Disneyland Resort Update: All that Summer Construction

Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, CA

Fasten your seat belts and tighten your diapers, because we've got a doozy of an update today from everything that's been going on over just the past two weeks.  Yes, it seems like the Disneyland Resort is zipping along at lightspeed, despite the summer season fully upon us.  Lets dive into the fray, though you may want to grab a coffee or something while the photos load...

"Star Wars" Land

The First Order attraction building continues to grow larger and larger.  It remains an interesting study in steel construction, with yet another new steel framing element entering the building: open web steel joists over the area that's been used as a steel beam and column staging area.  Meanwhile, the Millennium Falcon area continues to grow, and work continues along the perimeter with the Rivers of America, densifying that wilderness berm and finishing up the park sides of the entranceways and bridges that allow the Disneyland Railroad to make its circuit.

Another week, another update, another overview.

This isn't just fortunate timing...

...the Resort was noticeably less busy this past weekend than just several weeks prior.

It was a warm weekend, to be sure, but multiple level blockouts also reduced the crowds, despite the continued Grad Nites.

Meanwhile, that First Order building continues to grow and grow...

On this side, formwork continues to go up for ancillary buildings not officially enveloping the ride.

An overview from a different angle.

I find it interesting to frame the building against park icons in the distance.

The penthouse towers don't have too much progress, other than a tab or two here and there that might serve as support for eventual rockwork (that's just a guess), but comparing them to mechanical equipment beyond shows how big they really are.

Not as much work progressed on the inside as I would have expected for a two week gap, but there's definitely little additions if you look sharply.  And there's the start of a parapet wall on the roof.

Braced frame porn for you structure fetish peeps.

The framing has expanded southwestward.  Those truss-like elements at the roof are the open web joists I referred in the main body of this part of the update.

Could this part be a double height space?

Zooming out a bit, we see just how far the building is now stretching.

The formwork and scaffolding has also come off the structure in the old "pit" (back before it was covered).

I'm still not sure what this space will serve--queue, loading, or other, but it's going to be a towering, cavernous, semi-subterranean space when it's done!

Moving in the direction of Critter Country...

As you can see, at some point, the buildings are going to start blocking views in this direction!

And fear not, Guy Selga, there continue to be noodles growing out of the ground.  So stay happy.

The Disneyland Railroad bridge under which guests from Critter Country will pass into "Star Wars" Land?  Progressing.  It looks more painted and aged, though that could be coincidental lighting/shadows.

Looking further up yields a bit of a glimpse of the currently-blocked-off pathway along the Rivers of America leading to the entry.  More on that a couple sections from now.

Meanwhile, work seems to be picking up a bit along the "main pathway" that has been largely ignored as workers have focused on the berm and ride buildings.

That nice, leafy berm will form an effective barrier between Western Frontierland and Sci-Fi "Star Wars" Land.

Looking over toward the Fantasyland entrance into the land.

Moving towards Mickey's Toontown, we see that the Millennium Falcon building has grown too.

Like, substantially.

This really gives a sense of the size of the building.

Disney Millie will be no slouch either!

We can still spot the circular concrete forms of each show room side, but notice how high above the roof flies over.

This is going to be more than just Star Tours 3.0 (2.0 is what Star Tours is right now in Tomorrowland).

Adventureland Refurbishments

A week and a half ago, Disney announced that the Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost and the South Seas Traders would be departing forever to Yesterland to make way for a relocated Tropical Imports (currently next to the Jungle Cruise) and an expanded indoor Bengal BBQ seating area.  Work on that has commenced--all while the popular Adventureland cafe remains open.  In the next month or two, the islands in the middle of the pathway will be demolished, and the stroller parking will be moved to the Tropical Imports shelter to create a clearer path for guests.  Though it's always a bummer to see common sights leave the park, this will definitely improve pedestrian flow and will be a welcome believe on peak days.

MOAR WORK WALLS!!!

Stuff is blocked up from past Adventureland Bazaar to the Bengal BBQ.

