DisneySky - COMPLETE & RESTORED

[D Hulk]

Set directly north of DisneySky’s entry gates, Rancho Disney will provide park guests with a great respite. Dining, retail and entertainment amenities will satisfy all tastes. Below is merely a sample of the tenants found at Rancho Disney, with a description of their architectural theming. Note that several of these venues are KEPT from the existing GardenWalk.

Dining

California Pizza Kitchen
KEPT
The existing venue becomes a crumbling old pueblo house inspired by the historic house on Olvera Street, plus the Governor's Mansion in Santa Fe.

Crossroads at House of Blues
KEPT
This eatery for House of Blues Anaheim displays the same mission church theming as her sister establishment (see "Entertainment").

FIRE + iCE Grill + Bar
KEPT
The beloved drink spot becomes charro (Mexican horseman) stables, meant to compliment the all-new Disney-run Charro Bar (see below).

Johnny Rockets
KEPT
This becomes a 1920s-era corner diner much in the style of Philippe’s in Los Angeles, evoking the same sense of history.

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro
KEPT
The front facade takes inspiration from L.A.’s historic Chinatown very close to the Olvera Street pueblo. An elaborate backstory is created about when immigrants from other parts of the world started to settle in Rancho Disney, bringing their own cultural heritage with them.

The Cheesecake Factory
RELOCATED
The existing location, set facing Katella outside of what will become the security perimeter, is unusable. That spot becomes a corner market accessible from Katella and Clementine Street, and is officially not a part of Rancho Disney.

The Cheesecake Factory relocates to a prime location near Rancho Disney’s crescent plaza. It is set within an old repurposed tortilla factory, complete with weathered old factory equipment on display in the lobby.

McCormick & Schmick’s
RELOCATED
The existing location is bulldozed outright to create room for the People Mover station and park access routes. The restaurant relocates similarly to The Cheesecake Factory, to a charming tienda adorned with quaint Mexican fishing supplies.

Earl of Sandwich
RELOCATED
The present Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney is located in a contested spot, endangered by west side hotel development. A new Earl of Sandwich opens in Rancho Disney, set in a historic early 20th-century firehouse. This facade, inspired by a similar station on Olvera Street, tells of when the Rancho started to develop into a more modern city.

Starbucks
To complement the two Starbucks in Downtown Disney, a new Rancho Disney location opens. It is set in a milhouse, whose machinery on display implies coffee bean grinding.

The Charro Bar
This is a UNIQUE new restaurant set in the center of Rancho Disney’s crescent plaza - a new open air space created from confusing GardenWalk terraces. Like Downtown Disney’s Uva Bar, this is an exterior bar which specializes in fine cocktails and tapas snacks. The setting is around an outdoor chiminea fire pit with wicker seating and a tall standing chimney being the sole remnant from a crumbled old adobe pueblo. The space is enlivened with live musicians and a general rancho fiesta vibe.

The Agave Cellar
This all-new UNIQUE eatery is located in a vintage tequila distillery complex. The dining room is in a tequila barrel chamber. Many oak barrels are stacked about under arched clinker bricks. The Agave Cellar serves Mexican cuisine and margaritas designed by celebrity chef Rick Bayless.​

 

[Suchomimus]

The present Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney is located in a contested spot, endangered by west side hotel development.

Odd. The plans for the hotel in DTD were cancelled before demolition in 2018, and with a new, seemingly big resort opening up next to RD, wouldn't that mean that the plans for the Hotel at Downtown would stay cancelled either way?

 

[D Hulk]

Entertainment

House of Blues Anaheim
KEPT
This Anaheim favorite is formerly a Downtown Disney tenant which has single-handedly kept the GardenWalk alive these past few years. It remains, its setting becoming a faded mission church complete with stucco bell tower.

Heat Ultra Lounge
KEPT
With the reterracing of the crescent plaza, this musical venue is relocated to a spot in between the FIRE + iCE horse stables and The Agave Cellar. Heat Ultra Lounge is set in an aging, abandoned tequila fermentation chamber, a part of the larger company backstory which also encompasses The Agave Cellar.

Bowlmor Lanes
KEPT
This preexisting below-grade feature set nextdoor to The Ha-Hacienda receives a similar canal theming.

The Ha-Hacienda
This is a UNIQUE new comedy club operated by Disney - a fine type of venue to extend a visitor’s time in Rancho Disney. It replaces the 24 Hour Fitness (which serves no purpose in a resort shopping district) located below grade in the complex’s basement. The Ha-Hacienda interiors resemble a brick-lined club built from drained canals - very much like the famous canals of Guanajuato, Mexico.

Fiestas de Coco
Rancho Disney will also play host to occasional seasonal events such as "Fiestas de Coco." During holiday times such as Dia de los Muertos, exterior walkways will come to life with characters and music and decorations inspired by Pixar's Coco.


​

Retail

Marketplace by Disney
Rancho Disney’s flagship shop is located in a traditional Spanish mercado setting, complete with a Hispanic Disney character motif. The entry facade centerpiece features a kinetic Spanish windmill flanked by Flamenco Mickey & Minnie. The interior is all wood and wrought iron rafters lit by carved tin lamps, while scenes from Disney animated films rendered in tile murals.

Merchandise is very much like at World of Disney and Disney Store venues, with a large floorplan of rotating character items meant to advertise Disney’s latest and most popular franchises.

The Art of Disney
Next to Marketplace by Disney is this boutique shop specializing in Disney-themed fine art. It is set in an artist’s loft overstuffed with Mexican folk art and colorful masks.

Alebrije Store
This is a charming little artisanal shop inspired by Pixar's Coco. This small space serves to bring a little more "Disney" into Rancho Disney while maintaining the general atmosphere. Find colorful alebrijes and sugar skulls and other Mexican folk art, and also find interactive costumed characters from Coco.
​

---

The following shops all receive generic tienda theming in a mostly Mission Revival style. This permits a rotating menu of shops to come and go without complicating or confusing the Rancho Disney theme.

Anthropologie
Harley-Davidson of Anaheim
Pandora Jewelry
Sephora
Star Wars Trading Post
Zara

​

---

As mentioned above, this is not a completed list of the retail, dining and entertainment establishments found at Rancho Disney. As an entertainment district, this roster is likely to be ever-changing as tenants come and go. Other fan favorites not mentioned can easily be included, such as Bubba Gump or Roy’s. Lastly, Rancho Disney will contain no overt tie-ins with DisneySky or S.K.Y., in order to keep its theming malleable for all possible tenants. These thematic connections (clearly beloved by my readers) instead take center stage in the upcoming Hotel Villa Cielo...​

 

[D Hulk]

Odd. The plans for the hotel in DTD were cancelled before demolition in 2018, and with a new, seemingly big resort opening up next to RD, wouldn't that mean that the plans for the Hotel at Downtown would stay cancelled either way?

