I think people are giving the movie too much credit re: Leota’s wig change. It’s not like the previous wig looked particularly different from how she appears in the movie. I think it’s just a simple cosmetic update.
Truthfully, I’m not totally convinced the whole ball hasn’t been replaced, or at least its contents - it’s hard to tell without seeing in person, but it seems like her face might map more closely now to the way it has at Disneyland for a bit. She has a bit of a “widows peak” in shadow on her forehead that wasn’t there before but has been present at DL for a bit.
It seems a little more likely to me that they swapped the whole thing out overnight than that they opened the ball, replaced the wig, styled it, and put her back inside, and got her ready before opening the ride for the next day. Her new hairstyle actually debuted they day before the ride went down for its short refurb, but it didn’t seem to capture anybody’s attention.
www.wdwmagic.com
