The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2009 -- Outdated Information (LONG)

[S. S. Columbia]

If you’re using The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2009 by Bob Sehlinger (link) to plan a trip to DLR,
you might want to look at the following:

The following list includes some of the things that have opened since the 2009 edition was released ("Now Open"), and includes some of the things that have closed since the 2009 edition was released ("No Longer Open").

The following list also includes some "Corrections," "Updates," "Suggestions," and "Nitpicks."

NOW OPEN:

Pixie Hollow (Tinker Bell and her friends)

Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough is now open! [page 240]

Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique replaced the "Once Upon A Time...The Disney Princess Shoppe." BBB is located near Fantasyland, but it is not “in the castle.” [page 242]


NO LONGER OPEN:

Golden Dreams is closed. [pages 106, 138, 145, 298, 315, 316, 317]

The short film Seasons of the Vine in the Golden Vine Winery is closed. In 2009, and likely for a couple more years, this location will be used for the Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar DCA preview center.
[pages 138, 230, 288/289, 298, 299, 312, 317]

Ugly Bug Ball is closed. [pages 138, 288/289]

“The Vineyard Room” restaurant is closed. [pages 160, 165, 167, 176, 192]

Burger Invasion is closed. [page 173]

Yamabuki (Japanese Restaurant) in Paradise Pier Hotel is closed. (April 2009)

DTD: Club Libby Lu, Starabilias Gallery, Department 56, and Illuminations are closed.
[pages 205, 206]

“The Secret of the Stone Tiger” is closed.
In the summer of '09 Aladdin's Oasis was a Meet and Greet for Jasmine and Aladdin. [pages 220, 221]

La Petite Patisserie is closed. (It closed in 2004.) [page 224]

Fort Wilderness is mentioned twice, but it is closed to Guests. [pages 225, 231]

The Harbour Galley no longer serves McDonald’s french fries. [page 228]

Parade of Dreams is closed. There is no Easter Parade at DLR. [page 261]

King Triton’s Garden (Ariel) is closed, and was replaced with Pixie Hollow (Tinker Bell and her friends). [page 264]


CORRECTIONS:

Toy Story Mania does NOT have FastPass. (TSM has the Single Rider option.) [page 310]

FastPass: The UG should mention that DL’s and DCA’s FastPass systems are not connected. For example, you can get a FP at DL; walk to DCA; and right away get another FP at DCA.

The Enchanted Tiki Room is at DL. The UG incorrectly calls it Enchanted Tiki Room – Under New Mgmt!, which is at the MK at WDW. BTW, DL’s Enchanted Tiki Room is much better than MK’s version.
[pages 13, 77, 91, 136, 217]

Magic Morning days are Sat., Sun., Tues., and Thurs. (NOT Monday.) [pages 26, 315]


UPDATES:

In 2009 Grizzly River Run’s FastPass machines have been “connected” to DCA’s FastPass system. [page 315]

Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln is expected to return on Dec. 17, 2009.

Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years is being refurbed (spring/summer 2009) -- it is expected to return on Dec. 17, 2009, along with The Disneyland Story, featuring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. (source)

Autopia: The height requirement for Autopia is now 54-inches, not 52-inches. [pages 257, 311]

Billy Hill & The Hillbillies Show is dark on Tues. and Wed. (as of Feb. 2009). [page 230]

Remember...Dreams Come True fireworks show is apparently on hiatus. The Magical fireworks opened in early-June 2009.

Sun Wheel: In May 2009 the Sun Wheel became Mickey’s Fun Wheel. [pages 139, 309, 315, 316]


SUGGESTIONS:

Park Hopping: The UG barely mentions Park Hopping. (See “Why I ParkHop at DLR” (link) by Hound109 )

RideMax: The UG does not mention www.ridemax.com. RideMax is one of UG’s competitors, and IMO RideMax’s touring advice is better than the UG’s.

Main Street, U.S.A.: the UG does not mention some of the shops, stores, and places on Main Street.

