Disneyland Resort (DL, DLR, DCA) Discussion Thread

Looks like they've put a good amount of time and energy into re-imagining the ride, I like what they've put together! Screamin' is already really fun as is and I'm sure new guests and locals will enjoy the change.

I'm glad they're go to do something with those tubes on Screamin'. This change might be more entertaining than I first thought.

I'm way more excited for Incredicoaster than I thought I would. California Screamin' is already a great coaster, this would only plus an already great attraction. I also noticed they were testing water effects as well, possibly bringing waves or a huge splash upon blastoff. The scene they're adding at the end looks like a lot of fun too. I mean, who doesn't love Edna? I grew up by Santa Cruz Boardwalk so the pier always lacked in my opinion. This renovation and hopefully an awesome new Pixar ride in the future would keep me in the area a lot longer when I'm not riding Screamin.

It's nice to know, the family moved up to a better house, LOL!

Which is what the load/unload station design is all about.

And everything else they've said and shown in this recent release.

Awesome! Can't wait to ride it in 2019! (when we're next down there)

We got one more post about Galaxy's Edge!

Disney Parks Blog

Sat, December 16, 2017

12 Days of Disney Parks Christmas: Update from Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

Scott Trowbridge

by Scott Trowbridge, Portfolio Creative Executive, Walt Disney Imagineering

To wrap up the 12 Days of Disney Parks Christmas news, I’m pleased to share a few of the details we revealed at tonight’s Star Wars: Galactic Nights panel. I was honored to be a part of this inside look at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge along with my fellow Imagineers Robin Reardon and Chris Beatty, and Doug Chiang from Lucasfilm, and now I’m excited to share the news with all of you!

We talked a lot about authenticity – how we are building a real place in the Star Wars universe and how we are working hard to get the details right. One of my favorite examples is the Millennium Falcon. We’ve all seen her on screen, but until you climb through that hatch, walk through her hallways, sit inside the cockpit, power her up and actually FLY her yourself, it’s not quite the same. Here is a photo of the inside of the ship as we are getting her ready and I can’t wait for you to see her yourself!

Additionally, Doug highlighted some other examples of the team’s progress, including building a fleet of full-size X-wing starfighters. One tap on the metal side of these ships tells you that they are real, and ready for action!

We also discussed the depth of storytelling you can find in this remote outpost. Chris shared some of his experiences researching the exotic markets of Istanbul and Marrakech. They were a great source of inspiration for the marketplace in our village where we can explore a rich collection of shops and merchant stalls. Chris shared a great example of one overseen by a Toydarian, one of the creatures we first encountered on Tatooine in “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.” So what does he sell? Toys, of course! Here is a piece of concept art for what that toy stall will look like.

And inside, you’ll be able to discover all kinds of fun and cool toys straight out of the Star Wars galaxy. Exclusive to this outpost, all these offerings look hand-crafted by local artisans. We looked at some of them recently and they’re going to be really fun, unique, and completely in-story.

So again, thanks to everyone who came out to see us at Star Wars: Galactic Nights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. And thanks for checking in here on the blog. I look forward to sharing more with you soon.

Looking for some advice. I'll be taking my family of four out west next week and we'll be spending 3 days at Disney. We haven't been in 7 years, so there's obviously some new stuff that we'll definitely have to hit. Just asking the pros if there's any advice on plan of attack? We've got park hoppers for all 3 days and I know that the parks will be packed between Christmas and New Years. We plan on getting there at opening each day as the last time we were there they reached capacity at DL. So, we'll definitely get in early enough to not have that be a problem. We're staying across the street, so heading back to the room for a little bit is a possibility. I noticed that you cannot pre-book Fast Passes like you can in Florida, correct? We purchased the Max Pass in advance, too early to tell if that was a wise investment. Any ideas on which rides will run out of Fast Passes first? Any advice on using the Max Pass?

Thanks!

In my opinion, the most popular attractions right now are Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout, Radiator Springs Racers, Toy Story Midway Mania, Soarin', It's a Small World, Star Tours, Space Mountain, Indiana Jones Adventure, and Haunted Mansion. All of those are FastPass-enabled (including It's a Small World now).

What you do is you go to one of those super-popular attractions right after opening, which will likely have a 5-20 minute standby line when you queue up, and then make your first FastPass reservation for another attraction through the Disneyland app while you're waiting. Take a few minutes and browse around to see what you and your family want to do in the moment, even if it means your return time might not be right away. If you're running late for whatever reason, you can make your FastPass reservations for all four people at once from your hotel room, since it all runs through the app.

