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Thanks for the update, Matthew! It definitely looks like they're focusing primarily on the aesthetics of the area right now. I must say, with the work they've done, the area already looks so much fresher and more... alive.

I did some exploring today and found a few more interesting tidbits:
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The abandoned sand play area has been replaced with this garden. The dragon over the Lost Children's building has also been repainted. He's looking sharp!
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Nothing enormous here, but the curb to this small pond has been removed. I guess it will either no longer be a pond, or it will be replaced. I always liked the little pond, but I would imagine it was difficult to supervise.
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As promised by the park, the musical play instruments from the stage have been moved to the back of the area by the slides. There is padded ground below it and benches beside it. This used to just be a sitting area, so nothing was really lost.
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The slides here have been repainted. Lookin' fresh!
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Fresh wood on the steps?
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This quiet little corner is also looking fresh as well.
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Our Paper Eater dragon friend has been repainted and given some fresh details. He still didn't eat paper, though. :(
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Another shot of Riffle Rapids poking from beneath the mulch. RIP.
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There are so many amazing details in Land of the Dragons. I love the props that give it a rustic, mechanical feel. I hope some work gets done in this room. Note that the dragon's back has been repainted with vibrant colors.
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I assume these are the buttons that controlled (will control..?) the roaring and smoke effects. I tested them, and they do not do anything at the time.
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I love this clock!
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These vibrant flowers complete the area.
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The cheery look of this part of the treehouse makes me think of great things to come.
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More color. My finger got in the shot. :p
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That's right! Misters! I will have to confirm as to whether or not this is new, but the dragon still has the ability to smoke! Woo-hoo! Also note how green the dragon is looking.
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Looks like one of the painters forgot something. Oops!
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Overhead shot of the Brook renovations as Matthew showed. They ripped out everything not cemented to the ground, and what did remain was repainted. They'll be putting in new rubber-pebble safety surfacing, which is definitely needed because it was ripped and patched up in so many places last year. They also removed this surfacing from the area around it, surrounding the treehouse, as well. Employees were stationed outside of the Brook to keep kids from getting in, and temporarily fencing is placed around it.
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A few of these new water features (tipping buckets) have been added.
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More color.
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For reference, this is the old entrance to the treehouse slide, covered up. You can still see the bar to hold on to. This is located in a room on the second level. I guess it's not as long as I imagined it would be.
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Turns out the slide still exists; it's just boarded up. It snakes from behind a dragon's tail up into the treehouse.
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Beneath the treehouse is a rather empty room right now, but this curious new tarp is covering the ceiling. Either it's a really crappy decoration or it's covering up some work being done (slide?).
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Here's the bottom of the slide with a freshly-painted dragon. It looks like all the park needs to do to get it into operation is remove the boards and re-install the runout area.
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The stage sits empty except for this strange wooden box nailed onto it.

Quick note: the lizards dragons have not yet returned to their habitats in the Lost Children's building.

That's all I noticed, but I must say I'm very impressed with the changes the park has made to this area. There is so much magic and life being brought back to this area! Thumbs up!
 
I actually thought that the star tarp looked kind've cool, but I didn't see it in real life so I don't know whether it is or not.

I didn't even notice that red pole in the Brook yesterday! I'm so excited it's getting water buckets, and other neat things! I'm thinking that they are going to expand the Brook outward a bit, which is why they are removing the fencing around it.

I really want the misting smoke to come back along with the roar, that would be so cool! I remember it roaring when I was a kid, but I never remember it misting smoking, so that would be cool to see.

One question, are they still going to replace the netting? Because as far as I know, it wasn't replaced when I saw it.

Thanks so much for the pictures Joe!
 
Matthew said:
One question, are they still going to replace the netting? Because as far as I know, it wasn't replaced when I saw it.

It should still be on the list of things to do. They probably didn't get around to it yet.
 
Great post Joe! I had trouble looking at everything here yesterday for fear of losing my little girl. It was so jam packed with people.
 
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Mazakman said:
Great post Joe! I had trouble looking at everything here yesterday for fear of losing my little girl. It was so jam packed with people.

Yes! It was so crazy yesterday. I tried walking around it and it was so packed! Every bench was filled, even the ones by the stage, not a single seat was in sight! Here's a picture I took around 3:30.

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Ahh, I didn't even notice that thing missing! That definitely opens the area up and makes it look less "backstage." I suspect it was some sort of mechanics for the water play area, so hopefully they'll be relocating the water workings elsewhere.
 
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A couple of 2006 shots to compare to Matthew and Zachary's Pass Member Preview photos.
 

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Wow- it really does look a ton better now. Thanks for the comparison shots- not many people have LotD pictures it seems.
 
Really? We can help with that.

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BGW Family said:
Too much?

Oh no- anything but! I hope you know how appreciated all of your info and pictures are! Do. Not. Stop. :D

A few points of interest:

In the first few pictures, it looks like two large tube slides (one between the Ferris wheel and the Brook, and one by the net climb) have been removed.

The dragons- particularly the one in the Brook- had a much more realistic and rustic color scheme than they do now. Honestly, I must say I like the brighter, primary colors that they now use more.

Riffle Rapids makes a cameo appearance in a few of the aerial shots. *sniff* *sniff*

Also, check out the beautiful landscaping by the Kinder Karousel!

Thanks again, BGW Family. Your images are certainly appreciated!
 
Those large tube slides were on all the separate tree houses from the main one. I remember seeing a picture of another one coming out of the treehouse besides the eggs, but I can't find it for the life of me right now. Those haven't been there ever since I can remember, so they must of had a very short life span in LOTD.
 
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I noticed they removed the boards that was on most of the structures. I wonder why, it wasn't a major issue? I wonder if those will return?
 
They removed those colored boards a long time ago, to tell you the truth, I'd rather do without them, I think they conflict with the surrounding colors of the structure, and in general they just don't look that good.
 
I'd like to see them return, but maybe just a few here and there instead of on every surface.
 
Not a lot of work has taken place on LOTD over the week, but some has.


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The remaining sorcerers hats have been painted, that weren't painted last weekend.

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The tipping water buckets have been added to their designated poles.


I didn't notice any other work done. The stage is still un-touched, the slide is still covered,  the buttons for the roar still aren't put in place, etc. I expect the important work to be done in the coming weeks, they still have about 4 weeks until the anniversary celebration, so they still have plenty of time.
 
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This area looks 1,000% better than it did last year during our visit!! I love the revamped look!! I am so glad that they didn't take this area out and redo it with something else. That slide was awesome!! Yep!! At 13 I still would do it. No shame!! I wish they would bring the riffle rapids back tho. I am glad that they are making efforts to make BGW look better. Love the color of the wizard hats. It looks marvelous. Now I wonder if they will do any cosmetics to the rides... And PLEASE open the slide back up!!! Oh and FTR.. fat kids go down it just as fast as skinny ones. :p
 
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