Disneyland This Week – Street Closures, Hotels CHANGES, Tickets On Sale, CUTE New Shop Open

Welcome back to Mickey Visit Disneyland This Week! This is our fourth edition of this update with  all the essential information for your visit. Each week we'll unearth offerings and tips you could easily miss completely.

These updates are written for the frequent Disneyland visitor, but also written in a way that you can share them with friends who call on you as their Disneyland expert. Each week we cut through the noise to bring you the essential info. Click here to see our third Disneyland This Week update from last week for all the things you missed at Disneyland and our first Disneyland This Week update for all my thoughts on what we are hoping to achieve with these weekly updates. Please COMMENT below if you like these updates and share anything that makes them more useful.

My name is Gavin Doyle. Each week I and members of my team including Lindsay Brookshier and Emily Midgley will work together to bring you the most essential Disneyland information. This is your one-stop resource for everything happening at Disneyland the week of January 27, 2025.

One Big Thing – runDisney Disneyland Half Marathon Takes Place

The runDisney Disneyland Half Marathon takes place January 30, 2025 through February 2, 2025. The weekend will include a 5K, 10K, half marathon, and challenge (10K and half marathon). Last year I ran the Disneyland 10K. I am a big proponent of that specific race over the half marathon because you get the full theme park experience without a LOT of time zig-zagging the streets of Anaheim for the half marathon. More on those thoughts and all the characters you get to see during these races in my full Disneyland runDisney 10K review here.

Participants in the runDisney Half Marathon event will be able to access the runDisney Health & Fitness Expo which offers the chance to purchase commemorative Disney race merchandise, running gear, enjoy photo opportunities and learn more about the Celebrated Charity.

The Disneyland Half Marathon features a fun lineup of race themes including a heroes-themed 5K, a Star Wars-themed 10K, a Mickey Mouse and Friends half marathon, and a Dumbo challenge.

The Half Marathon takes place on Sunday, February 2, 2025 and will delay opening hours for the theme parks by one hour. This event is SOLD OUT. 

If you have a trip planned this week, make sure to check out this image of the road closures due to the Disneyland Half Marathon shared by the City of Anaheim. It notes the times that these key roads surrounding the resort will be closed on Sunday, February 2.

Important Disneyland Dates This Week

• The runDisney Disneyland Half Marathon takes place January 30, 2025 through February 2, 2025. Disneyland and Disney California Adventure will open later on February 2 due to the race. More on this below in operational updates!
• The popular Disneyland After Dark Event Sweethearts Nite takes place January 28, 2025 this week. Disneyland will close at 8PM on party nights with the event starting at 9PM. See all early park closures currently scheduled.
• Disneyland After Dark: Star Wars Nite tickets go on sale January 28, 2025 for Inspire Magic Key Holders, January 29, 2025 for other Magic Key holder tiers with general sale tickets starting January 30, 2025. The event takes place April 8-May 6, 2025 at Disneyland. It is common for Disneyland After Dark tickets to sell out so don't hesitate to get yours!
• Storytellers Cafe will be closed will be closing for refurbishment for a few weeks in March. As we note in our reservations section below, we are in that dining reservation window now. Disney shared that Hearthstone Lounge will be open in its place with expanded hours and offerings. During this refurbishment, you can still book the other Disneyland Character Dining experiences offered at the resort like Minnie & Friends – Breakfast in the Park at Plaza Inn and Goofy's Kitchen.
• Special Lunar New Year Magic Shots can currently be found on Buena Vista Street.

Key Disneyland News You Missed

• Disneyland is getting a new President. Last week we got the news that Thomas Mazloum, the current President of Disney Signature Experiences which includes Disney Crusie Line, will replace current President, Ken Potrock. It's difficult to read into what this will mean for guests immediately, but new leadership always means lots of processes getting questioned and potential room for improvements. We break down the BIG REASON this likely happened and our thoughts on both of these leaders. As we shared in the article, it's been great getting to spend time with Ken and we wish him luck on his new role (all details at previous link).
• Disney Wonderful World of Sweets is the reimagined version of the sweets shop Marceline's Confectionary in Downtown Disney and officially opened January 22, 2025. Werther’s Original Caramel popcorn is being sold here which is the same popcorn that is currently only sold at a shop in the Germany pavilion in EPCOT. It is extremely popular there and as expected is popular here as well. The popcorn does sell out, but the store makes fresh batches throughout the day. Read more about this new Downtown Disney store, we were there for the exclusive preview last week!

