Disneyland Resort Update: To Galaxy's Edge and Back

Disneyland Park, Anaheim, CA

It's been over a month since we last visited the Disneyland Resort specifically to check up on the work that's happening.  In that time, we've had plenty of progress, plus a D23 convention that shed a little more light on the updates coming to the Resort.  Plus, while the big focus of "Star Wars" Land (now actually named) has dominated attention, other projects have culminated around the park too.  So lets take a gander at some of what we've missed the past thirty days.  To partially make up for lost time, this update has extra photos, so you might need a little extra time for the page to load.

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge

During the D23 convention, Disney officially announced that the "Star Wars" Lands going into both Disneyland Park and Disney Hollywood Studios in Florida would be called "Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge."  Plenty of people have made the joke that this new land must be sponsored by Samsung, since it retains basically the name of their flagship phone from last year.  But it does make sense, as the Imagineers have long touted the new land being a new remote outpost planet never before seen, located in the outskirts of the galaxy. 

And over the past month, the structural steel for both the First Order and Millennium Falcon attraction buildings have basically sped forward, to the point where the buildings themselves appear to be pretty much fully framed.  In fact, framing for the towering peaks and future landscape that will cover the actual show buildings has begun going up.  With just two years till opening, we should start seeing things getting covered sooner than people might expect!

It's a beautiful day to check in on Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.

And as you can see, the First Order building has grown quite a bit since we last visited.

It's getting quite hefty!

(Finishing off the panorama turn.)

And as you can see, the First Order building has grown quite a bit since we last visited.

And the Disneyland Drive side of the site is starting to fill in.

The formwork for concrete walls adjacent to the main ride building is progressing.

New formwork has moved on southward.

Over in the Hungry Bear corner, the bridge across the future Critter Country entrance of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge is looking complete.

Work will continue here, of course, for but now, it just needs to be complete enough to finish the Rivers of America side.

The steel framework for the main First Order building looks just about completely built out.  At least for the building footprint.

There's not a lot of room to lay down any more construction pieces.

Peeking inside, we can see a lot of secondary structure that will support... well, I'm not sure.  But it looks pretty expansive!

The old pit is starting to fill out.  What interesting moment(s) will happen here?

Looking at the First Order building from the west, it's a massive, tall line of columns, braces, and beam.

It's seriously pretty impressive how much steel is going into this building. 

One half of the western facade is still relatively open.

But framing is starting to go up to support the actual facade of the building, so that it can eventually be closed up.

Work is progressing on the roof of the First Order ride building too.  What looks like an exceptionally large AC unit or two has been hoisted onto the roof.

More steel framing to support various sets and ride elements inside the structure.

A glimpse through the tangle mass of steel shows not a ton of change on the Rivers of America berm side.

It's okay.  Attention seems pretty focused over here.

The brown on top of the roof is actually welded wire mesh that will reinforce the concrete that is being poured on top of the metal decking.

The large penthouses in the back are receiving metal stud framing to enclose them as well.

When you think of the overall timeline of construction, the building exterior needs to be finished well ahead of everything that's going inside, since the ride ultimately needs to be installed and tested in a controlled environment.

Here's a slightly different angle of the west facade.

We'll pan right to give an alternate view of the progress. 

The straps between the horizontal shelves are a bit strange to me. I'm not sure if they're permanent or temporary.

Catwalks help provide future access to serviceable parts of the future ride.

Again, it's tough to convey the scale of this building in photos, though this zoomed in perspective hopefully tries.

Can you believe that it was only February that all of this was pretty much dirt only?

Gone are the days when we could just joke that this was going to be Tatooine.

The Millennium Falcon building behind the First Order ride has progressed quite a bit too!

Though it's hard to tell from this perspective, it appears that the steel framing of the building itself has been built out through its full footprint also!

In fact, as you can see, they've even started to build the structure that will support the rockwork that forms the "mountains" that will ultimately hide the building shape!

The steel here is already about as tall as the First Order building.

It's pretty exciting.  And in fact, over the weekend, Disney cast members were signing a piece of steel that will form the highest point in all of the Galaxy's Edge.  That means that a "topping off" of this land appears imminent!

Even from inside the park, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge structure is starting to become unavoidable.

Here's a look over on the west side of the Rivers of America.

From Tarzan's Treehouse, the structure can be seen over the trees.

Eventually, this will be covered over to look like mountains from a distance.  So there will be an additional visual layer that will actually blend quite well with the rustic nature of Frontierland and the Rivers of America!

Adventureland Improvements

Last month, the park began a little project to ease congestion in Adventureland by removing South Sea Traders and the Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost, so that it could provide an indoor dining area for the ever-popular Bengal Barbecue and relocate Tropical Imports to this location.  That would free up the Tropical Imports structure to house stroller parking, taking it out of the middle of the pathway.  In addition, the standing tables for the Bengal Barbecue would be removed, lessening the bottleneck between the restaurant and the Indiana Jones Adventure entrance, and generally improving guest flow.

