Contributing photographer Jason of disneygeek.com sends us these photos from his trip to the parks on Friday, May 18, 2012. Highlights include the new Cars Land-inspired monorails with their new narrations, Matterhorn bobsled testing and the new Brave Meet and Greet as well as updated construction photos from Buena Vista Street and Cars Land, opening June 15!

The scaffolding is down around the La Brea Bakery.

This year they are doing grad nite differently than they traditionally have. This year grads get a park hopper ticket and wristband. They can visit both parks all day long then after Disneyland closes they have their party until the early morning hours. So as the day went on more and more graduates showed up in the park which made for a different experience and crowd pattern.

There was no line and the bus was boarding so I hopped on for an elevated view of Main Street. Minnie waving as we passed by.

A check in on Carnation Cafe.. it opens June 13th and work was going on all day and into the evening.

The Matterhorn has water flowing again and bobsleds were being cycled.

Hard to see what is going on at Plaza Gardens. Looks like much of the concrete and retaining wall on the North side are gone.

First destination of the day was the Small World Mall to check out the Brave Meet and Greet. As you approach there are banners up.

And some signs.

There are activities and some games too.

There is an archery range as part of the area too, so after your picture is taken you can go shoot a bow and arrow.

The cast members assist you with a quick lesson as the paparazzi snaps pictures.

A closer look at the bow and arrow.

A couple tables for coloring.

A game to test your skill.

These were interesting. Some stones that you can create rubbings with (thank you David for letting us know the process name).

Moving on, the seagulls are still gone from the sub lagoon.

The menu boards at Tomorrowland Terrace are now LCD screens, reminds me of WDW.

Wandered down the trail to the Jamboree next. The cows that were lurking are now gone… wonder where they have wandered off to now, probably backstage hanging out again.

Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow were out for pictures.

Next up the Monorail. They are promoting Cars Land so each has a name and personality now. Here is Mona Monorail in the Tomorrowland Station. I thought the wrap was pretty well done. It is not as over the top as the previous ones.

Here is a video of the ride to Downtown Disney, the narrations have been replaced and customized per train.

A look in on Buena Vista Street.A check of the Red Car stop.

The signage on Buena Vista Street looks great.

Notice all the sidewalks are in now.

The return trip from Downtown Disney to Tomorrowland aboard Mona Monorail.

Very close to getting a great shot of a new bobsleds splashing down.

A fun hidden mickey on the dock…

A new sled going by the redone bridge.

Manny Monorail going over the Sub Lagoon.

Alice Davis received a window on Main Street since my last visit. It is right next to the one for her husband, Marc Davis.

Time to head to DCA.. only four weeks, 28 days, till the grand openings.

Noticed the awnings are gone from the entrance now.

Minnie arriving at her Charter Airlines. Today she had the full-featured head, with blinking eyes and moving mouth.

Taste Pilots has a tarp up as they work on the building where the plane was attached.

The cafe signage is now done.

A great hand-painted sign.

The sign out front is installed now too.

Another great sign being painted.

Time to check out the Studios portion of Hollywood Land which has been taken over by the Mad T Party.

The Drink Me bar.

Props have been installed on the stage. The stage will feature a live band.

The House of Cards bar area.

The sound stage number has been updated to fit the party.

The food truck has received a new wrap.

The Bugs Life references have been removed from the mural and it is being repainted. Wonder if they are down for the painting or gone forever.

A look down Route 66, which now has striping on it.

Wires now strung on the poles.

The traffic light has been installed.

Most of the construction is done so there are now groups roaming around with no hard hats (the crews on either side were laying sod).

A sod crew working near the Cozy Cones, notice the fence too.

Spotted this new Cars inspired outdoor vending (ODV) cart.

The menu

The scaffolding is down from around Ghirardelli

A new billboard along the boardwalk between Ariel’s and California Screamin’ (the second one from the left).

While looking at ODV carts.. here is one out on the Pier.

Time for a spin on the Fun Wheel. There were two Racers stopped on the track.

I think this helps with the scale.. remember those are 6 passenger cars, just like Test Track.

The signage is great..

Looks like they are working on the clovers in Flik’s Fun Fair…notice all the white tops…the green has been removed.

I did not get a good picture.. but as I was wrapping up my first trip on the wheel they started to cycle the Racers. By this second go around (15 minutes or so later) they were running. Had to take a couple pictures of what I called the USC race!

More props and equipment for the T-Party backstage awaiting installation.

A second look from the Blue Sky Cellar patio, now that the workers have cleared out for the day.

Noticed they have replaced the individual packets of condiments in Taste Pilots with these pumps now.

Monorail Manny in Tomorrowland.

A video from onboard Manny from Tomorrowland to Downtown Disney.

A look at the Mad T Party, noticed plenty of lights on the tower even.

A large sign for the event on the back of the stage.

More signage for Buena Vista Street.

Video of the return trip.

Rumble King at the Tomorrowland Terrace

The Brave Meet and Greet wrapped up at 3:00pm today.

Some of the lights were on at the Carthay this evening.

Also some lights on at the House of Cards.

The Tower of Terror area was very crowded this evening. A two hour wait! It appeared to be mostly Grad Nite kids.

No neon on when I first arrived to check out Cars Land.

Looks like they were set up for something, notice the microphone stands. In the background you could see groups of cast members heading for the Racers where they were doing testing/previews this evening.

Then all of a sudden the lights all came on… crummy picture but you get the drift..

The lights in the cafe were on this evening and you could see the stained glass window.

Some water art being created on Main Street.

Time for Fantasmic which turned 20 last Sunday!

Afterwards we roamed around the Rivers of America and down the Big Thunder trail as Magical was going on.

Made it into Fantasyland as Tinkerbell was taking her final flight.

To close with the Matterhorn waterfalls – they have some great new lighting.

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.

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