Disney is touting its Star Wars-themed lands, expected to
open in Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts in 2019, as fully immersive
environments that will make guests feel like they are in the Star Wars
universe.
New details about the lands emerged this weekend during a
panel discussion at Star Wars Celebration, a convention held in Orlando.
"Our goal as we set out on this journey was to create a
place that was so authentic, so real, that when our guests stepped inside,
they're there, they're in the movie," Chris Beatty, executive creative
director of Walt Disney Imagineering, said in a video shared at the event.
The lands will be on a planet new to Star Wars fans, located
on the Outer Rim.
"The remote village was once a busy crossroads along
the old sub-lightspeed trade routes, but the prominence of the outpost has been
bypassed with the rise of hyperspace travel," according to the Disney
Parks Blog. "Now home to those who prefer less attention, it has become a
thriving port for smugglers, rogue traders and adventurers traveling between
the frontier and uncharted space. It's also a convenient safe haven for others
intent on avoiding the expanding reach of the First Order."
Each land will have two attractions and dining options. They
will also feature characters from the Star Wars galaxy.
"One of the things that I'm most excited about is
inviting our guests into that Star Wars universe, being able to see it in
person and to touch it and to smell it and taste it, and kind of live that
amazing Star Wars experience for themselves," said Scott Trowbridge, a
creative executive with Walt Disney Imagineering.
To make the project possible, Walt Disney Imagineering
partnered with Disney-owned film production company Lucasfilm, which is behind
the Star Wars franchise.
Doug Chiang, the creative director of Star Wars, said the
end result will be a fully immersive experience.
"It's all the things that you've always wanted to do
watching the movie that you've never had a chance to do," he said. "Having
this attraction will allow guests to really immerse themselves and feel as if
they are really, truly visiting Star Wars."
Disney has said the Star Wars lands will be the largest single-themed
land expansions at its Florida and California resorts. One will be in the Disneyland
park, and the other at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort.
"When [Walt Disney Company Chairman and CEO] Bob Iger
first mentioned that Parks and Resorts were working on a Star Wars idea or a
concept, he used the word 'ambitious,'" Beatty said. "This project is
the most ambitious project I’ve ever seen in the history of Walt Disney
Imagineering."