It’s hard to believe we’re already one full month into 2019 and the Disneyland Resort continues to be a gigantic buzz of activity. From construction on Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge which is set to open this summer to the THREE coinciding festivals (Get Your Ears On, resort-wide; Valentine’s Month, Disneyland; Lunar New Year, Disney California Adventure) there’s a whole lot going on. There’s also a whole new Marvel-themed land in development and continuing updates on the new Pixar Pier area and on the new parking structure.
Plus, the parks are full of off-season refurbishments and enhancements as part of Project Stardust which aims to bring small plussing all around the Resort in anticipation of crowds coming to visit a galaxy far, far away in June.
In this pictorial we’ll get an updated look at work all around the Resort and check out new menus and food items from various locations including the newly re-opend White Water Snacks. Of course, a nice merch run for you at the end and much, much more! ENJOY!
Soundsational Returns
Mickey’s Soundsational Parade has returned to Disneyland Park and it brings with it a few small updates in celebration of Mickey’s 90th Anniversary for the GET YOUR EARS ON celebration.
MORE INFO: FIRST LOOK: Mickey’s Soundsational Parade returns with new opening floats celebrating #Mickey90
AP $1 Refills Return
After a brief disappearance, Disneyland Resort has brought back its $1 popcorn refill program for Annual Passholders. The program allows AP holders to purchase a special refillable bucket that is then qualified for $1 refills for a limited time. This time, the bucket is shaped like a Mickey balloon and decorated to celebrate Mickey’s first ever cartoon, Steamboat Willie! REFILLS AVAILALBLE THROUGH MARCH 7!
MORE INFO: Popcorn refills for $1 return for Disneyland Resort Annual Passholders
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
MORE INFO: News and Information about STAR WARS: GALAXY’S EDGE
Explore Early?
The public won’t get their chance to explore Galaxy’s Edge until June when the new land opens at Disneyland (and then again later in the year a clone of the land opens in Walt Disney World) but Marvel is ready to take you to the planet of Batuu — and specifically the Black Spire Outpost — well ahead of the park expansion via a new comic book series!
MORE INFO: Marvel invites you to get your first look at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge this April!
Pixar Pier
Pixar Pier continues to move along towards completion after grand opening nearly a year ago.
Jessie’s Critter Carousel has new cow-themed decorative elements added to it and scaffolding is down on the top.
Scaffolding is down in Lamplight Lounge, not quite sure what’s changed here.
World of Color platforms were 2/3 submerged.
Looks like the flooring work here in Pixar Pier has wrapped up.
INSIDE OUT: EMOTIONAL WHIRLWIND continues moving along.
Around Disney California Adventure
Disney California Adventure is once again celebrating the Lunar New Year and this year it’s the YEAR OF THE PIG! You can immerse yourself in a bunch of returning favorites including tasty Festival Marketplaces stalls offering unique and bold flavors, beautiful entertainment, and more. ENJOY NOW THROUGH FEBRUARY 17, 2019!
MORE INFO: PICTORIAL: 2019 Lunar New Year at Disney California Adventure brings food, expanded entertainment
The Festival Marketplace stalls have more unique signage than in years previous. These same booths service all of the park’s festivals including Food & Wine and Festival of Holidays.
Grizzly River Run continues along with its refurbishment.
The drying cabins are also gone during the refurbishment. Hopefully they come back with better themed casings to better suit the natural look and feel of the land.
Removal of “a bug’s land” continues to make way for the new Marvel themed land.
Spectacular Mickey Pizza features Mickey-shaped pepperoni with confetti of peppers and onions.
Around Disneyland
Valentine’s Month continues on at the Happiest Place on Earth!
MORE INFO: PICTORIAL: Love is in the air at Disneyland with new Valentine’s Day activities, food, photo-ops
Have you taken your selfie yet in Town Square?
Project Stardust continues along as Main Street’s curbs get re-sloped to remove curbs.
Lovely balloons.
Party hat cones have been added to the flower planters in the hub. Not sure that these look great.
Sleeping Beauty Castle nearly completely covered as roof work gets underway soon.
The new color scheme seems pretty similar.
When there’s a parade going the only viable route into Fantasyland is the Big Thunder Trail, hardly convenient.
The lines to meet princesses are pretty short during parades.
Astro Orbitor is almost completely gone for its refurbishment. It returns a little later this year.
The loading dock for the Mark Twain/Columbia is getting some thorough refurbishment. Could expanded seating and a new entrance be part of the plan?
Lot’s of people trying to get off Tom Sawyer Island.
Jumbo brand dynamite is what’s used by Big Thunder Mining Co.
River Bell Terrace has new menu items that are FANTASTIC choices if you find yourself there. Now through February 18, you can get both of these lovely additions that we hope will stay on past Valentine’s Day. The first is Southern Pork Belly Sliders which feature sweet and spicy crispy pork belly over lettuce with a toasted tun and fresh jalepeno served with fried pickle chips and a spicy aioli. This is a DELICIOUS combination of flavors. Super tasty.
For a romantic finish, you can get the Chocolate Lava Cake with passion fruit sorbet and passion fruit sauce. Yum!
Cookie Butter Monkey Bread should be on the menu longer than the two items above as it’s part of the Get Your Ears on menu items. The location’s regular monkey bread gets covered in cookie butter and vanilla ice cream and then garnished with cookie butter cookies. So, so good!
