Friday, December 6, 2013

Christmas Time Crowds Are Here Again

So I totally thought that Disneyland and Disney California Adventure opened at 8 a.m. when in fact they opened at 9 a.m.  I could have slept in an extra hour. ha ha.

Walking through Downtown Disney, I spotted one of two new themed display windows at the World of Disney store.


The yellow on the traffic light blinks really fast instead of the slow steady pace that is found in "Cars" and what's mimicked at Cars Land












Even "Glow with the Show" got a themed window.  The background has Sleeping Beauty Castle to the left ("Glow in the Show" for the fireworks), Mickey's Fun Wheel in the center (for "Glow in the Show" World of Color) and Fantasmic! to the right





I will have to get a night time shot as the glare from the day reflects on the windows


First click goes to Disney California Adventure, but quickly head out so I can get over to Disneyland.  And it's not because I think Disneyland is better. It's just that I need to ride Haunted Mansion Holiday before the crowds hit

Disneyland time...






I know that Disney wants to try and "hide" the Candlelight set up on the other side of the train station, but I don't know why they have Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto ice skating.  Who would ice skate on top of a rooftop??


Flags are half-mast for the passing of Nelson Mandela


Set up for Candlelight which  now just takes place on the first weekend of December.
I think Disneyland learned its lesson from last year when they offered Candlelight for 20 nights throughout December 2012. I know it created such a headache with the crowds, especially in the evening hours, that the pay off wasn't successful because they were trying to sell dinner packages like World of Color.












The goat uncovered


More pictures of the Skyway station chalet














Casey Jr. and Storybook Land are closed for a small refurbishment
















I was on the Mark Twain, second level. In the little area where there is a serving counter and mirrors, I was watching the reflection as we traveled around the river bend.  Man, it not only got me dizzy, but also was giving me a headache.


Kitty in the tree






The Jingle Cruise is very popular


The line stuck out of the boat house, and only the patio section of the top level was in use at this time






First time I have seen the Market House busy






Heading into Disney California Adventure


Leaflet about the World of Color Fun Wheel Challenge














Five and Dime performing


















The Little Mermaid with .... a 15 minute wait!




Viva Navidad! at Paradise Gardens
















To camouflage backstage, they installed a second set of themed gates.  They will close the heavier first set of doors, before taking Mater (or McQueen / DJ ) behind the second set of doors










AAAHHHHhhhhhhh!





That will conclude today's pictorial
Hope you enjoyed it
Thanks for stopping by and checking it out

Feel free to leave a comment

Until Next Time...

2 comments:

  1. Nice pics as always! I observed a couple of new things when I was at the parks last Thursday that you may want to look for next time. First, they've added some things to Jingle Jungle Cruise. It seemed like they had added a few more decorations in the queue. But, they have also added to the ride. In the "trashing the camp" scene, the large gorilla now has a Santa hat and beard and other apes have hats. There is also torn up gifts strewn about. In the scene where the gorilla is reaching out over the water, I thought I could see something "Christmasy" peaking out of the wooden box that floats in the water. They had been opening the ride later in the day on some days last week. (I've been on vacation from work and have been hitting the parks on weekdays before the big crowds hit.) So, I guess the late openings were for the additions. I haven't been back, (Going tomorrow again.) so don't know if anything else has been added since Thursday. At the Jingle Jangle Jamboree, I noticed that Mickey and Minnie had different costumes. In place of the more formal attire they'd had, which was kind of odd for the informal Jamboree setting, they had "Mr. & Mrs. Santa" type outfits. (Maybe they'll use the more formal outfits on Main Street, where they fit better.) The Country Bears had some Christmasy accessories, but I'm not sure if those were new or I just hadn't noticed them before.

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  2. Thanks for the heads up. :) I'll definitely ride Jingle Cruise again and check out the additions that Disney made.

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