Opening this Fall, what remains of New York Street at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will become Grand Avenue, a representation of modern day Los Angeles. Situated in the former home of the Writer’s Stop will be the Baseline Tap House, a new bar and lounge just steps away from Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. This week, the facade of the Tap House was revealed and lampposts are going up on the new street:
The former Writer’s Stop now has a brick facade.
Lamps have been installed all around the area, likely meaning it is not far from opening.
Debuting this fall, the new Grand Avenue area at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is being re-imagined by Walt Disney Imagineers to capture the spirit of present-day Downtown Los Angeles, showing vintage office buildings and warehouses representing the different vibrant districts and cultures of the city. This new area will be home to Baseline Tap House, a cheerful corner pub specializing in beer and wines from California.
In a quaint brick building, Baseline Tap House celebrates the revitalization of Downtown Los Angeles by paying homage to the building’s former life as the Figueroa Printing Company, a mom-and-pop print house that had ties to the Disney studios in nearby Burbank. The space retains many of its cool architectural and mechanical details with exposed walls and old printing equipment and artifacts, blending the past and present in an inviting space. Outside will be a charming tree-shaded terrace.
The drink menu will be made up of California craft ales, lagers and cider. California wines on tap along with specialty cocktails will be available as well. A gourmet non-alcoholic lemonade and soda on tap round out the drink selection. Small bites including a Bavarian pretzel with mustard and beer-cheese fondue, spiced almonds or a charcuterie board featuring California cheeses will also be sold.
As construction continues on the two new themed lands for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the last remaining section of the Streets of America is coming back to life, while the “Battle Escape” attraction is finally rising upon the Star Wars Land site. We check in again in our latest photo and video update…
We begin with our latest video update:
And now on to the photos…
“Battle Escape” is quite visible from several locations now.
Meanwhile, they continue to paint the remaining Streets of America facades. It should be interesting to see what these become.
The facade is also being completed so it is no longer a movie set.
Still not entirely sure what this barrier between Muppets Courtyard and Star Wars Land will be, but it is taking shape.
We’re still hoping that the former Writer’s Stop is becoming a lounge for the Sci-Fi Dine-In, but it is still unclear what exactly the space is becoming.
Some work is being done on the facade of Muppetvision 3-D.
The construction walls were expanded out towards the FastPass+ kiosk.
The extended queue for Muppetvision #-D still exists, but a walk down here is quite disturbing. It’s what the kids might call “Creepy AF”.
And now a look from the balcony of PizzeRizzo.
As always, stay tuned to WDWNT.com for further updates of the progress on the expansion of Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
It’s time once again for a Disney’s Hollywood Studios expansion update. This is a pretty big one as it includes our final glance at the Streets of America and the removal of all traces of the original Studio Backlot Tour, the headlining attraction from when the park opened back in 1989.
We will have photos of the wreckage later this week in a photo report, but the above video does a pretty good job showing the size and scope of this project.
In our latest photo report, we take a dark and dreary evening trip to Disney’s Hollywood Studios to see the latest progress on the demolition around the back of the park, as well as some other minor changes and newsworthy happenings. Welcome to Hollywood!
New Mugs & Tumblers
For some reason, Walt Disney World is currently rolling out dozens of new mugs and ceramic tumblers at the resort. I know mugs are one of the highest selling items at the parks, but I have never seen so many released at once, including the character sports team variety we had in our last Studios report.
Bye-Bye Backlot
The entrance of thew Backlot Studio Tour and the remains of the tank pre-show are were completely bulldozed over the last week.
The end of PIXAR Place is now just a big open sky and some construction vehicles.
This panorama does a pretty good job showing off the current scene. You may also want to check out this week’s expansion update for video of the area, as well as the removal of New York Street:
Cash Register Turns Dangerous Coloring Station
I have seen some weird and wacky things at the parks in my time, but this is easily one of the weirdest… the second bank of cash registers at the Studio Store has been turned into a coloring station.
That’s right, this store is down from 3 cash registers to 1, and the larger bank of registered was covered into a coloring station.
While it is a nice gesture, it looks pretty terrible as it is a ragged piece of furniture that has been there for 25 years and is fairly decimated at this point. Beyond that, it has had Disney Junior characters shoddily laminated and plastered all over it.
The worst part? There are easily exposed electrical outlets. While we had to peel this one back to find them, they were very much exposed nearby.
I feel like this is something I might find at a Six Flags, but never any a Disney theme park. Hopefully this will be corrected.
Sorry, We Have No Water
During construction on Saturday, a water main was struck, forcing Disney to close all of the park’s water fountains. On the plus side, any guest who asked about the water fountains was offered a complimentary bottle of water from a nearby location.
Streets of America is No More
Just the Chrysler building facade now stands at the end of the street where New York Street once stood.
The walls were expanded outward to accommodate the latest phase of the demolition.
I’m not sure why this one piece got left behind…
New Merchandise Stands
A number of new merchandise carts and stands are on their way to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the first of which arrived in Center Stage over the weekend.
It carries on the art deco styles of the area, and actually is a big improvement over the silver carts that once stood here.
For those who were wondering if some of New York Street and the Streets of America at Disney’s Hollywood Studios would survive the upcoming expansion of the park, I think the following photos will answer your question…
The street is being removed to make way for the Star Wars themed land and Toy Story Land that will be added to the park in the coming years.
Streets of America Being Removed
We will provide further pictures and video of the “damage” later today, but it looks like the Streets of America and New York Street could be removed from the park in a matter of days.
As you have probably seen by now, demolition of the Streets of America at Disney’s Hollywood Studios began over the weekend, making room for the Star Wars and Toy Story Lands that will make up the park’s expansion project. On Saturday, we were lucky enough to get a look behind the walls and see the demolition up close and personal. We have some pictures of what we found to share with you today.
Streets of America demolition
Streets of America demolition
A whole section of what was San Francisco is now gone as well.
Streets of America demolition
While I’m sure some pieces were saved and sent to various places, large sections of the facade were simply torn apart in a matter of hours.
Streets of America demolition
Streets of America demolition
Streets of America demolition
Streets of America demolition
Streets of America demolition
Streets of America demolition
I will be curious to see how they hid the Muppetvision 3-D building from sight in Star Wars Land.
Streets of America demolition
Lights, Motors, Action looms off in the distance…
Streets of America demolition
Streets of America demolition
Streets of America demolition
Streets of America demolition
Streets of America demolition
Streets of America demolition
Goodbye Streets of america, you will be missed… but certainly the long overdue expansion of Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be a worth replacement.
Earlier this week, we flew over Disney’s Animal Kingdom to give you a better look at the construction of Pandora: The World of AVATAR. Today, we take flight over Disney’s Hollywood Studios to view the wreckage and remains of the Streets of America and Backlot area of the park, with demolition now nearing completion. This land clearing is of course to make way for the Toy Story Land and Star Wars themed area coming to the park in the next few years:
An overall view of the work site, including the tree clearing to accommodate the move of the car toll plaza to a new location, making more room for the Star Wars land.
The viewing area of the former Lights, Motors, Action show is being slowly gutted.
This is the area where the cars once performed for guests, now a pile of rubble.
The backdrop for the tank area at the Backlot Studio Tour remains, but a fair amount of it has been leveled.
Most of this area next to the cast parking garage will be Toy Story Land.
The first pipes and pieces of infrastructure have arrived on site for the new areas.
Just a few structures remain of the Streets of America.
This was a street just 6 days ago.
We also have a short video overview of the demolition to share with you:
