Today, not even a full 24 hours after the Rivers of America at Disneyland closed for approximately 18 months, Disney released the first concept art for the redesigned backside of the Rivers of America. 

While we wish they had released this a few weeks ago to contain some of the online fervor going on it's definitely nice to see some of what they have planned for this area of the park. 

While we were always confident they would do great things and it wouldn't just be a "wall" on the backside of the park we even have to admit we're pretty blown away by what they came up with. 

(click on any of the pictures below for a larger version)

Now, to be fair, this is only "concept art" and the final product probably won't look exactly like this (as pointed out by FB fan Alan, the water is far too blue for the river) we are nevertheless going to look a bit closer and see what appears to be changing and what is staying. 

Goes without saying that all of the artwork is Disney property. 

As we look to the bottom left of this picture we do see a canoe off the shore and what looks like a Tom Sawyer raft. This could indicate that the rafts to Tom Sawyer Island will be moving or again, just part of the concept art. 

Towards the middle left of the picture we see the train tracks and assume that this is right after the train has gone by the Hungry Bear. 

Fans of the Disneyland Railroad will also notice that there aren't enough cars on the train, but again, concept art. 

The trestles and waterfalls are a brilliant touch. We'll get into that a bit more as we move down the road a bit. 

As we move down the middle of the picture we see a much larger DLRR trestle with some rock-work and waterfalls behind it, presumably to block the RoA from what's behind (namely Star Wars). Think of this as the new berm in this area of the park. 

Down at the bottom we see the Keel Boat still a part of the river, although moved from it's current location (see below). 

Also at the bottom we see what looks like Fort Wilderness which we predicted would be leaving the Island, but if not let's hope they do some work and reopen it on the Island. Let's also hope that Tom Sawyer's Island comes back without Pirate stuff (but with a new Pirate movie coming out that would be anybody's guess). 

Towards the middle it also appears that the Settlers Cabin is still there, but again, concept art. 

The last 3rd of the picture looks to be the most interesting of all though. 

This area also has much more rock-work which looks to be hiding a tunnel for the Railroad. 

Up in the top right corner we see some kind of bridge which could eventually be the entrance to Star Wars Land and some kind of transition from Frontierland to the new land. 

So while this isn't ALL of it, it's a good start and will hopefully serve to alleviate some of the fears that many in the online community had regarding the changes to this area of the park. 

The amount of rock-work being done has us very hopeful as Disney is pretty good at that when you look at Frontierland/Big Thunder/CarsLand/Expedition Everest ... the list goes on. 

At the end of the day, whether or not this concept art is 100% of the finished product we feel that Disney, more than anybody has earned the respect and honor of us taking a "wait and see" approach before we complain about the final product. So that's what we're going to do. 

What are your thoughts on this concept art? Does this help to see where they are going with this area of the park? Are you convinced that Disney is going to deliver a great finished product? Let us know in the comments below. ​

One of the main reasons we headed up to the park was to process our 2016 Season Passes. This is the kind of line you want to see!! 

Because the park has been open daily (other than 2 days for rain) there is still a lot of Holiday In The Park stuff up. This will probably be gone by next week. 

The photo op is still looking great

The loop ... hopefully they'll trim down these trees so we can get a clear view of the loop when the leaves come back in the spring. Yes, leaves fall off trees in California for the winter. ;) 

It's going to be so awesome to take these turns with no pain again. 

The walls at the entry have been decorated. 48 million rides, wow, that's awesome. 

​RD only has about a million of those. =) 

Even though it was kind of chilly (in the 50's, so we won't say cold in respect to the rest of you who live in REALLY cold weather) they were working on Saturday. 

Pardon the zoom, only had the iPhone last week. 

If you eat at the park the Season Pass Gold Dining Pass is a really good deal. Us, we just got our sports bottle. 

A better angle, lots of wood replacement going on. It's nice to see them keeping the ride as close to original as possible. 

Moving around to the other side, lots of stuff has been torn out. 

Now that the trees are thinning out a bit we can start to see more of the work they are doing. Most of the old exit path that leads back towards the front of the park is gone. 

A wider shot ... 

And then lastly, from the Tatsu exit, you can see a lot of the layout. No paint yet and it's really not the best weather to be painting right now anyway. 

Moving on past Revolution towards Apocalypse. Took our first rides since Fright Fest and you can definitely tell they are working on the ride. 

While it's not quite where the ride was when it opened it's definitely rideable. 

You can see just how much wood is being replaced. There are also 2 trains on the ride, or there was last weekend. 

The old Dolphin/Action/Aftermath area is being removed for ??? 

A couple of random park notes, there is a new grill outside of the Waterfront area. It's a REALLY nice set-up. Need to have them come out and do this at our house. =) 

A new queue has been set up at Johnny Rockets which will hopefully help some of the traffic issues with people standing in the middle of the walkway. Hopefully these are coming to all eateries. 

