Contributing photographer Jason of disneygeek.com sends us these photos from his trip to the parks on Friday, June 21, 2013.

Arrived at the Disneyland Resort just after lunch. First stop DCA where final preparations are underway for the Lone Ranger Premiere which takes place Saturday evening. As soon as you walk in you are greeted by this. (For Saturday guests will be diverted to the walkway behind Soarin’ to enter and exit the park).

There will be a red carpet stretching from the front of the park, down Buena Vista Street and Hollywood Blvd to the Hyperion where the stars will watch the premiere.

The Backlot will close at 2:00pm on Saturday..

A look behind the curtain.

Hollywood Blvd has the backdrops as well as some bleachers in between. Guessing those will be for fans.

A large steam train engine that was used in the Lone Ranger filming.

Everyone was commenting on the hidden Mickey inside the cab..

Dancin’ with Disney returned last week to Stage 17 (between Muppets and Monsters, Inc.). This week I stopped inside to see what had changed from last year.

Inside a stage is in the center – some songs had a “featured character” who danced on the stage.

There were 8 characters out in this grouping.

It’s a great opportunity for kids to get some one-on-one time with some of the characters, who are out on the dance floor with the guests. It’s an air-conditioned space, with some padded benches around the perimeter – parents can sit and watch while their kids burn off some excess energy. There seemed to be more people enjoying it than last year, but it still wasn’t crowded at all.

The second group I saw featured 7 characters.

The 2013 Disneyland All-American College Band started their summer performances on Thursday, so this was their second day in the park. At this point they perform their first set each day at the Backlot Stage in DCA. Here is a video of their opening number: The Trolley Song from Meet Me in St. Louis.

Aladdin has gone dark for as they prepare for the Lone Ranger Premiere inside. The signage on the facades has been swapped out for the Premiere.

Next stop Cars Land. They are still working on the Cozy Cone fountain.

Wow you can see some of Route 66 this afternoon! Thanks to the Pixar Play Parade going by and drawing some guests off the street.

Over to Disneyland. Stopped by the Disney Gallery on Main Street. They had some artwork to celebrate the Enchanted Tiki Room’s 50th anniversary.

The back room of the Gallery is still closed and will be for another week from what I read. I hear they are adding some items from the old Disneyana store back there. The exhibit portion of the gallery will move to the Opera House Lobby next door.

The display case and bench that used to be in the center room of the gallery has moved to where the ticket display case in the Opera house lobby.

The Main Street Cone signage and menus are gone.. wonder if this location will be repurposed into something else soon?

It was very quiet in the Jamboree area. The Cast Members near the photo area out-numbered the guests. Cowboy Mickey was able to spend a lot of time with guests. This is another quiet place to go and hang out with some of the characters.

We arrived just in time to see a horse race!

No one coloring this afternoon.

But in only a few minutes the Band will bring the place to life. Their second set of the day is at the Jamboree.

The 2013 All-American College Band opened with a patriotic medley.

Strike up the band!

One more clip of the band performing.

Time for a voyage on the Mark Twain to check in on the work at Big Thunder Mountain. Rainbow Ridge looks just about done.

Plenty of scaffolding up around this rock work.

Ate at the Village Haus and noticed new ketchup packets… looks like they changed the type they are using in the parks now. It contains sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup.

Next up the All-American College Band in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle (these kids really get around!)

To celebrate Monsters University the band performs a song from Monsters Inc – If I Didn’t Have You

They close their set with the Disneyland Attraction Medley..

Since The Enchanted Tiki Room celebrates its 50th Anniversary Sunday we had to stop by to sing with the birdies…

Time for the nightly flag retreat which features the All-American College Band during the summer.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit was released 25 years ago, June 21, 1988… was going to give the attraction a spin to mark the occasion but the line was longer than the time I had.

The Matterhorn this afternoon.

Had to wait for a break in Soundsational so I could cross

Elvis, Scot Bruce, was at Tomorrowland Terrace

Time for the All-American College Band’s final performance of the day – Town Square set at 7:15.

The band opens with their theme song.. Bubbles was a Cheerleader.

This year the Michael Jackson Medley returns instead of Stevie Wonder.

On the way out of the park noticed these new signs on the turnstiles to help people know what to do to get their hand stamped. It really did not seem to speed things up at all.

Heading to DCA to close out my evening.

Stopped by Route 66 to watch the neon come to life. Notice the Full Moon.

Showtime… if you are in the park and have a moment near sunset I would recommend stopping by to watch the lights turn on it.. its a fun moment.

Stopped by the Mad T Party.

The Tweedles MC’ing at the House of Cards Stage

The Who R U act has been retired and a new aerial act has taken its place on the House of Cards Stage (I missed their name). Here is a video of the performance.

Pictures from the performance.. this act started last week but I missed it.

On the way out a few last pictures of the train.

The Carthay Circle with a the full moon

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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