Disneyland Resort Update: Mostly Star Wars Land

Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, CA

Happy 7/11 Day!  Did you get your free Slurpee?  Yeah?  Well, don't you love free things.  What a freeloader.  I hope you're proud of yourself.  Why don't you go out and get some exercise/play Pokemon Go or something, rather than waste your time away reading another non-holiday Monday Disneyland update?  Oh, you mean you want to read this?  Well, then... carry on... 

Today, we look at new things at the Disneyland Resort again.  It'll be a short one, because we're pretty much done catching up from the items that transpired during the course of this site's downtime.  That and I mistimed something last Friday that prevented me from taking more pictures to pad this post.  But hey, that just means more content for next time, right?  Without further ado...

"Star Wars" Land

It's official! "Star Wars" Land has gone vertical!!! This monumental (???) event happened the middle of last week when concrete formwork was erected (hehe) on a small part of the massive 14 acre site.  Aside from that, work continues with earth moving and the preparation of foundations.

Oh, and Disney also released a new concept art piece of the future land for you to over-analyze!

Welcome to the top of Mickey and Friends, everyone's favorite "Star Wars" Land vantage point... because it's pretty much the only clear one.

As you can see, it's pretty much all still dirt.

Zooming in for a pan-across...

There's dirt...

...dirt...

...more dirt--wait a minute...

IS THAT AN ACTUAL STRUCTURE GOING UP???

Yes, it appears that something has finally gone vertical in "Star Wars" Land.  Some formwork for some concrete.

Meanwhile, more dirt gets cleared, and trees sit awaiting planting.

There are steel beams and more formwork over closer to Fantasyland Theater.  Looks like business is about to pick up?

And here's a photo of something that has absolutely nothing to do with any Disney construction.

Moving to ground level and spying on "Star Wars" Land from right by Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Yup, still dirt mounds.

Here's the back of the concrete formwork for a concrete walled something.

Heading up high to Tarzan's Treehouse for one more angle.

"Star Wars" Land is rather obscured by Big Thunder Mountain, but you can see some equipment and more dirt.

The Rivers of America

Since the Rivers are half drained right now to accommodate re-routing, Tom Sawyer Island has come under refurbishment.  Tarp is up to conceal what appears to be cosmetic touch-up and make sure the play zone is in prime condition when everything reopens early next year.  There could even be a chance that the Rivers of America, associated attractions, Tom Sawyer Island, FANTASMIC!, and Disneyland Railroad open late this year, in time for the holidays, though that is extremely unofficial and simply based on a Friday conversation with a conductor of the Railroad.  An earlier reopening would be cool, though.

Tarps now cover much of Tom Sawyer Island.

Looks like it will be getting some nice TLC.

The stage area looks untouched.

But the actual play areas and buildings are receiving touch-ups and refurbishment.

The treehouse and play structures are getting some welcome repairs.  It's been a while since Tom Sawyer Island had significant work done--since the debut of Pirate's Lair on the island nearly ten years ago!

Those scaffolds are total tree huggers...

It seems like the tarps blocking off the view of the dammed and drained back part of the Rivers of America received an upgrade.

The tarps now have images screen printed on them!

"You're not foolin' anyone!"
 

Moving around to the side of Tom Sawyer Island facing Frontier Landing.

The Island appears to be getting a pretty good amount of work, which is great!

Looking back on the Big Thunder side of the river...

It includes the play areas all the way back to Fort Wilderness.

And apparently, there was some park-sanctioned photo shoot going on...

Fantasyland Skyway Chalet

Something happened to something that once was here.

Yes, after over twenty years of just sitting there, the Skyway Chalet in Fantasyland has been removed.

For years, this structure has stood unused.

Now that it's in the way of "Star Wars" Land, it's been taken out.

I do have fond memories of climbing up to the chalet to board the Skyway as a child, and there's definitely some nostalgia here.

But the building pad was not accessible to disabled guests, and it never would have been feasible to create an accessible path to what would have been a glorified look-out point.  So unfortunately, it had to go.

Other Things

Some of the facades in New Orleans Square along the Disneyland Railroad station is currently getting cosmetic work done.  Over in California Adventure, guests can catch an extended sneak peak of the upcoming remake of Pete's Dragon.  On the Rivers of America during the evenings, live jazz music has returned aboard the river rafts.  This hasn't really happened since they stopped the practice before FANTASMIC! shows some number of years ago, but it's a welcome return.  Finally, not pictured, security lines are once again routing all guests through metal detectors.  At least this was the case this past Friday and the previous Saturday I visited.

More refurbishment work occurring at New Orleans Square Station.

Check out a snippet of Pete's dragon at Hollywood Land in Disney California Adventure!

It's great to have live riverfront jazz back with the Jambalaya Jazz Band!

An Opportunity Frozen

So I was going to take a bullet for the team and finally check out the Frozen musical at the Hyperion Theater.  Unfortunately, I completely forgot that it was still requiring Fast Passes for entry and also arrived too late to catch the standby line.  So no pictures of the show... yet.  In the mean time, never forget...

He is with us...

...always.