News Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge - Historical Construction/Impressions

[Ismael Flores]

and the Fantasmic stadium and walk way.

Ah yes I forgot about that stadium

 

[Ismael Flores]

If they were going to do that they wouldn't have destroyed the East/West tunnel that was actually an old DLRR tunnel prior to rerouting the trains for iasw in 1966. What you propose would cut off a significant amount of backstage traffic--even more than the BT trail.

Still don't see that as an issue, that old tunnel would probably not fit new building standards for guest flow.

Also the backstage flow wouldn't be an issue either because just like DCA and other expanded areas of Disneyland have had the backstage access areas have had gates added that swing two ways. Most of those passes are only used for foot traffic during the day anyway so accesible foot paths along with vehicle gates could easily be added

 

[Old Mouseketeer]

Still don't see that as an issue, that old tunnel would probably not fit new building standards for guest flow.

Also the backstage flow wouldn't be an issue either because just like DCA and other expanded areas of Disneyland have had the backstage access areas have had gates added that swing two ways. Most of those passes are only used for foot traffic during the day anyway so accesible foot paths along with vehicle gates could easily be added

Not correct. I have friends who work Fantasyland, and during the course of discussing SWGE construction, they have told me there is a lot of vehicle traffic. Some of it will go away if they demolish FLT. But there is still delivery of ODV carts on their special low-rise trailers, DFD and Paramedics, and maintenance/facilities, among others.

 

[180º]

Not correct. I have friends who work Fantasyland, and during the course of discussing SWGE construction, they have told me there is a lot of vehicle traffic. Some of it will go away if they demolish FLT. But there is still delivery of ODV carts on their special low-rise trailers, DFD and Paramedics, and maintenance/facilities, among others.

This. Closing off the connection between the backstage territory in question and the service tunnel would deny access to the many vans, golf carts, and trucks (and food trucks!) that frequent that area during operating hours. It's as far into the center of the park as vehicles can get coming from the north, whereas to block that route would mean scarcely being able to drive under the berm.

 

[Matheus Ramos]

One thing that i noticed is the work being done outside the alcatraz building. Is this already some foundation for the shop/dinner area or just sewage?

 

[dweezil78]

One thing that i noticed is the work being done outside the alcatraz building. Is this already some foundation for the shop/dinner area or just sewage?

They keep the rancors under there.

 

[nevol]

Poor, good, poor poor poor

 

[Old Mouseketeer]

One thing that i noticed is the work being done outside the alcatraz building. Is this already some foundation for the shop/dinner area or just sewage?

Ummm...yes? (meaning potentially both). The location suggests that it is something foundational related to the "village" buildings, but I'm not savvy enough to tell what it is, exactly.

 

[Phroobar]

One thing that i noticed is the work being done outside the alcatraz building. Is this already some foundation for the shop/dinner area or just sewage?

 

[TP2000]

Another great video from our favorite lady blogger. The slow drive-by on Disneyland Drive is always a fun way to start these, especially as the ride warehouses are now massive walls of steel and cement.

 

[TP2000]

And then this next video is even more fun!

Our lady blogger took a ride on the Mark Twain yesterday, on an unseasonably cool and foggy August morning. The beach fog isn't the best lighting, but it gives a good backdrop for the construction visible from the upper deck of the Mark Twain. As the tallest peak of Star Wars Land is now in place, you get an idea of what will be visible for at least a couple years as the trees grow in.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

Another great video from our favorite lady blogger. The slow drive-by on Disneyland Drive is always a fun way to start these, especially as the ride warehouses are now massive walls of steel and cement.

I immediately thought of Big Thunder as I watched the opening of this video. I wonder if the rockwork will rise above the structural steel we see now or is this the full height of the mountain?

As the tallest peak of Star Wars Land is now in place, you get an idea of what will be visible for at least a couple years as the trees grow in.

