In this edition of Star Wars Land News, we’ll take a look at some new additions to the existing Star Wars attractions and how these might affect your Star Wars Land experience (or prevent it), see what news Bob Iger gave us, and see the latest construction photos. Have your passes ready…it’s time!

MaxPass Scanners

In Temporary Star Wars Land (a.k.a. Tomorrowland), the MaxPass readers are making their debut along with a new FastPass entrance for Star Tours.

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

Construction walls have covered one side of the Star Tours entrance for a month while the second door was installed with the scanners for the forthcoming MaxPass system. The new entrance creates a different queue for FastPass/MaxPass users that extends toward the hub, away from the stand-by queue.

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

These readers join ones already installed for Hyperspace Mountain at the beginning of the queue and at the building entrance.

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?
Space Mountain’s second checkpoint at the showbuilding entrance.

 

While it’s almost guaranteed that the Millennium Falcon and Battle Escape attractions in Star Wars Land will feature the MaxPass/FastPass system, could we also see the system applied used for the entrance to the new Land in general? There are going to be three narrow tunnel entrances to Star Wars Land (the orange arrows below).

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

Star Wars Land is the most anticipated expansion in Disneyland history. Everyone will want to be there (present company included), either for the attractions, or just to drink some blue milk. How is Disney planning to manage this mayhem? We’ve heard talk of Annual Passholder blackouts for months around the Star Wars Land opening. Should Annual Passholders be blocked from the entire park or just Star Wars Land? Will MaxPass scanners be at the entrances to Star Wars Land as well as the attractions to manage the crowd? What are your thoughts?

[clickToTweet tweet=”How should #Disneyland manage entry to Star Wars land? Passholder blackouts? MaxPass for land entry? Paid entry?” quote=”How should Disneyland manage entry to Star Wars land? Passholder blackouts? MaxPass for land entry? Paid entry?” theme=”style3″]

News From The Outer Rim

Bob Iger spoke at USC this week and was a chatty fella. He dropped some interesting tidbits about Star Wars.

No Carrie Fisher Alterations

“We’ve had to deal with tragedy this past year because Carrie Fisher passed away tragically in December, and she appears throughout [Episode] 8. What I can say about that is she is in 8 and we’re not changing 8 to deal with her passing. So her performance, which we’re really pleased with, remains as it was in 8.”

Speaking specifically about the CGI effects used on Leia and Tarkin:

“In Rogue One, we created digitally a few characters, one an actor that had actually passed away but had been in an earlier Star Wars film. We’re not doing that with Carrie, although technology gives the ability to do so many different things today.”

Fifteen More Years Of Star Wars

“We’re just starting to talk about what happens to Star Wars after [Episode] 9. It’s way too early, and certainly nothing that I can reveal, but we’ve got a creative team actually thinking about what could be another decade and a half of Star Wars stories. It’s kind of mind-blowing to spend an afternoon with a creative team talking about that. Where could you go, where should we go?”

How Han Solo Got His Name?

“We’re actually shooting now an origin story of Han Solo, which will come out in 2018. That picks up with Han Solo when he was 18 years old and takes him through when he was 24. There are a few significant things that happen in Han Solo’s life, like acquiring a certain vehicle and meeting a certain Wookiee that will happen in this film. But you will also discover how he got his name.”

I would expect there to be some clarification on that last statement coming soon.

Rogue One Today!!!!

Rogue One is available for Digital Download today! DVD and Blu-Ray aren’t out until April 4. Guess what this Sith Lord is doing tonight!

Star Wars Celebration 2017

“The Guide to Navigating Star Wars Celebration Orlando” has been posted on the official Celebration website HERE. It contains all the specifics on wristbanding and queue line-ups that you’ll need to survive.

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

Star Wars Land News has been given media access to this year’s celebration in Orlando, FL. We are planning comprehensive MiceChat coverage on breaking news and events including Facebook Live broadcasts and Twitter updates as it happens. But we need your help. Please see our Patreon page to help us get to this event so we can cover it for you.

Star Wars Land Construction

A year ago, the project to create the largest expansion in Disneyland history started with the removal of trees from Tom Sawyer’s Island and the berm that lined the park and separated the real world from the Happiest Place On Earth. Now, those trees are coming back on a new berm that will separate Frontier America from “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.” Here’s this week’s look at the construction process.

Let’s start with an areal shot of Disneyland’s Star Wars Land from Nearmap.

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?
Nearmap’s photo from February.

 

MiceChat was the first to create a graphic that shows what the area was like before, and what we expect the layout to look like when complete. This map was created prior to the beginning of construction and has been subject to change. So the size and locations are approximate.

[beforeafter]StarWarsExpansion-BeforeStarWarsExpansion-After[/beforeafter]

[ View Map Large ]
 

I’ll refer to the areas in the photos by the geographic location in the aerial photo and the future development in the interactive graphic. We’ll start in the north (where the Millennium Falcon attraction will be) and go clockwise through Star Wars Land.

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

Tucked behind the big Battle Escape building, we can peek at the framework for what looks to be a backstage building. Between there and Battle Escape is where the show building for the Millennium Falcon ride is getting its foundation.

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

In the adjacent Northeastern section of Star Wars Land, a the new berm will separate the atmosphere of Star Wars Land from the newly re-routed Disneyland Railroad. This area also includes the entrance from Fantasyland, which could be one of the spots for a MaxPass scanner.

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

The southeastern area is where the Fantasmic backstage will be along side the tunnel entrance to Star Wars Land from Frontierland.

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

On the Frontierland side of this area, looking from Big Thunder Mountain, we have a good look at the detail work being done on the metal and concrete fabrication.

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

The south section of Star Wars Land is where the Disneyland Railroad will pass on the outer wall in front of a waterfall into the Rivers Of America and a walkway will go from Critter Country around the Hungry Bear Restaurant and into Star Wars Land.

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

As we first noticed last week, you can just make out a new cabin being built on Tom Sawyer island. Is this a new version of the Burning Settlers Cabin?

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

Switching around to the park side, the rockwork for the waterfall is continuing.

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

Where the trail will go from the Hungry Bear Restaurant, under a bridge just before the waterfall and into Star Wars Land, workers are busily assembling the guardrails and doing detail paintwork along the trail.

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

The bed of the Rivers Of America is coming together as it’s re-opening date quickly approaches.

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

The western portion of Star Wars Land is where the massive Battle Escape Attraction is taking shape.

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

Inside the north part of this building is where the newly assembled AT-AT Walkers will stand in a hangar inside the attraction.

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

The middle section of this building is where a big excavation has taken this part of this building underground.

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

On the right side of the structure, the concrete circle that started underground is now going up.

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out? , Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

That’s it for this week’s update. If you want to catch up on how far the construction has come so far, you can check out the archives of Star Wars Land News here.

As Always…

, Star Wars Land News: Will MaxPass Lock You Out?

Please help us provide coverage of Star Wars Celebration in April by supporting Darth Daver’s Patreon page HERE.
Become a Patron!

You can also support Darth Daver’s Marvel and Star Wars updates by using any Amazon link (including this) on this page to do your everyday shopping.Thanks!!!!


To Follow Darth Daver:

  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DarthDaverMC/
  • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darth_daver_mc/
  • Twitter: @darth_daver_mc

Save

Save