Tag: disneyland

5 Ways to Enjoy Halloween Time at Disneyland Resort Hotels

Spooky fun and full of delight, the Hotels of the Disneyland Resort have terrifyingly tasty treats, amazing displays and ghostly entertainment, all sure-fire ways to extend the Halloween Time experience, before, during or after a great day at the parks.

Here are five Frightfully fun ways to enjoy Halloween Time at the hotels of the Disneyland Resort.

Enjoy the Spook-tacular Seasonal Decor: In the lobby of Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa is a “spook-tacular” edible display of Halloween pumpkins. These pumpkins take a ghoulish form with Oogie Boogie, and are built from cereal treats, icing, chocolate, and fondant. Our talented pastry chefs used over 200 pounds of icing, 100 pounds of chocolate, and 300 pounds of fondant to create these incredible pumpkins. See if you can find the 13 Hidden Mickeys throughout the display!

Also during Halloween Time, experience ghoulish décor surrounding the Disneyland Hotel and discover the swashbuckler in you at the pirate-themed Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel. The pirates have hoisted the Jolly Roger flag in the lobby, calling all buccaneers for fun at “Pirates Pier”!

Exclusive Trick-or-Treating for Hotel Guests: On select afternoons from October 2 through October 31, overnight guests of the Hotels of the Disneyland Resort are invited to drop in for a howling good time and exclusive, complimentary trick-or-treat festivities. Together, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, the Disneyland Hotel, and Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel will have a treat map of locations, so little ghosts and goblins (and their parents) can visit all three hotels. The hotels are offering activities such as coloring pages, bat mask decorating and create-your-own pirate hat. Cookie decorating kits are also available for a fee. Hotel guests are encouraged to sign up at the Guest Services desk.

Surprise Your Family With an In-Room Pumpkin Bucket: Plan a Halloween-themed surprise with goodies delivered right to your Disneyland Resort hotel room. These Halloween Treats Pumpkin Buckets can be specially arranged with the magic-makers from Disney Floral & Gifts for your favorite ghost or goblin. The amenity delivery starts with a light-up Mickey pumpkin bucket filled with ghostly treats with a one-of-a-kind Halloween-themed keepsake with a Mickey Mouse pumpkin light-up lanyard.

Taste (and Photograph!) Yummy Halloween Treats: At Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, you’ll find a holiday cart in the lobby serving up some scary and sweet Mickey-shaped cookies featuring iconic Halloween-inspired decorations. This cart is also serving up Halloween whoopie pies, jumbo cake pops, pretzel rods, a cookie box with Witch Finger cookies, and pumpkin pound cake. At The Coffee House at the Disneyland Hotel, you can find a chocolate Bat Cookie. Across all three hotels, the Red Poison Apple Glow Cube can be found at restaurant or quick service locations. The flavors of fall have arrived as well, with Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Surfside Lounge at Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel and Pumpkin Muffins at The Coffee House at the Disneyland Hotel.

Check out Eerie Musical Entertainment: Ghostly a capella performers, the Skeletones and the Cryptix, stroll and perform throughout the hotels of the Disneyland Resort, as well the Scareolers in Downtown Disney. Enjoy harmonizing tunes such as “I Put a Spell on You” and “Grim Grinning Ghosts.”

September 20, 2018
Tips For Dining at Disney Parks with Celiacs Disease

If you have Celiacs Disease, then you know going on vacation can be stressful having to plan around where and what you can eat. What you may not know is that Walt Disney World Resort is committed to offering a wide range of culinary and dietary options for all its Guests.

Many Disney restaurants now offer allergy-friendly menus to address various food intolerances including Celiacs, offering many gluten-free options — often with no advance arrangements!

In 2017 I was diagnosed with Celiac, I thought for sure my food adventure at Disney was coming to an end.

The first time I went to Disney after my diagnoses I was greeted by a very knowledgeable server at Cape May Café who knew exactly what accommodations needed to be made to allow to me enjoy a worry free meal. He walked me through the menu and then brought the chef out to chat with me about substitutions (what were the options?). This type of service encouraged me to write about conquering Disney with Celiac.

