Disneyland Spring 2017 Update
I don’t have a ton for Disneyland–I already posted most of the main stuff on our separate Star Wars Land March 2017 Construction Update and Red Rose Taverne Review. There are a lot of refurbishments ongoing throughout Disneyland, but aside from Pirates of the Caribbean and a couple of projects, it’s mostly just the Rivers of America stuff.
As you can see in the photo above, active work is being done to the Columbia. This is likely in preparation for Fantasmic 2.0. Unless plans have changed, the major addition here is a Pirates of the Caribbean scene, which will replace the Peter Pan scene, and use projection mapping to turn the Columbia into the Black Pearl. I’m not sure how I feel about a live action film in Fantasmic, but that effect should be awesome if they can pull it off.
Per Matthew Gottula on Twitter (a reliable source who has been spot-on with other Disneyland entertainment changes), other changes include costuming refreshes, and Pinocchio being replaced by Aladdin and Snow White being replaced by Tangled. I can get behind both of those changes. He also reports that there will be no Marvel, Star Wars, or Pixar added. PHEW on all counts.
The finished product will ultimately be determinative, but the more I think about it, the more I can get behind the Pirates of the Caribbean addition. The Peter Pan segment has always felt ‘separate’ from the rest of the show, and so long as Cap’n Jack isn’t out on a floating platform twirling Aurora around, it could work. In any case, Fantasmic was due for a refresh–I’m looking forward to it.
I’m also looking forward to the rest of the Rivers of America attractions reopening. Slow-moving transportation is my jam.
The MaxPass paid digital FastPass system that was announced earlier this year should be debuting in the very near future…
Despite the crowds, wait times have been relatively moderate until the evening rush hits.
DCA Food & Wine has been in soft opening the last 2 days and officially debuts tomorrow.
It’s unlikely we’ll be reporting on it beyond this. I’ve felt ripped off by the food components of the last two special events. Portions keep getting smaller as prices go up. Events like this are very “bloggable,” but I’m not going to condone this. Sorry (not really).
On the other hand, I will condone this. They’re also a bit overpriced, but these banana corn dogs are shockingly delicious. I’m not even kidding.
What did we do to deserve this?
Part of me feels like this exterior looks better than the concept art. Oh, it’s not finished yet? My mistake.
Eisner: “No matter what you do, you want be able to top the infamy of Superstar Limo.”
Iger: “Hold my beer…”
Grizzly River Run reopens from refurbishment towards the end of the month. (Note the DCA 1.0 logo on the construction wall.)
Despite the attraction being closed, the gift shop is still open. Grizzly River Run is a sleeper-hit for attraction merchandise, with some of my favorite designs. (I love this hat.)
Disneyland Resort is firing on all cylinders when it comes to merchandise right now. (I’d say the same for Walt Disney World.) Two best resorts in the world for merchandise, in my opinion.
In Downtown Disney, there have been a lot of tenant changes in the last 6 months or so, almost all for the positive. I’d still like to see an In-N-Out, but the lines would be insane, I’m sure. (And no one would ever eat another burger in the parks again.)
Work has started on Splitsville; this is the former House of Blues plot, which has moved to Anaheim GardenWalk.
I think Splitsville is a fantastic addition to Downtown Disney. I didn’t hid my disinterest in the district’s current lineup in our Downtown Disney at Disneyland Tips post, but things are definitely on the upswing.
Sprinkles is relatively common in SoCal, but it’s still a good addition to Downtown Disney.
Poor photo, but here’s a wall with (part of) the Main Street Electrical Parade featuring Griffith Observatory–my favorite place in Los Angeles–on it.
Finally, a teaser for our next hotel review. We found the Best Western Courtesy Inn to be shockingly good. I mean, it’s still a budget hotel, but definitely better than expected in terms of value for money.
That wraps it up for our Disneyland Spring 2017 Update. I’m still hoping to see/photograph Main Street Electrical Parade during its run at Disneyland, but I really don’t like the idea of waiting even 2 hours for that parade. I am more keen on seeing my favorite castle-park fireworks show of all-time, Remember… Dreams Come True. Either way, expect these updates to become more frequent as things start to heat up at Disneyland with Star Wars Land going vertical, the Rivers of America reopening, and Fantasmic 2.0 (or whatever it’ll be called) debuting. Oh yeah, and I guess there’s Guardians of the Galaxy: MISSION Build-A-Warehouse, Fortress-Like Power Plant Kinda Oil Rig-Looking Monstrosity in Disney California Adventure. It might (not) come as a surprise, but I’m equally as excited for that to open as I was for the new menu at Planet Hollywood Observatory…
YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you experienced the crowds at Disneyland this spring? Did you camp out for a Main Street Electrical Parade spot? How long did you wait? Are you excited for Guardians of the Galaxy: MISSION Build-A-Warehouse, Fortress-Like Power Plant Kinda Oil Rig-Looking Monstrosity? Excited for Fantasmic 2.0? Share any questions, tips, or additional thoughts about the construction or Disneyland crowds in the comments!
