Disneyland Resort Update: Things That Are Not Food

Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, CA

Well, folks, after a π-riffic day yesterday with lots and lots of gluttony, today, we must exercise caution in the presence of the Ides of March.  You never know when a treacherous update will stab you in the back with an awfully corny gimmick or something like that.  So keep your eyes peeled, and your oranges peeled-er.

See?  It's starting already.  (Disclaimer: no actual oranges in this update; oranges are food, and this update features no food.)

Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout!

A wild crane has appeared over in Hollywood Land, and not the type that flies and could conceivably be captured and cooked like many birds.  Though why you'd want to eat a crane is beyond me.  They don't seem terribly meaty, and they'd probably put up an annoying fight.  In any case, the former Tower of Terror is slowly being revealed more and more--just not from the front.  Like American movies, the Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout building is very shy about full frontal.  So only peeks and side views are permitted right now.  And also views from the back, if you can position yourself at the right angle.

The under refurbishment NOT-Tower of Terror has been an ever looming presence during its makeover, but its exterior changes are starting to take shape.

Taking a closer look, the ride is still mostly draped in tarp colored with the tan of sourdough.  Wonderful, delicious sourdough.

The adjacent crane has lifted a banner showing off the Guardians iconography.

There's also a hidden Mickey here.  Can you spot it?  It's in the previous image too.

The banner hangs as a teaser, sort of like how tacos tease you when you stare at them.  Not that there are any tacos here.

Things are also peeking out from the roof of the tower.

There's this latticed dome-y thingy.

Also a couple of flaming French fries and one flaming charred fry.

The aesthetic is exactly what's been promised.

Looking lower, the Spanish tile has been removed from the building, leaving only the roof deck and waterproofing.

A dome peaks through, with its scalloped form evoking images of seafood.  Or actually, not that at all.

Even with the aesthetically controversial nature of the Guardians makeover, there's still beauty to be found in the form of blooming trees in the former Tower queue.

Soon, all of this will be disassembled.

But from different angles, you can see the 1998 Tomorrowland Revival paint scheme, or perhaps you can call it the corndog palette paint scheme.  Again, not that there are any corn dogs here.  That would be food, which is conspicuously absent from this update due to yesterday's overload.

"Star Wars" Land

Over in the land of future Jedi and stuff, that big E-Ticket is pushing forward with more vertical construction in multiple forms.  The building continues to grow, and the circular pit has now risen above ground level like a construction sarlacc.  One that's probably looking for food.  But you won't find any here, because this is just dirt and steel and concrete, and there's no food in this update.

After all that rain the previous month or so, it's been nice to have such beautiful days back.

Sure, it may have been a little too hot the past several days, like a steak that's about to go from medium rare to medium well, but it's good to have some variation in the weather.

As you can see, the construction site is moving along.

Like processed meats getting packaged together, it's a lot of beige stuff with bits of identifiable elements here and there.

Lets start with the feature attraction, the future main E-Ticket of "Star Wars" Land.

The building seems to have reached as high as it will go, with only parapet posts added to the stair tower to the roof on the left (in front of the Matterhorn).

But the building continues to march forward, like an army of ants in search of its next meal at a picnic.

Decking has been laid out on the roof to go with the second floor.

And intermediate steel framing is going up on each floor.

It's really tough to communicate just how large this building is.  It's like Porterhouse Steak large.

Some trussed bridges have shown up in the middle of the building too.  One would almost expect these to be at the Rivers of America for the Disneyland Railroad, but they're here.

EDIT:
Aaaaaand, I was trying to be coy, but just go to the comments for what these actually probably are.

Parapet post for the stair tower.  They're the white pieces of steel.

Moving on to the trench and pit area.

That circular pit is no longer a pit.  Instead, it's gone vertical above the ground!

Look at all those noodles!

Again, these aren't edible noodles.  They're structural steel rebar.

No, Guy Selga, STOPPPP!!! I said they weren't edible noodles!!!

No noticeable progress at this trench, though, other than some bridges across.

Imagine what types of rations and supplies one can hide in this bunker!

Moving onto the Hungry Bear, that arrow is where the Disneyland Railroad will come out.

In a noticeable development, views that were clear and open last week have now been obscured by a bunch of trees.

Yes, like a line of upright broccoli, they've started planting trees on this walled berm behind the rerouted Rivers of America to maintain the rustic ambiance.

These leafy greens will provide plenty of fiber for the Rivers of America when they reopen this summer.

The way they layer in front of the trees on Tom Sawyer's Island feels pretty natural.  Once at pedestrian level from the other side, "Star Wars" Land will definitely blend in out of sight.

