Disneyland closes 4 rides during busy Christmas season
Disneyland has closed four attractions for seasonal refurbishments just days after the Thanksgiving weekend ushered in the start of the busy winter holiday season that attracts big crowds anxious to see all the Christmas decor.
Astro Orbitor, Mark Twain Riverboat, Indiana Jones Adventure and the Incredicoaster are temporarily closed as part of Disneyland’s standard refurbishment schedule.
ALSO SEE: Disney has ‘enough room to build another Disneyland’ in Anaheim, chairman says
The good news is a couple of the closures will be short-lived. The bad news is the other rides will be unavailable for several weeks or months.
Disneyland typically conducts seasonal refurbishments during the off-season between New Year’s Day and Spring Break. Weekslong refurbishments are less common during the busy summer vacation and winter holiday seasons.
Understanding the Disneyland calendar has become more complicated in recent years — with the off-season continually shrinking and slow periods shifting to unconventional times of year. The yearlong pandemic closure of the parks also disrupted maintenance and refurbishment schedules.
Two of the four shuttered rides will be returning within days, according to MousePlanet.
The Incredicoaster launch roller coaster will be back on track on Pixar Pier at Disney California Adventure on Saturday, Dec. 2 after a brief five-day closure.
The Indiana Jones Adventure motion-base dark ride in Adventureland at Disneyland will return to action on Friday, Dec. 1 after a quick four-day tune-up.
The popular Indy attraction underwent an extensive three-month refurbishment in early 2023 before returning in mid-March.
The other two closed rides will remain out of commission into 2024.
The Mark Twain Riverboat that travels the Rivers of America at Disneyland has been closed for refurbishment since mid-September and won’t return until Jan. 11 or later, according to the Disneyland website.
Scaffolding has surrounded the paddlewheeler docked at Pelican Landing while the riverboat that plays a key role in “Fantasmic” gets a heavy dose of TLC during the nighttime spectacular’s extended downtime.
ALSO SEE: Discounted Disneyland tickets for Southern California residents return for 2024
“Fantasmic” will return on May 24 after a yearlong hiatus following an inferno that engulfed the show’s audio-animatronic fire-breathing dragon.
Astro Orbitor closed in late November and will undergo refurbishment through winter 2024.
The rocket spinner ride at the entrance to Tomorrowland in Disneyland is expected to return between mid-January and mid-March.
ALSO SEE: Disneyland files construction permits for $8 million food hall
The four temporary closures don’t include Splash Mountain — which is undergoing an extensive conversion into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The Critter Country log flume ride is scheduled to reopen with a new “Princess and the Frog” theme in late 2024.
Also not on the temporarily “out of order” list are several attractions that never returned following the yearlong pandemic closure that shuttered Disneyland and DCA.
Disneyland’s Star Wars Launch Bay and DCA’s Blue Sky Cellar are being used for Imagination Campus — an educational travel workshop that teaches students about the arts and sciences used in Disney theme parks, according to MiceChat.
The Magic Eye Theater in Tomorrowland remains dark with no upcoming show in the works.
The Hyperion Theater in Hollywood Land briefly returned for a summertime run of “Rogers: The Musical” before closing again with nothing planned for the 2,000-seat Broadway-caliber venue.
The Fantasyland Theatre will soon shutter when “Tale of the Lion King” ends its run in early January with nothing new announced for the Disneyland outdoor theater.