Well, that project has been completed, and the results look great.  There's nothing necessarily spectacular here, and this was never meant to be anything grand.  But for a project rooted in the practicality of improving crowd flow, the result has been pretty nice.  The seating area is much welcome and takes up most of the space, with only a small fraction devoted to some stands and display areas for the snacks and beverages that Tropical Imports used to sell.  Interestingly, nothing has really been renamed, at least as far as signage goes.  So there's still a South Sea Traders--it just sells things to eat and drink now instead of merchandise!

Take a look down the main thoroughfare of Adventureland! Notice anything different?

Well, on this side, Tropical Imports is no longer Tropical Imports!

It's stroller parking.

Which makes it Tropical Infants more than anything else.

Tropical Imports has actually moved across the street.

Given that things were sold in pretty portable displays, this was an easy move.

It's primarily snacks, though, now.  The souvenir items that Tropical Imports included have now basically been lumped into the Adventureland Bazaar.

Next door, the Bengal Barbecue indoor dining has been completed.

It's a hodgepodge of tropical themed collectibles.

The area already seems to be popularly used both as dining for Bengal Barbecue and likely as shade to escape the heat.

It's not as packed with tables as I expected.  But for the small project that it is, things seemed to have turned out relatively nicely. 

Another good item of news is that Shrunken Ned has not been a casualty of this transition.

He's still in his old spot--sort of now-awkwardly in the middle of everything, but giving witch doctor advice still!

The designers have thrown up quite a bit of decorations on the walls.

It seems like anything that could be perceived as "jungle-y" has been nailed up.

A bureau shows off some literature and "mail."  Apparently of the decal variety.

There are easter eggs hidden amongst the theming, though.

I was particularly excited to see this reference to the Society of Explorers and Adventures (S.E.A.) show up!

S.E.A. is used in the mythology of Tokyo Disney Sea's Tower of Terror (home of member Harrison Hightower) as well as Hong Kong Disneyland's Mystic Manor (home of Henry Mystic).  It's referenced throughout Walt Disney World as well, so it's cool to see this come to Disneyland as well. 

Interestingly, they did not seem to bother to go for a period-specific map here, despite the timeline supposedly originating from the late 1800s era of colonialism. 

Perhaps they figure that most people aren't history-geography nerds like me.

At least the cameras attempt to be period-specific.

Most of the touches have a sense of charm to them.

My only other critique is the use of regular fluorescent strip light here, which casts a different color temperature and also doesn't attempt to mimic even the lighting tone of the time, but again, this was a rather rush job designed for the practical purpose of relieving congestion.

At least the overhead lights retain a warmer glow.

And this map is a little more period specific.

More trinkets and things.

Lots of little embellishments here and there.

The furnishings have a similar feel to the Red Rose Taverne.  I don't think the project was Imagineering-based, but rather park-internal.

So these furnishings were done by the same people in charge of decorating the park for seasonal events and such.

Some of the ornamentation is certain eclectic.

It's no Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar, but it's nice enough.

Need bananas?

The old Indiana Jones Outpost signage has been removed here--the only apparent external signage change.

Though this is not new, the Bengal Barbecue menu has been enhanced beyond its regular skewers.  I'll add that the BBQ Pork Belly Skewer is pretty tasty too!

All in all, a nice job here.  Nothing amazing, but nothing intended to be.

Rivers of America, Almost Complete

With the reopening of Tom Sawyer Island and the return of FANTASMIC!, the Rivers of America has nearly returned from its year and a half hiatus used to reroute the river to accommodate Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.  All that remains is for the Mark Twain and S.S. Columbia to return to service (they're already functioning for FANTASMIC!), as well as the Davy Crockett Canoes and the Disneyland Railroad.  Fortunately, all four attractions officially return this Saturday, July 29th.  When I visited the park last Friday, only the railroad needed some last bits of touching up, and even that wasn't preventing the trains from testing. 

The area down by Hungry Bear has also opened up a bit, revealing more views and giving a sense of the new riverfront ambiance that will be present once the Rivers attractions fully reopen.  It's pretty darn nice, and I think the eventual Critter Country entry to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge will be one of the underrated fantastic experiences of the park.  In the meantime, we can already start to get a feel of what that will be like now.

By early evening, setup for FANTASMIC can be seen all around the Rivers of America.

These are the pyro boxes, fountains, and other accessories that will accent the show.

A tarp is erected to conceal passage of cast members and crew during the show.

It's a pretty significant endeavor, and it happens every day that FANTASMIC! runs.

Work walls around the Davy Crockett Canoes are down now as well.

Only a little bit remains, blocking the entrance down to the dock. 

But that will reopen this weekend!

With the walls coming down, we can see a lot more of the Rivers of America!

We can also see the riverfront part of the pathway that will eventually lead to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.

Those canoes look ready to go!

By this weekend, it will be full of people ready to row row row.

For anyone who wondered after the Tom Sawyer Island update last month, yes, Fort Discovery is still there.  It's just not public anymore (still).

The Disneyland Railroad was testing while I was enjoying the ambiance.

Looking along the riverbend, we see some familiar figures too.

The Indian Chief and a couple of braves have settled along the river, looking out toward water traffic.