All refurbished atraccions are plan to open ln “summer 2017” im going to Disney last weekend of may, its not actually summer but i hope its open… this is killing me!
My husband, daughter and I were there the 3rd -5th in March. Fireworks the first night were stopped after a few minutes and cancelled the Saturday unexpectedly (they were letting people Into viewing areas but no fireworks ever happened). Coupled with World of Color having been down for refurb tbere were a lot of unhappy people. DO NOT get stuck in fantasyland during the fireworks/parade times when the castle and surrounding structures are closed. They have to close almost all the attractions for fire safety and with no trail from frontierland open and the area near Its A Small World having restricted and/or closed traffic due to the parade other was a boring nightmare. In some sort of Disney hell scenario they were even shutting down food carts so people were stuck with nothing to do. Once the trail behind Big Thunder gets reopened hopefully this is resolved!
A friend and I traveled down from Washington March 2-3, and were shocked at how crowded the parks were. Someone at the gate said it was the return of sunshine but it was still pretty obnoxious to arrive on non-holiday weekdays and see /so many/ people crowded inside!
Reading your blogs is so helpful! I’m trying to plan a vacation but can’t decide on Disneyland(never been) or returning to Disney World, in November of this year. Your blog info helped tremendously when planning our first trip to WDW 2 years ago. We thought of experiencing DL this time around but are concerned about crowds and weather; that and so much has developed at WDW since. We are traveling with 2 boys, 8 and 10. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Any chance the crowds will die down later this year? Have the incentives been announced through the holiday season at all?
Heading to Disneyland for the first time in May. My family and I are looking forward to it.
Last year, your tips helped us have an amazing, affordable, and memorable time at WDW. You are the only reliable go-to blog around. Recently, my husband and I decided that while our children are still young, we’d like to try and visit as many Disney parks around the world as we can (once a year). Starting with U.S. stops, and then venturing abroad. Eventually, I’d love to get to Tokyo!!
We just booked our reservations for Park Vue Inn for August, and were wondering if you have any discount tips, dining tips, or any other ideas to minimize cost? We took advantage of Free Dining at WDW but they don’t have that at Disneyland (at least I haven’t noticed it). Do they have a fast pass version and will it be available to good neighbor hotel guests too since there are only 3 Disney hotel options for Disneyland. Definitely can’t wait for your spring update on Disneyland. Btw, thank you for all your updates!!
You can get free ice at any restaurant in DL, just ask
We were at Disneyland back in November – Thanksgiving week! ugh! – and the MSEP was running twice a night. So we were meandering Main Street shops when we heard the music begin for the 2nd parade & wandered out to view it easily with loads of space! I don’t know if there are any more dates when they will offer the parade twice an evening (not sure how late the sun sets down there this time of year), but that was brilliant. We’d been to WDW last April & seen the parade there, so planned to skip it at DL, but when it offered itself up so easily, we couldn’t pass it up.
That was Paint the Night that you would’ve seen at Disneyland in November–different parade. MSEP has been more popular since returning January 20, 2017.
Thanks for the post Tom. Your readers from Phoenix thank you. I’m probably going to wait until the rivers reopen with fantastic 2.0
You’re right on the money again, Tom. We were there Feb 20, 21 & 22. I expected the 20th, which was President’s Day, to be very busy, but it was kind of cold and drizzly outside, and DCA was hardly busy at all!
The following day, which I expected to be much lighter, was crazy crowded. I was really surprised. Because of an inaccurate wait time sign, we ended up in line for Hyperspace Mtn for nearly 2 hours – ugh! And in one of the worst queue areas ever!
On Wednesday, we employed an either “short line or FP” policy and therefore had a better day. Having seen the MSEP recently at WDW, and following your advice, we avoided the area entirely.
The cold days in Jan and Feb kept the crowds down. Wait times were near 0 on most rides. Splash Mtn didn’t have a line one night and ee took 3 tours without getting off.