Here's our reel capturing the new Downtown Disney store.

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A post shared by Disneyland & Walt Disney World| Mickey Visit 🚂🏰 (@mickeyvisit)

• Disney Storyland Boutique opened on January 24, 2025 debuting the popular Sakura line from the Disney Store in Japan. Most of this collection sold out immediately but cast members over the weekend said restocks will be happening over the next few days.
• Disneyland announced big changes coming soon to their hotels including new lounges, room refreshments, and restaurant overhauls. This also brought the news that Disneyland's fanciest restaurant will close for months for these changes.
• The inventors behind Disneyland's Matterhorn were inducted into the National Inventor's Hall of Fame this past week.
• Disneyland After Dark: Star Wars Nite ticket information and dates were released. Read more about Star Wars Nite and why it's one of our favorite events!
• We got information about the upcoming Celebrate Soulfully offerings at Disneyland including info on concerts and food. See all Celebrate Soulfully concert info and food.
• The Disneyland Valentine's Day popcorn bucket featuring Mickey and Minnie recently became available. You can read about this offering in our guide to Disney popcorn buckets.

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Magic Key Benefits Continue in January

Special perks for Magic Key Annual Passholders continue this month and into the next. These are a way for them to incentivize passholder visits during what is a slower time for vacation goers.

• Magic Key Annual Passholders get 50% off the purchase of Lightning Lane Multi Pass from January 6, 2025 – January 31, 2025. Typically pass holders get 25% off the purchase of the add-on.
• Magic Key Annual Passholders get $2 popcorn refills January 8, 2025 – February 19, 2025 when they purchase a special stitch popcorn bucket.
• Magic Key Annual Passholders can take a special Disney PhotoPass Magic Shot with a complimentary digital download from January 8, 2025 – January 31, 2025. Shot is available at the walkway from Tomorrowland to Matterhorn Way from 5 pm-10 pm Monday-Thursday and 5-8 pm and then 10 pm to park close Friday-Sunday.
• Magic Key holders can enjoy special food offerings including the Box O' Sliders at Galactic Grill, and Ice Cream Floats from Golden Horseshoe (pictured above).
• Magic Key no-shows have been removed, likely due to the Los Angeles wildfires. We are not sure how long this will last, but we do not think it is a permanent change. This is the message Disney sent out to a member of our team when her cancellations were removed over the weekend.

Disneyland Operational Updates

• Disneyland will close early at 8PM on January 28, 2025 due to Sweethearts Nite taking place at 9PM.
• Disneyland and Disney California Adventure will both open an hour later on February 2, 2025 due to the runDisney Disneyland Half-Marathon. Both parks will open at 9AM with Disney California Adventure hosting Early Entry at 8:30AM.
• The World of Color – One show runs each night along with the Mickey's Mix Magic projection show. Fireworks will be shown along with the projection show Friday-Sunday. Fantasmic! will also play on the weekends.
• Disneyland has not yet announced the parade that will be offered in the time between now and the 70th anniversary celebration (click here for details), Disneyland will be bringing back Paint the Night and Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration starting in May 2025.

What We're Thinking About This Week

• Lindsay is so excited to see her favorite EPCOT treat, the Werther’s Original Caramel popcorn, come to Downtown Disney. Her family loves this popcorn and gets it on every Walt Disney World trip so she's thrilled to see it available at Disneyland.
• Gavin is still thinking about a comment from one on our article about the news that the Matterhorn inventors were being honored. The comment shared that the Matterhorn was actually was smoother in the past. Not in my memory, but very interesting to learn why. Check out that comment and the news linked above.
• Emily is excited for Star Wars Nite tickets to go on sale this week. This is a really fun event as you can see in our review of Disneyland Star Wars Nite from last year!

