Happy New Year to all of our MousePlanet readers! May 2009 be filled with good health and happiness. The first group of letters this week is Disneyland-related, and they are answered by our MousePlanet staff members.
Dave A. writes:
Just a comment on the newly revamped “it’s a small world” boats. With the heavy rains in Disneyland on Wednesday, December 17 by 11:00 in the morning the small world boats had already begun to fill with water, something we didn’t realize until we were just about ready to get on. When the boat pulled up, it had about 2 inches of standing water in the bottom of our seat row. My wife was unprepared in her footwear for this very wet problem so we just passed though and exited the ride when they wouldn’t accommodate for another row in another boat. It wasn’t until much later in the day that someone was posted in front of the ride saying “All boats are flooded,” but by that time we had already made the change to some footwear that would allow being in a 13-minute ride with your feet sitting in a couple of inches of water. Since rain in Southern California is pretty rare, I’m not sure if this was a problem with the older boats.
Wow that is a problem! I wonder if they’ll be able to fix that. Hopefully in normal weather conditions it won’t be as much of a problem. I hope you got to ride it at another time. Thanks for sharing your story.
An anonymous cast member writes:
After January 4, 2009 the coronation and storytimes will no longer be taking place at Princess Fantasy Faire. The news is only a few days old at the resort, and that’s coming straight from someone who works in the venue. I know it doesn’t have many fans (initially, I, too, was upset that it wasn’t being filled with a new show), but for those with little ones in their princess stages, it’s a great loss, and not many realize they can complain about this to City Hall. To make matters seem more relevant to everyone, the shows at Princess Fantasy Faire are not being replaced, merely the stage area will be closed to the public. There are no plans to fill the theater with anything else; this was a very abrupt decision.
Lisa B. writes:
Our family is devastated to hear that the Royal Coronations and story times at the Princess Fantasy Faire are being cut. Our 3-year-old daughter holds so many cherished memories there. Plus, I can’t imagine that Disney isn’t making loads of money from all of us parents who fork over hundreds of dollars for the accompanying dresses and accessories!
How can we make our voices heard to the Disneyland management? I’m sure other families are feeling the same way. As always, thanks for keeping us in the information loop. Very helpful, and in this case, sad, too.
Thanks for writing. I’m sure there are plenty of parents like you who are upset about the loss of this and other entertainment offerings at the Resort. You can contact Disneyland through their Web site (link).
That page has mailing addresses and phone numbers in addition to a “Contact Us” e-mail form. Best of luck.
Lauren writes:
First I would like to say how much I enjoy this website, as it has been very helpful in planning disney vacations and keeping up to date on what is going on.
After reading you latest disneyland update, I was excited to learn that the annual passport payment plan would be available to northern californian residents if a premium or deluxe plan was bought. My mom has always wanted one, and I would able to get her and I one if I could do it on the payment plan method. However, I decided to call and verify this information before making a trip down to southern california, its a 7 hour trip. Upon calling guest services they informed that this payment plan method was not available to northern california residents as of yet, and that she did not know when it would become available.
So my question is with whom did you guys receive this information from, i.e. department. And if the woman whom I spoke to was incorrect, what procedures should I take to obtain this pass.
We called the public Disneyland information line, (714) 781-4400, and asked to speak to someone about ticket information. We specifically asked about the monthly-payment Annual Passport program and if Northern California residents could take advantage of it; the answer is what we printed in the Disneyland Resort update this week. The program is advertised (on signs in and around the Resort) as being available only to Southern California residents for all four Passport types, but the Disneyland representative we spoke with confirmed that Northern California residents can use the monthly-payment program for the Deluxe and Premium Passport types; however, a supervisor’s approval may be required at the ticket booth, and these Passports are only available for purchase in person at Resort ticket booths.
It is not unusual to call Disney three times and receive three different answers; all we can report is what we were told. If you are told something different, we suggest you try calling back and perhaps asking to speak with a supervisor. It is quite possible that individual representatives may have conflicting information about this brand-new program.
Thanks for writing, and good luck. Please let us know what you find out.
Mic Mow writes:
Parade of Dreams is not expected to come back. We will most likely never see that parade at Disneyland. Disney is planning to repave Main Street during January and February while starting rehearsals for an entirely new production named, “Celebrations Today,” premiering as early as March (depending on when they are ready). The music will feature artists Miley Cyrus and Corbin Bleu. The entertainment will be featured on Main Street U.S.A. ONLY, which is why it is vital for Disney to fix up their streets before this kicks off.
Thanks for the tip—that jibes pretty well with what we’ve been hearing as well.
Kathy L. writes:
I am planning a trip to Disneyland in late January and noticed that on the Disneyland site they have Grizzly River Run closed from January 20-27 and that you don’t have it mentioned on your site. I thought you might like to add it. Thanks for the great site!
Disney has been messing with their calendar quite a bit in the last few weeks. I’ll make sure the Grizzly River Run closure is added to our update.
Walt Disney World Update author Mark Goldhaber answers the next question from a reader who has an idea about where the retired space shuttle should go.
Bruce S. writes:
Today I read that NASA is selling their Space Shuttles in 2010 as they prepare to mothball the fleet. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Seriously.
I saw the same thing, but aside from the fact that there’s no current need for a static display of that size, an additional complication (beyond the $42 million price tag) is NASA’s insistence that orbiters “may not be displayed outdoors, and will require suitable climate-controlled indoor display space.” Can you really see Disney setting up a huge, climate-controlled hangar to display something that they can’t make huge amounts of money off of? A cool idea, but I don’t see it happening.
Bruce replies:
I wasn’t aware of all of those conditions. Sounds like NASA is looking for someone to provide the display they probable can’t afford to provide. Still, I can still picture it with nighttime spotlights behind
Mission: Space…
That would be cool, wouldn’t it? Fun to dream about.
Finally, Mouse Tales author and MousePlanet staff writer David Koenig answers some letters in response to his recent column, The Lost World.
Gina writes:
Loved this article! My nephew and I muse that they should open a “days gone by” museum somewhere on property that would feature Walt Disney World’s past, present and future. I think it would be a great draw, especially for the senior set who may not care to return to the parks, but would love to explore memories with magic.
There’s always Yesterland!
Rob S. writes:
Just wanted to mention/correct a couple of items in your recent article:
- While two cars from the Fort Wilderness Train *were* originally ticket booths at Pleasure Island, those cars were replaced many years ago with new booths that kept the same train-car theme. You can still see one of the Fort Wilderness train cars outside the entrance to Typhoon Lagoon (at least I think it’s still there). Somewhere in the parking lot area there’s a train car with pontoons strapped to it. It’s presumbly themed to the hurricane that hit the village.
- Just this week the viking ship in the Norway pavilion was walled off and torn down. It’s unclear what, if anything, will be going into that space.
- And as a nod to the original attraction, the theater where American Idol is going has been officially renamed the “Superstar Television Theater.” (Or perhaps that’s a return to what it was originally called… Not sure if it had an official name when it first opened)
Thanks for the update!
