Al Lutz Mega-Update - DCA Magic Mornings?, Lots of Refurbs, PFF Moving, Tiered Prices

[HydroGuy]

Al Lutz of MiceAge has lots of great possibilities and disappointing (to some) refurb news in his update today. Here is a link: http://miceage.micechat.com/allutz/al062111a.htm

Highlights include:

o June 14-15 were very busy with AP holders - the busiest days of the year
o Feedback on LMAUA, ST and Soundsational has been very good (LM's shorter lines are apparently because of its high capacity)
o Grad Nights staying at DLR while WDW has canceled them
o July 4 version of WOC coming
o Disney considering a Halloween version of WOC
o Cars Land planned to open last half of June 2012
o DCA entrance to close in July for 8 months
o California Screamin 6 week refurb to start in Sept
o Matterhorn to close for first 6 months of 2012
o Indiana Jones refurb in Sept
o Princess Fantasy Faire may be moving this fall
o FantasyLand Theater to reopen after PFF moves
o POTC down for refurb from Labor Day (Early Sept) to Thanksgiving (late November)
o DLR considering tiered price tickets for different seasons
o DCA lookinjg to expand park hours to 8AM to 11PM in summer 2012
o DEP coming back to DLR - DCA or DL?
o Magic Mornings at DCA after Cars Land


A note here about the refurbs. I know it does not matter what I say here in the OP because there will be howling complaints in this thread about all the ride closures Al is reporting. If you want to avoid ride refurbs as much as possible, plan your trip for high season. Any off-season trip risks a larger number of refurbs. Yes, it is disappointing to miss a favorite ride because of a refurb. But rides must be maintained to keep them operating safely and looking good. DLR chooses to do these refurbs when it makes most sense - when there are less people at the parks - off-season - to impact less people.

See:

"What You Should Know About Off-Season at DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18462889

"HydroGuy's High Season/Off Season Tradeoff Rule" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1199852



Note: Al Lutz does not work for Disney. His posts are not Disney announcements. He has solid contacts inside Disney and is helpful in giving an indication of what Disney is planning and considering. People planning vacations should be very cautious about making plans based on Al's articles. That is not what they are intended for. Rather, Al tries to give an insider view of what Disney is thinking and planning for those interested in what the future may hold. This can and does change over time.

Here is the disclaimer that Al has at the end of his article.

Keep in mind updates only get posted when there is something to report on, and not before. It takes time to confirm things, and even then we can only offer a snapshot of a continually evolving story. (People do change their minds you know.) Just like the happiest place on earth, patience is a virtue; the queue may take a while before you can enjoy the attraction.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Thanks HydroGuy. I was worried we were gonna miss CarsLand if we went early in June and it looks like I'm probably right. What to doooo what to do.

Matterhorn for 6 months! WOW!

 

[HydroGuy]

Thanks HydroGuy. I was worried we were gonna miss CarsLand if we went early in June and it looks like I'm probably right. What to doooo what to do.

Matterhorn for 6 months! WOW!

As noted at the bottom of the OP, Al's report is not Disney official. Lots of folks in 2010 planned to see World of Color based on Al's reports. Then things changed. Disney did change their mind and changed the show at the last minutes, which delayed it's opening.

Folks should be careful basing their vacation plans on Al's reports.

Nevertheless, it is the only information out there. For me personally, I would have been nervous with an early June trip for any new ride or show debut. Disney seems to get early June often but occasionally late June. I would never plan for anything earlier than the last week of June unless I was OK with possibly missing the big new thing.

 

[Jynxed]

This is the second mention of the special 4th of July WOC. I hope it is true, but wondering why disney would not make it official with only 2 weeks to go? Does disney like surprises about these kinds of things?

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

As noted at the bottom of the OP, Al's report is not Disney official. Lots of folks in 2010 planned to see World of Color based on Al's reports. Then things changed. Disney did change their mind and changed the show at the last minutes, which delayed it's opening.

Folks should be careful basing their vacation plans on Al's reports.

Nevertheless, it is the only information out there. For me personally, I would have been nervous with an early June trip for any new ride or show debut. Disney seems to get early June often but occasionally late June. I would never plan for anything earlier than the last week of June unless I was OK with possibly missing the big new thing.