OK, I genuinely made a mistake here. I initially planned out Rancho Disney in 2018, then I stopped paying attention to resort updates.

No matter, even with a new hotel appearing near Rancho Disney (tomorrow!), I imagine Team Anaheim is constantly looking to add more hotels. That's where the Disneyland Resort noticeably lags behind other resorts, especially Walt Disney World.

 

[D Hulk]

DISNEY’S VILLA CIELO HOTEL & SPA

One primary distinction between Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World is in the number of Disney-owned hotels on-site. Hotel resorts are a major profit source, perhaps more so than theme parks alone. Indeed, DisneySky’s primary business purpose is to extend resort guest room occupancy and length-of-stay.

While a third park adds guest incentive to stay on-property (as opposed to at nearby third party “good neighbor” hotels), actually creating additional hotel rooms remains a substantial challenge for Disneyland Resort. Space is incredibly limited and valuable. Many proposed west side hotels can take their footprints from surface level parking lots which are themselves replaced with multilevel structures. DisneySky’s east side development assumes the purchase and redevelopment of surrounding acreage not currently owned by Disney.

While Disney World has somewhere around 20,000 hotel rooms, the breakdown for Disneyland Resort is as follows:

Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel: 1,063
Disneyland Hotel: 995
Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel: 518

That is 2,576 rooms at present. Former resort master plans, plans which have now been scrapped, anticipated a new deluxe hotel in Downtown Disney area adding roughly another 700 rooms. (Despite these plans being abandoned, we will proceed with the assumption that Disney will eventually do something similar to shore up their room count.) A new hotel designed primarily to serve DisneySky would add another 800 rooms roughly. Combined, this would bump the resort’s room count up to 4,000 - still nowhere near Disney World’s totals, but nearly double where Disneyland Resort stands now.

DisneySky’s dedicated hotel is Disney’s Villa Cielo Hotel & Spa. It is located on the northeastern corner of Katella and Harbor, on a site presently occupied by several low-level motels. This new deluxe hotel (Disneyland Resort’s first AAA four-diamond rated hotel) will make much more efficient use of the same land. It will be located exceptionally close to DisneySky itself, set directly west from the People Mover station, Rancho Disney and DisneySky’s Plaza of the Four Winds entry plaza.

(The Villa Cielo plan assumes that Disney purchases additional property near the DisneySky site. In-park hotel concepts have been explored and rejected, as limited space within DisneySky is more appropriately used for attractions.

Any further east side hotel development would require additional land purchases, which is a huge stretch. Existing motels and hotels along Harbor and adjacent to the GardenWalk/Rancho Disney district would have to be bought, thematically converted, and incorporated into the existing resort master plan and security perimeter. It is far beyond the scope of this proposal to further explore these ideas.

Villa Cielo is to be the first Disney hotel based on the parks’ S.E.A. (and S.K.Y.) mythology. It will be highly themed and welcoming, but also devoid of references to standard Disney characters. Rather, Villa Cielo’s design and backstory are an outgrowth of ideas present in DisneySky.

Villa Cielo ties in directly with Runway One, DisneySky’s entry land. Specifically, the Villa is the private residence of William Diesel, the air freight shipping magnate who founded nearby Runway One. Villa Cielo and Runway One are both located in the same Californian hillsides at the foot of Mt. Helios, with the same mid-century setting.

William Diesel’s life story permeates DisneySky lore. His father was S.E.A.’s Rudolph Blauerhimmel, who changed his last name to “Diesel” when emigrating to the Americas. William Diesel was born on December 17th, 1903, coincidentally on the same day that the Wright Brothers achieved the first successful airplane flight. Airplanes defined Diesel’s upbringing, as he progressed from a bright-eyed barnstormer pilot in Pioneer Fields into a shipping tycoon in Diesel Bay. This is when Diesel grew disenchanted with S.E.A.’s staid attitudes, leading him to found the offshoot S.K.Y. (the Society for Knowledge and Yearning). Diesel’s fortunes steadily grew, and in the late 1930s his companies purchased California's historic Runway One airfield which had been evolving since 1921.

Villa Cielo was built out from this 1897 stone cottage

In 1945, Diesel began the creation of his private residence Villa Cielo (roughly translated: “Heaven House”) on the outskirts of Runway One. This bizarre, ever-growing “private pleasure palace” grew out from an old 1897 stone cottage - a castle-like Rustic American Craftsman abode built from river rocks in the Lummis House style. Diesel’s eclectic, world-spanning taste informed Villa Cielo’s design. It was to be a showcase for Diesel’s exceptional collection of international artifacts, with villa wings all created in various disparate architectural styles reflecting Diesel’s wide-ranging interests.

Riverside’s Mission Inn and Hearst Castle both are major influences on Villa Cielo, on its backstory and its design. So is the film Citizen Kane. The primary central design style is Mission Revival, with an entry facade largely inspired by Pasadena’s Castle Green. This piecemeal palace shows off other styles along later-built wings: Moorish Revival, Renaissance Revival, Spanish Colonial, and Beaux-Arts. The entire mansion complex feels like a gothic assemblage of flying buttresses, rotundas, minarets and elaborate frescoes. Diesel’s artifacts abound, scattered across the overgrown grounds and the endless interior hallways.

Diesel’s personal “Xanadu” became a hot spot for Hollywood celebrities in the late-40s and early-50s. For all of Diesel’s largesse, he never felt comfortable appearing to the world as a reclusive mogul - as a fictionalized combination of William Randolph Hearst and Howard Hughes, essentially. Seeing how effectively Villa Cielo could house the rich-and-famous, Diesel decided to convert his estate into a public hotel in 1955. That is how guests will find Villa Cielo, as guests arrive as some of the first guests to this world-class hotel.​

 

[D Hulk]

Villa Cielo - Common Space

Villa Cielo is laid out somewhat like the Mission Inn which partially inspired it. It primarily features a “U”-shaped courtyard facing west, flanked by multi-storey hotel wings. Beyond the central lobby facade is a wholly interior courtyard.

