Disneyland Resort Update: Back to Dirt, Rocks, and Renovations

Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, CA

Welp, now that Pixar Pier is mostly behind us, it's time to get back into the daily grind of all the other projects going on across the Disneyland Resort.  After all, there's still the massive, yearlong transformation of Downtown Disney, a brand new parking structure cruising forward at full speed, and that one place about laser swords and pew pew ships.  This will probably take less than 4 hours to read.  But no guarantees.  Shall we proceed?

PIXAR'S PINOCCHIO PAL-A-ROUND AND FRIENDS AND FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES PARKING STRUCTURE FEATURING MARVEL MOTORPOOL AND STAR WARS SHUTTLE STOPS AND OTHER ACQUIRED LICENSES

Since we last checked in, a significant amount of progress has been made on the new 6500-stall parking structure located next to Mickey and Friends (which itself can hold about 10,000 vehicles).  A host of columns have gone up, with the concrete for the first floor portion for many of them already cured.  This also means a ton of exposed rebar for the next pours, which is sure to make our favorite steel noodle fan, Guy Selga, very excited.  On the far end, near the corner of Disneyland Drive and Magic Way, crews have even started framing the first of a series of decks that will connect escalators from the parking levels down to the tram loading promenade.  There's plenty of work to do, especially if workers hope to finish this before "Star Wars" Land opens next year, but we're seeing some visible developments!

Wait, what? This isn’t Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

There’s been a mistake. We always start with Star Wars.

WHY NO STAR WARS HERE???

Can’t even make Tatooine or Jakku jokes here, since all those columns are now ruining the illusion.

Whatever. Fine. We’ve got more development from the new parking structure Disney is building because local store owners on Harbor nuked their original idea.

As you can see, they’re making some headway on this little project that’s designed to finally reduce the parking overcrowding that’s been persistent around the Resort the past several years.

We see some rampy doo’s going up. Look familiar to how Mickey and Friends works?

They’re also working on more foundations for the rest of the rampy wampies.

And they’re forming columns and installing rebar too.

Look at all those noodles.

Eventually, cars will zoom zoom up these ramp ramps.

All while staying at or below 14 mph, of course.

NOOOOOODZ!!!

They’re platforming stuff over there.

This will be where the escalators connect to from the ground level. Eventually, there will be a system of them kind of mirroring the ones already coming off Mickey and Friends.

They’re marching columns along the perimeter of the plot too.

More noodz.

Noodz for days.

All erect and stuff.

Meanwhile, they’re just moving dirt back and forth over here. Or forth and back. Or forth and long?

More pictures of Guy’s excitement.

Oh yeah, look at all those noodles.

And that sensuous splicing action.

What? Spare noodles???

This will be the trend for a while. Columns columns columns, and then they’ll pour the deck for the level above, then more concrete columns being formed, then more deck. Rinse and repeat and rise up, future parking structure!

Here are some shots from along Magic Way.

Kind of the backside of the corner pedestrian area to the escalators.

Some of the cypress trees along the street were removed, and seeing how close the structure gets to those that remain, I can see why!

More construction scene porn for y’all.

In case you’re like childhood me and have always been fascinated with construction zones.

Not that a parking structure is too complex—it’s a lot of repetition. But seldom is any Disney construction site so easily visible.

Don’t forget: safety first!

Construction staging and offices are located in the Lilo lot across the street.

You can see the trailers off in the distance.

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge

Over in the future home of Batuu, the latest update is--oh, no, wait... more rocks.  The rock-spires-that-are-actually-giant-petrified-trees continue to be plastered and painted, while even more new steel has gone up closer to Disneyland Drive to frame rockwork that will be in the "background" of the Star Wars skyline.  More interesting is seeing how the backdrop looks from inside the park, as the background of the Rivers of America and Frontierland.  As we've been discussing since plans were first unveiled, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge will interplay with the vista of Frontierland, providing a rustic panorama behind the classic themed land.  That visualization is starting to turn into reality, and I think it's pretty exciting!

Ahhh, here we go, Batuu.

Bathree.

Batfour…

Batfive.

These days, progress in “Star Wars” land is mostly in the details.

