weekly update - TouringPlans.com Blog

Soft openings and special events are now in full swing, as Disneyland Resort speeds towards the June 15th relaunch of Disney California Adventure.

Crowd Calendar

Quietest Day: With a 4.7 out of 10 at Disneyland Park, Sunday 6/3 was one of the quietest days the resort should see until after this summer.

Busiest Day: Thursday 6/7 was a 6.3 out of 10 at Disney California Adventure.

Subscribe to the TouringPlans.com Disneyland Crowd Calendar for details on predicted crowds for the next 30 days.

Special Events

• Grad Nights were held on 6/6-8, and will continue on 6/12-14.
• Celebrities like Larry the Cable Guy and Brent Musburger have appeared at the resort recently to sample the new attractions currently testing in Cars Land.
• Paid sneak preview events began on 6/9 in Cars Land for Annual Passholders, Club 33 members, and D23 members, garnering rave reviews online for most of the new attractions.
• Disney released an online interactive timeline depicting the 5-year expansion now being completed.
• Guests can now purchase 1-day Disneyland Resort tickets through their smartphones.

Openings, Closings, and Refurbishments

Disneyland Park

• Matterhorn Bobsleds reopens on 6/15.
• Carnation Cafe reopens on 6/13.

Disney California Adventure

• Attractions on Cars Land and Buena Vista Street remain off-limits to the general public until 6/15.
• The entire Disney California Adventure park will be closed for media events on 6/14.
• The Mad T Party is currently performing in soft-open, and officially kicks off on 6/15.
• Disney has announced showtimes for new performances beginning 6/15, including DJ’s Dance and Drive, Five and Dime, Red Car News Boys, Pixar Play Parade, Dancing with Disney, and the newly-titled Instant Concert…Just Add Water! daytime fountain with Goofy. LINES users can see these showtimes in their app and use them in personalized plans starting on 6/15.
• The Ghirardelli Soda Fountain officially opened on June 7 in the old Mission Tortilla Factory building.
• Beginning June 8, the Blue Sky Cellar is hosting the Radiator Springs Historical Society Museum of the History of Radiator Springs, featuring “artifacts” from important Cars Land residents. The cellar will screen Time Travel Mater, a new Cars-themed short film that makes its television debut on ABC on 6/16.
• More information was released about the 92 sommeliers who will help Chef Gloria Tae open the new Carthay Circle Restaurant on 6/15.
• Images were released of exclusive merchandise that will be available at DCA on 6/15 to celebrate the park’s grand reopening.

Downtown Disney

• The WonderGround art gallery opened on 6/9.
• Earl of Sandwich is under construction, opening date TBA.
• A multimedia truck promoting the new TRON: Uprising show on Disney XD appeared in Downtown Disney on 6/3-7.
• Upcoming Mayumi and Mayhem merchandise was announced for the Vault 28 and D Street stores.

All images copyright Disney.

Welcome to the final May 2012 installment of “Last Week at Disneyland Resort,” as we race towards the Disney California Adventure relaunch next month. Hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! Here’s what just happened at the Happiest Place on Earth:

Crowd Calendar

Last week was the final “slow” week before the big buildup to the June 15 grand openings. Don’t expect to see lines that short again until long after summer.

Quietest Day: Tuesday May 22 (3 out of 10)

Busiest Day: Saturday May 26 (predicted 8 out of 10, actual 9)

Subscribe to the TouringPlans.com Disneyland Crowd Calendar for full details on projected wait times for the next 30 days.

Special Events

• The final after-hours Passholder parties for Fantasmic! were held on May 21 and 22.
• Grad Nights were held on May 23-25.
• New television commercials, depicting Buzz Lightyear detecting “high levels of happiness” at Disneyland Resort, were released.
• Disneyland Resort announced it would offer Extra Magic Hours early theme park entry to on-site hotel guests beginning June 18. The program is similar to the current Magic Morning early entry, which will still be offered to purchasers of “bonus” parkhopper tickets. Extra Magic Hours will allow guests at Disneyland’s 3 hotels to enter Disneyland Park on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and Disney California Adventure on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, one hour before the official opening time.

Openings, Closings, and Refurbishments

Disneyland Park

• Matterhorn Bobsleds remain closed until June 15.
• Frontierland Shootin’ Exposition reopened after a month-long refurbishment. The game is essentially unchanged.
• The special summer edition of The Magic, The Memories, and You! debuted May 25 on the it’s a small world facade. Images of sandcastles and surfing Sport Goofy are now integrated into the nightly video projection show.

