Contributing photographer Jason of disneygeek.com sends us these photos from his trip to the parks on Friday, May 9, 2014.
Arriving at the Disneyland Resort for the afternoon/evening.
Goofy with the Hook and Ladder Co. in Town Square
A look up Main Street USA
The Plaza Inn is closed for renovation.
No real visible progress on the subs. An Imagineer walking around this afternoon.
A check of the Alice in Wonderland renovations. More steel for the outside track walkway extensions.
Nikon signage is up at the Photo Supply Co now.
Over to Disney California Adventure. Work continues on the Pacific Wharf renovations.
The side facing the parade route looks complete.
The Little Mermaid – Ariel’s Undersea Adventure was in a soft opening phase today, slated to officially re-open Saturday. It had been closed for several weeks for renovations.
Several fish have been added as you head under the sea.
Most of the fish have received a new paint scheme and use black lighting. They look substantially better to me.
This is most noticeable in the Under the Sea scene.
Some video from Friday May 9, 2014
For comparison here is a video from May 2012 – after a first round of renovations
And a video from my first ride through during a soft opening in May 2011
Another look at the recently completed Wharf renovations.
Walked through Cars Land. Only an 80 minute wait for the Racers this afternoon.
Willy’s Butte – Ornament Valley
Doc McStuffins on Hollywood Blvd.
Nikon signage at Kingswell Camera
Sleeping Beauty Castle
Noticed the moon was visible to the left of the Matterhorn.
I used to think 120 minutes to meet the Frozen sisters was crazy but after being at WDW and seeing the 200+ and at one point 305 minutes waits there this seems like nothing!
Work continues in New Orleans Square.
Guests already claiming their spots for Fantasmic. Only 4 hours before the show. A great compliment to this show that turns 22 on May 13th.
Pirates is closed for renovations.
Indy has returned. I heard no changes so I opted to stay away today.
Small World is still closed.
Mickey & the Magical Map is also dark right now.
In Toontown work on the fountains.
Notice something missing here? The lights on either side of the sign are gone.
The other fountain by the houses is also being worked on.
Goofy goofing around in front of his house.
The Go Coaster is also closed for work.
The lake the Miss Daisy is in is drained and shows signs of some needed TLC.
A look at the Go Coaster. Looks like they are just repainting.
More of the “Land” merchandise that is available in shops around the park. The photos below were taken in the China Closet on Main Street. Here are some glasses.
Attraction poster coasters.
Plates.
Decided to stick around and watch Soundsational before returning to DCA.
Lightning rolling down Cross Street.
Willy’s Butte
The Westward Ho Trading Co was closed for renovation. Guess that is why the pins moved to the music store?
Fantasmic! time to celebrate its upcoming anniversary.
Then it was back to Main Street for the Magical fireworks that returned last week.
Hope you enjoyed this highlight tour of the Disneyland Resort. For additional photos and details from this trip you can check out the full Disneyland Update I posted on my site, http://disneygeek.com Also be sure to follow me on twitter @disneygeekcom for pictures from the parks.
I honestly believe the reason behind so many refurbishments this year is preparation for next year – Disneyland’s 60th Anniversary. 🙂
Jason Reply — That would be nice.. but I believe several of these are state safety enhancements for cast members.
I’ve never been to Disneyland. Is it normal to have this many attractions down for refurbishment at one time?
Jason’s Reply — This year has seemed slightly more than normal, but with there being so few true off season weeks/days the list of closures at certain times of the year is lengthy.