive the new one. This means that if you visit Disneyland between

the time the new Passport is mailed and you receive it in the mail, the cast

member in the parking admission booth will have to override the invalid Passport

to issue you your parking receipt.

Candy Cane Craziness

It’s that time again. No, not time to make fun of the Disney Channel, it’s

time for the annual rush on Disneyland’s homemade candy canes. The candy canes

are made on-site in the Candy Palace on Main Street and are in very limited

supply, which naturally leads to long lines and frustrated guests. Compounding

the problem is the fact that Disney doesn’t seem to have a handle on the demand

for the candy canes, nor are Candy Palace cast members properly informing

guests of when and where to line up or providing any kind of line management.

The line isn’t for the latest Olszewski release or a limited-edition pin, it’s for candy canes. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

The latter is especially problematic, since without line control it’s common

for one guest to place-hold for larger groups, and with a two-per-person limit,

it’s common for guests only a few spots back in line to be shut out when the

line swells. As might be expected, there’s an active discussion on MousePad

that you can check out for individual experiences (link).

If you can’t get one, at least you can watch them being made live. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Join DoomBuggies for a Haunting Special Event at Disneyland

Our friends over at DoomBuggies.com are celebrating their 10th anniversary

with a special event in Disneyland on Monday, February 25, 2008, when they

host a “Swinging Wake” in Disneyland’s famed Blue Bayou restaurant with a

special menu developed by Disneyland just for the party. In addition to the

spectacular meal, there will be a can’t-miss presentation with some very special

guests, and photo opportunities with some very rarely seen official Disney

characters. To end the fantastic party, the group will be invited to a special

after-hours trip through the Haunted Mansion after the park closes to the

public

Tickets to the event are $249 each, and include the delicious dinner, admission

to Disneyland for the event (after 6 pm.), admission to the very special presentation,

and a special trip through the Haunted Mansion. Attendees will also receive

an event T-shirt, an event cloisonne pin, and a special collectible commemorative

souvenir.

See the DoomBuggies.com message board for details, including registration

and payment information (link).

National Treasure 2 chalk drawings at Downtown Disney

In conjunction with the December 21 release this Friday of National Treasure

2: Book of Secrets to theaters, artist Julie Kirk is creating a street

chalk painting on the sidewalk in front of the World of Disney store in Downtown

Disney. When viewed from the correct angle, the painting resolves into a 3-D

logo from the new movie, and will be on display until next Sunday or until

a thunderstorm ruins the Jolly Holiday. Look for Alex Stroup’s Screen reView

of National Treasure 2 later this week.

You could try to jump into this chalk painting, but unless Mary Poppins is with you it probably wouldn’t work. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

River Belle reopening delayed

As we surmised last week, the reopening of the River Belle Terrace restaurant

has been delayed by at least a few days. The restaurant was supposed to open

from a four-month refurbishment on Friday, December 14, but as of this past

Saturday (December 15), it was still behind construction walls and tarps.

This looks just like last week, but we swear it’s new. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Guest Relations cast members at City Hall have stated the reopening has been

pushed to Tuesday, December 18. Cast members have been spotted inside the

restaurant for a “Taste and Adjust,” at least they were until blackout tarps

were installed over the windows. MousePad discussion board members have reported

that the famous Mickey Mouse pancakes remain on the River Belle’s menu.

MousePlanet’s highly secret elite operatives captured this exclusive image

of the River Belle Terrace’s new interior. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

I suppose she’s not secret anymore.

Update: Several MousePlanet readers have written in to tell us that the walls are down, and the River Belle Terrace was open and serving guests on Sunday, December 16. The new lunch and dinner menu has been posted:

• River Belle’s Prime Rib Sandwich
• Mississippi Turkey Breast Sandwich
• Tennessee BBQ Pork Sandwich
• Vegetable Po’Boy Sandwich
• Plantation Prime Rib Salad
• Rosemary Turkey Breast Salad
• Aunt Polly’s Harvest Medley Salad
• Munch, Inc. Kids Meals:
  • Little Carver’s Turkey Sandwich
  • Little Carver’s Prime Rib Sandwich
  • Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

Anaheim Resort housing proposals coming out our ears

SunCal isn’t the only company trying to build residential developments inside the designated 2.2 sq. mile Anaheim Resort area. Sarah Tully at the Orange County Register reports (link) that two other developers, Urban West and West Millennium Homes, are keeping their plans alive even as the controversial SunCal proposal falls apart and a ballot initiative aims to stop such projects.

Urban West’s proposal for a condo, loft and retail complex on the location

of the Travelers World RV park on the northeast corner of Harbor Boulevard

and Ball Road was put on hold earlier this year while the parties waited for

the SunCal mess to shake out. West Millennium’s project, a multi-use development

on the site of a closed Toys R Us store south of Disneyland, features a hotel,

restaurant and shops along Harbor Boulevard with 191 condos and live-work

lofts to be constructed behind the tourist-oriented buildings and is ready

for the January 7 meeting of the Anaheim Planning Commission.

