And so it begins. The walls are starting to go up in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle #Disneyland pic.twitter.com/t5iZLvO8i5
— Mrs.Mouseward Bound (@MousewardBound) January 19, 2015Sleeping Beauty's Castle closed this weekend, with a construction wall blocking access to the passageway into Fantasyland. Disney's draining the moat in front of the castle, and we should expect the tarps to go up soon as Disney begins work to transform the castle facade for its bejeweled 60th anniversary look. In the meantime, Disney is refurbishing the walk-through inside the castle, which is scheduled to reopen March 3, well before the wraps come off the castle exterior.
Elsewhere in Fantasyland, the Matterhorn Bobsleds are down until May 16, and Peter Pan's Flight closes on Feb. 2, with no reopening date announced. Removing the Small World holiday overlay will close that ride next Monday through, Feb. 5, as well.
Over on the west side of the park, the Haunted Mansion's holiday overlay is coming down now, and that ride will reopen on Friday. The big closure is Critter Country, which won't return until April 3. That means Splash Mountain, Pooh, the canoes, and the Hungry Bear are all closed until then.
In Tomorrowland, Disney's taking out the Big Hero 6 "preview" in the Magic Eye Theater, but there's no reopening date for that theater, either. No one seems to be in any hurry to bring Captain EO back again, so the theater might just sit empty until Disney has another movie to promote. (Hello, Tomorrowland!)
Over in California Adventure, we've told you about the conversion of the former Condor Flats land to Grizzly Peak Airfield. That will keep the Taste Pilots Grill closed until at least March, and Soarin' Over California shuttered until May 15. Much of neighboring Grizzly Peak will be closed for much of that time, too, as the Grizzly River Run and Redwood Creek Challenge Trail have closed for refurbishment. The play area is set to reopen March 3 with no official word yet on the river run's return date.
In Paradise Pier, World of Color is dark through March 13, and the Paradise Garden Grill is serving burgers, to replace the Taste Pilots Grill's menu until that restaurant reopens. Ariel's Grotto closes for a refurb in two weeks, and Disney will be refurbishing and retheming several of the Boardwalk shops starting this weekend through mid-February. Also, the Pacific Wharf Cafe is closed through Feb. 6.
And, yes, the Blue Sky Cellar remains closed, though one holds out hope that Disney will kick out the VIP meet-and-greets it's been using this room for over the past months to give us a new exhibit previewing 60th anniversary events and upgrades.
We will find out what those are (officially) when Disney announces them next Wednesday, Jan. 28. We will be at the resort for the announcement and will post the details then. We know that Disneyland will be getting a new version of Hong Kong's Paint the Night parade in addition to the changes and refurbishments we've listed above. Stay tuned.
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Well, thanks for keeping us posted so it's not a total shock upon arrival.
Wish we could get some kind of discount since we aren't even getting the full experience.
Seems a bit overkill to close that much all at once.
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