Changes to California Adventure, Part 2

2010 will bring a new nighttime show to Disney's California Adventure. World of Color will combine fountains, movie projections and lighting effects to produce the highly anticipated show. Fountains will create the world's largest projected water screen measuring 380 feet by 50 feet allowing for 19,000 square feet of viewing. Popular Disney characters will be brought to life to the original Sherman Brothers score from the 1960s TV show "World of Color." A new 9,000 seat theater has been built to provide the best viewing opportunity for the show. World of Color is the first part of a 1.1 billion dollar makeover of California Adventure to be completed by 2012. 

Here is a video posted on Disney Parks Blog that shows what's coming with World of Color!

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2010/01/world-of-color-abbey-road/

To view The Disney Parks Blog click here.  The Disney Parks Blog is the official blog of all Disney Parks in the United States.  Check it out for new videos and information about each park.

Silhouette Studio

If you plan on doing a silhouette while in the park, here are some tips to make sure it doesn't become one of the things you wish you had done.

Go early in the day.  They will not allow you to come right before the park closes.  They have to wait for the glue to dry before you can pick it up. 

The charge is per face in the picture.  The starting price for a silhouette is $9.00.  If you add more people (or characters) into the same portait that will raise the price.  If you want a classic Disney oval frame that is also an extra charge. 

It is really amazing to watch these artist cut out your silhouette using just a few cuts of paper.  The system is very old-fashioned and it really is a very fun souvenir to bring home. 

The artists will also cut work sent from home, including animals.  If you want something done from a picture you have at home make sure to send a photo of the subjects right side view and with the ear in the center of the photo.

Send the image along with your contact name, phone number, and address to:

Merchandise Guest Services

Attn: DL 635 B

1020 West Ball Road

Anaheim, California 92801

Do not send cash, check or credit card info.  They will contact you with the price of the silhouette and shipping. 

Did You Know?

Is the hearse in front of Disneyland's Haunted Manison the same hearse used to carry Brigham Young after his death?

The hearse first appeared in front of the Mansion in 1995 after the ride was refurbished. It didn't take long before people began saying that the hearse was the actual hearse used to carry the body of Brigham Young from his funeral to his burial place in 1877.  It is a popular myth, but a myth nonetheless.

Glen M. Leonard, director of the LDS Museum of Church History and Art noted that Young was very specific about his funeral. According to his will, his body was to be carried on a platform to the Salt Lake Tabernacle for his funeral and after the service the same pallbearers would hand carry the casket to the small cemetery on First Avenue where Young is buried to this day. Young died on August 29, 1877.

The truth is, nobody really knows where the Disneyland's hearse came from, but do know that it was not used in Brigham Young's funeral.

Mobile Magic!

Each day, thousands of Disney Park visitors are faced with a series of decisions. What ride should they go on next? When is the best time to get Mickey’s autograph? Should they eat lunch before they pick up a FastPass for Space Mountain?

Answering these questions and others like it will be a lot easier, thanks to a new mobile phone initiative by the theme park giant. Disney is officially launching a downloadable cell phone application for Verizon customers as well as two new mobile Web sites to provide guests toting BlackBerrys, iPhones and other smartphones more information while inside the park.

The “Mobile Magic” application for Verizon customers marks the first time Disney is making its own real- time updates about ride wait times, FastPass distribution, character locations and events available to the public in a digital form.

The app costs $9.99 for 180 days of use and will initially be available for download on about 30 Verizon “feature phones.” Eventually, Verizon plans to make the app available on smartphones including BlackBerrys and the recently launched Motorola Droid. The program uses GPS to determine the phone’s location and display information about nearby rides, restaurants, events and characters.

“We want to help guests answer the question, 'What should I do now?'  With this you’ll be able to be on one side of the park and not have to walk all the way to other side of the park to find out that the wait time for a ride is two hours.” Arturo Vera, a Disney digital marketing manager.

The app is a recognition of the increasing role that mobile phones are playing as digital sherpas for travelers who want instant access to information about nearby restaurants, attractions and events. Disney has been slow to embrace mobile applications, as several third-party iPhone apps that provide attraction wait times and park information have been available for months.

