Welcome back to the Disneyland Resort! It’s been another rainy week here in Southern California, but we’re heading toward blue skies and sunshine . . . we hope!
Our own Dusty Sage braved the elements this week to bring us most of these photos. So hang on, he has a way of getting just the right shot.
Project Stardust
As Disneyland prepares for Star Wars, lots of little projects are popping up to streamline traffic flow throughout the park and allow for greater capacity of . . . well . . . everything. Once Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens, there won’t be time to fix things like the castle for a while, so those projects are part of Project Stardust too.
Sleeping Beauty Castle
Work continues on repairing and beautifying Sleeping Beauty Castle. The printed scrims are just convincing enough that it doesn’t quite ruin your day to see the castle under wraps.
More of the backside of the castle is now under wraps. Unfortunately, it blocks a bit of the amazing image of Prince Philip fighting Maleficent…
On Sunday part of the castle scrim was removed due to the wind and rain.
Brickwork has started on the bridge.
Last week I mentioned that they probably weren’t done painting yet and it looks like the bricks have gotten some darkening coats of paint. It’s really starting to look great! They also extended more of the scrim down so you can’t see quite as much of the wall anymore.
Here’s what it looked like last week:
It doesn’t appear that the roof work has started yet.
Snow White’s Wishing Well is now drained. At least a portion of this area will likely get absorbed into castle refurbishment.
Main Street
Work finished on the newly lowered curbs outside the Emporium last week, and walls immediately went up around the Disney Showcase.
It’s strange to see the sidewalk suddenly come to an end like this. Temporary wooden ramps have been installed.
The curb outside of City Hall has been expanded, but work continues on the planter in the area.
The new ramp here at the Emporium will make a huge difference in traffic flow in this area. Still, I wonder how will this and other curb work will affect parade viewing?
The new ramp has light colored bricks which look almost like permanent versions of the tape they put down for the parades to mark where you’re allowed (or not allowed) to stand.
Goodbye, Valentine
It’s time to pack up the paper hearts, candy, and cards, Valentine’s Day is now wrapping up at Disneyland.
We were happy to see the holiday expand this year. What do you think Disneyland could do to expand the Valentine season in years to come?
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras is coming up in a few weeks and New Orleans Square is all decked out. Unfortunately, that’s just about all they do for the holiday.
Splash Mountain
The short refurbishment has concluded on Splash Mountain this past week. You likely won’t notice much change in the attraction, but additional sensors were installed which notify ride operations if a guest jumps out of a log.
It’s good to see some of the lighting replaced.
Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge Update
The opening of Galaxy’s Edge is fast approaching. Work is at a breakneck pace, most of the massive rockwork and facades are getting close to completion.
There are some turquoise structures which we can just make out from behind the rocks around the river’s edge.
You can also see the tail of a spaceship.
A lot of pre-fabricated stuff is coming in via this backstage entrance to Rise of the Resistance.
Something I’m excited to see is that the backside of the rocks are starting to get some work done to them. Even if it’s just a flat cement slab, that’s so much better than a hollow back that everyone can see.
This was the biggest offender to hollow rocks and now it’s getting a back. It makes a huge difference!
Something I was chatting with Dusty about is the sheer amount of references this land will make to the Star Wars universe. Hondo is never mentioned in the films, he’s solely an animated character from Clone Wars and Rebels, but he and Chewbacca are the main protagonists in the Smuggler’s Run attraction. Some guests will be confused as to why he’s important.
I remember some creatures from all over the galaxy were to be included around the land as well, including porgs and loth-cats. I’m sure most people are familiar with porgs at this point, but how many of you are familiar with loth-cats?
The vast majority of visitors at Disneyland will likely see loth-cats as essentially just “space cats” which is one thing, but I’m wondering what Disney will be doing to introduce important aspects of the experience, like Hondo, to guests. How much Star Wars lore should Disney expect the average guest to understand? How much do you understand? Hopefully, things will be less surprising and confusing by the time the new land opens.
Parking Structure
Speaking of breakneck pace, the expansion of the Mickey and Friends parking structure is racing toward completion.
The area is really starting to look more like the concept art.
The structure being assembled below is likely that escalator roof.
The round structure below is where the bridge will ultimately connect.
I’m starting to wonder if these promotional banner spots are going to be removed because they have been empty since January and there are multiple promotions which could have been placed here.
Refurbishments
Astro Orbitor
The Astro Orbitor is still just a big black box for the moment, but they should start the re-assembly soon.
Mark Twain/Sailing Ship Columbia
The Mark Twain dock is still under refurbishment.
With the return of Fantasmic in three weeks, work should be getting close to completion for both the dock and the Sailing Ship Columbia.
French Market
The facade for the French Market is still under scrims for now.
This and That
Rain, Rain Go Away
Part of shooting these updates is battling with the weather. It’s been off and on raining for a while here in SoCal, something we’ve desperately needed. It’s also a great time to visit the park as most guests avoid the rain.
Although sections of the park can gridlock a bit when it starts raining.
Tom Sawyer Island shuts down in the rain. They did their best to get these muddy guests off the island after a downpour.
When it rains, the piano player at Coke Corner moves indoors.
Teacup Photo Spot Back From the Dishwasher
We were worried when a fence was welded onto where this teacup photo op should be, but it returned shiny and refurbished this week.
Monstro Needs Scrubbing
Over in Storybook Land, we noticed that Monstro has hard water stains again.
This poor whale gets dirty so easily when it rains.
Carousel
Close by, we also noticed that the top of the carousel could use a little work too.
Pieces are coming apart and there’s some visible rust.
Ralph Overstays His Welcome
Every week I hope Ralph gets to pack up from the Magic Eye Theater, but he’s been stuck there well after his film has come and gone from theatres nationwide.
Pizza Planet
Pizza Planet and the old PeopleMover tracks are starting to show some visible wear.
Even on a cold and rainy day, the Mansion remains popular.
One of the magic windows on Main Street is currently blacked out. This is the Princess and the Frog window.
World of Color
The much-delayed refurbishment of World of Color will be coming to an end this week and begin playing on Friday. The show will return to dazzle guests with fountains, fire, and projection screens. Nothing new quite yet, but it’s still an enterainting show.
Lunar New Year
Along with Valentine’s Day, Lunar New Year has also come to an end. Mulan, Mushu, and Three Little Pigs are packing up their bags to make way for the upcoming Food and Wine Festival.
Finally, something you could only find at a Disney Park: a whole group of foreign tourists dressed as pigs.
That’s it from the Disneyland Resort for today. And we have even more for you. We cut about 100 photos (so we don’t melt your browser) and will add more to that for another article a bit later in the week.
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