It's going to take quite a bit of foliage to block the tallest peak completely. Do you think maybe the imagineers deliberately kept the new ROA rockwork low as to better align with the soaring mountains that will be visible in the distance? If they really wanted to obscure it completely they would have built the rocks on the berm behind and above the DLRR.

 

[NobodyElse]

Do you think maybe the imagineers deliberately kept the new ROA rockwork low as to better align with the soaring mountains that will be visible in the distance?

I think that's a valid thought. As long as the spires that are visible from Frontierland don't include anything that looks like a building, they will blend in just fine in the distance.

 

[TP2000]

I immediately thought of Big Thunder as I watched the opening of this video. I wonder if the rockwork will rise above the structural steel we see now or is this the full height of the mountain?

It's going to take quite a bit of foliage to block the tallest peak completely. Do you think maybe the imagineers deliberately kept the new ROA rockwork low as to better align with the soaring mountains that will be visible in the distance? If they really wanted to obscure it completely they would have built the rocks on the berm behind and above the DLRR.

I think that's a valid thought. As long as the spires that are visible from Frontierland don't include anything that looks like a building, they will blend in just fine in the distance.

Hans, fantastic photo of Big Thunder construction circa 1978!

I've now been 'round the Rivers of America on all three attractions; Canoes, Columbia, Mark Twain. The views of Star Wars Land fall into these categories;

Davy Crockett Canoes - Sitting a foot above the water line, you can see absolutely nothing of Star Wars Land construction, and it doesn't appear you'll be able to see it when it's finished even if the trees were all cut down. But the college guy CM in the front of the canoe was doing his best stand up routine telling as many Indian jokes as he could, so most folks were staring at the Indian Chief and Indian Village while I tried to peer over the hill.

Mark Twain Boiler Deck - Same as the Canoes, you can't see a thing. But it's interesting how standing up along the waterline gives a different perspective than the lower canoe seating position does.

Columbia - You are noticeably taller than the Mark Twain Boiler Deck, but you can only catch a quick glimpse of the tallest peak of the Star Wars Land mountains through the trees. It might as well not be there, because you are mostly focusing on the waterfalls and the Indians and the railroad trestles.

Mark Twain Promenade Deck - I perceived this to be ever so slightly taller than the Columbia deck, but still the same view.

Mark Twain Texas Deck - (The perky CM told me that's what the uppermost deck was called, because it was so high up that on the Mississippi River riverboats of the 1800's it was said you could see all the way to Texas) One level above the Promenade Deck, and it's a whole new world. You can suddenly see Star Wars Land through the trees, and you can clearly make out the ride warehouses and the tall spires of the steel rockwork infrastructure. I imagine it will be at least three or four years before the trees fill in to obscure this view, but I think you will still be able to catch glimpses of the tallest rockwork from this top deck of the Mark Twain.

Of course, who knows what this will all look like 5, 10 or 20 years in the future. It could be a complete Wall Of Green again a decade from now and Star Wars Land will be completely obscured even from the Texas Deck. But in 2017, two years before it opens, you really can only see Star Wars Land from the very top deck of the Mark Twain Riverboat.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

I imagine it will be at least three or four years before the trees fill in to obscure this view, but I think you will still be able to catch glimpses of the tallest rockwork from this top deck of the Mark Twain.

Yeah, and even with the hundreds of trees yet to be planted between the Frontierland border and those rock spires it'll be impossible to hide a structure almost as tall as the Matterhorn when looking north from the Mark Twain's top deck. It should blend in nicely though.

 

[Old Mouseketeer]

I think that's a valid thought. As long as the spires that are visible from Frontierland don't include anything that looks like a building, they will blend in just fine in the distance.

I have always believed that to be precisely the point. Early renderings of SWL showed more buildings higher up on the rock spires and more tall building spires. They have gradually been lowered to what we saw on the model at D23. The spires themselves should be relatively unobtrusive behind the rockwork of the revised back of the ROA. The bigger issue, IMHO, is how well the structure and trees conceal Mickey and Friends.

