This week’s VOYAGEERS segment features Rick Rothschild, a brilliant veteran Imagineer. He once said, “Walt understood that technology should serve the story, not the other way around. The best attractions aren’t rides—they’re portals.”
So true!
Thanks to abqkid for the real-time pics in the Lounge! See more real-time pics and post your pics here!
Disneyland Resort News
In the heart of Southern California, where nostalgia and innovation collide, Disneyland Resort hums with the energy of a thousand storybooks. This week (February 4–11, 2025) offers a tapestry of flavors, secrets, and strategies for those who know where to look. Let’s pull back the curtain.
A Culinary Adventure: Where to Eat (and What to Skip)
Disneyland’s kitchens are buzzing with new creations. At Parkside Market in Downtown Disney, the Nod to Nicaud cocktail ($16)—a blend of rum, hibiscus, and lime—has become an instant hit, celebrating Black heritage during Celebrate Soulfully. Over in California Adventure, Lunar New Year festivities (through February 16) shine with Korean Gochujang Beef Stir Fry ($12.99) at Lucky Fortune Cookery, while Paradise Garden Grill’s revamped plant-based Beyond Meat Steak Tips ($14.50) in a tangy Chinese glaze are drawing vegan crowds.
Don’t miss the quiet triumph at California Grill: the controversial switch from goat cheese ravioli to Sonoma Goat Cheese Cappelletti ($89 prix-fixe) has won over skeptics with its brown butter sage sauce. For a sweet finale, the Cherry Blossom Sakura Keychain ($14.99) at Disney Ever After pairs whimsy with a whiff of spring—limited stock alert.
Insider Hack: Mobile order Dole Whip from Tropical Hideaway before noon to dodge the post-lunch rush.
Secrets of the Kingdom: Beyond the Map
While families queue for Rise of the Resistance, savvy visitors are snapping ethereal photos in the Snow White Grotto at dusk, where golden hour casts a storybook glow. Over in California Adventure, Carthay Circle’s alfresco lounge offers a tucked-away perch to watch World of Color rehearsals—no reservation needed.
Character hunters, take note: Dopey and Jiminy Cricket have been spotted near Grizzly Peak during DVC Moonlight Magic hours (February 4–6), while StellaLou (the ballet-dancing bunny) makes rare appearances at Pixar Place Hotel’s new mini-golf pop-up, Pixar Putt (tickets from $25).
Free Souvenir Alert: Ask for a “Celebrate Soulfully” button at Elias & Co. or a Sweethearts’ Nite commemorative pin set (Magic Key holders only) near Galaxy’s Edge.
Your Wallet’s Best Friend: Discounts That Matter
This week, Adults at Kids’ Prices tickets (through February 14) slash costs for spring trips, while Magic Key holders unlock $2 popcorn refills (with Stitch bucket) and 30% off Pixar Putt. Disney Visa cardholders save 10% at Jolly Holiday Bakery, and the Grand Legacy Hotel offers free parking for Magic Key stays.
Pro Tip: Check slickdeals.net for last-minute hotel bundles—the Pixar Place Hotel has a “Stay & Play” package with mini-golf vouchers.
Crowds Decoded: Navigate Like a Pro
February 7–9 will see moderate crowds, but February 10–11 dips to “Ghost Town” levels as post-Sweethearts’ Nite calm sets in. Avoid Disneyland Park mornings—rope drop California Adventure instead for shorter waits at Radiator Springs Racers.
Closure Intel:
- Red Car Trolley closes permanently February 9 (Avengers Campus expansion).
- “it’s a small world” and Disneyland Railroad remain shuttered until March 6.
- Grizzly River Run’s refurbishment (through March 13) redirects thrill-seekers to Incredicoaster’s single-rider line (avg. wait: 15 mins).
Rope Drop Strategy: At 7:30 AM Early Entry, hit Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway before looping to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. Post-9 AM, the app’s virtual queue for Haunted Mansion Holiday updates every 10 minutes.
The Show Must Go On: Three Unmissable Performances
- Tale of the Lion King (California Adventure): This 20-minute spin on the classic blends acrobatics and Afro-Caribbean beats. Reviewers call it “Broadway in a bubble”—catch the 1:15 PM show for midday energy.
- Magic Happens Parade (Disneyland Park): The 3:30 PM run features Mirabel’s new float and a Encanto medley that’s sparked TikTok dance crazes.
