Yesterday we took a look at the latest Star Wars announcements. But it’s not all Star Wars today, there are other projects at Disneyland that you should know about. Although, truth be told, they are mostly happening because of Star Wars land.
This is a quick update, but we wanted you to see what’s going on in the park and how rapidly these Stardust projects are wrapping up.
Pixar Pals Parking
The Mickey and Friends parking expansion is nearing completion. The new side of the structure will be called “Pixar Pals” and looks very much like the existing structure but with a few neat enhancements. The iconic thing about the new parking garage is the large disk covering the escalators. Eventually, a bridge will also be built so guests can walk to Disneyland via Downtown Disney instead of taking a tram.
The escalators have terraced shade structures which look quite different than the ones across the plaza at Mickey and Friends.
For comparison, here’s a look at the Mickey and Friends escalator coverings:
The exterior of the new structure is clad in the same sort of garden trellis as Mickey and Friends for a complimentary style across the combined complex.
The new structure is quite far along, in fact, the spaces are already striped!
But it’s not just Pixar Pals that’s getting all the work, new parking sensors are being installed in Mickey and Friends as well.
Star Wars Land Construction
Disney’s newest mountain range is rapidly nearing completion. Scaffolds are down, most everything appears to be painted, and contractors are working around the clock to meet Disney’s early opening for Galaxy’s Edge.
Some, but not all, of the backs of the rocks have been finished.
While most of the rocks you see from the parking structure are beige, inside the land, the rocks are more colorful.
The photo below is a great example of the visual complexity of the Star Wars project. Note the detail and coloration of the mountains (petrified trees). They have that calcified flakiness on one side . . . totally realistic. But on the back side you see that they are just a thin veneer supported by structural steel. The tallest spire below has a small tree which juts out from the side. It’s the sort of thing which wasn’t necessary, but adds visual authenticity. At the base of the mountains, a domed turret is perched. From this vantage you can see it’s purely aesthetic.
From inside Disneyland, the range looks so much taller and deep. It’s all an illusion.
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The Truth About Oga’s Cantina
I saw some erroneous “news” online about Oga’s Cantina in Galaxy’s Edge that I wanted to clear up. The fake news claimed that Oga’s was behind schedule due to budget cuts and that it only had a capacity of 30 people. Both of those things are false.
There isn’t a sit-down restaurant included in the cantina. As we first wrote in August of last year, Oga’s is a beverage establishment. The entire Cantina will be ready on May 31.
Additionally, the capacity of the location is not 30; it will be able to accommodate at least 5 times that! Again, this isn’t new information, we wrote about that last year as well.
However, a time limit will likely be necessary in the early days of the land which may take the form of a drink limit to cap time in the establishment to around an hour.
If you see folks spreading the fake news, please help correct the record.
Our original story about Oga’s Cantina can be found HERE
Disneyland Spring Cleaning
To get ready for Star Wars land, there are a myriad of projects going on at Disneyland. Many of these projects revolve around pathway expansion and obstruction removal. But many also find new places to park strollers out of the way.
On Main Street, the Mickey 90th Birthday celebration banners appear to have been refreshed. They were looking faded, but are now bright again.
The Mad Hatter shop next to the Opera House is open but behind printed scrims.
Walls stretch across the west side of the hub. From Jolly Holiday all the way to the castle . . .
The Adventureland entry is partially obstructed, including the Guest Relations info board. But traffic seems to navigate the area just fine.
Some of the walls are receding as projects are finishing up. The curb project in front of the castle is already complete. As a result, the construction walls have been moved in closer to the castle.
The curb has been flattened and new bricks have been laid, but the Time Capsule has been preserved.
Two new little trees have been planted, one on either side of the castle forecourt.
The side of the castle courtyard closest to Matterhorn Way is a hodgepodge of paving styles and colors at the moment. This is the line between the current project and how the area looked before. Hopefully those red bricks you see on the left will be replaced with the more colorful ones you see at center as the hub project continues.
The garden closest to Princess Fantasy Faire is still in progress and awaiting fencing.
The two small turrets added some years back for nighttime projection on the castle have been repainted in the new colors. The roof is a vibrant blue.
At the back of the castle, some of the new rooftops are waiting to be installed.
Peter Pan stardusting is wrapping up. The garden against the building has been removed and it is now a space for overflow queue or stroller parking.
New lanterns have been installed in the area as well.
A portion of the new area has been uncovered.
Tomorrowland projects are wrapping up as well.
Astro Orbitor is set to return today (Tuesday the 16th).
And a bit further back, the Autopia planter reshaping has concluded. The outcropping of palm trees is now a little island with stroller parking behind it.
A sea of cobalt glass has been arranged around the trees.
But the trees did suffer some cuts.
Frontierland work is also concluding. The little garden next to the Paymaster has been altered for a 2nd time and the cut-through to Adventureland has been expanded.
The shot below is from the Adventureland side looking in. The lighter colored pavement on the right shows you how much larger then gate is now.
Work continues on the thin gardens next to the Frontierland Bonanza Outfitters.
If you are looking for a Disneyland ticket deal, we have one for you.
DISCOUNT DISNEYLAND TICKETS
With the hike in price for Disneyland tickets, we have partnered with discount ticket provider, Get Away Today, to save you as much as possible when purchasing tickets. We always have a convenient link for you at the bottom of our updates, but they have a special right now that we wanted to share. Save up to $111 on Disneyland tickets or get an extra day free for a limited time. Discount ticket details can be found HERE.
JOIN TEAM MICECHAT FOR CHOC WALK
Also, MiceChat has created a team for the upcoming CHOC Walk through Disneyland. We invite you to come walk with us!!!
There were a number of breaking news items on Friday with Disney+ announcements and Star Wars news. Since most folks aren’t checking for news on Fridays, we’ve got the links for you below:
I’ll leave you with a little poll. Disney has some new shirts which describe some of the reasons that guests visit the parks. which of these most closely describes you:
Are they missing a shirt that best describes you? Let us know in the comments.
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