Mobile Magic covers all six Disney parks in California and Florida, water parks, Downtown Disney, Wide World of Sports, and all Disney resorts and restaurants.

When a visitor opens up the app while standing at a Disney property, the program will detect their location and display the version tailored to that park. For example; while standing outside Cinderella Castle at about 2:15 p.m., Mobile Magic was able to tell a you that Space Mountain was nearby but closed for renovation, the line for Splash Mountain was 10 minutes long and that picking up a FastPass for that ride would allow entry between 3:25 and 4 p.m.

Users can browse for nearby attractions, characters, events and locations or search for them by name, or view them on a map. Phones with the app can be set to vibrate 15 or 30 minutes before an event begins, even if the phone is closed.

Although the app has GPS, it does not provide walking directions from point to point inside the park because Vera said Disney did not want guests walking around holding their phones up and “spoiling the park experience.”

“We expect people will use this to complement the guide maps,” Vera said.

Although Disney has an exclusive agreement to provide real time data on Verizon phones, non-Verizon customers will be able to access park information through two new mobile optimized sites.

http://m.disneyworld.go.com/ - Disney World

http://m.disneyland.go.com/ - Disneyland

Instead of displaying the number of minutes someone would have to wait in line for a ride, the mobile sites will categorize the wait as “see now,” “moderate” or “high demand.”

Gone are the days when you would run to the Hub of the park to check the wait time board to see what next ride you should do. 

How do you Verizon subscribers get the app?  Text MAGIC to 2777 to purchase the application.

Package Check Service

Disneyland is littered with stores that carry wonderfully cute and perfect merchandise that you just have to have to commemorate your trip, but after a while you can become bogged down with all your paraphernalia. Who wants to carry all their great new stuff through the park? Well you don’t have to. You can check your packages using the Disneyland Package Check Service. This way they hold onto your purchases so you don’t have to lug them around all day, and you can pick them up on your way out to you hotel. Ask any Cast Member in any store for more information.  The best part is it is free! 

Shop and check your purchases for pickup late in the day at the following locations:

-Disneyland - Newsstand (Main Entrance), The Star Trader (Tomorrowland), or Pioneer Mercantile (Frontierland), Small World Toys and Once Upon a Time (Fantasyland), La Bat (New Orleans).

-California Adventure - Engine-Ears Toys (under the Golden Gateway).

-Resort Hotel Guests - Purchases can be delivered to Bell Services for next-day pick up after 7am.

Here is how it works: Take your bag of souvenirs to one of the locations above.  They will ask for your receipt and have you fill out a Package Check form. 

Once you fill out the Package Check form they will take your receipt and the white copy of the Package Check form and staple it to the bag.  They will provide you with the yellow copy and a newly generated receipt for claiming your package later in the day. 

Make sure to follow the rules:

-No personal items or food allowed

-Packages must be picked up within 7 days or they will be mailed to you at your expense.

-Packages that can not be mailed will be taken to Lost and Found.

Once you have finished your day in the park return to that location to claim your packages.

 

We have used this service and it is very nice to be able to do your shopping as you go instead of gathering everything you want at the end of your trip. 

Disney World Package Pick Up:

For your convenience, purchases made throughout the day can be delivered to special locations for you to pick up as you exit the Theme Parks. Purchases can also be delivered to your Walt Disney World Resort hotel or shipped to your home via UPS or FedEx.

Magic Kingdom Theme Park - Package Pick-Up on Main Street, U.S.A., is located at Station Break underneath the Main Street Train Station.
Epcot Theme Park - Package Pick-Up and Shipping office is at the Entrance Plaza.

Disney's Hollywood Studios Theme Park - Package Pick-Up is at Oscar's Super Service just inside the Main Entrance.

Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park - Package Pick-Up is at Garden Gate Gifts just inside the main entrance.

Downtown Disney Area - There is no Package Pick-Up Service in the Downtown Disney Area; however, purchases may be shipped to your Walt Disney World Resort hotel or shipped to your home via UPS or FedEx.