Show us your best Disney holiday photo and win a new Disney DVD!

Do you have a great Disney holiday photo and story to share? Send them in, and you could win a new Disney DVD from Buena Vista Home Entertainment. We’re looking for your best holiday photo from any Disney theme park or resort. Maybe it’s a stunning photo of Cinderella Castle decked out with snow and lights, your kids posing with Surfin’ Santa in Sunshine Plaza, or even your family group photo with the Main Street Carolers.

Sleeping Beauty Castle covered with snow, by day… Photo by Frank Anzalone.

Submit your photo and story via e-mail to mouseplanet.com@gmail.com by Thursday December 20, 2007, then visit MousePlanet.com on Christmas Eve to view our favorites.

Your photo must be at least 800 pixels on the longest dimension?we’re sorry, but photos smaller than 400 x 300 will not be considered. Please include a short caption or description to accompany your photo, and be sure to let us know when and where the photo was taken.

By entering you grant MousePlanet, Inc an unrestricted, nonexclusive, non-revocable license to publish your photo and story on MousePlanet.com. Winners will be notified by reply e-mail on or around December 24.

…and lit up at night. Photo by Frank Anzalone.

Disney Gallery events for 2008

The Disney Gallery, apparently unruffled by the loss of their physical location within the park, announced a few events for next year. On February 23, they will hold a product release and signing celebrating the 55th anniversary of Peter Pan (link). Then on April 8, Julie Andrews will be at the resort for a special appearance to sign copies of her new autobiography (link). Finally, and though this isn’t really a Gallery event it does appear on the Disney Gallery section of the Disneyland.com Web site, you can see a preview of some of the candy apple and specialty fudge flavors scheduled for 2008 (link). Thanks to MousePad member cstephens for these three tips.

Straight On Til Morning, by Amanda Visell, will be shown at the Peter Pan anniversary event. Image © Disney.

This ‘n That

… If you couldn’t score tickets to the Miley Cyrus-Hannah Montana “Best of

Both Worlds” concert tour, now you have a second chance—in Disney Digital

3-D at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, in a special limited engagement

beginning February 1. It may not be live, but it could be the next best thing.

Tickets are on sale now; visit the El Cap’s Web site for details and showtimes

(link).

… The Cheesecake Factory at Anaheim GardenWalk is now open, with PF Chang’s China Bistro and McCormick & Schmick’s Grill to follow this week. The rest of the GardenWalk project is not scheduled to open until May 2008, but look for more individual tenants to open as soon as they can.

White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle, Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake, Fresh Banana Cream Cheesecake, Kahlua Cocoa Coffee Cheesecake, Adam’s Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple, Key Lime Cheesecake. Need we say more? Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

… Animation art gallery Great American Ink has produced a video, “Behind the Scenes of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” which highlights the making and release of Disney?s first full-length feature film. This memorable event is featured in this exclusive, historic video available for viewing online for free at www.GreatAmericanInk.com (link) or call 1-800-552-2847 to receive a complimentary DVD.

… The annual Rose Bowl team event will be held December 26th this year, starting at 1:00 pm in the Castle Forecourt. We don’t have much more than that right now but will update this entry when we get additional details from Disney. Interestingly, it appears that both teams will appear on the same day; historically, the teams came to Disneyland on separate days. Will it be a Trojans vs. Illini rumble in the Magic Kingdom? Well, probably not.

… The Tournament of Roses has published the list of Rose Parade Participants (link) and it does not include Disney. We hadn’t heard even a whisper about a Disneyland float this year and it seems that lack of rumor should have told us something.

Update: MousePlanet reader Don Bitz wrote in to mention that while Disney doesn’t appear to have a formal entry in the Rose Parade, the City of Anaheim’s float does include Sleeping Beauty Castle according to a rendering found on the Web site of float builder Phoenix Decorating Company. (link)

… This week marks the fifth anniversary of MousePlanet’s weekly Disneyland Resort

Update column, which premiered December 16, 2002 (link). Thanks to our loyal readers for your continued support!

Current Refurbishments and Attraction Closures

Disneyland

• River Belle Terrace

  – closed through December 18, at last report, for remodel.

• Haunted Mansion –

  closed January 7 to 24 to remove the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay.

• Mark Twain Riverboat

  – closed January 14 to 17 for refurbishment

• Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor

  – closed January 14 to 18 for refurbishment

• “it’s a small world”

  – closes January 22 for a nine-month refurbishment, and should re-open

  in late October 2008.

• Jungle Cruise – closed January

  28 to March 7 for refurbishment.

Disney’s California Adventure

• Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the

  Rescue closed through February 14, 2008

• Playhouse Disney – Live on Stage!

  – closed February 12 to March 13 for refurbishment.

• Corn Dog Castle – closed

  February 26 to 29.

• Midway Games –

  closed for an unknown duration. The future of the games has been somewhat

  questionable due to the Toy Story Mania project, but some of the games remain

  open for now.

• Toy Story Mania! – under construction. Opens 2008.

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.