Some of my favorite gluten-free treats at Disney are the Mickey waffles (Found at quick service and table service restaurants), gluten-free beignets (found at Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter) and the gluten-free Churro (found at the Nomad Lounge in Animal Kingdom)

With any allergy there are a few tricks you need to know before you go. If you have an allergy at this time you cannot pre-order your meal on My Disney Experience. If you are an adult sharing a plate with a child under 3 and that child has a food allergy, you will need to order your food to the child’s needs, without the allergen. Disney is extremely careful about cross contamination, so they will not serve a gluten-free waffle next to gluten containing items. When dining at a quick service location, I would suggest that you send one adult ahead of the party so they can start the order for the person with the food allergy. It takes additional time to prep and cook an allergen free meal, so keep this in mind while you are making FastPass+ reservations well. Your dining experience will be extended by at least 10 minutes in my experience.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions, the food and beverage cast members take a course on food allergy safety. If all else fails they have a great big ol’ book of cheat sheets! A chef will greet you at your table and either escort you through the buffet or guide you through the menu, even at the resort food courts that will walk you through the options and explain the process of food substitutions.

When a guest with food allergies makes a reservation through Enchanted Kingdom Vacations a note is added to your file notating the allergy. Then your allergy is noted on each dining reservation your knowledgeable agent books for you. This makes sure your vacation is just as delightful and delicious as the rest of your family (how?). There are even allergy free cleaning products that will be used for your resort room during your stay! Even the H2O bath products are soy and gluten-free (yes, gluten is a common ingredient in shampoo).

Contact me today to set up your next magical vacation! When Dining at Disney you are in extremely safe and knowledgeable hands!

September 18, 2018
Earl of Sandwich Returns to Disneyland Resort For a Limited Time

Disney just announced, Earl of Sandwich will be opening in its original location for a limited time in Downtown Disney District at Disneyland Resort.

The popular fast-casual restaurant—inspired by John Montagu, the Earl who invented the sandwich in 1762—will be returning soon. You can enjoy all your favorites from their famous hot sandwiches on artisan breads to hand-crafted wraps and a variety of freshly-tossed salads.

Watch for more exciting Downtown Disney news this fall as Disney welcomes Salt & Straw scoop shop to the area. In the coming weeks, and they will also be celebrating the reimagined World of Disney store and the newly-renovated Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria – both of which are still open during renovations.

In coming months, Ballast Point and Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes will also make their debut.

September 16, 2018
New Cotton Candy Spirit Jersey Is The Next Sweetest Must Have

Disney Parks has been on a streak of releasing all sorts of merchandise in the trendiest news colors including; Iridescent, Millennial Pink and Rose Gold. Now Disney is setting the newest fab fad color trend with the release of The Cotton Candy Spirit Jersey.

These new Cotton Candy Spirit Jerseys are what sweet dreams are made of and come in gorgeous pastel tie-dye with rainbow glitter text.

These cute jerseys would go perfectly the rainbow cotton candy when your in the park, but you’ll be wearing this one even when you’re at home!

The Cotton Candy Spirit Jersey will be coming to Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort this month.

September 12, 2018
Today in Disney History: September 11, 2001 – Disney Parks Close

On September 11, 2001, at 8:45 a.m., the world changed forever when four hijacked planes were used to attack The United States. On this day we remember the thousands who died in the terror attacks as well as the heroic actions of the first responders who risked their lives to save others.

As news of the horrific attacks spread across the world Disney officials took action. At Walt Disney World an announcement was made over the public address system:” … Due to circumstances beyond our control, the Magic Kingdom is now closed. Please follow the direction of the nearest Cast Member.” It took less than 30 minutes to evacuate thousands of guests from the theme parks.

At Disney World, Cast Members in all 4 parks are instructed to hold hands and form a human wall and gently (without touching guests) walk towards the hub of each park and eventually towards the exit. This calmly forced all guests out of the parks. Security followed each human wall to make sure no one gets past.

Almost instantly the government moved to secure the airspace over this potential terrorism target. Gunships flew above the park armed with military personnel, ready to defend if necessary.

“In an abundance of caution, Walt Disney World resort has made the decision to close its theme parks, water parks, shopping, entertainment and recreation complexes,” a Disney statement said.

The Walt Disney World Resort in Florida closed without incident. Disneyland Resort, which had not yet opened when the attacks occurred and thus was able to remain closed for the day.

All the resort hotels remained open and provided accommodations to guests who are unable to leave. Phone charges were suspended so that guests could reach family. The closures marked only the second time Disneyland had locked its gates in its 56-year history due to a national tragedy. The first time followed the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November 1963. Walt Disney World had previously only closed for Hurricane Floyd in 1999.

Michael Eisner released a statement to Cast Members explaining the Disney closings. “Finally let me say our company around the world will continue to operate in this sometimes violent world in which we live, offering products that reach to the higher and more positive side of the human equation.” the statement read.

