Since MousePlanet shares its July 17th birthday with Disneyland, let's use the occasion to review the events we've covered on the site in the past 12 months. The Disney Company is surprisingly large and multifaceted, and the sheer volume of changes occurring every year at Disneyland and Walt Disney World is staggering. Let's get to it, then, shall we?

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Disneyland Resort Rumors

A lot of rumors we reported this year have come true, but there are some that remain in the future. There have been murmurings about Who Wants to be a Millionaire - Play It at Disney's California Adventure (DCA) - how long can this attraction continue?

Next door at Superstar Limo, there may be a Goofy-themed overlay to the attraction in the future. Superstar Limo is currently being used as a "test bed" for dark-ride safety enhancements - the theme change is not the reason the ride is closed, although that overlay has been partially installed already.

Over at Disneyland, speculation continues about the land north of Tom Sawyer Island - will it be Discovery Bay? American Legends? Something else? The biggest news, clearly, is the plan in the works to revitalize five classic attractions for Disneyland's 50th Anniversary in 2005: Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, and “it's a small world.” Each attraction would get much more than fresh paint: New scenes, new sets, and in some cases new track layouts. We've even had news recently that Steve Davison may be looking at creating a big-budget show in the Festival Arena for the 50th Anniversary, too.

Disneyland Park Attractions

Although we kicked off this past year with a new Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, the past 12 months have been characterized by closures. The Country Bear Playhouse closed (in defiance of the Country Bears movie opening nationwide), Cosmic Waves finally gave up the ghost, and King Arthur's Carrousel closed for a rehab that eventually expanded to require rebuilding it literally from the ground up.

The September 11th attacks took their toll on attractions, since Sleeping Beauty Castle's walk-through and the caves on Tom Sawyer Island have been closed for security reasons. Not all news is negative, fortunately. This year saw Roger Rabbit's CarToon Spin reopen with new safety features, and ground was broken on the old Bear stomping grounds for a Winnie the Pooh dark ride, though it will be a while until it opens in Spring 2003. Nearby, Splash Mountain underwent a very long rehab, but finally did reopen with new single-rider seating arrangements (and safety gates), while Innoventions shuffled sponsors and opened displays for Pioneer and Segway.

Promotional photo © Disney

By far the biggest news, though, was the Haunted Mansion Holiday. Opened to rave reviews, the Nightmare Before Christmas-themed Haunted Mansion Holiday contributed to the Christmas atmosphere at Disneyland (which includes "it's a small world holiday," a new holiday tour, and the return of the popular "Believe in Holiday Magic" fireworks). The Haunted Mansion Holiday opening coincided with a new and gorgeously decorated Fastpass section for the Haunted Mansion.

Disney's California Adventure Attractions

Going back one full year, we find Disney's California Adventure only a few months old, and yet the past 12 months have seen some additions to the fledgling park already. Who Wants to be a Millionaire – Play It! opened, but its neighbor Superstar Limo succumbed months later to lackadaisical reviews and shuttered its doors, with no replacement or word on reopening. Also in the Hollywood section, the Walt Disney homage One Man's Dream replaced the aging film Return to Neverland, which had originated debuted in Walt Disney World in Orlando.

Smaller attractions changes dotted the landscape as well, such as the sky painted shroud placed around Mulholland Madness (to reduce noise for Disney Hotel guests) along with the addition of lap bar pads, a rebar to the Golden Zephyr to allow operation in higher wind conditions, and ongoing maintenance problems with the Orange Stinger.

The major addition, of course, was the groundbreaking for Flik's Fun Fair behind the farm area and the start of construction for Tower of Terror in Hollywood. Flik will open soon (after Summer 2002), but the Tower of Terror is not scheduled for completion until early 2005.

Disneyland Entertainment

After a run of several years in the Fantasyland Theatre, the variety show Animazement, finally closed this year, replaced during the holiday season by Minnie's Christmas Party (yet another holiday-themed event at the park), which gave way in spring to Mickey's Detective School. For several weeks this fall, visitors were treated to a special addition to the fireworks in the form of a patriotic finale, inspired by the September 11 attacks (this arrangement and music were also used in Fourth of July 2002 fireworks).

