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Photo Tour of The New Grizzly Peak Airfield at Disney California Adventure

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It’s hard to believe that Disney California Adventure began its huge multi-billion dollar transformation almost seven years ago and that things are still being improved! The latest enhancement is Grizzly Peak Airfield, a land in DCA formerly known as Condor Flats. The land’s airfield setting remains but has converted from a desert theme to a to rustic mountain setting. Overall it’s a huge improvement. The new theme raises the level of immersion and quality, and takes the park further away from the embarrassment it was on opening day. I have a lot of pictures from today so let’s get right in to it with this photo tour of the new Grizzly Peak Airfield.
DSC04539As you first enter the land you’ll notice the new Grizzly Peak sign. It looks great and in my opinion is a big improvement over the Condor Flats giant red radar tower.

DSC04541Walking in you immediately notice something was severely lacking from the land’s first incarnation. Trees! There are now multiple trees around the land that should provide some much needed shade for the upcoming summer.

Many more pictures after the jump:

DSC04543This sign is found in two places: as you enter from Buena Vista Street, and as you come around the bend from Grizzly River Run.

DSC04544You’ll notice a lot of signs like this around the land. It’s fun to hunt for all the small details like this.

 

DSC04547This vintage car is packed with luggage and souvenirs. If you peek through the window you can see the family’s bags, souvenirs, and other items like a Grizzly Peak park map.

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This map is a stylized version of how the land is actually laid out.

DSC04556More details seen in this sign outside of Humphrey’s Service & Supplies.

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The Fly ‘n Buy shop has been renamed to Humphrey’s Service & Supplies.

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 The exterior of Humphrey’s.

DSC04592The interior is mostly the same, with the exception of the canoes that replaced the vintage race car that hung from the ceiling. The merchandise is mostly the same (Soarin’ Over California shirts and pins), but I did see some Smokey the Bear shirts.

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Humphrey the Bear makes an appearance on the outside of the shop. Unfortunately there is no Humphrey merchandise for sale inside.

DSC04562Soarin’ Over California is now done with its 5 month refurbishment. The biggest change was the installation of digital HD projectors. The film used in the ride is still the same, but it’s much brighter and extremely crisp. It’s a definite improvement over the original version.

 

DSC04564Besides the new sign seen in the picture above, the exterior has received a new green color scheme.

DSC04590The Soarin’ queue is mostly the same. The only thing different I noticed was the floor in the loading area has been repainted,

DSC04566The restrooms located across from Soarin’ also received a new color scheme and sign.

DSC04567This control tower is now in the place where the water spraying jet engine was located in Condor Flats.

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Under the tower you can find this sign and some benches to relax on.

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DSC04574The Soarin’ Over California FASTPASS location has also received a new paint job.

DSC04576A new simplified popcorn cart is now in place of the former Earborne Popcorn Cart. Unfortunately the delicious fresh caramel popcorn has been removed from the menu.

DSC04578The plane is now cream and red colored instead of silver and red.

DSC04580Another one of DCA’s infamous gags has been removed. This sign had read “BEAR LEFT” since the park opened, but now it has some beautiful art featuring the Grizzly Peak mountain.

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Even the trashcans have been redone.

DSC04599These lockers are located next to the bathrooms. They contain firefighting equipment similar to the items found inside Smokejumpers Grill.

DSC04582One last look back at Grizzly Peak Airfield.

What do you think about Grizzly Peak Airfield? Will you miss anything about Condor Flats? Let me know in the comments below.

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Guy Selga Jr.

Disneyland writer for TouringPlans.com and co-author of the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland. Also a Disneyland local and appreciator of Disney theme park history. Twitter and Instagram: @guyselga

11 thoughts on “Photo Tour of The New Grizzly Peak Airfield at Disney California Adventure

  • Thank you for this amazing photo update!

    How does the new theme transition into the other nearby themed areas of the park? Have you noticed a change there?

    Reply
    • Thanks! Coming from the rustic Grizzly Peak/Grizzly River Run area to the Airfield is a natural transition and works really well.

      Reply
  • Too bad about the lack of Humphrey merch. Would love to see that show up soon.

    Reply
    • Hopefully soon!

      Reply
  • Curious, do the shirts say “Smokey *the* Bear”? I ask because the NPS and the DoI are typically pretty vigilant about referring to him as “Smokey Bear”, which is officially his name.

    Reply
  • I would love to have seen the former “dessert” theme!

    Reply
    • Hah! Good catch 😉

      Reply
  • I love how they extended the national park theme. If we are not in a Disney park, we are in a National Park. Best of both worlds. Can’t wait to experience the eye candy for myself.

    Reply
    • It’s a great theme and Disney does it so well with this and Wilderness Lodge in WDW.

      Reply
  • Wow, Grizzly Peak looks great. Thank you for the incredibly fast photo update. I liked the old theme, but this is even better, and I like that the Grand Californian hotel fits right in. Is the “over California” portion of the Soarin’ sign is on chain links? Almost like they could swap it out with “Soarin'” over something else?

    Reply
    • I thought the same thing when I saw the “over California” part of the sign. You can also see that they made the Soarin’ logo the same as Epcot.

      Reply

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