December 2007 Update
(posted 12/15/2007)

After not visiting since December 2005, the changes this trip were many. First, the Hollywood Pictures Backlot is very different, with greenery and planters and so many new details. Muppets has lost its wacky paint job and is now just a solid color, and a new entrance border surrounds the sign for it. Further down, fake windows and details like signs on a formerly barren building overlook the area leading to the theater and the Tower of Terror.

Elsewhere in the park, construction walls are up in Paradise Pier for the new Toy Story Midway Mania attraction. From what you can see over the walls, the new building is highly detailed and looks great -- and will make the rest of the area stick out like a sore thumb until they update it as well.

With a new car sponsor, and a new paper towel sponsor, a few signs have been updated to throw in the sponsor names. You can find murals near the restrooms in Paradise Pier and near the Wharf area, as well as signage on the boardwalk about the towels. Nice touch.

PhotoPass people really know how to work angles at this park. Just from the entrance courtyard, one guy was able to take our photos about six ways, with backgrounds from the Golden Gate Bridge, the Greetings from California Store, the train shops, the sun, and a few others -- I didn't realize how photogenic the area really is, but all the photos look great and it's hard to believe they are all with us standing in the same spot, just from different angles. Pity this whole area is being transformed with the park redo. It's really not bad -- nothing that fancying up couldn't fix.

More to come...