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1/06/23 - Disneyland Resort - First visit of 2023
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1/06/23 - Disneyland Resort - First visit of 2023

Hello Everyone!

I paid my first visit of 2023 to the Disneyland Resort on Friday. My objective for the day was to enjoy a final look at the holiday decorations and entertainment. Everything starts to be packed away on Monday for about the next 10 months. The parks had a good number of guests moving around and wait times were on the longish side most of the day. With some luck or planning you could find gaps and visit an attraction or two with a minimal wait though. The weather was great topping out just about 60 with a lot of sunshine in the afternoon but as soon as the sun started to set it cooled down to the low 50s very quickly.

Thoughts and Observations:

  • I arrived at the Disneyland Resort later than usual around 1:30pm due to work, traffic and opting to stop for lunch before heading to the parks. No delays parking, at security or the trams so that all worked well. I was surprised parking had already gone to self parking, no one guiding you into spots once you reach the level. I lucked out and chose a good aisle and was in a spot about 10 cars from the walkway/stairs.
  • While walking through it's a small world mall the Pearly Band arrived for a performance. They made their way up to the back tier of the terrace along with Bert and a penguin. As they played a Moana medley the Genie came by and conducted the band for a while. A very interesting mash up of films for the performance.
  • While walking the parks today I saw several Lightning Lane return queues that were backed up. For example small world filled its queue and was out toward the gift shop. WEB Slingers was spilled out and around the side of the building. Radiator Springs Racers was the worst filling the queue and then out to Route 66 almost all the way to the Cozy Cone.
  • While walking through Black Spire Outpost this afternoon there were two sets of First Order Storm Troopers out, first time I had seen that in a long time. One set were participating in the stage show near the entrance and the others were roaming around near the Cantina.
  • I found a spot to watch Mickey's Happy Holidays in Carthay Circle this afternoon. Thought it was interesting a trio of Disney cameras were filming during the procession. Maybe a highlight video of entertainment or just B-roll for next year?
  • The cast of Viva Navidad Street Party really seemed to have a lot of energy the show I went to. It is always a lively show with a high energy but the cast really seemed to step it up today.
  • The Dia de Reyes (Three Kings Day) celebration was very minimal this year. Maybe I missed it arriving at 4pm but there was nothing going on. Just the traditional photo op and signs. There was a cart and tables so thinking they may have had arts/crafts earlier in the day.
  • I stopped by for the 6pm Phat Cat Swinger Holiday Concert and there was a good size crowd on hand to enjoy the performance. The same trio of Disneyland Resort cameras were on hand for this event too.
  • Returned to Disneyland and I always find it odd that they will not do two way traffic on the west/left by pass so you do not have to cross the parade route. To get to it's a small world I had to cross the parade route twice plus the crosswalk traffic in Fantasyland. The system does work as it was not horrible to walk through the park but you get delayed by the parade where as the by pass would mean no crossing.
  • With three weeks left until the opening of Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway you could see a couple lights on in Toontown but that was about it. No other signs of progress from the very limited vantage point you get.
  • The 7:30pm Wintertime Enchantment in the small world mall area did not have any projections. It was my first time watching out there this year. The snowfall in the mall itself looked good this evening and the cold weather helped to sell it.
  • Believe in Holiday Magic was canceled due to winds at higher elevations. They played several warnings and promptly canceled at 9:30pm and started the Wintertime Enchantment and White Christmas. This season I only managed to see the full show once and that was from a less than ideal angle due to running in after World of Color. The other nights I either left early, was at World of Color and did not make it over or it was canceled due to winds.

Here are some recent posts to the Geek's Blog:

Disney Related Press Releases

Be sure to check out the picture update that goes with this Geekspeak column, it can be found in our Disneyland Resort Pictorial Update section

Trip logs and mileage reports are in the Park Miles section.

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