Disneyland Resort Update: Opposite of Lightspeed Edition

Disneyland Park, Anaheim, CA

What happens when you go to the parks for a photo update, and then life and work get in the way, and then you have an out-of-town trip the following week?  Well, you get a Disneyland construction update that's about two weeks old.  So lets liberally employ a Flashback Friday and look at what Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge (and a few other spots) looked like about 14 days ago!

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge

A long time ago in a neighboring city not that far away...

Yes, I created a section just for the return of our customary overview of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.  We know you missed it after the non-appearance last update.  Many of you were inconsolable over the loss of our beloved panorama, thanks to construction on the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure blocking off access, but fear not!  Thanks to the modern day miracle of simply going down several levels to find an unblocked stair and then ascending said stairs, your pan-across has returned!

Two weeks ago, summer blockouts were still in effect, resulting in light traffic.

What's not light? This building.

It's getting more massive than [insert overplayed media thing here].

Completing the turn.

The First Order attraction continues to grow and grow.  At this point, it's like... 485,291 aardvarks big.  And 381 unladen swallows tall.  That's pretty sizeable!  It's so mammoth that different aspects of construction are happening depending on which part of the building you look at.  Inside, secondary steel structure continues to be erected.  On the north side, they're starting to add insulation along the facade of the building facing Disneyland Drive.  On the opposite side, facing the park, a few wall panels have been installed.  On the roof, they continue adding HVAC equipment and accessories.  And just around the riverbend, they're loading special Disney construction ferrets to work on all the tight spaces that need special attention!  Magical.

This is your friendly reminder that only six months ago, this site was pretty much completely dirt.

Long before Disney planted Insta-grow Concrete Building seeds...

Across the way from the northeast corner of the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure, we can see the First Order building stretching out.  Like a repeatedly worn pantsuit.

These cranes are still around, which means there's still plenty of heavy lifting to do.

No, we can't just leave the heavy lifting to trained ferrets.  Mechanical means are required too.

They're starting to stuff the wall cavity with wall insulation. 

It's not very effective, since the building has holes everywhere else...

They haven't added any real secondary wall framing past that point near the middle of the photo in a few weeks.

And then we get to this double height space, which is tall enough for like at least three pygmies to stand on top of each other.

Roof decking has been installed all the way across, so this building is lidded!

For our roof enthusiast readers...

Check out those diagonal pieces on both sides of the main space now!

This space is going to be pretty monumental when everything is done.

Meanwhile, more steel keeps getting added on top of the roof.

What does this space look like to you?

Does it look like a First Order or Imperial hangar?

The roof penthouse is framed and waiting wall sheathing and finishes.

Back inside the hangar.  It looks like a hangar.

These photos really don't convey how tall these spaces will be. 

Again, it's going to be like 18 cocker spaniels tall.  Pretty vertically inclined!

The tabs sticking off the side of the columns will accept those horizontal pieces from one of the earlier photos and help support the building skin and insulation.

That is a tall slide ladder.

And over here?  Well, the concrete walls have been cured.

No, they weren't sick (except for a bit of wall polio).  They were hardening and gaining strength.

This wall is finally getting ready to connect back to the 30-ft tall perimeter wall that has been waiting there for months.  Just for some other wall to want to stick its rebar into it and become one.

Some retaining walls are curling along just on the other side of the Hungry Bear.  This is looking to be a rocky canyon of an entrance into Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge!

And from the inside of the park, we can see that some wall panels have been installed on this side of the First Order building!

OK, no one else as excited?

While the First Order attraction building is ingesting real estate the way a hipster downs specialty tacos, the Millennium Falcon building has been growing both laterally and upward, as the structural steel for the peaks of future "Star Wars" Land continue to reach toward the sky.  In fact, earlier this week (but not reflected in any of these outdated photos), the workers hoisted and installed the steel belonging to the highest point in the land.  And although our usual vantage points only allow obscured angles of Galaxy's Edge's second E-Ticket, progress is still visible. 

Hey, trees! Get out of the way!!

OK, they would not listen and are still in my shot.

The Millennium Falcon show building is turning out to be quite more sprawling than expected. 

Then again, it's basically housing a next-gen Mission: Space attraction, so I suppose that requires a lot of support.

A lattice of steel beams, braces, and columns is rising to form the future peaks of this land.

Meanwhile, they're already hanging straps to support ductwork inside parts of the building.

Slightly different angles of the same building.

The Millennium Force is no slouch either.  At its current size, you can fit approximately 2,794 manatees in it.  But of course, you'd have to fill it with water, and with no walls right now, that just wouldn't work.

None of the manatees can jump to lightspeed, though, which is a shame. 

The angle from the inside.

With all this steel in this arrangement, you might think they were building a castle.  Well, Star Wars does have a princess, so...

Random River Belle Terrace Update

We interrupt this Disneyland park update to let you know that the River Belle Terrace is getting some roofwork done.

That is all.

Splitsville

For bowling fans eager to see new lanes come to Downtown Disney, well, wait a while more.  Construction crews have been working some pretty deep shifts to catch up on the schedule, but for now, Splitsville remains steel and steel.  But the skeleton is starting to come together! There's a bit of an entrance canopy, some more braced frames, and, um, yeah.  No balls yet.  But soon.  If you're into that sort of stuff.

Workers have been ROLLING on construction here.

There's hardly any time to SPARE, as the bowling alley was originally announced to open at the end of this year.

No, they didn't take this building and GUTTER... it's just still early in the construction process, so the insides are still relatively empty.

As long as no additional extended bad weather STRIKES, they can hopefully make up time and finish somewhat close to the original opening date.

Gotta Collect 'Em All

Two weeks ago, the Disneywebz collectively went glitterbombs over two things:
- Rose Gold Minnie Ears, which sold out within hours of being released
- The new Harold (Ted Seagull's best friend from the Matterhorn) Funko Pop figure

The Harold doll quickly sold out inside the park, but through the afternoon, people were diligently waiting at D Street to purchase their own souvenir of the lovable abominable snowman.  Hey, we won't judge.  Yetis are cool.  And no, that's not just Wes forcing me to add that phrase into this update.

"We wait wait for a long long time to get a souvenir!"

"To wait wait wait wait wait wait wait to grab our Disney gear!"

Yes, for a brief time, D Street was the most popular of all stores at Downtown Disney.

All for this little guy.  But goshdarnit, he IS cute...

In other Downtown Disney news, it was announced that Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire, an upcoming augmented/virtual reality experience developed by Disney and Void, will be replacing the Fossil and Vault 28 stores.  This makes five current Downtown Disney vendors that will be changing, since the Build-A-Bear Workshop, Chapel Hats, and Ridemakerz shops are closing down to make way for dining.  Yes, times they be a changing.  And times they be up for today's update.  Have a great weekend, and may the pigeon be with you!

Roo bah!