Disneyland Resort Update: The Falcon Is in the Air

Disneyland Park, Anaheim, CA

Hidey ho, readerino!  It's been a couple of weeks since we last visited the Disneyland Resort, and changes have been a'happenin'!  So much so that I've decided to split this week's update into two so that you're not overwhelmed by the shear magnitude of photos being presented.  Today, we'll take a look at a couple of update mainstays from the past year--"Star Wars" Land and the inter-related Rivers of America re-imagining, two projects that hit major milestones this past week or so.  Tomorrow, we'll follow up with some general park updates--including the reopening of several attractions and establishments in Fantasyland, plus the nearly completed Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout! attraction.

But first, lets head back to a long two days ago in a galaxy very, very near...

"Star Wars" Land: First Order Attraction

A couple of weeks ago, I posted an update showing how massive the show building for the First Order E-Ticket coming to "Star Wars" Land was becoming.  Well, two weeks later, and the site's trying to demonstrate that if you thought that was monumental, you ain't seen nothing yet.  A substantial amount of steel has gone up along the Disneyland Drive side of the site, greatly increasing the building footprint of this sure-to-be epic ride.  Formwork and preparations for concrete largely continue just south of the two story built portion of the structure, which seems to get more and more expansive.  Crazy to think that literally three months ago, the site only looked like this.

Hey, it's this view again!

Notice anything different?

Of course you do. 

You're witnessing the miracle of construction life.

That is the act of a crane reproducing without any need for another crane.

Yes, a little known fact is that cranes are capable of asexual reproduction, and this one has spawned a clone several hundred feet nearby!

But before we talk about that guy, lets look at how the First Order attraction building has grown again!

Steel now lines the edge all along Disneyland Drive.

And it's growing upward!

Here's a close-up of those beams and columns and braces for all of you construction porn enthusiasts.

The steel laydown area has been reduced to the area beside what used to be the trench.

Additional steel has also gone up on the first floor to support ride stagecraft and secondary framing.

Yeah, I know all you people with construction kinks enjoy this.

It's a lot of erection, isn't it?

It's a pretty massive erection, that's for sure.

And before you sickos accuse me of being inappropriate, that's the proper terminology.  Steel erection.  Get your minds out of the gutter.

Also, in the background, something we'll talk about in the second segment of today's update.

(But if you get off to exposed steel, well, here you go.)

Additional formwork and supporting scaffolding continues to go up around what used to be the big, round pit.

That's welded wire mesh (for concrete slab reinforcing) in the rusted looking color and hanger columns and bracing in the gray to the side, sitting and ready for installation.

And the pad preparation for the next part of that First Order building continues.  Not as much change from last time, but those noodz have been installed higher.

That is seriously a lot of reinforcing.  Guy Selga... so excited.

At not-even-ground level, you get a better sense of how epic this building is shaping up to be.

It is drastically larger than any other show building in the park, by a longshot.

And its presence is inescapable outside of the park.

Two penthouses poking above the treeline.

And even from inside the park, the towering structures are prominent.  Fortunately, this will all eventually be covered in fake rockwork and mountain-y terrain, so from the distance, the forced perspective will still blend well with the rustic Rivers of America aesthetic.

"Star Wars" Land: Millennium Falcon Attraction

The most noticeable development in "Star Wars" Land, however, has been the rise of the area's second E-Ticket attraction, which will let guests pilot the Millennium Falcon through a thrilling mission.  Yes, after months of foundation prep-work, the Millennium Falcon ride is now vertical.  The first few sets of columns, beams, and steel framing have been erected, starting from what will be the public side of the attraction.  That means things should start to pick up at this part of the site soon as well!

Remember that second crane? Well, that's the big news of the week.

The Millennium Falcon attraction has gone vertical, with several braced frames and steel structure being erected on the future pedestrian side of "Star Wars" Land.

I'm personally not sure if this happened prior to a week ago or just in the past week, since I wasn't at the Resort the weekend before, but it's exciting nonetheless.

Here is the structure from ground level--no slouch in the size department either.

As a reminder, these photos are being taken from the public sidewalk.  Do not trespass to get a look at happenings around "Star Wars" Land.

The rest of the site still seems to be in foundation prep mode.

But that might change any day, now that steel has gone up at one end of the Millennium Falcon ride building.

