To end off August strong, we made our way over to the Disneyland Resort this morning to check out all the latest happenings on property. Join us to take a look at our battle with parking, dense weekend crowds, hour-long waits, new merchandise, and more.

Downtown Disney Parking

When we first arrived at the Ball Road entrance to Disneyland Resort, we noticed traffic was stalled almost immediately. Starting at the Mickey & Friends Parking Structure, a line of cars sat down Disneyland Drive, all waiting to enter the Downtown Disney Parking lot. As the vehicles moved across Disneyland property to the parking entrance, some were allowed to enter the lot while others are turned away and told to keep moving with no redirection.

After an hour of circling Downtown Disney, we ended up parking off property and walking over. The capacity available and demand from the guests for Downtown Disney have been a problem on these busy weekends in Orange County.

Temperature Screenings

We made it to temperature screenings around 1pm only to see crowds and crowds of people forming a wrap-around queue stretching to the parking lot.

Additional yellow social distancing markers have been placed on the ground to help guide guests.

The line wrapped around three times to consolidate temperature checks into one entry place at the end near the white screening tents.

We waited in this line for roughly 25 minutes. After our hour and a half arrival process, we made it into Downtown Disney District.

Downtown Disney District

The first thing we noticed when we entered was this upgraded portable hand washing station in front of Sugarboo & Co. Over the past few weeks, guests have had some problems with the sink in this location, so hopefully, this resolves that problem.

Signage reminds guests to wash their hands for 20 seconds.

There is also a notice on the paper towel dispenser reminding guests not to drink this water for their safety.

The LEGO Store had an hour wait today and was utilizing the virtual queue.

Pin Traders had a short wait today with only a few people standing in a physical queue. We found some new open edition Halloween pins at Disney’s Pin Traders earlier this week.

The queue extends around a planter to across the walkway in front of the Downtown Disney Monorail Station.

The pressed penny machine across from Pin Traders is currently out of order.

This cute purple and white out of order sign was placed on the front of the pressed penny machine.

Both Jamba Juice and Rip Curl had no wait around 2pm. These are both good locations to check out if you’re waiting in your virtual queue.

Sprinkles Cupcakes still remains closed.

The Void is permanently shut down at Downtown Disney due to license agreement breach.

The Disney Home Store had an hour and half wait around 2:30pm.

It was hard to find a spot to rest today. Most socially distant seating areas were occupied by guests taking a break or grabbing a snack.

The Disney Dress Shop

We waited about an hour and a half to enter the Dress Shop. If this is a store you want to enter on your next visit, make sure you stop by before heading down to World of Disney and put your name on the virtual list.

In the dress shop, we found this new bright t-shirt with Fantasyland, Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Frontierland, and Disneyland written out in colorful block letters.

The back of the tee is split down with black and white fabric. This shirt is available for $36.99.

In addition to the new t-shirt, a new Disneyland Halloween tank top has made its way to the Disney Dress Shop!

Disneyland is spelled out in spooky Halloween shapes featuring a ghost and a dark castle.

The bottom of the tank has “Happy Halloween 2020” in a smaller white and blue font.

The back of the tank top has a low middle split with a hem running up the back at an angle.

This is available for $34.99.

World of Disney

World of Disney had the longest wait of the day, ending up to be about an hour and 45 minutes.

To join the virtual queue, you still must make your way around to the tram loading station to give your name and number to a Cast Member. Almost every bench in this shady area was being used on this sunny Anaheim day.

Earlier this month, Halloween made its way into World of Disney. For a look at all of this seasons merchandise, click here.

“It’s always tea time!”

This new Alice in Wonderland cup features beautiful soft green, purple, and blue colors with the addition of your favorite characters such as Alice, the White Rabbit, the King of Hearts, and a cheery card painter.

The inside of the cup is a periwinkle color with a glossy finish. This cup is available for $19.99.

Because there is never enough Alice in Wonderland mug options, this new light teal cup might make the perfect addition to your collection.

The cup features the classic 10/6 tag from the Mad Hatters hat. The dormouse can be seen peeking out of his pink teapot on the left side of the mug. Underneath him sits a Mad Tea Party banner and clock.

The back of the cup has small dark green symbols such as a tiny clock, swirl, and teapot.

The inside matches the darker green on the outside of the cup with a glossy finish as well. This mug is priced at $19.99.

The Esplanade

While there hasn’t been too much action going on in the Esplanade lately, Disneyland and California Adventure have added plexiglass shields to all theme park turnstiles. In addition to the new plexiglass installation, “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” was quietly removed from Disneyland Resort music loops ahead of Splash Mountain closure.

Before leaving, we peeked over the monorail track to see the top of the snowy Matterhorn.

That wraps up our latest visit to the Disneyland Resort. Make sure to check back, and follow us on social media via Instagram and Twitter for more updates on the Disneyland Resort.

Katy Dunn