The UG does not have any photographs. FWIW, the first edition of The Disneyland Encyclopedia, by Chris Strodder, has more than 300 photos and some very good drawings. (The DL Encylopedia is a fun, excellent book, and it describes all of the shops, stores, and places on Main Street. Highly recommended. )

Haunted Mansion: The UG does not mention the Haunted Mansion Holiday version (late-Sept. to early-Jan).
(The UG does not mention Halloween-Time (late Sept. to Halloween).) [page 222]

“Pooh Corner” (the candy store) should be mentioned in the Critter Country section. [page 228]

Snacks: The UG should have a separate section about snacks, including (pineapple) Dole Whips at the Tiki Juice Bar, etc.

In Fantasyland, the UG recommends going to Dumbo first, but everyone knows, "Peter Pan first...always first." [pages 234, 239, 276]

It’s A Small World Holiday: The UG does not mention the holiday version of IASW (early-Nov. to early-Jan.). (The UG hardly mentions the Christmas Holiday season.) [page ~237]

Finding Nemo: The UG should mention the Mobile Observation Outpost (MOO), which is the alternate way to view the attraction. [page 253]

Soarin’: The UG should mention that Soarin’ is usually open at 9:30am. The DCA gates open at 9:30am and Guests can ride Soarin’ – and also get a FastPass for Soarin’. [page 292, 315]

Animation Building: The UG should mention that the Animation Building has the Toy Story Zoetrope. [page 293]

The UG should mention that Soarin’ has the Single Rider option. [page 295]

The UG should mention that California Screamin’ has the Single Rider option. [page 305]

The UG should include a list of the Single Rider attractions:

SINGLE RIDER ATTRACTIONS

DISNEYLAND
Indiana Jones Adventure
Splash Mountain

DISNEY’S CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE
California Screamin’
Grizzly River Run
Maliboomer
Mulholland Madness
Soarin’ Over California
Toy Story Midway Mania!


NITPICKS

In the Lodging Section of the book, the UG does not include the Park Vue or the Ramada Maingate.
Park Vue (1570 S. Harbor Blvd): www.parkvue.com
Ramada Maingate (1650 S. Harbor Blvd) www.ramadamaingate.com
[page 38/39, 67]

Winnie the Pooh: The UG says that WtP gets “very busy,” but it’s in the corner of the park and it rarely gets “very busy.” [page 228]

Honey, I Shrunk the Audience is NOT a “headliner.” HISTA is a “see anytime” attraction. [page 253, 254]

Screamin’: The “Mickey Head” on Screamin’ was removed to add Mickey for Mickey’s Fun Wheel). [page 305]

Soarin’: In Soarin’ the floor does not “drop away.” Instead, the Guests are raised approximately 40 feet in the air. [page 299]

The Twilight Zone ToT is the tallest structure in DLR -- not the Maliboomer. [page 307]

Walk in Walt’s Footsteps Tour: Lunch is no longer served on the patio. [page 71]

Character dining: Mickey only attends the Plaza Inn birthday party, but not any of the other Character Meals at DLR. [page 158]

Indiana Jones is not the only Single Rider attraction in DL; Splash Mountain also has the Single Rider option. [page 219]

Star Tours does not have an age requirement. [page 256]

Rancho del Zocalo does not serve BBQ ribs, and the River Belle Terrace does not serve pasta. [page 233]

Autopia is in DL (not DCA) [page 145]

The UG says that the Carnation Café serves the best cup of coffee. [pages 179, 180]
But the Carnation Cafe serves Nescafe. That’s doubtful.

Hope this helps.

 

[pycees312]

 

[PinkBudgie]

Great list! This would be good for newbies to print out and keep with the book. After reading the UG to WDW I realized that much of the DLR guide came directly from the WDW version! Including the reader comments they include. So there is no way to know if someone quoted actually meant the DLR or WDW version of the attraction. It also seems the WDW ride plans are better than the DLR ones. They update the plans for WDW but the DLR plans are recommended for all days all year. I feel like DLR has been a little ignored.

As for the coffee, that's funny. There is no best coffee at DLR, really. It would be better to point out that Market House on Main Street gives you a free refill if you keep your reciept.

I still enjoyed reading the book and it gives a good overview. To be fair, some of the updates are pretty recent. I also found it amusing that they thought they needed to include a parenting guide in the WDW version but not in the DLR one.

 

[LynnythePooh]

Thanks for all the time you put into this

I recently purchased the book for our trip this weekend and couldn't believe all the incorrect information!

