Castle Refurbishment January Thru Spring

[Malcon10t]

They arent owed anything more than other other group, they just arent owed less either. Which is what the June crowd expects, for other people.to deal with refurbishments so stuff can be open for them, with no real off season anymore there shouldn't be 2 things closed in Feb so that 2 things can be open in June, there should be one closed in Feb and 1 closed in June....see how that works...

One of the issues you keep missing is night time entertainment is used as a draw to move crowds. Which is why it is important to Disney to have Fantasmic! up and running in April-Sept. The crowds mid Jan-late March are at the lowest of the year. Yes, they are running specials to try and get people there during that time frame, because they expect it to be slower than normal. They need all entertainment up in June as they are expecting turnstile closing crowds. They may even have WOC and PTN back up. (I think PTN is refurbing now.)

There is a difference between thi gs not running in all cylinders and nothing at all running (Current Feb nighttime entertainment)

Actually, you should have Mickey's Magical Mix up, which is said to run nightly. Also Soundsational will be running most evenings at 6p. And we can keep our fingers crossed for WOC.

They may well be getting g WOC up and running as soon as possible le, but they shouldn't be taking F! Down until that happens, or at the very least replacing it with PTN or similar...

This is the normal time Fantasmic! goes down. It also sounds like (from rumors) that there are issues. Would love to see PTN back when we are down mid- Feb, but don't foresee it happening.

My issue is that the Disney of old would have "made it right" close WOC add Paint the night.

"Disney of old" did not list what was open or closed until you arrived. It was a guess as to what was open.

Maybe the best answer is for Disney to completely close for a couple of weeks once or twice a year....

Or go back to it being closed Mon and Tuesdays. Can you imagine if they closed for 2 weeks twice a year? That would seriously hurt the cast members who work there.

It doesn't matter what Disney does, people will complain.

 

[Christin82]

One of the issues you keep missing is night time entertainment is used as a draw to move crowds. Which is why it is important to Disney to have Fantasmic! up and running in April-Sept. The crowds mid Jan-late March are at the lowest of the year. Yes, they are running specials to try and get people there during that time frame, because they expect it to be slower than normal. They need all entertainment up in June as they are expecting turnstile closing crowds. They may even have WOC and PTN back up. (I think PTN is refurbing now.)

Actually, you should have Mickey's Magical Mix up, which is said to run nightly. Also Soundsational will be running most evenings at 6p. And we can keep our fingers crossed for WOC.

This is the normal time Fantasmic! goes down. It also sounds like (from rumors) that there are issues. Would love to see PTN back when we are down mid- Feb, but don't foresee it happening.

"Disney of old" did not list what was open or closed until you arrived. It was a guess as to what was open.

Or go back to it being closed Mon and Tuesdays. Can you imagine if they closed for 2 weeks twice a year? That would seriously hurt the cast members who work there.

It doesn't matter what Disney does, people will complain.

I don’t mean to complain, I love DL and all things Disney, and I agree that closing the parks for days or weeks at a time isn’t the answer, but logically:

If there really is no off-season anymore with respect to crowds, then why are the lion’s share of refurbs still done during this time of year? And why are park hours shortened so dramatically? Are you saying that crowds in late winter and early spring truly are much, much lower than other times? In your view, the “off-season” really does still exist? Because according to many, there have been massive crowds virtually year-round in the past few years.

It seems like people are saying things like, “There is no off-season anymore,” and then in the same breath saying that the reason so many refurbs are being done right now is because “there are far fewer guests during the ‘off-season’” Which is it? Does the off-season exist, or doesn’t it?

If Disney knows that crowds are consistently large year-round, don’t you agree that they should adjust their refurbishment schedules, entertainment calendars, and park hours accordingly, spreading everything more evenly throughout the year?

 

[wareagle57]

Is there any speculation how long the castle and Fantasmic will be down? This will be my wife's first time and our Disneymoon in Mid April. I'm already bummed about PtN. I am assuming WOC will surely be back by then. It would be a major bummer to have all of these things down. There will be nowhere for crowds to go in an already busy spring break season.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

I don’t mean to complain, I love DL and all things Disney, and I agree that closing the parks for days or weeks at a time isn’t the answer, but logically:

If there really is no off-season anymore with respect to crowds, then why are the lion’s share of refurbs still done during this time of year? And why are park hours shortened so dramatically? Are you saying that crowds in late winter and early spring truly are much, much lower than other times? In your view, the “off-season” really does still exist? Because according to many, there have been massive crowds virtually year-round in the past few years.

It seems like people are saying things like, “There is no off-season anymore,” and then in the same breath saying that the reason so many refurbs are being done right now is because “there are far fewer guests during the ‘off-season’” Which is it? Does the off-season exist, or doesn’t it?

