Update for March 21 – 27, 2005

Go directly to: News & Views | Current Refurbishment/Attraction Closures | Park Events | Discounts/Promotions | Park Schedule/Blockout Dates

News and Views

Storybook Land Canal Boats accident

A 4-year-old boy was injured last Wednesday when his finger were caught between the boat and dock while passengers were exiting. Dean Fryer, spokesman for the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health told MousePlanet that the accident occured around 11:00 a.m. as the boat was docked in the unload area.

The attraction was closed until Friday while DOSH and Disney performed their investigations. A preliminary report indicated that the child's fingers were hanging over the side of the boat when an adult passenger stepped off the boat, causing the boat to rock. The child's fingers were caught between the boat and the dock, breaking one finger and severing the tip of one thumb.

DOSH allowed the ride to reopen on Friday after completing their investigation. While no fines were imposed nor alterations required, the report does recommend repairing and lowering rubber bumpers on the dock.

50th days and counting

On March 15, 50 days until the official start date, the Disneyland Resort released more details about the shows and attractions planned for the 18-month celebration of Disneyland's 50th anniversary. During a no-cameras-allowed preview, journalists examined the floats from Disney's Parade of Dreams, saw one of the Golden Ride Vehicles, watched the dynamic Steven Davidson's “human storyboard” presentation of the new fireworks show, and learn more about the “First 50 Years” exhibit moving into the Main Street Opera House.

While much of the material covered had previously been presented at earlier events and at the recent Cast Blast showcase, there were a few tidbits of new information.

Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams

Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams will entail seven floats plus satellite units of smaller floats that drive independently, and feature 104 performers including a live Tinker Bell and 49 more characters. Those responsible for Disneyland's newest parade were pleased to announce that all of the floats are on property well ahead of schedule, although one of them is missing its second story. The parade will make three short show stops along the parade route, where many of the floats will reveal hidden special effects. Each show stop begins with Walt Disney's voice and famous opening day speech ringing over the loudspeakers.

The lead float features the famous floral Mickey and a golden train engine. Peter Pan drives the float down the route, with Tinker Bell perched atop the engine. Entertainment cast members have nicknamed this the Fairy Float, as Flora, Fauna, Merryweather, the Fairy Godmother, and the Blue Fairy all make an appearance.

The parade uses Phil Collins' “Welcome” song from Brother Bear its theme music, but like the Main Street Electrical Parade's “Baroque Hoedown,” each float has its own musical identity. The second float is titled “Dream of Enchantment,” and features the cast of Beauty and the Beast with the musical theme, “Be Our Guest.” The Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts characters are puppets, while Lumiere is an animatronic figure. Taking a cue from the Broadway production, Beast is depicted by a “face” character. Angela Lansbury, David Ogden Stiers and the late Jerry Orbach provide the vocal narration for their film characters, Orbach having recorded his lines a week before his death in 2004. The dancers accompanying this unit are dressed as household items, such as plates and flatware, caught in mid-transformation back to their human guises.

“Dream of Laughter” features Pinocchio and the toys from Gepetto's workshop. The costumes for the dancers, including a cancan dancer, a Dutch girl and Russian dancers, are quite elaborate. During show stops, the tower on the float rises 20 feet, and the Russian dancers, suspended from bungee cords, demonstrate amazing acrobatic skills. The musical theme for this float is “I've Got No Strings.”

Ariel and Ursula take center stage on the “Dream of Another World” float. Ursula is actually a giant puppet operated by two people (one to control the left arm and the lips, and the other to control the right arm and the body). During the show stops, Ariel rises 20 feet into the air above a cascading water fountain.

The fantastic characters from Wonderland populate the “Dream of Imagination” float, which also has some of the most enchanting special effects. The Tweedles Dum and Dee travel the parade route in their own Mad Tea Party cups while the White Rabbit careens down the street on inline skates, all to the tune of “I'm Late.” A giant animatronic caterpillar and jumping-stilt flowers keep the crowd entertained as the float passes by, but the show stop is not to be missed. The Queen of Hearts chases two playing cards onto the tea party table, which is actually a giant trampoline. Disney revealed that one of the performers is a local Olympic hopeful, so expect to see some high-quality gymnastics during this performance.

