Disneyland Resort Update: Star Wars Land, Rivers of America, and Around the Park

Disneyland Park, Anaheim, CA

Welcome back to our regularly schedule Monday Disneyland report! After a week of Midsummer Scream updates, we'll take a break from the spooky and look at... well, it's still dirt, guy.  I don't know what else to say.  Dirt, and concrete, and rebar noodles, and stuff behind scaffolding, and more dirt, and rocks.  So we might as well check things out.

"Star Wars" Land

In the two weeks since we last glimpsed this, a LOT more concrete has gone up.  There are concrete columns, more walls, addition to previous walls, and more infrastructure being laid [ED NOTE: BAAAAAHHHHH HAHAHAHAHA HE SAID LAID - JD].  The construction crew is not really wasting any time, it seems!

Another week, another overview of "Star Wars" Land from the Mickey and Friends parking structure.

Lets pan right again.

Moving southward.

And looking south... now.

The construction site has had some changes over the past two weeks.

More equipment continues to show up.  Here's and angle closer to Mickey's Toontown backstage that I haven't shot before.

The mega berm remains unchanged, but there are some updates around the area.

Zooming back out.

More piles have been driven into the earth to form new... somethings.

Some waterproofing at the big retaining wall for future backfilling?

Meanwhile, more pre-constructed formwork lies by another set of concrete walls going up.

You can also see the tunnel that the Disneyland railroad will route through.  At least it would appear that this is for the railroad.

Staking has appeared on the north section of the construction site, on the other side of the service road from where the construction work has concentrated thusfar.

There is plenty of steel on the ground and more trench boxes for whatever will be going here.

Zooming back out a bit for an overview of this part of the site.

Look at all those noodles.  Guy Selga, this is all for you.

Meanwhile, we have more #PoopPipes lying around.

Here's a close-up for all your sanitary sewer piping enthusiasts. 

[ED NOTE: I'mma make these pipes my b**ch... - JD]

Moving on...

More noodles, more future cast-in-place concrete walls.

Lots of foundations and slabs being prepared.

And I think the concrete box with the blue holes in it might be an electrical vault or enclosure of some type.

Panning to the backside of the Rivers of America

A bunch of conduit is waiting to be installed here.

Continuing to about as south part of the construction site as I can get from this angle...

You can see crated trees waiting to be installed over by the Hungry Bear.  And more dirt has been shuffled around just north of the restaurant.

If you've ever wondered what the backside of construction walls looks like, here's your answer!
 

Moving over to the view from Tarzan's Treehouse.

You can see those piles over by the mega berm.

The structure looms in the back.

Then back to ground level, over by Big Thunder Mountain.

The angles here are oblique... just the tops of walls.  But as construction grows taller, there will be more... of the same thing to see.

Over by the interruption of Big Thunder Trail, a hole in the construction wall allows a small glimpse of the work beyond.  Yup, more concrete walls.

The view from the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad second lift hill.

The contents are the same, but the different perspective is nice to have.

Finally, bits of construction also poke up from Mickey's Toontown.  It will be interesting what the sight lines end up being from here too.

Rivers of America

Work continues around Tom Sawyer Island.  Harper's Mill has received a nice coat of paint, and I actually like the new rustic green wood aesthetic a lot.  Maybe it's because it's a change of pace.  The rocks and boulders have been aged and weathered again, so that they don't stand out as drastically.  Further back on the island, there is plenty of scaffolding up for paint and work on the rest of the play areas.  It'll be great having things spick and span when the island opens back up.

Here we are, the Rivers of America.

The main Harper's Mill building has gotten a fresh coat of paint.

It looks great.

Work continues around the island too.

Caves and rockwork have gotten repainted.

Nothing too drastically different here.

Progress continues on the treehouses and play areas.

The dam on the west side of the Rivers of America.  As you can see from the "Star Wars" Land construction photos, it is dirt immediately behind this tarp.

The Columbia has also been under refurbishment for the summer.

I would imagine that eventually, it will switch with the Mark Twain while the river is closed.

Shifting to the east side of Tom Sawyer Island.

Plenty of scaffolding around.  I'm still surprised the park kept all of this visually open, given how much they've covered up most of everything else.

Close-up's of the island.

Side view of Harper's Mill.

The TLC definitely is welcome.  It's good to see some extended care given to the island.

And here are a bunch of different angles of the actual mill building.

Looking the opposite way from New Orleans Square.

Tarp in the background, but not in the front.  Not a problem, but just... odd.

I wonder what they're doing inside.

Now moving around the riverbend toward the interior of the east side of the Rivers of America.

For you tarp enthusiasts...

And looking further back.

Smuggler's Cove is getting some work.

And, once again, the separation between dirt and water is but a fence.  And a dam.

I haven't previously mentioned it, but the Mark Twain has also offered some entertainment while it's docked during the Rivers' closure.  Princess Tiana is often on hand for meet-and-greets and autograph signings.  In addition, the Royal Street Bachelors also have several shows daily playing some great live jazz.  Seats have been set up on the second level to allow guests to enjoy the wonderful music, and I think this is a great enhancement of the riverfront atmosphere!

Princess Tiana meets with Disneyland guests.

One level above, the Royal Street Bachelors provide some fun jazz tunes.

They're set up on a nice little stage by the rear stairs.

And they attract a small audience too.

Here's the saxamaphonist.

The string plucker is also there.

His expression never changes.  He's the epitome of "jazz cool."

The two of them provide some great jams.

And of course, there is the base-ist, providing that deep underlying sound.

The bugle blower signals the exciting parts of the song.

And the bang bang guy provides the percussion beats that set the rhythm of each song.

Around the Park

The Shooting Exposition in Frontierland is down for refurbishment. The Disneyland College All-Star Band continues to put on spirited performances up and down Main Street, so check them out before the summer ends if you have a chance.  

The Frontierland Shooting Gallery is currently closed for refurbishment.

Unfortunately, those strict California gun laws finally got to it too.

Over at Big Thunder, the California drought shows no signs of slowing down.

Carrion birds, stand watchfully over the parched landscape.

I mentioned in previous updates that the Disneyland Railroad is closed until 2017.  Here's proof by way of the non-operating Mickey's Toontown Station.  The Main Street and New Orleans Square stations remain open for locomotive tours daily, though.

Of course, the Disneyland All-American College Band is back for the summer.

This fun and energetic group plays upbeat marching band versions of popular Disney hits.

They add some nice excitement to the regular Disneyland entertainment.

The crowds have also been pretty light during the summer--evidence of Disneyland's demand-based pricing and annual pass hikes actually working.  For those who still go, it's been nice to just take in the ambiance and feel a bit of calmness to the park.

And as people have been finding out, the Paint the Night parade will be taking a break after the summer season ends. 

Mickey's Soundsational parade, though?  Seems like it's not going anywhere.

I'm sure people would rather have Paint the Night stay than Soundsational, but unfortunately, that seems to have been the decision made.

And that wraps things up for today!  Hope you enjoyed the update.  I know it was a little longer than usual, but thanks for bearing with all of that.  There are a lot of angles of construction to capture, and I really wanted to catch 'em all.

Goolbaht!!