If Disney knows that crowds are consistently large year-round, don’t you agree that they should adjust their refurbishment schedules, entertainment calendars, and park hours accordingly, spreading everything more evenly throughout the year?

My perception is this (just using round numbers for simplicity): Let's say that a "high season" day is usually 50,000 people. Disney has planned for those 50,000 people, and if 55,000 show up, they're absorbed pretty easily.

And then a "low-season" day used to be 25,000 people. So they put a lot of refurbishments and stuff into "low season," run the parks 10-8 or even 10-6 (remember those days of 6pm closings?), and get lots of maintenance done in the off hours. Also, let's remember that not that long ago, Halloweentime wasn't really such a thing, so September/October were more like "low season" than they are now. So Disney used to have a few months out of the year to stick refurbs, when the parks were only open for 10 hours or less per day anyway, so lots of maintenance could happen while the parks were closed. But I digress...

Anyway, "low season" attendance has been creeping up, so now "low season" is, say, 35,000 people, and Disney has upped the hours a bit in acknowledgement of that. And 35,000 feels ok, even with stuff down, it's still noticeably lighter than a "high season" day, so everyone says to come now. So now 40,000 people show up. Not every day, but enough days that you can't count on it being "low," which is what the warnings are about. 40,000 in a park that was expecting 35,000 is a stretch; it feels "crowded" (especially compared to expectations), PLUS you have less hours to do things and all that. But it's still not 50,000 or 55,000. So it's still the "best time" to schedule refurbishments and shorten hours (which has to be done sometime for just regular maintenance, you know?)

So, that's why you hear both sides. If you're expecting empty, no, it's not empty. It feels "crowded." And with lower hours and lower offerings, it can really be a "lesser" experience than summer in a lot of ways. But is daily attendance the same as during spring break or summer? No. So it's still where the refurbs go.

(I'm not really weighing in with an opinion here; I'm just trying to explain why you hear apparently conflicting points about this.) I hope that makes some sense.

 

[Christin82]

My perception is this (just using round numbers for simplicity): Let's say that a "high season" day is usually 50,000 people. Disney has planned for those 50,000 people, and if 55,000 show up, they're absorbed pretty easily.

And then a "low-season" day used to be 25,000 people. So they put a lot of refurbishments and stuff into "low season," run the parks 10-8 or even 10-6 (remember those days of 6pm closings?), and get lots of maintenance done in the off hours. Also, let's remember that not that long ago, Halloweentime wasn't really such a thing, so September/October were more like "low season" than they are now. So Disney used to have a few months out of the year to stick refurbs, when the parks were only open for 10 hours or less per day anyway, so lots of maintenance could happen while the parks were closed. But I digress...

Anyway, "low season" attendance has been creeping up, so now "low season" is, say, 35,000 people, and Disney has upped the hours a bit in acknowledgement of that. And 35,000 feels ok, even with stuff down, it's still noticeably lighter than a "high season" day, so everyone says to come now. So now 40,000 people show up. Not every day, but enough days that you can't count on it being "low," which is what the warnings are about. 40,000 in a park that was expecting 35,000 is a stretch; it feels "crowded" (especially compared to expectations), PLUS you have less hours to do things and all that. But it's still not 50,000 or 55,000. So it's still the "best time" to schedule refurbishments and shorten hours (which has to be done sometime for just regular maintenance, you know?)

So, that's why you hear both sides. If you're expecting empty, no, it's not empty. It feels "crowded." And with lower hours and lower offerings, it can really be a "lesser" experience than summer in a lot of ways. But is daily attendance the same as during spring break or summer? No. So it's still where the refurbs go.

(I'm not really weighing in with an opinion here; I'm just trying to explain why you hear apparently conflicting points about this.) I hope that makes some sense.

Yes, this makes sense! I’ve been off-work from teaching for the past couple weeks, which has caused me to overthink every detail of my trip (too much free time on my hands, I guess). In the end, there’s nothing any of us can do to change anything, so it’s best to just focus on the positive: we are going to Disneyland, and that’s something to be happy about, not something to over-analyze. Thanks for the perspective!

 

[Malcon10t]

Yes, this makes sense! I’ve been off-work from teaching for the past couple weeks, which has caused me to overthink every detail of my trip (too much free time on my hands, I guess). In the end, there’s nothing any of us can do to change anything, so it’s best to just focus on the positive: we are going to Disneyland, and that’s something to be happy about, not something to over-analyze. Thanks for the perspective!

Skyegirl1999 did a great job of describing. "Off season" as it used to be known, where rides were walk on, hotels were begging you to stay and offering majorly discounted rates isn't the same. Now, it is busier, but Jan/Feb/Mar (with exceptions of MLK and Presidents weekends) are still slower than June/July/Aug. (Especially next June/July/Aug.)

 

[YayforMickey]

So Mickey's Mix Magic is finally on the calendar starting January 18th and running every night after that.

