Bright Suns! *Ahem,* excuse me, we’re just practicing our Batuuese for the opening of Galaxy’s Edge later this week. For most of the last few years now, Project Stardust has been actively changing the guest experience in preparation for the upcoming Star Wars land, and this weekend was the culmination of all that effort. All the walls around the park are down and the whole place looks downright magical. While everyone at Disneyland prepares for the inevitable Star Wars crunch, we’re checking out how all the different projects came out.
Sleeping Beauty Castle
While we’ve had good looks at the castle since the scrims came down last week, all of the construction is now finished on the park icon. It’s gorgeous inside and out, the Imagineers outdid themselves with this update.
As per my style, I shot as many different angles I could think of, and I found that the castle really pops now. With the old color scheme, it was more difficult to get the castle to stand out from the background.
The castle forecourt was abuzz with everyone wanting to get their Instagram photos in front of the updated castle.
I just love that all the little details are back and looking so great.
Speaking of details, there’s now a rather clever sign by the Herb Ryman Christmas Tree. If you don’t know the story, it’s a really wonderful and heartwarming one. . .
Towards the end of 1988, Herb Ryman, an original Imagineer and concept artist for Sleeping Beauty Castle, said he would like to have a live tree for Christmas, instead of an artificial one. But with his cancer having been diagnosed as terminal, it was thought he would not survive to the season. Christmas trees weren’t for sale yet, but one of his friends went to a local nursery and purchased a small potted pine that stayed by Ryman’s bedside through Christmas until February when he passed away.
After his death, the tree was planted near Sleeping Beauty Castle, where it lived on for many years (though it has since been replaced at least a few times).
A new tree has now been planted in Herb’s honor, and a donation was made to Ryman Arts, a charity founded in his memory. Before, unless you knew the story, you would probably overlook it. Now, there’s a neat little sign to point it out.
The back of the castle is just as well-detailed. The lanterns that were missing last week have been reinstalled.
The central archway to Fantasyland has been reopened as well, and all the details seem to have been touched up.
Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough
Checking out the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough, it looks like they’ve tidied up all the scenes.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen a line for the castle walkthrough; everyone wanted to check it out again.
I can’t remember the last time I was in here, but I can definitely tell everything is just a bit sharper and well-lit than it was before.
If you haven’t visited the walkthrough in a while, now’s the time to do it. Might be a good time-killer while waiting for your Galaxy’s Edge reservation.
Dusty did a walk-through of the Castle this week on Facebook.
Brunch at Lamplight Lounge
Over at California Adventure, the Lamplight Lounge is now serving weekend brunch. So we headed down for the very first seating.
The portions were generous and the food was delicious. It was a better experience than we anticipated.
We appreciated that allergies were taken into consideration. The drinks were good, but there wasn’t a readily available mocktail menu.
The hours are a bit earlier than normal brunch hours and it’s only available on the weekends, for now, but we definitely recommend giving it a try.
Project Stardust Completion
It’s almost weird to write this…all the walls are down around Disneyland. It feels like it’s been forever since the park wasn’t constantly under construction, but now comes the time to see if all this work is going to make for a better guest experience! From early observations, it seems like for the most part it has.
Main Street USA
All around the hub, walkway restructuring has finished. In front of Coke Corner, the walkway is now wider leading into the west-side Main Street bypass.
I’m sure this will make a sizable difference when it comes to this pinch point as guests decide to either take the bypass or go down Main Street.
The outer curb on the west side of the hub has been flattened leading into Adventureland, Frontierland, and Fantasyland.
Something tells me these trash cans don’t belong here. As a former Custodian, I’d never want to put my trash cans in a place like that because they open from the side…you can’t open them right now. I’m not sure what exactly they’re covering up at the moment, but this is about where the coffee and donut stand was originally (you can still get the donuts at the Jolly Holiday right now).