Memories from the beloved Lion King Celebration parade will be kindled by the “Dream of Adventure” float. Puppeteer Michael Curry designed the Simba and Nala characters that stand above a working waterfall, as well as the rhinoceros satellite. Dancers in animal costumes and performers on 15-foot-tall articulated stilts dance to the Disney Mania beat of “Just Can't Wait to be King.” During the show stops, bird aerialists dangle from Spanish webs high above the street.

The “Dreams Come True” float, a two-story castle featuring 20 characters, brings up the rear of the parade.

The parade runs twice a day, and the estimated running time is over 40 minutes. The show stops in front of “it's a small world,” around the Central Plaza hub near Sleeping Beauty Castle, and on Main Street near Town Plaza.

Disneyland: The First 50 Years

The Main Street Opera House will house a historical retrospective of Disneyland park. Highlights include a 12-feet-by-12-feet scale model of opening-day Disneyland, and models and maquettes from Disneyland rides and attractions.

For 18 months, a film staring Donald Duck and actor Steve Martin replaces Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. In the new film, Donald Duck tries to replace Martin as host of the anniversary show, and the usual antics ensue. While audiences are sure to enjoy the banter between the two actors, Disney fans will delight at video footage of Disneyland's earliest moments, including the rehearsal for the opening day show, and a look at exactly how crowded the park was that first day. The show producers discovered color 35mm footage from opening day, some of which has never before been shown to the public.

The presenters made a point of reassuring all assembled that Mr. Lincoln would return after the 18-month show, though the fate of Walt's formal office, transported to Walt Disney World during the 100 Years of Magic celebration, is less clear. One Man's Dream has proven so popular with WDW visitors that the show – and Walt's office – will stay put for a while longer.

Look for more details about the 50th Anniversary celebration, including Space Mountain, “Remember… Dreams Come True”, Disney's Block Party Bash and the golden ride vehicles in next week's Update.

Little Green Men invade Disneyland

Children from Green Elementary School in Lawndale, California participated in the grand opening celebration for Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters at Disneyland on March 17. The “Little Green Men” first joined Buzz Lightyear in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle, and then marched down Main Street with a troop of Toy Story Green Army Men. Once they made their way back to Tomorrowland, four of the children were given “blasters” and asked to shoot at a “target” on the panel concealing the ride entrance. Pyrotechnics and green confetti filled the air as they blasted the target, . Click here to view video of the ceremony (WMV format, 8 minutes 41 seconds, 8.8MB; video by Karl Buiter).

Buzz Lightyear and Green Army Men induct park visitors as Astro Command cadets. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

When the smoke and confetti cleared, the grade schoolers went into the ride to defeat Zurg. Unfortunately, the smoke from the fireworks caused the ride's fire alarm to trigger, and so the children were herded right back out the exit. The fire marshal cleared the attraction after 30 minutes or so, and the children got to take their first rides.

“Little Green Men” from Green Elementary School head to the inaugural ride. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Though Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters is now open daily, and despite the media event heralding the new attraction, Disney still considers this to be a “sneak peak” of a new ride that officially opens on May 5 as part of Disneyland's 50th anniversary celebration.

The first official riders of Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters walk through the queue. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

MousePlanet photographer Frank Anzalone was able to ride Buzz last weekend and got some great shots from inside the ride, a couple of which are shown here. We'll have more Astro Blaster photos from Frank later in the week.

An audio-animatronic Buzz Lightyear greets cadets on their way to battle Zurg. Photo by Frank Anzalone.

The climactic showdown with Emperor Zurg. Photo by Frank Anzalone.

