Disneyland Update – New Star Wars Details, Stardust Expands, Springtime in the Parks

News and Rumors

Carthay Circle Lounge Expansion

The Carthay Circle lounge is one of the most elegant spots in Disney California Adventure. It also remains one of the most overlooked places in the park. With a single entrance through a moderately darkened door, most guest just walk on by. However, in a couple weeks the lounge below the restaurant will be expanding into the breezeway on the sidewalk into Hollywood land. This will increase guest awareness of the existence of the lounge.

The lounge below the restaurant is also a classically stylish space.  

There’s a covered walkway to the side of the building which will become al fresco seating for the lounge. Low hedges in planter boxes will provide a barrier for the patio. 

Discount Disneyland Tickets

With the hike in price for Disneyland tickets, we have partnered with discount ticket provider, Get Away Today, to save you as much as possible when purchasing tickets. We always have a convenient link for you at the bottom of our updates, but they have a special right now that we wanted to share. Save up to $111 on Disneyland tickets or get an extra day free for a limited time. Discount ticket details can be found HERE.

Star Wars Land

New Concept Art

This week there was some new concept art released with some info about two of the shops and one of the restaurants at Galaxy’s Edge. 

First Order Cargo will be one of the main shops for merchandise in Galaxy’s Edge. If you are team Dark Side, this shop will be for you.

And if you are team Light Side, then Resistance Supply is for rebels, this is your go-to for supplies and merchandise.  

A new image was also released for Ronto Roasters. This quick service location will serve spit fired meats heated under a repurposed pod racing engine.  

The spit is turned by a droid who is locked into perpetual servitude and not inclined to keep quiet about it. While billed as an “Exotic meats” stall, it’s only made to look that way. These wraps below are actually grilled sausage and roasted pork.  

Want to know more? We recommend you check out our continuously updated Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Shops and Restaurants guide HERE.  

Construction

With all this talk of Star Wars Land, let’s take a quick look at the construction from on high . . . or at least as high as we could get . . . 

And we can just make out some round structures closer to the ground. 

And, of course, the transport ship with the red tail.   

But let’s go higher. This is from the Tarzan Treehouse: 

Project Stardust

With all this work and prep for Star Wars, there’s no doubt that demand for this land will be astronomical. The park has taken the shrewd step of limiting access in the first month via reservations. That will likely keep the hoards at bay for a while. But once the reservations are lifted, and all that word of mouth gets out there, the resort will eventually be flooded by tourists and Passholders alike.  

It’s for this reason that dozens of projects are underway or have been recently completed: to help manage crowds in the park and ease congestion, and remove as many obstructions as possible. As the park is bracing for Spring Break, some walls have come down in tight areas, while new ones have gone up around the central hub. 

Hub Improvements 

The Central Hub of Disneyland itself will not be changed; however, the outer ring is being altered to lower the curbs. This will be particularly helpful at night during the spectaculars. The entirety of the outer right from the Jolly Holiday all the way across the castle will be altered now. Then sometime later in the year or even next year, the Tomorrowland side will be addressed.  

Since the guest services kiosk and reader board are behind walls, a temporary spot has been set up between Adventureland and Frontierland.  

Castle Refurbishment

The walls in front of the castle have been moved forward. They are moving fast on the curbs.  

Castle painting continues behind the printed scrims. 

We can see that the painting is extensive. The columns, every brick, the hardware are all being replaced or painted.  

At Snow White’s wishing well, you can see some of the new brick coloration. 

Peter Pan

Part of the garden in front of Peter Pan is being reworked. While the walls are up, there are some tight spots in the area. Thankfully, the Castle construction keeps most guests from walking through this spot.  

Tomorrowland Stardust

The large Autopia planter in front of the attraction is being completely reworked to create a bit of an island so strollers can be parked out of the way. 

Frontierland

As with projects elsewhere in the park, gardens and entryways are being addressed here.  The cut-through to Adventureland is being reworked, as is the garden near the ATM, and the long slender garden which runs along Bonanza Outfitters is also behind construction scrims. 

New Orleans Square

Refurbishments

Astro Orbitor was supposed to return April 4th; however, the project has been pushed out to April 16th. 

This and That

Easter Spring in the Parks

There is VERY little Easter in the parks this year. Perhaps that’s because of the multiple campaigns already running: Mickey’s 90th and Food and Wine Festival. But there are a few nods to the season, and and bunches of Spring blooms. 

Egg Hunt

There are three Egg Hunts this year: One at Disneyland, one at DCA, and one in Downtown Disney.  They work just like they have in years past. You buy a card, find the eggs scattered around, then turn the card in to collect a decorated egg.  

At Disneyland, the distribution is near the front of the park by the parade gate. You’ll different maps and different prize eggs in DCA and Downtown Disney. 

You’ll find eggs hidden all over the resort.  We aren’t going to tell you exactly where any of these things are so we don’t completely ruin the fun for you.  

Each of the cards has its own set of prize eggs. 

Have you done the Egg Hunt?  

Generally, you’ll find a bevy of new treats for each season, but this time around there are only a few dipped apples, a cake pop, and some cookies. My favorite item is also the hardest to obtain: the fudge Easter eggs. They make them on Tuesdays and they sell out fast.

Marceline’s had a nice display of the Easter items.  They have a couple of rice crispy treats here as well.  

There’s a tiny bit of merchandise too. 

Plus some plush and spring colored ears . . . 

But most of the items on display aren’t for the season, they just feature the right colors.  

And the Easter balloons are back.  

New Starbucks Mugs

The new Starbucks mug design is available in the Main Street location. There’s a different one at DCA which I’ll share later in the week.  

Spring Break

The park has been busy, but not quite as packed feeling as we are accustomed to during Spring Break. However, the extra traffic does show that the Stardusted areas of the park are flowing better than they did in the past.