Over on the Rivers of America, Fantasmic! returned after an unusually long hiatus. Rumor alert: It is occasionally reported that this will be the last year for Fantasmic at Disneyland, since the Rivers of America will be drained in Spring 2003 for construction on Tom Sawyer Island and the show may not return the following summer.

DCA Entertainment

The maligned show in the Hyperion Theater, Steps in Time, limped away after the summer, to be replaced by the wildly successful (and Tony-award winning) show The Power of Blast, direct from Broadway.

Character shows and atmosphere talent continued to be added, switched out, and refined, with the notable addition of the Monsters, Inc. show "Scream at the Hairy Blue Monster." During DCA's first holiday season, the fireworks show Luminaria was added to the Paradise Bay lagoon, though it opened to mixed reviews and may most likely be significantly retooled when it returns in 2002.

Susan Lucci and fan

Earlier this year marked the West Coast debut of Super Soap Weekends (previously held in Walt Disney World) where fans had the opportunity to meet the stars of ABC soap operas. Elsewhere, there was a four-day test of an Audio-Animatronic Meeko at the Pocahontas storytelling in Redwood Creek and a new Lilo and Stitch show added to the Paradise Pier area.

A Summer Concert series (featuring acts as varied as Chubby Checker, the Beach Boys, and the Bangles) took center state in Paradise Bay, Prime Time Weekends will show up this fall, and when The Power of Blast ends its run after summer we expect a new Aladdin show to take its place in the Hyperion theater. This high-budget production hopes to replicate the success of Beauty and the Beast, which started as a theme park musical and branched out to Broadway.

Disneyland Resort Tickets

One-day tickets rose, like they do every year (dare we make an analogy to clockwork here?), by $2 to $45. This is the price at either park, but there are some discounts to consider. Local residents can purchase a two-day passport (for around $65) with some promotions, and this could be used all at once as a one-day park hopper, something Disney wanted to avoid at DCA.

But attendance this year has actually dropped at the new park, if that can be believed, and they have had to offer discounts almost continuously and through what is considered the peak summer season (the most common being "adults for the kids' price" and "kids free"). On Monday July 15th the discounting was expanded even further to include a one day park hopper - priced at only $14 above the base ticket price of $45. If attendance continues to be problematic, there may be even more drastic discounts on the way.

Initially last year, prices for two park Premium Annual Passports were $299, but this soon dropped to past single park levels of $199. By May of 2002, the price rose again on the two park ducats to $219. And finally, Disneyland stopped the long-standing tradition of Magic Mornings - early park opening for guests of the Disney hotels.

Disneyland Resort Shops

Pin trading was again the biggest merchandise news of the past year, yet collectors wonder how much longer the craze can last in the face of rising prices and a glut of new releases. Disneyland began a pin trading program for children, to allow new collectors to trade in a supervised environment, and is previewing the new official pin trading Web site, scheduled to open in August. When the Premier Shop reopens in August as the new pin trading headquarters, it will include new "Build a Pin" stations, allowing guests to create custom pin designs.

Disneyland hosted a number of merchandise special events this year. The Official Disneyana Convention returned to Disneyland for the Disneyana Family Reunion last August, and the 10th annual Celebration of Walt Disney Art Classics event was held in April. The big draw of the year was the Haunted Mansion Holiday Enchanted Evening. Despite merchandise snafus and a no-show by Tim Burton and Danny Elfman, the event was a surprising success, and collectors are eagerly awaiting the event to be held this fall.

Walt Disney's 100th Birthday was celebrated on December 5, 2001. The Disney company celebrations were centered on Walt Disney World, and the very small Disneyland celebration left locals feeling more than slightly put out. Other events in Hollywood and Marceline, Missouri paid tribute to Walt's heritage and legacy. The Disney Gallery premiered a new exhibit of Eric Robison's 100 Mickeys artwork, created in celebration of Walt Disney's 100th birthday. A series of artist appearances and special events have been held around this exhibit, which is scheduled to remain on display until September.

Along with the new exhibit came two new merchandise offerings: Print on Demand and Product on Demand. The Print on Demand system was expanded in May to include 56 attraction poster images, and new artwork is planned for the system in the near future.

