Walt Disney Co. announced plans to build out Star Wars-themed attractions within both of its U.S. theme parks, marking the largest effort yet by the parks division to capitalize on Disney's 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm, the studio that created the six-film franchise.
Disney will build out 14 acres for the new themed lands at both Southern California's Disneyland and at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida, the company announced on Aug. 15 at Disney's D23 Expo convention.
Each new section will have two signature attractions, one of which will give riders the chance to take the "controls" of the Millennium Falcon spacecraft.
The company didn't disclose when it would break ground, when the attractions would open or how much they would cost to build, though Disney CEO Bob Iger did call the project "our largest single themed land expansion ever."
Disney's association with George Lucas' Star Wars franchise dates to 1987, when Star Wars inspired Disneyland's Star Tours motion simulator ride. The company debuted the Star Wars Weekends festival at Disney's Hollywood Studios in 1997, and the Disney Fantasy cruise ship will start featuring Star Wars Day at Sea early next year.
The announcement marks the largest Star Wars-themed commitment to the parks and resorts division since Disney acquired Lucasfilm in late 2012 for $4.06 billion. The franchise is a multigenerational draw because its original 1977 film was the highest-grossing film of all time upon its release, while its two sequels and three prequels were produced between then and 2008, creating several generations of fans.
The first Disney contribution to the series, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," is scheduled for release this holiday season.
As for Disneyland, the Star Wars attraction marks the first major build out plans since Disney announced last month that it would invest at least $1 billion in the next decade improving and expanding 60-year-old Disneyland. Those plans were spurred by the extension of a 19-year-old entertainment-tax moratorium by Disneyland's home city, Anaheim, Calif. The most recent themed land addition was at the adjoining Disney's California Adventure park, where the 12-acre Cars Land opened in 2012.
Disneyland also presents a different scenario than Disney's Hollywood Studios because the 85-acre Disneyland is virtually landlocked by a freeway and surrounding development, and it's a fraction of the size of Walt Disney World. Disneyland's Star Wars attraction is slated to be shoehorned behind Frontierland near the park's northern border in the Big Thunder Ranch area.
"The two parks that the [Star Wars attractions] are going into have not seen major expansions in quite some time," said Theme Park Review's Robb Alvey. "New additions to the parks always help boost attendance and attract new and return visitors."
Disney is investing in a parks and resorts division that accounts for about a third of the parent company's revenue and whose operating income growth has been outpacing the parent company's. For the nine months ended June 27, the parks and resorts division boosted its revenue by 5.9%, to $11.8 billion, while the division's operating income rose 16%, to $2.29 billion.
During the past few years, much of the division's investments have been overseas. Specifically, Disney and development partner Shanghai Shendi are preparing to open their Shanghai Disney park next spring. Disney and Shanghai Shendi, which own 43% and 57% of the 963-acre project, respectively, said in April that they would boost their collective investment in the theme park by $800 million, to about $5.5 billion.
But Disney appears to be facing stepped-up competition at home, specifically from Universal and its theme parks in both Los Angeles and Orlando.
Disneyland's attendance last year rose 3.5%, to 16.8 million (not including its California Adventure park), making it the world's third most popular theme park after Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland, according to the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA). Disney's Hollywood Studios' attendance advanced 2%, to 10.3 million, making it the world's eighth most popular theme park.
The growth rates, however, have lagged those of Universal properties nearby. Universal Orlando's 2014 attendance jumped 17%, to 8.3 million, while Universal Studios Hollywood's visitor count rose 11%, to 6.8 million, according to the TEA.
"A lot of it has to do with Universal upping its game in Orlando as well as Los Angeles," said Rick West, founder and editor-in-chief of the fan site Theme Park Adventure. "It's not necessarily the knee-jerk reaction that 'Avatar' may have been in Florida, but it's definitely been set in motion by the necessity for Disney to retain its pop culture status with younger guests."
He was referring to the fact that Disney is planning to open an attraction based on the movie "Avatar" for Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom in 2017.
And while Disney did not mention any plans for adding Star Wars rides or lands at its overseas parks in Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong or Shanghai, both Alvey and West predicted that the franchise's global popularity ensured Disney's future investment there.
Less clear, however, is where that leaves Disney's efforts to similarly capitalize on its $4 billion acquisition of Marvel Entertainment in 2009.
"Disney seems to have Marvel on a slower burn at the parks," Alvey said. "Marvel is a bit more challenging to fit into the parks since there are so many different characters, but that being said, I'm sure it's only a matter of time until we see a 'Marvel Universe Land' appear somewhere at a Disney park."