- Disneyland Band’s Jazz Set (New Orleans Square): Unpublicized 7 PM gigs under the lanterns—ask a Cast Member for the “secret schedule.”
Parting Wisdom
As the sun sets over Sleeping Beauty Castle, remember: the real magic lies in the details. Snag a pepper jack pretzel ($8.25) from Award Wieners as a savory nightcap, or follow the smell of churros to a photographer capturing Main Street’s lamplight glow. Disneyland isn’t just a place—it’s a game of curiosity. Play it well.
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Disney World Resort News
Beneath the pastel skies of a Florida winter, Walt Disney World hums with quiet reinvention. This week, the resort balances nostalgia and novelty—a goat cheese-stuffed pasta here, a shuttered bug-themed attraction there—while offering savvy visitors opportunities to sidestep crowds and savor surprises.
Culinary Curiosities
At California Grill, perched atop the Contemporary Resort, the Sonoma Goat Cheese Cappelletti ($89 prix-fixe) has replaced the beloved ravioli, earning praise for its organic mushroom ragout and tomato-fennel brodo. Diners linger for caramel mousse apple spice cake and fireworks views, a ritual unchanged since 1971. Down in Disney Springs, Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ lures brunch crowds with new Southern twists: a Moonshine Flight ($36) featuring strawberry lemonade and sweet tea infusions, and the Homecomin’ Hash ($24), a savory triumph of cheesy potatoes and cheddar biscuit.
For those chasing exclusivity, the recent Cast Member Service Celebration left behind whispers of butter-poached lobster and plant-based quinoa-mushroom Wellington—dishes now reserved for Disney’s milestone employees but hinting at culinary trends to come.
Secrets of the Kingdom
A rare character meet-and-greet popped up during the Cast Member celebration, with Mickey and Minnie sporting anniversary-themed attire. While fleeting, such unpublicized encounters often recur in Adventureland’s shaded corners. Meanwhile, Celebrity 5 & 10 in Hollywood Studios quietly stocks a 25th-anniversary pin trading T-shirt ($34.99), its sleeve embroidered with a hidden castle.
Magic Key holders enjoy reservation-free access February 4–5 and 11–12, ideal for spontaneous visits. For free souvenirs, seek “Celebration” buttons at Guest Relations or collect festival-specific art cards at EPCOT’s Festival of the Arts booths.
Savings Sans Stress
Adventurers can unlock $500 off Adriatic cruises through Adventures by Disney when booked within 45 days of a Disney Cruise Line voyage. Over at Gasparilla Island Grill, the mac and cheese—once a cult favorite—remains a $7 steal, best enjoyed during off-peak hours (2–4 PM) with a Dole Whip from nearby Pineapple Lanai.
Skip the $89–$109 Lightning Lane Premier Pass; the $29 Multi-Pass suffices for securing Tron and Guardians slots at 7 AM. Mobile order users gain an edge: Docking Bay 7 in Galaxy’s Edge often releases same-day cancellations for Ronto Wraps ($14.49) after 1 PM.
Crowds, Closures, and Workarounds
February’s lull fractures on President’s Day weekend (Feb 15–17), but this week remains calm. Magic Kingdom sees shortest waits post-8 PM, especially for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (30 mins vs. 70+ at noon). At EPCOT, the single-rider line for Test Track shaves 40 minutes off standby.
Avoid Hollywood Studios’ construction zones: Muppets Courtyard’s metamorphosis into Monsters, Inc. Land has displaced photo ops, while Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster’s closure leaves Slinky Dog Dash (65+ mins) as the sole kiddie coaster. Pivot to Animal Kingdom, where It’s Tough to Be a Bug! closes March 1—catch its final harrowing hoedowns.
Underrated Spectacles
Three performances defy the “skip” mentality:
- Disney on Broadway Concert Series (EPCOT): Alumni from The Lion King and Aladdin perform soaring medleys, often with post-show meet-and-greets.
- ¡Celebración Encanto! (EPCOT’s Mexico Pavilion): A 15-minute explosion of color and huapango rhythms, overlooked by Mirabel fans rushing to ride.
- Mickey’s Magical Friendship Faire (Magic Kingdom): Floats glint brighter in winter light, and toddlers’ wide-eyed reactions rival the fireworks.
Parting Wisdom
A veteran server at Jiko confides: “The bread service is better at lunch.” Such micro-tips define a savvy Disney week. As dusk falls, linger near the Polynesian’s beach: the Electrical Water Pageant’s sea creatures glow brighter on windless nights, a relic of 1971 still winking at those who look up.
