|
DISNEYLAND Resort
Anaheim, California
Walt Disney Theme Parks
Make Disneyland Room Reservations Now
 Resort News - (6/26/09) Thanks to DisneyGeek for sending in some great new photos
of Disneyland taken a couple of weeks ago that really show off a lot of the new nighttime additions to Fantasmic and the new fireworks show.
(6/22/09) Disneyland has put a rather unique new promotion online at their website lately to promote their new Summer Nightastic push. Take a quick visit to the Disneyland website and you will likely come across an icon for something called Fantasmic 3D, where with the use of a printer and webcam on your PC you can hold up a printed piece of artwork and watch it come to life in front of your eyes. You can control remote control an animated fire breathing dragon through a few motions or call out Tinker Bell to launch a few fireworks over the castle and show you a video promotion. Check it out a little more information about it posted to the Disney and More blog.
(6/11/09) A good construction report that shows off a lot of things happening at the hotels and Downtown Disney area can be found at MouseTimes this week.
(6/8/09) OriginalD has posted a very large photo update from the Disneyland Resort, with construction updates from both parks as well as the hotels and Downtown Disney that are worth checking out..
(4/24/09) A huge photo update showing off the latest changes to Downtown Disney, Disneyland and California Adventure has been posted to OriginalD.
(3/31/09) According to the Orlando Sentinel, the Disney Wonder will leave Florida to take roots in a new home at the Port of Los Angeles in 2011. The deal still has to be finalized, but they’re working on a 2 year port deal with a 3 year extension option as long as all works out.
(3/16/09) Disneyland fans take note, Original D has posted a new photo update from the resort this week. This includes a look at a new outside look / paint-test done at the Disneyland Hotel, construction updates, a video of the new 2009 version of the fireworks show and more.
(2/24/09) All new construction pictures from the Disneyland Resort (and both parks) can be seen in the latest update posted to Original D. They’ve got more pictures of construction walls than you can shake a stick at!
(1/23/09) A major new construction update for the entire Disneyland Resort has been posted to Original D.
(1/7/09) It seems Disney is testing out some new color patterns for the Disneyland Hotel. You can see a picture of it posted to MouseTimes, it’s the last picture at the bottom of the page.
(12/16/08) The Disneyland Resort has launched a new Monthly Payment Program for Southern California residents to soften the impact of buying an annual pass. There are a couple of options though, but an example given was that a guest buying a SoCal Select Annual Pass for $134 could pay the regular 1-day price of $69 on the first day and then spread out the payments of the remaining $65 over the next 12 months, dropping the cost down to less than $6 a month at that point.
The new program is only offered to SoCal residents in the 90000 – 93599 zip codes and is payment option on all of the annual passes offered. Currently the program is only available when you sign up in person at the ticket booths, but they plan on launching an online version sometime next year.
(10/17/08) For those fond of the unique food creations found at the Disneyland Resort, DLRToday has launched The Kitchen, a collected list of some of Disneyland’s official recipes. Going one step further, they have asked a professional chef to prepare these dishes and post pictures of the results, resulting in almost a mini Disney version of the Food Network. And yes, they have the famous Monte Cristo Sandwich recipe from the Blue Bayou, a big fan favorite dish.
(10/15/08) The latest Westcoaster update shows off some new vertical construction on that new bakery building next to the giant parking structure.
(10/1/08) Another photo update showing off all the fun Halloween decorations up at the resort has been posted to the DisneyGeek and DLRtoday websites.
(9/30/08) Westcoaster takes a look at Disneyland’s Halloween Time decorations and various construction around the park with a 14 page long photo update.
(9/26/08) According to a report on OriginalD, the successful Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique from Walt Disney World, a fantasy make-over salon for future-princesses, may set up shop in the Disneyland Resort sometime in 2009.
(9/24/08) A huge photo update from Disneyland Resort has been posted to OriginalD this past week showing off many of the small construction projects taking place in both parks.
(9/8/08) A couple of new pictures of the ‘Bakery’ building going in next to the parking structure were posted to Westcoaster. Looks like they’re happy with the framing of the foundation and are preparing to put up the block walls.
(8/25/08) According to an official statement from Disney, Disneyland will actually close down to the public early on October 5th as part of the Miley’s Sweet 16 – Share The Celebration event to celebrate the 16th birthday of Miley Cyrus. Apparently this will also be a fundraiser as tickets to join the party will apparently go on sale on August 30th. The event will take place in Disneyland from 6pm to 11pm, and only 5,000 tickets will be sold for $250 a piece!
In a strange twist, it seems that another big event was also taking place at the Disneyland Resort that same weekend from October 3-5th... the unofficial “Gay Days at Disneyland” event. From what I’ve been told their plans for October 5th all involved California Adventure anyway and while there wont be any conflict I’m sure the crowd mix in the esplanade between the two parks is going to be quite interesting that evening.
(8/20/08) Click this link to see more about the protesting going on over at the Disneyland Hotel where people dressed as Disney characters are being arrested. This is all about a dispute between Disney and the hotel’s labor union, though it seems the union is spending far more time trying to put on a public show through their protesting than negotiating for the employees.