At Disneyland, store closures and remodels have been the name of the game. Tomorrowland's Premier Shop, suffering from the loss of traffic due to the closure of the Rocket Rods, briefly became a "teen glam" boutique, and then closed entirely. The store reopens in August as the new home for pin trading, replacing Main Street's Showcase as Pin Central.

In New Orleans Square, the merchandise hearse installed for the Haunted Mansion Holiday became a permanent fixture, and Jack Skellington and friends elbowed out Emeril and company, as the former Port d'Orleans shop was converted from a Cajun foods outlet to the Villains-themed Le Bat en Rouge. The most dramatic changes happened in Fantasyland, where Gepettos was shuttered, the Tinker Bell Toy Shop became a princess store, the former princess store became an infant store, and Buzz Lightyear and friends moved into the Villains Lair.

Over at DCA, the stores have become more generic, with much of the unique DCA merchandise being sent to liquidation at the cast member clearance store. EngineEars Toys and Off the Page now house merchandise from the latest video release, and Greetings from California looks like a smaller version of the World of Disney. On the brighter side, a custom artwork program was introduced at DCA, and has been fairly successful.

For the resort in general, store hour reductions and decreased services have been the norm. In March, the Package Express service was discontinued in favor of Package Check, forcing customers to haul their purchases to the front of each park to be held for later pick up. Many stores operated on reduced hours during the "off season," or were closed entirely during weekdays. Even as the summer tourist season swings into high gear, some stores remain closed until 11:30 or noon.

Disneyland Resort Dining

Like everything else at the Disneyland Resort, the restaurants continue to change and evolve. The French Market received a brand new menu, and minor adjustments have been made at nearly every other restaurant. Carnation Café marked the retirement of their long-time chef by naming a breakfast plate in his honor. Tomorrowland Terrace became Club Buzz, featuring a character stage show along with an expanded menu. Everyone still manages to call it the Tomorrowland Terrace though.

At DCA, the past 12 months have seen the closure of Hollywood & Dine, and a change in ownership of two other locations. Wolfgang Puck pulled out of Avalon Cove, which Disney has re-opened as a Character Dining venue. When Robert Mondavi abruptly ended their sponsorship of the Golden Vine Winery, Disney assumed operation of the second-floor Vineyard Room, and replaced the first-floor deli with the Wine Country Trattoria. Pizza Oom Mow Mow received a Lilo & Stitch-themed overlay.

Downtown Disney restaurants have taken steps to meet the demand for quick serve meals. Naples has opened a "take out" window, where a slice of pizza and a drink can be had for a mere $5.00. Wetzels Pretzels and Yamabuki have both opened outdoor vending carts in Downtown Disney, to provide lunch and dinner customers with a "grab-and-go" meal option. The resort-wide "Disney Dining" line was expanded, and now offers priority seating arrangements for the 20 full-service restaurants in the resort, including the non-Disney eateries.

The resort also made it easier to obtain tickets to the Premium Viewing areas for select shows and parades when it began to accept reservations by phone up to 30 days in advance. You can now get tickets for the Fantasmic desert balcony or the Electrical Parade viewing area without spending an early, cold morning in line at the guest relations window. Finally, it looks like the Mary Poppins character tea may be closing this fall.

Disneyland Resort General

The single most significant event at the resort this year was the September 11th attacks. While the resort did everything possible to assist travelers stranded by the subsequent air traffic restriction, resort security and the Anaheim Police Department greatly increased their presence on property. New security measures include mandatory bag searches at the gates, uniformed police officers inside the parks, and even the redeployment of the orange omnibuses (originally meant to provide transportation between the parking structure and the hotels) as giant mobile barriers meant to stop car bombs. The attacks resulted in some layoffs and a rather significant hiring freeze — the first in recent memory — for hourly cast members.

In the weeks and months following September 11th, Disney employees around the world volunteered their time to helping the victims of the tragedy. Disney even teamed up with eBay to support the Auction for America, and offered free admission to active military personnel earlier this year in its Armed Forces Salute program.

Other changes were introduced throughout the resort: ART shuttles began providing Anaheim-area transportation, DCA celebrated its first Christmas with prolific decorations (mostly in gold), and DCA added shade here and there, such as in the Soarin' over California queue, over the Hollywood outdoor venue, and at the benches near the Maliboomer.

