The Disneyland Resort is forever evolving and with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opening soon, we’re seeing a lot of changes happening right now. On our recent trip to the resort, we wanted to check in with the changes happening at the new parking structure and Downtown Disney District. Let’s take a look at what’s going on currently.
Parking Structure Updates
Each week that we’ve visited the Disneyland Resort in the last month, we’ve noticed major progress being made to the new parking structure. This visit, we can see that planters have been installed across all levels on the exterior of the structure. It also looks like they are working on finishing up the stairwells. We can see that handrails have been installed to help guests with ascending and descending.
Construction workers have been hard at work on the completion of the escalators and roofing that will cover that area of the structure. The beams holding up the roof were gray as of last week, but have since been painted white.
And it looks like the existing Mickey & Friends Parking Structure received some much-needed attention as well. After we noted in our Disneyland Resort Maintenance Report that the signs were faded to the point of not being legible, they have been replaced. These new signs are such a sight for sore eyes. Success!
Downtown Disney District
Now that tickets for Pop-Up Disney! A Mickey Celebration have gone on sale, work is being done to turn the former ESPN Zone into the exhibit space by April 26.
So far, not many changes are taking place. The construction workers are focused on small changes at the moment, mostly at the entrance and exit points. With less than a month until the opening of the interactive exhibit, we can’t help but think that this building is not going to change much further––on the outside, at least. It’s likely they’ll just put banners up to cover the athletes, instead of removing them entirely.
Since nothing has been announced regarding the former Rainforest Cafe space, no changes have happened over here. The restaurant just sits there as a waste of potential space, so we hope that Disney will announce a replacement soon.
Thankfully, we do have something else to look forward to across from Rainforest Cafe. As we announced earlier this year, Sugarboo & Co. will be opening next to Starbucks. This family-owned boutique will be filled with thoughtful, treasured gifts such as art prints and home goods as well as whimsical paper products, handmade ceramics, candles, bath apothecary and jewelry.
As for Black Tap Craft Burgers and Shakes… We sadly have nothing new to report.
Not much has changed from what we can see from the outside. We can only hope that it will be open in time for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, but only time will tell.
Spring’s arrival has brought so many beautiful flowers to the Disneyland Resort. We especially love strolling through Downtown Disney and admiring the displays amongst the hustle and bustle of guests and shops.
Wonderground Gallery is also playing host to many artists this spring, including Aggie Cheung and Ashley Taylor.
The front entrance of the Gallery houses a display of Jason Ratner’s art, as well as art by Brittney Lee who did work on Frozen.
If you need your fix of Mickey Mouse artwork and merchandise, Wonderground Gallery has you covered. They have an excellent selection in honor of Mickey’s 90th birthday celebration taking place throughout the Resort.
Next door at Disney Home, the store entrance has finally changed from the display of D-Lish merchandise to Mickey and Minnie home goods.
We love these Mickey and Minnie spatula sets on display. For $19.99 you can choose either Mickey or Minnie, and each come with a mini-sized spatula.
The D-Lish merchandise is still available for purchase at Disney Home, however, it’s all been gathered into a small table display. Is this a sign of the end of the Disney Parks snacks fad?
The Void at Downtown Disney is still offering Star Wars Secrets of the Empire and Ralph Breaks VR experiences. But soon, there will be a (rumored) Frozen 2 VR experience this fall. This new Frozen 2 VR experience will put you inside a new, multi-sensory Disney adventure where you’ll be immersed in the world of Arendelle with Anna and Elsa.
With the Easter holiday coming up in a few weeks, more Easter-themed merchandise is popping up throughout the Disneyland Resort, including Marceline’s Confectionery.
Guests can purchase Easter-themed plush Mickey and Minnies, rice crispy treats, cake pops, and candy apples.
We love how adorable the baby chick cake pop is, as well as the candy apple to match.
Over at the dress shop, D-Lish is still having a moment with the new Disney Snack Dress available in sizes for kids and adults. We love how it pairs with the Mickey Ice Cream Bar Ears.
There are plenty of new Spring Floral Tinkerbell Dooney and Bourke purses available for purchase. We love this accessory for spring. The crossbody is available for $198.00, the satchel is available for $248.00, and the tote is available for $268.00.
If you need some sun protection, this Aloha Dole Whip floppy hat is perfect. This can be purchased for $34.99 at The Dress Shop.
And speaking of sun protection, how cute are these new baseball caps? The Enchanted Tiki Room hat is perfect for wearing while sipping on a Dole Whip Float at the Tropical Hideaway.
And this Mad Tea Party-themed hat matches the Loungefly backpack with the colorful pastels and teacup design. Both of these hats can be purchased for $27.99.
And on our last stop in Downtown Disney, we found even more new merchandise over in World of Disney.
There’s a vibrant display of the current Rose Gold merchandise at the entrance, but hurry––this merchandise will be discontinued on April 1 when Briar Rose Gold takes over.
Until then, Dapper Yellow is the newest color having a moment in stores with the arrival of this new Spirit Jersey.
It’s…vibrant, to say the least. We’ve spotted this $64.99 Spirit Jersey in stock throughout the Disneyland Resort but have yet to spot anyone actually wearing it. Will this color trend be the first to fail?
And finally, the Disneyland Resort has received the new Navy and Pink Polka Dot Minnie Ears. These were spotted at Walt Disney World earlier this month and we were pretty envious. These adorable Ears can be purchased for $27.99.
Those are all the updates we have on the new parking structure and Downtown Disney. What do you think about the changes happening around the Disneyland Resort?