Disneygeek - Geek Speaks - 8/08/24 - D23 Day @ the Disneyland Resort

The Geek Speaks:

Welcome to the disneygeek.com Geek Speaks section. In this section I will post my comments on trips to the parks or other Disney related events.

8/08/24 - D23 Day @ the Disneyland Resort

Hello Everyone!

The parks felt crowded as you would expect as the final days of summer are upon us before school years start and with the D23 events going on. The weather was on the warm side topping out in the mid 80s but a breeze most of the time to make it a little more comfortable.

Thoughts and Observations:

D23 Day at the Disneyland Resort was today and featured a number of photo ops, merchandise offerings, entertainment and a cavalcade.
- To start the day the first guests into the parks all received D23 MouseEars. Those were long gone by the time I arrived after 9am so you had to be there early as the supply seemed extremely limited. I lucked out and family members were at the park earlier and picked up a pair so we have a set.
- The D23 Day at Disneyland Program guides featured the info for the day as well as a fun map.
- I thought the photo op in Town Square fit in much better than the Pixar Fest one did. It had a steady line the few times I walked by.
- I did not try any of the Magic Shots but they did have guests waiting for them when I saw them.
- The Inside Out 2 artwork at DCA was a fun photo op
- The 12:15pm Disneyland Band Cavalcade was a nice little motorcade. I would have preferred them to go more slowly and maybe pause.. plus more of course :)
- The Disney Jr Show and offerings at the Tomorrowland Terrace were from past events and not unique unfortunately. It would have been nice to see something more specific to D23.
- The merchandise lines were much longer than my patience so I did not go anywhere near the releases with the exception of taking a look at the Tarzan collection at Off the Page because it was by the door with no line.
Most of the signs that there was a Pixar Fest event are gone from both parks. The Esplanade display was being dismantled.
Halloween was moving in with decorations going up and merchandise already available. The festivities officially begin August 23rd.
Haunted Mansion Holiday returned with a virtual queue only due to the ongoing renovation work for its queue. I played the game of trying to get a late enough queue that I would be there but early enough that I could make it one and I failed. My group was called during the Cavalcade and I needed to go grab lunch after and would not make it out to the mansion this visit. One interesting note I did not get a push notification until after my time had passed.
The Mark Twain Riverboat top deck was available today so I was able to cruise around the Rivers of America and check out the projects. The queue project you can see some walls starting to take shape but nothing by the gift shop. The Critter Country walkways are starting to take shape again too.
The Disneyland Railroad is closed for a couple month renovation. They are working on the track. During the closure there are some photos plus engineers available at the Toontown and Tomorrowland stations. Stop by and chat with them and check out the historical pictures.
In the Grizzly Recreation Area there are a pair of Big Al's Chargin Stations, thought these were fun little additions. I did not try them so not sure how efficiently they charge your device.