What you HAVE to get a paper FastPass ticket for are the parks' nighttime spectaculars, Fantasmic and World of Color. Fantasmic's distribution is in Frontierland near the boats and the Golden Horseshoe, and World of Color's is between Grizzly River Run's big water wheel and the entrance to The Little Mermaid attraction. Those FastPasses will not affect your other reservations, but the best viewing areas run out fast, ESPECIALLY Fantasmic's. If your family wants a decent spot to see Fantasmic from, you will have to have one morning when you are basically standing there waiting for Disneyland to open, and then make a bee line straight for Fantasmic's distribution.

That being said, if I recall correctly, you also have to scan your paper ticket for either of those, so you might be able to have one person take all four tickets and get your FastPasses for Fantasmic, while the rest of the family catches up at their own pace.

Looking for some advice. I'll be taking my family of four out west next week and we'll be spending 3 days at Disney. We haven't been in 7 years, so there's obviously some new stuff that we'll definitely have to hit. Just asking the pros if there's any advice on plan of attack? We've got park hoppers for all 3 days and I know that the parks will be packed between Christmas and New Years. We plan on getting there at opening each day as the last time we were there they reached capacity at DL. So, we'll definitely get in early enough to not have that be a problem. We're staying across the street, so heading back to the room for a little bit is a possibility. I noticed that you cannot pre-book Fast Passes like you can in Florida, correct? We purchased the Max Pass in advance, too early to tell if that was a wise investment. Any ideas on which rides will run out of Fast Passes first? Any advice on using the Max Pass?

 

Thanks!

You cannot pre-book FASTPASS but MaxPass will allow you to book from the app as soon as FASTPASS is available day-of. This is regular park open (NOT Magic Morning/Early Entry/Extra Magic Hours).

If you go expecting crowds and understanding it will be absolutely packed you will have a better time.

DL's inpark attendance generally peaks at the first parade, dips a little, goes up for the pyro show, then dips considerably after that. As counter-intuitive as it is compared to the rest of the year the second parade was often the less busy one.

If you are OK with the long days you should go as early as possible and stay from after pyro to park close (a break during the peak point of the day, around the 1st parade time, would be wise). Even on days DL reaches capacity many attractions will have a short standby wait close to park closing (often, but not always, standby wait times get a little over reported at the end of the night because FASTPASS returns drop off). And as long as you are in the queue before park closing they will cycle the attraction until all guests have ridden.

If you have a ticket that allows Magic Morning (or whatever it's called), which used to be a 3+ day ticket, then use it. Most guests could do more during that one hour than they could do for 4 hour blocks later in the day. If Magic Morning is still on the eastside of DL (Fantasyland and Tomorrowland), hit the major attractions your family wants to do over there and be ready to head straight to the westside at park opening. And don't forget to book FASTPASSes as soon as MaxPass allows you to.

Have fun!

Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it!

Does anyone know how the Star Wars lands will affect the Star Tours attractions?

Does anyone know how the Star Wars lands will affect the Star Tours attractions?

At DL, as of right now, no affect. No changes planned.

DHS has some pie in the sky ideas about connecting Star Tours to Star Wars land but I don't see it happening.

So this is very late, but I haven't had much free time and wanted to post this trip report before the year ended. I don't do many reports, but this was my first ever visit to Disneyland so I felt it was special enough to document. Technically it wasn't my first trip to the Disney resort... as a child I made the regrettable choice of going to California Adventure instead of Disneyland (we only had one free day to spend). To make matters worse, the year was 2001: I was GP back then I didn't know any better!! Sixteen years later, with once again only one day to spend, I redeemed myself.

Disney + Halloween = HYPE

First we immediately headed to Haunted Mansion to get fast passes since it would have been the longest line of the day.

What's this? What's this?! There's GP everywhere...

Then it was time for my most sought-after ride since I was 8 years old... Indiana Jones! It not only lived up to the hype, but even exceeded it! It's now my favorite dark ride, and I'll never forgive Animal Kingdom for wasting the amazing tech of the EMV on Dinosaur

Very short wait, also easily my favorite queue ever!

Then we stopped for a snack in New Orleans Square, as I made it one of my goals to eat a Mickey shaped treat. And considering NOLA is my favorite city in the US, the beignets made for an excellent choice! Afterwards we were ready to go on the Haunted Mansion Holiday version! While I need to do another visit to experience the classic version, I adore Nightmare Before Christmas and was blown away by how a temporary overlay could be so well-detailed.

Even the loading area had amazing animatronics!

