Contributing photographer Jason of disneygeek.com sends us these photos from his trip to the parks on Friday, June 17, 2016.

An overview of the Star Wars site from the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure.

Now a pan across the site from left to right.



The large mound of dirt is shrinking as trucks haul it away.



The Skyway building is now gone this week. Almost all the demolition work is done and major clearing. They have now started to build.







Soarin’ Around the World premiered today here (as well as in Epcot; Shanghai opened yesterday). Only change outside I noticed is the “Around the World” replaced “California”.



FastPass logo has been updated. Not surprisingly they were almost gone for the day at 1:35pm.



Since the wait was posted at 75 minutes and looked slightly shorter I decided to get in line at 1:38pm.


FastPass distribution ended around 1:50pm and they closed it up while I stood in line waiting. They made an announcement of technical difficulties and they would be down to one theater. Which doubled the wait time.


Almost to the front door at 2:36pm, an hour in. They were letting less than 10 standby guests into each cycle. So we were moving very slowly. The FastPass return line stretched out toward the entrance of Smokejumpers Grill (it turned the corner and I could not see the end).



Finally made it inside the door at 2:58pm I saw no changes to the interior queue. Background music seemed the same loop too.



Watching the pre-flight video at 3:33pm. Instead of clouds and cities the new one has a map that features the locations.







The safety video is the same, just no over California in it. I was seated and ready for my flight at 3:38pm



On my way up the exit at 3:45pm. So it was 127 minutes from when I entered the queue till I exited the building.

My first impressions – The clarity of the new film is impressive and the scenic locations are amazing. Though I felt they went to the computer graphics well too many times. The locations themselves are visually stunning and in almost all cases did not need the “enhancements”. Sometimes they seemed to dominate and distract from the amazing sights. I also found the transitions between scenes to be annoying – the abrupt motion and sound versus a peaceful transition bothered me. I would have liked to have seen them show a little more restraint and pick/choose where to use the effects more.



The Silly Symphony Swings are back in operation.



Frozen Live at the Hyperion is up to four shows daily now.


Next stop Disneyland. Surprised there was nothing going on for Finding Dory. First stop for me was the Big Thunder Trail. A second fence with mesh has gone up blocking the nice clear view we had of the Star Wars construction.



There was a small crack left with no fence, so here are a couple quick pics. The forms look to be up near the old Big Thunder Trail, wonder if it is for a retaining wall or structure that will be the visual barrier for the new walkway.



The hole in the fence here is still available (this week at least).



The 2016 All-American College Band started their summer in the park on Thursday. Here is Ron at the nightly Flag Retreat.



The All-American College Band performing a Disneyland Attraction Medley during their 6:15pm The Castle Set



The band moves to Main Street to perform music from the Incredibles



As they move toward Town Square they play Gonna Take You There from Princess and the Frog.



They stop again near the Emporium and perform Under the Sea from the Little Mermaid.



After their performance I headed for Tomorrowland.



Autopia was down for some reason.



Time for the 7:15pm All-American College Band set at the Train Station in Town Square. The set opens with “Bubbles was a Cheerleader.”



Meet the 2016 All-American College Band.



The set features a Jungle Book medley this year.



The band plays a pre-parade starting at 8:15pm near Small World with their Disney Movie Medley.



They then move to the hub and perform Uptown Funk.



The band stops on Main Street and performs Let it Go.



The last stop for pre-parade is Town Square and they performed a Star Wars Medley.



Since I was in Town Square I found a spot for Paint the Night



I closed out my evening with Disneyland Forever

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, https://disneygeek.com Also be sure to follow me on twitter @disneygeekcom for pictures from the parks.