Project 1 - Ahch-To Island - Innovators Prompt
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This prompt intrigued me because just a few weeks ago for a personal project, I went through and categorized all of the known information from insiders and announcements regarding the planet Batuu of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge - coming to both Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios. Link below:
https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/star-wars-galaxys-edge-summary-and-predictions.936459/
Summary of Batuu
Located on the edge of wild space, this remote outpost is home to all those who are seeking adventure and opportunity - pilots, smugglers, rogue traders, and bounty hunters traveling between the frontier and uncharted space. This thriving space port is also a convenient safe haven for all others hoping to avoid the expanding reach of the First Order.
While all of the 14 acres of Batuu will be sure to bring the gritty, lived in science fiction aesthetic we have grown to love with Star Wars, it also is pretty all-encompassing in terms of Star Wars attractions.
Especially considering Disney's Hollywood Studios is receiving a Star Wars boutique resort adjacent to Batuu - the land and the surrounding locations are bringing a lot of what Star Wars fans want to see. Piloting the Millennium Falcon, going up against the First Order and Kylo Ren, a cantina, marketplace, being able to interact with new and known characters, having your own story involved throughout the experience, where your decisions in the Falcon attraction may impact how characters around you act. And of course the RPG style resort that puts you in a role throughout your 2-day trip aboard the starship resort.
After all that - what is there left to do to please Star Wars fans?
To me - a Phase 2 of Star Wars in the Disney parks doesn't need to go bigger. In my view, it needs to be more intimate, small scale, and completely
different than Galaxy's Edge. Something that won't have you packed into another village, or piloting a famous ship, or anything like that.
Something that isn't another Rebels vs First Order epic E-Ticket dark ride or roller coaster with the stereotypical good vs evil. Rather a location where the experience itself is the attraction. Presenting...
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Ahch-To Island
Location Choice
Ahch-To is a planet in the Unknown Regions of space that is home to the first Jedi temple, a location that Luke Skywalker seeks out after vanishing before the events of Star: Wars: The Force Awakens.
Given the choices of Disney's Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Disney California Adventure, and the Magic Kingdom, the decision was to place it in the Magic Kingdom for various reasons.
Epcot and Disney California Adventure for thematic and suitable space reasons do not fit with Star Wars, so those were canceled out first. That left with the decision for either Disney's Animal Kingdom or the Magic Kingdom.
DAK had some strong pull at first, however it's tough to add a land that would fit the environmental/animal themes of DAK - without being almost exactly the same land as Pandora: The World of Avatar. Both are located in other galaxies, both would have the same arching message to fit into the park, might be a bit too repetitive.
And with that, the Magic Kingdom had an 'island' (Tom Sawyer Island) established that would make it the easiest transition into Ahch-To Island, and the most realistic considering to fit the land in, there wouldn't need to be as many extensive adjustments as when Disneyland had to place 14 acres of land in the top left corner of Disneyland. Given the desire to go more intimate with this second Star Wars Land, the top half of the old Tom Sawyer Island fit perfectly for
Ahch-To Island.
New Map of Magic Kingdom
Tom Sawyer Island in this scenario will be minimized to the Frontierland side, while the second part of the original island will be transformed into Ahch-To Island. Walking paths will be added for easier guest flow from Ahch-To, Frontierland to the left, and Liberty Square to the right.
The Island
Rising 97 feet tall, Ahch-To Island will add a new mountain to the range at the Magic Kingdom. At roughly a similar height to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the rigid grassy mountain top on the island will blend in seamlessly with the surrounding frontier aesthetic, without overpowering it in terms of height - merging with a style of rock-work that might be seen in a northwest american mountain range (even though the island is in another galaxy and the film location is in Ireland)
On the island itself, there are multiple places to sit and relax, as well as explore. Several benches line the walking paths with shady areas covered by the mountainside for folks you want to relax and take in their surroundings.
Surrounding the island will be a long, winding walk-through attraction called Path of the Force, which will take guests on a journey of self-discovery about the Force, with lessons guided from Jedi Masters as they attempt to see the balance between the light and the dark side, without falling to temptation. An additional attraction will be towards the bottom tip of the island, where guests can walk through nests of small animatronic porgs, acting as an alternative for smaller children to Path of the Force, or just for fun because they're porgs!
Path of the Force
Attraction Type - NextGen Walk-Through
Attraction Ticket - D-Ticket
Attraction Cost - $110,000,000 estimate
Hourly Capacity - 1,700 guests
Attraction Run-Time - Show (8 minutes) Queue Sections (variable)
FastPass+ - Not available
Handicap Accessible - Yes
Some scenes may be too intense for small children
Attraction Layout
Guests arriving on Ahch-To will have the option to continue to the 'Path of the Force' which is a walking trail up to the top of the mountain side. As guests begin to trek up the side of the mountain on a winding smoothed rock path, they first encounter a small hut where some of the inhabitants of the island reside. There you meet the caretakers of the island, which can be commonly described as judgmental force-sensitive fish nuns. Two animatronic caretakers gaze at you as you walk by and shake their heads to each other as if you say you don't know what you're getting into.
As you continue to meander around the grassy edges, you notice you are beginning to climb up the mountainside and see a cliff-side cave approaching. As you walk inside the small cave, you can hear whispers and voices that to Star Wars fans might sound similar to Ben Kenobi, Yoda, Luke, Qui-Gon, and other Jedi Masters conversing with each other about your arrival, giving you a sense that they are mixed at your presence on the island.