Appreciate your helping out, I've printed your post and have it in my book!

Thanks again.

 

[AlabamaPrincesses]

Thanks! I really appreciate your post. I printed it too! You should email the UG publisher this information.

 

[bumbershoot]

As with any travel guide, it's always important to look at the publication date and understand that it's coming from information *at least* 6 months before.

So with this book, it was published in September of '08, and therefore likely came from info in spring of last year. So it's understandable why new things aren't in it.


Now the Ugly Bug thing being mentioned is just ridiculous...that was long closed before our Sept '07 trip! And something closed in '04, jinkies that's bad. The MM days being wrong, well that just shows that they were using info from probably wintertime last year, b/c that's about when it changed to the S and T days!

Mickey does attend the Plaza Inn birthday party, which IMO is sort of a grey area with the character "meal" thing.

But really, most of the items in your list are simply b/c travel books use info up to a year old. I always hope that readers understand that, but then, I'm not sure everyone listens to Rick Steves as much as I do, and he is the main person in travel trying to make people realize that!


The basic info I got from the Unofficial Guide and Birnbaums (and one other that I've forgotten) checked out from the library back before our first one-day trip in '05 was absolutely invaluable. Not 100% correct of course, but still fabulous. Then you take that basic info with the overlay of the current immediate info from a message board, and you're golden!

 

[mechurchlady]

The following condensed version of the list are things that were in place one year ago approximately. Some things are years old and anyone who had been to DLR would have asked CMs for info and/or observed those things I chose below. The Ugly Bug Ball had not been on DCA information for ages and checking on that online and without going to parks would have shown that it was defunct. Mentioning Fort Wilderness is another example of them not proofreading the book and having people check the information. How did they move Fort Wilderness west.

Cute book but I doubt I would use it their WDW book for a trip.

The short film Seasons of the Vine in the Golden Vine Winery is closed. In 2009, and likely for a couple more years, this location will be used for the Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar DCA preview center.
[pages 138, 230, 288/289, 298, 299, 312, 317]

Ugly Bug Ball is closed. [pages 138, 288/289]

Burger Invasion is closed. [page 173]

La Petite Patisserie is closed. (It closed in 2004.) [pgae 224]

Fort Wilderness is mentioned twice, but it is closed to Guests. [pages 225, 231]

Parade of Dreams is closed. There is no Easter Parade at DLR. [page 261]

King Triton’s Garden (Ariel) is closed, and was replaced with Pixie Hollow (Tinker Bell and her friends). [page 264]

Toy Story Mania does NOT have FastPass. (TSM has the Single Rider option.) [page 310]

FastPass: The UG should mention that DL’s and DCA’s FastPass systems are not connected. For example, you can get a FP at DL; walk to DCA; and right away get another FP at DCA.

The Enchanted Tiki Room is at DL. The UG incorrectly calls it Enchanted Tiki Room – Under New Mgmt!, which is at the MK at WDW. Also, DL’s Enchanted Tiki Room is much better than MK’s version.
[pages 13, 77, 91, 136, 217]

Magic Morning days are Sat., Sun., Tues., and Thurs. (NOT Monday.) [pages 26, 315]

Autopia: The height requirement for Autopia is now 54-inches, not 52-inches. [pages 257, 311]
That changed last October.

Park Hopping: The UG barely mentions Park Hopping. (See “Why I ParkHop at DLR” (link) by Hound109 )

RideMax: The UG does not mention www.ridemax.com. RideMax is one of UG’s competitors, and IMO RideMax’s touring advice is better than the UG’s.

Main Street, U.S.A.: the UG does not mention some of the shops, stores, and places on Main Street.

Haunted Mansion: The UG does not mention the Haunted Mansion Holiday version (late-Sept. to early-Jan).
(The UG does not mention Halloween-Time (late Sept. to Halloween).) [page 222]

“Pooh Corner” (the candy store) should be mentioned in the Critter Country section. [page 228]

Snacks: The UG should have a separate section about snacks, including (pineapple) Dole Whips at the Tiki Juice Bar, cream cheese filled pretzels near IASW, etc., etc., etc.

