In case you haven't noticed from the rest of the blog, I'm kind of a giant nerd. I grew up watching Star Wars alongside my Disney classics (thank goodness for growing up during the Disney Renaissance!), and have always thought that the two married together extremely well. When Disney bought Lucasfilm, I was very excited, and feel that they will manage the properties therein just as well as they have managed the Marvel superhero properties so far.
That said, the big talk of the past few days (maybe a week or so, I've been behind in my news and my blogging) is that Bob Iger stated during a recent conference call to investors that they company is planning to have a "far greater" Star Wars presence in the Disney Parks. So just what does this mean? Well, speculation is flying wildly, and I can't help but join in a little bit. Please remember that this, of course, is all speculation. I don't have any kind of magic pipeline of information or a crystal ball.
One of the main rumors is that this will lead to a total overhaul of the Tomorrowland area of Disneyland. This is a little outside of my scope of expertise, as I don't know just how "dated" Disneyland's Tomorrowland is. I can speak for Magic Kingdom's in that I feel it functions fairly well (though I miss when it had its own cohesive "Tomorrowland" story, but I'll have to do a write up on that another time). I do hope, though, that Star Wars largely stays out of Tomorrowland here at Walt Disney World. I think Disney's Hollywood Studios is an excellent place to further the Star Wars presence, as there's already Star Tours there, and I do not particularly care for any time one property bleeds too much around the parks.
So, that begs the question, what will a greater Star Wars presence in the parks entail? Some people are speculating that the "fifth gate" of legend could be a Star Wars theme park all by itself. I find this incredibly unlikely, but I might have a little fun talking about this idea a little later. Between the existing Star Tours area, not to mention the popularity of the annual Star Wars Weekends, I do think Disney's Hollywood Studios is the most likely candidate. I think the most obvious place to start adding would be a Mos Eisley Cantina restaurant. A live Bith jizz band playing sets on a stage, Star Wars themed drinks, and some themed food (Bantha chops, anyone?), things of that nature - maybe a few animatronics of the more famous visitors to that wretched hive of scum and villainy.
As far as attractions, apart from the Jedi Academy show already in existence, I'm not quite sure. Star Tours covers a lot of ground (space?) when it comes to the various locations of the trilogy. I think future attractions will likely be at least partly inspired by J.J. Abrams's upcoming take on the saga - product synergy at its best - but that makes it very hard to speculate. My imagination is not nearly as vast as that of the Imagineers, and I leave it in their capable hands. I do know that I'd love for them to continue expanding Tatooine from the Tatooine Traders store - after all, it's the only planet that is in five out of the six Star Wars films (and from some of the brief glimpses Abrams has given us, it appears to be in Episode VII, as well). I suppose we shall see!
This brings me to the next important question: Where is all of this stuff going? There's long been speculation that Streets of America will disappear in favor of the next big thing, but I don't see that going anywhere anytime soon. Between the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights and the couple of attractions located along the way, I feel like we'll have Streets of America with us for a good while still. Another place I've heard suggested is the Backlot Tour area. I don't know if there is a way to connect that area with Star Tours and Tatooine Traders via a path that is currently backstage, but I do have a feeling Backlot Tour's days are limited, as it's now quite a shell of its former self, since very little, if anything, has been filmed at Hollywood Studios for it to have a backlot to really speak of. (And don't get me started on the fact that they put Planes eyes on Walt Disney's plane.)
Another option that people tend to overlook is expanding towards what is currently the American Idol theater. I don't necessarily think it's likely, but with American Idol Experience closing in January, there's some real estate opening up, and it's not like anyone is terribly excited about the movie previews being shown in the former Sounds Dangerous theater. Again, this could potentially mess with the sight lines around Echo Lake - nobody likes a visual intrusion ruining their immersion, but who knows? Disney has made stranger sight lines work in the past!
I'm pretty excited about this news - the (relatively) recently revamped Star Tours launched its way into my top ten favorite attractions list, and definitely makes me look forward to the future of the property in the parks. What do you think the "greater presence" in the parks is going to be, and how will it unfold?
Until next time, stay magical, everyone, and may the Force be with you.
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