Sneak Peek at Disney’s New Lands

New Aerial Photos Give Us a Sneak Peek at Disney’s Toy Story and Star Wars Lands

Nearmap US, Inc.

These rare shots show us how far the construction has come. 

BAILEY BENNETT 

Enter Hollywood Studios today and you’ll quickly notice one thing: the construction. Large areas of the classic Disney park are currently blocked off to the public as Disney works to construct two large themed lands that will completely change the landscape of the movie-centric park as we know it.


Toy Story Land, which is slated to open this summer, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, coming in 2019, are some of the most highly-anticipated additions to a Disney park in decades. Although the opening of both areas will happen in the not-too-distant future, the updates have been occurring behind closed doors. Disney has gifted fans with plenty of renderings and models to show what the lands will actually look like, but few have yet to see the updates in real time. Until now.

Aerial mapping service Nearmap was recently able to capture telling imagery of the new lands from above, giving a comprehensive look at what these areas might actually look like, and how far construction has already come. Unsurprisingly, Toy Story Land looks to be significantly farther along in the building process because of its earlier opening date. However, Nearmap’s shots can give us some indication as to the scale and contents of each new area.


Nearmap US, Inc.

The main features to point out in the shots of Toy Story Land are the easily identifiable new rides that will come with this area. The red track of the Slinky Dog Coaster can be seen snaking around much of the land and looping back to its main station at the top of the area. A careful look at the coaster also shows fun details along the route, including wooden building blocks and even a larger-than-life figure of the dinosaur Rex. These pieces seem to fit well within the theme of Toy Story Land, which aims to shrink guests down to the size of a toy in Andy’s backyard. The large white and silver building on the property can also be identified as the land’s other ride: the Green Alien spinner attraction, which will pop up inside.


Nearmap US, Inc.

Although large structures are certainly taking shape on the Star Wars side of things as well, this park is not as far along in the process. While we can’t as easily identify its components, we do know that the park will be divided into two sections — one devoted to the First Order, and one to the Resistance. Guests will also have the chance to pilot the Millennium Falcon on one of the area’s rides. For now, we can clearly begin to see the enormous scale of Galaxy’s Edge, which will definitely cover more ground than the neighboring Toy Story Land.

While fans still have (at least) months of anticipation before either of these lands is unveiled, these detailed aerial shots might help to hold us over a little while longer.