Annual Pass Contest

Every Annual Passholder has likely received the information in the mail by now, but Disney is running a contest in which 2,500 passholders (plus a guest) will be selected to attend the 50th Anniversary Premiere Event on May 4 at Disneyland. To enter, you just need to register at Disneyland.com's Annual Pass page (link). If you have previously done so, you are already entered into the contest. Eash pass needs to be registered separately and the passholder needs to be 18 to enter. The entry deadline is April 9.

Details are a bit lacking, but presumably winners will receive just the ability to enter Disneyland on May 4, a day the park is otherwise closed, with it being up to the winners to get themselves to the park.

May 4 is generally announced as a day Disneyland Park will be closed to put the finishing touches on the celebration. This contest lets about 5,000 guests into the park, various radio stations are offering contests that include VIP admission and there is a full slate of media events scheduled for the day. While there will probably be some work getting done it seems May 4 is more about VIP and press parties than painting and decorating.

Shaping up nicely

More construction walls came down over the last week. Hopefully we have photos in next week's update.

Splash Mountain is open again with everything in good working order. Particularly striking to some readers is the new paint job on the briar patch with its bright colors and easily imagined difficulty. New logs are now in use with individual seat backs and a side-by-side seat in the back.

The Disneyland Railroad (except for Tomorrowland station) and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (with an upgraded sound system) have also returned to operation. Mark Twain Riverboat came out of drydock on Friday and is showing off its new gold trim. Construction walls around Aladdin's Oasis in Adventureland have been taken down.

Over in Disney's California Adventure park, the end is coming for SuperStar Limo (wonder if you'll be able to buy Melanie Griffith on eBay) as a purple construction wall has gone up around the long-unused entrance. Unofficial word is that work will begin converting it over to a Monsters, Inc., attraction.

Meet the author

MousePlanet columnist and author David Koenig presents the first of a series of “Back to 1955” talks Saturday March 26 at the NFFC Chapter at the Park's monthly meeting in Garden Grove, California. He promises to “re-create the first days of Disneyland through anecdotes, rare old photos, and interpretive dance.” The meeting is free and open to the public. A chapter business meeting begins at 1:30, with the guest speaker appearing at 2:00. The site, the Garden Grove Historical Society at 12174 Euclid, also houses the small garage where the Walt Disney Company got its start. The makeshift studio was originally on Kingswell Avenue in Los Feliz and belonged to Walt's and Roy's uncle.

In addition, anyone who buys a copy of his new “Golden Anniversary Special Edition” of Mouse Tales: A Behind-the-Ears Look at Disneyland is invited to join David Sunday April 17 on a “1955 tour” of the park. To keep the group size as manageable as possible, two one-hour-long tours are scheduled—departing at 1:00 and again at 2:30 from the front of Compass Books & Cafe in Downtown Disney. Books can be purchased at the NFFC event, at Compass, or through online venues such as MouseShoppe.com. One tour participant per book bought. Park admission is not included, and the tours are not affiliated with Disneyland or Compass Books.

Haunted Mansion Holiday

Walt Disney Event Services has announced that there will be no Haunted Mansion Holiday event this year, making official the conventional wisdom. Not announced is the other half of that conventional wisdom, which says that Walt Disney World will get their own Nightmare Before Christmas overlay and merchandise event this year.

All expectations are that Haunted Mansion will still get the overlay, even without the merchandise event. Refurbishment schedules are starting to show the attraction closed in September and again in January 2006.

Golden Ears for the Golden Year

The much anticiapted golden Mickey ears have finally gone on sale in the park and are doing brisk business. To avoid the need to rethread machines, the color of name stitching has been changed from yellow to white (the thread needs to be of a color that will contrast on all the hats they personalize). Hand sewing of personalization is available at the Mad Hatter on Main Street, while computerized sewing is used at the Briar Patch in Crititer Country (the computer uses a cursive font, but each hat will be near identical).