The structure’s southeastern corner - where hotel guests enjoy their dedicated walkway towards DisneySky - is oriented diagonally so that guests along this perimeter may enjoy postcard-perfect views of Mt. Helios. A hotel security checkpoint leads to the walkway. Guests walk alongside Katella Ave. directly past the People Mover station.

Vehicle access to Villa Cielo is along the north-south Harbor Blvd. Guests arrive by driving under a Craftsman archway. (Stylistically, details such as this highlight Villa Cielo as the Southern Californian counterpoint to Disneyland’s northern-influenced Grand Californian Hotel.) The private driveway weaves through a statue garden in the “U,” with statuary representing many disparate antiquity sources. Crumbling adobe mission bell walls to the north hide Villa Cielo’s Minoan Pool.

The main lobby facade exemplifies Villa Cielo’s pastiche design approach. It is a fusion of basically different buildings merged as one. In one corner is the original 1897 cottage. Main entry is into a Gothic Rhine River fortress, built to recall Hearst’s Wyntoon estate which burned down in 1929. A pedestrian skybridge in Mediterranean Revival style randomly juts out from here, with vehicle drop off and valet turnaround beneath it. The bridge’s terminus houses a cantilevered rotunda parapet, which holds a private lounge. Vehicle parking is hidden within the ground levels of the northern wing. Parking structure interiors are facaded from the outside as river stone parapets holding up the hotel suites above them.

Entering the facade, guests very quickly pass through the Wyntoon vestibule. Entry to the lobby is through a ruined, crumbled, relocated mission viaduct. The Grand Lobby itself is under a five-storey rotunda with spiraling stairs leading upwards to interior balconies. An amazing metal chandelier hangs at balcony level. As a centerpiece underneath it is a colored dancing fountain, originally of Italian Renaissance origin and relocated by Diesel. Stucco arches divide this great space. Common public lounge areas are under lower dark wood rafters in the style of Santa Fe’s La Fonda on the Plaza.

Reception, found past stucco archways, is held behind Toledo carved wood desks. Similar wood shelves house hotel room keys and mail. Several fine oil paintings fill the walls, all depicting varied DisneySky lands in their local artistic style (e.g. Chinese watercolor for Mythic Realms).

The Concierge located opposite Reception uses for its counter and facade the “exterior” stone walls of the original 1897 cottage. Here guests may utilize bellhop services which include baggage storage, transportation arrangements, park tickets, home deliveries, and more.

Public lobby restrooms nearby feature light marble finishings. Spanish candelabras burst forth from egg-white stucco walls.

The elevator hall across the lobby is set in a low-slung alcove. Tiled floors are topped by long Turkish rugs, while display cases showcase Diesel’s many sundried artifacts. In fact, hallways all along this ground level. feature a similar decor style.

The elevators themselves are fashioned from carved Toledo wood very much like the Reception desk. Tall mirrors brighten the small space.

Upstairs hallways leading to the guest wings are covered in wall-to-wall carpeting of curlicue Spanish cloud patterns. Wrought iron lighting hangs from above, dividing up the ribbed, arched halls. Walls feature more fine art behind glass, as well as black-and-white historical photographs from William Diesel’s life and times.

All throughout Villa Cielo’s many public spaces, hotel guests may enjoy large examples from Diesel’s artifact collection. It would take dedicated exploration of all floors to fully catalog the treasures. Mere examples of Diesel’s possessions include:
​

• A giant Olmec head​
• Tribal African masks and tapestries​
• Hindu statuary from pre-colonial India​
• The Nebra sky disc (a Bronze Age Saxon cosmic sky map)​
• A full-sized Roman chariot​
• Mummies from the Andes mountains​
• A megalithic menhir from Brittany​
• A triceratops skull​

Salon Xanadu
Den

Near the main lobby is a private salon provided exclusively for high-end suite guests. This is a cozy library den filled with overstuffed red leather chairs and couches. A gigantic fireplace forms the visual centerpiece, a carved stone Gothic fireplace large enough to hold an entire tree - inspired by a similar hearth in Citizen Kane. Throughout are oil paintings in the Californian Expressionist style, mostly depicting the pre-statehood colonial era. Dedicated cast member servers provide salon guests with drinks and appetizers from the nearby Club of the Weird bar & lounge.​

 

[James G.]

D Hindley, your attention to detail is, as always, phenomenal. I'd love to spend a few hours sampling the overpriced and probably unpronounceable drinks and appetizers in the Club of the Weird! A mummy from the Andes mountains, though? Please tell me it would be a facsimile- we wouldn't want Chile to declare war on Anaheim for absconding with their heritage!

 

[D Hulk]

Accommodations

Villa Cielo features 802 guest rooms, ranging from standard rooms up to our Ninth Sphere presidential suite. Accommodations altogether reflect Disney’s “deluxe” category.

Standard rooms are 38 square meters with two beds. Standard decor for all rooms and suites is stucco & adobe walls, plus wall-to-wall carpeting as in the hallways, and high vaulted ceilings overhead. Art Nouveau era furniture fills the space. The bed’s teak headboard is a carved Art Nouveau masterpiece depicting Mt. Helios and the swirling clouds around it. Mauve drapes frame large window views, possibly looking across Katella towards DisneySky or inwards towards the hotel's gardens. Like in the hallways, framed artwork is a combination of oil paintings and vintage black-and-white DisneySky photographs.

Bathrooms are airy and opulent, marrying Mediterranean and Southern Californian ambiance. They feature marble floors and more wrought iron lighting. A separate adjoining room for the bathtub and shower features tile murals of Villa Cielo in a Grecian style, floating atop a cumulonimbus cloud.

Superior rooms are 44 square meters with two beds (one is a trundle bed). Otherwise they are equivalent to standard rooms.

Deluxe rooms are found exclusively on the rooftop level. Room sizes range from 40 square meters up to 90 square meters. These high-end suites are intended for two adults each (plus children), and come complete with two queen-sized beds. Room interiors reflect standard rooms on a grander scale.

Antonio Gaudi tilework is the inspiration to Villa Cielo's rooftop balconies

In addition, deluxe rooms feature dedicated rooftop balconies. Suite guests enjoy private deck seating in an eclectic rooftop maze surrounded by Art Nouvelle molding and tiling inspired by Antonio Gaudi’s works in Barcelona. That is to say, upper level concrete walls are populated by carved stone animals and flowing organic forms - a perfectly whimsical Disney touch to accentuate the luxurious four-diamond surroundings.

