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11/27/24 - Disneyland Resort - Thanksgiving Weekend
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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.

11/27/24 - Disneyland Resort - Thanksgiving Weekend

Hello Everyone!

I started my long holiday weekend at the Disneyland Resort. The crowds in the park seemed moderate most of the day. Wait times varied but in general were on the longer side but not holiday long. Unlike recent Fridays where the crowd really grew after sunset today it did not. The weather was on the mild side topping out around 70 and cooling to the low 60s before I left.

Thoughts and Observations:

  • My day started off with a much quicker drive than I had anticipated to reach Disneyland. I was greeted by only a half dozen cars in line at the tollbooth to park and no delays reaching a spot. I drew a less than ideal spot about 2/3 the way down an aisle on the Monsters Inc level of the Pixar Structure. No waits for security, the tram or to enter the park.
  • Main Street USA was alive with activity as usual. The horse-drawn street car jingle bells really stood out today. They seemed to always be around me each time I passed through Main Street USA this afternoon.
  • I watched the 12:15pm Disneyland Band performance that includes Mickey & Friends as well as the Dapper Dans. The march from Sleeping Beauty Castle to Town Square included a number of Christmas songs and the characters in their holiday outfits. In Town Square they performed You've Got a Friend in Me which did not match the season.
  • Stopped by Holiday Fun with Santa and Friends in the early afternoon and it was very subdued inside. I caught the end of a sing-along session which featured a snow fall finale. I really think a schedule should be posted and available in the app. If you know what the performance options are you may time your visit differently, visit more than once, or stay longer.
  • Spent some time in New Orleans Square taking a look at the new Haunted Mansion queue. It reopened earlier this week and the traditional standby and Lightning Lane process has returned replacing the virtual queue. The wait was posted at 50 minutes so I only looked at the queue from the perimeter as that was substantially more time than I had patience for. From what I could see from the perimeter the new queue offers more shade and some variety vs the expansive/tight switchbacks of the old queue. The stand by queue was moving slowly and the LL return mix seemed unfavorable. I did find it a little awkward that you are looking at guests all behind metal fences. The new accessibility exit elevator is also now in operation and that path has opened.
  • Disney's Grand Californian Hotel is decorated for Christmas and looks on par with recent years. Nothing new jumped out to me. The gingerbread house has returned and features 25 hidden Mickeys this year. The building is the same as usual with different decorations/details. The lobby features evening entertainment throughout the season, no listing of who is performing just show times of every hour on the half hour in the evening.
  • Walked across the street to the Pixar Place Hotel to see the Christmas decorations. I was greeted by Bing Bong in the lobby. He was interacting with guests and enjoying himself. The hotel features a number of smaller trees most decorated for a Pixar film (a number are also generic Pixar). There is no focal/large tree in the lobby, the Pixar Ball/Lamp are still in middle. I thought the decor worked in the hotel and it was fun to explore the trees.
  • The second floor of the atrium features an Inside Out 2 display still with character models and concept art. This is a nice touch and interesting way to promote the latest film.
  • Rounded out my hotel visits at the Disneyland Hotel. Walked through all four towers to check out the Christmas decorations. Everything seemed about the same as last year with nothing jumping out as new or drastically different.
  • In Downtown Disney the new D-Lander Shop was having a soft opening today. The grand opening of it and the Avengers Reserve store are December 6th. I walked through the new store which had a small and temporary feel to it to me. The merchandise selection was an assortment of higher priced Disney branded partners such as Dooney & Bourke, Lululemon, and Pandora. It will be a sharp contrast to the Avengers store located next door when it opens.
  • I spent a good portion of my day enjoying the Disney Festival of Holidays Entertainment. I caught performances by Joy, Le Ballet Dembaya, The Wayu Band, Kealiʻi O Nālani & Daniel Ho and the Secret Agents. Plus Mickey's Happy Holidays. The Secret Agents put on an entertaining show that was a mix of 60s music and Christmas in various styles. I would have liked to have seen more Christmas music since it was a holiday concert. They performed different music for each of their two shows.
  • Moana has a new meet and greet location in Hollywood Land near Stage 17 to promote Moana 2. She meets throughout the afternoon in the space between the building and the Monsters Inc building in the former queue space.
  • Speaking of Moana Magic Key Holders can pick up a print this week for the film in the usual locations of the Disney Gallery, Kingswell and Wonderground in Downtown Disney.
  • I was surprised there was nothing else going on for the opening of Moana. No other handouts or buttons like there have been for other films in the past. Also noteworthy is there was no preview again in either park.
  • Watched the final Storytime with Deadpool Holiday Special of the day. There was a solid crowd but no where near the jam packed audiences of the past.
  • I had a few minutes so stopped by the Disney Holiday Dance Party in Tomorrowland. I found the DJ / Dance instructor to be even more overpower than usual and I left after a couple songs. I understanding wanting to teach the dancing but at some point it would be nice to hear the music.
  • it's a small world holiday had no projects at 8pm. I stopped by to see the show and was disappointed nothing ran. Not sure if it is part of the normal schedule or if something was going on. I waited around for a few minutes after the clock finished then moved on.
  • The winds and crowds seemed favorable so this evening I decided to watch most of World of Color - Season of Light and then walk quickly over to Disneyland to catch Believe in Holiday Magic. I left right after the Goofy decorating segment and made it to Main Street USA and found a spot with 5 minutes to spare. The crowds for both shows were lighter than Friday nights have been.

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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