On the Dumbo ride, the staff will occaisionally give out “feathers” for young riders to hold. Remember, Dumbo was given a feather to hold in his trunk the first time he flew from one of the black birds. My autistic daughter with a special guest pass was given one (she thought it was GREAT and dropped it into the water getting off the ride).
So you could always try that.
The Disneyland Railroad that transports passengers around the park has been
shut down due to the construction of a Star Wars themed area. However, two
of the old steam locomotives that pull the trains will be on display at the Main St.
New Orleans Square stations. You can walk up and get a close look at the
locomotives and the engineer and fireman will be there to answer any questions.
No alcohol, of course, but I thought the mock mint julep I had was very good.
I get pretty good results from faking this: I don’t go to the effort of boiling the ingredients, just mix 'em, and I use peppermint extract instead of creme-de-menthe syrup. I also use “Diet Squirt” instead of water for the base-stock (where the recipe begins with water.) I also use artificial sweetener, not sugar. All in all, the result is pretty darned good!
Some great suggestions! I’ll address some generally and some more specifically.
Last year, I went to Disneyland with my Mom (she was moving out of state and unlikely to ever return) so we went to Blue Bayou as a treat, since we’d seen it countless times on the PotC ride but never ate there before. So that I’ve covered.
This is exactly what I’m thinking of. Certain park rituals that aren’t quite “shows” but still cool little things to catch. Any idea if this is on some kind of schedule? Or any other similar theatrics that are perhaps “Land”-specific?
I’ve heard that the Space Mountain “update” is a little window dressing you see in line, but not in the ride itself. Can anyone confirm? Star Tours is #1 on the To Do list.
Is this at a particular restaurant on site?
Pretty sure I’ve seen all of these, though I got a sense FFT has rotating shows so FROZEN may not be there anymore. And I’m glad we caught Fantasmic last year, too.
Cool!
Very helpful. That I’ll be sure to check out.
Thanks also to Yokeroo and Ranchoth for the robust lists. Music performances in particular are always great fun.
And I haven’t been to Tom Sawyer Island in ages so I may revisit that again. Does anyone know how many of the means to get on there (keel boats, canoes, etc.) are still working?
Keep 'em coming!
I can confirm that the changes to Space Mountain are not just to the queue. The audio and visuals (such as they are in the “space dome”) have also changed - the conceit is that you are a rebel flying an X-wing, and you hear “radio transmissions” and reports from your fellow pilots, plus the music is the classic star wars music. It is very cool and very much worth going on.
Actually, on reflection very little of the change is to the queue area - that’s basically the same as it’s always been. The changes are to the ride itself.
Apparently there are models of Disneyland on display, including one that was made when the park originally opened. If I ever visit Disneyland again I’d love to see it.
Also the Disneyland Railroad is a real steam train, pulled by 1950s vintage locomotives. A fact that’s easy to overlook among all the “fake” stuff in the park.
The fried chicken is at the Plaza Inn at Disneyland. Lines at peak times are nuts but off hours it’s not a big deal. Fried chicken is good. The Lobster Roll is at the Harbour Galley. It’s pricey, but good. It’s still amusement park food, but these are pretty solid in the park.
The evil queen in the window isn’t in the Sleeping Beauty Castle itself, but is in a 2nd story window in one of the buildings in Fantasy Land. It can be seen while waiting in line for Peter Pan looking above and across the street. You can google it but it will show you so if you don’t want to be spoiled then…don’t?
The Fantasy Faire Theater rotates its shows, though they are long running. With shows every 90 minutes or so, sometimes they will alternate which show they are doing. The last time I went they had both a Frozen and Tangled themed show that rotated. The performers were largely the same and were pretty great.
The fireworks show has been updated for the 60th anniversary and is pretty spectacular. It can be seen from main street in front of the castle of course, but they’ve also added integrated light and image shows all the way down main street. There are things going on above all the buildings, etc. In addition to that, there is an additional projection back at the Small World ride. That area is less crowded and you get a different set of images. It’s pretty cool - best fireworks show hands down. The Fantasmic show also got an update and is great - that is usually right before the fireworks show and takes place over at the Rivers of America. They are so close together in timing that it’s hard to see both in one night because you can’t camp out a spot. If I had to pick, the fireworks show is better. It can get canceled due to high winds or other weather which is understandable.
The keel boats are gone from Disneyland (California) and have been for years (decades!) They didn’t actually ferry you to the island, but just went around it, like the Columbia and Mark Twain. The canoes, ditto: you paddled around the island (and, my golly, that’s FUN! One of the best parts of the whole day!)
Only the rafts take you to and from.
One of the very sad things about growing up is that I’m now too big to go a lot of places on Tom Sawyer’s Island. But I get at least a little vicarious glee watching kids romp around. Going up through the hollow tree is right out! The floating barrel bridge is still a grand gallop, however!
Excellent! I’m really kind of a wimp and that is about as extreme as I get in terms of “roller coaster” type rides, and I’ve only been on it once or twice. But I’ll summon my courage and check it out, lol. Thanks!
If you want a Disneyland model, then you have to come to San Francisco and the Disney Family Museum. The curation of the musuem (spanning Walt’s life) is incredible, and it has this park model, too.
Proves how long since I was last on there! But yes, I suspect watching kids enjoying themselves will worth a visit (I’m noting that this is probably the last time I go to the park for a very long time, so I’m getting in some final memories as well).
At the moment, I don’t believe any of them are, as the area is closed while they work on upcoming Star Wars stuff.
I’m pretty sure they don’t do this anymore. 
Tom Sawyer’s Island and all the riverboats aren’t running. They have half the river drained in order to reroute it. All part of building the new Star Wars Land.
If you hang around Tomorrowland enough, you might run into Stormtroopers. They’re sometimes out and about.
The new fireworks are pretty spectacular. They do projections on the Main Street buildings, Tom Sawyers Island, the Matterhorn and Small World. Lots of good viewing.
If you watch the kids at the Jedi Academy, you may find one like this.
As a Florida resident I am very disappointed to hear this.
I want my Space Mountain to be Star Wars themed too!
Boo California boo!
There’s been talk of reskinning Tower of Terror to a Guardians of the Galaxy theme, that any better?
Why they would do that and leave freaking Aerosmith alone, I don’t know.
(and, of course, there’s also the question of what else they can close in Hollywood Studios right now…)
They can’t do that in Florida, just in DCA.
Freaking heresy. I liked GotG as much as the next geek, but ToT is my favorite ride mostly because I love all the nods to old Hollywood and the Twilight Zone.
Get a chimichanga from one of the outdoor vending carts. They usually sell it with or close to the turkey leg guy. Disneyland’s chimichanga is the best chimichanga I’ve ever had. Its a bit pricey, last time I went there it was $6 or $7, but its gigantic. So good…hey if you get one, get one for me too ok?