Ninth Sphere Suite is Villa Cielo’s penthouse presidential suite, a paradise of elegance and grandeur. This 200 square meter ultimate suite with one king-sized bed is intended for two adults. On top of the traditional amenities, the Ninth Sphere Suite features a kitchen, a wet bar, a carved workstation desk, and a lounge area complete with private stone fireplace (gas). Decor overall is heavily indebted to Dante’s Paradiso, particularly the Ninth Sphere as illustrated by Gustave Doré. A domed ceiling mural at the suite’s center duplicates Doré's illustration. The immaculately-carved oak canopy bed features white satin drapes bedecked in seraphim. Moorish arches divide the spaces. An exclusive exterior rooftop veranda grants guests a patio garden setting, complete with a multi-tiered fountain and fireplace (sharing its chimney with the interior hearth). Accents of granite and mahogany complete the luxurious experience.

Paradiso, Canto 31 by Gustave Doré
​

---

​

Two posts in one day?! This one was on the shorter side, so I thought I'd double up.

 

[Suchomimus]

Accommodations

Villa Cielo features 802 guest rooms, ranging from standard rooms up to our Ninth Sphere presidential suite. Accommodations altogether reflect Disney’s “deluxe” category.

Standard rooms are 38 square meters with two beds. Standard decor for all rooms and suites is stucco & adobe walls, plus wall-to-wall carpeting as in the hallways, and high vaulted ceilings overhead. Art Nouveau era furniture fills the space. The bed’s teak headboard is a carved Art Nouveau masterpiece depicting Mt. Helios and the swirling clouds around it. Mauve drapes frame large window views, possibly looking across Katella towards DisneySky or inwards towards the hotel's gardens. Like in the hallways, framed artwork is a combination of oil paintings and vintage black-and-white DisneySky photographs.

Bathrooms are airy and opulent, marrying Mediterranean and Southern Californian ambiance. They feature marble floors and more wrought iron lighting. A separate adjoining room for the bathtub and shower features tile murals of Villa Cielo in a Grecian style, floating atop a cumulonimbus cloud.

Superior rooms are 44 square meters with two beds (one is a trundle bed). Otherwise they are equivalent to standard rooms.

Deluxe rooms are found exclusively on the rooftop level. Room sizes range from 40 square meters up to 90 square meters. These high-end suites are intended for two adults each (plus children), and come complete with two queen-sized beds. Room interiors reflect standard rooms on a grander scale.

Antonio Gaudi tilework is the inspiration to Villa Cielo's rooftop balconies

In addition, deluxe rooms feature dedicated rooftop balconies. Suite guests enjoy private deck seating in an eclectic rooftop maze surrounded by Art Nouvelle molding and tiling inspired by Antonio Gaudi’s works in Barcelona. That is to say, upper level concrete walls are populated by carved stone animals and flowing organic forms - a perfectly whimsical Disney touch to accentuate the luxurious four-diamond surroundings.

Ninth Sphere Suite is Villa Cielo’s penthouse presidential suite, a paradise of elegance and grandeur. This 200 square meter ultimate suite with one king-sized bed is intended for two adults. On top of the traditional amenities, the Ninth Sphere Suite features a kitchen, a wet bar, a carved workstation desk, and a lounge area complete with private stone fireplace (gas). Decor overall is heavily indebted to Dante’s Paradiso, particularly the Ninth Sphere as illustrated by Gustave Doré. A domed ceiling mural at the suite’s center duplicates Doré's illustration. The immaculately-carved oak canopy bed features white satin drapes bedecked in seraphim. Moorish arches divide the spaces. An exclusive exterior rooftop veranda grants guests a patio garden setting, complete with a multi-tiered fountain and fireplace (sharing its chimney with the interior hearth). Accents of granite and mahogany complete the luxurious experience.

Paradiso, Canto 31 by Gustave Doré
​

---

​

Two posts in one day?! This one was on the shorter side, so I thought I'd double up.

 

[spacemt354]

This project

 

[DisneyManOne]

Gustave Doré​

I swear you're just making up names.

 

[Pi on my Cake]

I swear you're just making up names.

 

[D Hulk]

Dining

Villa Cielo’s dining amenities, available both to hotel guests and casual resort visitors, range from high-end table service to bars and simple buffets.
​

---

Trattoria Cielo
Table service restaurant

Enjoy fine dining at its best at Villa Cielo’s signature table service restaurant. Feast on succulent Mediterranean cuisine in a series of rooms which once served as William Diesel’s personally-curated private museum.

The check-in and restaurant lobby are located just off of the hotel’s main lobby. They maintain the public spaces’ Mission Revival style while bringing in a more rustic vibe to compliment the elegance. For example, the check-in desk is fashioned from a repurposed ox cart. Display space shows off some of Diesel’s most prized possessions, in particular his ancient Greek antiquities such as a statue of the goddess Athena, winged and armless.

Public dining space occupies several attached museum-style chambers, each dedicated to a different cultural branch of Diesel’s collections. The central floor is The Achaean Room, which continues the Grecian artifact assortment found in the lobby. Flanking it to the north is The Oceania Room, a showroom for Polynesian tribal art and longboats. To its east is The Edo Room, dedicated to feudal Japan and stocked with samurai armor and a large bronze Buddhist bell. Lastly, to its south is the South American-inspired Patagonian Room, which is primarily filled with masks and costumes from the Selknam tribes of Argentina.

The restaurant’s dedicated bar is The Merovingian Room, set off from the lobby. This room’s decor is primarily French Gothic, including the cathedral-inspired bar and counter. Artifacts in here include medieval heraldry, tapestries, even an iron maiden.

Meanwhile, The Amber Room opposite that serves as Trattoria Cielo’s private dining room. This is a replica of the famously long-lost Amber Room of Tsarist Russia, whose panels of amber and gold leaf were considered an Eighth Wonder of the World. In Villa Cielo’s backstory, it is William Diesel who acquired the missing chamber following WWII. Artifacts held in here cover a millennium of Russian Orthodox artwork.
​

---

Cocina de Oro
Buffet restaurant

For the ease of park-weary hotel guests, nothing beats the convenience of a buffet restaurant. Villa Cielo presents Cocina de Oro (“Golden Kitchen”), found in a vaulted basilica on the mansion’s ground floor. A wide-ranging buffet covers, among other cuisines, American and Mexican.

Buffet counter staging, as well as indoors dining, takes place in the main basilica. Tiered levels and iron railing divide these spaces. Both are set under airy, cloud-inspired mosaics. The restaurant’s interior design combines Mexican and Spanish, which help to accentuate the Native American artifact collection. A Navajo millstone centerpiece display is set within a circle of dining booths.