Oh yeah, I wouldn't change dates that were super set in stone based on that.

I had also assumed Carsland would be toward the end of June..and I'd think he's probably right on that one. The beginning of June worried me in general with closures. Carsland isn't a HUGE 'must do' thing for us yet. But I'm thinking if we got there and it wasn't open, they'd be sad. Perhaps we should look into July.

 

[blackjackdelta]

Al Lutz of MiceAge has lots of great possibilities and disappointing (to some) refurb news in his update today. Here is a link: http://miceage.micechat.com/allutz/al062111a.htm

Highlights include:

o June 14-15 were very busy with AP holders - the busiest days of the year
o Feedback on LMAUA, ST and Soundsational has been very good (LM's shorter lines are apparently because of its high capacity)
o Grad Nights staying at DLR while WDW has canceled them
o July 4 version of WOC coming
o Disney considering a Halloween version of WOC
o Cars Land planned to open last half of June 2012
o DCA entrance to close in July for 8 months
o California Screamin 6 week refurb to start in Sept
o Matterhorn to close for first 6 months of 2012
o Indiana Jones refurb in Sept
o Princess Fantasy Faire may be moving this fall
o FantasyLand Theater to reopen after PFF moves
o POTC down for refurb from Labor Day (Early Sept) to Thanksgiving (late November)
o DLR considering tiered price tickets for different seasons
o DCA lookinjg to expand park hours to 8AM to 11PM in summer 2012
o DEP coming back to DLR - DCA or DL?
o Magic Mornings at DCA after Cars Land


A note here about the refurbs. I know it does not matter what I say here in the OP because there will be howling complaints in this thread about all the ride closures Al is reporting. If you want to avoid ride refurbs as much as possible, plan your trip for high season. Any off-season trip risks a larger number of refurbs. Yes, it is disappointing to miss a favorite ride because of a refurb. But rides must be maintained to keep them operating safely and looking good. DLR chooses to do these refurbs when it makes most sense - when there are less people at the parks - off-season - to impact less people.

See:

"What You Should Know About Off-Season at DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18462889

"HydroGuy's High Season/Off Season Tradeoff Rule" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1199852



Note: Al Lutz does not work for Disney. His posts are not Disney announcements. He has solid contacts inside Disney and is helpful in giving an indication of what Disney is planning and considering. People planning vacations should be very cautious about making plans based on Al's articles. That is not what they are intended for. Rather, Al tries to give an insider view of what Disney is thinking and planning for those interested in what the future may hold. This can and does change over time.

Here is the disclaimer that Al has at the end of his article.

Always great advice. But I never did see amention of the biometric scanners..

Jack

 

[taaren]

o DCA entrance to close in July for 8 months
o California Screamin 6 week refurb to start in Sept
o Matterhorn to close for first 6 months of 2012
o Indiana Jones refurb in Sept
o Princess Fantasy Faire may be moving this fall
o FantasyLand Theater to reopen after PFF moves
o POTC down for refurb from Labor Day (Early Sept) to Thanksgiving (late November)
o DLR considering tiered price tickets for different seasons
o DCA lookinjg to expand park hours to 8AM to 11PM in summer 2012
o DEP coming back to DLR - DCA or DL?
o Magic Mornings at DCA after Cars Land

I'll join the howling! Nooo!! Actually, one of the nice things about DVC is I know I'll be back and have another chance to ride the rides, but still disappointed about POTC considering they just added something new for the movie as well as Screamin' since Space will be blech-ed out for Halloween you think they'd leave one thrill ride in tact.

A note here about the refurbs. I know it does not matter what I say here in the OP because there will be howling complaints in this thread about all the ride closures Al is reporting. If you want to avoid ride refurbs as much as possible, plan your trip for high season. Any off-season trip risks a larger number of refurbs. Yes, it is disappointing to miss a favorite ride because of a refurb. But rides must be maintained to keep them operating safely and looking good. DLR chooses to do these refurbs when it makes most sense - when there are less people at the parks - off-season - to impact less people.

