Hey there, hi there, ho there! With blackout dates slowly starting to wane, one Magic Key tier at a time, it is time for the holiday crowds to subside and the Magic Key holders to come back to The Happiest Place on Earth. Join us as we take a tour of both parks of the Disneyland Resort, as well as Downtown Disney.

Disneyland

Across the resort, the Holidays are still in full swing. Decorations are still hung, Christmas music still plays on a loop, and the Holiday food offerings and merchandise are still abundant.

The characters are still in their wintery best as well. Mickey, Minnie and Goofy stepped out to greet us just as we came into the park.

Even though the new year has already come, we still love the Holiday look of the castle.

One Holiday overlay has already come down — Santa Claus, who was meeting guests at Pooh’s Thotful Spot, has gone home to the North Pole until next year.

Lots of characters were out greeting guests today. We spotted Tinkerbell at Pixie Hollow, showing off her super cute winter coat.

Over in New Orleans Square, Redd was waving to guests from 21 Royal as they entered her attraction below.

And out at the edge of the galaxy, R2-D2 was interacting with guests as he rolled around the land.

We have been keeping an eye on those pesky weasels in Toontown as Jessica Rabbit slowly takes over as the private investigator who will erase their crime wave at Roger Rabbit’s Car TOON Spin.

In the queue for the ride, the weasels who are usually strolling by the window have come to a halt for the last several weeks. It’s likely that this effect won’t be fixed while the ride is open but rather wait until the whole land closes in March for a major reimagining.

There is plenty of progress being made in Toontown even before the shutdown. Work on the upcoming Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction is progressing quickly.

With Plaza Point Holiday Shoppe now open on Main Street, U.S.A. to cater to all the holiday merchandise needs anyone could dream of, the Castle Holiday Shoppe in Fantasyland was a bit superfluous. It shut down at the same time that Plaza Point opened, and now we have a name and some new art for the shop that will take its place.

In the Emporium, we found plenty of new Mickey Mouse apparel, accessories and more, like this Mickey hat, above, and this cute little backpack, below.

We also found some 2022 branded merchandise — like this truck seen above and a pair of sweatshirts, one of which is seen below.

After we saw this shirt debut on shopDisney the other day, we also found it in the park at Disney Showcase.

Also in Disney Showcase, we spotted this new Belle nuiMOs doll and a whole bunch of wintery outfits, like the Lunar New Year outfit seen below.

There were a ton of new pins released today. Among them was this great little Star Tours pin celebrating the 35th anniversary this year.

In Tomorrowland, some new Star Wars apparel hit the shelves, including a “The Book of Boba Fett” shirt above, and a collection of apparel celebrating space, as seen below.

While in Tomorrowland, we hopped aboard the Monorail and were treated with some great views of the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage lagoon as it is being refurbished.

Everything looks sparkly and new. A fresh coat of paint can go a long way to making the attraction look its best.

We sure are going to miss this view when the Monorail goes down for another long closure starting January 24.

We got so many great shots in one quick ride that we decided to get a little artsy with one.

Downtown Disney

The Monorail dropped us in Downtown Disney, where a few locations are getting ready to close their doors.

The far end of Downtown Disney will be closing this month for the area to be reimagined with more open space for festivals. It’s about time to see the former AMC theater gone and the former ESPN Zone, and even the former Rainforest Cafe. But we sure will miss Earl of Sandwich.

Also closing are the Starbucks location and Sugarboo & Co. Sad to see them go, but progress requires sacrifice.

This Grogu caramel apple from Marceline’s Confectionery was all the rage so we stopped in to grab one and had an impromptu photo shoot at Star Wars Trading Post.

We may have gotten a little carried away, but it’s just so darn cute.

Salt & Straw has five new flavors to try this month, based on Vegan cupcakes. The store is operating with reduced hours due to the health crisis, but they are still open.

With the return of the parking lot trams coming any time in early 2022, the loading area in Downtown Disney is getting a facelift. Fencing and scrim were erected at the dropoff/pickup point across from World of Disney.

Disney California Adventure

As we headed over to Disney California Adventure, we noticed a new banner on the light poles. Avengers Campus has been added as featured attraction alongside such classics as Grizzly Peak, Carthay Circle Restaurant, and The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure.

There’s not much visible progress at Paradise Bay. Though the bay is refilled with water, there are still platforms just above the surface for continued work.

After being unavailable for quite some time, the Iron Man Infinity Gauntlet beverage holder has finally come back to Avengers Campus.

Ant Man waves goodbye as we take our leave from the Disneyland Resort.

Thanks for riding along with us. We’ll see ya real soon!

Charly Shelton