In part one of this week’s update we visited The Main Street Firehouse which has its firefighter badges back, Storybook Circus which is moving steadily toward a spring opening, and then the construction across from Peter Pan where new restrooms will go. We’ll pick up right there, remember the photos have larger versions if you click on them…
This brown wall is where a second access to Fantasyland will be located. I’m a bit unclear how traffic patterns are going to work in this area with the haunted mansion queue often taking up this whole space in the summer. But I’m sure they’ve thought of that… right?
That foliage clearing has made the pet cemetery decidedly less spooky.
Prepare to have your sweet tooth teased. The latest “Every Role a Starring Role” video from Disneyland picks the ‘rolls’ of the new Jolly Holiday Bakery Café on Main Street, U.S.A.. Head Chef Janine Ruozi is responsible for these amazing creations (look for the Matterhorn… Read More »Jolly Holiday Bakery Café at Disneyland, Sweet Treats
People tend to think of Disneyland and a static place tied to their childhood memories of magic, joy, and laughter. The reality is Disneyland is always changing, shifting, and updating to meet the needs of the park and its guests (the cynical would insert profits… Read More »Matterhorn to undergo lengthy rehab, Main Street dining changes too
Starting in the lobby, there is a great new ‘mosaic’ on the floor. The 1901 is a hidden reference to the year of Walt Disney’s birth. Thankfully Disney has resisted the urge to use every square foot of the lobby for selling things. The lobby, as it stands now, has a good balance between the waiting area for Tony’s restaurant, the photo shop, and the entrance to the meet and greet queues. The flow worked nicely.
If you look in the door of the queue to see how long the wait is, you’ll get a pretty good feel for the Mickey Mouse queue. As I mentioned, it never grew over 10 minutes the Saturday we were there. But if you look to the back and see no queue for the princesses, keep in mind that there is an extra hidden room that hides a wait of up to 35 minutes (depending on Fastpass volume). I know the princesses are only in this location temporarily, but this blue room is worse than soulless, it’s mind numbing. Can they at least bring in one or two monitors and some wall art like they had in the old location? Better yet, have a play area for the kids and a queue for the adults like at Pooh.
Once you get through this area, you may have an even longer wait in the single room for the Princesses. Which brings me to my other chief complaint about the Princess Meet and Greet. Because there is only one room for the Princesses (as far as I could tell), they only way to speed up the queue is to reduce the interaction time with each Princess. The day I went the queue was pretty small (never longer than 30 minutes) so the the Princesses were generous with their time. But I can see pressure turning this into a photo factory.
Alright follow me below the jump back to Mickey, where the magic is happening:
Back in the mid to late 90s when I practically lived at Disneyland, it was common for Disney fans to complain about how many light bulbs were burnt out on Main Street. We saw it as a sign that current park management wasn’t living up… Read More »Vintage Disneyland Photos and the Great Lights on Main Street Myth
A former Main Street USA Balloon Cast Member turned entrepreneur came up with an LED device that turns a normal Mickey Mouse Balloon into an amazing piece of illuminated art after dark. One drawback, each balloon is $12. But I’m guessing you can recover the… Read More »Illuminated Mickey Mouse Balloons Light Up Disneyland