Diners sit near massive two-floor windows overlooking Villa Cielo’s inner courtyard. When weather permits (which in Southern California is “almost always”), this courtyard also provides al fresco patio seating. Terraced upstairs windows provide views of the hotel’s guest wing hallways.

Cocina de Oro offers character dining, particularly during breakfast.
​

---

Imagineer Rolly Crump's original Museum of the Weird concept art

Club of the Weird
Bar

To the long list of immersive, distinctive Disney hotel bars we now add Club of the Weird. Just as Trader Sam’s takes its cues largely from Jungle Cruise, we are mostly inspired by Haunted Mansion. Specifically, we look to Imagineer Rolly Crump’s wonderfully bizarre designs for the never-realized Museum of the Weird. Those odd and idiosyncratic ideas now find a new life in Villa Cielo’s engaging, highly-themed lounge bar.

The small, cozy space is overloaded with design elements. Everywhere are artifacts of gypsy and voodoo origin. There is an enormous melting wax statue of a man. Crump’s assorted, strange tarot-style tapestries hang from the rafters and walls. Candelabras look like fearsome claws. Gothic windows overlook a perpetually stormy sky, full of thunder and lightning.

Like at Trader Sam’s, our cheeky drink menu is a trove of Disney in-jokes ...and Mediterranean snacks. Several libations are served in souvenir cups which resemble (among other things) Madame Leota’s crystal ball or the Hatbox Ghost’s head. Drinks include:
​

• Gracey Sour​
• Madame Leota’s Crystal Brew​
• Phantom Fizz​
• Grim Grinning Gin & Tonic​
• Hatbox Bronx​
• Mystic Manhattan​
• 999 Happy Highballs​
• Doom Buggy Bomb​

Unwary guests who order from this menu will activate unexpected effects embedded throughout the room:
​

• A medieval suit of armor comes to life. ​
• Madame Leota’s face appears in a crystal ball on a shelf. ​
• A mounted Fiji Mermaid (basically a monkey and a fish sewn together) sings a song. ​
• The chamber’s lights extinguish to reveal terrifying blacklight faces. ​
• Fog escapes into the room. ​
• The servers chant incantations.​

Club of the Weird is destined to become a Disney fan favorite, a must-do spot for travelers and a frequent hangout for locals.​

 

[D Hulk]

Guest Services

Castillo Collections
Shop

Villa Cielo’s dedicated gift shop is found in an arched Spanish Gothic library akin to the one at Hearst Castle. The shop is characterized by its centerpiece, a stone Egyptian statue of a winged griffin. In addition to the expected standard Disney toys and apparel, Castillo Collections also provides original Villa Cielo items found nowhere else, in particular Club of the Weird themed merchandise.
​

---

The Minoan Pool
Pool area

Villa Cielo’s outdoor pool area is located in the western-facing “U” which borders Harbor Blvd. and the vehicle drop off area. Crumbling adobe walls, which predate Diesel’s mansion, provide privacy and block out sounds.

The pool area is decorated with Diesel’s collection of relocated ancient Cretan ruins. It is styled and inspired by Hearst’s Neptune Pool, complete with surrounding columns and decor. Tilework in the main pool depicts people swimming with dolphins, a popular Cretan pastime. Tile murals on the surrounding walls feature Cretan bullfighting and bull-jumping.

The Minoan Pool is overall composed of several pools. There is a circular leisure pool, a children’s pool, and a main pool complete with waterslide. Three hot tubs surround the tranquil garden space. Private cabanas are available under blue-and-white Grecian tenting.

There are several features in addition to the main outdoor pool. There is also a sauna and jacuzzi and fitness room. These facilities, much like Hearst’s indoors Roman Pool, largely resemble an ancient Roman bath, albeit one which has been drained, with its tile murals of Pegasuses and harpies now exposed.
​

---

Knossos
Poolside bar

This poolside bar is named for - and designed after - the grand palace which dominated ancient Crete. The bar’s backboard is a replica of the palace throne room, decorated with tile griffin mosaics. There are Grecian urns called “pithoi” set all about.

Soft drinks, sandwiches, snacks and desserts can be enjoyed here.
​

---

Banquet Halls

Banquet halls are available for private functions. These two-storey rooms feature ornate ceiling paneling and wrought iron chandeliers holding electrified candles. Design is based on the private Jonathan Club in Los Angeles, boasting like it does a mixture of Renaissance and Mission Revival design aesthetic.
​

---

Chapel Cielo
Wedding chapel

Villa Cielo’s eclectic worldly charm makes it a fantastic intimate setting for weddings! Chapel Cielo, found on the picturesque rooftop level, takes full advantage of this incomparable fairy tale atmosphere. The simple, understated interior features oak-paneled ceilings and soft pink stucco walls. Tall apse windows beyond the altar provide perfectly-framed romantic views of DisneySky’s Mt. Helios. The windows’ iron framing includes curlicue cloud shapes to accentuate these heartwarming pastoral views.

Wedding receptions are held nearby on the rooftop, taking place within an airy and white tent structure. The tent may be open air or sealed, weather depending, with circular skylights shaped like Mickey Mouse ears. (Interior banquet halls are available upon request.)

Our dedicated Bridal Salon helps with all aspects of planning and orchestrating a wedding, from rehearsals to floral arrangements. This is provided in conjunction with Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings, a service provided across all Disney Resorts.​

 

[D Hulk]

PLAZA OF THE FOUR WINDS

Plaza of the Four Winds is the ticketing and entry plaza for DisneySky, the equivalent to Disneyland’s Esplanade. It is designed to seamlessly transition away from the Californian realms of Rancho Disney and Villa Cielo, while priming guests for the high-flying aerial pleasures of DisneySky.

Most of this wide open plaza is actually located on a “skybridge” (appropriately enough) directly over Katella Ave. This is done to save precious park acreage for DisneySky. In an agreement with the City of Anaheim, Katella is sunken below grade to make room for our Plaza, very much like how Disneyland Drive already passes underneath Downtown Disney. (One-hundred feet are needed on both sides of the skybridge for Katella to ramp down - easily provided for.) And like with Disneyland Drive, careful berming and sightlines mean guests crossing Plaza of the Four Winds will never realize there is a public roadway below.

Plaza of the Four Winds is directly accessible from Rancho Disney, the Disneyland Resort People Mover, or Villa Cielo. Its design is largely inspired by historic Moffett Field in California’s Bay Area - a sunny green airfield which conjures up romantic images of aviation.

