Disney’s California Adventure Construction Update

Lee Zimmerman, Laura’s husband, is guest blogging this entry.


Since I was at the Disneyland Resort on Friday to cover the Star Tours Early Departure event, Laura asked if I would also take a pass around the resort to see if there was anything new to report on. Other than the new Star Tours ride, there didn’t seem to be anything of note at Disneyland. Disney California Adventure, on the other hand, is still enjoying a major construction boom with changes visible every visit.

Starting with the park entry, the Imagineers continue to remove the original structure facades and to replace them with something more appropriate to represent 1930’s Los Angeles.

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The buildings on the left hand side of the entrance look a bit bare without the mural and other original embellishments

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The building on the right looks much better with its new facade – this picture almost looks like it is from the 30’s

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The seating area in front of the train is gone, which really changes the look of this area of the entrance plaza

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The structure for what will be the Carthay Circle Theater is underway

Heading back towards the Paradise Pier area I passed the overlook at the Blue Sky Cellar where you can see into Cars Land.

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You can see that the Cadillac Mountain Range is progressing nicely

For those who would like to see more detail, here is a larger image

The big news for the day is that the construction walls are down from around the new Little Mermaid attraction!

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The entrance rotunda

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Looking right you see what I think is the overflow queue for Ariel’s Undersea Adventure

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The ride stretches out to the left, occupying quite a bit of lake front property

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There were two cast members guarding the entrance, answering questions and, for my benefit, modeling their new costumes

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King Triton lords over the main part of the attraction building and what I think is the main guest queue goes along this side of the building

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Here is a closeup of part of the main queue – almost all of which is covered

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Here is a panoramic shot that shows the entire front exposure of the attraction as it overlooks the World of Color viewing area

Here is a larger version of the picture above

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I don’t think I’ve ever been in the park when at least part of the World of Color show floor wasn’t raised to show height. Today all three sections were at show height and, I may just be noticing for the first time, everything has been painted the same subdued color instead of the natural silver, black and other colors of the raw hardware.

Here is a larger version of the photo above, in case you haven’t seen the impressive amount of hardware that makes the World of Color show.

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I had never seen the ‘Disney Channel Rocks’ show before, so I didn’t realize they set up this stage and then tear it down every day because it’s right in the front of the World of Color viewing area. It’s a great place for a show, but that’s a lot of work.

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The construction wall around Little Mermaid had blocked off access to Seaside Souvenirs which is now open.

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More important, for corn dog fans, is that the Corn Dog Castle is open again. (Here is the Corn Dog Castle Menu.)

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Construction continues on the food court near Goofy’s Sky School (the former Mulholland Madness).

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Finally, sometimes I just like to wander and notice the care and detail Disney puts into developing the parks and attractions. This is the top of King Triton’s Carousel (located near the entrance to California Screamin’).

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Laura Gilbreath is a native of San Diego, CA. She has been making the trek up Interstate 5 to Disneyland since she was a small child and terrified of talking tikis and hitchhiking ghosts. She and her husband Lee enjoy trips to Disneyland and Walt Disney World, as well as sailings on the Disney Cruise Line.

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3 Replies to “Disney’s California Adventure Construction Update”

  1. Love the pics! Thanks for putting them up. When you were near Cars Land, did it say when it was scheduled to open? Cars is my 2 year old’s absolute favorite movie, and I want to take him to Disneyland next year, and Cars Land is a huge part of why.

    Laura replies: No specific date for Cars Land yet – all Disney has said is “2012”.

  2. Thanks for the great update! I am thrilled that California Adventure is going retro…it really helps you feel like you are at a Disney park!

    @Nigel…there is an annual passholder preview for Little Mermaid on May 31st and June 1st. No sign-ups necessary, just show up with your annual pass to ride!

  3. Thanks so much for the pictures, I so hope that you can do an article about that when it opens!! I am so jealous that DCA gets it before WDW does! I am very anxious and I know my 2 year old is as well. Thanks for the blog, hopefully someday I can make it out to DL/DCA. I would love to see the Cars land!