Disneyland Resort Update for November 15 – 21, 2021

Disneyland Resort Update for November 15 – 21, 2021

News and Views

The holidays are here!

Holiday Time at the Disneyland Resort has begun, and it's exactly what we need it to be after a very rough 18-plus months. There's no new parade or nighttime spectacular, no new attraction overlay. Instead we have the same familiar parade with the same familiar music (One More Time!), the same familiar fireworks show (albeit with a new greeting announcement), and the same familiar (if slightly soggy) “it's a small world” Holiday.

Over at Disney California Adventure, the tree is up on Buena Vista Street, the bear outside Grizzly River Rapids is dressed in his holiday sweater, and the only real change to Viva Navidad is the inclusion of a meet-and-greet featuring a new character from the upcoming Disney movie Encanto.

Everything is warm and welcoming and familiar, and exactly what so many of us missed so dearly last year when the parks were closed. Nostalgia is the name of the game this year, and Disneyland is delivering it in gift-wrapped buckets.

The cheerful snowmen dance down Main Street, U.S.A. during the first public performance of A Christmas Fantasy parade at Disneyland. Photo by Todd Pickering.

Mickey and Minnie wave to the crowd during “A Christmas Fantasy” parade at Disneyland. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Crowds pack Main Street for a performance of “Believe… in Holiday Magic” fireworks. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Clarabelle Cow waves goodbye to Disneyland visitors from the Main Street train station. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Disney's Viva Navidad celebration includes a promotion for the upcoming animated feature movie “Encanto.” Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

The fan-favorite Viva Navidad Street Party has returned for Disney's Festival of Holidays. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Holiday photo spots are all around Disney California Adventure, with some lesser-seen characters like Big Al. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Disneyland's new Merriest Nites event began last Thursday, with the second event this Tuesday, November 16. MousePlanet's Todd Pickering attended the first event, said the absolute highlight of the after-hours event was the Muppets Christmas Caroling Coach on Main Street.

Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog perform on The Muppets Christmas Caroling Coach during Disney's Merriest Nites. Photo by Todd Pickering.

Todd writes:

The Muppets have taken over one of the Disneyland Omnibuses, and converted it into a rolling stage. Miss Piggy and Kermit are on the bottom, with Gonzo, Pepe, Sam the Eagle, and Fozzie Bear up top. Of course Gonzo brings along some chicken pals.

The Caroling Coach enters at Town Square and drives down Main Street, before making a performance stop at the hub. Once it passes the street, the crowd can gather in front of the tape to watch the show. If you stand on the sidewalk you can still see the Muppets and over folks heads. The whole show is amplified all up and down Main Street USA.

The short performance has lots of bad jokes from Fozzie, a self-centered Miss Piggy dreaming of moving into Sleeping Beauty Castle, and of course musical numbers like “Deck the Halls” (with a clucking chorus), “Feliz Navidad” and “Let it Snow” with… you guessed it… snow! There are four shows a night and this truly should not be missed.

Todd notes the last two shows of the night were much less crowded than the first, so you may want to skip the crowds and check out the later performances.

The Muppets Christmas Caroling Coach was the hit from the new Disney's Merriest Nites event. Photo by Todd Pickering.

Look for more from Todd's visit to Disney's Merriest Nites on MousePlanet soon.

Flooding delays reopening of “it's a small world” holiday

A star of Disneyland's holiday season is the transformation of “it's a small world” into its holiday edition, but the reopening of the iconic ride last week was delayed due to flooding. According to the Orange County Register, the incident occurred while workers were refilling the rides flume following the installation of the holiday decorations. Disney says the flooding affected the ride machinery, and that they are working non-stop to reopen the attraction.

“it's a small world” Holiday is lit up for the season, but the ride remains closed. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

“it's a small world” Holiday was one of the featured attractions for Disneyland's new Merriest Nites event, which kicked off last Thursday. Disney couldn't say how long the attraction would be closed, but the Disneyland web site currently shows the ride as reopening on Tuesday, November 16, in time for the second of the Merriest Nites events. MousePlanet is attending that event, and we'll be sure to post updates if the ride reopens.

While the ride itself is not operating, the nightly “it's a small world” Holiday lighting moment still takes place each night, as does the projection show that runs every 30 minutes on the attraction's facade. Disney also uses the iconic ride building as a projection screen for the “Believe… In Holiday Magic” fireworks spectacular.

Making the most of the Sip & Savor pass

Visitors to Disney California Adventure can purchase a Sip and Savor Pass for the Festival of Holidays, offering eight tasting portions of selected food and beverage items from Festival Marketplace locations as well as some participating food carts.

The “Sip and Savor Pass” is $57 to the general public (average $7.13 per dish), and $52 to Disneyland Resort annual passholders (average $6.50 per dish), a $3 increase over 2019. Because sales tax is not applied to the price of the Sip and Savor Pass, but is to the food items, you also get an 8 percent advantage when you use the pass because you aren't paying sales tax. We've noticed that the pricing of the pass isn't printed on any in-park signage or even the Disneyland website, which could make it very simple for Disney to raise or drop the price of the pass based on demand.

