Disneyland is Celebrating Today, lots of refurbishments, DCA construction, +MORE

WELCOME TO DISNEYLAND!
The Harbor Boulevard car entrance archway is getting re-painted. The pulled back "curtain" is getting a purple treatment, and the swirly marquee is behind tarps.


Year of a Million Dreams signs still need to get removed.


The other side is still blue


Is confetti and Mickey balloons in the future here?



Guests arriving at the Mickey & Friends Parking Structure are getting flyers for the new Annual Passport Monthly Payment program.



The loading area billboards are pushing Toy Story (Midway) Mania! instead of the new Celebrate campaign.






Downtown Disney has new "Celebrate Today!" banners.





The security tents have lost their cheap and tacky Year of a Million Dreams decorations.


...And the security check billboard is selling the Annual Passports on the new payment plan with the help of the very celebratory Mickey and Goofy.



And new park maps are Celebrating Today.


The inside flap touts recent new attractions and hints at the controversial "new surprises" at "it's a small world" coming in February. ...And the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough is officially back on the map.



CELEBRATE FLORAL!
The new Celebrate Today-themed Mickey Floral has debuted. Still fresh, a lot of the new design blended in with the grass, but when it blooms it should look pretty nice.


Mickey's party hat is made entirely of artifical flowers, not unlike the big golden "50" that was part of the floral display that greeted guests during the 50th Anniversary celebration.


Apparently snazzy LED lighting, similar to the recent Year of a Million Dreams "pixie dust" effect, will be incorporated into the floral display soon.




CELEBRATE REFURBISHMENTS!
Of course you can always tell its the off season when the crowds thin out and the tarps and construction walls go up. The Emporium Annex is behind tarps for some fresh paint.


There's some construction walls up in Town Square.


Disney Clothiers is closed for refurbishment.



The Plaza Inn is open during its refurbishment.





And half of the Central Plaza's street is covered with construction walls as Main Street begins is big repaving project.





BYE-BYE CHRISTMAS
Back in October we cried foul when a Christmas shop popped up in the quiet Courtyard of Angels back in New Orleans Square. The shop had the potential to stick around forever, much like the Pirates of the Caribbean retail set-up in the Royal Courtyard between the Pieces of Eight and Port Royal stores. Luckily, the Courtyard of Angels Christmas ornament shop only lasted through the holiday season, and hopefully it won't offer anymore merchandise opportunities anytime soon.





Over at the Haunted Mansion, Jack Skellington is still moving out of the Haunted Mansion, which will re-open in its traditional version February 14th.



And over in Fantasyland, "it's a small world" is in the process of taking down the tinsel and ornaments and bringing in a bunch of unnecessary Disney characters and a splashy new "up with America" show scene.


Al Lutz detailed the controversial changes almost a year ago on MiceAge, and ever since the Disney fan community has ranged from online campaigns to stop the changes from happening to fans eagerly awaiting the new enhancements. The Disney characters and America show scene even caused Disney Imagineers and the Company's Archivist to speak in defense of the project family members of "it's a small world" Imagineer Mary Blair spoke out against the changes. It seems time will tell now whether the new enhancements will fair well with the average Disney guest, or if they'll even notice to begin with.




CELEBRATING SOON!
Construction walls have gone up around half of Big Thunder Ranch as it gets converted into the Celebration Roundup and Barbeque, as part of the "Celebrate Today!" marketing campaign. The Big Thunder Ranch petting zoo remains open.


The Celebration Roundup will host special celebration events that are open to all guests and feature barbeque food.


The Celebration Roundup is currently set to open April 2.



Over in Fantasyland, the "Once Upon a Time... The Disney Princess Shoppe" has closed to be converted into a Disneyland version of the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique, which currently has two locations at Walt Disney World.


The Boutique will give little girls a full salon makeover into their favorite princess. For a fee, of course.


The new princess salon opens April 4th.




DISNEY'S CONSTRUCTION ADVENTURE
Over at Disney's California Adventure, the new year has brought in construction walls for another project in a long line of them as DCA undergoes a $1.1 billion remodel and expansion plan.


This new set of walls is for a complete remodeling of the rarely-used Golden State Amphitheater so that the space can accommodate the crowds expected for the upcoming World of Color show on Paradise Bay.


The new "Victorian-inspired civic park amphitheater" that Al Lutz described in his January 6 update will be built large enough for 9,000 standing guests per show.


The parade lighting has been removed from the posts on the Amphitheater side.



The lenticular panel advertising the upcoming World of Color show disappeared from the Paradise Pier bridge mid-week and returned by the weekend.


The only noticeable change is a slightly larger plaque about the World of Color show. Curious, since the plaque gives the same information that the old one did.



Speaking of World of Color, even though it might seem like major construction for the show is coming slowly, it is coming. A gravel vehicle ramp in the bay can now be seen next to the California Screamin' launch.


And camouflage netting has gone up to try to hide the backstage access point from guest view as much as possible.





The Sun Wheel's face is completely gone. The remaining sunbursts will be repurposed, repainted, and reused as part of Mickey's Fun Wheel.



Work continues on the Games of the Boardwalk as the new Victorian facades start to come together more and more every week.







THIS & THAT
Faded Year of a Million Dreams banners linger in DCA.


And despite the various entertainment cuts across the Resort, it's good to see smaller acts like the Hook 'n' Ladder Co. along with Chip an' Dale still entertaining guests.








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