Those key visuals released several months ago for It’s Party Time… with Mickey and Friends were certainly a little loose with the truth, but, as the new Central Plaza continues to take shape, the final result might just look better than the artwork. More in-keeping with its surroundings, at least. Let’s see…

Posted by thunder1000, the latest construction photos from Disneyland Park show the bare metal of the stage beginning to receive its final overlay. On top, a non-slip carpet in shades of yellow and grey — with a Mickey Mouse shape on each satellite stage!

And, wrapping itself around the satellite nearest Discoveryland, the first pieces of the stage’s walls and sides. Not golden as the marketing visuals depict, but in shades of grey stone matching that little landmark just nearby — Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant, of course. The walls are even being given little inlets and openings to match the Castle’s style and break up the sides of the stage.

Right the way around the stage and its satellites, a white edging — again inspired by Sleeping Beauty Castle — is a finishing touch to hold in the carpeted top, whilst four sets of stairs wind their way up to the top. From these photos at least, the stairs don’t look much wider than the tricky steps up to the old stage…

With the stage now well on its way to completion, another major difference can be spotted — one which has been confirmed earlier, but can now be seen for real: the four satellite stages don’t extend diagonally into the grass planters of Central Plaza, but vertically and horizontally — onto the flat concrete sections which used to provide access to the hub.

This means the final stage will have the footprint shown above, with all of the inlets into the plaza hub taken over by the satellite stages and two sets of stairs up to the stage from either side. There won’t be any stairs at the front. In the centre, that special surprise we mentioned previously.

It remains to be seen just how close guests will be able to get to the stage — whether children will truly be “partying” alongside the characters, standing around each of the satellite stages, or if we’ll be kept at a slight distance, with the entire central area cordoned off.

Photos: Thunder1000, Disney Central Plaza; Plan: Google Earth/DLRP Today.