Days before heading to Bejing for the Olympic Games, members of the USA volleyball team tested their competitive skills at Toy Story Mania! — a new attraction at Disney’s California Adventure, in Anaheim.

Teammates Ryan Millar, a BYU graduate from Palmdale, CA., and Scott Touzinsky, from Long Beach State and St. Louis, Mo., rode the attraction on July 29, racking up points with their spring action shooters. They each surpassed 135,000 points, but Touzinsky outscored Millar in a close contest.

Team USA, which trains at the American Sports Centers in Anaheim, CA., aims to score many more points as they shoot for a medal at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, which begin Aug. 8. The U.S. men won their first FIVB World League title this summer, defeating Serbia in the gold-medal match in Rio de Janeiro.

David “Darkbeer” Michael visited the Disneyland Resort today, & saw some of the effects of the earthquake, as well as attending a lot of different events & exhibits in Downtown Disney (of which I don’t have a clue what any of them are, but I have my duty to report them!). Let’s dive on in this mega update:

The Disneyland Monorail was closed due to the earthquake

This Anaheim Ducks exhibit of sorts seems to of replaced the very similar High School Musical: Get in the Picture “exhibit”

The “ducks” are still alive?

Think this is something to do with the earthquake?

A signing of some kind… Maybe it wasn’t to do with the earthquake?

Then inside the ESPN Zone, there was something to do with the Anaheim Arsenal (which I’m guessing is a sports team of some kind)

Some kind of presentation in the ESPN Zone, which judging by the background of the picture, has to do with the NBA

Finally going inside the parks to see the effects of the earthquake… Here we see the Abandoned Tiki Room

And a rare site… NO LINE FOR INDY!

By this point, I’m guessing Pirates of the Caribbean had re-opened, unless everyone stayed in the line

Most attractions had re-opened, but apparently Indy was closed all day!

New Century Timepieces is a thing of the past, as previously reported, Fortuosity Shoppe will open up in that space this October

Toy Story Midway Mania re-opened by 12:30PM along with most of DCA… Seems Mr. Potato Head grew back his ear!

Finally, the Maliboomer was closed all day, as it can’t test when the park is open for some reason

Due credit goes to Mr. Darkbeer & his lovely SmugMug page! Be sure to check out his gallery from today, at this link.

The OC Register have been posting updates on the earthquake & its affects on the Disneyland Resort all day today. Complaints were many, as apparently the line to complain at City Hall stretched all the way down to the Penny Arcade!

Attractions in Disneyland started re-opening just before 1pm, with the first attractions re-opening being the Jungle Cruise, Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes, & the Sailing Ship Columbia. Over at Disney’s California Adventure, most attractions were re-opened by 12:30pm, with the exception of California Screamin’, the Maliboomer, Grizzly River Run, & Soarin’ Over California.

By 3:15pm, all attractions but 3 at the Resort were re-opened, those three being Grizzly River Run (due to the water level sensors), the Maliboomer (as it can’t test while the park is open for some reason), & the Disneyland Monorail (as it was still testing then, however it should of re-opened by now).

Be sure to check the article on the OC Register to see if they get anymore updates on the status of the Disneyland Resort!

Another update for you on the Southern California earthquake. Disneyland is slowly getting the attractions back up & running. According to abc7, some of the attractions are operating now, but we don’t know what attractions.

As always, stay tuned to Disneyland News Today to find out when more rides open, & various other updates we get on this Earthquake & it’s effects on Disneyland.

We have an update on the earthquake prowling its way through Southern California. Disney have issued a statement saying that all attractions are still closed, but they are/will be testing the attractions & they should hopefully be open sometime soon!

Again, stay tuned to Disneyland News Today to find out when the rides will be re-opened, & various other updates we get on this Earthquake & it’s effects on Disneyland.

Southern California is currently experiencing a relatively major Earthquake, 5.8 on the richter scale. According to the Eyewitness News program on abc7, Disneyland have taken a precautionary measure, & have evacuated all rides, as well as the hotels. I presume the stores & restaurants also have been evacuated. All guests are waiting around outside at the current moment.

abc7’s website has the following:

CHINO HILLS (KABC) – A magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit late Tuesday morning two miles southwest of Chino Hills in San Bernardino County.

The jolt was felt from Los Angeles to San Diego, and slightly in Las Vegas. It caused buildings to sway and triggered some precautionary evacuations. Ten aftershocks occurred in the next dozen minutes, including three estimated at 3.8.

No damage or injuries have been reported as a result of the earthquake.

The quake struck at 11:42 a.m. PDT. Buildings swayed in downtown Los Angeles and San Diego for several seconds.

Stay tuned to Disneyland News Today to find out when the rides will be re-opened, & various other updates we get on this Earthquake & it’s effects on Disneyland.

Today’s been a great day for additions to the site & podcast. Not only has the Image Gallery finally returned, but we’re also introducing Enhanced podcasts to the Disneyland News Today podcast!

An enhanced podcast is a podcast with added features that standard podcasts do not have. Enhanced podcasts include many features like Chapter listings, that lets you skip through chapters or see what is in store for this weeks show. Enhanced podcasts also have images to let you differ the chapters by. Enhanced podcasts have one negative feature, you can not play them on most mp3 players. The file format for Enhanced shows is .m4a which can play on an Apple iPod or a Microsoft Zune.

Episode 23 is the first episode to feature the Enhanced option. We do have everything ready, but as this is a new feature, problems are to be expected. We’ll hopefully have all of the kinks worked out for you tomorrow, so you’ll be able to download the Enhanced show. In the meantime, you can download the normal mp3 version of the show at this link.

