Disney California Adventure is getting ready to host the world premiere of Disney’s The Lone Ranger. We’ve got the scoop and photos for you. In the meantime, the resort has found an acceptable solution to the safety railings that were installed on the rooftops in Mickey’s ToonTown and fresh plantings have been added in Town Square, which brighten the whole area with a patriotic flare. Plus, construction updates and the unfortunate return of Dancin’ With Disney. Let’s get to it.

PATRIOTIC PLANTINGS PROLIFERATE IN TOWN SQUARE

The flowers in Town Square have been switched out once again. Reinforcing the patriotic motif, fiery red celosia frame the street from their flowerbeds on the outer rim of the square.

The light poles are adorned with American flags.

STARBUCKS

The news here is that there really isn’t any news. Try as we might, we can’t see any progress from the outside. They’ve closed this one up tight. However, the Main Street Bakery featuring Starbucks at the Magic Kingdom in Florida did open this week. Take a look at our WDW Starbucks article here and let us know if you think Disneyland’s version will be higher caliber.

TOONTOWN

We have some good news to report out of ToonTown today. Of course, it’s not all good. . .

The bad first: The hills behind Minnie’s house have remained untouched. They are literally peeling. A little bit of sanding and some touch-up paint would fix this quickly. Much of backdrop is fine, but the parts that aren’t really look shabby.

But there is good news. Very good in fact. In a previous update we mentioned the safety rails that were installed on top of the show building for Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin. We cautiously hoped that the pictures we took were a temporary solution and that the rails could somehow be painted to blend in or hidden completely.

They’ve added a painted wall in front of where castmembers might walk. While it isn’t as detailed as the brick facades below, it is much better than the ugly handrails.

It sure is nice to see an effort to theme the safety measures. It’s not the most finished looking solution, but it works.

BIG THUNDER

Strolling around the back of Big Thunder Mountain, we see that the lower areas of rock work are receiving a new paint job. Will the scaffolds grow and move their way up the mountain?

One of the few remaining serene spots in the park, Big Thunder trail, has a calm feeling to it, even with the construction near by.

Coming around the front of Big Thunder we see more scaffolding along the route and can spot the progress on Rainbow Ridge:

Over in Disney California Adventure, they are getting everything set for the Lone Ranger world premiere that will be happening on Saturday, June 22nd in the Hollwood section of the park.

Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular has gone dark and will remain so until Sunday the 23rd when the cast gets its theater back from the Hollywood clan. On the day of the event, guests will be diverted from the main entrance and funneled around the backside of Soarin, entering the park a lot like guests did during the park’s massive overhaul.

The park will pretty much operate as normal during the first half of the day, with only the Five and Dime performances going dark on the 22nd. But the closer it gets to the premiere, the more sections of the park will close that day. Expect the celebrity arrivals to start around 5pm, with Hollywood Land closing first. Normal day guests will still be able to enjoy the rest of the park, outside of Hollywood Land, until normal park closing at 10pm.

While the Hollywood A-listers and assistants will be viewing the movie inside the Hyperion theater, we hear that the remainder of the guests, including those who donated $1,000 to be a part of the event, will be seated inside the Muppet Vision Theater for their screening. The American Indian College Fund will be receiving the proceeds from the ticket sales.

A Steam engine from the film is parked under the “Hollywood Studios” arches to lure guests in that direction.

THE REVENGE OF DANCIN’ WITH DISNEY

What those executives should have been more concerned about was the return of the insipid Dancin’ with Disney area. That Door Coaster just can’t come soon enough (if it’s coming at all).Yes, this “Attraction” is really just for little kids and that parents appreciate an air conditioned place to sit and relax . . . but . . . it still seems sub-par. Thankfully there are plenty of other things to see in DCA these days.

Unlike last summer when folks didn’t even know this attraction was here, this time around, they’ve added colorful signage and even a yellow foot road leading right in.

WHAT TO DO WITH TOMORROWLAND?

Former Imagineer, Jeff Kurtti, and Disney historian, Keith Gluck, chat about their ideas for fixing Tomorrowland in this excellent edition of Coffee with Kurtti on the MicePod. There are some great ideas here. They’d love to hear yours as well.

Discuss Podcast

And that’s our update from the Disneyland Resort. Things mostly look great, the parks are ready for the 4th of July and attempts have been made to hide the awful safety railings in ToonTown. Is anyone planning to head to the Resort on Saturday for some celebrity watching at DCA?

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