September 17th, 2008: Walls, Walls, and Monorail Blue

**1FoolishMortal** · 09-21-2008 12:56 AM

Visited the resort briefly last Wednesday (September 17th). Crowds were sparse, the weather was beautiful, and refurb walls were everywhere! Sorry for the delay in posting this....internet has been spotty the past few days.

Anywho, pull up a chair, grab a cup of McD's coffee, and get ready....there are 5 pages today!

NOTE: 10 videos have been added to Page 5 of the update. Enjoy!

Looking towards the castle as I was waiting for the rope drop.

The only proof I was able to manage of the water wheel being back on Big Thunder.

Wait Times around 11:30am....not too bad, except for three major attractions still being closed.

Plaza Pavilion is still under wraps.

That's the last of the Year(s) of a Million Dreams we'll be seeing! Yay!

Some minor painting going on along Main Street.

New Century Timepieces is still closed.

A shot of the New Century Timepieces sign, just in case it won't be there in a few weeks.

A new window advertising Tinker Belle on Main Street.

Crowds were sparse....this was taken around 11:30am.

The quintessential shot of Main Street....it came out okay I thought. :/

More minor painting along Main Street.

You can also see the Horsedrawn Trolley pavement they've replaced thus far (it's actually appeared on the DL calendar as being closed for a few more weeks).

The advertisement for Mickey's Trick-or-Treat Party as you exit Disneyland.

Some new merchandise for Tower I hadn't seen before (Sorry for the blur on the first picture, that one wouldn't turn out for some reason).

The plaza in front of Tower without the temporary lighting rigs. The night before there were gigantic spotlights all over the resort, so I'm guessing some company rented out DCA for a private party. Who and what for, though, I couldn't say.

Aww....no performances today.

That's the best picture I could manage of the closed Character Close-up. I'm currently without a tripod.

Just a big fig picture to amuse a certain staff member.

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The wait for Midway Mania around noon....not that bad!

Just taking pictures for ol' times sake, especially since the shops will be getting refurbished soon.

I kinda like how the one of the Sun Wheel turned out.

That's an awfully long wait for a water play area.

2nd picture: Which one of these is not like the other?

3rd picture: Hint: The McD's flag is gone!

Burger Invasion minus the McD's sponsorship.

A look at the shuttered Burger Invasion.

Speaking of shuttered: may I present Golden Dreams, minus the Whoopi-ness.

The architecture geek in me made an appearance.

The "reason" for Golden Dreams' closure.

Back in Disneyland, here are the wait times around 2pm.

A pretty shot of a path on Tom Sawyer's Island. I love the blue flowers!

Aladdin's Oasis is no longer home to Indy, or Aladdin for that matter.

A few new windows on Main Street for the upcoming Halloween celebrations.

Walls around the currently closed Ariel's Grotto, future home of the new Pixie Hollow.

Walls in Tomorrowland as the right portion of the main walkway is repaved(?).

Signs in the area directing you around the construction.

As luck would have it, the new Monorail Red stopped right above the old Motorboat Lagoon, so I took the opportunity to take a few pictures. Enjoy!

The other big news of the day (besides Monorail Blue taking guests, more on that later) was that "it's a small world" finally had its facade uncovered. Nice to see them keep it as its original white color-scheme.

A small portion of the facade is still being worked on.

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Casey Jr. making its trip around Storybookland.

The ODV cart next to Village Haus is still being worked on.

Peeking at the goat's new coat of fur through the trees.

Big Thunder Ranch is closed in preparation for it to reopen as Woody's Halloween Round-up.

Looks like the same decorations are making a return this year.

The other entrance to Big Thunder Ranch.

The sign on the gate letting guests know of the closure.

A pretty shot of Big Thunder Mountain in the evening light....makes a great desktop, too!

Another artsy shot of the mountain.

Westward Ho! McDonald's corporate french fry wagon is finally gone! All that's left is dirt.

Some repaving(?) going on in front of the River Belle Terrace.

An evening shot of the Rivers of America.

The massive wall that extends from the French Market all the way to Splash Mountain.

What's this? What's this? There's color everywhere!

Columbia in dry dock....looks to be an extensive refurbishment.

Surrounded by walls as you make your way between the Haunted Mansion and the Columbia.

Some of the decor popping up on the Mansion.

Looking through the tarps, you can see equipment setup on the Columbia.

The shuttered Harbor Galley (shuttered offerings seem to be a repeating pattern, no?).

This was surrounded by walls not that long ago, correct?

The opposite side of the courtyard shows the exit to the old Sleeping Beauty Walkthrough still closed off.

Some night shots of the castle for good measure.

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Some more night views of the castle.

They make great desktops, btw.

They finally released a new CD for Fantasmic! (this one covers both parks instead). The downside? You can no longer buy the original MSEP in the parks.

And, just for the heck of it, here are all the new World of Disney windows in anticipation of Halloweentime.

The rest of the World of Disney windows.

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For your enjoyment, here are 10 videos from my trip, all in High Quality! Here's a quick summary of the videos:

1.) Bonus Video: The fountain at the Americana performing "Let the Good Times Roll." Thanks to club33az for the clarification!

2.) Bonus Video: The fountain at the Americana performing "Beyond the Sea."
3.) The Jambalaya Jazz performing in New Orleans Square.
4.) Video of Pirate's Lair from the shore before it opens for the day.
5.) The Delta Daddios performing in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot.
6.) Laughing Stock Co. playing matchmaker for Sally Mae.
7.) The Bootstrappers performing on Tom Sawyer's Island.
8.) Monorail Blue with guests, and the Grand Marshal Pre-Parade.
9.) The first float of the Parade of Dreams.
10.) The Parade of Dreams Show Stop.

Be sure to follow the links to YouTube for more information, and to watch the videos in High Quality!

Hope everyone enjoyed the update! If anyone would like high resolution versions of the pictures, PM me for details.

This update was undertaken using a Kodak C875 digital camera and a Hitachi video camera.