Welcome back to the Disneyland Resort! There have been a lot of changes this week as well as a few fun pieces of news. The long rumored Spiderman ride has been confirmed with a few new details. Spring break crowds are just beginning to impact the resort. Construction projects are heating up as Star Wars land races toward Galaxy’s Edge. And everything is pretty in pink. Let’s take a look . . .
Spiderman Ride – Worldwide Engineering Brigade
Revealed this week is a little more info on the new Spider-Man ride coming to California Adventure. Run by the new Worldwide Engineering Brigade (WEB), which I assume is the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of Parker Industries, the attraction promises “never-before-seen technology and practical effects” and that “guests will get to experience for themselves what it is like to have the abilities of a Super Hero.”
There wasn’t much to say about the actual attraction besides this cool concept art of Spidey’s new suit. It looks like they’ve taken the design languages of the original Stark suit from Spider-Man: Homecoming/Captain America: Civil War and married it with the smooth texture and logo of the Iron Spider suit from Avengers: Infinity War. The suit itself will be on display at both Disney Studios in Paris and Disney California Adventure very soon.
We expect this to be a family-friendly attraction which allows you to sling webs to capture bad guys and make your escape. The poster for the new land also gives clues to the shops, brewery, and Dr. Strange Avengers meet and greets which will be located in the old Bugs Land area. An opening date hasn’t been officially announced yet, but crews for the Spiderman attraction are on target for a summer 2020 opening date, with the rest of the land likely to open later.
Pop-Up Disney!
Tickets are now on sale for the temporary “Pop-Up Disney! A Mickey Mouse Celebration” that will be taking over the former ESPN Zone starting April 26. Tickets are $30 per person and include five hours of complimentary parking in Downtown Disney.
This looks to be a very Instagram-centric experience, full of fun photo ops with Mickey Mouse in various forms including a huge eight-foot Mickey balloon.
Indiana Jones Walk-Through
This past Wednesday and Thursday, Indiana Jones Adventure was down for a quick refurbishment. Instead of just closing it completely, cast members were on hand to give tours of the temple.
Decoder cards were handed out so you could translate writing in the queue.
In the extended queue, a photo op was set up with the temple entrance as the backdrop.
Here’s a quick video of the tour:
There was another photo opportunity set up inside the temple. The props were very authentic looking, so I asked where they got them from. The answer was “The Imagineers gave them to us,” but the cast members weren’t sure where exactly they came from.
Also available with the photo ops were a few pieces of clothing and accessories.
This experience was a really neat way to repurpose a highly themed queue during what would otherwise be down-time. There is so much back-story and the cast members were really enthusiastic and seemed to be having a ton of fun giving the tours. I sure would love to see this offered again in the future.
Project Stardust
Disneyland’s efforts to ease traffic-flow throughout the park in time for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge are ongoing. The latest projects are in nearly every land. Here’s a quick rundown . . .
Main Street USA
The planter work near City Hall has finally wrapped up. Earlier in the week, the walls were still up, but by Friday the area had a new wider look.
A lamp post is still on the way, but the smaller planter will make a huge difference in traffic flow in this area. 
Sleeping Beauty Castle Project
Walls have shifted around the castle this week.
The forecourt was absorbed into the construction.
New signage telling people how to get to Fantasyland and Fantasy Faire was posted. The walkway through the castle on both sides have been reopened.
Part of the absorption included the bridge that leads to Fantasy Faire. If you need to get to that area or Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, you now have to walk through Frontierland first.
Peeking through the walls, the forecourt is just dirt now.
Walking around the castle is now possible, painting has finished in the two tunnels on either side.
When you reach the tunnels you’ll find the new brick paint scheme with darker blues and purples. It feels more stately than the old sparkly pink.
The walls around the back of the castle have been pushed forward as well.
An entrance was made for the Enchanted Chamber. We’re assuming that the shop will open before construction is finished on the castle.
The tunnel leading to Fantasy Faire has also been updated with the new brick color scheme. The shutters were missing from the window above the tunnel. It’s likely that this area will soon be painted.
Fantasyland Walls
Elsewhere in Fantasyland, walls have popped up next to Peter Pan’s Flight. It looks like they’re hoping to improve guest flow in the area by pulling some of the Pan extended queue out of the walkway. The little strip of garden is likely being removed or reworked.
Looks like they are removing the thin planter. This area sorely needs as much flow improvement as it can get. Hopefully, there will be a more permanent solution for the Pan queue soon, but this will be a great start.
Since Peter Pan is extremely popular with guests, and frequently clogs up the walkways around the attraction, how would you like to see the lines controlled? Fastpass/Maxpass only? Take over the nearby Christmas shop for an extended queue? Or do you have another idea?
Walls of Tomorrowland
A large garden reshaping is happening near Autopia right now as well.
Work continues near the exit of Autopia to increase traffic flow. The trees will remain, but the garden will be pushed in a bit and reshaped to widen the flow to/from the restrooms and Disneyland Railroad. This is also a spot where strollers have frequently been parked.
Frontierland Walls
A brand new project appeared last week around the Pioneer Mercantile in Frontierland. The cut-through to Adventureland has been closed and the walkways and gardens on the side of the building have been placed behind construction walls.
We assume this is another guest flow project to make the walkway wider and easier to navigate. It’s a major artery during nightly entertainment. You’ll note that the garden around the tree in the photo below was already part of a Stardust project last year.
New Orleans Square
Planter work opposite the Haunted Mansion continues in New Orleans Square as well. This is a huge stretch which runs nearly the length of the Mansion.