Lets pan across the wall to admire all that concrete, which you cannot eat.

The line of trees is surprisingly denser and taller than I expected with how relatively dirt appears to be retained behind the walls, but it's probably an illusion due to the compression of depth from the telephoto lens.

Speaking of compression, I wouldn't mind compressing a burrito into my mouth right now.

But I can't, because this update has no food.

Moving onto the structures near one of the "Star Wars" Land main entrances...

The fake rockwork continues to grow all around.

This shot is definitely a lot different from several months ago!

And just beyond appear to be the start of more future fake boulders.  Sure to be rich in minerals but poor in other sources of nourishment.

Just past that... some shrubbery and more trees.  I suppose this could be brontosaurus food, but we're talking about human food, of which this update is devoid.

Lastly, we'll move to the Toontown side of the site to look at that apparently two story shed that's been going up.

Again, much too small for a ride building.

Perhaps a food storage warehouse for the restaurants?

Or maybe an employee cafeteria.

Just think: it could serve Obi Wan Macarons, Leia Filet-a-Mignon, Intergalactic Meatballs in Darth Maulinara Sauce, Potato Wedges Antilles, Grievous Greens, Snoked BBQ Ribs, and Qui-Gon Gin served in Han Solo cups.

But probably not.

Rivers of America Progress

Light was dimming as I made a quick dash into Disneyland Park on Sunday, so these pictures are pretty crummy.  Not to be confused with crumby, which is what bread might be.  But there's no bread here, because this update has no food.  Instead, it's got some rockwork and a railroad trestle and glimpses of what the revamped Rivers of America will kind of look like once it reopens this July.

The Columbia remains docked, waiting for its new role in FANTASMIC! 2.0.  But notice how the view of the Mickey and Friends parking structure is much less open now.

From the Critter Country pathway over toward Hungry Bear, the tops of the rockwork can be seen, plus the route of the redone Disneyland Railroad.

Looks like a little bridge crossing over there.

This will look great when it's done, the way a nice burger does when the patty is perfectly chargrilled.

Scaffolding is set up to help apply the plaster for the rocks.

Now, going back to the first caption of this segment, while you can technically still see to the parking structure, the view is at least starting to get obscured.

That will hopefully start to assuage those worried about open views to the outside world.  Then again, like vegans looking for an authentic-tasting meat substitute, some people will never be satisfied.

Other Non-Food Things

A few other minor construction projects and park updates round out today's update.  Also part of work around the parks but not photographed because I didn't make priority to go around to each attraction: MaxPass machines are being installed at all attractions that currently have FastPass, and FastPass machines are being installed at the Matterhorn Bobsleds and Toy Story Midway Mania.  This is part of the new generation of FastPass systems coming to the Disneyland Resort later this year, as outlined a couple of months ago on the Disney Parks Blog.

Mystery probably-not-important transportation building has a roof!

Pretty fast, right? Just a few weeks ago, it was just foundations.

But that's what happens with a small buildings and CMU construction.  Buildings get built quickly.  Like fast food.

Dirt continues to get shuffled around back here on the north end of the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure area.  Here's your non-edible progress photo.

On Sunday, swelling afternoon crowds provided a glimpse of what the future of getting to Disneyland might look like, as long lines plagued the Mickey and Friends security area.  I've mentioned this before, but this is primarily due to the bottleneck created when each checkpoint's dual bag check stands merge into one metal detector passage.  This could very simply be solved by adding a second detector per checkpoint, along with its security person, but for whatever reason, operations continues to pursue the bottleneck.  This isn't a terribly huge deal now--just an annoyance to impatience people like me who would prefer not to wait 10-15 minutes in security on a Sunday afternoon, but should this continue once crowds really start to get busy (think when "Star Wars" Land opens), things could easily get heated.

Fortunately, to calm you down, here's are some flower pictures.  It's almost spring, which means the flowers have been in lovely bloom recently.

The tabebuias over at The Hub in Disneyland have also started turning their beautiful springtime pink, which is pretty fantastic.

These two photos are from last year, but you wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't told you, right?

If you liked the end of this update, because flowers were the closest thing to food in this update, stay tuned for an report from the Borrego Super Bloom happening right now in the desert around the Anza Borrego area.  The recent heavy rains have created ideal conditions for millions of wildflowers to sprout out of what's normally brown, lifeless-looking sand and dirt.  And it's a pretty nifty thing!

And to the five of you who noted that flowers can be food--hush you.  Don't get in the way of my gimmick with your so-called facts!

Foo bah!!