Seasons are changing at Disneyland, as both parks quickly switch over from Halloween Time to the Holidays, which officially begin this Friday, November 13. Big seasonal changes are underway at Disneyland, as traditional holiday decorations are modified to accommodate the on-going 60th Anniversary Celebration. Meanwhile, Tomorrowland is getting the biggest changes with the new Star Wars: Season of the Force attractions and experiences quickly coming together. Elsewhere in the parks, Anna and Elsa have enchanted a new window display on Main Street, “it’s a small world” is in full holiday mode, and New Orleans Square is seeing some unfortunate changes yet again.

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!

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We have a jam-packed update for you this week, so let’s get right to it!

Welcome to Disneyland!

Halloween Time has quickly disappeared from Disneyland as the holidays rapidly move in throughout both theme parks.









Holiday Happenings

Main Street, U.S.A.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year and Disneyland is just about fully decorated for the holidays! The Christmas tree is the only major missing feature still on its way, with everything else already up or in the process of going up throughout the park. Wreaths have been added to the 60th anniversary plaques on lampposts along Main Street, U.S.A.

The holiday decorations on Main Street may seem a bit sparse this year but keep in mind that Disneyland’s Christmas tree isn’t in place yet. Also worth noting — the garland across Main Street unfortunately won’t be appearing this year due to the height of the Paint the Night parade floats.



Garland along Main Street buildings has received blue bows, blue ornaments and translucent diamond accents for the ongoing Diamond Celebration.



The wonderful little flower market on Main Street has winter flowers and plants on display.



Main Street vehicles are celebrating the holidays as well



In the hub, new landscaping has gone in and it really looks great.



The new saplings have lights!



While Sleeping Beauty Castle isn’t getting its annual snow overlay this year, the trees in the hub are still getting their “snow” lights, which are illuminated during the snow moments throughout the evening and at the end of fireworks. The trees and shrubs around the Castle, however, did not get their snow lights.



Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle overlay wasn’t installed this year, Disneyland is instead keeping the 60th anniversary overlay up throughout the holiday season. The Castle isn’t skipping Christmas altogether, though; some garland and a wreath has been added for the season.



It’s not much, but it’s a nice enough seasonal addition to the Diamond Celebration overlay



Adventureland

Adventureland doesn’t get much for the holidays beyond its Jingle Cruise ride overlay, which is currently being installed.

Frontierland

Frontierland’s understated and classy holiday decorations are now up.

Big Thunder Ranch at the back of Frontierland was still decorated for Halloween Time over the weekend. Perhaps the final time we’ll ever see this area’s Halloween decorations. Big Thunder Ranch will permanently close in January to make way for the upcoming Star Wars expansion.



New Orleans Square

Meanwhile, New Orleans Square’s Mardi Gras-inspired holiday festivities are well underway…

It’s too bad the symmetry of this street has changed so much due to the Club 33 expansion.



Critter Country

Critter Country’s wonderful and charming holiday decorations are up as well…

Fantasyland

In Fantasyland, the holidays are in full swing at “it’s a small world,” where the attraction’s popular seasonal overlay is already open and delighting guests.

This is one of my personal favorites of Disneyland’s great holiday season. A perfect seasonal experience.









Take a full ride-through of the 2015 version of the attraction below:



Mickey’s Toontown

Steps away from “it’s a small world,” Mickey’s Toontown is all decked out for the season as well.

Buena Vista Street

Over at Disney California Adventure, Buena Vista Street is getting ready for the holidays. The street is now lined with garland and the Christmas tree is up, but the Santa Claus meet-and-greet and holiday window displays aren’t yet installed.

Buena Vista Street during the holidays is some of the best Christmas the resort has to offer.



Cars Land

Cars Land was only partially decorated over the weekend.

Beyond the Parks

In Downtown Disney, Olaf’s Frozen Ice Rink and the Winter Village is currently under construction and should be open by next weekend.

Nearby, a pop-up Ghirardelli Chocolate shop has opened next to the Disney Vacation Club preview center next to AMC Theatres.



The shop is small but will help you get your chocolate shopping done without having to go into Disney California Adventure.



At the Grand Californian Hotel, the pastry team is building their 2015 gingerbread house.



Frozen enchants Main Street

On Main Street, the latest Enchanted Window has been unveiled. The new window, themed to “Frozen,” is on the south-facing facade of the Emporium. The new window is another nice addition but is unfortunately a bit underwhelming compared to the earlier enchanted windows, especially those like the Peter Pan or Princess and the Frog displays.



A hard-to-see projection shows Olaf daydreaming of summer.











Elsa’s ice palace is seen in the distance



The window changes, showing Anna, Kristof and Sven in the spring.



Take a look at the window in action with our video below:



Preparing for Launch (Bay)

In Tomorrowland, Disneyland is quickly finalizing its new offerings for the upcoming Star Wars Season of the Force promotion. So far, the facade changes and signage seem fairly low-rent for Disneyland but hopefully the new Launch Bay, Hyperspace Mountain, and other experiences reflect a much higher quality inside.



This new “Season of the Force” marquee showed up Sunday, on the Matterhorn-side of the Tomorrowland Terrace.



New lighting fixtures have been installed (but are currently covered up) along the defunct Peoplemover track for Season of the Force.



The Tomorrowland Terrace stage is now behind tarps as it gets reworked for the new version of the Jedi Training Academy show.