We went to Tomorrowland to grab fast passes for Space Mountain and I could spot some construction on Galaxy's Edge off in the distance.

This park is beautiful from every angle.

After that, it was time for my 200th coaster! I went on my 199th the previous day at Magic Mountain (X2), and felt nothing would be more fitting than making Matterhorn Bobsleds my #200. Following up Arrow's final masterpiece with its first. It blew every other Disney coaster away! I rode on the left side (Tomorrowland side) as I heard that was the more thrilling experience, which certainly was true! I thought my arms were going to hit the sides of the mountain on almost every turn, and the splash down actually got me soaked!

My #200 <3

I love how happy this girl looks!

The rust on the track is a work of art in itself!

After eating ourselves into a food coma from giant Turkey legs, it was time to do the Fantasyland dark rides. We started with the infamous Mr Toad, which broke down right before we were about to board (every ride in Fantasyland broke down while we were in line, the cast members definitely had a fun afternoon!).

Not-so-merrily on their way to nowhere in particular

After numerous technical difficulties we got our rides on Pinocchio and the criminally underrated Snow White's Scary Adventures. Apart from the rushed ending, that ride was genuinely terrifying - much scarier than the Haunted Mansion! We left Fantasyland through the Sleeping Beauty Castle, a walkthrough I would have happily waited in line for but we had it all to ourselves!

I love how the Matterhorn looms over everything in the park <3

Up next was Space Mountain, with the Ghost Galaxy overlay. The ride was surprisingly forceful and the lighting effects were really cool, easily topping Magic Kingdom's version. I can't wait to try it as Hyperspace Mountain on my next visit!

Station To Station

With Star Wars on my mind, we grabbed fast passes for Star Tours and then made our way to Alice in Wonderland. After that somewhat trippy ride, we of course had to do It's a Small World!

Jimmy was happy to be reunited with his family in China!

After that, we waited in the longest line of the entire day... the Disneyland Railroad from Toontown Depot! I didn't have time for the full loop, but we got to see the awesome dioramas, I actually liked the Grand Canyon one more than the dinosaur one, but both were worth the wait. We had to run to get to Star Tours on time before our fast pass expired. After our visit to Hoth, we got fastpasses for Matterhorn and headed to the Enchanted Tiki Room which was adorable and the host was great. Then it was time for Walt's final masterpiece, Pirates. It did not disappoint. Easily the best audio-animatronic work in the park and the drop was actually way bigger than I thought it would be.

Does this count as a Shoot-the-Chute?

We got our second ride on Matterhorn (the right side this time). The right side is much tamer, and if you only have time for one side I'd recommend the left. However the view of the park from the right side was breathtaking. Then it was time to enact my genius idea - night rides on Splash Mountain! As I predicted, there was almost no line, our second ride was a walk on! It was a bit cold, but sooo worth it!

It's a pretty eerie night ride...

He wasn't posing for the camera, Jimmy is actually terrified of this drop XD

With no time for a third lap, we rushed over to Indiana Jones for our final ride of the day, which was a hilarious way to end our visit because the boulder scene malfunctioned! All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better first experience at the happiest place on Earth. The only major attractions I missed were Peter Pan and Big Thunder (which was down for refurb), but that only gives me more reasons to return. It lived up to all my expectations, I may or may not have cried, and I'll forever cherish the memories of this day.

After all, I have these beautiful fastpasses to commemorate my visit!

Does anyone know how the Star Wars lands will affect the Star Tours attractions?

 

At DL, as of right now, no affect. No changes planned.

 

DHS has some pie in the sky ideas about connecting Star Tours to Star Wars land but I don't see it happening.

How likely is it that both rides get re-themed into non-Star Wars attractions at some point in the future? What other "space, sci-fi" properties does Disney have that could make a decent motion sim ride in say another fifteen years?

What other "space, sci-fi" properties does Disney have that could make a decent motion sim ride in say another fifteen years?

They've just acquired one of the best:

... What other "space, sci-fi" properties does Disney have that could make a decent motion sim ride in say another fifteen years?

All animation but...The Incredibles and Big Hero 6?

... What other "space, sci-fi" properties does Disney have that could make a decent motion sim ride in say another fifteen years?

 

All animation but...The Incredibles and Big Hero 6?

San Fransokyo Institute of Technology!

It just occurred to me, and I know it's old, but they have Titan AE now. Which, by the way, is a very underrated film. Forget that it's animated. It's a damn good film in it's own right.

It just occurred to me, and I know it's old, but they have Titan AE now. Which, by the way, is a very underrated film. Forget that it's animated. It's a damn good film in it's own right.

