What's Happening At Disneyland May 1 - 31, 2011
General Disneyland Resort Information:
Temperatures in Anaheim are back to normal now and it is not raining everyday so enjoy your fun in the sun. Temperatures are in the 70's so quite manageable during the day and even after dark.
If it does rain though it is important to know the following:
Fact: Fantasmic! will be cancelled if it rains because of live performers.
Fact: Fireworks are not cancelled due to rain, but if there is wind, they will be cancelled as well.
Fact: World of Color is not supposed to cancel in the rain, but on Wednesday March 23rd it was cancelled. It poured for hours that day.
Soft Openings - yes they may start happening. As the month progresses watch for them on The Little Mermaid and Goofy's Sky School. A soft opening means that the ride may be open for a short time each day for you to ride. If you get to enjoy any of these attractions, let us know what you think! There is an AP pre ride on May 23rd - so look for Star Tours soft openings after that!
Fact: Star Tours will have Fastpass!
Fact: The Little Mermaid will NOT have Fastpass.
Fact: There are A LOT of refurbs coming up. The list is at the bottom.
Disney's California Adventure:
May 7, 2011 California Adventure will be open until 11pm and an additional World of Color show will be added due to the Red Carpet Event and the early closure of Disneyland.
Boards, Boards, Boards - Due to all of the construction at Disney's California Adventure you will see boards up just about everywhere you go!
A good bit of these boards will be removed in the next month or so since some new attractions are due to open on June 3rd. Toward the end of May, or earlier if they decide to do 'soft openings' you may see the boards come down near the Little Mermaid and Goofy's Sky School in the Paradise Pier area.
The entrance is boarded up, so watch the ENTER signs - they change direction during the day as the entrance and exits change to meet demand. Pictures of what DCA will look like when construction is complete are on these boards, keep an eye out for those.
This area and the former Sun Plaza area will remain boarded up until the new entrance is complete next year.
ElecTRONica happens every Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot.
Grizzly River Run Fastpass machines are still being used for World of Color Fastpass Tickets. Get in line early - it does move fast.
The Cars Land entrance has new signage, and during the day you just may find Mater and Lightning McQueen here for a picture opportunity. The sign looks beautiful at night.
Catch a Flave - the ice cream store in Paradise Pier no longer exists. No more flavorful ice cream cones. There is still ice cream, but now it is vanilla, chocolate or twist.
Goofy's Sky School/Mulholland Madness - still closed, due to open in June with the change to Goofy's Sky School. The rails have been painted blue and the bill boards painted over but that is all that is currently visible.
The Little Mermaid is coming along nicely. King Triton is now visible along the facade. Boards are still surrounding this area. This will also open in May.
Paradise Pier is now a one way walk way. It ends just after Mickey's Fun Wheel where it is boarded up. On the other side it is boarded up just after the Silly Symphony Swings.
Sun Plaza no longer exists, and that area is heavily boarded up. The walkway from the entrance to Wine Country Trattoria is boarded on both sides.
Disneyland:
May 7th, 2011 Disneyland will be closing early because of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie Red Carpet Event. Disneyland will open at 7:00am with NO Magic Morning that day. They will then close at 5pm for the private event.
Pirates of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides Sneak Peak in the Festival Arena happens each weekend through the end of May.
Fantasmic! will return on May 14th for weekend only appearances on the 14th and 15th, 20th - 22nd and then for Memorial Day it will run May 27th through June 1st.
Mickey's Soundsational Parade will begin on May 27th and run once each afternoon and evening. Check your times guide for the parade times. Currently they are scheduled for 4:00 and 6:30 but these times may change.
Star Tours and the Starcade are still boarded up. The new improved Star Tours is due to open in June, and rumor has it that it WILL have fastpass. Look for the boards to come down mid to late May as they prepare for opening. And watch for 'soft openings' if you are there in May. Star Tours is scheduled to open on June 3rd.
Splash Mountain is boarded up and down for refurbishment through May 27th.
Winnie the Pooh and the Critter Country Store may close early while you are there. Visit early in the day. Last week it closed at 6:30pm due to lack of crowds with Splash Mountain closed. This is also a good reason to ride Winnie the Pooh. Very short wait times - around 5 minutes!
Live animals have been seen on Jungle Cruise at night. What will YOU see?
Due to the crowds, Characters can be found all throughout Disneyland. You just may even find a Princess on the Sleeping Beauty Castle trails again, just like it used to be before Princess Fantasy Faire.
Rapunzel's Tower is beautiful. Warning - her queue will reach 90 minutes before she even arrives, and once it does, the queue is closed until 1pm. If you want to see Rapunzel, get in the line early. You may even get to see Flynn at the same time. This is Disney's newest Princess and she is in very high demand.
Ride Refurbs For May and a June Sneak Peek:
Disneyland:
Due to the Pirates special event, the following will be closed from May 1st until May 13th:
Mark Twain
Sailing Ship Columbia
The Davy Crocket Explorer Canoes
Tom Sawyer Island
All Main Street Vehicles will be closed May 6th and 7th
The Walt Disney Story will be closed May 7th.
Gadget's Go Coaster will be closed May 2nd through the 12th.
Indiana Jones will be closed on May 17th and 18th - look for this to be a longer refurb because of all the issues Indy has had lately, but at this time it is just down for the two days.
Big Thunder will be down May 31 through June 9th
And the June Sneak Peek -
Matterhorn Bobsleds will be closed in two phases - June 13 through 16 for phase 1, and June 20th through 23rd for phase 2.
Splash Mountain will remain closed until May 27th.
Disney's California Adventure:
Mulholland Madness will remain closed until June 3rd for the conversion to Goofy's Sky School.