The Star Wars lands at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disneyland will open in 2019 bringing the largest ever themed expansions to both parks.
The announcement was made Tuesday by Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger during a conference call to discuss quarterly earnings. The company had been mum on an opening date since breaking ground on the new lands last year.
The 14-acre attractions are under construction at both parks and are expected to bring large crowds capitalizing on the success of the Star Wars series of films. Star Wars Episode IX opens in theaters the same year as the two lands are scheduled to debut.
“Our intent is to make it feel as if you just walked into one of the movies…,” said Disney Imagineering executive Scott Trowbidge in a 2015 interview for the fan publication Disney twenty-three. “Bringing Star Wars to life in the physical world gives us the opportunity to play with a whole bunch of things we’ve never done before… to really engage all of the senses.”
Visitors to the Star Wars lands will be transported to a new planet inhabited by humanoids and droids. Both attractions will include a remote trading port and one of the last stops before wild space, where the Star Wars characters will come to life.