Moffett Field's Hangar One

The most prominent structure is Grand Central Hangar, a scaled-down replica of Moffett’s famous Hangar One which serves as the passageway into DisneySky. The original 8-acre Hangar One, one of the world’s largest freestanding structures, once housed airships within its aerodynamic shape. Our version, standing a comparatively mild 75’ tall, is just tall enough to temporarily obscure views of Mt. Helios beyond - making for a dramatic reveal later.

Grand Central Hangar, entryway to DisneySky

Grand Central Hangar’s orange-white walls - a beautiful Mid-Century Modern design - brilliantly capture the warm Californian sunlight. Up on the Hangar’s upper girders, the DisneySky logo - the blue title and the iconic “Mickey clouds” above it - welcome guests. Mist perpetually hovers around the logo’s base, like cirrus clouds magically floating underneath. At night, the Hangar is awash with roaming searchlights.


Soarin' queue music loop, soundtrack for Plaza of the Four Winds

Plaza of the Four Winds features the Soarin’ queue music loop as its soundtrack. This medley of rousing, adventurous cinematic soundtracks perfectly sets the stage just as it does for Soarin’ - a duplicate of music heard elsewhere at the resort, yes, but not an arbitrary choice.
​

---

Tower of the Four Winds

Every Disney theme park needs an entry plaza centerpiece, typically an iconic photo-op fountain which sums up the park to come. DisneySky’s centerpiece is the Tower of the Four Winds.

The original Tower was created for the 1964 World’s Fair by Imagineer Rolly Crump, where it appeared as a landmark for “it’s a small world.” The Tower uses a geometric minimalism similar to Mary Blair’s designs, given life with countless spinning, swiveling, oscillating shapes and colors all affixed to curved white buttresses. This cobweb of movement represents a confluence of the world’s natural forces - much like Small World’s national unification - which effortlessly matches DisneySky’s fundamental message.

Our kinetic recreation of Crump’s Tower stands a mere 75-feet tall, shrunken down from New York’s 120’, making it the same height as Grand Central Hangar. The Tower stands at the Plaza’s center atop a compass rose. Framing the hangar and mountain beyond, it is an ideal entry photo-op!
​

---

Ticket Booths

The Plaza’s boundaries are marked by rows of ticket booth structures on both sides done in Mission Revival style. These tile-roofed buildings, backed by low decorative hedges, are basically berms blocking views of Katella below. They are designed to resemble Mid-Century airport check-in counters, with all the romance and nostalgia that era evokes.

There will be twelve staffed ticket booths. In addition will be twelve automated ticket vending machines which offer touchscreen ticket-buying options in multiple languages.
​

---

Hangars Two & Three at Moffett Field

Guest Relations Building

The necessary guest relations at park entry are found in a single structure resembling a scaled-down replica of Moffett Field’s Hangars Two & Three laid side-by-side. The original WWII-era hangars are among the largest unsupported wood structures in the United States. They are defined by their unique, monumental boxy door frames, memorably recreated here.

Guest services within include restrooms, a Pet Club, and storage lockers.
​

---

Picnic Area

Left of Grand Central Hangar is a pleasantly shaded hedge-blocked picnic area. This is a secluded circle of greenery set in the shadows of a red & white checkered water tower.
​

---

Storage Lockers

Storage locker rentals are available in the transitional space in between Rancho Disney and Plaza of the Four Winds, found in a late-colonial hacienda building which fuses both areas’ Spanish influences.
​

---

Entry Gates

Official entry gates to DisneySky are set all along the curving clam shell doorway of Grand Central Hangar. Fifty-four separate stations are divided by the Hangar’s mathematical girder frames. Entry stations resemble old-fashioned customs checkpoints, again with the same long-lost Jet Age romanticism. Entry procedures are the same as at Disneyland and California Adventure.

And at long last we have crossed over the threshold into DisneySky itself! Let us now proceed forward and discover what wonderful worlds it has in store!
​

That's right! Tomorrow we will finally enter DisneySky!

 

[Evilgidgit]

But I don't wanna wait until tomorrow!!

 

[D Hulk]

RUNWAY ONE

Go back in time to a romantic Jet Age airfield loaded with shops and restaurants

TIME: July 17th, 1955

Runway One is an aeronautic Main Street U.S.A. Like at Walt’s park, we peer half a century into our own nostalgic past, to the post-war heyday of the 20th Century. Welcome to the Jet Age, the Golden Age of Civil Aviation, a time when air travel was a bold, daring, romantic adventure. Runway One takes design inspiration from many of the great early historical airports and airfields, particularly those from Southern California’s storied past. These settings will be vaguely familiar to guests while still preparing them for far-flying fantasy to come.

Our setting is a bustling airport in the foothills of Mt. Helios. This is the commercial hub for S.K.Y.’s trade and research activities as overseen by William Diesel circa 1955. Hangars and terminals line the main runway, perfectly framing Mt. Helios’ green slopes. Nestled at her base, the runway terminates at Inspiration Observatory. The observatory is DisneySky’s main man made icon, with telescoping towers meant to recall the design of Sleeping Beauty Castle. Notably, Inspiration Observatory is dwarfed by the overwhelming 199-foot-tall mountain, visually setting the stakes for DisneySky’s themes and thrills.

Runway One is an ideal entry land into DisneySky. Here guests may board a flight or a cable car to any on DisneySky’s other “destinations.” They can spend their “layover” in the terminals’ signature shopping and dining experiences. They can simply meet beloved Disney characters. Or they can explore Inspiration Observatory, and take a mental journey out to the furthest cosmos. The sky’s the limit!
​

---

Grand Central Hangar

Like any great theme park, DisneySky employs a precise “entry script” to slowly immerse guests into its worlds. That all begins as guests pass through the turnstiles and enter the vast, cavernous interior of Grand Central Hangar.

The inner workings are 100% industrial, all curving steel girders forming a vast overhead space. The only decor comes from banners hanging from the ceiling, which effectively obscure and delay full views of Mt. Helios as can be glimpsed through the distant clearstory clamshell windows. These banners are DisneySky’s “ride posters” (the Hangar is DisneySky’s “train tunnel”), bearing attraction previews in the graphic Mid-Century style of vintage aviation destination ads.

Vintage airline posters provide the inspiration for DisneySky's attraction posters

As guests proceed forward, the far glass doorway slowly reveals its views of Mt. Helios. Still it remains partially obscured, blocked by the DisneySky JetRail station which spans the Hangar’s width. Often, a suspended JetRail monorail might enter and dock, bringing life to this bare-bones facility.