Say goodbye to the Indy Store.  Hopefully, Shrunken Ned does not vanish with it.

Ciao to the Traders too.

The standing dining area next to the Bengal BBQ is being removed to alleviate the bottleneck here.

Guests can still get their skewers on, though.

The improvements should make for a better dining experience here, though!

Along the Rivers of America

The Rivers of America has seen major visible progress over the past two weeks, not the least of which is the reopening of Tom Sawyer Island this past weekend.  But we'll have more on that tomorrow.  Today, we take a look at continued construction and work along the Rivers from our usual vantagepoints plus a bevy of new perspectives made possible by accessing the Island. 

Disney also confirmed opening dates for the area attractions.  In addition to Tom Sawyer Island opening this past weekend, FANTASMIC! will return on Monday, July 17, while the Mark Twain, S.S. Columbia, Davy Crockett Canoes, and Disneyland Railroad will accept riders once again starting Saturday, July 29.

Well, it appears that Tom Sawyer Island isn't totally complete, but as you'll see in tomorrow's update, it's basically there.

But first, lets cruise along the river.

The lovely trestle will carry the Disneyland Railroad past waterfalls and boulders.

Those non-animatronic moose have remained.

MOOSE BUTT!!

The re-routed part of the Rivers of America is getting new rockwork to blend into the Big Thunder Trail portion.

The scaffold messes up some of the forced perspective, but it's still not an inconsequential amount of fake rock!

They're working every day to get this done by next month now.

And I think it's coming along great!

The classical Indian village has been relocated further down the river.

But it will return, which is cool!

Zooming back out, we can see the old Mine Train to Nature's Wonderland tracks haven't gone away either.

I'm glad, because that was always a cool part of the riverbend, and a nice nod to Disneyland's history.

Looking toward Frontierland Landing.

Some details.  The run-down train is gone, unfortunately.

Some mountain lions still call this home, though!

Continuing on, here's a glimpse of bridge that forms Critter Country's entrance into "Star Wars" Land.

The trestle beyond, over the work walls by the Davy Crockett Canoes.

The reopening of Tom Sawyer Island has provided glimpses of the eventual riverside path from Critter Country to "Star Wars" Land, but from the river's side.

This should make for a really lovely and rustic path with new photographic angles when it's done.

This series is moving "southward" from the interior of the Rivers of America toward Critter Country, so you can see a glimpse of that truss bridge again.

Glancing back toward the interior shows more railroad trestles.

An angle through Fort Wilderness.

Back to the walkway at a distance.

Peering through the trees, we see how this will run between the Rivers and the Hungry Bear restaurant.

As the trees clear, you can see how this relates to the canoes and the existing ramp to the lower level of the Hungry Bear.

All these months of wondering what it looked like on the other side of the construction tarps... the answer is this.

I personally cannot wait to take photos from these new angles over by the Hungry Bear.

Nothing going on at the Davy Crockett Canoes.  They're largely ready to go, but obviously cannot reopen until the Rivers of America is fully complete.

Here's the angle from the mainland side, officially from New Orleans Square.

The Mark Twain has swapped places with the Columbia in the dock.

It is likely receiving some quick TLC before it reopens and also rejoins the FANTASMIC! show.

July will be very exciting.  I can't wait!

Big Thunder Trail Reopens

Had I been able to make it to the Resort last week, you would have gotten this update a week earlier.  But two Thursdays ago, Big Thunder Trail reopened after over a year of downtime to make room for "Star Wars" Land expansion and construction.  Though the trail is scheduled to briefly go down again shortly before "Star Wars" Land opens, its reopening greatly alleviates traffic congestion resulting from the Frontierland and Fantasyland dead ends that had existed.

The new trail looks great, adopting a beautiful red sandstone motif brought forth by Big Thunder Mountain and inspired by the canyons and geology of Utah.  The sweeping new rockwork even provides a bit of shade on sunny days, and guests walking through can now clearly identify the two main entrances into the future "Star Wars" Land, along with the path of the Disneyland Railroad's re-routed track and first-ever "left turn."  It's pretty nice!

