Everything new to check out at Disneyland this fall

LOS ANGELES — If fall is a transitional time, perhaps here in Southern California where the temperature stays relatively consistent, we can most clearly mark the season of change through our theme parks.

Be it mazes of horror or giant Mickey-eared pumpkins, our cultural institutions are transformed for multi-month, multi-holiday extravaganzas that don’t slow down until January.

Disneyland in particular has had a rather busy few weeks, with a host of additions, tweaks and announcements, at least one of which may dictate when you choose to visit the park.

To help navigate the changes and ease your planning, we’ve compiled some of what’s new and coming to Disneyland this fall.

French Market Cafe becomes Tiana’s Palace

The colorfully muted tones of Disneyland’s New Orleans Square recently received an injection of animation-ready flamboyance, as the long-standing French Market Cafe was remade into “The Princess and the Frog”-themed Tiana’s Palace. It’s an eye-catching makeover with vibrant shades of gold and green leading up to an almost pink-infused brick rooftop adorned with steamboat-like smokestacks. While brighter than the rest of New Orleans Square, it feels hand-drawn, with colors pulled from an animator’s palate.

“Whenever we change anything at Disneyland, whether it’s a shop or a restaurant, we try to repaint the exterior, so our repeat demographic can tell right away that something is new here,” said Kim Irvine, longtime Disneyland art director with Walt Disney Imagineering, which is the company’s arm devoted to its theme parks. “We went from the soft pink that the French Market has always been to a gold and yellow with green awnings instead of rose awnings, which are definitely Tiana’s colors. Adding the smokestacks and the wheelhouse to the top was no easy feat as old as these buildings are, but we knew that was going to be the signature.”

While the restaurant is filled with references to the 2009 animated film, including ornate lily pad light fixtures and instruments from the Louis-fronted jazz band, the ultimate goal was to bring more authentic New Orleans-inspired food to the park.

Tiana’s Palace is largely storytelling told through cuisine, as the menu offers two types of gumbo (tip: opt for the okra and yam-infused seven greens gumbo over the more traditional offering), shrimp and grits and a muffuletta sandwich with bread driven in from New Orleans. While Disney has not stated which bakery provides the goods on the latter, it’s a detail that’s indicative of a restaurant that strives to up the quality of theme park quick-service eateries.

“We make great sourdough,” Michele Gendreau, a food and beverage director at the Disneyland Resort, said of California bakeries. “Let’s keep in mind that there are places that make really great styles of bread, but we’re bringing that bread in specifically from New Orleans.”

More options for staying at Disneyland Resort

The Disneyland Resort received some much-needed new rooms with the addition of the Villas at the Disneyland Hotel. The 12-story tower boasts 344 rooms, each lightly themed to various animation properties — think murals that reference “Moana,” “Frozen” or “The Jungle Book.” The tower is officially part of the Disney Vacation Club timeshare-like program but is currently bookable by nonmembers as well. The rooms range from studios for two and four to larger villas, including multistory rooms that can sleep up to 12. Studios typically start at about $500.

Expect modern furnishings with a slight retro feel, and while the rooms are adorned with Disney art and understated references to the Walt Disney Co., the theming is on the restrained side. The tower also adds a pool to the hotel grounds, one that is complete with a Steamboat Willy-themed splash pad for kids. Opening soon is a poolside bar, the Palm Breeze, which will feature snacks and adult beverages. Think of it as a slightly smaller version of the Craftsman Bar over at the Grand Californian, but with an influx of new guests it should take some pressure off the always in-demand Disneyland Hotel tiki bar Trader Sam’s.

The Disneyland Hotel recently reopened the bar that sat outside the former Steakhouse 55 restaurant. Now dubbed the Lounge, the bar — just outside of Goofy’s Kitchen and near the hotel’s convention center — has a small menu with the likes of chicken wings, a cheeseburger, a turkey club and more, with most offerings, including cocktails, in the $20-vicinity. The space opened on the relatively down-low, but should be operational most nights at 5 p.m., serving as a low-key way to escape the parks and add a welcome elevated bar space to the resort.

Don’t miss this water projection show

Disneyland has been getting creative while its signature nighttime show “Fantasmic!” is down for refurbishment after a recent fire took out the show’s larger-than-life Maleficent dragon figure. A return for “Fantasmic!” is a ways away — Disney has targeted spring 2024, but the Rivers of America haven’t gone quiet. Most nights bring the spirited jazz of Queenie and the Jambalaya Jazz Band to the riverfront, and the lively brass-heavy show is refreshing and spirited.

More recently, Queenie has been joined by a short but charming water projection show dubbed “The Heartbeat of New Orleans — A Living Mural.” The tale centers around an once-shy frog who gains confidence with the help of some firefly pals and ultimately finds strength in the power of music, specifically a hopping, trumpet-focused tune. “The Heartbreak of New Orleans” springs to life with twilight-hued colors that aim to capture the fervor of a neon-blurred night on the town scored by a triumphant but swinging band.

Disney labels it an “art installation,” and here’s hoping for more of these one-offs, which can showcase the artistry present at the company outside of big-name intellectual property. The five-minute “Heartbeat” is the vision of Marcella “Marci” Swett, whose chalk art has appeared in Downtown Disney. It has that chalk art feel, with big, looping lines of colors, all of them swirling around one another in time to music.

San Fransokyo embraces Japanese culture

When Disney California Adventure first opened it was graced with a replica of the Golden Gate Bridge at its entrance. Now, a Golden Gate Bridge-inspired design has returned to the park, this one a mash-up of the San Francisco icon with traditional flourishes reminiscent of a Japanese Torii gate. The new park monument — a photo-ready sight at night — marks the main entryway into a dining-focused area of the park now themed to San Fransokyo Square from the animated film “Big Hero 6,” which brings a lighthearted makeover to the area once known as Pacific Wharf. The latter took its inspiration from Monterey’s Cannery Row, but lacked a connection to a Disney property, which marked it as an endangered species in the modern, marketing-focused theme park era in which intellectual property reigns supreme.

San Fransoyko Square is unique in that there are no rides, but there is a meet-and-greet with “Big Hero 6” stars Baymax, an artificially intelligent health care companion, and his human boy pal Hiro. As far as huggable Disney characters go, Baymax is a winner, as the over-sized squishy-yet-firm costume lends the character a robotic feel. But like Tiana’s Palace, food does the heavy lifting here.

What’s particularly noteworthy about San Fransokyo is the way it lovingly embraces Japanese culture, which is present in the J-Pop soundtrack, the dual language signage and, most notably, in the food. While far from an authentic cultural experience, the quick-service restaurants have been refocused. Think of it as a dining center with light cultural mash-ups such as a shrimp katsu sandwich or beef birria ramen. Split the “Japanese-style” fluffy cheesecake at Aunt Cass Café.