By a prickling in my thumbs, something Star Wars this way comes . . . and Pixar, and Tiki, and passholder shenanigans. In this week before Memorial Day, the official start of summer for the theme parks, let’s take a look at what’s in store.
Nothing But Star Wars
It’s all Star Wars folks. Almost everything going on at the Disneyland Resort is in some way influenced by, or preparing for, the galactic shift that will occur when Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens next year. New parking, more attractions at DCA (to pull folks over there), the repositioning of Paint the Night to DCA, expanded festivals in DCA, the streamlining of walkways and expansion of queues at Disneyland, it’s all Star Wars folks. . . and lots more left to be done. But the big ticket is the construction of the new land itself. Let’s take a gander from outside the berm and from the Rivers of America . . . which are looking more and more galactic every day.
Star Wars land is rocky. Even from the Mickey and Friends parking structure, it looks like Star Wars.
It’s notable that many of these rocks appear to be floating in mid-air. No need to finish off the park that you can’t see from inside the land.
I took most of these photos on Friday, so there was a lot of construction activity going on.
There’s a blue tarp up on the side of Star Wars land closest to Critter Country. It’s no doubt there to hide something from our view. Guesses?
Aside from all the rocks and the two giant show buildings, we can now spot some Star Wars looking round structures.
It’s really starting to look like Star Wars from the Rivers of America. While most of what you see of Galaxy’s Edge is just rocks, there are a couple of round buildings and antennas that give it all away.
See that tiny little orange dot near the middle of the photo below? That’s a construction worker. It helps give you an idea of how massive that show building is and the rock structure surrounding it.
And for a high in the sky view, let’s climb Tarzan’s Treehouse.
It really does feel like an outpost in a rocky area. And you can see the coloration of some of the peaks.
What do you think of Star Wars land’s progress so far? I know that many of you wish this land had been built elsewhere or in a 3rd park. But it’s well on the way now, are you on board?
March of the First Order
Since we are on the subject of Star Wars, let’s join the First Order. Following the Star Wars themed Disneyland After Dark event, Tomorrowland has been featuring these Stormtroopers led by Captain Phasma. Times are listed in the daily entertainment schedule. The best spot to see them is in front of the ramp to the 2nd level of Launch Bay (Former Innoventions). But they also march a bit through the land.
I’ve got to say I love this. My inner-child was unleashed. To see these guys march down the ramp of the Launch Bay and into Tomorrow was pure magic.
Parking Structure Update
Rebar has arrived on site at the Mickey and Friends expansion site. We should see some vertical progress soon.
Yes, that’s a food truck parked near all that rebar.
They hose down the dirt to keep the dust from blowing into your face at the tram load/unload.
Here’s what the completed structure will look like. Escalators on both ends this time around.
Disney filed a permit for the demolition of the Carousel Inn back in February and it looks like it has finally been approved.
No word on what they’ll be doing with the property or all that land behind it that was supposed to become the Eastern Gateway.
Popcorn Bucket Insanity
As I was headed to the tram from shooting the Star Wars photos, I noticed a lot of folks carrying little green men popcorn buckets. A good sign that they were back in stock. So I rushed into the park to take a look.
Sure enough, the popcorn cart in Town Square (as well as carts on the Rivers of America) had the highly coveted buckets.
But the lines were already insane. By 11am, the line stretched all the way around Town Square (estimated at 2 hours).
Just over 20,000 of the passholder-only buckets were received.
But by the next morning they were ALL sold out with lots of disappointed passholders in the park.
It seems that the problem with supply was mostly due to allowing folks to buy more than one. Yes, you had to get back in line to do so. But why don’t they just follow the same procedure they use with the AP appreciation pins and scan annual passes to prevent folks from gaming the system? Ebay is now loaded with buckets at crazy prices.
If you didn’t get your little green army man bucket, there are some other fun buckets and sippers right now. Especially the Sully and Star Wars items.
Churro Challenge
The AP Churro Challenge that we mentioned last week is now on. You can buy a challenge map at any participating cart for $5. You then get a sticker for each churro you purchanse. When complete, you get a button.
Starcade
As we told you last week, Disney has filed a permit for “Space Mountain, Backstage – Tenant Improvement: Renovate 5000 sq. ft. existing interior space to a conditioned queue area.”
That means an airconditioned queue area for Space Mountain at long last. While we would have loved to have seen a return of the Starcade or an upstairs restaurant, a more comfortable queue for Space Mountain is still better than leaving the facility empty as it was before.
Small World Gate
The facade of small world is still stationary while construction continues on the facade expansion toward the new parade gate.
Eventually, the small world facade will make its way toward the parade gate.
Pirates Refurb
The work on Pirates is just about to wrap up. The attraction, including the new auction scene, should reopen the first week of June.
The main issue with Pirates when it is operating is the impact it has on the walkways of New Orleans Square on busy days. At the moment, the walkways are wide open, even on those busy days. But once Pirates returns, that will all change. And if rumors of Fastpass+ being added come true, those crowded walkways will become completely gridlocked. We are calling on the forces of reason at Disneyland to resist the temptation to add Fastpass to attractions which 1) don’t need it, and 2) which are in bottleneck areas that can’t support it.
Moana Meet & Greet
This item isn’t new, but I haven’t been able to get good shots since Moana moved from the side patio of Aladdin’s Oasis to the old Tarzan meet and greet terrace near the exit of the Tarzan Treehouse.
Although the line is very hidden, it still fills up with guests eager to meet her. This particular Moana is infectiously happy and it’s a joy to see her interact with kids and adults alike.
Adventureland Shuffle and Tropical Hideaway
Last week we showed you photos of the newly walled up Aladdin’s Oasis. The area will soon become the “Tropical Hideaway,” a food and beverage market and refreshment patio. While simple, it is much needed to free up retail space which was lost last year and will help pull guests, strollers and queue lines out of the walkways. We expect the Dole Whip, skewers and beverage stand to move to the new Hideaway and for retail to reclaim the space lost when Bengal BBQ turned retails space into a seating area.
Demolition is now well underway.
We led with additional photos and information last week:
The old Tropical Imports will likely remain stroller parking.
But the South Seas Traders is likely to become a store again.
As much as we love the Bengal Barbecue, It creates a pinch point with Indy across from it. We do hope the menu and organic decor migrates to the Hideaway.
New Purses
We’ve been showing you a lot of character purses lately. They seem to be the hot new thing and they are very creative.
Incredibles 2 Preview at the Sunset Showcase Theater
Incredibles 2 Merchandise
How cute are these boxing puppets?
Naples Outdoor Bar & Patio
Part of the Naples expansion opened the other day in Downtown Disney. The patio is very nice, but it’s disappointing that the bar doesn’t have its own menu – though you can order off of the regular restaurant menu.
This and That
One of the waterfalls on the Matterhorn has been off for a few weeks.
And here’s a treat. Our newsletter director took some beautiful photos from the Disneyland Resort that I thought you’d enjoy:
Follow Cakvala Photography Here
And that wraps up this one. We’ll have a more indept look at Pixar Fest for you later this week. Be sure to follow along on social so you don’t miss out on all the fun. |
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