Construction continues on the major Club 33 expansion in Disneyland but most guests facing the project’s significant impact on the streets of New Orleans Square won’t event be able to enjoy the final product when the club reopens later this year. Still, New Orleans Square’s La Masquerade d’Orleans shop will mercifully lose its designation as a pin tradition location and be stocked with themed merchandise starting later this summer. Meanwhile, refurbishments in Tomorrowland continue and Fantasyland‘s Alice in Wonderland project continues, with enhancements being added inside while fall safety changes take place outside. We also take a look at a new attraction in Downtown Anaheim, just two miles away from the park, that could be a good lunch or dinner option for Disneyland visitors.

Don’t miss your weekly Disneyland Resort crowd forecast — provided by our friends at MouseAddict — in the Weekly News and Information Roundup at the end of today’s update!

Get a closer look at today’s update! Click on any photo in today’s blog to see a larger, high-resolution version.

We’ve got another big update this week, so let’s get started right away!





Welcome to Disneyland!

The summer season is now in full swing with big crowds expected this week (see MouseAddict’s Tomorrowplan at the bottom of today’s update for crowd forecasts)



Despite the heat and crowds, the parks look gorgeous, save for a few things which we’ll get to later in today’s update.



Everybody’s favorite fortune teller, Esmerelda



Balloon vendors have been selling new Captain America: The Winter Soldier for a couple weeks now.











A look at some wait times Saturday afternoon. Get ready for crowds for the parade to get even bigger starting later this week as the new Frozen-themed pre-parade starts running on Friday, June 13.



Jungle Cruise’s regular wait time sign is missing but in the mean time a temporary one is out with a mini elephant-shaped chalkboard for wait times. A nice touch for just a temporary thing.



Over at Disney California Adventure…











A look at DCA wait times Saturday afternoon



Unfortunately, the Carthay Circle terrazzo still looks bad and is getting worse…



Kingdom Construction

[center]Fenced In[/center]

Still no visible progress on the new Victorian-themed corridors behind Main Street that will open this fall to help ease crowd flow.



First Aid is still located at the end of Main Street, but will soon move to the Main Street lockers space to allow for a remodel of the First Aid facility and Wish Lounge.



[center]Members Only[/center]

In Disneyland, New Orleans Square remains a construction zone until later this summer as work continues on the expanded Club 33.



Orleans Street is still closed for now, but the streets of New Orleans Square will at least partially reopen later this month and the La Mascarade d’Orleans will reopen with a new selection of French-themed curios and jazz CDs. It makes sense to remove the pin trading from this store and update it with nicer, more upscale merchandise as it will directly face Club 33’s new main entrance. (Club 33’s new main entrance will be taking over the former Christmas ornament store, L’Ornament Magique.)



The new bridge across Orleans Street between the original Club 33 and the new Jazz Club built in the space over the French Market is still under construction, with bare wood still available.



A balcony door at the new Club 33 Jazz Lounge was open but nothing was really visible from ground level.



On the backside of the French Market…



Some walls came down, revealing a refreshed facade



The balcony that was previously belonged a voodoo priestess has been stripped and the background audio is off. It could still come back, but may be gone because of the new Jazz Lounge.



Just a wicker chair is left.



New Orleans Square rooftop construction…



Nearby in New Orleans Square, the unfortunate Jack, Sally and Maleficent photo-op thing has been rolled out again in front of Port Orleans after mercifully being gone for the past few years.



The thing was removed when this shop changed from the Le Bat en Rouge villains and Nightmare Before Christmas shop to an overflow Pirates of the Caribbean shop in 2006 when Jack Sparrow was added to the Pirates ride. The Le Bat en Rouge shop moved down the street and was a dedicated Nightmare Before Christmas shop until recently.



The Port Orleans shop has gone through several changes since, including a trendy girls’ Disney clothing shop. With the recent surge of Haunted Mansion merchandise (and more on the way), the shop is now a half-Nightmare and half-Haunted Mansion shop, but the its name is still Port Orleans. Le Bat en Rouge down the street now stocks the trendy girls’ clothing.











Inside, the shop has some minor decorations to make it “spooky” to go along with the Haunted Mansion/Nightmare Before Christmas merchandise.











[center]Alice in Blunderland[/center]

In Fantasyland, work continues on the new, expanded outdoor portion of the ride track at the Alice in Wonderland dark ride.











Looks like a new addition to the rock work will be added just to make sure no falling happens.



[center]Out to Dry[/center]

In Tomorrowland, the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage is still dry as its refurbishment continues…



[center]Space Junk[/center]

Space Mountain is closed for refurbishment, set to reopen July 4.



Hopefully an exterior refurbishment will also happen while the attraction is closed because it desperately needs it.



[center]See Ya Later, Trashcans![/center]

Another round of Captain EO closure rumors recently sprung up, this time with a June 17th closure date. If you’re an EO fan, you may want to save the world one last time…











The 3D theater won’t be closed for good — rumor has it that we’ll be Marveling at a different part of the Galaxy by the Fourth of July.

Update 6/9/14 1:30 p.m.: Disney confirmed the rumors and announced Captain EO would temporarily close to make way for a 3D preview for Marvel’s upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy film. Although Disney says Captain EO will return, no return date was released. The Guardians of the Galaxy sneak preview is officially set to open July 4.

[center]Pierfecting…[/center]

Over in Disney California Adventure, still no real progress at the structure on Paradise Pier.



[center]Dry Run[/center]

Meanwhile, Grizzly River Run will reopen late next week following its refurbishment.