The passport itself is a plastic credential with eight snap-off tabs, strung on a lanyard.

If you use all eight tabs to purchase one each of the eight most expensive items at the Festival, at best you save $11.75 (plus tax) compared to paying cash. You “save” every time you use a tab for an item that sells for $7.25 or more, but every $5 dessert or $6 non-alcoholic beverage you buy with a tab eats into that savings (and don't even think about using a tab on that $4.25 bottled water).

We had deemed the Sip and Savor Pass a waste of money when it debuted in 2016, but the offer had gotten a bit better over the years. Given the price increase in 2021, you might be better served just paying cash, or sharing a pass between two people and using it only for entrees. To get the most value from the pass, you need to be prepared to pay separately for less-expensive items, which will raise your overall spending. The Sip and Savor Pass is valid for the entire festival, so you can use up the tabs on subsequent visits, assuming you have theme park reservations.

If you're holding onto a partially used Sip and Savor Pass from the 2020 Food & Wine Festival, Disney has changed its policy and will honor the tabs during the 2021 Festival of Holidays. Disney says “The entitlement tabs must still be intact and attached to the original 2020 Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival Sip and Savor Pass in order to be accepted.”

Disney earlier this year published instructions on how to get a refund on the unused portion of that pass, which became unusable when the resort closed due to COVID. Visit the Disneyland website, and scroll down to the “Separately Ticketed Events” section for more information. Disney will refund $7.00 per unused tab, plus postage, in the form of a Disney Gift Card eGift—but you have to print out a claim form.

Disney didn't publish an end date for this offer, but it's best to get it taken care of.

Plaza Inn parade dining package returns; New Years package coming

This slipped our radar, but the Plaza Inn is once again offering a dining package that offers a reserved viewing area for A Christmas Fantasy parade. The package is $45 per adult or $25 per child, and includes a lunch entrée, dessert, and one drink from a special menu, plus entry to a reserved viewing area to watch the second performance of A Christmas Fantasy parade. Lunch reservations can be made between 1:00 and 3:30 p.m. on days the package is offered. The package is not offered December 1 through 5 or on holidays, or during Disney's Merriest Nites events.

We should note that the reserved viewing area included in this package is standing-room only, though guests with disabilities will be accommodated. Even with the package, we recommend arriving to the viewing area as soon as it opens to get a front-row view of the parade.

In 2019, the restaurant offered a New Year’s Eve Fireworks Spectacular Dining Package, which sold out almost instantly. Disney hasn't released details of that offering for 2021, but the Plaza Inn page on the Disneyland website says to check back for availability.

Breakfast is served

Breakfast service at the Red Rose Taverne in Fantasyland ended this weekend, but has resumed at the Galactic Grill in Tomorrowland. The menu includes a breakfast burger, breakfast sandwich, breakfast burrito, and French toast sticks.

Other quick-service breakfast options inside Disneyland park include Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe, Ronto Roasters in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, and surprisingly the Ship to Shore Marketplace in Frontierland, which offers a breakfast chimichanga.

Table service options inside Disneyland include the Plaza Inn character buffet or the Carnation Cafe on Main Street. Both require advance reservations.

Knott's goes cashless

Disneyland's neighbor to the west is making a big policy change starting this week, and the topic has proven fairly controversial on social media. Knott's Berry Farm announced last week that the majority of its theme park operations will go cashless as of Monday, November 15, to include ticket booths, shops, restaurants, and concession stands.

The company encourages visitors to Knott's Berry Farm and Soak City to use cashless forms of payment, including credit cards, debit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay.

The exceptions to this new policy are for the parking lot, shops in the California Marketplace, craft booths in Calico Ghost Town, and at the Knott's Berry Farm hotel.

On first glance, this seems like a natural progression of the payment policies we've seen develop during the pandemic, as companies have encouraged touch-less payments as a safety measure. Many businesses cite a nationwide shortage of coins for change when requesting that customers use plastic for purchases.

However, the policy becomes problematic for people who are unbanked or under-banked, and for those who don't have ready access to credit cards or electronic payment apps. Just this weekend my older children spent the day at Knott's with family friends, and I gave them cash for their meal and souvenir needs. My kids are too young to have their own debit or credit cards, and I'm certainly not handing over mine for the day.

Knott's says, “No card? No problem!” The company has installed Cash-to-Card kiosks at six locations throughout the park, where visitors can load up to $500 onto a prepaid ReadyCARD Visa card. There's no fee to use the kiosk, but there's also no mechanism for converting the balance of your unused funds from the card back into cash at the end of your visit. Instead, Knott's points out that the leftover funds can be used anywhere Visa is accepted—but anyone who's ever tried to use a prepaid card knows that it's often difficult to use the full balance left on such cards. The card issuer also assesses a $3.95 monthly dormancy fee after 92 days of non-use, so don't tuck it away or you could see the remaining value wiped out by fees.

To be sure, Disney is pushing mobile payments for food and merchandise through the Disneyland app, and aggressively markets its Disney gift cards in stores and online. The big difference for California consumers is that these cards are subject to state laws which prohibit dormancy fees, and also provide that unused balances under $10 must be paid out in cash upon request by the consumer.