(8/13/08) According to the LA Times, the long standing marketing deal with Disney and McDonalds is quickly coming to an end, which means that you will no longer be buying McDonalds food inside the Disney theme parks. The various food outlets that served them are all set to close for refurbishment after the end of the summer season, though Disney wasn’t ready to announce just what might replace them yet.
(8/3/08) Guests may spot a massive new construction project going on in the ground level parking lot just to the north of the mega-structure. According to pictures posted to WestCoaster this week this is where Disney will build a massive new Central Baking facility that will service not only the entire Disneyland Resort but is being built with enough capacity to supply the Disney Cruise Line when they begin to port on the west coast on a regular basis in the future.
Late 2009 - Grand Californian Expansion - (6/2/09) A good new look at the current status of the Grand Californian expansion can be seen at Westcoaster this week.
(4/7/09) New pictures from the expansion of the Grand Calioforian Resort have been posted to Westcoaster.
(3/10/09) WestCoaster has posted a new construction update from the Grand Californian expansion this week.
(1/27/09) Westcoaster has posted some new photos of the Grand Californian expansion this week.
(1/12/09) Thanks to DisneyGeek for
sending in a new construction picture of the hotel expansion taken last week. This one is taken from inside DCA as you can tell, and you can really see just how large and close to the park the expansion is here.
(12/30/08) According to our sources at DVC News, Disney has sent out letters indicating that they will start selling “points” for the new Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Resort on January 25th. Apparently Disney had also given a written guarantee to DVC owners who bought points from the Disneyland sales site that they would get a 60-day advanced sales window before it was opened to the general public.
(12/22/08) New construction pictures of the Grand Californian expansion wing have been posted to DisneyGeek yesterday.
(11/25/08) Thanks to the DisneyGeek crew for sending in a few new pictures of the Grand Californian expansion. They’ve got lots more to see in their new construction update.
(11/11/08) A look at the Grand California expansion progress can see seen at Westcoaster this week.
(10/22/08) Thanks to DisneyGeek for a new look at the Grand Californian expansion.
(9/24/08) A couple of new Grand Californian construction photos were sent in by the DisneyGeek crew. Head on over to their site to see even more.
(9/8/08) A new look at the construction on the Grand Californian Resort can be seen at Westcoaster today.
(9/3/08) Take a look at the Grand Californian expansion wing from some new angles over at Westcoaster this week.
(9/2/08) Thanks to the DisneyGeek crew for sending in a couple of new pictures of the Grand Californian expansion work.
(8/25/08) The latest peek at the Grand Californian expansion project can be seen over at Westcoaster.
(8/18/08) New construction pictures from the Grand Californian have been posted to WestCoaster this week.
(8/14/08) DVC News has posted a nice interview with an Imagineer behind the Grand Californian expansion who talks about the project and shows off some all new concept artwork as well, including a peek at that top floor fireworks viewing area.
(7/2/08) Photos of the new Grand Califorian Villa Models have been posted to DVCNews.
(9/19/07) The Disneyland Resort announced late yesterday what we all knew was coming, an expansion of the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa that will increase the size of the resort by 30% as well as include the very first Disney Vacation Club (DVC) villas in Anaheim. The project is scheduled to be complete by late 2009 and will add over 200 new hotel rooms and 50 vacation villas that will include kitchens, living and dining areas. The expansion will also add a rooftop viewing deck for the fireworks, a new swimming pool and 300 underground parking spaces. Currently the Grand Californian features 745 rooms and when the expansion is complete, it will feature a total of 995 guest rooms.
Now though 2010 - Disneyland Hotel Renovation - (2/12/08) Renovations on the first of the three towers is expected to begin just before the start of the summer season.
(7/26/07) Apparently approval has been given to start a complete renovation of the existing Disneyland Hotel. This will be a total redecoration from top to bottom, allowing the hotel to reflect the Disney theme inside and out. The planned rehab would begin in the first half of 2008 where they will renovate each of the three towers, one at a time, taking about 9-10 months to complete each one. MiceAge has already reported that the three towers will be renamed as well with new Disney appropriate names. The Marina Tower will become the Magic Tower, the Sierra Tower will become the Dreams Tower and the Bonita Tower will become the Wonder Tower. Hmmm… Disney Magic… Disney Wonder… those names have also been used for the two existing Disney Cruise Line ships. With two more vessels on the way, I can’t help but wonder if one will be named the Disney Dreams. They also mention that the private halls will be renamed as well: El Camino hall will become Frontier hall, Marina Ballroom will become the Magic Kingdom Ballroom along with other related name changes throughout.
(3/6/07) A few more sources have come forward to confirm that Disney is working on plans for a massive extreme makeover of the Disneyland Hotel. I don’t know if the final approval has been given since we heard they had a few options they were considering, including building an entirely new hotel (see bottom rumor) first and then demolishing the original hotel to build a new one from scratch, but all indications seem to imply they’ve gone with the 3 year plan to completely renovate the existing hotel within the same timeframe of expanding the Grand Californian. Renovations on the first of the three towers could start this fall as soon as the busy Summer season is over. As mentioned before, this seems to be a long term three-year plan where they will spend about a year fixing up each of the three hotel towers that make up the Disneyland Hotel. We’ve been told the extreme makeover will take place both inside and outside the towers to make them fit into the themed Disney environment. We’ve also heard that the rooms of one tower may be converted into new themed family sized suites due to the popularity of the Mickey Mouse and Pirates themed rooms already created in the last year.