Like hundreds of other families around the world, Disney also lost one of its own when John Beug, a former vice president at Walt Disney Records, lost his life as a passenger on the plane that struck 1 World Trade Center.

Each year, to commemorate Patriot’s Day, a special Flag Retreat ceremony is held on Main Street. 2,983 people were killed in the horrific attacks as well as hundreds more who risked their lives to save others and all who demonstrated extraordinary compassion in the aftermath of the attacks and we will never forget!

September 11, 2018
Barack Obama Says He Was Booted From Disneyland For Smoking Cigarettes

Former President Barack Obama spoke at a rally in Anaheim, California, on Saturday afternoon to support seven Democratic congressional candidates, but he had the audience laughing as he recanted a story about how he was kicked out of Disneyland for smoking with his friends.

Dating himself a little bit, Obama stated he was in college at the time and was attending a Kool and the Gang concert at the park. When the concert was over he and his friends decided to take a ride on the gondolas and were smoking on the ride. “These were cigarettes, people,” he added, as the crowd laughed.

He recalled two large officers meeting them at the end of the ride who proceeded to escort Obama and his friends out of the park for breaking the rules. “This is a true story, everybody,” he said. “I was booted from the Magic Kingdom.”

Obama remembers that the guards told him he could come back to the park at any time. The company’s policy hasn’t changed much over the years it seems as Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger got in on the fun and took to Twitter Saturday backing up securities statement.

@BarackObama just opened his speech in Anaheim with a story from his college years about getting kicked out of Disneyland for smoking cigarettes on a ride. “This is a true story everybody, I was booted from the Magic Kingdom!” He can always come back, as long as he doesn’t smoke!

— Robert Iger (@RobertIger) September 8, 2018

Take look at video below to hear Obamas story in his own words.

The 44th president made his Disneyland comments at a campaign rally intended to help the Democrats take back the House of Representatives in the November election. Obama has largely stayed out of the spotlight since leaving office, but he’s been more active on the political scene over the past couple days.

At Saturday’s event in Anaheim, Obama encouraged voters to take off their “bedroom slippers” and put on their “marching boots.”

