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News and Views

Southern California residents get another discounted ticket offer.

Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

New Play 4 Days pass – Southern California residents (zip

codes 90000-93599) can purchase a new four-day ticket for just $79. The

ticket is valid for four admissions to either Disneyland or Disney’s California

Adventure park, from June 1 and September 30. Residents can purchase just

one ticket per person, per day, so your out-of-town relatives must buy

their own, regular-priced admission.

The tickets can only be used at one park each day — no park hopping.

We understand that you can use two admissions —one to each park —

on the same day, effectively making this a $79 two-day park-hopper ticket,

which is a $20 discount from the regular adult price.

The tickets cannot be used at Disneyland on June 28, July 4, 5, and 26,

August 2, 9, 16, 23, 29, 30, and 31. There are no blockout days for DCA.

Tickets are non-transferable, and you must show a valid ID each time.

These tickets can be applied towards the cost of a Deluxe or Premium Annual

Passport (but not a Southern California Annual Passport), as long as you

upgrade when or before you use the fourth admission.

Rumors and more rumors

Subs = sunk – Are the subs worth $35 million? Screamscape.com

is reporting that plans to revive the attraction have been scraped again,

because the estimated cost to refurbish the Submarine Voyage far exceeds

the $5 million new parks head Jay Rasulo supposedly authorized.

This news comes as no surprise to former Subs attraction CMs, who have

expressed concern all along that the neglected vehicles and show building

could not be easily repaired. Said one former cast member, in response

to the Screamscape report, “I knew we would never see the subs again

— Rasulo was either misinformed, or dreaming.”

We guess Disney could always use the old sub vehicles to theme the rumored

third-gate water park; after all, it worked for Castaway Cay. Oooh…

now there’s an idea — the Yesterland Water Park. “Swim through

the remains of rides you’re too young to remember!”

A big buzz about Buzz – In another twist of the on-again,

off-again Buzz Lightyear ride, Screamscape says, “the Buzz project

is about as close to being green-lit as it can get at this point.”

The ride is slated for the former Circlevision building, and may incorporate

portions of the current NASA exhibit. If the rumors are accurate, look

for the ride to appear in time for the park’s 50th anniversary.

Dad can win a Corvette for the weekend.

Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Father’s Day at the Disneyland Resort – The Disneyland Resort

will be hosting a classic car show for Father’s Day Weekend. 50 classic

Corvettes will be on display, and Dad can enter a contest to win a ‘vette

— for the weekend, at least.

The Pirates are about to take over – Just a reminder for

those planning to travel to the Disneyland Resort on Saturday, June 28.

The park closes at 6 p.m. that day because the world premiere of The

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl movie is being

held inside Disneyland park. The rides and shops of Critter Country, Frontierland

and New Orleans Square, as well as Tarzan’s Treehouse, begin closing around

4 p.m. In addition, the Parade of the Stars, Fantasmic! and Believe…There’s

Magic in the Stars will not perform that day.

To allow visitors a near-full day in the park, Disneyland opens at 6:30

a.m. that day. Disney’s California Adventure opens from 10 a.m. to midnight

that day, with an additional performance each of Disney’s Electrical Parade

and Disney’s Aladdin – A Musical Spectacular, and additional showtimes

for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire – Play It! and Playhouse Disney

– Live on Stage!

For the days surrounding the event, Disneyland’s hours have been extended

as well — please consult our Park Hours

schedule, below.

Well, what did you expect from Pirates? Last Wednesday was the

deadline to submit the random selection process forms for the upcoming

Pirates of the Caribbean merchandise special event, and some attendees

suffered sticker shock when they saw the schedule of shipping charges

for the event merchandise.

• Up to $100 of merchandise: $17.95
• $100 to $250: $40.95
• $250 and up: $75.95

“Can you believe this?” wrote one irate customer. “What

is with the 40% shipping fee? Apparently FedEx ended its Space Mountain

sponsorhip in more ways than one!”

Event attendees can choose to pick up their merchandise at the event,

and out-of-town visitors can carry or ship it home themselves if they

wish. Complained one attendee from Florida, “This has to be an typo.

These are the highest shipping fees I’ve ever seen at a Disney event.”

“The postage breakdown seems inadequate to the types, prices, and

weights of the merchandise being sold,” another attendee said. “If,

for example, you bought only the T-shirt, that would cost you $18 for

shipping! Only the holograph coin? $18 for shipping. It doesn’t take much

to go over $100 if you order the T-shirt, sweatshirt, coin, and some

pins, and yet that certainly wouldn’t cost $41 to ship. I am not having

anything shipped. I’ll pick up my merchandise and carry it back to the

Paradise Pier Hotel and have it shipped for much much less. Ha!”