For example, they’re install antennas now.

I mean more structure for rock spires 241-247.

At this point, they might have been better off dropping a copy of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad on the roof of this sucker.

Just theme it to Star Wars and call it “the wildest ride in the Wookieness.”

Here are more things that will not cover the backside of the roof.

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The rocks are getting a bit more color than basic rock hues. At least this holey one is. But it may be the most sacred of all the petrified tree structures in Batuu.

Another angle of the future cell towers that are not actually cell towers they just look like them but omg can you imagine how bad reception will be when this place first opens because of all the crowds and everyone trying to Instagram their first pictures and live broadcast themselves crying cuz everything is so beautiful and wonderful or maybe conversely that they hate everything and this Star Wars thing sucks and Disney has ruined yet another thing because Disney is the ruiniest ruiner of ruins?

Onto this area.

They’re starting to board up the opening, which means they’re pretty far along the First Order attraction inside.

You can kind of glimpse the roof canopy structures on the opposite side of all this steel.

If only I was hovering higher to get a better angle…

Trees have filled in the back berm here. You can barely see inside the park, other than tall things.

A compressed shot from the parking structure shows the skyline in a different context.

Inside the park… MOAR ROCKS!!

I guess if there is a canyon edge in the midground here at Mickey’s Toontown, one can justify buttes in the background coming from a different and aesthetically very different land.

Trees sort of obscure structure for more spires yet to be plastered.

But they peek through over the former Big Thunder Trail.

And on the Rivers of America side, they’re really starting to get prominent!

Rocks over trees over rocks over trees.

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A bit of the architecture of Batuu can be glimpsed along the River too. A teaser, I suppose, though it does interrupt the Frontierland continuity in a way that the rest of the Batuu landscape does not really.

These guys are pretty dang tall. It’s easy to forget!

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Zooming back out again…

And here’s the geology above the treetops from Tarzan’s Treehouse.

Majestic…

Miscellaneous Interlude

We interrupt this update for some random notes...

The Matterhorn broke down when the yeti decided to escape and rampage through the mountain. Fortunately, he was pacified by a seagull holding a floppy fish.

The Hideaway is still not done yet.

Downtown Disney Improvements

Since we last checked in around here, the tenants overlapping the footprint of the future new "four diamond" hotel have finally all closed down, reducing the portion of Downtown Disney west of the monorail line (and Lego Store) to a relatively dead passageway to the parking lot and the Disneyland Hotel.  If you didn't have a chance to say your last goodbyes to ESPN Zone, Earl of Sandwich, the AMC Theaters, Disney Vacation Club storefront, Starbucks DtD West, and Rainforest Cafe, you've missed your chance!

Meanwhile, Ballast Point and Black Taps continue getting worked on from the inside.  It's taking longer than I would have expected, given that items such as the old Ridemakerz wall graphics are still visible, but they'll finish it when they finish it.  Hopefully sooner, given the loss of dining establishments on the west end.  Additional refurbishments have begun on the Wetzel's Pretzel's store, which will remain  Wetzel's but is getting a facelift.  Work continues on the future Salt & Straw, while Naples Ristorante's remodel has now shifted to its western half and majority of indoor dining.  The place is still open, but diners primarily sit in the new expanded outdoor dining area and bar.

Bye bye, ESPN Zone.

Don’t worry though, you’re not alone.

The AMC Theaters has joined the closure parade.

At this DVC, no more bookings will be made.

The Starbucks is shuttered at this area too.

And Rainforest Cafe has shut down its food zoo.

In fact, even the monorail stop is no longer in function.

Most tragically, we’ve lost Earl of Sandwich here at this junction.

But work continues inside this Black Tap.

They hope to get these two restaurants open asap.

The Ballast Point is unchanged, its facade still gray.

I’m sure the wall graphic inside from Ridemakerz will not stay.

The pretzel place next door is behind work walls.

And Hagen Daz next door is becoming a Salt & Straw.

One ice cream place gone, to be replaced by another.

The facades are currently partially under cover.

The work has made an island out of the Sanuk store.

They’ve set up a stand outside to get people to come in more.

And onto Naples, where remodel phase 2 begins.

