Disneyland Crowded this Week

Happy Holidays everyone!  I'm back in town but you won't see me at Disneyland this week.  My annual pass is blocked out for New Year's so I have to wait until next week before I can go back.  I read this article today on the holiday crowds at Disneyland.  It turns out it's not such a bad thing that I can't go to the parks right now because they are extremely crowded and was even sold out today!  If you are thinking of visiting Disneyland this week, keep in mind that the lines will be long.  It is supposed to rain tomorrow so it might be better but with all the rain we've been having here people may just go anyway.
Here's the article I read in the OC Register on the crowds at Disneyland this week:
Disney Parks Reach Capacity with Holiday Crowds

Disneyland/DCA Christmas Update!

Hello everyone, with Christmas right around the corner now is a good time to catch everyone up on what's new and happening at the parks!


Rides Re-opened
Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin and Astro Orbitor in Disneyland have both reopened after being closed for a while.  Car Toon Spin had a 40 minute line and appeared to be rather busy but Astro Orbitor wasn't very crowded at all in the rain.

Rain kept the crowds down at the re-opened Astro Orbitor.

Christmas Time Food Deals
If you are heading to the parks from now til New Year's Day make sure you grab a Time Listing Guide to find a coupon for off-peak hours dining at the parks.

Dining Discount good for 30% off food before noon or from 3pm to 4:30pm

The discount is good during "off-peak" dining times before noon and from 3:00pm to 4:30pm.  The discount is for 30% off any food purchases at French Market, Hungry Bear, Rancho del Zocalo, Redd Rockett's and Tomorrowland Terrace at Disneyland Park and also Cocina Cucamonga, Lucky Fortune Cookery, Pacific Wharf, Taste Pilots', and Award Wieners in Disney California Adventure Park.  If you want to make sure you have a coupon before you head to the park you can print it out on the official Disney Parks Blog here: Disney Parks Blog Food Coupon.  (The voucher is also good at Walt Disney World at select locations in all four of the Florida parks).

New Toys!
The Disney Parks have some new plush merchandise out as well as some discounts.  Right now Pook-A-Looz are 25% off at certain Disney Park stores just look for the small sign by the stuffed animals at various stores throughout Disneyland and DCA.

Duffy is all ready for winter decked out in his Canadian outfit at California Adventure park.

Brrr!  Duffy is cold!

Duffy is also looking ahead and is ready for Valentine's Day!  Almost a full two months early this Duffy makes the perfect Valentine's Day gift.

Duffy has a Valentine's sash!

Duffy comes with several arrows and cupid wings!

This Duffy is smaller than the standard size Duffy plush that fits the various outfits for sale (such as the Canadian outfit picture above).  Duffy retails for $25 and is available at Disney California Adventure Park (and Epcot Center at Disney World) only.

New Captain E.O. toys Hooter and Fuzzball!  If you've seen Captain E.O. Tribute then you know Michael Jackson's side kicks Hooter and Fuzzball.  Once you've seen the movie you can exit into Star Trader's and pick up a couple new friends from the movie!

Fuzzball from Captain E.O. retails at $16

Hooter retails at about $25

Have a great Holiday and make sure to check out these re-opened rides, new items, and food deals for your Holiday Disneyland visit!

--Post by Jared.

Annual Passholder Sale- Saturday, Dec. 4!

Mark your calendar!  The next Annual Passholder World of Disney sale is this Saturday, Dec. 4th!
This is the perfect opportunity to get a lot of that Christmas shopping done while saving a lot of money!  I went to the last Annual Passholder sale during the summer and left with a garbage bag full of great items.

They upcoming sale will have items that are up to 75% off and excellent doorbuster deals!  There is even a complimentary gift to the first 1,000 shoppers (Last time the free gift was Mickey ears that say "The Big Cheese").
This Saturday's sale is from 6:30am to 9:00am which is very early for one to get up on a Saturday but it is totally worth it!  So make sure not to miss this Saturday's sale if you are an Annual Passholder! Don't forget your Disneyland Annual Pass as well as some kind of government ID such as a drivers license.  You will need it to get in to the store.

Annual Passholder World of Disney Sale
When:  Saturday, Dec. 4th
Time:  6:30am - 9:00am
Where:  World of Disney (located in Downtown Disney), Anaheim, CA

The Disney Annual Passholder site requests that people do not arrive prior to 5:45 a.m. Enter at the Downtown Disney District parking lot.

Toys for Tots:
If you'd like to, when you go to the sale you can bring an unwrapped toy valued at $10 or more to donate to Toys for Tots.

To read about my past experience at the World of Disney sale during the summer, check out these posts:

Back from the World of Disney Sale!

In the Bag!

Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade

Last Sunday, Disneyland filmed two musical performances and the parade for the annual Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade program.  It will air on ABC on Christmas morning.

Last year, they filmed different parts of the program on two different days. I happened to be at the park when they filmed Stevie Wonder's performance for the 2009 show.

This year I was lucky enough to catch even more of the filming at Disneyland since it was all filmed in one day this time.  I got a decent spot for the performances and was able to take some good pictures.
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy sung their Christmas song, "Christmas is Starting Now," from the Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation episode.  While they were singing they were joined by dancers from the tv show Dancing with the Stars.

 

Nick Cannon was the host for Disneyland's part of the program so he introduced the different acts and the parade.

Later that morning Selena Gomez took the stage and sang "Winter Wonderland."

 

 

Before Nick Cannon left, he was joined by several characters!

They were also filming "Disney 365" on Main Street.

