This week we visit Star Wars Land, Star Trader and the Outer Rim. Buckle up! We’re going into the asteroid field!
| News From The Outer Rim |
The Outer Rim (basically anywhere outside of the Disneyland Resort) is a place of wonder and mystery. It’s from here that we report weekly on interesting things going on in the Star Wars Universe and get a little background on all characters, locations and stories that make up the Star Wars Saga.
New Star Wars Rebels Preview
We got not one, but two new previews of the upcoming season of Star Wars Rebels that premieres next week. The first is a mini-trailer for the season and the second is a scene from the show called “Mind Trick”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD_9LAMJhaA
Is This Lando Calrissian?
Rumor has it that the upcoming Han Solo origin movie going into production soon will also feature a younger Lando Calrissian. And it’s looking like the front-runner to play that part is actor Donald Glover.
If you saw “The Martian”, you may recognize Glover as the young scientist that figures out how send the ship back to Mars. He looks the part, but the real question is can he match the swagger of Billy Dee Williams?
The BB-8/Kylo Ren Connection?
I don’t know how many people follow the conspiracy theory’s surrounding the future of our current Star Wars Characters, but I’m willing to listen to a good argument. We’ve looked at the Rey/Emperor Palpatine bloodline here, but skipped the Snoke is Mace Windu theory. Now youtuber Jenny Nicholson has a theory about a possible connection between Kylo Ren and BB-8. And it’s worth a watch to see her deliver this impassioned argument.
| Merchandise |
There’s never a shortage of new and unique Star Wars merchandise. Here’s a quick look at some of the cool stuff at the hub of Star Wars Merchandise at Disneyland, Star Trader.
| Star Wars Land Construction |
And finally we turn to our weekly look at the progress of Star Wars Land. Located in what used to be the backstage area of the park. This new land will have entrances from Critter Country, Frontierland and Fantasyland.
This graphic shows what was like before, and what we expect the layout to look like when complete.
[beforeafter]
[/beforeafter]
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 and go clockwise through the development.
In the north part of the site where a mound of dirt collected from grading and being used to fill in different elevations now, has been nicknamed the dirt star. This is closest to the N on the photo and the future site of the Millennium Falcon attraction.
Just east of that, where the Disneyland Rail Road is being routed, a large retaining wall is being constructed. On the other side of this wall, the DLRR will make the turn into the Toontown Station.
Right behind the Fantasyland Theater, on the east of the photo, a wall outlines the DLRR route.
Nearby is an arch where guests will enter Star Wars land from Fantasyland. The Disneyland Railroad will cross overhead.
The next set of photos is approximately the middle of the aerial photo (the new Fantasmic backstage will be in this area). This maze of walls will come off the Rivers of American to an area where the showboats can be stored and serviced. In this area also will be the entrance from Frontierland.
Attached to this is the new turn for the River. We can see the tip of Tom Sawyer’s Island on the left and the walls starting to form the other side of the river.
From Big Thunder Mountain, a view of pathway that will connect to Fantasyland.
Moving around Tom Sawyer’s Island, we are now seeing the walls come up on the other side and leading toward the Hungry Bear Restaurant in Critter Country.
Those walls around the river will end leading to a walkway from Critter Country under the Hungry Bear Restaurant where the bathrooms currently reside. The path leading to those restrooms was recently re-routed to permit demolition of the old stairway. It’s now cleared to make way for the new path to Star Wars Land.
The road traversing through the middle of the site lined with green fence is what remains of the old backstage access road. Also in this area west of the old access road is the beginning of the show building for the Battle Escape Attraction in the graphic. Excavation began recently and this week steel beams were laid over one end of the hole in the ground.
That’s our tour of Star Wars Land as it looks this week. Check back Monday for more updates on the Disneyland Photo Update.
| As always… |