White Water Snacks Reopens
White Water Snacks has reopened at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa following a refurbishment that redistributed the food presentation areas and drastically upgraded the menu. Unfortunately, the secret menu item that we’ve loved for YEARS is gone from the menu so you can no longer get your hands on a Carnitas Burger with guacamole. =(
The location now features MOBILE ORDER which is a nice touch although in our experience the location is never so busy that this service seems terribly necessary. Hotel guests may find the most utility from this service so that they can mobile order and walk down to pick up their food.
White Water Snacks is open 6 a.m. – 9 p.m. for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The Food
Full look at the menu options at White Water Snacks.
This is the new Chicken Rice Bowl ($14), you can also get it with Beef ($15). It features steamed rice, a vegetable egg roll, a hard-boiled egg, sliced cucumber, green onions, Sriracha aioli, and Togarashi spice. Portion size seems a little small for the price.
Poke Bowls have landed here offering choice of Salmon ($13), Tuna ($13), or Tofu ($12) with choce of white rice or shredded lettuce plus red onion, sliced cucumber, edamame, avocado, green onion, furikake, and Sriracha aioli. Decidedly fresh but still seemingly small portion size for the pricing. Pokinometry just a little further north on Harbor charges almost half for seemingly almost double the amount of food.
Nachos are a hefty portion and served with choice of Beef ($15) or Chicken ($12) with tortilla chips, cheese sauce, guacamole, pico de gallo, roasted jalapeno, queso fresco, crema, green onions, and cilantro.
Artisinal Pizzas remain on the menu and feature options like the Forrest Mushroom Pizza ($23) above which includes roasted mushrooms, vegetarian sausage, mushroom spread, carmelized onions, abd green onoins with fresh mozarella, Grana Padano, and aged provolone cheese. The classic Mickey pepperoni is also available as part of the GET YOUR EARS ON celebration.
Celebrational Cupcakes are also available.
There’s also a BUNCH of grab-and-go items for those needing to refuel on the move…
The Interior
Hotel Guests will find utility in the microwave oven in the restaurant.
Around the Resort
White Water Snacks reopening is just part of the work happening at the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. A new dining lounge area is coming to the pool area that will offer more seating and eating options for guests while they’re at the pool.
Watermelon Lemonade was good but not amazing. If you like Jolly Ranchers you’ll be happy here.
Mickey’s Baked Alaska features chocolate ice cream encased with brûléed meringue and raspberry sauce.
Have you eaten at the new Ballast Point yet?
Black Tap is still well under way.
Black Tap will feature some crazy looking shakes.
Still no visible progress on ESPN Zone, Rainforest Cafe, or the AMC Theatre.
Looks like permanent structures are going up on the Eastern Esplanade security screening area.
Merch Run
Re-usable bags have landed across Disney Parks in an effort to minimize plastic waste from single-use bags. Each park plus World of Disney have their own unique designs.
You can buy the re-usable bags for $1, $1.50 or $2 depending on the size.
Rock the dots!
Love is in the Air
Valentine’s Day has been tied into the #Mickey90 celebration and will be celebrated for just about a month at Disneyland. ENJOY NOW THROUGH FEBRUARY 18, 2019!
MORE INFO: PICTORIAL: Love is in the air at Disneyland with new Valentine’s Day activities, food, photo-ops
GET YOUR EARS ON
GET YOUR EARS ON – A Mickey and Minnie Celebration is a new festival at the Disneyland Resort to celebrate the 90th Anniversary of everyone’s favorite mouse duo. #Mickey90
MORE INFO: PICTORIAL: Disneyland celebration invites you to GET YOUR EARS ON with new offerings
New Nighttime Spectacle
In celebration of the 90th Anniversary of Mickey, Disneyland has debuted a brand new projection show that, on select nights, will also feature fireworks: Mickey’s Mix Magic. The new nighttime spectacle is touted as a high-energy dance party in the park and on weekends and peak days will also be supplemented with fireworks — weather permitting.
MORE INFO: WATCH: Disneyland debuts new ‘Mickey’s Mix Magic’ nighttime spectacle
Hungry for More Mickey?
MORE INFO: FIRST TASTE: Disneyland’s festive menu for ‘Get Your Ears On’ Mickey 90th celebration
QUACK, QUACK, QUACK
ANAHEIM DUCKS DAY is coming to Disney California Adventure to celebrate Anaheim’s hockey team with meet and greets, hockey-themed activities, photo opportunities, special decor and more! ONE DAY ONLY, FEBRUARY 11, 2019!
MORE INFO: ANAHEIM DUCKS DAY brings fans meet and greets, entertainment, treats, and more
Project Stardust
For several months now, if you’ve been checking out the MouseInfo pictorial updates, you’ve seen Disneyland make several small changes around the parks including making walkways wider, planter areas smaller, and increasing queue capacity space. It turns out these small scale projects are actually part of a large scale project that Disney has internally branded Project Stardust!
Save Money in the New Year
Disneyland is currently offering several ways to save a little money and visit the Happiest Place on Earth. Each have various restrictions so you’ll want to find the one that works best for you.
- $60/day; Disneyland Resort. MORE INFO
- $70 ticket offer, hotel discounts; Disneyland Resort MORE INFO
- US military discounts for tickets and hotels; Disneyland, Walt Disney World. MORE INFO
Tee Time!
If you are looking for a way to help support the site so we can continue to bring you more info about the mouse, feel free to browse our TeePublic Store! Aside from tees, you can also find coffee mugs, phone & laptop cases, and more!
Find more designs at our store: mouseinfo.com/tees.
THE END!
love your updates, you have some of the best pictures. Keep it coming
Thanks Ismael, so great to still see your name come up on MouseInfo after all these years! 🙂