 

[Cal-Pie]

So Mickey's Mix Magic is finally on the calendar starting January 18th and running every night after that.

I'm still not seeing it, where did you find it?

 

[YayforMickey]

I'm still not seeing it, where did you find it?

I just looked at the Disneyland calendar

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/calendars/day/2019-01-18/

 

[Cal-Pie]

I just looked at the Disneyland calendar

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/calendars/day/2019-01-18/

Thanks, I was looking at the entertainment schedule and it's still not there, weird.

 

[Erin M]

Just saw a picture of the walled off castle on Facebook. It’s not what I had expected. Not sure what I expected, but the giant gray wall wasn’t it.

I’m trying to have a good attitude about this, hoping watching the progress will be interesting, but it’s a shock to see it all walled off like that.

 

[dina444444]

Just saw a picture of the walled off castle on Facebook. It’s not what I had expected. Not sure what I expected, but the giant gray wall wasn’t it.

I’m trying to have a good attitude about this, hoping watching the progress will be interesting, but it’s a shock to see it all walled off like that.

It’s day one. I would give it a few days to see what the whole thing will look like for the construction period. It also rained over night so that could have delayed getting certain things up on the walls etc.

 

[mummabear]

One of the issues you keep missing is night time entertainment is used as a draw to move crowds. Which is why it is important to Disney to have Fantasmic! up and running in April-Sept. The crowds mid Jan-late March are at the lowest of the year. Yes, they are running specials to try and get people there during that time frame, because they expect it to be slower than normal. They need all entertainment up in June as they are expecting turnstile closing crowds. They may even have WOC and PTN back up. (I think PTN is refurbing now.)

Actually, you should have Mickey's Magical Mix up, which is said to run nightly. Also Soundsational will be running most evenings at 6p. And we can keep our fingers crossed for WOC.

This is the normal time Fantasmic! goes down. It also sounds like (from rumors) that there are issues. Would love to see PTN back when we are down mid- Feb, but don't foresee it happening.

"Disney of old" did not list what was open or closed until you arrived. It was a guess as to what was open.

Or go back to it being closed Mon and Tuesdays. Can you imagine if they closed for 2 weeks twice a year? That would seriously hurt the cast members who work there.

It doesn't matter what Disney does, people will complain.

What you are missing is that Feb crowds also need nighttime entertainment to draw crowds, as per the schedule there is currently none.
All the talk about choosing to go during "off season" the same can be said for choosing to go in June, you are choosing to go and deal with crowds, you arent owed those crowds being dealt with any better than other guests.
As far as someone will always complain, the question becomes is it a valid complaint? Being upset that there is no nighttime entertainment=valid, complaining one is down-not valid even if its June....

 

[YayforMickey]

As far as someone will always complain, the question becomes is it a valid complaint? Being upset that there is no nighttime entertainment=valid, complaining one is down-not valid even if its June....

Mickey's Mix Magic in on the calendar every night in February. Soundsational will be at 6:00 most nights (the exception being Sweethearts' Nite). 6:00 is after sundown. There might be World of Color if it is finished being fixed. Your arguments are not standing up to facts.

 

[wareagle57]

Actually, you should have Mickey's Magical Mix up, which is said to run nightly. Also Soundsational will be running most evenings at 6p. And we can keep our fingers crossed for WOC.
.

Do they run Soundsational as a nighttime parade? Will they move it later to account for sunset?

 

[dina444444]

Do they run Soundsational as a nighttime parade? Will they move it later to account for sunset?

It can run as a day or nighttime parade. Prior to PTN, during the winter it’s usually ran at 6pm or 7pm for the single showing days and afternoon and 6pm showing on two showing days. They went back to this for Christmas fantasy. So it will be at night till the clocks change then it won’t be anymore.

 

[wareagle57]

It can run as a day or nighttime parade. Prior to PTN, during the winter it’s usually ran at 6pm or 7pm for the single showing days and afternoon and 6pm showing on two showing days. They went back to this for Christmas fantasy. So it will be at night till the clocks change then it won’t be anymore.

Gotcha, so I should not expect it after dark in mid april. What time will it run once the time changes? Still 6?

 

[dina444444]

Gotcha, so I should not expect it after dark in mid april. What time will it run once the time changes? Still 6?

More than likely yes.

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

Just saw a picture of the walled off castle on Facebook. It’s not what I had expected. Not sure what I expected, but the giant gray wall wasn’t it.

I’m trying to have a good attitude about this, hoping watching the progress will be interesting, but it’s a shock to see it all walled off like that.

Would you feel comfortable sharing that photo here, perhaps with permission and credit? Thanks!

 

[Cal-Pie]

Would you feel comfortable sharing that photo here, perhaps with permission and credit? Thanks!

There are several on Instagram #sleepybeautycastle