Interesting that the heights of the horizontal bands of bracing are not the same.

All of this is happening at Gate F, for Falcon, of course.  Or the Force.  Or FreakingoutovereverylittleDisneychange.

This gives you an idea of how everything stands in relation to each other.

The circular portions will be the ride area footprint.

So... Mission: Space coming to California soon?

"Star Wars" Land: Everything Else

The focus continues to be the berm that abuts the Rivers of America, since that part of the park will need to be opened by mid-summer or so, based on the current schedule.  The Disneyland Railroad bridge over the Critter Country path into "Star Wars" Land continues to cure (that is, when concrete hardens and gains strength).  Not quite as much obvious development along the other entrance, though.

That backstage building I've been photographing for a while is getting skinned and will soon be fully enclosed.  Still wish it was a punny Star Wars cafeteria.

The berm around the "Star Wars" Land entries looks pretty similar.

Just slowly gaining more vegetation to fill in that separation between a land based on the Old West and one based on almost the Old Republic.

A closer-to-ground level look at one of the tunneled main entries.  If you thought entering Cars Land through Pacific Wharf was epic, imagine this approach!

Looking south on the site.

Here's a close-up at Crane #2, for all you construction crane fetishers.

It also kind of looks like a new retaining wall has gone up over by the Hungry Bear.

The earth has gotten more graded.  You can also see a bit of the bridge that will continue the Disneyland Railroad over the Critter Country entrance into "Star Wars" Land.

Zooming back, the crane family looks like so from this angle.

Expect cranes to be in the Disneyland skyline for the foreseeable future.  Too bad they can't dress this on up like a Malificent and incorporate it into FANTASMIC! 2.0...

Also, not "Star Wars" Land related, but I found it funny that after spending a few months constructing a nice little permanent cinder block building to house security, Disney then went and plopped down a few portable trailer offices next to it.

Rivers of America

Since it forms the other side of , the "Star Wars" Land, and it is reopening in just a couple short months, the Rivers of America has presumably become the major target for construction schedule.  This week, I noticed that the backside of the river has been filled with water, and the dam and construction wall obscuring this re-routed side of the rivers has been largely removed!  Although work is still needed along the rocks and naturalistic geology and landscaping along this area where both the Rivers of America and the Disneyland Railroad track will run, it is mostly finishing.  It will be very exciting to see how this all turns out.  I'm willing to bet it will be great.

Things are proceeding pretty nicely over on the Big Thunder Trail side of the Rivers of America construction.

All the rockwork looks like it's been plastered, and it only needs painting now.

And paint has already gone up in some sections.

The closer to Fantasyland, the more complete the rockwork.

Looking nice and Big Thunder Mountain-y!

A glimpse through a work wall gap shows some some finished work!

Peeking through a gap.  It looks pretty neat!  I love the aged mining ambiance.

Disney recently teased some changes to the new version of FANTASMIC! and hinted that an opening date will be announced soon.  Expect deep into summertime--August or maaaaybe July.

The cofferdam around the S.S. Columbia has been removed, and the vessel is now "afloat" again!

Some additional work is happening at Tom Sawyer Island again.  It had looked finished previously, but I guess there's still some improvements to be made.

Another milestone has occurred over where the Rivers of America is dammed.

I should say "was" dammed, because the screen fencing is down, and there's actually water on the other side of the dam now too.

If you glance through the opening under the bridge, you can see clear onto the other side of the river and the rockwork over there.

That rockwork continues all the way along to the Critter Country side.  There's that railroad trestle again.

There is sure to be many new photogenic opportunities once the Rivers reopen.

It's all getting painted.

You can see water past the dam line at the bottom of the photo.

Building up layers along the riverbank.

If they've put water back in the Rivers, it means they're definitely getting close to finishing this area up!

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty excited by this.

WHAT'S IN THE BARGE???

Here's a better angle of the Rivers of America on both sides of the dam--now both watery again!

From higher up, we can see construction equipment working on that railroad bridge.

And now you can also see how the Critter Country entry to "Star Wars" Land will sort of look from the existing park side!

That is what's going on at Disneyland for today, but as I mentioned, we'll be back tomorrow with the second half to the update, looking at some of the more miscellaneous developments around the park.  Now go forth and be good people to each other, and enjoy a happy National Chocolate Chip Day!  (It's true; look it up.)

Coo bah!!