The new golden Mickey ears are available in three sizes: infant, youth, and adult. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Mmmm...cheese fries

MousePlanet reader bradk pointed out this offer (link) which he found listed at MouseSavers.com. If you sign up online for ESPN Zone's MVP Club you can receive a $20 voucher (for food, merchandise, or game cards), a 40-point game card (about $10 worth), and an ESPN Zone mini-cooler. ESPN Club in Orlando is excluded from this offer. It is required that you pick up these items in person, though they do not have to be used as the same store from which you get them. There are some fairly strick requirements for registering and getting your rewards, so make sure you read the details carefully (link).

Ears to the ground

…Those people who play the Fastpass system for all its worth will be saddened to learn of a subtle change in the Star Tours Fastpass machines. They have now been tied into the main Fastpass network, meaning it is no longer possible to get a Fastpass for Star Tours when you already have one for another attraction.

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Current Refurbishments and Attraction Closures

Disneyland

Note: Disneyland is progressively refurbishing more and more attractions as the park readies for its 50th anniversary celebration in 2005.

• Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln opens April 16 with installation the 50th Anniversary exhibit in the Main Street Opera House
• Disney Gallery closed March 28 – May 4
• Honey I Shrunk the Audience closed April 4–8
• Disneyland Railroad Tomorrowland station opens May 3
• Jungle Cruise opens May 4
• Casey Jr. Circus Trains closed April 4 – May 3
• Storybook Land Canal Boats closed April 4 – May 4
• Space Mountain opens July 16
• Haunted Mansion closed September 6–29 to install Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay; closed Jan. 9–25, 2006 to remove overlay

Disney's California Adventure

• It's Tough to be a Bug! closed April 4 – May 4

Note: Refurbishment schedules are estimates only. All information is subject to change without notice. To get the most recent updates, call Disneyland at (714) 781-7290.

Park Events

March

• Magic Mirror event – Merchandise event at Downtown Disney's World of Disney March 18–20 (link).
• Olszewski event – Merchandise event Saturday, March 26 (link).

April

• Swarovski Sunrise Breakfast merchandise event – Saturday, April 9 at Grand California Hotel. Release of six new Disney crystal figurines froms Swarovski. $95/person or $430 with hotel stay. Registration now open (link).

May

• Disneyland closed on May 4, 2005 to “put the finishing touches” on the 50th Anniversary celebration. DCA open on May 4.
• Disneyland's 50th Anniversary celebration begins May 5.

June

• 2005 Summer Pin Festival. June 24 – Aug. 15 at the Disneyland Resort. No details have been announced (link).

July

• Disneyland 50th Anniversary special event. July 15 - 17. No details have been announced, but Disney is taking an interest list (link) for those who want to receive e-mail updates about the event.
• July 2005 NFFC convention. July 9–13. The Show and Sale is scheduled for July 10.

Current Discounts & Promotions

Several current promotions offer discounted admission to the Disneyland Resort. For convenience sake, we have grouped the discount offers based on the number of days the tickets are valid. Check out the category that best matches the amount of time you plan to spend at the resort, and pick the offer which works best for you. And keep those tips coming - let us know if you find a better / different offer, so we can share it with other readers!

Alaska Airlines “Kids Fly Free” promotion returns

Alaska Airlines is repeating the popular “Kids Fly Free” promotion for travel to the Disneyland Resort, and is offering park ticket and hotel discounts as well.

If you book an Alaska Airlines Southern California Vacations package for travel through June 29, one child (age 2-11) can fly free with each paid adult ticket. The package also includes four nights at the Holiday Inn Buena Park and airport transfers via Karmel Shuttle (children 2-11 are free). The packages, including airfare and hotel, start at $429 per person.

Even better, if you travel through April 28, you also receive a free child's 5-day Disneyland Resort park hopper for each paid adult. If you are traveling without children, you can instead purchase the adult 5-day park hopper ticket at the children's price. Be aware, however, that Disneyland considers 11-year-olds to be adults for the purpose of admission pricing.