Mark and Zippy exited Radio Disney, and new guide maps that showed both parks on one page were introduced (some store locations and restaurants were notoriously left off the revised maps, giving Disney the freedom to schedule these places closed unless attendance dictated a hasty opening). Lastly, safety became a buzz word for the resort, as rides were modified to include new safety features, and the Report on Safety was released.

Walt Disney World - Rumors and Plans

The biggest rumors surrounding Walt Disney World continue to swirl around the long-fancied "Beastly Kingdom" along with the addition of a new E-ticket attraction at Animal Kingdom and the long-fantasized expansion of the WDW monorail system to include all of the major parks, Downtown Disney, and more of the resort hotels. Nothing has been officially announced about either project, but die-hard aficionados continue to spread the word that something will happen soon on both fronts.

Two major construction projects are underway at WDW. The new Mission: Space attraction at Epcot, planned to open in the Spring of 2003, and the new Pop Century value resort, also planned for a 2003 opening (delayed from 2002) are in full swing.

Walt Disney World — 100 Years of Magic

Walt Disney World is currently celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Walt Disney with the “100 Years of Magic” celebration. The Disney / MGM Studios is the epicenter of the event with three new attractions. One Man's Dream is a fantastic tour of Walt's legacy with the displays, artifacts, and a fantastic biographical presentation that is not to be missed! Also new is the park's new centerpiece, the controversial Sorcerer Mickey's Hat. Playhouse Disney - Live on Stage, and the new Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade round out the offerings at the park.

Less new, but fairly recent, is the Studios' Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - Play It, based on Regis Philbin's flash-in-the-pan prime time ABC hit. Epcot's Tapestry of Dreams, the Magic Kingdom's Share a Dream Come True Parade, and Animal Kingdom's Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade are the new afternoon entertainment that are running during the celebration.

Walt Disney World - Animal Kingdom

Also new at Disney's Animal Kingdom are a couple of attractions designed to bring a family flair to WDW's least visited major theme park. Triceratop Spin, the second WDW knock-off of the venerable Dumbo ride (the other being the Magic Carpets of Aladdin in Adventureland), and Primeval Whirl, a "wild mouse" roller coaster whose cars spin as they move along the track, have been added to Dinoland USA. As seems to happen with any major changes to a Disney park, these attractions have generated quite a bit of controversy too.

Walt Disney World - Resorts

The new Beach Club Villas, just opened on July 1, 2002, is the latest of the Disney Vacation Club resorts on Walt Disney World property. The 205-unit resort sits on a six-acre parcel directly adjacent to the Beach Club Resort and Epcot's International Gateway. Two other new DVC on-site resorts are planned or under construction.

Walt Disney World - General

Unfortunately, the biggest news at WDW in the last year is bad news. Following the September 11th attacks, WDW announced a huge round of layoffs and cutbacks in amenities and services. Some of those cuts have already been rescinded; especially the draconian closure of Port Orleans Resort French Quarter. Hopefully, the rest of 2002 and beyond will see a restoration of more of those cuts.

Disneyland Paris

Disneyland Paris, celebrating its 10th anniversary, opened up the Walt Disney Studios next door, which has suffered a reputation a bit like DCA: there's not enough to do there. At least at Walt Disney Studios, the prices are more reasonable for two-park tickets, and in fact Walt Disney Studios ticketholders can visit Disneyland Paris for a few hours without an extra charge. Rumors swirl that Tower of Terror and Fantillusion may be on their way to the Continent, but nothing is confirmed yet. (Originally the Tower of Terror in Paris was supposed to open at the same time as the one in California.)

Things are relatively quiet elsewhere throughout the resort; “it's a small world” got a new facade, Mulan closed but a new Minnie's Birthday show began, pin trading began at the resort, and Pirates of the Caribbean began selling ride photos. In the Disney Village, the Los Angeles Bar and Grill closed but reopened as a character dining facility. Elsewhere on the property, four new hotels are being built, but these are not operated by Disney. Finally, Walt Disney Animation France was sold to the French company Ellipse, reflecting a new trend away from the glut in product Disney has recently pursued.

Tokyo Disneyland

Without a doubt, the opening of Tokyo Disney Seas qualifies as the big news for Asia, although work also continues on Hong Kong Disneyland, which we learned will be something of an amalgamation of Magic Kingdoms, and a kind of "best of" theme park.

