Disneyland Resort Update: Spring Blooms Forth
Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, CA
Happy Wednesday, and welcome to another Disneyland Resort update! This one comes much sooner than the spacing of our last few, but hey, if there’s progress on Disney park projects, there’s content to share, right? Lets take another swing through DCA and Disneyland to see what’s been happening over the past few weeks.
Avengers Campus
Most of the finishing work is occurring at the Spider-Man ride. The metal panelling, brickwork, and finishing of the envelope is most prominent there. Meanwhile, over by Luigi’s, there are signs of a facade that will indeed blend well on the Cars Land side (thank goodness). This portion encompasses Phase 2 of Avengers Campus, which will include a Doctor Strange stage show and an unspecified E-Ticket attraction. And finally, over on the Guardians of the Galaxy side of the land, work continues on Pym Kitchen and Avengers HQ, but there doesn’t seem to be much outward changes at the moment.
Oh, and Disney just announced that Avengers Campus will be opening July 18th later this year!
DCA Refurbishments
Continuing with DCA, the mural at the end of the Hollywood Land main boulevard continues to progress. Clouds have appeared now, but the scaffolding is still well up.
In Cars Land, the left side of Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree continues getting worked on. It’s been joined by the Cozy Cone Motel, which is receiving cosmetic work on the cone structures. Each of the dining booths is still open for business, though!
Onward Photo Op
In Pixar Pier, at the bandstand where the boardwalk games are, a new photo op featuring Valor, the “noble steed” from the new Pixar film, Onward, has popped up in conjunction with the film’s premiere last Friday. Feel free to stop by and snag a pick “for the ‘Gram.”
Tabebuias in Bloom
Spring has come to the Disneyland Resort, and even if that’s not true per the calendar, it is true per the tabebuia trees that are scattered about the park. In Buena Vista Street and Pacific Wharf, pink blossoms have become a vibrant sight. The same is true across the Esplanade and into Disneyland Park. The Hub isn’t fully in bloom yet; one tree seems to be ahead of the others. But it’s getting there. And surprisingly, a tabebuia tree has bloomed over in Batuu of all places! It seems like even Disney’s commitment to storytelling and visual consistency could not overcome its horticulturists’ desire to include a tabebuia in a Galaxy Far, Far Away…
Batuu Bits
Speaking of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, it hasn’t even been a year, but someone went and broke the ground. You happy, folks?? This is why we can’t have nice things!!
Anyway, there’s a section of pavement near Ronto’s Roasters that’s gotten replaced. Some fairly ugly and decidedly unthemed (except for the signage) temporary barricades are up to prevent pedestrians from stepping on the unfinished ground.
Also, on Sunday morning, at 9:00, unannounced to anyone, a secret shipment came in from Hondo Ohnaka to the booth next to the Creature Stall in Black Spire Outpost’s Merchant Row. Containing plush dolls of The Child / “Baby Yoda” / The Yodling (ok, maybe no one calls it the last one), this shipment featured only 1000 units and was sold out pretty much almost immediately. There are more shipments rumored to be coming, but the locals don’t know (or won’t say) when.
Oh, and also, they’ve set up mobile merch carts at places like the Critter Country Entrance into Galaxy’s Edge to sell more Mandalorian merchandise—mostly focused on Baby Yoda. So much for being committed to story, I guess? Outside timelines shouldn’t really exist within the world of Galaxy’s Edge, which is set between Episode XIII and Episode IX, but don’t let that stop the Chapekian move of bundling merchandise into themed land!
Fantasyland Refurbishments
The scrim has come down at Snow White’s Scary Adventures (soon to just be Snow White’s Adventures??), and it’s revealed a evolution of the ride building facade. The multi-colored castle rock aesthetic has proliferated a lot further along the Fantasyland facade, giving the ride building a friendlier and more fairytale look. The blues, lavenders, and tans extend all the way to the main entrance, which looks far less forboding than before. This is sure to ruffle up purists who don’t feel Walt Disney’s original vibe intent should be messed with. I’m not sure I disagree, as this will definitely take some getting used to. But I’ll reserve final judgment until the ride itself reopens, and I can have a spin through whatever new changes have been made.
King Arthurs Carrousel is completely tented up now. Like a structure getting fumigated, the attraction has been sealed off from the outside world! Don’t worry, though. If it’s covered in a sky blue enclosure, it’ll blend right in with the background!
Haunted Mansion Refurbishment
Finally, similar to Snow White, the Haunted Mansion is coming along with its extended maintenance, which is touching up the exterior facade in addition to sprucing up the interiors. Scaffolding has gone up all around the building, but scrim has come down for part of it, revealing… much of the same facade, just touched up and such. There isn’t the noticeable aesthetic change here as there has been at Snow White. And inside…? We’ll just have to wait and see.
The concept art that has been put up in front of the ride entrance is also a neat look at the inspiration and history of the ride design—particular in the aesthetics of the show building. It’s also a whet of the appetite for the full Haunted Mansion exhibit that has been up at the Disney Gallery on Main Street since last year.
That does it for this run through the Resort. It’s mostly off-peak seasonal work, and “Marvel Land,” which is supposed to open sometime this summer. One would expect May or June to be the opening date, but the current pace may not really meet up with that desire. We’ll see if DCA splits Phase 1 into sub-phased openings, or if it just opens later.
Until next time…
Poo bah!!
Architect. Photographer. Disney nerd. Haunt enthusiast. Travel bugged. Concert fiend. Asian.