Note that there are NO services, shops or restaurants found within Grand Central Hangar. This is merely a transition space, a moment of quiet before Runway One suddenly bursts with life and energy. (There is a restroom however, located through right-side access panels for necessity.)

Rope Drop Ceremony – The Sky’s the Limit

Before rope drop and official park opening every morning, guests are held within Grand Central Hangar. This allows us to regale these lucky early few with a dramatic opening ceremony called “The Sky’s the Limit.”

Things begin in darkness, before energy slowly builds through the use of Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” - a quintessentially American piece of music. As the trumpets start, the curtain literally rises. Until now, the JetRail station, Runway One, Inspiration Observatory, Mt. Helios...all that has been hidden behind a velvet curtain spanning the hangar. It now sails upwards, creating a majestic slow reveal of DisneySky which is perfectly complemented by Copland’s growing fanfare.



The Fab Five - Mickey & Pals - walk towards us down Runway One dressed in period aviation garb. Their steps are measured and heroic, almost in slow motion, like the astronauts marching in The Right Stuff.

With continued heroic solemnity, Mickey & Pals climb the stair cars up to the JetRail station. In steady pace with the music, they waves to guests below. An announcer booms over speakers, warmly welcoming guests to DisneySky with a recitation of the park’s opening dedication.

During this, the JetRail monorail pulls into the station above guests’ heads. The characters board and continue engaging guests from the JetRail’s windows. The sleek monorail pulls out as Copland’s orchestra crescendos. Light fireworks fire off beyond the Hangar, from the flanking rooftops of Runway One! The day has begun!​

 

[D Hulk]

Land Layout & Details

Guest Relations: 1. Iwerks Terminal, 2. Park Info Board, 3. Storage Lockers (not on map)
Attractions: 4. DisneySky JetRail, 5. Skyliner, 6. Marceline Character Hub, 7. The Muppets Present…Great Moments in Aviation History, 8. Inspiration Observatory Tours, 9. In an Ocean of Stars
Dining: 10. Ptolemy’s, 11. Almagest Bar, 12. Layover Lounge, 13. Wright Bakers, 14. Pudknockers, 15. Glider Sliders, 16. Refueling Center
Retail: 17. Avionics, 18. Rosie’s, 19. Cayley Gallery, 20. Air Tower Sweets, 21. Mach 1, 22. Lindy’s, 23. Planetary Marketplace, 24. Flyer Suppliers​

Upon passing through Grand Central Hangar, the whole of Runway One (and DisneySky beyond it) stretches out before guests! There sits the temperate northern slope of Mt. Helios, with Inspiration Observatory in its shadow and gorgeously framed by period airport facilities. Mt. Helios seems to recede into the distance, with small “forced perspective” trees behind Inspiration Observatory hiding any "behind-the-scenes" elements. The vertical slopes beyond are a tangle of rock slides. The mysterious mountaintop is perpetually shrouded in a thick fog, created by mist machines.

American military marches dominate Runway One’s daytime music loop. There is a ton of Philip E. Sousa. Such music is upbeat, uncontroversially patriotic, and it imbues guests with a boundless sense of energy for the day.


Runway One, daytime music loop

Conversely, Runway One’s nighttime music loop is more somber and elegiac, while remaining rousing and martial. This is to match guests’ moods at day’s end, spent-yet-exhilarated. To that end, music samples are largely taken from the soundtracks of WWII movies like Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers.



Selections from Runway One's nighttime music loop

The runway itself ramps subtly upwards towards the mountain, dotted with a giant industrial “1” and other markers. Runway asphalt is stained with airplane tire skids. Some lead directly to aircraft parked in Terminal Square. Throughout the land are featured aircraft, many of them genuine historical models. These include a Lockheed Model 9 Orion and a Lockheed Air Express now flanking guests. These airplanes and more throughout DisneySky bear subtly appropriate Disney names: “Archimedes,” “Evinrude,”
“You Can Fly,” “Falling with Style,” and more.

Concept art by Jim Tomlinson

Behind us is the DisneySky JetRail Runway One Station, built into Grand Central Hangar's frame. To guests’ left in Terminal Square, framed by random airport detritus like steamer trunks and luggage carts, is Iwerks Terminal - the central Guest Services structure. This is a scale replica of Glendale Airport’s historic Grand Central Terminal (with a bit of Burbank Airport’s Union Air Terminal mixed in), realized in a simple Spanish Revival style of stucco walls and clay tile roofs. Walls marking the land’s boundary are in a similar style. Tile murals on these walls beautifully depict famous moments from aviation history. Further sights around Iwerks Terminal include a dancing Spanish fountain, and of course a flagpole bearing the U.S. and California flags...What Disneyland Resort park could be without those?

The right side of Terminal Square features Marceline Character Hub, the park’s dedicated all-purpose character meet ‘n’ greet facility, housed in a vintage small town air terminal largely modeled after the one at Akron Airport. To the left of that is Cayley Gallery, in a scale replica of LAX’s original 1929 Hangar No. 1. These structures, topped with monumental towers and Art Deco bas reliefs, show the depth and majesty of early airport design.

The left (east) side of the runway is dominated by factory buildings. Most prominent is Avionics, DisneySky’s main “Emporium” department store. The exterior is inspired by London’s Hoover Building, a 1933 “palace of industry” Art Moderne edifice which during WWII served as an airplane factory. Before it is a stainless steel Jet Age abstract sculpture of a jet. Forced perspective smoke stacks behind the facade constantly emit smoke (harmless water vapor, really).

Past Avionics is Rosie’s, a major clothing shop, set in another factory. This one is a classic American riveter workshop. Its bays of industrial square windows are redressed and redecorated to be more inviting, reflecting the welcoming shop space within.

Disney's America concept art, repurposed for DisneySky because Imagineering never forgets an idea

The runway’s right side is mostly occupied by hangars. Directly opposite Avionics, given a prominent corner berth, is a period air tower housing Air Tower Sweets. On its roof are antennae and radar dishes which are in constant motion. Around the air tower’s corner, a collection of steamer trunks set up as seats serve as the venue for The Muppets Present...Great Moments in Aviation History - an uproarious (and historical) puppet show regularly recreating iconic incidents.

Further along, the first of two interchangeable corrugated hangars houses the Mach 1 shop. Next door is the similar Lindy’s. It is through window displays and signage that these hangars distinguish themselves and their respective themes of Chuck Yeager and Charles Lindbergh.

