Backstage Magic - 9/16 - rides closed for refurb

[anitapita]

I checked out the calendar and it looks like Haunted Mansion, Small World, the Hyperion theater (with the Aladdin performance), AND Fantasmic are all closed for refurb. I guess our itinerary will be different than some of the trip reports I've seen. So bummed about Haunted Mansion!!

 

[Jeff & Stacy in NYC]

I am sure that the people at Disney will think of some way to compensate for the Haunted Mansion being closed. We were on Backstage Magic July 13th, and they tried to make up for anything that went wrong. For example, Indiana Jones was down the whole day we were in Disneyland. It really was out of anyone's control, but the guides tried to make up for it. They gave us fist fulls of fastpasses instead of the few passes other people had been reporting.

I totally understand how you feel about the Mansion; to me, it is second only to Pirates. But maybe they will come up with something really cool and only you guys will get to do it!

I have my fingers crossed for you!

Jeff and Stacy

 

[jw50]

Haunted Mansion is closed so they can do the Halloween decorations and changes.

IASW has been closed since January for an extended refurb, I think it is scheduled to reopen in Nov.

We can hope they substitute the submarine attraction or Toy Story Mania for HM. The submarines are not a FP attraction and the lines move pretty slowly, TSM is new and will probably have long lines.

 

[Mickeyfans4ever]

Haunted Mansion is closed so they can do the Halloween decorations and changes.

IASW has been closed since January for an extended refurb, I think it is scheduled to reopen in Nov.

We can hope they substitute the submarine attraction or Toy Story Mania for HM. The submarines are not a FP attraction and the lines move pretty slowly, TSM is new and will probably have long lines.

Toy Story is also not a FP attraction and during our tour the lines were 2 hours long. Needless to say we did not get a chance to go on it.

 

[nycguy1963]

We did BSM in July also (hi Jeff & Stacy!), and the attractions were really a much smaller part of the experience for us than I thought they'd be. I've only been to DL twice before (the last time 15 years ago) and primarily booked the adventure to bypass the July crowds as much as possible. I anticipated we'd spend every free second hitting all the attractions & shows over and over. However, by the middle of our first day there, I realized that the attractions weren't the real MAGIC on the Adventure. It was much more about the legacy and heritage of DL/Walt (Carolwood, being in the Park before it opened, Imagineering, Walt's apartment, Indy & Soarin' backstage, etc.). All the attractions we didn't get to do will be there to enjoy in the future (even if another 15 years from now), so I focused on the magic and enjoying time with the members of our group.

Once I took that "go! go! go!" pressure off myself, I really enjoyed things much more. Also, the itinerary before we got to DLand was pretty full, and with the early morning meeting times, I was glad to have some R & R at the hotel.

All that said, I hope they do compensate you with priority entrance for the Subs & Toy Story Mania. Neither are FastPass atractions (which really suprised me about Toy Story), and get long lines.

All in all, I think you'll love the trip.

 

[P&W]

I also found out yesterday that we would not be able to see Fantasmic, Aladdin, or the Haunted Mansion. I was very disappointed. We had booked the Sept 16th adults only tour because it was just my husband and I. However, if I had known we would miss these special attractions I would have booked another date. I expect this to be our first and only trip to DL so we will not have another opportunity. I did call ABD yesterday to confirm that indeed they would be closed when we are there. The young man I talked to seemed surprised and wanted to know where I had gotten my info, which was the official DL site. So, he looked it up as we talked and agreed that that did seem to be the case. I asked if something would be arranged in place of these missing attractions, but he had no answer. He did say he would pass on lthe info about the closings as he had been unaware of it. If I had not been following the trip reports that I had read regarding Backstage Magic I would have been unaware that the other groups got special viewing for Fantasmic and Aladdin as well as a backstage look at the Haunted Mansion. Knowing that just increased my disappointment. I do hope they will try to compensate in some way.

 

[sayhello]

I do hope they will try to compensate in some way.

I can't imagine them not compensating you. ABD is reportedly *VERY* good about substituting great alternatives when things don't quite turn out right.

Sayhello

 

[Jeff & Stacy in NYC]

I agree 100% with nycguy1963! Backstage Magic started out being about seeing every square inch in the free time. At first we were going commando, but there was too much to do without sacrificing the quality of what we were doing. We discovered that the magic came not from squeezing in all the attractions, but from the atmosphere, the history, the heritage, a feeling that we were personally included in Walt's dream. And, as nycguy1963 said, our best memories of the trip are of the people. We had such a great time with everyone that we wanted to hang out in the free time. Jeff and I both wish we had taken the time to soak up more of the Grand Californian, too. We have promised each other that we will return. And again, I agree with nycguy, the itinerary is so action packed that you do need time to rest.