Looks like a new sign for Panda Express is coming? 

Gearworks Theater is now promoting Season Passes. 

In honor of the upcoming Legacy of Arrow Documentary we made Viper our first coaster of 2016. Actually had a pretty decent ride on it. 

Be sure to check out the info for their world premiere on January 23. 

The park was so dead even Tatsu was a walk-on. 

Apparently I made some people shake their heads when I indicated on Instagram that I'm not really a fan of Tatsu. It's not just one thing, I just don't care for it. But I ride everything at least once a year, so that was my ride for the year. =) 

Best ride EVER!! 

Even though the park was pretty empty I expected there to be a line for Twisted Colossus. 

The Zeppelin has been replaced, which is great that they are maintaining the ride queue. 

And this was the line. The only time I'd seen a shorter line was during ERT of the first Mountain Madness back in October. 

Hopefully it will be slow next weekend too as we have JoAnna coming out from IL to ride Twisted Colossus for the first time. 

Alright, that's going to wrap it up for this update, we'll likely have another SFMM update next week as well as Knott's and maybe even Disneyland as apparently they are planning something big over there. =) 

​Thanks again for all of the amazing support. We haven't thanked you all enough. 

We're also apparently supposed to tell you all this is the worst thing ever, that Star Wars should be it's own park and that Big Thunder BBQ was the best place to eat and play with goats ever (well, the goats part is actually true). That's how this whole blogger thing works right? ​

Wait, is that the river the Falcon is flying over? 

That bit of fun aside, here's what we know as of right now. The River IS indeed closing. It IS going to be closed for approximately 18 months as both the river and the railroad are rerouted to make room for Star Wars Land (no, Star Wars Land won't be open in 18 months). There have been no official blueprints, concept art or anything released for this part of the project.

​So obviously according to most Disney online sites, this is the worst thing ever. 

Never mind that this is Disneyland, the park people profess to love so much and has 60+ years of history of doing pretty awesome things in their back pocket. Because now, suddenly, they are going to forget all that and completely ruin the west side of the park. 

The re-routing of attractions at Disneyland to make room for something is nothing new for this park. Both the Jungle Cruise and Monorail were re-routed to make room for Indiana Jones and we think that turned out pretty well. 

Danger, they are moving stuff again and there's absolutely no history of them ever doing that before. =) 

So today, even though it's still open for another few days, we take a look back at the way the river was, and soon we'll see the way the river will be and it will still be awesome.

We'll hopefully inject a bit of sanity into a subject that has gotten WAY too much coverage for something it's not. 

Let's start off on the front side of the river, you know, the part that everybody see's unless they ride one of the boats or Railroad. Also, the part that will pretty much look exactly the same in 18 months. 

(note: Due to no longer having Disneyland AP's these pictures are actually a few years old, so it technically is still a Throwback Thursday ... ;) )

The front side of the island. Still going to have Fantasmic and boats and canoes. 

Will it look EXACTLY like this? Who knows. Nobody knows. Some changes aren't out of the question and wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. 

Anybody remember what they did to the river when they put in the crowd favorite Fantasmic? 

You can actually find some great pics of Fantasmic Construction on Bear-ytales. 

So again, this is not an unprecedented thing for Disneyland. 

Lafitte's Anchor ... probably won't be moved at all. 

Ok, the ducks and cats will have to find a new home for awhile. They'll figure it out. They always do. 

18 months of dry dock for the Columbia and Mark Twain is definitely going to be a good thing. Remember, these ships are 60 (Mark Twain) and 57 (Columbia) years old now and have had millions upon millions of riders. 

So now let's take a look at what is changing. And see what all the hubbub is about. 

But of course, this is only pure speculation because again, nobody knows exactly what is staying and going. 

Moving towards the back-side of the island, which is reportedly going to be smaller when it reopens and no fort. 

Not going anywhere

Prime opportunity for some upgrades to the Hungry Bear. 

Based on rumors, the changes will begin on the other side of Hungry Bear and this portion of the river will go away. 

Remember when this used to be on fire? Or when it almost ACTUALLY caught on fire? 

How ... How are people so upset over this? 

While sure, this is one of the most peaceful and tranquil parts of the park, in a park as stacked as Disneyland, this area has been ripe for change for a LONG time. 

Something also tells me that this will somehow still be around, but obviously not in this spot. It's not like they are just going to build a wall on the backside of the riverbank. 

Would people be as upset if this was being removed for Discovery Bay? 

The fort has been closed for years (from the public) and is unlikely to return. 

Anybody remember when this was actually an attraction? Sure, it's missed, but we've moved on. 

It will be interesting to see what stays and what goes. But again, we have faith that Disney will do an amazing update to the river. This IS Disney we're talking about here. 

Let's be serious for a moment ... 