Unofficial Guides

 

For many Disney travelers The Unofficial Guide To Walt Disney World and The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland by Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa are simply known as the Good Books. For many years the Unofficial Guides has told you everything you ever wanted to know about visiting the Disney theme parks and resorts and a lot more. These are essential books for trip planning and it is no wonder why they remains the best selling Disney books on Amazon.

Last year the books were enhanced with practical color photos. One series compares the crowd levels at different times of the day and another compares a Disney burger to one from McDonalds. You can see examples of the various Disney transportation modes, the Fastpass system, and what the differences are in amenities between a value, moderate, and deluxe resort.

They are “unofficial” for a reason as they pay for everything themselves. While in the parks researchers wear logo shirts and are very talkative with other guests.  They are always asking questions. There is balance and it is refreshing. The authors recognize that these trips are not inexpensive and you want to get the best value possible in these tough economic times.

The books are updated each year and the text does change. I have noticed in these editions they are especially critical about rising ticket prices, the bus transportation systems, and the increase in dining prices. Much of the analysis is quantitative and measurable unlike other travel books. Want to book one of the in-demand dining spots? There is a chart that tells you how many days in advance each place gets filled. They even measure pillow fluffiness.

Another fun feature embedded in the attraction descriptions are side notes from Jim Hill. My impression is that most of the rumors of potential ride upgrades are connected to some sort of Disney property in order to get the greenlight. Synergy.

If you plan on visiting Universal Studio, this book has a very comprehensive section for those parks and resorts as well.

Here are five unofficial ways to prepare for your trip to a Disney Park by the author, Bob Sehlinger:

1. Select the time of year for your visit: The parks are busiest Christmas Day through New Year’s Day. Thanksgiving weekend, the week of Washington’s birthday, the first full week of November, spring break for colleges, and the two weeks around Easter are also times when visitation can peak at 92,000 visitors in a single day. The park is far less crowded during the off season, but be advised that the parks often open late and close early during that time.

2. Shape up: Visiting Disney Parks require levels of industry and stamina more often associated with running marathons. As you plan your time at Disney Parks, consider your physical limitations. It’s exhausting to rise at dawn and run around a theme park for 8 to 12 hours day after day. Every Disney vacation itinerary should include days when you don’t go to a theme park and days when you sleep in and take the morning off. Plan these to follow unusually long and arduous days.  There is also information about hotels in the area.

3. Formulate your park plan: First-time visitors should see Epcot first; you’ll be able to enjoy it without having been preconditioned to think of Disney entertainment as solely fantasy or adventure. See Animal Kingdom second. Like Epcot, it’s educational, but its live animals provide a change of pace. Next, see Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which helps transition from the educational Epcot and Animal Kingdom to the fanciful Magic Kingdom. Also, because DHS is smaller, you won’t walk as much or stay as long. Save the Magic Kingdom for last; it’s the park that epitomizes Disney World for most visitors.

4. Create your touring plan: Which rides and attractions appeal most to you? What are you willing to forgo? Planning your day in advance can save you up to four hours of waiting time in line. We have developed a hierarchy of categories that will help you evaluate each ride and plan the best way to enjoy them all. For example, SUPER-HEADLINERS are the best attractions the theme park has to offer – and they usually have the longest lines. MINOR ATTRACTIONS are midway-type rides, small “dark” rides (cars on a track, zigzagging through the dark) and walk-through attractions—which can be a lot of fun, without the long wait. Remember that bigger and more elaborate doesn’t always mean better. See examples of touring plans (and create your own) in The Unofficial Guides.  Also includes are height requirements, and best times to visit attractions.

5. Getting hungry?: There are three lessons to learn before you dine in the parks. One: Theme-park restaurants rush their customers in order to make room for the next group of diners. If you want to linger over your expensive meal, don’t order your entire dinner at once. Order drinks. Study the menu while you sip, then order appetizers. Tell the waiter you need more time to decide among entrees. Order your main course only after appetizers have been served. Dawdle over dessert. Two: If you’re dining in a theme park and cost is an issue, make lunch your main meal. Entrees are similar to those on the dinner menu, but prices are significantly lower. Three: Disney adds a surcharge of $4 per adult and $2 per child to certain popular restaurants during weeks of peak attendance, including Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and in 2009 every day from Memorial Day through July 4.  There is also information about eating outside the park.