This is another pinch-point area which quickly gets blocked when Fastpass guests stop to scan tickets in front of the attraction, while nearby lines for outdoor vending also add to area traffic. This is likely to be a major entry/exit path for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Very interested to see what they do here as the recent project to remove the little planter box on the Mansion wall didn’t do much to ease traffic.
Disneyland Refurbishments
Critter Country
Pooh Corner is getting a fresh coat of paint.
The churro cart in Critter Country returned last week, but no work was done to the damage on the top of the cart.
Astro Orbitor
The Orbitor is slowly being pieced back together at the entrance to Tomorrowland. Hopefully, with such an extensive refurbishment, the planets will rotate once again.
Frontierland
Work is still ongoing at the Frontierland Dock. This one seems to be taking a very long time compared to other projects recently in the park.
Here are the current Disneyland refurbishments:
No End Date:
- Sleeping Beauty Castle Exterior: January 7th-Spring 2019
- Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough: January 17-Spring 2019
- Enchanted Chamber Gift Shop: January 17th-Spring 2019
- Silly Symphony Swings: March 4th-Spring 2019
- Red Car Trolley starts April 1st
- The Briar Patch Gift Shop starts April 15th
- Jessie’s Critter Carousel opening April 2019
With End Date:
- Grizzly River Run: January 7th-March 28th
- Lube 0 Rama Gift Shop: February 25th-April 4th
- Astro Orbitor: January 7th-April 4th
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
Scaffolds and heavy equipment are finishing up for this summer’s new blockbuster addition. Soon the exterior work will be done. May 31st will be here before you know it.
A lot of the current rockwork is focused on enclosing the backs of the structures so they don’t look hollow from outside the park.
This is what the backs they’re working on look like:
I’m interested in the transition from Critter Country. It’s a long and meandering path which has the space to slowly transform from the Hundred Acre Woods to the Forest of Baatu.
Something fun I did find was this Star Wars lamp post near the train tracks in Critter Country. Lamps and trash cans are always unique things to check out in different lands. Although it might not quite fit the Star Wars story, this new land is going to need regular theme park amenities and infrastructure to keep things running smoothly for guests. But this lamp post certainly feels like it belongs in Star Wars.
Spot some roof work being done near the edge of the land.
And the tail of a space ship . . .
At the top of Big Thunder Mountain, you’ll see…a rock on a stick. You’ll also see that slick transport ship above Docking Bay 7.
If you’re interested in how big the TIE Echelon that the Red Fury is riding around in is, you can see the wing of it popping up behind the tree on the right edge of this photo. Yes, it’s a big ship.
Parking Structure Expansion
The roof is now on the rotunda of the new parking structure.
Most of the remaining work is centered around the elevators and the planters.
Spring Break Crowds
Spring Break season is now in full swing at the resort and with it huge crowds. While some of the areas of the park aren’t buckling the same way they used to (most notably Adventureland, the projects around there have really helped), wait times have soared. Ironically, the weekend was much less busy than during the week.
Around the park sights like this were pretty common. A 95-minute wait (times were routinely in the 120-minute range) for Space Mountain and a FastPass return line that stretched all the way down the ramp.
This attraction just returned from refurbishment, but I didn’t notice anything new. Unfortunately, many of the lights in the entry tunnel are still out after months of not working.
Over at California Adventure, lines felt even longer. The Little Mermaid had queues that stretched out into the walkways. It’s rare for this attraction to have much of a wait at all, much less out into the pathway. It’s also strange that castmembers didn’t move guests along the side of the building and out of the way of theme park traffic.
This week was also fairly warm and sunny, so lines at ice cream stands were extra long.
The parade route and Food and Wine Festival areas turned into a zoo at various times throughout the week with very long lines at the Marketplace booths.
Even the Disneyland Hotel felt the crunch with huge backups for check-in.
The cast members were kind enough to start checking bags while people were waiting to speed up the process. It got to the point where they ran out of room and had to start staging bags outside.
This and That
Don’t forget that the Get Your Ears on promotion is still happening. I had been trying to stop by the Bengal Barbeque to grab this Piranha Lemonade Slushy for a while and was finally able to try one. It’s actually one of the best things I’ve tried from the promotion, it’s mango and pineapple lemonade with lychee and pomegranate popping pearls. Refreshing and full of flavor, without being too sweet.
I thought these birds hanging out on Tinkerbell’s wire was pretty funny. You can fly, you can fly…
If you’ve been following along for a while you’ll know that I’ve been disappointed in how the top deck of the Mark Twain is closed almost every time I go to ride it (and take pictures of Galaxy’s Edge). I was finally able to ride up there this time…but during the evening (which is rare, the steamboat doesn’t open to guests on Fantasmic evenings). So, instead of shooting pitch black photos of Galaxy’s Edge, I took a quick video of the evening version of the Rivers of America cruise.
All of our Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge content can be found at the following link:
Looking to plan your Galaxy’s Edge getaway? MiceChat has you covered with special discounts:
Hotels:
Discount Disneyland Tickets:
Want more? Dusty, Doug, Scott and Alanna discuss Star Wars, rumors, and news from Disney and beyond on the latest MiceChat Podcast . . .
Well, what do you think about the new clues from the upcoming Marvel Land, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge related Stardust projects, and the super-sized crowds of Disney California Adventure? Let’s hear from you in the comments below.
If you haven’t joined us on Instagram, please take a moment to do so: