* After you read this report you may want to check out the pictorial updates in our Disneyland Resort Pictorial Update section

Hello all,

Friday was a great day at the Disneyland Resort. The crowds were on the mild side, not off season by any means, but still much calmer than the last few visits. Most waits for the big e-tickets were in the 45 min range most of the day.

Jason

Trip logs and mileage reports are in the Park Miles section.

Disneyland & DCA Thoughts and Observations:

• Friday was the spring/summer media event at the resort. If you arrived in the morning you were greeted by film crews, ropes, lights, and quite a bit of activity. The early morning shows had checkins starting at 3:30am... They had a half dozen or so locations set up for the media for photo/video opportunities (as you saw in the pictorial update). Day guests were free to observe from the rope lines.
  
  
• I spent the first part of my day walking around both parks taking in the construction progress and its has been a fairly busy week with new walls popping up in both parks, on going projects making visible progress such as the Fun Wheel now without most of its scaffolding and covers (opening day is scheduled to be May 8th). Over at the Grand Californian quite a bit of the scaffolding is down now so you get a great view of much of the new wing. Over at Disneyland walls are up around the fountain in Tomorrowland and the Astro Orbitor. I was surprised to find that the Lincoln Lobby was being used for the media center. No visible progress in the lobby area, but I was told they were working in the theater (I was not able to peak inside though).
  
  
• I attended the Celebration Roundup and Barbecue for lunch. This is held daily at the Big Thunder Ranch(weather permitting). The menu consists of all you care to eat BBQ Chicken, Pork Ribs, Cole Slaw, Corn Cob Wheels, Ranch Beans, and Cornbread. There is also a vegetarian option of BBQ Tofu and Vegetable Skewers. (Note the BBQ and rub are the same recipe as the chicken and ribs). For dessert its a waffle cone filled with a mousse and topped with cupcakes. You also have your choice of drinks (Coke products, lemonade, and ice tea). Throughout the day there is a variety of entertainment ranging from Woody and Jessie, to a piano player, and other musicians. The cost is $28.99 for adults and $12.99 for kids (3-9) plus tax and gratuity.
  
  Overall I enjoyed the BBQ. I thought the service was great, the food was hot, tasty, and plentiful and all at our table had a great time and really enjoyed the meal. Several commenting that they ate much more than they should have or have in years. My only complaint is I thought the chicken breasts were on the tiny side and they took quite a bit of effort to get through, I like larger pieces of chicken such as the Plaza Inn (or down at WDW the Trails End), but since it was all you could eat its not a problem, just a preference. If you treat this as a true event or celebration meal the price point is much more tolerable, but if you are looking for a regular lunch/dinner location I think the price point is on the pricey side for most guests.
  
  Also note the price for kids has dropped $6 from when it first opened. They have removed the gift bag. One other thing to note is the photographer who takes your picture with the characters when you enter is not a PhotoPass person. The photos taken at the BBQ can be purchased there. I was really surprised to see this and thought it was a bit odd. Wonder if this will change.
  
  
• I caught the Celebrate! A Street Party again and its starting to grow on me a bit. I am still not a fan of the music mix but the high energy level of the CMs and the overall guest experience really seem to be good. I think the three long stops makes the crowd control a bit of an issue and I do think it will look much better at night than a day experience.
  
  
• The highlight of the day for me was the Whats Next Presentation that took place at Stage 17 (the old Millionaire building) at DCA. This was Disneys big push/announcement of the Summer Nightastic campaign and its various elements. Here is a quick run down (for more information visit the press release section):
  • Summer Nightastic! will be the summer promotion and will be running from June 12-August 23
    
  • Fantasmic Changes -> new Dragon, Flotsam and Jetsam added to the show, and a new Croc Tick-Tock to go with the upgrade digital projections that debutted after the last brief rehab
    
  • Magical - Fireworks show, highlights include music from Disney animated classics, Dumbo takes flight (noticed no Pixar films included). - For a great clip of the presentation of the finale by Steve Davison click here (this clip was shot by our friends over at allears.net who were sitting next to me during the presentation)
    
  • Disney's Electrical Parade - Tinker Bell leads the way, new Pixie dust effect throughout the parade, new musical score (well same score just redone with new technology to make it sound even better), Snow White and Pinocchio units return to the parade, some upgrades to existing floats such as the skull on the Pirate ship or the Cheshire Cat on the Alice unit
    
  • Tomorrowland Terrace Dance Club(TLT Dance Club) with Live bands and DJs
  • Pixie Hollow Enchantment - Pixie Hollow will stay open into the evening with a new lighting package. There will also be a mini light show (think Small World Clock tower in concept), a brief 90 second or so light show will happen about four times an hour.
    
    
    I really enjoyed seeing the presentation of what was coming this summer to the Disneyland Resort. There will be no major new attractions or events, but the array of upgrades and tweaks should bring some new experiences. I am most looking forward to the new fireworks show, Magical. Steve Davisons energetic presentation really made me me want to experience the new show. Also the tweaks to Fantasmic will breath some new life into this show that is now entering its 17th season (it premiered in 1992).
    
    
• Deals for the summer -
  • Summer Fun Pass - $99 for three day park hopper, valid for 45 days from first use and first use has to be between 6/1 and 8/23 for Southern California residents only
  • If you buy 3 days plus 3 days of park tickets Disney is throwing in 2 free days to bring it up to 5 days (valid 5/1-9/26) @ Disney hotels and Disneyland Resort Good Neighbor hotels
    
    
• I was a little surprised not hear or see any glimpses of the other upcoming changes to the Disneyland Resort. Specifically the re-opening of the Sun Wheel as the Fun Wheel and the return of Lincoln. I am guessing Lincoln was skipped since that is for the Fall and not part of the summer program but the Fun Wheel seems like it should have been mentioned..
  
  
• The 2009 edition of the Food and Wine Festival Kicked off Friday and this event has come a long way since the original California Food and Wine Weekends of a couple years ago. It now has events daily through June 7th.(the week before the Summer Nightastic! kicks off). The main changes this year are the location of the main demonstration exhibit. The tent has taken up a location in the Sunshine Plaza, Wine Walks, As before there are still a handful of free seminars/event locations with a couple of sessions per day in addition to the extra cost events. Overall I think this years is the best they have done so far. Its hard to fit the venues into DCA, especially as the festival grows, but they seem to keep finding ways to do it. I am hoping that some year they will branch out and add their version of the Eat to the Beat Concert Series... that is one of my favorite parts of the EPCOT festival. For more information and the schedule of events check out the official web site (for all you animation geeks out there, next weekend of the Lasseter Family Winery is one of the featured guests).
  
  
• I caught the Pixar Play Parade as I walked through DCA. First I noticed they shifted the start time to be 5:40 instead of 5:15 (looking at the calendar this looks to be in place for at least the next month) and it was late stepping off Friday for some reason. It looked like the first units rolled out then were stopped for a while. Also noticed no sign of the Ratatouille unit.. so anyone know if its gone for good?
  
  
• I stopped by Innoventions to grab some pictures of the work going on in Tomorrowland from the 2nd floor. I was surprised to find them ushering us directly in, by passing the video outside and then we were directed upstairs. The lower level was closed for the evening already. CMs were stationed at each entrance to the house and kept you from walking around the outer ring. This was great for me since I did not want to spend any time inside but thought it was rather bad show for those who had not experienced the attraction before.
  

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