Wow I haven't thought about that movie in a good decade but I remember loving it as a child. I'm actually positive I still have the space ship with the action figures of both main characters deep deep deep in my closet somewhere.

... What other "space, sci-fi" properties does Disney have that could make a decent motion sim ride in say another fifteen years?

 

All animation but...The Incredibles and Big Hero 6?

I could totally see a BH6 ride being done in Tomorrowland. Especially with the new series on Disney XD coming out. It's got plenty of potential, even as a possible simulator replacement for ST.

I'd always wondered if they would ever one day do away with Tomorrowland completely. Then when rumors regarding Star Wars Land first surfaced and people suggested a TL makeover, I thought that was it. But seeing as Disney nixed that, it gives me hope that TL will live on in it's intended form. I miss those old rides like Innerspace, Mission to Mars, Innovations and Circle Vision. I would like TL to get away from space and sci-fi, and get back to future.

Though it is an 'alternate sci-fi reality', Big Hero 5 would definitely qualify as a look at the future. Which is what TL was always meant to be. It wasn't meant to be Space Land. Space Mountain at least could qualify as looking forward to space travel, but rides like Star Tours, Buzz Lightyear and the Submarine Voyage (which as far as I'm concerned is in Fantasyland) have never really been "tomorrow".

Am I crazy and alone in this thinking?

I think once they have the massive amounts of cash after Star Wars opens we will see something done with Tomorrowland. I'm thinking, and hoping, just a refresh. My dream would be to bring back the people mover, but that will never happen. Also, I hope that they finally put a ride or something good in the Carousel of Progress/Marvel Experience/Star Wars or whatever it is now, building.

I think once they have the massive amounts of cash after Star Wars opens we will see something done with Tomorrowland. I'm thinking, and hoping, just a refresh. My dream would be to bring back the people mover, but that will never happen. Also, I hope that they finally put a ride or something good in the Carousel of Progress/Marvel Experience/Star Wars or whatever it is now, building.

They need to fix the opening to the land. Do away with the rock work, and whatever necessary reenforcements to move the rockets/Astro Orbitor back to their original platform. I’m totally with you with the Carousel of Progress, they need to move on and really utilize the space or just demo the building for something new. Hell, incorporate the Tomorrowland Boat ride area. That patch of land has been long neglected.

I'd always wondered if they would ever one day do away with Tomorrowland completely. Then when rumors regarding Star Wars Land first surfaced and people suggested a TL makeover, I thought that was it. But seeing as Disney nixed that, it gives me hope that TL will live on in it's intended form. I miss those old rides like Innerspace, Mission to Mars, Innovations and Circle Vision. I would like TL to get away from space and sci-fi, and get back to future.

 

Though it is an 'alternate sci-fi reality', Big Hero 5 would definitely qualify as a look at the future. Which is what TL was always meant to be. It wasn't meant to be Space Land. Space Mountain at least could qualify as looking forward to space travel, but rides like Star Tours, Buzz Lightyear and the Submarine Voyage (which as far as I'm concerned is in Fantasyland) have never really been "tomorrow".

 

Am I crazy and alone in this thinking?

The problem with Tomorrowland was that the future caught up and dated it meaning Disney had to keep making changes.

Only way to solve that would be to go FAR into the future like past 2100 or something but that's hardly "tomorrow".

I still liked the original way they figured out Disney Paris' Discoveryland. Especially with their Space Mountain.

All the other lands in all MKs, are based on Disney's way of telling a story. Why not tell a story(land) about The Far Away Future?

Or ditch part of it, like Tokyo Disneyland has done, and add more space for Fantasyland? Like TDL is doing?

And I am looking at both the Autopia and the Submarine footprints. Of course the extension would have to

wrap it's self around and under the monorail path, that leads to the Tomorrowland Stn. And that Rocket Rods track....

My five cents. And why not bring back the revived, updated, streamlined, waterproofed PEOPLE MOVER?

 

How likely is it that both rides get re-themed into non-Star Wars attractions at some point in the future? What other "space, sci-fi" properties does Disney have that could make a decent motion sim ride in say another fifteen years?

I mean as of today it wouldn't happen, but I'd have given the same answer about Tower of Terror in 2004. 15 years is so far out anything is possible.

Tomorrowland as a whole at DL has had several "make-over" projects get started then abruptly shelved for various reasons. Sadly, a TL refurbishment just has a very hard time getting any traction, particularly when there is still a feeling that capital is better spent elsewhere.