Tokyo Disney Seas, owned — like Tokyo Disneyland — by the Oriental Land Company, cost an astonishing $3.8 billion (twice the cost of DCA), and kept Imagineers dreaming up brand new locales and adventures for several years. Reactions to the park have so far been decidedly positive, and the park welcomed its 10 millionth visitor just 307 days after opening, setting a new company record. The MousePlanet photo tours of the park and it's attractions have proven to be one of the site's most popular offerings.

Animation and the Disney Studios

It's been an interesting year at Corporate Disney and the Disney Studios. On the home front, successful DVD releases of Snow White and the Disneyland TV show sold well, but more importantly were better received than the numerous direct-to-video releases the Studio seems intent on pursuing lately (these are mostly sequels to classic Disney films).

Promotional photo © Disney

The big movies have been Monsters, Inc. and Lilo & Stitch, both of which performed well at the box office. (Since we mostly focus on the family friendly side of the company, we'll pass on any commentary for the more adult oriented Disney releases.)

But all is not rosy. ABC overhyped its Who Wants to be a Millionaire show, and the overexposure led inevitably to cancellation. The studio endured layoffs, particularly in its animation division. Most distressingly, Disney's stock price has been under a large amount of pressure in the past 12 months, which has murky implications for theme park capital expenditures as well as belt-tightening in the form of further cost cutting. Hopefully executives don't go that route - isn't there enough closed already at the parks?

MousePlanet Happenings

As all of the changes noted above have taken place, the MousePlanet staff has been hard at work keeping you up-to-date with the latest news and information. At the same time, we have adjusted our daily publication schedule to allow us to devote more time to site upgrades and our trip planning guides. Our newest feature is our Hotel and Restaurant Review System. Here you can read and submit reviews for over 300 hotels and restaurants at all four Disney resorts around the world. Each property receives a score of 1 - 5 "planets," so you can "know before you go."

Our MousePad message board opened in April 2001, and over 2000 members discuss everything from the latest park rumors to the newest movies. Our News and Announcements sections have relocated to MousePad, allowing us to provide breaking news and updates as they happen throughout the day.

The “Desktop Traveler” column in the April 9, 2002 edition of the Wall Street Journal named MousePlanet the second best Web site for WDW trip planning. Repeating the mantra of Avis Rental Car from years gone by, we can only say, "We're number two. We try harder."

Reflecting our focus on trip planning, columnists Mike Scopa and Sue Holland joined our staff just over a year ago, adding more coverage of Walt Disney World and the surrounding attractions. Generous contributions from MousePlanet readers and staff, along with some special corporate sponsors, made our first Magical Summer Memories program a success.

Our Fall 2001 and Spring 2002 MouseAdventures each set new attendance records, with over 200 people attending our "MouseAdventure: Mad Scramble" at DCA in May. Plans are underway for our Fall 2002 event - you won't want to miss it. Al has promised not to run off to Paris again for this one.

A quick word from Al Lutz, MousePlanet.com Editor-in-Chief

I just wanted to give my thanks to the two very important parts of MousePlanet, the readers and the staff. Without the dedication of both, we wouldn't be here today to celebrate our second anniversary, and Disneyland's 47th too.

Looking over what has happened in the past year, one thing stands out for me - just how big the MousePlanet world really is. People work together from across the country (and even the oceans) to produce something new every weekday - and all their hard work goes on to reach millions of readers worldwide. That's pretty amazing when you really sit down and think about it, isn't it?

Promotional photo © Disney

I can't think of a better way to celebrate today than spend it at Disneyland, with many of the folks on both sides of the monitor that make the site as special as it is. I hope that your day today is also as pleasant, even if you have to join us only in spirit at the hub in front of the castle come noontime.

Conclusion

Whew. It's been a big and busy 12 months. Anniversaries are a time for reflection and taking stock, so as Disney pauses to consider the year, we are happy to take a similar deep breath and sharpen our digital pencils in anticipation of the year to come.

Happy Birthday, Disneyland! (and Happy Birthday, MousePlanet!)

The year's round-up by Kevin Yee, Brian Bennett, and Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix, with additional reporting by Ian Parkinson and Al Lutz.

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