Where construction walls have gone up elsewhere, they are down here!

The body of water adjacent to the bridge by the last turnaround of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad seems to be broader than before, but that's probably my imagination.

It just feels more open.

Lets take a stroll up the trail.

The new area looks great!  Very fitting with the Big Thunder Mountain aesthetic!

This work wall covers the Frontierland entrance into "Star Wars" Land.

A peek between the slots reveals this: another arch bridge over which the Disneyland Railroad will run.

This little gulch is quite charming.  And remember that thing I nicknamed "garage doors" from a few months ago?  Just part of a "retaining wall."

I believe the Disneyland Railroad will run along this elevated portion.

As we pan, we see how it transitions into rockwork.

Some guest compared this to Cars Land.

I suppose I can see the similarities.

I love these cute little lanterns embedded into the rockwork.

These lines just invite climbing, but no troubles yet.

As we continue toward Fantasyland, we can see that the trail actually seems to narrow a bit.

I was a bit surprised to see the trail with apparent pinch points, but this won't really be an issue once "Star Wars" Land opens.  That narrower section will be less traversed, as most people will be bypassing it in favor of entering "Star Wars" Land directly.  And traffic can be alleviated by having the path in the previous photo be in one direction, while the opposite direction goes into "Star Wars" Land through the Fantasyland entrance and out the Frontierland entrance.

Speaking of the Fantasyland entrance to "Star Wars" Land...

Just some work walls and gates.

It looks like this peeking through.

Which is to say... surprisingly pretty finished, and also rather nice!

Up over that berm, the Disneyland Railroad will turn left toward Fantasyland Theater and Toontown.

I love the aged retaining wall touches here to reinforce the berm.

This brings us back to Fantasyland proper.

And since Fantasyland doesn't actually start till after the gates, I guess I shouldn't actually say "Frontierland" and "Fantasyland" entries into "Star Wars" Land.  The main entrances are both technically from Frontierland.

Lazy Summer Saturdays

My friends who visit Disneyland much more casually than I always talk about how busy the park is, especially in the summer season.  And then I inform them that, actually, the lightest days are often summer Saturdays, since they are blocked out to all but Signature passholders.  The effect is staggering, as most ride wait times this past Saturday were half the time of just a month ago, when blockouts were not in effect.  Of course, the heat and Father's Day weekend may have played a part too, but not enough to cut crowds by that much.

Sure, these aren't walk-on's, but these wait times are much better than the weekends before Memorial Day!

Crowds were light enough at noon and afternoon that they could still run the Main Street Vehicles and Streetcars.

I welcome such low crowd levels, of horse.

The Summer of Heroes Continues

When we last stopped by the Studio Catering Co. food truck was serving the Guardians of the Galaxy-inspired special menu in place for the summer.  Well, sometime in the past two weeks, the Knowhere Eats pop-up restaurant has opened, allowing its food truck adjacent location to take up the GotG menu.  Meanwhile, the Studio Catering Co. truck is serving a collection of Mediterranean and European fare with superhero themed naming.  For anyone who might be curious, the Garden Grill still has its normal Mediterranean menu, so the fact that falafel is here is not because something special is going on over at Paradise Pier.

This is the food you can get from the Hollywood Land food truck across from the Monsters Inc. ride now.

The Nowhere Eats pop-up food stand is right next to the truck.

The Obviously Nachos were fantastic.  Probably the best filling-to-cost value on the menu!

I mentioned that the Summer of Heroes includes an Avengers Training Initiative show in the Hollywood Land backlot area.  Here are some photos from the show, which is basically the Marvel version of the Jedi Training Academy that was taking place at the Tomorrowland Terrace.  Kids can take part in training to become an Avenger and even get their chance at stopping a villain who crashes the show.  Spoilers in the photos below, but it's definitely a fun and enjoyable event!

Shortly before each Training Initiative show, the Avengers show up in a humvee to hype it.

And then they leave (to get ready).