The carved out semi-circles of planters near the plaza Inn now have new inhabitants. It looks like Guest Relations is setting up shop here with a new digital signboard. It seems like Dusty was correct in assuming these were put here for Cast Members, as Guest Relations was set up on top of a trash can. Aren’t those things so versatile?
The new digital signboard definitely has more information than the old analog one. Smaller and definitely more functional. It will also be able to display ‘Virtual Queue” boarding groups into Galaxy’s Edge when the time comes.
More of these are supposedly going to pop up around the park and we certainly hope that they try to match the theme of the lands as best they can. This one fits well.
Adventureland Sign
The Adventureland sign returned with its new look last week and has since gained a bit more decorative flourish. I can see now why the thatched roof was there in the first place, but this was a necessary change. Hopefully, even more decorations are coming.
The tiki structures are cute and the addition of grass really helps.
Hungry Bear
Over at the edge of…Galaxy’s Edge, the Hungry Bear is wrapping up its patio shade expansion.
The supports are in place, the tarps just need to be strung up.
It also looks like they’ve returned the FuelRod station back to the lower patio. Probably not a bad idea considering the Galaxy’s Edge Datapad is probably going to be a major battery drain.
Big Thunder Trail
The walkway widening on Big Thunder Trail near the entrance to Galaxy’s Edge is finished. The reason why still eludes us, but our best guess is that an outdoor vending (ODV) cart will go behind these benches.
Speaking of the entrance to Galaxy’s Edge, it’s been quite busy with different previews.
I was wondering what the old smoking area was going to be used for and I should’ve guessed “Galaxy’s Edge waiting area.” At least it’s shady.
Tomorrowland Theater
The construction outside of the Tomorrowland Theater is now complete. The area that was previously the outdoor queue for the theater is now stroller parking. The entrance to the turnstiles is now a planter.
If you want to enter the theater, which is currently showing a preview of the upcoming Toy Story 4, you’ll need to walk down past the sign for Hyperspace Mountain and enter from the right side of the walkway. Disney will need to add a sign or something, it’s kinda confusing and hard to find now.
Pizza Planet
Alien Pizza Planet is now the permanent name of the old Pizza Port restaurant at the edge of Tomorrowland. The fin and rocket outside have new designs.
The sign hadn’t quite been installed when I visited, but it looks like they’re getting a permanent one soon.
As for the fin’s strange new design, I really don’t know what’s going on. All that space dust looks like dirt when you see the sign from afar.
What do you guys think of this paint job?
Sadly, the inside was unchanged, as was the menu. With all this work done, I wish they had given it better food, as they did for Pinocchio’s Village Haus when it switched to the Red Rose Taverne.
Pixar Pals Parking Structure
The Pixar Pals Parking Structure is inching closer to completion. There’s still a bit to go, but this thing has sprouted up faster than we could’ve imagined.
The bricklaying, at least in the part they’ve marked out, is looking pretty much done at this point.
All the walkways are almost done, they just need to add the glass that will go in between these pillars.
This and That
Casey Jr. Circus Train and the Storybookland Canal Boats returned to operation after their brief refurbishments.
Critter Country has some new trash can designs. Not really that much different, just a new wood grain design.
I’ve been talking a lot about trash cans during this update…I’m assuming you guys want to hear about the Galaxy’s Edge trash cans later this week? ?
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And that’s it from the Happiest Place on Earth, soon to be the Most “Wizard” Place On Earth (yes, that’s legitimate Star Wars slang). Are you enjoying this rare moment in recent Disneyland history when almost all of the projects are complete and no construction is going on? How did they do with the Castle? Can you believe we are just days away from Galaxy’s Edge? This is a very exciting time.
The big news this week is yet to come . . .
We’ll be back on Wednesday evening with an all-you-can-read buffet of Galaxy’s Edge information, so stay tuned to our social media and the special Galaxy’s Edge page here on MiceChat. Dusty visited the land for 4 hours on Saturday and will be back to cover the media event and dedication for us on Wednesday evening at 6pm (Pacific). You don’t want to miss this folks.
