According to the OC Register, Disney is taking this closure as an opportunity to do some much needed renovation and refurbishment. Here are the 20 things that were reported to be done or have been completed.
Disneyland
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is well underway in its construction. It has been reported that they are working on the attraction building for the dark ride that will house not only the track but offices, employee restrooms and an employee break room. It should also be noted that the opening date has now been pushed back to 2023.
The Haunted Mansion has opened its doors to some refreshing work - both interior and exterior is getting a makeover of ghoulish proportion and some of the attraction mechanics can be fleshed out.
Attention kids and parents of kids! Disney is changing up the Snow White’s Scary Adventures ride!! Being one of the original attraction on opening day, this ride did leave a lot to be desired. They started by touching up the outside with lighter, more inviting tones. The big renovation is happening inside the attraction building as Snow White steps into the present day. This means new music, LED black lighting, animation systems and audio-visual technologies to make the ride more interesting, and, best of all, they are removing the scary ending! Be sure to check it out when the park reopens!
Next on the list, we have King Arthur’s Carrousel. Also one of the opening day attractions, the hand-carved horses and steel canopy needed a little TLC.
Indiana Jones Adventure is always just that: an adventure! The line is always long, the interior’s queue is packed, and no matter how you try, you will probably end up next to a stranger. The ride itself is a thing to behold, but they have some issues with the plank bridge that they are going to work out, namely replacing it altogether and reenforcing the steel structure.
Coming back to Toontown, there has been a little money set aside to give our favorite Mouse some love. They are re-roofing Mickey’s House, and it has been underway since the park’s closure.
Regular seasonal maintenance is being performed on Goofy’s Go Coaster, the roller coaster designed for our littlest Cast Members.
Space Mountain got a new emergency exit staircase on the exterior of the show building. Given the budget of $1.1 million, it has to be the nicest staircase anyone has seen.
As we know, Disneyland was in the process of removing their “French Fry” rocks, and now the process is complete! As a crucial part of Project Stardust, the park is trying to widen walkways and avoid the awkward hourglass pinch points.
To the same degree, Frontierland entrance has gotten a upgrade too: the bridge has been widened and the 15-foot tall faux wood gates have been replaced, along with the 16-foot marque sign.
The parade route is a well known path of travel for Disney-goers, but the tourist in town for the first time, will not know which way it goes... until now. The brick apron has been completed between the castle and the Matterhorn Bobsleds.
Which leads me here: the Matterhorn bobsleds had some routine maintenance to perform, forcing them to wrap the ride vehicles in plastic wrap for their protection.
Tom Sawyer’s Island is getting a makeover, too. Before you get ahead of yourself, this pertains specifically to the area around the stage where they perform Fantasmic. The Cider Mill and the Blacksmith shop are both getting new roofing as well.
Maintenance crews have removed scaffolding that was used for the painting and refurbishment of the exterior of the gift shop closest to the park entrance.
Good news for those of us who like the original Splash Mountain - it’s staying, for now. The Imagineers and the Animators are working diligently to come up with a storyline and drawing for what they plan to do inside the iconic attraction. It has been reported that this classic Splash Mountain will remain in place when Disneyland reopens.
Disney’s California Adventure
Avengers Campus we now was slated to open this past summer before the park was shuttered for the COVID-19 crisis. While we don’t know what the status of when it will reopen, we do know that the Web Slingers attraction was ride testing before the closure of the park.
A new backstage building is being built for administrative purposes backstage, just behind Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters.
Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree also had some routine seasonal maintenance performed on both platforms.
Pixar Pal-A-Round needed some love, so, for the time being, the stationary gondolas have been removed. This is just routine maintenance on the Ferris wheel and is only temporary.
The Hollywood set stage right next to the Hyperion Theatre for a face lift, repainting the clouds backdrop on the side of the show building hosting the “Frozen” performance.
There you have it! Stay tuned for more updates as they happen!
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