 

[mickEblu]

Hans, fantastic photo of Big Thunder construction circa 1978!

I've now been 'round the Rivers of America on all three attractions; Canoes, Columbia, Mark Twain. The views of Star Wars Land fall into these categories;

Davy Crockett Canoes - Sitting a foot above the water line, you can see absolutely nothing of Star Wars Land construction, and it doesn't appear you'll be able to see it when it's finished even if the trees were all cut down. But the college guy CM in the front of the canoe was doing his best stand up routine telling as many Indian jokes as he could, so most folks were staring at the Indian Chief and Indian Village while I tried to peer over the hill.

Mark Twain Boiler Deck - Same as the Canoes, you can't see a thing. But it's interesting how standing up along the waterline gives a different perspective than the lower canoe seating position does.

Columbia - You are noticeably taller than the Mark Twain Boiler Deck, but you can only catch a quick glimpse of the tallest peak of the Star Wars Land mountains through the trees. It might as well not be there, because you are mostly focusing on the waterfalls and the Indians and the railroad trestles.

Mark Twain Promenade Deck - I perceived this to be ever so slightly taller than the Columbia deck, but still the same view.

Mark Twain Texas Deck - (The perky CM told me that's what the uppermost deck was called, because it was so high up that on the Mississippi River riverboats of the 1800's it was said you could see all the way to Texas) One level above the Promenade Deck, and it's a whole new world. You can suddenly see Star Wars Land through the trees, and you can clearly make out the ride warehouses and the tall spires of the steel rockwork infrastructure. I imagine it will be at least three or four years before the trees fill in to obscure this view, but I think you will still be able to catch glimpses of the tallest rockwork from this top deck of the Mark Twain.

Of course, who knows what this will all look like 5, 10 or 20 years in the future. It could be a complete Wall Of Green again a decade from now and Star Wars Land will be completely obscured even from the Texas Deck. But in 2017, two years before it opens, you really can only see Star Wars Land from the very top deck of the Mark Twain Riverboat.

Thanks for the nice breakdown. I guess in the same category as the Mark Twain Texas deck we can include "standing anywhere along the ROA shore from NOS to Critter Country" as well.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

I have always believed that to be precisely the point. Early renderings of SWL showed more buildings higher up on the rock spires and more tall building spires. They have gradually been lowered to what we saw on the model at D23. The spires themselves should be relatively unobtrusive behind the rockwork of the revised back of the ROA. The bigger issue, IMHO, is how well the structure and trees conceal Mickey and Friends.

Is Mickey & Friends fully obstructed by the show buildings now?

 

[nevol]

Is Mickey & Friends fully obstructed by the show buildings now?

It's still visible from fantasmic fastpass viewing. I think the trees will have to grow. Not confident that the buildings will block M+F out from this area, but will certainly block the lot out from within star wars land.

 

[TP2000]

Meanwhile, in Orlando...

From the nicely curated bioreconstruct Twitter feed. https://twitter.com/bioreconstruct?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

The two big ride warehouses are rising out of the ground finally. You can now really see how the land fits together for DHS, and there are some noticeable differences along the in-park perimeter. No river, no railroad, but lots of park warehouses. The red/yellow track at top left is Toy Story Land construction, which opens next summer with a Maters clone and a Slinky Dog family coaster.

And the entire park from a different angle.

You can really see how the land fits together for DHS, and there are some noticeable differences. The land appears to run right up against existing buildings, in this case MuppetVision (which is still a thing at WDW).

MuppetVision and the old backdrop buildings of Streets of America will form the entrance to Star Wars Land at DHS. They are refurbishing this area into "Grand Avenue" which is supposed to be a recreation of "present-day downtown Los Angeles" that features MuppetVision and a new brewpub serving California wines and beers. I'm not making that up, WDI is creating a circa 2018 downtown LA as a themed mini-land in WDW. https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...nue-coming-soon-to-disneys-hollywood-studios/ Odd thematic choice, but there you go.