The landscape here looks great!

No waterfalls here, though.

They might lie just beyond the line of sight.

There's the start of the railroad trestle that the trains will cross.

I assume this has actually always been here, but I've never noticed this gate before.

It's not a public dock.

But it's been redone a bit--cement splattered over a concrete curb to give the appearance of a rocky riverbank.  Just not enough to complete the illusion.

Spying around the work wall that blocks the path shows how it will continue on eventually to that underpass below the bridge we see from the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure.

I'm not sure whether this area will be public this weekend and cut off just before the bridge and future entrance into "Star Wars" Land, or if the cut-off will remain where it currently is.

And that dock?  It is used...

...it's for the FANTASMIC! cast and crew.

Hey, they gotta get shuttled to the island somehow!

Starting Saturday, guest can once again take a steamboat ride around the now-shortened Rivers of America.

Though the course has been shortened, I don't think the experience will be detracted much, if at all.  The new scenic additions look great, and I think they'll make up for the shorter course.

For absolutely no reason, here is a Flying V.

MaxPass Arrives

Last Wednesday, MaxPass officially made its long-due debut at the Disneyland Resort.  This is effectively electronic FastPass for an upcharge.  Guests can add MaxPass to their single day ticket for $10/person, which provides them with the ability to schedule FastPasses electronically using the app and receive PhotoPass downloads for the day.  Annual Passholders can obtain this benefit for the entire year for $75.  Signature Plus and Premiere passholders get MaxPass for free.  And because Signature passes previously already came with PhotoPass privileges, which would render the $75 addition only half worth it, the park has made a change to remove PhotoPass benefits from all future non-renewal Signature pass purchases.  Fortunately for those who currently have the Signature pass, their PhotoPass capabilities will be grandfathered in and remain a part of their pass as along as they renew on time.  Renew after expiration, however, and current Signature passholders will lose their PhotoPass outright.

Disney is advertising MaxPass to all park guests.

The MaxPass bollards are up and running at each attraction that takes MaxPass and FastPass.

In fact, this is the new process for paper FastPasses too.

Just scan here to enter, as opposed to having a Cast Member visually verify the validity of the FastPass.  Making this electronic should make things more automated and efficient, though I'm not sure if it will cut down on CM positions, since right now, they seem to be staffing more cast members to assist with the transition.

Splitsville

Construction on Downtown Disney's future bowling alley continues, with structural steel looking near finished here as well.  However, given its targeted this year opening date, there's still plenty to do.  The construction crew even seems to be working weeknights to make up for lost time (at least a couple workers were setting something up Monday evening a week and a half ago when I walked by after park closing), which is quite a push!

Over in Downtown Disney, that future bowling alley is coming along.

Did anyone want more steel pics?

Because here are more steel pictures.

Here too, the footprint of the building appears to have been erected.

There's still plenty of work left before Splitsville can open, of course.  Even structurally, they need to install floor and roof decking, pour the concrete floor, and add the secondary framing.

But the building has filled out the site since we last checked in.

Separately, Disney has also announced that neighbors Build a Bear Workshop, Ridemakerz, and Chapel Hats will be closing to make way for new dining experiences.

Build a Bear has been here since the beginning of Downtown Disney, and though I personally have no care for this store, I'm shocked that it's going away, since it certainly was not a retail underperformer.  Same with Ridemakerz.  But such is the reality of things.

Mickey and Friends Parking Structure Renovations

Finally, the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure is receiving a bit of refurbishment work along its southern edge.  Guardrails appear to have been removed, and the pedestrian paving is being worked on.  As a result, there is construction fencing up and select stair impediments and closures to maintain safety around the work area.  I imagine this work will take a few weeks to complete.

Finally, the parking structure itself is having some routine refurbishment work done.

This area on all six levels has been blocked off, though pathways have been retained to maintain access to the elevators and escalators.

The guardrails on this level have been removed.

The view from up top.

On this day, Minnie level originally appeared to be closed, since I had to actually park in Pinocchio, and the top level was empty when I walked through.  But eventually, cars began trickling in.

Even in the summer now, maintenance work is ongoing!

That's it from Disneyland Park.  Time constraints precluded me from making it over to Disney California Adventure, although a recent rumor suggests that Hollywood Land's transition into "Marvel Land" may be coming relatively soon--and consume A Bug's Land as part of collateral.  We'll probably find out soon if that's truly the case or not.  But one thing's for certain--the only constant around the Disneyland Resort is change--whether we like it or not.

There's one more update scheduled for this week, and that's a visit to the Orange County Fair and all of its wacky fair goodness.  Stay tuned for that.  And if you've got no plans this weekend, and/or if you enjoy the realm of spoopiness, you should check out the Midsummer Scream Halloween convention, happening at the Long Beach Convention Center this Saturday and Sunday.  Check the link for more details.  There will be plenty of panels, shows, vendors, classes, and entertainment to delight and frighten, and if you love the world of haunt, you'll love this event!  Last year's was a blast, and this year's con will most certainly be even better!

That does it for today.  Boo bah!