Check out these books!  They are an amazing addition to your Disney library and are very helpful in planning a successful trip.  If you would like some additional reading by Bob Sehlinger check out the following:

-The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World With Kids

-Beyond Disney

Security In and Outside the Park

When entering any Disney Park be prepared to have your bags and strollers searched.  For the safety of all guests and Cast Members this is a little hurdle for a safe feeling all day. 

Some tips to remember:

-Unzip all pockets to back packs before reaching the Cast Members.

-Do not bring anything questionable into the park (alcohol, drugs, glass, weapons, etc.)

-Be nice to the Cast Members.  The nicer you are the quicker they will send you thru.  You do not need to explain everything that you have to them.  Just follow their promptings. 

-Once you get off the tram you will want to load strollers with everything you are carrying into the park.  Wait until after you get thru the security check point. 

The parks are swarming with security.  From Cast Members in security clothing, security wearing plain clothes, and cameras on every square inch of the park.  As we have stated in our previous post "Meeting Location," make sure your children know who they can get help from if they become lost.  If you see something suspicious make sure you inform a Cast Member.  By complying with the rules of the park you will have a good time and feel very secure.

 Outside the park, is a little different.  Just because you are surrounded by Disneyland at every turn, make sure you do not let your guard down.  Walk in pairs, lock your cars and hotel rooms, do not leave valuables visible in cars, and BE SMART AND SAFE! 

Lost and Found Items

 

Disney Resorts have an extensive and elaborate system for their lost and found items.  The most frequently lost - and recovered - items are hats and glasses, at 40,000 and 20,000 a year respectively.  Water rides are where a majority of items are lost.  Disney Cast Members help reunite many of the 200,000 items turned in annually with their rightful owner.  Park officials say 70 percent of the found articles are returned within one day.

Where is Lost and Found?
Lost and Found for the Disneyland Resort is located outside the main entrance of Disney's California Adventure.   If you are looking at the entrance to California Adventure it is to the left.  Check with Disneyworld.com for locations for each parks Lost and Found.

If you lose an item at a ride or an attraction, check there before going to Lost and Found. Sometimes these items are kept there until the park closes at night.

If a tourist has left the theme parks without an item that was lost and found in the park, Disneyland mails the possession free of charge.  Just check in with Lost and Found and they will have you fill out a form with a description of the item lost and your contact information.  They give you lots of hope your item will turn up.

Helpful Hints

Be aware that you may have to answer questions about what photos appear on your camera, contacts on your cell phone, or colors of bags or hats before being reunited with your lost item. This will ensure the rightful owner receives their items.
-Write your names and phone numbers on disposable cameras, Photo Passes, and in the case of your digital cameras.  (Make sure to take pictures of yourself.  This is great for identification and just for fun!)
-Keep copies of your travel records and vital documents in your hotel or car.
-Input your home phone number on cell phone.

-Have another person in your party carry an extra set of keys to cars and hotels.

-Make a list of your wallet/bag contents daily.

Our Personal Experiences:

A few years ago I set our brand new camera down while putting my sweatshirt on after getting off the tram. I left the camera there on the ground and didn't realize it until after we had walked thru Downtown Disney and into California Adventure. We were taking pictures for other people in our party so I felt terrible! I ran all over the Resort looking while my wife went to Lost and Found. Upon my return to Lost and Found my wife held up the camera. She had to answer questions about photos that appeared on our camera before she was able to retain it.  Someone was nice enough to turn it in. There are good people at Disneyland. We try to do everything possible to make someones day if we find an item that has been lost from its owner and encourage others to do so also.

My wife once found a hundred dollar bill at the park and felt that since she turned in that bill that karma had returned our camera to us.

Our nephew also lost his bag at Indiana Jones.  Since it was the same day, we checked back at the ride later that night and was able to retrieve his bag.

So what happens to lost items that are never retrieved?

-Unclaimed cell phones are donated to firefighters for reprogramming for battered women.