Disney California Adventure

• Construction walls came down around the Carthay Circle theatre and fountain in preparation for DCA’s June 15 relaunch.
• More photos were released depicting life-sized Mater and Lightning McQueen characters amid the neon lights along Route 66 inside the under-construction Cars Land.
• New entertainment offerings featuring Chip and Dale, Goofy, and Cars characters were announced.
• Soft opening was held for the Mad T Party, a “hip” dance party inspired by Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, featuring costumed performers, a live band, specialty drinks, and custom games and merchandise.
• The Cove Bar reopened at Ariel’s Grotto.

Downtown Disney and Hotels

• Construction continues on WonderGround art gallery and Earl of Sandwich.
• The newly refurbished LEGO store held a Master Builder Event to celebrate their grand reopening. Guests could help assemble a model of “Brickley the Sea Serpent.”
• New souvenir cocktail glasses are available at Trader Sam’s at the Disneyland Hotel.

Elsewhere

• Transformers: The Ride officially opened at Universal Studios Hollywood. The 3-D dark ride/simulator hybrid has received rave reviews.

All photos copyright Disney

Welcome to the first weekly installment of Last Week at Disneyland, TouringPlans.com‘s regular round-up of recent events and operations in and around the Anaheim resort. This column will be your weekly refresher of what’s new at the Happiest Place on Earth.

In addition to Disneyland.com and the Official Disney Parks Blog, much of the following news and photography comes courtesy of our friends at MousePlanet and MiceAge. Visit those sites for more images and up-to-the-minute updates.

Crowd Calendar

Attendance was seasonably slow at the resort this week, but look for crowds to build as Memorial Day approaches.

• Quietest Days: Resort attendance was lowest on May 3 (Predicted 1 out of 10, Actual 2).
• Busiest Days: Resort attendance was highest on April 29 (Predicted 6 out of 10, Actual 5).

Subscribe to the Touring Plans Disneyland Crowd Calendar for full details on predicted attendance for the next 30 days.

Special Events

• Disneyland celebrated Cinco de Mayo on May 5 with a special menu at Tortilla Joe’s in Downtown Disney.
• Reservations are now being accepted for special after-hours Annual Passholder parties being held on May 14, 15, 21, and 22 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Fantasmic!
• A sweepstakes was announced for Annual Passholders to win a preview visit to Cars Land and Buena Vista Street in Disney California Adventure on June 11.
• ABC Television announced that the episode of Modern Family that was shot at Disneyland on Leap Day will be broadcast on May 9.
• New membership spots in the ultra-exclusive Club 33 are available, in case you have a stack of spare $10,000 bills lying around. New members will be able to visit 1901, the new private lounge being built inside the Carthay Circle Theatre at DCA.

Opening, Closures, and Refurbishments

Disneyland

• The candy store, Penny Arcade, and Gibson Girl ice cream parlor on Main Street, USA, reopened on May 2 following a major refurbishment. The makeover is getting high marks from early visitors, excepting the removal of the glass elephant and several vintage arcade machines. Carnation Cafe remains closed until June 2.
• The Carnation Plaza Gardens closed forever on April 30, to be transformed into the Princess Fantasy Faire in 2013. Saturday swing dancing will be relocated to Downtown Disney in the interim.
• Frontierland Festival Arena stage is now home to the Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree, with characters and crafts Friday-Sunday. This is also where school musical groups perform now that Plaza Gardens is gone.
• Matterhorn Bobsleds remained closed for a major overhaul until June 15.
• Indiana Jones Adventure was closed for a quick refurb on May 1-2.
• Frontierland Shootin’ Exposition is closed now through May 25.

Disney California Adventure

• Ariel’s Grotto restaurant is closed through May 3, and the attached Cove Bar is closed through June 1.
• Ariel’s Undersea Adventure was closed April 30 to May 4 to install new hair on the “Under the Sea” Ariel animatronic and replace CGI projections with new hand-drawn animation. The changes will also appear in the WDW version of the ride, opening this winter.
• Soarin’ Over California closed unexpectedly on May 3 after guests at Epcot’s version of the ride managed to slip out of their restraints. The ride reopened on May 4, and safety procedures are being reevaluated.
• Buena Vista Street and Cars Land remain under construction until June 15, though some soft-openings are possible later in the month.
• Preparations are underway for the Mad T Party, this summer’s replacement for the ElecTRONica weekend dance parties. The new Alice in Wonderland-inspired event will feature themed midway arcade games.

Downtown Disney

• The large LEGO Imagination store reopened on May 1 after a major refurbishment. The temporary LEGO store in the former home of Island Charter is now transforming into the WonderGround art gallery which will open on June 9.