Disneyland Resort Update: Post-Haunt Catch-Up 2019 Edition
Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, CA
Happy Cyber Monday, folks! Not to be confused with Cybering Monday, which is not kid-appropriate and not suitable on a wholesome, family-oriented web site such as this. Today, we’re taking a trip back to the Disneyland Resort after a near two and a half month hiatus thanks to all the haunts we were visiting. Things have changed over in Anaheim, though not as much as last year, when the thick of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge construction was ongoing, and the Pixar Pals parking structure was also well underway. Still, we’ve missed a few developments since late September, so today, we’re going to speed through those items to catch up on the goings-on.
Elevator Addition at the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure
The new elevator for the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure is nearing completion, with only final exterior skin installation and elevator testing left. The added capacity will be welcome for guests parked at Mickey and Friends who used to have to wait in lengthy lines for the measly two elevators before. And though the Pixar Pals elevators have helped, having more elevators directly to Mickey and Friends will help even further.
Also, the promenade between Pixar Pals and Mickey and Friends has been finished (other than around the new elevator), and a new abstracted Mickey Mouse orb has been installed to mirror the Pixar ball sculpture on the opposite side. The Mickey and Friends escalators have also received fresh, new signage during the two and a half months since our last visit, so the whole area looks nice and spruced up!
Pixar Pals Bridge to Downtown Disney
Another development a couple of months ago was also the opening of the pedestrian bridge spanning over Magic Way, giving guests a safer and more direct way to walk from the parking structures over to Downtown Disney and the parks, if taking the tram is not preferred or too time-consuming. The bridge looks great, and it leads to a nicely landscaped area alongside Disneyland Drive that stretches toward the entrance of Downtown Disney. The project has also restored Downtown Disney parking that was taken out for construction trailers and lay-down space back when that new hotel was supposed to be happening. All in all, the whole development has turned out pretty well, given the failure of the Eastern Gateway project over on Harbor Blvd and quick turnaround required by the unfavorable event.
Downtown Disney
Over in Downtown Disney, there are some minor projects going on. A new tenant has popped up next to Starbucks west since our last time here, and the Jamba Juice is getting a refresher. Downtown Disney also has some new and maybe questionable holiday decorations, but we’ll get to those more in-depth in another update…
Avengers Campus Progress
Over at Disney California Adventure, a lot has happened behind wraps at “Marvel Land.” Where we saw mostly wall framing the last time around, the buildings have been enclosed and are in various states of finishing from the outside. There is exterior sheathing and waterproofing everywhere, and plaster on parts of the facades as well. Interior progress is continuing too; we just can’t see it.
Only ground shots for today’s update. I didn’t want to wait 45 minutes for the Pixar Pal-A-Round. However, the OC Register did provide an update of aerial photos a couple of weeks ago, if you want to check that out.
Over at Disneyland…
Tarzan’s Treehouse is back open after an unnerving incident in which a dad who was trying to demonstrate how safe the rope bridge was by jumping heavily on it actually cracked a wooden board. The bridge was quickly repaired and back open the following day.
In addition, the Project Stardust widening of the Tomorrowland entrance finished its first stage with the removal of the rockwork and entry sign that bottlenecked the entry path. Additional improvements are coming, as Disney Parks Blog recently unveiled, but for now, there is a much roomier way into the land—as long as you ignore the Astro Orbitor bottleneck. There’s still actually some rockwork still remaining, but it will be gone as part of these refurbishments. The new entrance will have a more retro look paying homage to Tomorrowland’s history, and it will be fully complete next year.
Haunted Mansion 50th Anniversary at the Disney Gallery
Finally, this is actually old news, but since we’ve never covered it, we’re adding it here to pad this update. As part of the Haunted Mansion 50th anniversary earlier this year, the Disney Gallery updated with a great exhibit of never or rarely-before seen paintings and concept art, plus figurines. It’s a great glimpse into the development of one of Disney’s most iconic attractions. And at the shop next door, new artwork and merchandise has been available to purchase as well!
That does it for this round of updates to [mostly] catch us up on the happenings at the Disneyland Resort. We’ve got a couple more for the Christmas season at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure too, since holiday festivities are well underway. So stay tuned as we re-engage the update train for things that are not haunts, and thanks for following along!
Architect. Photographer. Disney nerd. Haunt enthusiast. Travel bugged. Concert fiend. Asian.