Like the Jedi Training Academy, kids are invited to participate in the training to eventually become honorary Avengers.

Iron Man makes an appearance "from Hong Kong" to give a pep talk.  I appreciate the tie-in with Hong Kong Disneyland's Iron Man Experience attraction that just opened late last year.

Agent Romanov and Agent Barton are on hand to help S.H.I.E.L.D. agents train new recruits.

Black Widow demonstrates some combat skills with one of the agents.

SUPERHERO LANDING!!

The kids then get involved and learn the fighting and defensive stances too.  Just without lightsabers.

They run through a simulation to power up the S.H.I.E.L.D computer network.

They refill energy by matching colors.

But then Dr. Zola from Hydra hacks in!

He brings in a Dalek or something...

It turns out that one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents helping with the training was a double agent!

A fight promptly breaks out.

"You! Will! Hail! Hydra!"

Hawkeye gives chase, but is unable to catch up with the double agent's Mary Poppins abilities.

Fortunately, Black Widow is there to take charge.

Coquina Clutch!!

S.H.I.E.L.D. has the new recuits utilize their newfound training to throw Captain America shields at the not-actually-a-Dalek.

It explodes before Dr. Zola can finish gaining control of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s mainframe!

And everything ends well.

Around DCA

Also following up from last week, here's what the Toy Story Midway Mania Fastpass distribution and queue looks like.  Here too, it seems like the addition of Fastpass has added a noticeable amount of time to the standby wait--to the order of about a 50% increase.

Wondering where Toy Story Fastpass is?

Well, it's basically right across from the ride souvenir shop.

The Fastpass Entrance is now where the old entrance used to be.

Standby routes through the extended queue in reverse direction from how it used to flow to the main switchback area.

So only Fastpass guests can pass directly in front of Mr. Potato Head now, though standby guests can certainly see him.

The indoor part of the Toy Story queue is being refurbished, so even though the wait said 45 minutes on this day--which is normal--that was actually for a wait that was half the usual length.

In Cars Land, Cruz Ramirez joins Lightning McQueen and Mater as meet-and-greet vehicles over at the Cozy Cone.  My timing when I passed through twice did not overlap Cruz's appearance, unfortunately, so I didn't take a photo.  But indirect proof comes from the revamped Cars Land entry sign!

Naturally, with Cars 3 newly released in theaters, there has to be an in-park promotion.

Splitsville Construction

Finally, it's also been a spell since we stopped by Downtown Disney, but the Splitsville Bowling Alley is also well into construction.  This steel framed building looks like it will be three stories tall (though the top floor could just be offices and/or storage), maximizing the square footage of its overall compact footprint where the House of Blues used to stand.

Yes, it's another steel building at the Disneyland Resort.

We haven't had this much overall construction at the Resort since the DCA expansion, and given that "Star Wars" Land itself is a larger expansion than Cars Land, the overall area of construction might even exceed DCA's work!

Construction workers were present on Saturday to work on this new bowling alley.

It's still scheduled to open by the end of the year, so there's plenty of work to do!

Here's a look from ground level on the tram route side.

Not a small building!

Should be a dynamic new hotspot when Splitsville opens by year's end.

If you've made it this far, congratulations! You survived the longest single Disneyland Resort update in Westcoaster history!  It really has the content of two updates, so that's how I'm going to justify the length.  But as you can see, even though it's the summer, there are plenty of changes still going on.  I admit, I'll welcome a slowdown in amount of construction once things boil down to just "Star Wars" Land and Splitsville, since these the more content in an update, the longer it takes to put together.  Then again, with some of the rumored Resort plans down the pipeline, there may be other projects springing up...

In any case, tomorrow, we'll look at Tom Sawyer Island.  And after that, Ghost Town Alive!

Such a busy week, I might decide to give myself an extended break.  Goo farh?

On Saturday morning, these custom Coke bottle machines were being set up, and it seems like they were working by weekend's end, since I saw a friend or two show off a "Share a Coke" bottle with a custom name.  Pretty cool!