Disneyland News
Nemo Submarine Ride
After a lengthy 9 month refurbishment process (5 months of which nothing substantial was done), the subs are back open! The kelp and some of the coral pieces have been repainted in very nice vibrant colors, and the projectors have been replaced which has given the video portion of the ride a much needed cleaner look. But the rest of the ride has, for the most part, remained unchanged.
Dark Rides
Although Alice in Wonderland has already been fantastically updated, the refurbishments to the remaining Fantasyland dark rides (Peter Pan, Snow White, Mr. Toad, and Pinocchio), which were widely believed to be getting underway this fall, still have not started which is making me wonder if they will happen at all before the 60th Anniversary celebration.
Main Street Corridor
As for other enhancements for the 60th Anniversary Celebration, the walk ways behind the Main Street are finished and ready to be tested out this winter in preparation for the busy summer time. The alleyways will make travelling from the entrance to Disneyland to the surrounding lands much easier and enjoyable during parades! What remains to be seen is if once they are completely finished they are opened throughout the day, or just during the parade/special event times. I would imagine that they will be closed during the day because there won't be access to the shops from the alley ways and Disney would want to make sure from a business standpoint that as many tourists as possible are walking past the entrance to their stores.
Star Wars
The news I look forward most to hearing about is if the future of Star Wars in Disneyland. There have been a few running ideas, most notably the revamping of Tomorrowland by taking out Autopia and the Submarine Ride and completely re-theming the rest of the area. That idea has been all but scrapped thanks to the lack of budget Anaheim was given due to the failing of the MyMagic+ program in Walt Disney World Florida. The lack of funding for the original idea, however, will ultimately turn out to be a blessing for both Disney and Disney fans alike. The hope was to have some minor re-theming done to Tomorrowland in time for the 60th Anniversary with the more major remodeling and rides coming later that fall. But as time for the official decision drew closer and passed, it was clear to some executives that a far better idea would be to incorporate some of the new Disney Star Wars movies - including Episode VII "The Force Awakens" due out in theaters December 2015 - into the new mini-land that was to be created. With the funding in question, as just discussed earlier, it was too easy of a decision not to make a decision on the project. Fast-forward to now, when once again, Disney is starting to play with some more ideas for the new Star Wars themed mini-land. The current working idea, according to Micechat.com, is to create a new land that spans the northern flank of the park from Mickey's Toon Town through Thunder Ranch. This idea would upset far fewer "Disney Traditionalists" since the subs and Autopia are far more universally enjoyed than the relatively new, in comparison, Mickey's Toon Town. The Character meet and greets from Toon Town would likely be re-located elsewhere in the park, such as maybe the Opera House, while Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin, and Gadget's Go Coaster would sail away into Yesterland.
Storybook Land Canal Boats
The Storybook Land Canal Boats are currently being refurbished and when they reopen towards the end of December, Frozen will appear in the spot where the Old Mill used to be. Some of the Frozen places of interest that will be included in the ride will be the village of Arendelle, Wandering Oaken's Trading Post, and Elsa's Ice Palace.
Fantasmic!
One more bit of interesting Disneyland news is that a Disneyland team has been tasked with figuring out how to make a fast pass system for Fantasmic! work. Typically guests can be observed saving seats for hours before the Fantasmic! performance which can create congestion for people trying to navigate by the Rivers of America area and has led to a few unfortunate guest confrontations. But putting in a fast pass system would be more complicated than it might seem. The primary obstacle would be figuring out the number of different sections there would be and how to handle the logistics of each one.
California Adventure News
Frozen
Meanwhile over in CA Adventure, a lot will be getting underway shortly as well. If you have any daughters in your family in the 3-12 age range as I do, chances are they will love this next part. Micechat.com reports that Frozen will be making an appearance in CA Adventure this winter! Yes, this winter as in next month! The MuppetVision 3-D theater has been closed and is undergoing a remodeling for a new Frozen show which is to premiere December 20th. It's no secret that MuppetVision has struggled for a while now and given the current popularity of Frozen, Disney is hoping for a much better use of the 575 seat theater that is now typically only a quarter full during shows. Should the Frozen show be a success, there is a slight chance that it may become a permanent fixture in CA Adventure, whereas now it is slated to close on May 3rd next year. The Frozen characters will also be moving from Fantasyland over to the Hollywood Backlot area for their new meet and greet location at the Disney Animation building. Disney wouldn't want to miss out on any merchandising opportunities either, so as you can imagine there will be all sorts of Frozen themed merchandise and food and beverage options in the area as well. One such merchandising shop will be themed after the Wandering Oaken's Trading Post from the movie.
Luigi's Flying Tires
Luigi's Flying Tires is slated for permanent closure on January 11th and Micechat.com reports that it will be re-themed into Luigi's Festival of the Dance which will be opening sometime in December just in time for the busy winter rush. The reasoning that I have heard is that the tires were too awkward for many guests to get in and out of, some guests even injuring themselves in the process. The idea of the new Festival of the Dance ride sounds to me a lot like Mater's Junkyard Jamboree in it's operation, so I'm not sure I understand Disney's logic here.
Soarin' Over California
Soarin' Over California will finally be getting it's HD makeover. Like Luigi, it is scheduled to go down January 11th and be closed until late May. In addition to the film being transitioned into HD, the Soarin' Building and all of Condor Flats will be receiving a minor re-theming to accentuate the theme of the area.
Marvel
Finally, with Star Wars taking over parts of Disneyland, it is rumored that Marvel will be taking over parts of CA Adventure - specifically, the same area that Frozen will temporarily be in, in the Hollywood Backlot area. Micechat.com also reports that A new E-ticket attraction modeled after the Rockin' Roller Coaster in Orlando, would be created with a Marvel theme in the parking area between the Tower of Terror and Luigi's. It would be taking the place of the old Monsters Inc door coaster idea and would be much more of an intense roller coaster to appeal more to the teenage demographic. The character meet and greets which are currently in the innovations building in Tomorrowland would also be moved over to Hollywood Backlot. Having the Marvel characters in Hollywood Backlot makes much more sense to me than having them in Disneyland so I hope this rumor has some traction.
Final thoughts...
One last thing to consider is theoretically what this means for Tomorrowland. If "Star Wars Land" ends up being created, it would make sense for Star Tours to have a new home there. And if the Innovations building is freed of the Marvel presence, there is a lot of potential for Disney's Imagineers to create a few new attractions in Tomorrowland, almost to the point of re-theming a whole corner of the park. Recently it seems that Disney has lost much of it's creativity when it comes to designing all new rides that are not based on Movies. Some of Disney's best rides were uniquely created on their own merits and not because of a prior movie, such as Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Matterhorn, Country Bear Jamboree, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansion. The latter 3 rides were so loved by guests that movies were actually created from them! In my opinion, it is time for Disney's Imagineers to once again wipe the dust off of their creative thinking and create attractions to replace the purported relocating attractions.
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