The Tomorrowland Expo Center (formerly Innoventions) now has signage for Star Wars Launch Bay and the Super Hero HQ. These two attractions in the same building will have separate entrances, with guests entering on the lower level of the building for Star Wars and on the second level for Super Hero HQ.



Presented by Hewlett Packard



Will a “Tomorrowland Expo Center” marquee be installed here?



Nearby, the Hyperspace Mountain signage has been stuck over the existing Space Mountain sign.



It wasn’t designed to fit into the existing Space Mountain marquee, so it’s just stuck on top. Nice.



The awkward triangle Ghost Galaxy sign has made way “Season of the Force”-branded signage.



Next door, the Tomorrowland Theater now has signage for the upcoming Star Wars clip show, “Star Wars: Path of the Jedi.”



Star Wars Season of the Force officials opens November 16.



Refurbishment Round-up

A look at refurbishment projects underway in both parks…

Construction Kingdom

The path between Fantasy Faire and Frontierland is still behind walls…

In Tomorrowland, the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage marquee has been swapped out for a temporary cut-out while the main sign gets some work.



New Orleans Square changes

In New Orleans Square, a new bridge between the French Market and the New Orleans Square railroad station has been installed. The OC Register recently reported that the temporary bridge was built to support electrical and pipes while the New Orleans Square facilities get upgrades to their infrastructure.

Thankfully the bridge is temporary and only expected to last a few months, as it is not only ugly but also contributes to the congestion of an area that constantly suffers from crowd flow issues.



At least they tried to make it match with the area’s color scheme and added some bunting to help it blend in with New Orleans Square.



Nearby, Le Bat en Rouge is currently closed.



Across the street, barricades that kept a Club 33 emergency exit pathway between Cristal d’Orleans and the portrait artists have finally been replaced by themed bollards and chains. Looks good.



California Changes

In Disney California Adventure, work continues on the Cove Bar expansion

This & That

In Downtown Disney, the LEGO Store has a LEGO sculpture of the College Football Playoff statue on display



The new “28 & Main” line of trendy mens clothing based on Disney theme park attractions and lands has rolled out at Disneyland.





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Weekly News & Information Round-Up Weekly Theme Park Hours

November 9-15, 2015 Amazon.com Widgets [B]Disneyland Park[/B] [B]California Adventure[/B] Mon.-Tue.: 9 am – 9 pm

Wednesday: 8am – 12am

Thursday: 9 am – 10 pm

Fri.-Sun.: 9 am – 12 am Mon.-Tue.: 9 am – 8 pm

Wednesday: 8am – 10pm

Thursday: 9 am – 8 pm

Friday: 9 am – 10 pm

Saturday: 9 am – 11 pm

Sunday: 9 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] Jungle Cruise: Closed November 2-12 to install holiday overlay.

Closed November 2-12 to install holiday overlay. Space Mountain: Closed November 2-13 to remove Ghost Galaxy overlay and install Hyperspace Mountain overlay.

Closed November 2-13 to remove Ghost Galaxy overlay and install Hyperspace Mountain overlay. Tomorrowland Expo Center: Former Innoventions building reopens with new Star Wars Launch Bay and enhanced Super Hero HQ on November 16, 2015.

Former Innoventions building reopens with new Star Wars Launch Bay and enhanced Super Hero HQ on November 16, 2015. Starcade: Closed indefintely.

Closed indefintely. Tomorrowland Theatre: Closed indefintely. [b][center]Disney California Adventure[/center][/b] Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters: New attraction opens early 2016.

New attraction opens early 2016. [B]Blue Sky Cellar:[/B] Closed indefinitely. [b][center]Downtown Disney and Disneyland Resort Hotels[/center][/b] None. November 9-15

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun Get ready for the holidays – and the biggest crowds of the year. We’re updating our projections constantly through New Year’s Day. Activate Tomorrowplan in the Mouseaddict app to plan your holiday visit.

It looks like it’ll be a bit chilly at times this week, so bring a scarf and your holiday best.

Have you checked out the new Wait Watcher feature in Mouseaddict? When you don’t want to wait in a long queue, just tell us how long you’re willing to wait. Wait Watcher will notify you when the wait time reaches that time. Only in Mouseaddict. 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] Disney profit rose 12% over the last fiscal year thanks to ESPN, theme parks. (NY Times)

Disneyland’s 2016 Rose Parade float will celebrate Diamond Celebration and feature Star Wars, Frozen. (Disney Parks Blog)

Disneyland has released a full list of special holiday menu items available this holiday season. (Disney Parks Blog)

A recent car fire in Disneyland’s parking structure was quickly extinguished by firefighters (ABC7)

Anaheim is set to get a new luxury hotel built where the current Anaheim Plaza Hotel sits. (OC Register)

OK, that’s it for this week’s big holiday update. Are you ready for not only the holidays but Star Wars in Tomorrowland? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section! Special thanks to our Dateline Disneylanders!

A very special thank you to all of our Patreon supporters for their monthly support keeping Dateline Disneyland alive, especially our special top-tier supporters: Kendra H., Brian A., Dusty Sage,

Benjamin, Mark D., Bruno, and Casey! To help support Dateline Disneyland and get some fun swag in return, visit our Patreon page now! 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!

[B]- Andy[/B]





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