September 9, 2018
13 ‘Spooktacular’ Halloween Time Photo Moments at the Disneyland Resort
Halloween Time returns to the Disneyland Resort with fun festivities, spooky sights and dreadful delights. Guests won’t want to miss this “Spooktacular” season, which runs from Sept. 7 through October 31, 2018. These 13 photo moments will make any Halloween Time visit picture perfect.
1. Strike a pose with Vampirina: For the first time at the Disneyland Resort, popular Disney Junior star Vampirina will greet guests and take photos with them, beginning this Halloween season. Vampirina, also known as “Vee,” brings the spooky fun with her wherever she goes, from Transylvania to Pennsylvania…to Disney Parks. Guests may find her in Disney California Adventure Park in front of “Disney Junior Dance Party!”
2. Capture the dreadfully delightful décor on Buena Vista Street: At Disney California Adventure, Buena Vista Street is decked out for Halloween Time. Must-see photo spots include Oogie Boogie looming over the park’s entrance marquee and the haunting Headless Horseman statue across from Carthay Circle Restaurant.
3. Snag a snapshot on Main Street, U.S.A.: What Halloween Time photo is more classic than the Mickey Mouse jack-o-lantern on Main Street, U.S.A.? Main Street photo moments don’t have to stop there, though. This area is brimming with festive décor, from beautiful banners to fall-inspired flowerbeds.
4. Snap a photo outside Haunted Mansion Holiday with Jack Skellington and Sally: Jack Skellington and Sally will materialize in New Orleans Square near the Haunted Mansion. Afterwards, guests may hop into a doom buggy and celebrate the 25^th anniversary of “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas” with a ride on Haunted Mansion Holiday.
5. Take a Halloween portrait with Mickey Mouse and friends: Catch the “Fab Five” – Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto – sporting their Halloween costumes along Buena Vista Street at Disney California Adventure. These photo moments offer a fun and festive spin on classic photos with the beloved characters that started it all.
6. Watch intergalactic ghosts appear in your Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy photo: As guests visit Tomorrowland, the home of Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, spooky sounds and spirits surround their rocket ship as it races through the stars, and an on-ride photo of the eerie experience is waiting at the exit. This attraction is best experienced with Disney MaxPass to snag a digital Disney FastPass and receive unlimited digital PhotoPass downloads for images like these.
7. Return to The Collector’s Fortress after dark: Daring guests will return to The Collector’s Fortress after the sun sets for a risky rescue mission at Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark, the seasonal edition of popular attraction Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! At dusk, the Fortress makes for a terrifically terrifying photo opportunity.
8. Commemorate your cruise though Radiator Screams in Cars Land: Radiator Springs becomes Radiator Screams for the “Haul-O-Ween” season. Take a spine-tingling spin on Luigi’s Honkin’ Haul-O-Ween and Mater’s Graveyard JamBOOree and check out all the frightful additions from Scary the Scare-car to the creepy, crawly Spider-car at Flo’s V8 Café.
9. Celebrate the season with the Cars in their “car-stumes”: Strike a pose with Lightning McQueen, Mater and friends in their creepy and cute “car-stumes.” Guests will find Mater dressed up as a “van-pire,” Lightning as a super hero, Cruz Ramirez as a pirate, Red the Fire Truck as a clown and DJ as a punk rocker.
10. Photograph festive food and beverage: Choose from new offerings like sweet potato hand pie, chocolate graveyard sponge cake or layered pumpkin cheesecake at Jolly Holiday Bakery Café on Main Street, U.S.A. Over in Disney California Adventure Park, try the conchita, a traditional Mexican sweet bread complete with a decorative topping in the shape of main character Miguel from Disney-Pixar’s “Coco,” making it all the more Instagrammable.
11. Take a selfie to show off your seasonal souvenirs: Foodies and photographers alike will delight in the new merchandise offerings this year. Suited for all your spell-casting and potion-brewing needs, the Cauldron Premium Popcorn Bucket and Green Poison Apple Stein are available for the first time. In addition, guests will find a wide array of seasonal t-shirts, mugs, plush, pins, purses and more throughout the resort.
12. Witness a Grand pumpkin display at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa: At Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, guests will feast their eyes on a sweet surprise – a pumpkin patch built out of cereal treats, 200 pounds of icing, 100 pounds of chocolate and 300 pounds of fondant. This delicious display sits 15 feet tall and 12 feet wide inside the lobby of the hotel, and the Oogie Boogie pumpkin is over four feet tall. See if you can capture a hidden Mickey or two in your photo.
13. Smile and say “Halloween” with your favorite pumpkin at the Downtown Disney display: The pumpkin display in the Downtown Disney District includes plenty of pumpkins with bright, saturated colors and interesting shapes and textures. The impressive assortment includes 17 different types of pumpkins in a variety of styles, with more than 2,150 pumpkins and squash on display.
September 9, 2018
Happy Hauntings Return to Disneyland Resort for Halloween Time

It’s official — the spookiest time of the year has arrived! Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort is underway now through Oct. 31.

Your favorite experiences are transformed into eerie delights! From frightfully fun attractions and character encounters, to seasonal décor and Halloween-themed treats, there are happy haunts around every corner.

Curious to see what awaits you at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure parks? Check out the video below.

Which experiences are you most looking forward to this year during Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort?

September 9, 2018
Construction on Marvel-Themed Area Begins at Disneyland Resort

Disneyland Resort has officially begun construction the Marvel-themed area expansion coming to Disney California Adventure Park!

The new area will be located in the area that was formerly home to A Bug’s Land which closed September 4.

The Marvel-inspired area will neighbor the popular Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: BREAKOUT! attraction, the first Marvel-themed Disney ride to reach the west coast since the company purchased Marvel in 2009. As you can see in the photos below, construction is being handled by the perfect company!

The new Marvel-themed area at Disney California Adventure is officially under construction now! from r/marvelstudios

The public is now blocked off from the area by a Stark Industries gate, Stark Industries is a multinational industrial company owned by Tony Stark a.k.a Iron Man!

The wall by Guardians that closed off the Bugs Land entrance from Hollywoodland now has a Stark Industries Sticker on it pic.twitter.com/KiaI2EUMXB

— Emmanuel Elefante (@DL05EE) September 6, 2018

Though it’s been rumored for quite some time, Disney made the official announcement of a Marvel-themed land earlier this year.

The new Super Hero-themed land will begin recruiting guests in 2020, with even more new experiences to follow. The Guardians of the Galaxy will be joined by Spider-Man and the Avengers in what will become a completely immersive Super Hero universe, furthering the evolution of Disney California Adventure park.