This trip was turned out to be the best decision we have ever made, not because we got on every attraction, but because of Disneyland's mystique and a wonderful group of people!

Jeff & Stacy

 

[inkkognito]

I just know they will find alternate ways to make it magical, and I hope you'll be doing a trip report because I'd love to see what they do!

 

[Epcotforever]

I noticed small world is closed during my trip in August. I wonder if they'll make up for the closed attraction.

 

[SLK1]

We were just at CA Adventure last month for a family vacation (not a tour) and we did get to ride Toy Story Mania as single riders. It is fantastic and shouldn't be missed - by far our favorite ride. That would definitely be something I would ask for as compensation for all those rides being down.

 

[pinhopper]

According to another Disney-related website, the following closures will also happen during our trip:
-- the Big Thunder Ranch and petting zoo (closes on Sept. 15th)
-- Sailing Ship Columbia
-- the Sun Wheel
-- the Electrical Parade
-- the New Orleans train station (only the station; the train will keep running, but won't stop at New Orleans)

I think our Adventure Guides are going to have quite a challenge trying to compensate for all of these closures !!

 

[sayhello]

According to another Disney-related website, the following closures will also happen during our trip:
-- the Big Thunder Ranch and petting zoo (closes on Sept. 15th)
-- Sailing Ship Columbia
-- the Sun Wheel
-- the Electrical Parade
-- the New Orleans train station (only the station; the train will keep running, but won't stop at New Orleans)

I think our Adventure Guides are going to have quite a challenge trying to compensate for all of these closures !!

You're going to Disneyland in September which is their "off-season". There are *always* closures in Disneyland in September. Unless these things are specifically listed as a part of the tour, I'm sure you'll never miss them. I'm confident the Guides have a wonderfully full time prepared for you. There is *SO* much to see & do at Disneyland.

Sayhello

 

[hack2112]

ABD has known about this for a while now and most likely figured out what you'll be doing, as well as back ups. Don't worry.

 

[jacksparrowfan]

I checked out the calendar and it looks like Haunted Mansion, Small World, the Hyperion theater (with the Aladdin performance), AND Fantasmic are all closed for refurb. I guess our itinerary will be different than some of the trip reports I've seen. So bummed about Haunted Mansion!!

You have started your tour today. Please let us know how things went.

 

[beansf]

I just wanted to say we were at DL 9/8 and 9/9 and had a super time. Even though these attractions were down, there was still tons to do. We did Nemo & Toy Storia Mania with only a 30 minute wait for each. Everything else was more of a 10 or 20 minute wait.

I know it is disappointing when your favorites are down. I was sad to miss HM, too, but the trade off of low crowds made me throughly enjoy my trip, anyway. We are planning to go back same time, next year.

I hope you have a great time on your Backstage Magic.

 

[jw50]

You have started your tour today. Please let us know how things went.

I think I can pretty safely say that Anita had a great time on the tour, even with the Haunted Mansion being closed.

 

[Christyvoltron]

But we would be really interested in knowing what they did to replace the missing attractions and Fantasmic -- we're going in 29 days (SO excited) and they must have some other things they have come up with to deal with the time left by the closures. I'm still really sad about Fantasmic.

 

[jw50]

If you have read the trip reports from previous tours that will give you a very good idea of what we did on this tour. I don't think anyone that was on this tour is planning on writing a trip report. There are going to be slight differences between each tour, some due to closures, some due to differences in operating hours of the parks, and some to just make each tour special.

Of course I am sure that everybody was disappointed that the Haunted Mansion was closed and that there was no Fantasmic while we were there but I don't think anyone was disappointed in the tour or regrets going. The closures are just a fact of life during the off-season (as well as shorter park hours). This is why ABD doesn't list specific attractions for the tour since they have no control over what is going to be closed.

Walt's barn apparently has been included in all of the tours (at least all of the ones that have been posted about here on the DIS) but is not listed by ABD because it is staffed entirely by volunteers and those volunteers have to be willing and able to open it for each tour group. Luckily they seem to really enjoy having the tour groups visit and have been willing to give up their own time to allow us to see the barn and ride the train.

So don't worry too much about what attractions might be closed, the guides will do everything they can to make your tour magical, even if it is "different" from some of the other tours.

The people that have had Quinn as one of their guides may be interested to know that while we were there it was announced that he is one of the finalist to be one of the two 2009 Disneyland Ambassadors.

 

[jacksparrowfan]

The people that have had Quinn as one of their guides may be interested to know that while we were there it was announced that he is one of the finalist to be one of the two 2009 Disneyland Ambassadors.

Yay, Quinn!!!! I hope he wins. It would be well-deserved. He would be a perfect Ambassador.