Disneyland Has Been Keeping Busy With a TON of Projects During Their Closure

The Disneyland Resort is approach the eight-month mark since its temporary closure began. During that time, Downtown Disney has reopened, and Disney California Adventure is preparing to reopen Buena Vista Street for shopping and dining.

There has also been plenty of work happening “behind the scenes” while the parks have been closed, according to Orange County Register. Let’s take a look at the nearly two-dozen projects that are currently underway.

At Disneyland, the one project currently underway that is garnering perhaps the most amount of excitement is Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Construction on the project went vertical earlier this year, as the projected date for when the attraction will open was delayed to 2023.

There are also many refurbishment projects taking place. Many of these projects were underway before the closures began. These include work being done on Haunted Mansion, King Arthur Carrousel, and Snow White’s Scary Adventures.

Of those three attractions, Snow White’s Scary Adventures will look the most different once the parks reopen. While Haunted Mansion and King Arthur Carrousel’s work is largely maintenance, according to Orange County Register, the classic dark ride ride will “add new music, LED black lighting, laser projections, animation systems and audio-visual technology to the dark ride while removing the “scary” finale.”

There are additional rides and attractions that are either currently under refurbishment or are in the stages of filing permits. These include Indiana Jones Adventure, which according to Orange County Register includes a permit to replace the attraction’s plank bridge, along with some other updates.

Mickey’s House in Toontown was on the brink of beginning a facelift when the parks closed. Speaking of Toontown, Gadget Go Coaster went through seasonal maintenance during the park’s closure.

According to Orange County Register, the house was being re-roofed. Space Mountain also received some attention during the closures, involving an emergency exit exterior staircase. Another mountain, Matterhorn, received routine maintenance that included work on the loading platform.

In the hub area of Disneyland Park, work concluded during the closure on the bricks along the parade route in between Sleeping Beauty Castle and Matterhorn. Project Stardust is also continuing to move ahead, where the Tomorrowland entrance has received a facelift since before the closure.

The entrance to Frontierland was widened and the area received a new sign and faux wooden gates. As you head further into Frontierland, you’ll come across Tom Sawyer Island’s, where the Cider Mill and Blacksmith shop are receiving touch-ups and re-roofings.

Further down Main Street U.S.A., The Emporium received a facelift, with scaffolding going up and subsequently coming down during the park’s closure.

Last but certainly not least in Disneyland Park, work has yet to begin on the massive transformation coming to Splash Mountain. The ride will be re-imagined to a Princess and the Frog-themed ride, like its east coast counterpart in Disney World. While construction hasn’t begun, Imagineers are hard at work coming up with the backstory and other components of the newly designed ride.

Over in Disney California Adventure, there are a few key projects currently taking place. The biggest project, of course, is Avengers Campus. The land was originally slated to open in July, but was delayed indefinitely due to the closures. Work is well underway, however, with the Quinjet “landing” in California Adventure earlier this year.

Other projects taking place in California Adventure include a new backstage office building being built near Cars Land, scaffolding coming down at the Hyperion Theatre where a painted cloud mural was being added prior to the closures, as well as routine seasonal maintenance on Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree and Pixar Pal-A-Round.

There’s no question that Disneyland will feel a little different when it finally reopens, and this list of projects certainly indicates that parts of the resort will even LOOK a little different, too!

Click here to learn more about Buena Vista Street’s reopening!

When Disneyland reopens, which attraction will you go on first? Let us know in the comments!

Comments (2)