Visitors will be immersed in two Star Wars-themed lands that will expand the iconic movie series into an interactive playground at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
Details of the new lands, scheduled to open in 2019, are being released in snippets. The latest arrived with a video during last weekend’s panel discussion, “Star Wars and Disney Parks: A Galaxy in the Making” at Star Wars Celebration at the Orange County Convention Center.
Imagineers from Disney and Lucasfilm shared details about the story behind the destination – somewhere on the Outer Rim, lying on the edge of the Unknown Regions. The remote village has become a thriving port for smugglers, rogue traders and adventurers traveling from across the galaxy looking to join a crew for their next adventure, according to the Disney release.
Scott Trowbridge, the creative director who is overseeing the Star Wars project, called the First Order ride “the most epic adventure ever constructed in a Disney theme park.” Riders will be invited into the Star Wars Universe and become more involved in the attraction by using onboard controls to move the Millennium Falcon ride.
“We care a lot about making sure that the experience that the people have in the parks feels like an immersion into the story of Star Wars and feels like an immersion into the place that we all recall as Star Wars, even to every little detail,” said Kiri Hart, vice president of development for Lucasfilm.
The two galactic lands will enable visitors to carry the Star Wars storyline from location to location. Each attraction will not be a separate experience, but move through a narrative theme.