There’s exterior demolition, plus construction within.

A second large canopy will frame the entrance over here.

So more walls are torn down, to provide future cheer.

In the meantime, folks can still eat outside.

Looks like the area’s acquired a pretty good line.

World of Disney Half Reopens

Finally, a couple of weeks ago, World of Disney completed its renovations on its western half and switched closure areas to its eastern half.  This gave guests a chance to see the new look of the store, and if my totally scientific and indisputably factual survey has provided any insight, most people seem to find the new look "nice" but completely lacking of any Disney magic.  And I'd tend to agree. 

The interiors are now much cleaner and modern, with a sort of cozy industrial aesthetic that is pretty popular in retail design these days.  It would not look out of place in a fancy mall, but in its haste to provide a less dated look, the Disney charm and details seem to have gone away.  It's more "Disney Store" than "World of Disney," which is disappointing if you consider a proper World of Disney store to be an extension of the parks, bridging the more commercial style of Disney Stores with the immersive atmosphere of Disneyland proper.

In contrast to the rest of the tenants at Downtown Disney, the World of Disney store hasn’t really seen any exterior changes.

The transformation has been inside, with new floor finishes, wall dressing, and a more open display plan.

Don’t forget, it’s Pixar O’Fest right now.

There’s a lot of fake brick around columns and walls now.

New lighting has been installed everywhere and definitely shines brightly with a pleasant and inviting color temperature.

Everything is clean and spread out. The layout seems to be more flexible than before, allowing for different display positioning.

The wood floor is actual a vinyl flooring. You can feel that it’s not wood even if you’re not familiar with interior products.

HATS!!

A rare instance of flair inside.

One of the cashier areas.

The rest of the store will be completed in the fall.

The furnishings are nice, but I feel like they miss that extra Disney pixie dust.

Architecturally, the space is appealing. The brick arches and repurposed warehouse look isn’t a bad style. But it’s also not unique.

All the flooring is vinyl tile despite what it’s meant to look like.

This central [fake] skylight feature is kind of nice.

The light fixture reinforce the “industrial chic” motif.

The space seems designed more with retail motivations than atmospheric motivations.

The entrance on the other side is the middle entrance normally.

So that’s what the new World of Disney looks like. Well, half of it.

What do you think?

Paint the Night Gets Incredible

I completely neglected to this in the original post yesterday, but our last bit of news concerns the Paint the Night parade at Disney California Adventure.  A few Fridays ago, The Incredibles float finally premiered as part DCA's nighttime spectacular.  Rolling in at the position formerly occupied by the Frozen spot (between the Disney princesses segment and the Mickey Mouse and friends finale) this new float features all five members of the Parr family, plus their pal, Fro-Zone, around a spectacular metropolis under siege.  The new float dazzles and fits in with the other Paint the Night segments, and it's great to have a full lineup for the parade again.

Less great is the fact that at some point over the past month, Paint the Night has gone from two showings a night to one--at 8:50pm.  This has resulted in greater crowds, and especially with World of Color still down, it doesn't make much sense to limit the nighttime entertainment--especially as the summer season hits its high point--unless it's for budgetary purposes of some sort.  I guess it is what it is, though.  

Incredibles 2 is in movie theaters, and The Incredibles have joined the Paint the Night Electrical Parade too!

Mr. and Mrs. Incredible pose in front of an elaborate float.

And Fro-Zone stays cool while ice surfing above!

#SuperheroPose!!

Also note Dash running around the float.

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He’s in his super suit.

Jack Jack also pops up in various places.

Each time showing a different super power.

Flames on the right.

Violet places a force field around her.

It’s pretty neat!

That takes care of this week at the Disneyland Resort.  The focus from here to year end will be Downtown Disney, the parking structure, and whatever visibly new developments of "Star Wars" Land we can discern.  But next month, "Marvel Land" will join the ranks of active DLR projects when A Bug's Land closes down to make way for annexation.  It's Tough to Be a Bug has already been shuttered to make way for a new Marvel experience.  Soon, DCA will commence with the next phase of its IP-zation as its eastern zone fully embraces the domain of superheroes.

Moo vah!!