(3/1/07) Rumor has it that some massive renovation plans may be in the works to fix up and theme all three towers of the Disneyland Hotel. If the rumors are true, this could be a huge long term plan that could drag on for about 3 years starting this fall where they would spend about a year on each tower giving them their own Extreme Makeover. This will apparently include new theming inside and out to tie it into the magic, dreams and fantasy of Disneyland.
???? - New Resort Hotel(s) - In Development - (2/12/08) Blue Sky Disney brings up the subject of adding two more hotels to the Disneyland Resort in the future. In addition to the rumored hotel plans for the Simba lot (next to the Paradise Pier hotel) they also claim that the hotel project along Harbor Blvd that we heard about last year was still in the works. The update mentions that it would provide a nice dramatic visual theme to those traveling down Harbor and serve as a portal to everyone entering the Disneyland Resort Esplanade area in the same fashion of how the Disneyland Hotel in Paris works placed over the park’s main entrance.
(3/19/07) Rumors are running wild about all kinds of possible hotel development projects at the Disneyland Resort. In addition to expanding the Grand Californian, renovating the existing Disneyland Hotel and possibly building a new hotel, we’ve also heard a couple of rumors concerning the future of the Paradise Pier hotel. Proposals have been apparently drawn up for several options for the site ranging from renovation all the way to demolition to build a completely new and themed resort on the property. We’ve also heard that the Del Coronado style concept that was mentioned for the site along Harbor may actually be moved to the parking lot next to the Paradise Pier hotel instead. From memory, I seem to recall seeing plans from back when DCA was under construction showing off the Downtown Disney parking lot as the site for a future “Magic Kingdom” themed hotel as well, but it looks like they don’t’ want to risk closing that lot for the time being.
(2/5/07) There is a good update at O-Meon today that talks a bit about future projects for both Disneyland and California Adventure. Topping the list of items mentioned was a new resort hotel said to be inspired by the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, which was also the inspiration for Disney’s Grand Floridian at Walt Disney World. Unlike the resorts other two hotels, they are eyeballing a site along Harbor Blvd that would remove the tram stop that services the Timon & Pumba lots as well as take up some in-park real estate such as the Hollywood & Dine restaurant building which will allow the resort to have it’s own private entrance into DCA as well.
???? - Anaheim Gardenwalk Resort Hotels - (4/29/08) In an article posted to the OC Register, the resort president teased about building a new 3rd park on their 88 acre site just down Harbor. As for that rumor about Disney possibly being involved with the two hotel projects at the GardenWalk, he did say that Disney is continuing to look into operating the two hotels in the GardenWalk but did not commit to it. Of course the fact that it wasn’t outright denied entirely means that it’s a fairly good chance that this will indeed happen.
(2/5/08) While I said I think it unlikely that Disney would opt in to a plan to build a monorail style system from the Disneyland Resort over to the Anaheim Angles stadium area, we have heard that Disney may have other plans in the works. From what I’ve heard Disney may actually be in talks with the city to get involved with the building of a new transportation system that could connect the main resorts, possibly their hotels, the Anaheim Convention Center, the Gardenwalk project and the 3rd park site together. I have no idea what kind of transportation method may be in the short list of possibilities, but I guess right now the talk is mainly about the possible routes they could take and just what stops would be included. As I mentioned, one line option would connect the Disney Resort hotels and the nearby convention center to system, while the smaller and cheaper alternative would simply be a run from the bus lot down past a possible second parking structure, through the Gardenwalk (which could have Disney branded hotels…) and into the CM lot and 3rd park site. Anyone know more?
(12/11/07) The OC Register reports that a “Prospera Hotels” group turned in proposals to build two 12-story tall hotels (400 rooms and 466 rooms) within the Anaheim GardenWalk development. However there is some speculation that these two hotels may actually be run by Disney due to a confidential agreement Prospera has with an unknown company to actually “run” the resorts for them. I’ve got to admit I heard a rumor along these lines last year but I wasn’t quite sure what do make of it at the time since I knew so little about the GardenWalk project since it evolved from the previous Pointe Anaheim project which was also rumored to have a connection with Disney at one point.
Of course it also makes perfect sense that Disney would be VERY interested in this project since it fits perfectly in the middle of the large piece of land Disney owns off Disney Way that was once the site of the old Grand Hotel before they imploded it. On the south side of the Gardenwalk across Katella is Disney’s off-site CM parking lot which bumps up next to the big open land locked down for a future third theme park. Having a Disney presence within the Anaheim Gardenwalk would make it more like an expansion of Downtown Disney rather than a competitor and provide a nice access path from the current Resort down to where the 3rd park will eventually go.
|