Events

If you know of any events, official or unofficial, that should be listed

here, let us know.

December

• Breakfast with Santa promotion at Naples Ristorante in Downtown

  Disney – Saturday, December 22, 2007 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00

  p.m. See the December 10, 2007 MousePlanet Disneyland Resort update (link) for details.

• Rose Bowl teams visit Disneyland – Wednesday, December 26, 2007, 1:00 p.m. in the Castle Forecourt.

February 2008

• Unofficial Homeschool Day at Disneyland – Friday

  February 1st, 2008. This event is open to all homeschool and alternative

  schooling families (link).

• Peter Pan 55th Anniversary product release and signing – Saturday, February 23, 2008. (link)

Spring 2008

• Disney’s California Food & Wine Weekends – Spring

  2008 (link)

• Julie Andrews appearance and book signing – Tuesday, April 8, 2008. (link)

Summer 2008

• Disney Magic returns to Pacific Ocean itineraries – May

  25 to August 17, 2008.

• 2008 Disneyland Half Marathon. Sunday, August 31, 2008

  (link)

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

or different offer, so we can share it with other readers!

This first section is a list of discounts on ticket only purchases. Though it has become more common in recent years, Disneyland tickets are rarely offered at deep discounts unless you are a resident of Southern California or Northern Mexico. For residents outside that area, the best discounts available tend to be simple advance purchase discounts.

This information is pulled from many sources but much thanks must go to MouseSavers.com for providing the bulk of the information. If you know of any additional discounts, offers, promotions, or contests that should be listed in this section, drop us a line (link).

Hotel / Travel Packages

Costco Travel Packages – Many different travel packages including visits to Disneyland and Disneyland hotels are available through Costco.com. When purchasing a Costco Disneyland travel package, extras that will be included are: Mickey’s Toontown Madness admission (currently available Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays, and Saturdays), a character breakfast per person, a $20 Disneyland Resort gift card, a collectible pin and lanyard, and a Costco luggage tag.

Disney’s Resort Magic and Good Neighbor Magic Packages – Package includes accomodations one of the three resort hotels or at one of 40 Good Neighbor hotels; Souvenir Park Hopper ticket with voucher for admission to Mickey’s Toontown Morning Madness, plus one Magic Morning (early entry) for three-day or longer Park Hoppers; preferred seating at four DCA attractions (Disney’s Aladdin – A Musical Spectacular, Muppet*Vision 3D, It’s Tough to be a Bug!, Golden Dreams); Preferred Showing of Turtle Talk with Crush (Priority Viewing at the first Turtle Talk with Crush show of the day, on any one day – one voucher per Guest); Disney Dream coin keepsake (one per package), luggage tag and lanyard with pin; a Downtown Disney Fun Card; and a “Character Call” from Mickey, Minnie, Goofy or Crush. Contact Disney Travel or your favorite travel agent.

2008 “2 Days Free” offer – When you buy a 3-, 4- or 5-day Parkhopper ticket, Disney will add two free days. In other words, you’ll pay the 3-day rate ($189) and receive a Parkhopper Bonus ticket good for five days. You can maximize your savings by taking advantage of the advance purchase discount, and pay just $169. The Parkhopper Bonus ticket includes one Early Entry admission. The Spring promotion is available starting January 7. The ticket must be used for the first time on or before April 24 and expires 13 days after first use or on May 7, 2008, whichever occurs first.

Other Discounts

Disney Visa Free-Stroller Rental – If you have a Disney Visa card you can rent up to two strollers for free at either Disneyland or Disney’s California Adventure.

Rainforest Cafe Safari Club – Membership in the Rainforest Cafe gets you a 10% discount on entrees for up to four people. It also gets you priority seating if available, which can make a huge difference on busy days. Additionally, after signing up, your membership card will be mailed to you and be accompanied by a $10 award good for your next visit to a Rainforest Cafe. So if you know you will be eating there while at Disneyland and have a Rainforest Cafe local to you, it may make sense to prejoin the Safari Club so that you can use the award during your trip. See the Rainforest Cafe Web site for details (link).

ESPNZone MVP Club – Membership in the MVP Club does not offer any discounts on food. However, once a member you can make an online reservation for your party up to three days in advance and will get a 25% increase in points purchased when playing games in the Sports Arena (and 40 bonus points at activation). You must register online and your membership card will then be mailed to you within two weeks. The card must then be activated at any ESPNZone by the person who signed up for the card and ID will be required (link)

AAA Restaurant Discounts – AAA (American Automobile Association) members can receive a 10% discount (excluding alcohol) at Plaza Inn, Wine Country Trattoria Ariel’s Grotto, PCH Grill, and Goofy’s Kitchen.

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

Visit our Annual Passholders Blockout Dates page to see more dates. You can see future calendar schedules at Disneyland. As always, specifics are subject to change without notice (or occasionally, without us noticing) so when information conflicts between what is presented here and that presented by Disney, it is best to assume Disney’s information is correct.

Entertainment schedule: Go directly to the Disneyland Resort schedule for this week at Disneyland.com here.