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Updates from the Lounge
Brighten your day with a grand circle tour through the MouseWait Lounge! You’ll find incredible posts like the ones below + check out Disneylonestar’s new history posts!
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VOYAGEERS: Finding Hidden Treasures in the Parks
Images courtesy of Parkendium
The air hums with the scent of buttered popcorn and electric anticipation as children clutch glow wands, their faces upturned toward Cinderella Castle. It’s here, amid the clatter of roller coasters and the distant trill of a calliope, that Disney’s magic feels most alive—a living tapestry woven from storybook dreams and cutting-edge illusion. For Rick Rothschild, a master architect of this alchemy during his 40-year tenure at Walt Disney Imagineering, the secret lies not in the whir of machinery but in the pulse of narrative. “Walt understood that technology should serve the story, not the other way around,” he reflects. “The best attractions aren’t rides—they’re portals.”
The Alchemist of Anaheim
Rothschild’s career reads like a love letter to Walt’s ethos. Hired in 1978 after a string of rejection letters (he kept them in a drawer as “motivational wallpaper”), he became a fixer for attractions in crisis. His most notorious rescue mission came in 1994 with ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter, a claustrophobic thriller at Magic Kingdom that left test audiences—and CEO Michael Eisner—traumatized. Tasked with overhauling the experience in six months, Rothschild transformed it into a darkly comedic spectacle, balancing jump-scares with absurdity. “We added a teleportation gag where a chicken disappears mid-squawk,” he recalls. “Laughter cuts tension like a knife.”
The project echoed Walt’s own trial-by-fire in 1963, when his Audio-Animatronic Abraham Lincoln nearly derailed the New York World’s Fair. Engineers warned the 7-foot-tall robot couldn’t stand without toppling, until Walt suggested hiding steel rods in Lincoln’s coat tails. “Walt was a tinkerer,” Rothschild says. “He’d roam the workshop at 2 a.m., fiddling with models. If a thing felt true, he’d bend physics to make it work.”
Walt’s Living Worlds
This obsession with “living stories” permeated Disneyland’s DNA. Rothschild points to Walt’s original Enchanted Tiki Room (1963), where 225 chirping birds and tikis operated via hydraulic pressure—a system so complex, engineers nicknamed it “the plumbing nightmare.” Yet Walt insisted the birds’ feathers flutter in sync with their songs. “He wanted guests to lean in, to believe,” says Rothschild. “Not just watch a show, but inhabit a Polynesian grove.”
That philosophy birthed Rothschild’s proudest creation: Pleasure Island, the raucous 1989 adults-only district at Walt Disney World. Conceived as a “sanitized New Orleans,” its jazz clubs and improv theaters pulsed with kinetic chaos. “We hired comedians from Second City who’d never set foot in a theme park,” he says. “Walt would’ve loved the messiness—the sense that anything could happen.”
Salvaged Magic
Some of Rothschild’s treasures are literal relics. Hung in his foyer is a 5-foot Captain EO marquee, rescued from a Parisian trash heap when Disney replaced the Michael Jackson attraction with Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. “I’d directed EO’s installation in ’86,” he says. “Saving that sign felt like preserving a piece of my own history.”
It’s a sentiment Walt might’ve shared. In 1955, as Disneyland’s opening day descended into chaos (asphalt melting, rides breaking), Walt reportedly pocketed a handful of dirt from Fantasyland. “He kept it in his desk,” says Rothschild. “A reminder that magic grows from the ground up.”
The Unseen Hand
Today, traces of Walt’s vision flicker in unexpected corners. At Madame Leota’s Somewhere Beyond, a new expansion shrouded in construction tarps teases “vintage-tech” enhancements—rumored to include holographic hitchhiking ghosts. For Rothschild, such projects honor Walt’s original gamble: that a park could be more than a carnival. “He built Disneyland because fathers had nowhere to play with their kids,” he says. “Every pixel, every robot, is just a tool to keep that conversation alive.”
As twilight bleeds into night over Sleeping Beauty Castle, fireworks crackle in chromatic bursts. Somewhere, a child gasps. It’s the same sound Walt heard on July 17, 1955—a spark catching fire, endlessly renewed.
Well, that’s all for this week!
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Wishing you the best week,
Kelly
February 4, 2025 Issue #5 to 29,891 Disney fans.
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