Also be sure to check out the newly “re-opened” Image Gallery, with the newly added full size versions of my pictures from my July 13th trip to the Disneyland Resort. Check it out here!

Join host Luke Manning and a cast including Kenny Siegel, Lee Scott, and John Corigliano, for a show that brings you the Ideals, Dreams, and Hard Facts of the Disneyland Resort. So sit back, relax, and enjoy all of the Disneyland news, information, and fun we have to offer on this edition of the Disneyland News Today Podcast!

Episode 23 starts off with our weekly Disneyland News and Rumors. Among the things covered this week are more details on the re-opening of the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough, lots of upcoming refurbishments, plenty of rumors, and much more! Tackling the news with me this week are Kenny, Lee, and John!

Coming to you live from the parks this week is an interesting, small show in Hollywood Pictures Backlot, Drawn to the Magic. Headphones are suggested for the best listening experience.

Finally, it’s the thirteenth installment of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, in which we’ll take a look at each area in Disneyland, Disney’s California Adventure, and the whole resort each week, and see what’s good about it, what’s bad, and what’s just downright ugly. To figure out the Good, Bad, and Ugly of Mickey’s Toontown, I am again joined with Kenny, Lee, and John!

If you would like to contact us with any questions, suggestions, comments, or concerns you can email us at wdwnewstoday@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail message at (206)-666-2982. Enjoy the show!!! See Ya Next Week!!!

To download this episode of the DLNT Podcast, please visit our Podcast Download page. To just listen to the show (not download it) click on the little player attached to this post. Or you can subscribe to our podcast on iTunes.

 

 DLNT Episode 23 (7/27/08) [71:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

Ever wished that you could have your Disney trip planning questions answered instantly? Now here’s your chance when WDW News Today, Disneyland News Today, and Magical Travel present the first edition of Disney Trip Planning Live on August 3, 2008. The show will be hosted on TalkShoe, which will allow listeners to interact instantly with our expert panel and get the information they need easily.

Title: Episode #1 - Disney Trip Planning Live! by WDWNT
Time: 08/03/2008 at 5:00PM PST/8:00PM EST
Phone Number: 1-724-444-7444
Call ID: 22960

Show Information

Don’t worry if you can’t make it to the show, we will be accepting questions by email up until the date of the show at wdwnewstoday@gmail.com. You can then listen to the show on TalkShoe.com or on iTunes to hear the answer to your question after the show is over.

A whole load of new refurbishments during September & October have been announced. There’s so many, that I’m just gonna bullet them bellow:

• French Market - 9/2/08-9/19/08
• Sailing Ship Columbia - 9/2/08-10/25/08
• Conostoga Wagon - 9/2/08-????
• Fantasmic - 9/2/08-????
• Harbour Galley - 9/2/08-????
• Big Thunder Ranch - 9/15/08-9/27/08
• Pirates of the Caribbean - 10/13/08-????
• Jungle Cruise - 10/20/08-10/22/08
• Gadget’s Go-Coaster - 10/20/08-????
• Burger Invasion - 9/2/08-????

It’s interesting to note that all 3 McDonalds locations in the Resort (Conostoga Wagon, Harbour Galley, & Burger Invasion) will be closed starting September 2nd, for an undetermined amount of time. Could this be the end for McDonalds at the Disneyland Resort?

Also, the Hyperion Theater refurbishment has been pushed back to start on September 29th, instead of September 2nd. We still have no information on when it will end, but it should be in time for the Christmas season.

Finally, I just want to remind everyone of the already announced refurbs:

• Plaza Pavilion - 1/11/08-10/10/08
• It’s a Small World - 1/22/08-11/28/08
• Mark Twain Riverboat - 8/25/08-8/27/08
• The Haunted Mansion - 9/8/08-9/25/08
• Flik’s Flyers - 9/2/08-9/12/08
• Sun Wheel - 9/11/08-????

Stay tuned to Disneyland News Today for updates on all attraction refurbishments. And for up-to-the-minute information on the various refurbishments, be sure to check our Attraction Refurbishments page!

According to Screamscape:

Park News - (7/22/08) According to Screamscape sources the Disneyland Parade of Dreams will go on hiatus sometime this fall to allow for the Main Street USA area to be resurfaced. The plan right now is to make up for this by holding Fantasmic offered nightly, with one performance on Mondays – Thursdays along with two shows on Friday – Sundays.

Now, this is just pure speculation, but if this does happen around September or October, they will need a good deal of time to do the resurfacing of Main Street, so when it’s done, it will probably be time for a Christmas Fantasy Parade. So this “hiatus” could be the end for Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams, as it’s due to head off to Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom next year.

Stay tuned to Disneyland News Today for all the latest updates on Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams!

Here are a few juicy rumors concerning the Little Mermaid attraction & World of Color:

• The Paradise Pier lagoon will be drained at the end of the year in preparation for World of Color.
• Some of the fountains that will be used for World of Color reportedly will be able to shoot higher than the Maliboomer! Because of this, is the Cove Bar at Ariel’s Grotto may be have to be enclosed.
• The control booth for World of Color will be on top level of the Little Mermaid building, which will be 3 stories tall.
• Underneath the Little Mermaid will be the Parade Guest Control offices, as well as offices for the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.
• And speaking of Redwood Creek, it will be cut almost in half for an expansion to the building that will become the Little Mermaid attraction.

Stay tuned to Disneyland News Today for updates on these & any rumors involving the DCA Expansion!

We have been hearing various reports that during Christmas this year, Disney will use a fake Christmas Tree on Main Street, as opposed to a real one, which they have used all years past. The decision for this is unknown, but I’m going to guess it’s either to save money, or for safety.

Again, this is not confirmed, but stay tuned to Disneyland News Today to find out if this will be happening.