[vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]During the Wonderful World of Disney, Disneyland’s 60th Anniversary special on ABC, Harrison Ford introduced a preview to the new Star Wars experiences coming to Disneyland in Anaheim and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando.
Here’s a closer look at some of the shots featured during the segment…
An image the fan community has already seen, Star Wars Land, as it is being unofficially called, will feature a recreation of the Millennium Falcon in a richly themed and detailed new world purportedly to be seen in a future movie episode.
Might this be the next generation evolution of the Star Tours simulator experience? Guests will literally be at the controls of the Falcon, banking it left and right, firing its laser cannons, as you set out on a mission with the fate of galaxy hanging in the balance.
From the renderings, this appears to be a much more intimate ride experience than Star Tours, with only a small handful of guests being able to sit inside the cockpit. One has to imagine, like Star Tours, there will be a variety of adventures you can find yourself embarking on, allowing for a different experience with each ride.
The other massive E-Ticket will be some sort of “battle escape” attraction, and rumors are abound on this one. The show building housing this ride looks like it is going to be massive, on a scale potentially larger than even Pirates of the Caribbean and the Indiana Jones Adventure.
The technology in play appears to be a version of the infrared trackless ride system being utilized locally at the new Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters at Disney California Adventure, also showcased at Mystic Manor at Hong Kong Disneyland, Aquatopia at Tokyo DisneySea, Pooh’s Hunny Hunt at Tokyo Disneyland, and on an even larger scale, Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure soon to open at Shanghai Disneyland.
What does this mean in practical terms? An actual ride-through experience, as opposed to a simulator, giving this the potential to be one of the most epic of all Disneyland attractions. If I had to guess, I think this new ride is going to be a “best of” Disneyland technologies, blending a little of everything to create the ultimate experience. This means full scale animatronic stormtroopers in the foreground, probably with CGI backgrounds to give a broader sense of scale to certain scenes. This means practical light and smoke effects.
I’m trying not to get my hopes up too much, but the prospect of being transported into a living flesh and blood Star Wars experience, where the stormtroopers are actually there, where we are actually there, is something we haven’t truly experienced, and is the perfect recipe for a Disneyland E-Ticket attraction.
Like the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at the Universal parks, this will be a fully immersive land, with cast members in character for visitors to interact with.
Unlike Universal, however, Star Wars Land appears to have smaller nooks and crannies, more intimate places to explore juxtaposed against the larger set pieces.
The Wizarding World has the advantage of having actual shops and stores revealed in the films to act as a natural connective tissue with its theme park incarnation. With Star Wars Land, it appears visitors are going to have to use their sense of exploration to discover the trinkets, toys, merchandise, and other hidden gems waiting to be discovered.
Apparently, there is going to be an upscale fine dining establishment, which will probably require reservations months in advance. I’m particularly intrigued with the C3PO animatronic in the background in the more intimate dining area. Might this involve a much more personal interaction between this beloved character and the guests at the restaurant?
The new land seems to want to transport us to a legitimate planet, with its own culture, history, and backstory. There seems to be a level of sophistication at work here. Where Disney could have set about giving us a recreation of the Death Star perhaps, or a previously explored planet like Endor, here, there is a true sense of mystery in the unfamiliarity of the world being depicted. While there will clearly be familiar faces, it appears there will also be a variety of alien species meandering about. This sense of wonder, of mystery, really is different from anything we have seen at a Disney park thus far.
There’s going to be a cantina bar, but this is clearly not Mos Eisley at Tattooine. I love the creature swimming in the underwater enclosure.
What strikes me in particular with this piece of concept art is the dark, morbid, creepy, serious tone. Notice how the patrons all appear to be staring at us, with very serious expressions. This isn’t Jar Jar Binks wandering about cracking icky icky doo jokes. This is a seedy bar in a mysterious corner of the galaxy, and these folks clearly don’t like to be stared at.
It’s a much more “adult” tone than I would have expected. This doesn’t seem to be a place for the children.
One big question some friends and I keep wondering: If this is a cantina, will there be actual alcohol served inside Disneyland park in Anaheim? Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando won’t have the moral conundrum. But Walt’s original park was intentionally supposed to be devoid of alcohol, and it has held to this tradition ever since the park first opened, with one very subtle exception in Club 33. Might this signify a change of thinking within this park? Very interesting, indeed.
Where in the world are we in this picture? There is something mysterious and haunting in play here. Again, this isn’t a bright and cheerful kid-friendly world being depicted. To their credit, Disney seems to be honoring a legitimate older-skewing tone representative of the films. Star Tours inside Tomorrowland has the benefit of being a light-hearted, humorous, tongue-in-cheek whimsical attraction. But everything we’re seeing in this concept art speaks to a more established and legitimized experience.
The scale of this new land looks absolutely massive, with exterior and interior places to explore. We already noticed a full-scale recreation of the Millennium Falcon. Here, we have a Resistance X-Wing that we will encounter, tucked away safely unbeknownst to the First Order.
And in another corner of the land, we have the more militaristic presence of the evil First Order. I love that this new land represents the best of Star Wars. There’s a seamless integration of nature and technology in its design, thematically linked to the classic storylines of good vs. evil, and in this case, the Resistance vs. the First Order.
Notice how the X-wing depicted in the previous image is surrounded by greenery and a much more natural landscape. Here, the inhabitants appear to be respectful of their environment, building their man-made structures in unison with the natural environment around it.
But in the picture showing a full-scale replica of an Imperial shuttle, which, by the way, is frigging awesome, we have a sense of physical imposition on the land. You get the feeling the Resistance bulldozed the trees and cleared the land to make room for their base on this planet. I love that we will get to explore a corner of the land dedicated to the forces of good, with the other side transporting us to a scarier place we’re not exactly invited into. And we have the fate of this as yet unknown planet hanging in the balance between the two sides.
It seems clear to me. Star Wars Land looks like a complete theme park game changer. I can’t wait. How about you?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]