Where the runway terminates before Inspiration Observatory is Dreamers Circle. Here the walkways branch off to the left and right - their runway asphalt replaced by paved stone pathways - essentially making Dreamers Circle our Hub. The Circle is formed by three circular platforms, which from above naturally resemble Mickey’s ears. The smaller circles each feature raised flower beds with central pillars displaying historic sundials. On the east is an analemmatic sundial, and on the west is an equatorial sundial.

The largest circle meanwhile holds the Dreamers Statue. Just as Disneyland and California Adventure feature statues of Walt Disney with Mickey Mouse, so does DisneySky. Ours depicts Walt near the end of his life, around the time he was conceiving of EPCOT. He rides with Mickey in a jet plane, facing upwards and away from Mt. Helios towards an unknown but optimistic future. The plane is seemingly held aloft by a “jet wash” fountain; guests cannot see the actual support beam under the waters. DisneySky’s dedication plaque sits at Dreamers’ base.
​

---

We are only partway through our grand tour of Runway One. We shall continue tomorrow with a look at Inspiration Observatory, the features surrounding Dreamers Circle, and the passageways to DisneySky's other lands.

 

[Evilgidgit]

Gonzo better crash a plane through the ceiling in the Muppet show!

 

[D Hulk]

Inspirations for Inspiration Observatory, left to right: Ladd Observatory, Mt. Wilson Observatory, Griffith Observatory

Ahead from Dreamers Circle is of course Inspiration Observatory. In a sense it is DisneySky’s “castle,” and architecturally it boasts a similar asymmetric design. Inspiration Observatory is the brainchild of S.K.Y.’s astronomer extraordinaire Dr. Luna Diesel. It began humbly before her time, actually, with an original 1891 dome - a red brick structure modeled on Rhode Island’s Ladd Observatory. Dr. Diesel added a second dome alongside the first, this one a more spartan modern 1939 design based on Mt. Wilson Observatory.

Lastly in 1945, a large Art Deco complex was constructed to join the existing observatory domes and add more. A bronze rotunda sits atop stairs between the older domes. Behind it is a newer golden-brown dome, opened up and with its massive solar telescope - in its day the world’s largest - pointed heavenwards. Art Deco wings flank both sides. Observers who study the overall design of Inspiration Observatory will be reminded of L.A.’s famous Griffith Observatory, yes...Or they might be reminded of Disney’s never-build Glacier Bay...or Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia. These combined influences suggest someplace at once scientific and transcendent, as potent a symbol for DisneySky as the castle is for Disneyland.

There are several functions inside the observatory. Inspiration Observatory Tours is a guided walkthrough past scenes from the history of flight. In an Ocean of Stars is a dreamlike, serene dark ride out into the furthest cosmos. Ptolemy’s is the park’s signature table service restaurant, housed in the observatory’s huge central planetarium. A secret chamber underneath it is home to S.K.Y.’s Almagest Bar. Lastly, the observatory’s west wing holds the Planetary Marketplace shop.

This observatory from Hong Kong Disneyland's never-built provides inspiration for Inspiration Observatory, albeit in a less snowy setting

The leftwards path east leads us towards the distant heights of Storm Mountain in Mythic Realms. And while the main runway is necessarily sun-bleached (it must be as a “functioning” airfield), these side routes are comfortably shaded by a grove of evergreens.

More Jet Age restaurants sit in the northeastern facades past Rosie’s. First is Wright Bakers, a confectionery housed in the aviation pioneers’ former bicycle shop. Wright Bakers shares a dining facade with Layover Lounge - this facade is a modernist 1950s airport lobby with clear story windows overlooking Mt. Helios. A smaller wooden shed connecting back to the bike shop (resembling the Daimler Airway hangar) prominently proclaims “RUNWAY ONE” in blocky white paint. Layover Lounge itself further east is styled after Miami’s sleek, sunny 1932 Pan Am terminal building.

This Art Deco building is actually a bit bigger than the original Pan Am station, as its top floor is the northern station for the Skyliner. Much like the like-named Skyliner at Walt Disney World, ours is a Doppelmayr gondola lift. Guests are shuttled over the icy slopes of Discovery Glacier to the southern station at Diesel Bay.

Across, to the left of Inspiration Observatory, is a Ford Tri-Motor plane which is home to the small Flyer Suppliers merchandise cart. Next to that is the Refueling Center, a drink window found in an airport refueling truck.

The fall of Icarus

Runway One’s eastern path terminates in Icarus Circle, a mini-hub with passageways to Mythic Realms and Discovery Glacier. In the circle’s center is a bronze statue of Icarus falling, a symbol of where we’ve come from.

Every land transition in DisneySky is through a gateway, and so it is here. Mythic Realms is accessed via a Chinatown-style tile roof gateway; on Runway One’s side it is more Mission Revival in style. The route to Discovery Glacier is simply through a tunnel in Mt. Helios’ northeastern ridgeline. A glacial freshwater stream pours out from the wide, inviting cave.

Dreamers Circle. The Layover Lounge complex to the left leads to Icarus Circle, while the Pudknockers complex to the right leads to Mercury Circle

Now if we return to Dreamers Circle and instead progress westwards, we see the faraway skyscrapers of Avengers Airspace. As before, we will discover more Runway One restaurants along the way, now along the northwestern perimeter. First following Lindy’s is Glider Sliders, a snack stand housed in a corrugated airfield shed. A vintage Parasev hang glider rests atop it. Pudknockers is a major “buffeteria” restaurant built from a converted test pilot school and inspired by famous USAF pilot bars. From the outside, it mostly resembles the long-gone Happy Bottom Riding Club from Edwards Air Force Base. While Layover Lounge to the east is sleek and modern, Pudknockers is an eccentric oddity, a humble high desert diner made from over-sized volcanic stones.

But without the nudity

Mercury Circle is the mini-hub leading to Cosmic Crater and Avengers Airspace. It is a symmetrical mirror of Icarus Circle, with a bronze statue of the Roman god Mercury in triumphant flight acting as a symbol of where we’re going.

The gateway to Cosmic Crater is under a cantilever resembling a Googie car wash (very much matching the Cosmic Crater aesthetic), its rooftop holding back a Mt. Helios rock slide. An archway like the one in New York’s Washington Square Park leads to Avengers Airspace.

Meanwhile a green, forested route to the north marks the eventual passageway to DisneySky’s expansion pad land. For now it simply a tangle of overgrown prairie grass surrounding a Curtiss Condor biplane on display. Between it and Pudknockers is a vintage airport weather station, a kinetic display which adds greater life to Runway One.​