If Buena Park is too far away from Disneyland for you, you can upgrade to a Disneyland Resort hotel and receive up to $200 Disney Dollars with a stay of four nights or more before April 24, 2005.

Finally, if you book the package through alaskaair.com, you get 1500 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Bonus Miles per passenger. For more information, visit the Alaska Airlines Web site (link). You must book packages by March 21, 2005.

50th Anniversary Package, revised

The Happiest Homecomings on Earth package has been revised for the new year. The previous promotion was good only for three-night stays at the Disneyland Resort hotels; the new offer is valid on longer stays and includes Good Neighbor Hotels as well.

Instead of the 50th anniversary commemorative clock and Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour, the new packages include all the following:

• “Enchanting” commemorative certificate (one per package)
• Park Hopper bonus ticket, which includes one early entry into Fantasyland and a $10 ESPN Zone game card. (Park hopper tickets can be upgraded to an annual pass for an extra fee)
• Preferred seating to select shows at Disney's California Adventure
• Entry into Mickey's Toontown Madness
• Walt Disney Travel Co. lanyard and pin (one per person)
• Walt Disney Travel Co. luggage tag
• Walt Disney Travel Co. fun book (one per package)

The “Happiest Homecoming on Earth” package is available for arrival dates through December 31, 2005. The package can be booked through the Disneyland Web site (link), or by calling (714) 520-5060.

ESPN Zone MVP Club

If you sign up online for ESPN Zone's MVP Club (link) you can receive a $20 voucher (for food, merchandise, or game cards), a 40-point game card (about $10 worth), and an ESPN Zone mini-cooler. ESPN Club in Orlando is excluded from this offer. You must pick up these items in person, although they do not have to be used as the same store from which you get them. There are some fairly strick requirements for registering and getting your rewards, so make sure you read the details carefully (link).

Park Schedule/Blockout Dates

DL: Disneyland
DCA: Disney's California Adventure
Annual Pass blockout dates:

• SL – Southern California Select Annual Pass
• SC – Southern California Annual Pass
• DX – Deluxe Annual Pass

Visit our Annual Passholders Blockout Dates 2005 page to see more dates. You can see future calendar schedules at Disneyland.com here.

Entertainment schedule: Go directly to the Disneyland Resort schedule for this week at Disneyland.com here.

Don't keep it to yourself! Send us your news tips, rumors, and comments. E-mail us here.

Did you recently notice something new or different in the park? Are you a CM with something intriguing to share? Heard any good rumors lately, or know of something our readers will wanna know? Send them in so we can follow up on them!

PREVIOUS UPDATES

2005

• January: 3, 10, 17, 24
• February: 1, 7, 14, 21, 28
• March: 7, 14, 21, 28
• April: 4, 11, 18, 25
• May: 2, 9, 16, 23
• June: 1, 6, 13, 20, 27
• July: 5, 11, 19, 25
• August: 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
• September: 6, 12, 19, 26
• October: 3, 10, 24, 31
• November: 7

2004

• January: 5, 12, 19, 26
• Febuary: 2, 9, 16, 24
• March: 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
• April: 5, 12, 19, 26
• May: 3, 10, 18, 24
• June: 1, 7, 14, 21, 28
• July: 6, 12, 19, 26
• August: 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
• September: 7, 13, 20, 27
• October: 4, 11, 18, 25
• November: 1, 9, 15, 23, 29
• December: 7, 13, 20, 27

2003

• Jan: 6, 13, 20, 27
• Feb: 3, 10, 17, 24
• March: 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
• April: 7, 14, 21, 28
• May: 5, 12, 19, 27
• June: 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
• July: 7, 14, 21, 28
• August: 4, 11, 18, 25
• September: 2, 8, 15, 22, 29
• October: 6, 14, 20, 27
• November: 3, 11, 17, 24
• December: 1, 8, 15, 22, 29

2002

• Dec: 16, 23, 27

Don't forget our Park Updates: Walt Disney World, published on Mondays.

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