Disneyland Resort

Games of the Boardwalk, located in the Paradies Pier section of Disney’s California Adventure, reopened this weekend two weeks ahead of schedule. The four midway-style games received a facelift during the lengthy remodel with each of the four games has a new, Disney-inspired theme.

I just love aerial shots of Disneyland, especially old ones from the 50s – 70s where you can noticeably see how the park has evolved throughout the years. I recently came across this aerial shot of the park taken from the north end in August of 1963.

Disney typically does a pretty good job hiding construction and refurbishment projects. Sure the construction walls are not always the most welcoming aesthetic when visiting a Disney park but when they even go so far as to “theme” the walls, it makes for a much more pleasant experience. That can not be said for the current flurry of construction projects going on at Disney’s California Adventure.

Disney has announced that “The Disneyland Story, Featuring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” will reopen later this year. Every since the show was removed four years ago during Disneyland’s 50th Anniversary celebration, Disney purists had wondered when and if Mr. Lincoln would ever return. Now the attraction is scheduled to reopen in conjunction of the celebration of the 200th anniversary year of Abraham Lincoln’s birth.

It’s official – the Disney Gallery which formerly resided above the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction (which is now the exclusive Dream Suite) will find a permanent home in the building that currently houses the Main Street Bank and part of the Opera House lobby.

The bank’s 1955 interior, which has been used primarily for Annual Passholder processing over the last 15 years will be torn out, along with at least half of the Opera House’s lobby.

A home movie from a family’s 1956 trip to the newly opened Disneyland theme park in Anaheim is one of twenty five films to be included in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress as classics and genres from every era of American filmmaking.

Robbins and Meg Barstow, along with their children Mary, David and Daniel were among 25 families who won a free trip to the newly opened Disneyland as part of a “Scotch Brand Cellophane Tape” contest sponsored by 3M.

Out of concerns for rider safety, Disneyland has raised the height requirement for the Splash Mountain log flume ride to one of the highest levels in the amusement park industry. The new “temporary height restriction” for the front seat of Splash Mountain has been raised from 40 inches to 60 inches so the Anaheim theme park can “evaluate options to improve comfort and safety,” Disneyland spokesman Rob Doughty said in a written statement.

It could be result of the current state of our economy, but after months of speculation and several delays, the monthly payment Annual Passport program officially began last Monday, December 11. Now both northern and southern California residents and play now and pay later with a new ‘monthly payment’ Annual Passport plan being offered by Disneyland resort.

Following today’s traditional Presidential pardon ceremony of the National Thanksgiving Turkey in the White House Rose Garden, “Pumpkin” and his alternate “Pecan” are heading to Disneyland. It all begins with a police escort to Dulles International Airport. Then the birds will “fly” First-Class on United Airlines Flight Turkey-1 to their new home at Disneyland Resort in Southern California.

Disney’s Imagineering team has been hard at work refurbishing the Sleeping Beauty Walk-Through Diorama located in Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. Their work is now finished just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. The Diorama is scheduled to re-open tomorrow (Wednesday) at 5pm, just in time to kick off the Thanksgiving holiday.