The new Nemo processional reuses costumes from the Eureka parade. The Nemo float is a duplicate of the vehicle used at the WDW meet-and-greet.

An driver/operator sits in the vehicle.

Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Nemo, Found – There’s a lot more of Nemo at the parks than

last week’s Park Update would have had you believe. According to a company

press release:

“At Disneyland Resort, guests can spot Nemo and his newly found

fish friends (along with a few human scuba pals) throughout the day

in the Paradise Pier area of Disney’s California Adventure park. This

entertaining entourage makes appearances to hand out collectible Finding

Nemo cards to the young ones and invite them to join in the fun. Various

activities include the Octopus Dance, the School of Fish follow-the-leader

processional, the Be a Clown… Fish knock-knock joke telling and

Seaweed Says, where kids make outrageous fish faces and pretend their

hands are gills.”

The Nemo Processional takes place in the Paradise Pier District at “random

times” during the day. Apparently, Disney defines the word “random”

as meaning “every hour on the hour between noon and five, (or six,)

except for two o’clock, when we take our lunch break.”

Children “swim with Nemo” during the new Finding Nemo Processional

at DCA. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

The processional is… short. The Nemo vehicle, which looks like a

gigantic plastic Happy Meal toy, scoots about the performance corridor,

followed by eight aquatic-theme refugees from the Eureka parade, each

of whom carries a giant fabric fish banner on a pole. The processional

enters the park from the parade gate near Orange Stinger, and, rocking

to an arrangement of “Sea Cruise,” makes its way to the Jumpin’

Jellyfish area.

Once the processional stops, children are encouraged to “swim with

Nemo,” which really means just dancing along with the costumed performers.

Nemo then moves forward a few yards, and children can follow along. When

Nemo reaches the end of the route, the whole troupe turns around and heads

back to the parade gate, stopping one more time. The entire thing lasts

about 10 minutes.

Can you tell where the parade route ends? Neither could this family.

Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

This is yet another blatant attempt to market DCA instead of giving either

park a fresh, and desperately needed, parade — does anyone

in the corporate office of Team Disney Anaheim remember how wonderful

the Lion King parade was? But the worst thing about this processional

is that it’s confusing to the visitors. Since it’s a “processional”

and not a “parade,” there are no ropes and no defined route.

As Nemo travels back and forth, two harried show support techs try to

keep children from being flattened by the fish-mobile. These same

two techs then recruit children to “swim with Nemo,” while trying

to keep them from actually touching Nemo.

The processional repeats the whole come-closer-stay-back ritual

a few times, and it is frankly confusing. One dancer said, “Follow

me!” to a group of children, and went prancing past Nemo, patting

the fin as she passed. When one of the children went to do the same, he was

immediately scolded by a tech. Note to Disney: Do not make the

techs the bad guys. Get some costumed guest control out there, and make

the “show stops” more obvious.

Lots of Nemo merchandise is available at the World of Disney store.

Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

New Annual Passholder discounts, take three – A memo issued

to hotel restaurants in April detailed new Annual Passholder discounts

for many Disneyland Resort restaurants. The discounts were to take effect

on Monday, April 14. The biggest change was that all passholders would

receive at least a 10% discount at eight locations, with premium passholders

receiving a 15% discount at 12 locations.

Although a few restaurants began to offer the new discounts immediately,

some claimed that the discounts would take effect at a later date, while

still others said that the discounts would not change at all.

Why all the confusion? Apparently, a second memo was sent to restaurants

after the new discounts were announced, instructing the restaurants to

ignore the first memo. Unfortunately, not everyone received this second

memo, including one location that just only received its second memo last

week.

For the record, the most recent version of the internal Cast Member

Reference Guide lists the following discounts:

Premium Annual Passholders receive a 15% discount for the entire party

at:

• Carnation Gardens at Disneyland
• Blue Bayou at Disneyland
• Ariel’s Grotto at DCA
• Vineyard Room at DCA
• Wine Country Trattoria at DCA
• Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel
• Granville’s at the Disneyland Hotel
• Hook’s Pointe at the Disneyland Hotel
• PCH Grill at Paradise Pier Hotel
• Yamabuki at Paradise Pier Hotel
• Storyteller’s Cafe at Grand Californian Hotel

All Annual Passholders receive a 10% discount at the following:

• Pacific Wharf Cafe at DCA
• Taste Pilot’s Grill at DCA
• Bountiful Valley Farmer’s Market at DCA
• Cocina Cucamonga at DCA
• Plaza Inn at Disneyland
• Redd Rocket’s Pizza Port at Disneyland

Disneyland’s Annual

Passholder Web site lists additional discounts not included on

the Reference Guide:

• French Market – 10% off for Deluxe and Premium APs
• Rancho del Zocalo – 10% off for Deluxe and Premium APs

Readers also report receiving a 10% Premium Annual Pass discount at White

Water Snacks at the Grand Californian Hotel.