Two weeks ago it was insane. Wait times by 11am were very long for the most popular rides and fast passes were all but gone.
I did notice though that the haunted house and screaming had fast pass return rimes that were shorter than the lines. Go figure.
I also saw MSEP campers around 4pm staking out spots.
We are going today and again on Sunday so hopefully the crowds will be down a littke.
Having lunch and dinner reservations is the way to go though.
Tom,
On top of all of the other reasons which sound spot on, they threw in AP Days, which last week made weekdays that would usually be maybe a 3/10 or 4/10 turn into 8/10 days. All for a button and a picture with the country bears. As an out of state passholder who strategically plans little jaunts to make having the pass worth it, it was disappointing to find out that all of my typically deft maneuvers failed me in the usually very quiet 1st week of March.
I forgot about AP Days. I’ve joked about how locals will wait in line for a button…but that’s exactly what people have done for the MSEP buttons.
I really wonder why Disneyland scheduled *so much* this year. Attendance must’ve been dismal last Jan-March, but they way overcorrected.
We did the dinner with reserved seating for the parade. The seating was quite good — in the middle of the Main St. hub across from the train station. You face the train station, so you cannot see the castle or the parade as it comes down Main St. But, we got there only 15 minutes before it started on the first Saturday night of the parade, and had no problem finding a good viewing seat.
Definitely a good idea for an out-of-towner who must see MSEP. The parade doesn’t matter to me enough to splurge on the dinner package, so if crowds don’t die down a bit, I guess we just won’t see it before it’s retired.
We’re heading out the first week of May. I have my fingers crossed that the crowds will have abated slightly by then.
Given the high number of APs at DLR, high crowds may also be due in part to the 13-months-for-the-price-of-12 deal being extended through November. It’s an incentive for sure. There’s just way too many refurbishments right now. That combined with back to back AP Days and Food & Wine Festival, followed closely by the summer onslaught, I don’t see any ‘quiet’ days in the near future. Boo!
That might be playing a part, too.
Once the summer blockout starts for the SoCal Select, I think crowds will drop at least a bit. Hopefully, Disneyland learns from the huge crowds this winter into spring and dials things back next January.
Tom, I found that column up to your usual standards! interesting on the crowds. I think you nailed the reasons. I don’t think it would be this bad if the drought was ongoing. I lived out there years ago and it was the same thing. If there was even a drizzle, DL would be almost a ghost town and DCA would be desolate. Imagine if that were the situation at WDW where it rains approximately 654 days a year.
The return of both MSEP and Remember were designed to pull locals in during a very slow period and with all the attention going to Star Wars and Marvel additions that many fans downright abhor. The weather and the fact SoCal has many people who don’t work regularly and can — and will — wait on a sidewalk hours for an ancient parade to go by have made matters worse.
Finally two comments: greatly respect you for not reporting on the Food and Wine Gouge Fest going on because you feel prices are too high and portions are too little. Most bloggers would cover it anyway and give Disney the free PR it craves while making small criticisms. I like your way a whole lot better. … and … just finished reading your Tokyo trip report and it was quite an enjoyable read and put me very much in the mood for my upcoming visit!
I suspect tourists who read my comments about the rain still underestimate how big of an impact the rain has on attendance, in large part because it doesn’t make a ton of sense. Even living here, I still can’t get over it. I’m not going to complain too loudly, though, because I don’t mind the rain at all, and it makes for an easy and enjoyable visit!
With regard to pricing and portions at the food festivals, someone in TDA is asleep at the wheel. Prices *really* spiked for Festival of the Holidays, and guests visibly voted with their wallets. I was in the parks enough during that to observe just how poorly those booths were doing (often with 4-5 CMs staffed and zero people in line!). I figured they’d self-correct for Lunar New Year, but no. Ditto this year’s DCA F&WF. The sad thing is that these are enjoyable offerings, but the way Disney is handling the food component is off-putting. I have no doubt they’d be more profitable if prices were lowered a bit (thereby increasing purchases). But, what do I know? I’m just a blogger, not some genius with an MBA.
Interesting insight on the crowds. Having been to WDW before, we visited DL for the first time last month. We couldn’t get over the crowds on a Tuesday! From open to close it was busier than the busiest day at WDW! On top of the long list of rides being refurbished, the ones that were open had hour or longer wait times.
All in all we still managed to enjoy our first DL visit but they really need to do something about those crowds!