We're still thinking about those who have lost their homes and communities to the Los Angeles fires and the firefighters who have been fighting tirelessly against these fires. We cannot imagine the anguish of those affected who are having to rebuild their lives in the wake of this devastation. You can see this Disneyland This Week update for a full list of resources and charities to support.

Where In Disneyland Is This?

Can you tell where this is from at the Disneyland Resort? Hint: You might hear more than just ducks in this area of the park! Comment your answer below and we'll reveal the spot next week.

Answer to last week's “Where In Disneyland Is This?”: The Matterhorn Bobsleds queue.

Disneyland Crowd Calendar This Week

This week's crowd levels are looking good with below normal crowds throughout the week with levels picking up slightly with the runDisneyland Half-Marathon taking place over the weekend. Not all guests that participate in the run spend the rest of their day at Disneyland though so we don't expect too large of an impact outside of the events over the weekend.

You can see our rating of all upcoming dates in our Mickey Visit Disneyland Crowd Calendar.

New Disneyland Ride Closures This Week

During this slower time of year after the holiday celebration, we will often see more rides down for standard refurbishments or closures to remove holiday overlays.

Here are some of the other current closures that are continuing into this week:

• The Disneyland Monorail is closed for refurbishment
• The Disneyland Railroad is closed for refurbishment
• Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe is closed for refurbishment
• Grizzly River Run is closed for refurbishment
• “it's a small world” is closed for refurbishment.

With so many classic transportation options closed, now would be a good time to go on the Mark Twain, enjoy the Main Street transportation, or get a last ride in on the Red Car Trolley before it closes early next month.

You can see the other Disneyland closures on the calendar and reopening dates listed in our list of scheduled Disneyland ride refurbishments.

Other Disney Content We're Watching

Each week we'll share some of our favorite information and fun content from across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube in an effort to spotlight some of the great creators who work so hard to share details from Disneyland.

We're watching this fun Space Mountain Soundscape on YouTube shared by Disney Parks in honor of Space Mountain's 50th anniversary. Fans have been creating great sound videos from the Disney Parks for years and it's great to see Disney Parks get in on this fun too. They previously delivered one of these for the new Moana walkthrough at EPCOT and now we have a great one featuring all the Space Mountains.

Over on TikTok, we're watching this video of tips from the start of Sweethearts Nite at Disneyland from PerfectingTheMagic which also includes some great looks at characters like Constance Hatchaway!

@perfectingthemagic 7 TIPS for Sweethearts Nite 2025 at Disneyland! These are all things I wish I knew before heading to the event #Disneyland #sweetheartsnite #Disneylandtips #disneyparks ♬ som original – Músicas de filmes que marcaram

On Instagram Reels, we're watching (and listening!) this video of iconic Disneyland sounds from TheRamblingIntrovert. 

 

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A post shared by Jess ✨ (@theramblingintrovert)

Heads up! Reservations Open for Disneyland Dining / Park Reservations

For any trips before the below dates you should be considering booking park reservations and dining reservations.

• Today is the 60-day window for Disneyland dining reservations for March 28, 2025.
• Today is the 180-day window for making Disneyland theme park reservations for July 26, 2025. This applies to most non-Annual Pass tickets.
• For Magic Key Annual Pass Holders, the 90-day window from today to make theme park reservations is April 27, 2025.

See our top tips for getting Disneyland dining reservations and the best Disneyland restaurants we would recommend.

Disneyland Lightning Lane Cost This Week

• Today, the Lightning Lane Multi Pass service costs $36 if you purchase it when you arrive.
• For the two Lightning Lane Single Pass rides, the cost is $20 for Rise of the Resistance and $17 for Radiator Springs Racers.

You can see our guide to Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Disneyland for our expert tips on making the most of the service.

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