First it was Pirates, now it’s Wizards – Compass Books &

Café in Downtown Disney is hosting an Annual Passholders-only party

to celebrate the release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Compass Books & Café reopens at 11 p.m. on Friday, June 20

for the event. APs can particpate in a costume contest, raffle, and games.

The winner of the costume contest receives a limited leather-bound edition

of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Register by phone at 714-502-9999, or in person at the store. Reservations

must be made with a major credit card, and there is a minimum purchase

of one book per every two guests. The 10% Annual Passholders discount

applies.

The Patina Group tightens its grip on Disneyland diners –

The Patina Group, which already operates Catal, the Uva Bar and Naples

in Downtown Disney, is planning two new additions. As we previously reported,

the group is opening a Mexican-themed restaurant in the vacant Y Arriba

Y Arriba space. The restaurant was expected to open this summer, but no

formal announcement has been made.

Now it looks like the restaurant will also be taking over the space vacated

by Tin Pan Alley, and expanding the quick-serve menu offered next door

at Naples. The sucess of the Naples take-out pizza counter, where a slice

of thin-crust pizza and a soft drink can be had for $5, has apparently

prompted the restaurant to take the next step.

The new location will share the same kitchen facilities with the existing

restaurant, and offer a larger selection of counter-service dishes, with

limited indoor seating.

Downtown Disney is increasingly absorbing the crowds of diners who want

something other than theme park food — or cannot find an open restaurant

inside the parks — and additional quick-serve options make sense.

But we hope that the Patina Group managers understand that the sucess

of the Naples counter was due more to price than preference. If their

new menu goes the way of La Brea “Home of the $9 grilled cheese sandwich”

Bakery, they may be disapointed in the response.

Wild About Safety – Disney has launched a new safety awareness

campaign, designed to remind visitors about personal safety issues. A

“Wild About Safety” reminder is printed in the park maps, reminding

visitors of four points (The comments in parenthesis are direct quotes

— we couldn’t make this stuff up):

1. No stampeding. (Don’t run)
2. Keep your arms, hooves, tusks and tails inside ride vehicles. (And

   your hands, feet and legs)

3. On rides, stay seated with your tail down. (You get this one, right?)

4. Keep your paws behind the yellow line. (Don’t cross the yellow line)

To make sure that some visitors pay attention (to the logo, if not necessarily

the message), Disney has started placing “Wild About Safety”

logo pins onto Cast pin trading lanyards.

Current Refurbishments and Attraction Closures

Disneyland

• Sleeping Beauty Castle walk-through – indefinite
• Space Mountain – through 2005

Disney’s California Adventure

• Superstar Limo – indefinite

Future Attraction Closures

• Haunted Mansion – September 2 – October 4
• Indiana Jones Adventure – September 2 – October 24 (David Koenig

  reports

  that this rehab has been postponed until January, 2004)

• it’s a small world – October 6 – November 7

  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 25 – July 26, 2003 – Mickey’s All American Pin Festival. A

series of new product releases and mini-events are scheduled during the

nine-week promotion. More details and a complete schedule of release dates

are available on our MousePad

message boards.

June 14, 2003 – Neverland Dawn lithograph. The Disneyland Resort is pleased to announce the release of the limited edition lithograph “Neverland Dawn” with Artist and Former Walt Disney Imagineer Eric Robison Saturday, June 14, 2003 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM at Disneyana, Main Street, U.S.A., Disneyland park.

Created in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Walt Disney Animated Film Peter Pan, comes the memorable lithograph, “Neverland Dawn.” This remarkable piece created by Artist & Former Walt Disney Imagineer, Eric Robison depicts everyone’s favorite spirited little sprite Tinker Bell as she sits glancing back over her shoulder with a hint of mischief in her eyes. Artist Eric Robison will be on hand for a special appearance & signing. The “Neverland Dawn” lithograph is limited to an edition size of 300 and will be offered for $125, plus tax. (Trim size: 22″x27″)

Each piece comes complete with a certificate of authenticity. For more information, please call Disneyland DelivEARS at 800.362.4533. Disneyland DelivEARS will take a “wish list” beginning on Monday, June 9, 2003 for merchandise remaining after the event. “Wish list” merchandise is not guaranteed. We ask that you bring no personal items to be signed. We ask that only two (2) items be signed per Guest.