Merch Madness

In Downtown Disney, World of Disney’s collectibles room has reopened after a quick remodel.



The space is a lot more open now, with only one bank of cash wraps.



The villains theme for the room has been removed and new Disney fairies lights have been added and various characters on the cash registers.











Around the store, a couple more new Florida Orange Bird items have shown up to join the selection of recent Orange Bird items that’s part of the larger Adventureland line. A glass juice pitcher.



A set of four juice cups



A new Mickey Mouse pillow



Further back in Downtown Disney, the WonderGround Gallery debuted a really great new SHAG painting over the weekend. In addition to the pricey canvas prints, smaller prints, magnets, postcards and mugs are available.



If you missed out on SHAG’s great 50th anniversary and Tiki Room 40th pieces, you have a second chance now at the WonderGround Gallery.



In Disney California Adventure, a couple new items…



A new Oswald plush is available at the Filling Station



New Oswald pin lanyard











Fun new Buena Vista Street charm keychain



In Condor Flats, a new line of Soarin’ merchandise is available. Of course, it was designed to sell at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, so it’s all just branded as “Soarin'” and not “Soarin’ Over California.”



Over in Cars Land, some additional new land-specific items have hit the shelves… It’s great to see them keeping up with adding new land-specific merchandise here.











Fresh Packed

Outside of berm and not far from Disneyland, Downtown Anaheim recently reopened its old Sunkist packing facility as part of its major multi-year downtown revitalization. The Anaheim Packing House has been transformed into a big “food hall,” with multiple dining locations open and more on the way.



The Anaheim Packing House amounts to what is basically a trendy food mall but it’s a delightful, bright space with great food options, a great sense of community, and free WiFi — and it’s all only just ~2 miles from Disneyland. If you’re a local, this is a great spot to stop for a meal before or after a park visit. If you’re visiting Anaheim for a multi-day Disneyland vacation, I highly recommend taking a break from the parks for lunch here one afternoon — the Anaheim Packing House opens at 10:30 a.m. daily.



Not everything inside is completely open yet, but quite a few spots are and everything we’ve tried here is fantastic and there’s even more on the way.





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Weekly News & Information Round-Up Weekly Theme Park Hours

Junse 9 — 15, 2014 [B]Disneyland Park[/B] [B]California Adventure[/B] Mon.-Thur.: 8 am – 12 am

Fri.-Sat.: 9 am – 12 am

Sunday: 8 am – 12 pm Mon.-Thur.: 8 am – 10 pm

Fri.-Sat.: 9 am – 10 pm

Sunday: 8 am – 10 pm [CENTER]

visit the For a complete listing of theme park hours,visit the Disneyland.com Theme Park Calendar [center] Closure and Refurbishment Schedule [/center] [b][center]Disneyland Park[/center][/b] [B]Captain EO/Magic Eye Theater:[/B] Closed June 18 through July 3.

[B]Space Mountain:[/B] Closed through July 3 for refurbishment.

[B]Alice in Wonderland:[/B] Closed through July 3, 2014 for enhancements and safety redesign of outdoor portion of ride track.

[B]Matterhorn Bobsleds:[/B] Closed August 25-November 13 for refurbishment.

[B]Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage:[/B] Closed through September 26, 2014 for major refurbishment. [b][center]Disney California Adventure[/center][/b] [B]Grizzly River Run:[/B] Closed through June 19, 2014 for refurbishment.

[B]Blue Sky Cellar:[/B] Listed as reopening July 1, 2014 on Cast Member document. [b][center]Downtown Disney and Disneyland Resort Hotels[/center][/b] Napa Rose Restaurant: Closed for kitchen renovation starting in early August. June 9 — 15, 2014

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

SAT

SUN Summer is here, and we’re seeing lots of red in our Addictometers. We’re seeing peak crowding in the late afternoon and early evening hours.

And as those summer crowds arrive, we’re seeing Fastpasses distributed very early in the day. If you want to use Fastpass, plan to get them in the morning.

Grad Nites are nearing the end, and this week there is an extra celebration. Grad Nites are Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

Hotels are sold out at the beginning of the week and very busy at the weekend.

For next week’s crowd projections, check out the new Tomorrowplan feature in the Mouseaddict app. The free Mouseaddict app for iPhone and iPad features more than five dozen categories of searchable resort information, weather forecasts, park and show schedules, the latest news and articles from MiceChat, and more. Download free on the App Store or at mouseaddict.com. [center] Headline Roundup

A quick look at noteworthy Disney theme park headlines from around the web.[/center] How Harry Potter helped franchise fever catch on at theme parks. (Variety)

Theme park attendance grew worldwide in 2013, with Disneyland up 1.5%, Magic Kingdom up 6%, & Tokyo Disneyland up 15.9% (LA Times)

Disney set to release aroun 100 new Haunted Mansion-themed items to celebrate attraction’s 45th anniversary. (Disney Parks Blog)

Alright, that wraps up this week’s update. What do you think of this summer’s ongoing refurbishment and construction projects? Will you take a break from the parks and check out the Anaheim Packing District? Let us know in the comments section below! Dateline Disneyland is only here because of you. We’ve been able to bring Dateline Disneyland to you each week because of your generous donations. Consider helping us out by donating via PayPal, click here! For more Disneyland news, be sure to read MiceChat’s weekly In the Parks blog. And be sure to check out our sister blog, Dateline Disney World – a fantastic weekly photo blog covering Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida! Thanks for reading. See you at Disneyland!

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