After the performances were done, they filmed the Christmas Fantasy Parade going down Main Street.
The parade included floats with Lotso Bear and Duffy the Disney Bear!

 

Getting to see all this really got me in the mood for Christmas!  Tomorrow, Nov. 12, is officially the first day of Disneyland's holiday season!

California Screamin's New Intro

California Screamin', the large roller coaster in Paradise Pier at California Adventure, has a new intro before the ride zooms up its first hill.  The introduction is voiced by Neil Patrick Harris from the television show How I Met Your Mother.  He is also said to be a big Disney fan.  Harris recorded a few different intros for the ride. 
Take a look at this link to the Disney Parks Blog's announcement of this change.
Disney Parks Blog- Neil Patrick Harris

Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland

On Halloween this year, I went to Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland.  In previous years, the parties were held at California Adventure.  I enjoyed the parties in the past and was looking forward to seeing what the party was like at Disneyland.  I was not disappointed!  Here are a few of the highlights...

-The decorations for the Halloween parties were excellent!  In addition to the Halloween Time decor Disneyland has during the day, there were lights illuminating the castle and other buildings on Main Street.  The Mickey shaped ghosts from the parties at California Adventure again marked the Trick or Treat Stations. My favorite were the fog machines that added an eerie mist to Main Street and the Rivers of America.

 

 

 

-There were two spots at Disneyland for dancing and seeing some familiar characters!  There was Club Buzz at Tomorrowland where you could dance along with Buzz Lightyear.  In New Orleans Square they transformed the French Market Restaurant into Club Skellington. I especially enjoyed this spot (and not just because I was dressed like Sally this year)!  I thought it was well done and such a great idea because it was right next door to the Nightmare Before Christmas themed Haunted Mansion.  At Club Skellington there was also a photo area where you could meet Jack Skellington and Sally as well! 

 

 -I noticed that there seemed to be more photo spots than previous years. This had been my one complaint about the parties at California Adventure.  The photo spots at California Adventure had long lines since there weren't as many available.  At Disneyland, there seemed to be photo spots at every corner including those with characters. In addition to all these spots, there was also a special price on PhotoPass pictures that night.  You could get your picture for $9.99 for 5"x7" or 8"x10". The price for these pictures are usually higher than that! It was a pretty good deal!

-A big difference from last year was that the Halloween themed firework show called "Halloween Screams" was part of the party.  The firework show features Jack Skellington and his dog Zero who flies over the castle. 

-There was also a calvacade at the party.  There was one last year as well but this one seemed a little bigger than last year's.  Like last year, the mini parade featured several of your favorite characters dressed up in costumes.

-Finally, there was a great assortment of candy this year!  I received several candy bars like Kit Kat Bar, Crunch, Reese's, and Snickers as well as M&Ms and Skittles.  There was also a stand where you could get Ghiradelli candy.  Check out the loot I had at the end of the night!

Overall, I think Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland was a lot of fun!  I would not suggest going on Halloween though because it seemed more crowded than on other nights.  I would still strongly recommend going to one of the parties!  It requires a separate ticket but I think it's worth it. 

I hope everyone had a great Halloween!  Now it's time to get ready for the holiday season!  

Disneyland starts celebrating the holiday season on this Friday, November 12th!

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween! 

Disney Dance Crew starring Talking Mickey!

There's a new show at California Adventure called Disney Dance Crew.  It started on Friday and replaced the show Drawn to the Magic which featured characters at the end of every show.  In Disney's Dance Crew you get to see a very special character...Mickey Mouse!  But it's not just any Mickey, it's a Mickey that blinks and talks! 

In Disney Dance Crew, two groups of dancers compete against each other dancing to remixed Disney tunes.  At the end of the show, talking Mickey shows up and gets the two groups to dance together.  Unfortunately, the talking Mickey does not come out after the show to take pictures and interact with guests. However, you can take pictures with a more traditional Mickey that doesn't talk but is dressed in hip hop clothes.

Here is a short clip from the show.  It's a little grainy though because my camera doesn't shoot the best video.  I'm not sure how I feel about the new Mickey.  I thought he was a little creepy at first but I'll have to see the show again sometime to see if one gets used to seeing a Mickey with a face that is so animated.  What do you all think?

Duffy Merchandise

Mickey has his own special teddy bear, Duffy, and now you can too!  You can find Duffy merchandise at Treasures in Paradise and other select stores around California Adventure.  You can buy Duffy and get him his sailor suit or pick from a variety of other outfits.

There are a few different Duffys you can pick from as well as small Duffy magnets and keychains.

I really liked the window display at the Treasures in Paradise store.

You can even find Duffy snacks at Baker's Field Bakery! 

You can buy one of the teddy bears and take him on your own trips for good luck just like Mickey does. Where will you take your Duffy?

 

Want to read more about Duffy?  You can take a look at my other blog, Duffy's Voyages which features updates and pictures of Duffy at different locations!  

http://duffysvoyages.blogspot.com/

In case you missed it, here's a link to yesterday's post on where you can meet Duffy.

Meeting Duffy at DCA

Meet Duffy at DCA!

Duffy has arrived at California Adventure! Duffy is a teddy bear that Minnie made for Mickey to take with him on his voyage. (You can read more about him on the post from September-  "Duffy Arrives at DCA")
You can meet Duffy in front of the Treasures in Paradise Store on Paradise Pier.  While waiting in line to meet Duffy you can read the story about him and a cast member gives you a sticker that says "I just hugged Duffy the Disney Bear!"

 

 

Duffy!

Isn't he cute?  Check back tomorrow for a post about all the Duffy merchandise that you can now find at California Adventure!