Little details have been offered on how Marvel characters will be incorporated into the new land or it’s name, referring to it simply as a “Super Hero-themed land” because of contractual obligations with Universal Studios that prevents Disney from using the word “Marvel” in its name.

Other new Marvel experiences based on character like Iron Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp are also being developed for Disney’s international parks and will be debuting at Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland

Disneyland Resort’s Marvel-inspired land debuts at Disney California Adventure Park in 2020.

September 8, 2018
State Says Cooling Towers Are To Blame For Legionnaires’ Outbreak At Disneyland Last Year

Orange County, California was ground zero to one of the nations largest Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks last year. 22 people fell ill and one person died.

Local health officials were never able to find the exact cause of the infections, but they believed the outbreak was connected to Disneyland since 19 out of the 22 people affected had visited the park.

Back in March, the park was fined more than $33,000 for failing to properly clean cooling equipment linked to the outbreak and for other related violations by The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration, according to a citation issued by Cal-OSHA and obtained by the LA Times.

Cal-OSHA only investigates hazards that endanger workers, but they began looking into the Legionnaires’ cause because three Disneyland employees fell ill during the outbreak and two of them required hospitalization. The findings do not address how the 19 non-employees were infected.

“The employer did not follow the manufacturer’s cooling tower start-up maintenance and water treatment procedure to control outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease,” Cal-OSHA said in the citation. “As a result, two employees suffered serious illness requiring hospitalization of more than 24 hours.”

Disneyland denies the claims stating that the source of the outbreak could have been elsewhere in Anaheim and they have appealed the citations. In October the company will make their case at a hearing before a three-member appeals.

“We strongly object to Cal-OSHA’s allegation that our cooling towers caused any illness, since the source of the outbreak has never been scientifically determined,” Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown said in a statement.

In August 2017, people who had visited Disneyland or spent time in Anaheim began to report feeling ill. They were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease, a lung infection caused by breathing in water droplets containing bacteria known as Legionella.

Orange County health officials have stated that Disneyland’s cooling towers have been free of Legionella since November, and there is currently no risk to the public.

Disney said it had learned about “increased Legionnaires’ disease cases in Anaheim” from county health officials Oct. 27. “We conducted a review and learned that two cooling towers had elevated levels of Legionella bacteria,” Dr. Pamela Hymel, chief medical officer for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said in a statement at the time. “These towers were treated with chemicals that destroy the bacteria and are currently shut down.”

Most Legionnaires’ outbreaks are linked to cooling towers, part of an air conditioning system that releases mist. The illness does not spread from person to person, so people who become sick each have to inhale the contaminated droplets. Without proper cleaning, cooling towers can create the perfect environment for Legionella to grow. The cooling towers require regular disinfecting to ensure they are not developing Legionella, experts say.

Health officials never formally identified the cooling towers as the source, and Disneyland officials have said that the test results don’t definitively prove that the towers were to blame.

Brown said there are several cooling towers nearby that are outside the park and were never tested and pointed out that three people who fell sick had not visited the park, including the one person who died.

The Cal-OSHA investigation found that Disneyland had not adequately cleaned the towers, which caused high levels of bacteria to grow.

One of the towers had been drained of water when it was taken offline at the beginning of 2017, but bacteria thrived in stagnant water still in the pipes, Cal-OSHA investigators said in a written report.

Disneyland was “not effectively performing weekly bacteria inspections” at that time, so water containing Legionella was sent back into both cooling towers when they were brought online in August 2017, according to a Cal-OSHA document.

“The employer failed to ensure equipment in service (was) kept clean, in sanitary condition, inspected and maintained as recommended by the manufacturer, as not to give rise to employee harmful exposure to Legionella pneumophila and other airborne bacteria,” the Cal-OSHA citation said.

The three workers who contracted Legionnaires’ disease — a cook, an operating engineer and a laborer — came within 50 to 200 feet of the cooling towers, a Cal-OSHA document said.

Disneyland typically tests its cooling towers quarterly, according to theme park records that were obtained through a public records request from the Orange County public health department.

But the cooling towers weren’t tested for Legionella last year while they were offline, the document shows. The first tests in 2017 came in late September, when the lab reports showed high levels of the bacteria.

The bulk of the fines levied against Disneyland were for not cleaning the towers properly. The agency also fined Disneyland for not reporting all the employee illnesses to Cal-OSHA.

“We have continually cooperated with Cal-OSHA’s various investigations, and fully complied with its reporting requirements with respect to our employees,” Brown said in the statement.

September 6, 2018