The UG recommends going to Dumbo first, but everyone knows, "Peter Pan first...always first." [pages 234, 239, 276]
They havea Dumbo fascination and have to do Dumbo or Die.

It’s A Small World: The UG does not mention the It’s A Small World Holiday version (early-Nov. to early-Jan.). (The UG hardly mentions the Christmas Holiday season.) [page ~237]

Finding Nemo: The UG should mention the Mobile Observation Outpost (MOO). [page 253]

Animation Building: The UG should mention that the Animation Building has the Toy Story Zeotrope. [page 293]

The UG should mention that Soarin’ has the Single Rider option. [page 295]

The UG should mention that California Screamin’ has the Single Rider option. [page 305]

The UG should include a list of the Single Rider attractions:

SINGLE RIDER ATTRACTIONS

DISNEYLAND
Indiana Jones Adventure
Splash Mountain

DISNEY’S CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE
California Screamin’
Grizzly River Run
Maliboomer
Mulholland Madness
Soarin’ Over California
Toy Story Midway Mania!

In the Lodging Section of the book, the UG does not include the Park Vue or the Ramada Maingate.
Park Vue (1570 S. Harbor Blvd): www.parkvue.com
Ramada Maingate (1650 S. Harbor Blvd) www.ramadamaingate.com
[page 38/39, 67]

Honey, I Shrunk the Audience is NOT a “headliner.” HISTA is a “see anytime” attraction. [page 253, 254]

Soarin’: In Soarin’ the floor does not “drop away.” Instead, the Guests are raised approximately 40 feet in the air. [page 299]

The Twilight Zone ToT is the tallest structure in DLR -- not the Maliboomer. [page 307]

Character dining: Mickey only attends the Plaza Inn birthday party, but not any of the other Character Meals at DLR. [page 158]

Indiana Jones is not the only Single Rider attraction in DL; Splash Mountain also has the Single Rider option. [page 219]

Star Tours does not have an age requirement. [page 256]

Rancho del Zocalo does not serve BBQ ribs, and the River Belle Terrace does not serve pasta. [page 233]
They stopped that years ago.

Autopia is in DL (not DCA) [page 145]

 

[S. S. Columbia]

... most of the items in your list are simply b/c travel books use info up to a year old.

The basic info I got from the Unofficial Guide and Birnbaums (and one other that I've forgotten) checked out from the library back before our first one-day trip in '05 was absolutely invaluable. Not 100% correct of course, but still fabulous. Then you take that basic info with the overlay of the current immediate info from a message board, and you're golden!

I agree! I really wasn't trying to bash the UG. The "current immediate info" in this thread was meant to help UG 2009 readers who are planning to visit DLR soon.

To be fair, the UG had the correct days for Magic Mornings, except for a couple of pages.

Mickey does attend the Plaza Inn birthday party, which IMO is sort of a grey area with the character "meal" thing.

Thanks, I updated the original post. The Unofficial Guide mentions the five “major” character meals, but it doesn’t mention the Plaza Inn birthday party.

"Happiest Birthdays on Earth"

You can enjoy a 45 minute to 1 hour birthday party at the Plaza Inn, which is located at the end of Main Street U.S.A. Priority seating can be made at the Plaza Inn, City Hall, and any Guest Relations Information Kiosk. Or, simply call (714) 781-DINE up to 30 days in advance. Prices are $15.99 per guest. Children under the age of 2 are free (prices are subject to change). Price includes cake, punch, party hat, a special Happy Birthday cup and Mickey Mouse Plate. Park admission is required. Premium Annual Passholders get 10% discount

During the party, there will be a cake-decorating contest and each participant will receive a special sticker. Your party host will be Mr. Patrick Edward Cake (AKA Pat E Cake). Joining the party will be two Disney characters. While Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse usually attend, other characters may appear in their place.

Link: http://www.wdwinfo.com/disneyland/plan/birthday.htm

 

[Niele]

I just went out and purchased both the UG and Birnbaums and after reading through them think I actually get a lot more insight from these forums. I'm glad I got them because they do have the information put together (easier reading) but there is so much more to learn from these boards!

 

[mmlover74]

I have the book and the updates are what I already figured out from being on here. It is very helpful.

 

[disneygurl1987]

Thank you for this thread, i have the book and i am going in May and this helps me alot for my trip!