Contributing photographer Jason of disneygeek.com sends us these photos from his trip to the parks on Sunday, October 14, 2012.
After the CHOC walk I stayed at the resort to do a normal Disneyland Update… so on with that now. First stop Earl of Sandwich which has some visible progress. There were workers out painting the overhang this morning.
There is now an ice skating rink set up, this is opening soon to promote the new pixie film coming out, the Secret of the Wings.
I meant to stop by later in the day as the temps neared 90 to see how the ice was holding up.
A cast member trying out the ice.
The zamboni machine.
Getting to the parks was a challenge with the walkers still crossing to head for Downtown Disney and security lines backed up as those that had finished as well as regular day guests were trying to get into the parks. CMs were doing an ok job of playing traffic cop to keep everyone moving.
Some visible progress on the right side of the DCA entrance.. some pillars for the new fence are sticking over the wall.
Also rebar for the backstage wall that will be built behind them.
Once in the park strolled through Cars Land to check out the lines, way too long already.
The lighting was not right, but here you can barely make out some new brackets on the light poles. These will be used for the Christmas decorations
This wall is a temporary display, it will be the doorway into the expanded area. Ramone’s will be taking over the garage that was to be the Fastpass area for the Racers.
The neon sign for Fastpass distribution has been removed, but the return time sign has stayed.
The garage doors were all closed and blacked out so you could not see into the prep work on the store expansion.
The Paradise Pier Hotel is being repainted. The new color is on the far right.
Here you can see the new on the right and old on the left.
Caught an Instant Concert.
Fastpasses for the day were gone already, this was at 11:10 and the park had just opened at 10am, so in about an hour they were gone for the day.
Mater’s has received some new pads on the sides. I did not have time to ride so no clue how soft they are.
Stopped by the Animation building to check out the new characters on the Beast’s Library books. I was Marlin….
Plenty of Frankenweenie merchandise in Off the Page. It took over the book table.
There are hedges forming a construction wall around the sides of the Carthay entrance as they redo the walkway.
This makes the entrance feel really tight though.
Some Oswald Merchandise.. come to think of it I did not see any hats, wonder if they have sold out or were moved inside?
Over to Disneyland. Work continues on City Hall and the Fire Station.
The walls are down near Carnation.
A check in on the Fantasy Faire
More of the structure is going up, but hard to make out with the trees and scaffolding.
The scaffolding is down around this window/sign too.
Next stop the Halloween Carnival and a look at the pumpkins..
One of my favorites.
Dale participating in the parade.
Time for the Haunted Hillbillies
The tea cup that was out for photos has been removed.
No sign of Benny the Cab.
The work on the Toontown Hills is done.
Still working on the side of Minnie’s house.
A new wait time sign in her front yard.
She is now positioned out back and the queue goes through her house.
The big news of the update…. the Goofy Water fountains have been removed. Hopefully just for some work and they will be back soon.
Walls have been set up around the restrooms near the Fantasyland Theater. They are still open though. Maybe they are working on the pavement?
Next stop Tomorrowland. Noticed the ridges on the rails are being extended around slowly. Guess they are working.
The exterior work on the Pizza Port is complete.. bad backlighting in this picture but you can sort of see the new colors.
A closer look.
Pirates was using an extended queue this afternoon
Jack making his way through New Orleans Square to get to his photo spot.
50 minutes for the Mansion this afternoon.
Not much happening in Critter Country. 25 min for Pooh seemed longer than usual.
Noticed this area walled off. Looks to be more storage for Halloween Party stuff.
Christmas merchandise is finding its way onto shelves.
Back to DCA. Chip and Dale on Buena Vista Street.
Noticed they had new DCA Photopass cards (probably been around since summer but I never get one so did not know there was a new design).
Stopped by the Redwood Creek Trail. Noticed the two big slides were closed.
As was this area.
The rest was open. After this I headed for the car and home, so this wraps up the update.
Hope you enjoyed this highlight tour of the Disneyland Resort. For additional photos and details from this trip you can check out the full Disneyland Update I posted on my site, http://disneygeek.com Also be sure to follow me on twitter @disneygeekcom for pictures from the parks.
I agree -I was there also 10/12-10/15 and it was crazy busy! plus the CHOC walk was that weekend. We have been going in Oct for the past 5+ years and it has gotten too crowded, even on weekdays. We’ll try late Sept next year.
Jason, I was in both parks the day after you (Monday the 15th) and they were insanely crowded! I had been told that weekdays in October are supposed to be some of the least crowded days of the year . . . any idea what was going on?
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Jason Reply
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I was not aware of anything going on except the Halloween Party in the evening, so maybe that drew the extra crowds. The last several years with all the Halloween Parties and the growing popularity of the time the usually slow October period has come to an end. The true off season days at the Disneyland Resort are becoming harder to find.
Picture updates are always appreciated. Radiator Springs Racers looks like an absolute nightmare though. Thank god the touring sites say we’ll be hitting DCA on level 2 and 3 days, so hopefully we’ll be able to go a couple of times without 3 hour waits.
After seeing some of the ride-thrus on youtube, I’m kind of surprised it’s still so bustling! Sure, it’s a gorgeous and fun ride but gracious. I thought it might be tapering off a little 5 months along. If anything it just seems to be growing! Noooo! lol
And those santa ears hats are adorable. Just take my money, Disney.
Speaking of taking my money, have you guys tried the Glow With the Show ears at World of Color? They seem like a really neat gimmick, but I’m curious if they’re worth the price. If you guys have any answers on that, I’d be happy to hear them =)
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Jason’s Replies
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Glad you enjoy the pictures. The Radiator Springs Racers are a challenge thanks to the lines. They have moderated a bit but still more times than not its a couple of hours. If you can arrive at the park early and take advantage of Fastpass that will help. And if you are staying a Disney Hotel the early mornings are also a huge time savings from what I have heard.
I have seen the Glow with the Show Ears in action on several occasions (and have a set thanks to Disney). The effect when everyone in the audience has the ears on (like they had for the media and annual passholders) is impressive. On regular show nights it is not as strong and there are pockets of ears that look great but on many occasions its a spattering scattered around and not that strong. I think it is an interesting technology and curious where Disney is going to take it. I know that does not answer your question at all. Whether they are worth the $25 is really a tough one and depends on your taste and budget. If money is not an issue I stood behind a couple several visits ago and they had bought three sets. They each wore one and then held one out in front of themselves so they could see it change throughout the show.