Event information subject to change without notice. Admission is required to enter Disneyland park.

Thursday, June 26 – “A Taste of New England” culinary

event at the PCH Grill, featuring Chef Marcel St. Pierre (Club 33),

with Wild Horse Winery . Call 714-781-DINE for more information and reservations.

Wednesday, July 9 – Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse

of the Black Pearl – Merchandise Special Event.

Thursday, July 31 – “Grilling Under the Stars” culinary

event at the PCH Grill, featuring Chef Jason Martin (Hook’s Pointe),

with Niebaum-Coppola Winery.

Wednesday, October 1 – Haunted Mansion Holiday Exclusive Dinner

Thursday October 2 – Haunted Mansion Holiday Event

Current Discounts & Promotions

New Play 4 Days pass – Southern California residents (zip

codes 90000-93599) can purchase a new four-day ticket for just $79. The

ticket is valid for four admissions to either Disneyland or Disney’s California

Adventure park, from June 1 and September 30. Residents can purchase just

one ticket per person, per day, so your out-of-town relatives must buy

their own, regular-priced admission.

The tickets can only be used at one park each day — no park hopping.

We understand that you can use two admissions —one to each park —

on the same day, effectively making this a $79 two-day park-hopper ticket,

which is a $20 discount from the regular adult price.

The tickets cannot be used at Disneyland on June 28, July 4, 5, and 26,

August 2, 9, 16, 23, 29, 30, and 31. There are no blockout days for DCA.

Tickets are non-transferable, and you must show a valid ID each time.

These tickets can be applied towards the cost of a Deluxe or Premium Annual

Passport (but not a Southern California Annual Passport), as long as you

upgrade when or before you use the fourth admission.

Disney’s Armed Forces Salute – Through Friday, December 19,

all active members of the United States military (including Coast Guard

and activated National Guard and Reservists) qualify for Disney’s Armed

Forces Salute and can claim one free 3-day park-hopper tickets.

Since the tickets expire on December 19, you must claim them by December

17 to use all three day’s worth. The passes can only be claimed at a park

gate ticket booth. To claim the passes, valid military ID must be shown;

activated National Guard and Reservists must also show their active duty

orders.

In addition to the one free pass, each qualifying person can also purchase

up to five 3-day companion passes for $39 each. If the qualifying person

cannot visit a park to purchase these companion tickets, a spouse may

do so instead.

Summer Annual Passholder special – The first ticket promotion

this summer is an Annual Passholder special. From May 21 to September

3, APs can purchase a 2-Day Disneyland Resort Park Hopper for $69 (10+)

and $49 (3-9). Just present your AP at any ticket booth. Limit five tickets

per Passholder, per day. Tickets are valid for 14 days from date of first

usage. First usage must be on date of purchase. Last usage must be on

or before Tuesday, September 16, 2003.

MouseSavers.com

reports hotel discounts through Expedia.com

for Disneyland Resort Hotels. Rates start at $136 per night.

Park hopping in Northern California – AAA members in Northern

California can now purchase 2-day Park Hopper tickets at their local CSAA

office. The tickets are available through Thursday, June 19. The adult

price is $99; children ages 3 to 9 pay $79.

This ticket is also available at Disneyland ticket booths, or at Disneyland.com.

The second day of the ticket must be used within 13 days of the first

use.

Free coffee on Main Street, revisited – Receive a

free small coffee when you buy a mug at the Market House on Main Street,

USA. This offer is only valid at the Market House, and is for a limited

time only. The Market House has just begun serving the Mickey’s Really

Swell Coffees as part of this promotion. Now you can try the Disney Blend,

Disney Decaf, French Vanilla and Hazelnut flavors sold at the parks.

Annual passholder discounts at Alamo – California residents

get discounts of up to 20% off Alamo’s retail rates in the United States.

Disneyland annual passholders can get a free Disneyland Resort Character

Breakfast voucher when the rent their car for 3 days or more from March

24th through August 31, 2003 at the Los Angeles Airport location. For

more details and the discount code you’ll need for this offer, visit the

annual

passholder section of the Disneyland Web site.