If Disney ever does go completely cashless, we would hope it would be via their Disney gift card program, and not a thirrd-party prepaid card like Knott's is using. Best of all, we hope Disney bucks this trend entirely, and continues to allow visitors to pay in the manner which works best for them.

This and That…

…Disney is seeking hairstylists, nail technicians and a fitness instructor for the new Tenaya Stone Spa at the Grand Californian Hotel, and is offering hiring bonuses of up to $1,500 for these roles. Visit the Disney Careers website for information.

…The Disney Gallery is hosting an exhibit called “Happy Haunts Materialize,” which features the art of the Haunted Mansion – “Ghost Starring” The Muppets. Fans of the Muppet Haunted Mansion special should check it out.

…Some food locations in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge offered up special dishes for “Life Day” on November 12, and the items were still available through the weekend. Look for pork broth noodles at Docking Bay 7; a potato hand pie and a black sesame macaron at Kat Saka's Kettle; and a pork belly slider skewer and gin-huckleberry cocktail at Oga's Cantina. We don't know how long these dishes will last, so try them while you can.

…The Sailing Ship Columbia is slated to reopen this November 19.

…Harbour Galley is also scheduled to reopen on November 19. No word on whether the new waterfront Pelicans Landing seating area will be open this weekend.

…The MousePlanet Newsletter contains a recap of the week's articles (in case you miss a day), news that may have developed since the weekly Updates were published, and tips for keeping the Disney magic going at home. We'll also include a fun bonus, such as an Eye Spy or a trivia question. To subscribe to our free newsletter, just enter your email in the box below.

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Refurbishments and Attraction Closures

Attraction, restaurants, and stores that are closed for refurbishment are noted below. All other closures should be presumed to be due to COVID protocols, and are subject to change at any time without notice as the state of California issues new guidance.

All information was current as of this article's publication date. MousePlanet does not edit past Updates; for the most up-to-date refurbishment calendar, check the most recent Disneyland Resort Update, visit Disneyland.com or use the Disneyland smartphone application on your iOS or Android device.

View the different areas of the Resort by scrolling horizontally and selecting the one you want to read about.

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Resort Events

Check here to see if a large convention, competition, or park event might fall during your next trip to the Disneyland Resort. If you know of any in-park events, official or unofficial, that should be listed here, please send us an e-mail.

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2021-2022

We also recommend checking the convention calendar at the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor and Convention Bureau website. When looking at that site, remember to note both the number of people and the number of rooms resulting from each convention. A gathering of 25,000 people booking few room nights (indicating most will be driving in to the area for their meeting) can impact traffic around the resort much more than a crowd of 25,000 staying in area hotels. Of course, that second group is going to make finding a hotel room more difficult (and possibly more expensive), so it's best to book your own room as early as possible if you see that a big convention is in town during your trip.

Non-Disney Resort Events

Notable events at parks and attractions around Southern California. If you know of an event that should be listed here, please send us an e-mail.

Current Discounts and Promotions

Disneyland prices as of October 25, 2021.

Note: MousePlanet does not edit past Updates to reflect price increases; for up-to-date prices, check the most recent Disneyland Resort Update. Several current promotions offer discounted admission to the Disneyland Resort. For your convenience, 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 that 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. If you know of any additional discounts, offers, promotions, or contests that should be listed in this section, drop us a line. Note, we are no longer listing offers from the Anaheim-Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau, as their convenience fee negates any savings.

Don't get scammed! Never buy tickets from an unofficial or secondary outlet, such as through eBay or Craigslist. Never rent or purchase tickets from people approaching you outside the gates stating they have remaining days or leftover tickets. This practice is against the terms of use for Disneyland admission, and may result in denial of entry. It is also common for criminals to shoplift inactivated Disney theme park tickets from supermarkets to resell them. There is no way to determine if these tickets are valid until you try to use them to enter the parks. Only purchase Disney theme park tickets directly from Disney, an authorized seller, or travel agency like MousePlanet travel partner Get Away Today.

Ticket Prices and Promotions

New! Just click the number of days or ticket type you want to view.

Additional Discounts

Did we miss an offer? If you know of an authorized discount on Disneyland Resort tickets, standing offers for Annual Passholders from non-Disney vendors, or other promotions which might interest our readers, please drop us a note!

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Everyone

Magic Key Holders

Disney Rewards VISA Credit Card Holders

Southern California Residents

Disney Vacation Club Members

Service Members

Hotel & Travel Packages

If you can't see the categories, please let us know!

Park Schedule/Blockout Dates

• DL – Disneyland
• DCA – Disney California Adventure

Early Admission – full description available on the Disneyland website:

• MM – Magic Mornings for 3-plus day ticket holders and promotional “bonus” tickets. (Not currently offered)
• EMH – Extra Magic Hour for Disneyland Resort Hotel Guests. (Not currently offered)

Disneyland Resort Special Events:

• F&W – Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival
• GN – Grad Nite.
• OBB – Oogie Boogie Bash at Disney California Adventure

The Ticket Tier calendar is published on the Disneyland website for the next eight to 11 months.

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