Are we all a bit sad that this part of the park is going away? Of course we are. We aren't completely heartless. And we do feel bad that so many people are sad about this, including some very close friends of ours.

​Sure Star Wars could be it's own park (which wouldn't work). There ARE people out there who don't like Star Wars. What then?

It could be a part of DCA or a 3rd park along with Marvel and a few other things, but we aren't the ones who get to make those decisions. Despite all the $$ fans give Disney, it's just a drop in the proverbial bucket. At the end of the day, the people who are paying for it get to decide where it's going to go. 

In our opinion, no IP, whether it be Star Wars, Indy, Cars, Avatar, Marvel, whatever, should have a bigger footprint than what is currently happening with Star Wars Land. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. 

After 60+ years of making themed attractions I hope it's safe to say that Disney has earned our trust and we can step back and let them do their thing. If we're wrong and the naysayers are right, we'll be the first to admit we were wrong. But we aren't going to sit here and bash something we haven't seen yet in order to drive website revenue. That's not anything we've ever done and we're not going start now. 

So instead of mourning what's still there, how about let's just go and enjoy the last weekend of the existing river, and then in 18 months we'll reconvene and enjoy the first weekend of the new river. And I bet we have a great time. 

Tonight we're braving the holiday crowds for a few hours at Magic Kingdom. At least our monorail was empty @WDWToday

Jingle Cruise was also an 85 minute wait, but we cruised right aboard with fast pass. Happy Gnu Year! ​

We came for dessert at Skipper Canteen and they're amazing! We tried the sugar crusted congee pudding and Kungaloosh ​

Skipper Canteen has 3 different dining rooms, all packed with original theming inspired by Jungle Cruise ​

There are tons of amazing little details all over Skipper Canteen. It's impossible to see it all in one visit. ​

With heavy crowds expected, Disney is always organized well to handle them. ​

We opted to leave Magic Kingdom to view Fantasy in the Sky from the TTC and it's still a great view! ​

The finale is incredible! ​

The purple cat has been on the move throughout the lights all season! ​

Thanks again to Renée for the great update. Remember, if you see any tweets from us from the FL parks, they're from her. Make sure you follow along to see all the great FL coverage she provides. 

Unlike some other parks in the area, parking wasn't too bad upon arrival at Knott's in the mid afternoon. 

Walls up around the Chicken Dinner Restaurant which is now closed for it's big remodel. 

Merry Farm is also over for the year. No more Christmas on Engine 41 for another 11 months or so. 

The Boardwalk on the last night of 2015

Matt takes such good pictures he even makes Boomerang look good. ;) 

Love the lights in Ghost Town, so nice and not in your face

The Reflexx rocking Calico Stage. 

Getting ready to ring in the new year

Fireworks!!! 

Looks like it was a great show

And we'll leave you with a great look at Ghost Town

Thanks for reading the update, we hope you enjoyed. 

We should have more from Knott's in the next few weeks as we start to see the changes coming to Ghostrider, Chicken Dinner Restaurant, Ghost Town and the Pan for Gold area. 

We'll of course start off with the entrance to Wizarding World Hollywood. The walls have been moved back and now you can actually touch Wizarding World. 
​
The area is pretty much done except for some minor stuff that really won't be visible from the outside. The reason it's not opening until April doesn't really have a lot to do with Wizarding World but with all the other stuff that needs to be ready for the plethora of Potterheads that will be descending on this park. And training of course. 

Umbridge is at it again ... 

It's just so pretty. And now you can actually touch Wizarding World!!! =) 

Moving on to the other side, not much has changed. 

So really, there's nothing much going to be going on until Wizarding World opens. We'll of course still do a few updates as there is work going on, and of course we're hoping to have soft opens at some point. And of course, the media push for this is going to be HUGE and will easily be the biggest media event we've ever done. 

This is going to be the biggest thing to ever happen to this park (and it's not even close) so there will probably be some growing pains, so be patient once "Technical Rehearsals" begin and of course on opening day. 

Moving on past Wizarding World, the new dining/retail area at the front of the park is looking great. No word yet on what we'll be able to enjoy when it opens. 

It'll be like their own little main street. 

Around the corner, some great detail on these buildings. 

As you can see they are getting ready to start putting signs, etc on the buildings. 

The bag check area at the front of the park has been totally redesigned and they are now testing "random" people going through metal detectors. We'll know very soon if this is to become the norm and if they do permanent metal detectors for all guests. 

The new entry area has also changed and is MUCH more open which will be nice. Entry on New Years Eve was very quick and efficient. 

Alright, that's going to wrap it up for this update.

​Later this week we'll have a New Years Week update from Walt Disney World and finally our big Star Wars: The Force Awakens article since our self-imposed spoiler embargo has been lifted. We'll be giving our thoughts on the movie as well as talking about all of the rumors that are flying around. ​

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