Happy New Year’s Eve! In the last month of a pretty busy year at the resort, Disneyland took a decently calm moment before refurbishment season kicks off and events ramp up in the spring. Let’s take a look back at the happenings throughout the month.
BRIE LARSON HOSTS THE CANDLELIGHT PROCESSIONAL
Each December, Disneyland and Disney World in Florida each host a fan-favorite holiday event: the Candlelight Processional. This 2-night event features live musicians, light projections, and a reading of the story of Christmas at the train station. Each year, the reading is done by a special guest narrator. This year’s narrator was Captain Marvel herself, Brie Larson.
Source: Laughing Place
Caroling of some kind has been a staple event at Disneyland since 1955, with the show gradually growing and evolving until Walt’s involvement in some of the 1960 olympic entertainment inspired him to create a larger production. Since the 1960s, the Candlelight Processional as we know it has become a major tradition in the park.
AN EARTHQUAKE SHAKES UP THE PARK
On December 4, a 3.5 earthquake rattled nearby Fullerton, causing Disneyland to come to a temporary halt.
Source: MiceChat
Nearly 20 attractions closed briefly so cast members could inspect them to ensure the earthquake caused no damage. By park close everything was fully operational, but it did cause some brief chaos for guests in the park that suddenly had virtually nothing to ride!
PIRATES FINALLY GETS LIGHTNING LANE
In a move many of us anticipated (but few hoped for), Pirates of the Caribbean will finally be adding Lightning Lane and be included as an offering in Genie+. The once famously efficient and steadily moving queue will be a lot slower moving forward, so plan accordingly. While Disneyland announced this as temporary due to ride refurbishments, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if it’s here to stay.
This visual from Ryan Theme Park does an excellent job of showing how the new queue works with Lightning Lane. Red represents the Lightning Lane path, yellow represents standby, and green represents the line merge/entry into the building. Similarly to Radiator Springs Racers, at one point standby crosses the Lightning Lane entryway and continues alongside the building when the line is long.
Source: Ryan Theme Park
OTHER UPDATES
For the first time, Disneyland announced the full event lineup for 2024, rather than teasing one set of dates at a time. I’ll still be drafting posts for each individual event, but you can check out the full list here.
As part of this announcement block, we got confirmation that the Magic Happens Parade will return to the park starting February 2nd.
In addition, the Wondrous Journeys fireworks show will return for a limited run between March 22 and April 14.
And finally, Disneyland continued its tradition of inviting the Rose Bowl teams for a special day ini the park ahead of the game on January 1. Players from both Alabama and Michigan joined the Rose Queen and her court in a cavalcade down Main Street, riding in horse-drawn and rose-covered carriages. It was a great sendoff to a wild year at the resort, with a lot more to come with new rides, new shows, and new adventures in 2024.
Source: Disney Parks Blog
As per usual, I’ll be taking January off from posting. See you all in February, and cheers to 2024!
Happy new year! Can you tell me where you saw that Pirates is getting a lightening lane? I saw that little mermaid in DCA now has lightening lane but I haven’t seen anything about pirates, and it’s not listed on the website as having one. Thanks !
Same to you! I first saw it reported from a few Disney sources I trust (including Scott Gustin on Twitter/X), saying it will start January 22. I then checked with a cast member friend who confirmed she heard the same.
Fantastic! Thank you!
A very happy New Year to you, Duchess, and many happy visits to the Parks for you in 2024.
Same to you Kerry! 🙂