Funny we're told not to consider October off-season given the crowds they've had the last few years and the fact that they sell the Halloween Party tickets ... and yet they want to call it off-season to refurb? I plan on stuff being closed if we go in May, but in the latter half of the year, other than mid-Sept it seems like everything should stay open since they're always advertising something as a 'special' reason to come to DLR ... holidays pretty much are back to back after Summer is over. Oh well. I've signed up to drink the Kool-Aid for anther 40 some odd years, and will enjoy every minute of it ...

 

[Sherry E]

They need to hustle over at DLR and get that Halloween WoC going! As of last year, DCA was stripped of all of its Halloween touches, minus some pitiful Fall garland on a building over in the Pacific Wharf area. Candy Corn Acres is totally gone. They need to put something Halloween-ish back in that park because DCA feels totally removed from HalloweenTime.

Wow - what a long refurb for POTC! What are they doing to it? Rebuilding it from scratch? Thank goodness my holiday trip starts right after Thanksgiving so POTC should be up and running again by then. That's one of my 2 favorite DLR rides! I would still go to DLR at that time anyway, even if it were closed - I normally go to DLR during the busy holiday season but I have to go slightly earlier in the season this year - but I'd be disappointed if POTC were down for the whole trip.

 

[OregonMickeyLover]

My heart sunk when I read about the POTC refurb. during the time we will be there, and Indiana Jones! Hopefully IJ is back up before the end of Oct. It's a good thing there are a million other reasons to love DL!

 

[Caseystigger]

Thanks HydroGuy! Good info to have though I have to admit seeing that POTC could be down when we're there makes me sad. Have they added Blackbeard? I read somewhere that he was going to be in the ride now or maybe that was just for the premiere?

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Pirates was closed on my honeymoon. It made us super sad lol

I can deal with no matterhorn..I'm just crossing my fingers POTC will be up. I wish they'd come out and give refurb info like..a year in advance.

 

[HydroGuy]

Thanks HydroGuy! Good info to have though I have to admit seeing that POTC could be down when we're there makes me sad. Have they added Blackbeard? I read somewhere that he was going to be in the ride now or maybe that was just for the premiere?

Blackbeard took over duties from Davey Jones in May right about the time the POTC 4 movie premiere happened.

 

[Caseystigger]

Blackbeard took over duties from Davey Jones in May right about the time the POTC 4 movie premiere happened.

Oh okay I didn't realize he replaced Davey Jones but I guess I can understand that. Would like to see it and here what Blackbeard has to say.

 

[Sherry E]

I couldn't help but chuckle and think of Disney Dreams when Al made comments like:

Both of those days had over 40,000 local Annual Passholders flood through the gates of the two parks, swelling the attendance and making things rather uncomfortable for the 50,000 domestic and international tourists visiting that day

That was only one of many remarks he made that had that overall slightly negative slant which Dreams has mentioned before. (She's right!) This article today was chock full of them!

 

[carebee21]

Thanks for the info. That seems like an awful lot of stuff going down for refurb in Sept. Especially when you add in that Space Mountain and Haunted Mansion are down around that time for their Halloween overlays...

But I'm glad to see Indiana Jones and Matterhorn getting some attention. Those both seem to break down a few times a day so hopefully they can work to fix that.

 

[cgh]

I'm disappointed by the number of stuff in transition or closed during August. We'll see if it pans out.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

I'm excited that matterhorn is getting a bar. It terrified me when I took my DD last time. I will never take a child that small on it again. Not sure the bar will change my mind, but it seems safer (won't help the whiplash!)

 

[GoofyDisneyDaddy]

Dear Disneyland,

Do not take POTC down until you are done with the HM holiday layover.

Thanks,

GoofyDisneyDaddy

In all seriousness, Al just says after labor day. Does that mean Tuesday? I hope not, as I will be there starting Wednesday. California screamin he gives an exact date, but POTC, he says just after labor day, so there is hope.

 

[23bw]

All pretty depressing except "DEP coming back to DLR - DCA or DL"

 

[nbliss]

Super bummed about POTC: ( It's my favorite ride, and I was looking forward to my kids riding it for the first time.