Scaffolding is gone from the SS Down the Hatch at Dockside Diner, and Gertie the Dinosaur has a fresh coat of paint, as the Echo Lake refurbishment continues. We noticed both changes while visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios today. Echo Lake itself is still empty, but the finished work around it suggests water may not be far behind. Here’s the latest.
Echo Lake Refurbishment Update: Dockside Diner and Gertie Repainted
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- Crews removed the scaffolding from the SS Down the Hatch at Min and Bill’s Dockside Diner
- Gertie the Dinosaur has a fresh coat of paint
- Echo Lake remains empty, and Disney has not announced when water will return
Disney drained Echo Lake in August, and crews have been refurbishing the area around Gertie and the SS Down the Hatch ever since. Our visit today shows that work appears to be wrapping up, with the scaffolding removed from the ship and Gertie freshly painted. Water is still missing from the lake.
Dockside Diner Ship Emerges From the Scaffolding
The scaffolding that surrounded the SS Down the Hatch over the past two months is gone. That gives us the first clear look at the whole ship following the repainting. The white hull looks clean and bright from across the lake, and the red lower hull and blue stripe look freshly finished. Flag bunting and string lights run along the masts.
Up close, the rust weathering we noted in our October 2nd update is now part of the finished look. Orange streaks trail below the red-rimmed portholes and run down from the rivet seams. A few rivets have rust spots while their neighbors stay clean. The effect makes a freshly painted ship look like it has spent years at sea, which suits the boat.
Details on the upper decks look finished as well. A life ring marked “Down the Hatch” hangs on the rail beside a rope-wrapped crate and a dark wood door with its own porthole. Up top, a white ventilation funnel and a weathered wooden crate sit on the deck.
Below the hull, rows of concrete blocks line the ship’s base, with some painted tan to match the lakebed and others left bare gray. The conduit crossing the basin also appears to have a tan finish now. That helps it blend in with the lakebed.
Gertie the Dinosaur Gets Fresh Paint
Our October 2nd update noted that crews hadn’t touched Gertie yet. She now looks finished, with bright, even green from her neck down to her base. Her yellow-orange eyes and a tuft of moss hanging from her mouth stand out against the new color, and a white patch of snow runs along the top of her head and back.
The base showed the heaviest wear when the lake drained, with water staining and faded color banding along the section that normally sits underwater. That section now has fresh paint. The rear of the base, where we spotted a crack in February, has fresh paint too. Stacks of concrete blocks line the base, with the framing of the planting bed still visible behind them.
Echo Lake has sat empty for roughly two months, about the same length as Disney’s 2017 refurbishment plan, which also covered repainting the lakebed, Gertie, and the diner. This year’s work covers the same ground, and we have now seen all three painted. A blue hose still stretches across the empty basin and pipe railings line the lakebed, so some work remains before the lake can be refilled.
Story So Far
- On February 14, we spotted cracks in Gertie, including one at the base of her rear end, in Dinosaur Gertie Damaged at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
- On August 20, we reported that Disney had drained Echo Lake and surrounded the SS Down the Hatch with scaffolding in Echo Lake Drained for Dockside Diner Refurbishment at Hollywood Studios.
- On October 2, we reported that crews had added rust weathering to the ship and repainted the lakebed in Echo Lake Repainted, Rust Marks Added to Dockside Diner Ship in Echo Lake.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!