ESPN Zone discounts for annual passholders – Disneyland annual

passholders can get an Season Ticket Frequent Dining Card at the Downtown

Disney ESPN Zone. The Season Ticket entitles you to a free soda with your

meal purchase of $6.99 or more. Once you have made four meal purchases,

you receive the fifth meal and soda free, and get a chance to win a pair

of tickets to the ESPY Awards in 2004. See location for more information

and details.

City Pass now available with AAA packages – You can now purchase

the Southern California CityPass with Walt Disney Travel Company packages.

With a Southern California CityPass booklet, you will receive admission

to five separate entertainment options. Admission includes:

• 3-day Disneyland Resort Park Hopper Ticket
• 1-day ticket to Sea World Adventure park
• 1-day ticket to the World-famous San Diego Zoo
• 1-day ticket to Knott’s Theme Park.

Instead of the Disneyland Resort Park Hopper Ticket currently included

in California packages from the Walt Disney Travel Company, guests can

select a Southern California CityPass for an additional charge of $47

per pass ($32 per pass for guests ages 3 through 9).

Note: The Southern California Citypass does not include the $10

ESPN Zone Arena Game Card, or the California package’s feature that allows

guests to collect multiple Fastpass tickets at once for free in advance.

Anaheim Marriott Disney Package available for Marriott Rewards members

– Make your Disneyland vacation as easy as saying “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah”

with a Disneyland package at the Anaheim Marriott. For a low rate of $419,

through Saturday, May 31, you’ll find dreams really do come true with

this fabulously priced package.

Anaheim Disney Package includes:

• 2-nights in a luxury guest room
• 3-day Disneyland Resort Park Hopper tickets for two adults
• Free breakfast for two adults
• Children aged 3 through 9 eat for $1

Some restrictions apply. Membership in the Marriott Rewards program

is required. Click to learn more about this offer and for complete terms

and conditions.

Alaska Airlines airfare and hotel specials – Alaska Airlines

is offering two specials for travel to the Disneyland Resort. A MousePad

member

alerted us that the airline is again offering the popular Kids

Fly Free special, which includes airfare, hotel, park-hopper tickets,

and more. This special offer can only be booked by calling Alaska Airlines

at 1-800-468-2248. Adults traveling without kids can take advantage of

other special hotel and air packages by booking at the Alaska

Airlines Web site.

The “Get a 5-Day Park Hopper ticket for the price of a 3-Day

ticket” promotion has been extended through January 5, 2004 –

These tickets are available when you order online from Disneyland.com.

Restrictions apply – see

site for details.

AAA Passport Plus Package – For $122.75, you can get a 5-day

park hopper and the following extras:

• Multiple attraction FastPass (The “Unlimited” option)
• Breakfast in the park (one per person)
• Free ESPN Zone arena game card ($10 value)
• AAA Free parking at the Disneyland Resort Theme Parks

A $13.75 FedEx fee applies to each reservation, (not per person). This

package is available without an air or hotel purchase, and must be purchased

at your local AAA affiliate office at least 5 days before you plan to

use the tickets.

Many readers have experienced difficulties when trying to purchase this

package from their local AAA affiliate. Be sure to read this

thread on our MousePad discussion boards, for more information

about the package and tips on how to help your AAA travel agent book your

package.

AAA / Disney’s Resort Magic Package – This package requires

a minimum 2-night hotel stay, and includes:

• Accommodations at Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel, the Disneyland Hotel,

  or Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel

• Disneyland Resort Hotel self-parking and Fitness Center access
• Disneyland Resort Park Hopper Ticket – valid for entry into Disneyland

  park and Disney’s California Adventure park with full park-hopping privileges

• Free ESPN Zone Arena Game Card – $10 value (one per person)
• New. Collect FASTPASS tickets for multiple attractions at one time.

  Preferred Seating at a choice of select shows in Disney’s California

  Adventure

• Exclusive – Walt Disney Travel Company collectible pin and lanyard

  (one per person)

• Exclusive – Walt Disney Travel Company California Fun Book (one

  per package)

• Exclusive – Disneyland Resort Magical Pocket Guide (one per package)

You can book this package through your local AAA affiliate travel agent.

Park Hours/Blockout Dates

DL: Disneyland

DCA: Disney’s California Adventure

Annual pass blockout dates: SoCal

– Southern California Annual Pass. DX

– Deluxe Annual Pass

Visit our Annual

Passholders Blockout Dates 2003-2004 page to see more dates.

Due to the world premiere of The Pirates

and Believe… There’s Magic in the Stars will not perform that day.

Entertainment Schedule