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8/24/18 - Thoughts and observations from Friday at the Disneyland Resort
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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.

8/24/18 - Thoughts and observations from Friday at the Disneyland Resort
Friday was a nice relaxing day at the Disneyland Resort. Summer is slowly coming to an end and the parks appear to be taking a breath of relief. Renovation projects have started throughout the parks. The weather has returned to normal meaning mid 80s with a breeze cooling down to the 60s. The crowd on Friday was average to light most of the visit..

Thoughts and Observations:

  • My trip started off on an ok front. The parking garage was available but I had to go through the light at Ball. Once inside no wait at the tollbooth but had to crawl up the ramp to the level as they were parking the last row. I ended up about a handful of cars from the main walkway, so not too bad.

  • The new parking structure on the form Pinocchio parking lot is rising quickly with the portion nearest the existing structure reaching the third level and then various stages of completion as you move toward Magic Way. Overall it is moving at a good pace so hopefully this rate can continue and an opening sooner rather than later in 2019.

  • I have not walked through the Disneyland Hotel in months so decided to start my day with a visit. I walked through the lobby then central courtyard and Frontier Tower before heading back to Downtown Disney. There are a couple of projects underway but the renovation of Tangaroa Terrace has not started yet.

  • If you have not been following the saga of the 4th hotel project it is currently on indefinite hold as Disney is re-evaluating the project after a disagreement with the city of Anaheim. The construction trailers are still on site and everything on the west end is closed but no demolition work has started.

  • Halloween merchandise is out in many of the stores across the Disneyland Resort. Halloween Time returns September 7th and runs through October 31st. Here is the press release with some details.

  • As I entered the park today the Hook & Ladder Co was performing. Internet reporting/rumors are the band will be dissolved in September. That is too bad, I really enjoy all the atmosphere entertainment Disneyland has to offer. I think it adds life to the park and reaches a fair number of guests. It allows for you to a take a few moments and just enjoy the park.

  • The east side (right when walking toward the castle) of Main Street USA has a couple of renovation projects under way. The facades of several buildings are being worked on and the Main Street Cinema is also closed. The stores remain open though. This shuts down the sidewalk and leads to some crowd flow issues during parades and fireworks so keep that in mind if you plan to move through the area. During the evening they tape off a walkway in the street to allow for traffic to move. This seemed to work ok, but the trade off is less viewing in the street. Also note that due to these projects several sections of Main Street do not have projections during Together Forever because the projectors are blocked or the scrims do not reflect enough light to see the images.

  • Out by the Splash Mountain exit Sammy (from the Country Bear Jamboree) has set up a recycling corner. This seemed an odd placement but I thought the reference was great. Surprised they did not go with a Splash Mountain character though since it is park of the mountain.

  • The Matterhorn renovation continues and due to the construction walls being so far out parade crossing is impacted in Fantasyland. The cast member told me once the parade starts you cannot cross until the end so you have to go to the hub to find a crossing.

  • In Tomorrowland it appears they are taking out another planter/seating area to create more space for the walkway. Also the mural on the north side (above Buzz) is gone and it is currently black. Wonder if the same one is coming back or something new.

  • For dinner I ran into my first issue with mobile order. The app would not allow me to log in and order. I gave up and just ordered at a register since the wait turned out to be only one group. I ended up having to uninstall and reinstall the app to get it working properly again.

  • The Annual Passholder corner has returned to Paradise Gardens for the final weeks of Pixar Fest. A new sticker is available there. Pixar Fest in general appears to be limping to the finish line. There does not seem to be that much energy behind it right now.

  • Stopped by Ghirardelli only to find no chocolate samples today. This is the first time I can remember them not having anything. I took a look on two different passes. The greeter only had menus.

  • Spent a little bit of time in Bugsland. Equipment is starting to arrive and demolition will happen very quickly after the September 4th closure.

  • On Sunset Blvd I saw something new. Cast Members had a square taped off in the street and as guest stepped into the square they clapped and cheered. Kids seemed to be enjoying it jumping in and out. It looked like the group of cast members were waiting for their assignments to work the parade route.

  • I was in Cars Land for the lighting moment. This is always a fun time to visit the land. Cast Members passed out flags and paraded around with some guests during the song. After it had finished they distributed buttons to those that participated then gave out the extras to those in the area. I thought this was a fun plus and more engaging than just a group of cast members that had been there in the past.

  • I had a FastPass for Toy Story but when I showed up the return line filled the queue and went out into the walkway. It was longer than my patience so I skipped it and opted for the Pixarmonic Orchestra instead. This was my first time seeing a performance after dark and I really thought the lighting in the area added to the show. It is still an awkward venue but it was enjoyable.

  • I found a spot for Paint the Night. The parade route felt more crowded where I typically watch from. I was finally able to see Jack Jack appearances.. the last time I viewed the parade he was not working properly.

  • No problems walking through the park and over to Disneyland for Together Forever fireworks to end my evening. Finding a spot was a little trickier than usual with the reduced viewing space but luckily the park was not over crowded this evening.






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

Geek’s Blog Postings Recap August 3-14, 2018


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.

Send comments, questions, any other email to: disneygeek@disneygeek.com

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