-Boxes of articles unclaimed for more than 60 days are sent to the Santa Ana Goodwill Store for a periodic "Disneyland Lost & Found Sale."

Did You Know?

As Disneyland was constructed, Walt Disney wanted a place to stay and watch the activity. So, he had a special apartment constructed on the second floor of the Main Street Firehouse. Private, and hidden from the rest of Disneyland, it was the perfect place for Walt to do quiet work, or enjoy with his family.

The apartment is was very small, but was fully operational. It had a small bathroom, with a shower, along with a small kitchen unit. The furniture design was in a "Firehouse" look, with reds, and whites, decorating the room. The original decorator of the apartment was Emile Kuri, a set designer for many Disney films, and also the decorator of Main Street, itself.

Walt didn't allow any pictures of him or his family inside the apartment. Except one photograph, for National Geographic Magazine (seen below).

The apartment also featured a quiet patio. Lillian Disney often used this patio for her afternoon tea, or to entertain guests. The patio was also decorated accordingly. White wicker furniture covered the deck. The patio was very private, vines surrounded the wood patio, blocking any observers from the street.

When Walt Disney worked in the apartment, he would often work at a small wooden desk, near the far right window, facing Main Street below to keep an eye on his dream.

Much of the original furniture has been removed. Although, Disney designers have tried to remain faithful to it's original look. Now, a light is kept on near the window, as a tribute to his creation of Disneyland.  To see a map of the apartment click here.

In the early 1960s, as construction of New Orleans Square was proceeding, Walt Disney decided he needed a bigger entertaining facility for various VIPs that came to the Park. He already had an apartment above the Fire Station on Main Street, but it was too small to host extensive events. Walt decided to place the suite in New Orleans Square above Pirates of the Caribbean.  He used Emile Kuri again along with Dorothea Redmond, famous for her sets in "Gone With the Wind."  This apartment would be called "The Royal Suite"

Walt died before the apartment was finished and the suite was abandoned.  Even though he was not able to use this apartment it was not closed like his first apartment on Main Street.  This apartment was used by many businesses until it became the Disney Gallery in the 1980's. 

Art was on display here until 2007 when the Disney Gallery was moved to the Bank of Main Street to allow for the creation of the new "Disneyland Dream Suite." Imagineers converted the space into a two-bedroom, two-bath guest suite, using the original 1960s designs.

During the Year of a Million Dreams select guest had the opportunity to stay the night in the "Dream Suite."

 

One of the most distinctive characteristics of the Dream Suite is the private balcony, which overlooks the Rivers of America. From here guests have an unobstructed view of the nighttime spectacular "Fantasmic!"

If you're already over in New Orleans Square, take a listen next time you're near the train station. The telegraph that keeps clicking at the New Orleans Square railroad station is actually the first two sentances of Walt's Disneyland opening-day dedication speech ("To all who come to Disneyland, welcome. Here, age relives fond memories of the past, and here, youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future.") It is not modern Morse Code but land line telegraphy as used by railroad telegraphers to communicate with train dispatchers and other telegraphers at other stations.

Inside the upper levels of Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World, there is a suite that was intended to be an apartment for Walt Disney and his family when they were in Florida. After Walt died in 1971, the apartment was left unfinished. This space is not large, and can be compared to the size of a master bedroom and bathroom in an average house. The location of the suite can be identified from the outside by locating the stained glass windows with pictures in the center on the north and west sides of the castle, about 2/3 of the way up. The suite adjoins an exterior balcony on the east side. This balcony affords views to the north, east, and south. The balcony is only accessible through an emergency exit and is not a guest area. This balcony is how 'Tinker Bell' makes her ascent to the tower at the top of the Castle.

On June 7, 1996, it was announced by Disney that the suite would be completely decorated and upholstered as a 'royal bedchamber', which can sleep up to six people. It has become available as a prize during the Year of a Million Dreams celebration, and an overnight stay in the apartment was a prize randomly awarded to a guest at the four Walt Disney World theme parks and Downtown Disney.  Here are some pictures of this amazing suite.

Needless to say, Walt would be very happy with the outcome of his private apartments.