Dark Rides
With summertime fast approaching and my family's own Disney trip getting closer, it's time for another update on the newest info regarding upcoming changes to Disneyland. If you've been to Disneyland in the past few weeks you will already know that Alice in Wonderland is currently closed for refurbishment through July 3rd. What was still a little up in the air was weather the refurbishment was just going to be to keep the ride up to code on the safety standards of the outside track, or if it was also going to include upgrades to the animatronics on the ride itself. Micechat now reports that it will include new animatronics as well as more fluid animation in general. The last time the Disney dark rides (referring to inside rides) were updated in Fantasyland was in the 1980's, so it is definitely time for touch-ups.
Following the refurbishment of Alice in Wonderland and after the busy summer season is over, Peter Pan will be next in line for its refurbishment, replacing some of the old outdated mannequins with projected animation and updating some of the audio and lighting. Following Peter Pan will be Mr Toad, Snow White, and Pinocchio, all receiving major upgrades to the same sort of things. The plan is to have all the work completed by the Spring of 2015 in time for the 60th Anniversary. Although the Alice in Wonderland refurbishment will take about 4 months total due principally to the outside track, the other dark rides are expected to be closed for about half that time each for their upgrades.
Main Street USA
If you've ever tried to get from Disneyland's main entrance to Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, or any other land for that matter during a parade, you're probably already familiar with the daunting task it can be! Another project that is being reported by Micechat is the constructing of a themed alley way to the east side of Main Street that will help with the pedestrian traffic flow through the area, especially during parade times. There are also plans to update the older buildings in that area, such as the lockers, First Aid, and the Baby Care Center.
Parking
Parking has never been an issue for me because I always walk to the park from my hotel. But there are many locals and cast members that have been inconvenienced for a long time because of the current parking or lack thereof. Disney recently purchased an old RV Park and gas station near the corner of Ball Rd and Harbor Blvd with the designs to add a few thousand parking spaces for cast members. Once this project is completed, look for them to turn the Pumba Parking Lot (to the east of Disneyland) into an 8 story parking garage with a pedestrian walk way over the busy Harbor Blvd, just like the walk ways in Las Vegas. To facilitate the extra foot traffic this would create, they would need to purchase some of the property across the street to the east of Disneyland. In Anaheim's City Hall, a plotted map shows plans for this to happen with The Park Vue Inn and IHOP coming up on the short end of the stick.
Miscellaneous odds and ends
Still no certain update on the future of the Submarine Ride although no real work has been done on it since it's closure for "refurbishment" back in January. What TDA (Team Disney Anaheim) appears to be doing is just keeping it shut down for the remainder of the fiscal year while saving on its large operating costs. Then as they determine whether the funding is there for the Star Wars concept in Tomorrowland, they will either open the Subs back up towards the end of September (in which case a couple of weeks of solid refurbishment would be needed) or shut them down for good and prepare it for the new Star Wars theme. The delay of the Star Wars concept actually may be more than just a financial decision as the longer they wait, the more they can add concepts from the new Star Wars Movie Trilogy, for which filming has just begun.
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