Continuing on up the mountain you reach a tree stump that looks like the remnants of the first Jedi Temple. Walking inside of the tree stump, you see a symbol for the grey jedi on the walls as you walk further on towards the top of the mountain.
Once you reach the peak height of 65 feet in the air (approximately 10 feet higher than the peak outdoor queue height for Avatar: Flight of Passage) You can take a final look around at your surroundings before trekking into the mountainside and towards the light at the end of the cave tunnel. Written on the cave walls are symbols and cartography of several locations within the Star Wars galaxy, containing plenty of easter eggs to please the die-hard Star Wars canon fans, with Ancient Jedi and Sith logos, Mandaloridan War references, and much more.
The walking trail is then brought into a cave which has small inlets of rooms within the for 4 guests per room to sit in. Inside the rooms are cave walls and star fields that place you in a meditative environment.
Path #1
"For over a thousand generations the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace in the galaxy" a voice can be heard saying as the starry sky glows with ancient history "The Force is a mystical power, that binds the universe together. It doesn't take sides, it is an omnipresent matter that lives in-between our crude matter." The voice can be heard saying again. "These are your first steps in learning the ways of the force, you can use them for good, or you can turn towards the darkness, consumed by raw emotion."
After a moment of silence, the voice again tells you to "close your eyes, reach out, feel the energy around you, and flow through the Force" -- once the voice finishes you close your eyes and reach your hand out as the Force theme begins to softly play throughout the cave.
Rumbling on the floor beneath you gives you the sensation of movement and a chill down your spine as wind in a windowless cave begins to flow through the room, penetrating everyone as if the Force is moving through them. This occurs due to a 'stretching' room effect on a much grander scale. Being 65 feet in the air when you begin, as you are using the force and you feel the ground shaking you are actually being moved down towards the lower level of the show building.
"As you become one with the Force, you will need to make choices, the choice to act, to be a spark to light the hope for generations to come, use the Force as your ally" You then hear a more feminine voice tell you to -- "open your eyes"
"Use the Force, harness the energy around you" continues the voice as you push out your hand and the cave wall moves backwards Through a sophisticated projection technology the cave walls use an upgraded augmented reality technology that allows you to manipulate your environment. Rather than looking like screens surrounding you, the environment remains lifelike and real (even to the touch) so the illusion can continue. As you and your partner use the Force to reach out and push the wall in front of you, the cave bursts open and a gust of wind hurls in as you are gazing out onto the planet of Ahch-To, yet peering down, you see a dark entity down below.
"Resist the darkness!" pleads the voice "Don't give into it! Resist!" But its too late as you dive down towards the darkness.
Path #2
Suddenly the room goes black, ominous music plays in the background, as the doorway to your cave cabin opens automatically, and red smoke teeters into your cabin as an eerie, raspy voice leads you out into the hall and down a corridor into a black castle throne room, and towards Sith meditation pods surrounded by flowing lava. A villainous voice proceeds.
"Your abilities with the Force are strong, I can feel your anger flowing through you -- it gives you focus" the ominous voiceover continues. "Darkness and the light to meet it, the feeble Jedi ways are nothing compared to the power of the dark side" The room lights up with blue lightning effects and powerful red ghosts appear before you. Past characters from the films and novels appear as Sith ghosts. Once thought that Sith could never become ghosts, it is clear from this vision you are encountering that they have discovered the ability to live in the Force dimension. Red outlines of powerful Sith lords from the past appear around you in a binaural auditorium which produces a hauntingly visceral effect similar to that of Alien Encounter.
In the mirror reflection in front of you, individually guests experience their own reflection being transformed into a Sith Lord through NextGen special effects - turning your image into a glowing red haunting reflection of Darth Maul, Darth Sidious, Darth Vader, or Kylo Ren. You try using your new force powers to push these images away, but they continue to walk towards you.
As those reflections walk towards you to become a part of you, suddenly the eerie music and images in front of you are eroded away and you feel the ground below you begin to rumble.
Pleasantries and a faint glimmer of hope begin to surround your room, as a recognizable track begins to play
As the room begins to ascend slowly up out of the darkness, Yoda's hopeful theme echos as his force ghost pulls you out of the darkness.
Rising to the top of the platform once again, you turn to see everyone from your group party again, this time looking to the front of the room seeing Yoda's force ghost projected towards the audience chuckling as he looks down on your stunned faces.
"Young padawans. Think not on your failures" Yoda begins "Failure, the best teacher is. By learning the path to the dark side, only then can you appreciate the balance of the force. The Jedi, the Sith, use the same Force, they do. Be mindful of the paths of the force. Mhm...the next generation of the Jedi you are. The old texts, page turners they were not, you must learn how to adapt to the ebb and flow of the Force. For your destiny, pre-determined it is not, in your hands it is. May the force, be with you."
Path #3 - Post-Show
As you exit out of the cave, there are multiple interactive Jedi Temple exhibits set up by the caretakers of the island you met in the beginning of the adventure, as well as other 'padawans' (cast members) who are in training on the island to become the next generation of Jedi. In these interactive exhibits you can practice the ways of the force by 'moving rocks', can learn kendo/fencing techniques to hone your lightsaber skills, and can talk to other 'Force Ghosts' in a Turtle Talk with Crush type exhibit using similar technology. There will also be a location where you can telepathically view other places in the galaxy, with an easter egg to Batuu in Disney's Hollywood Studios to connect the two lands symbolically.
After your adventures in the new Jedi Temple you can proceed back towards the edge of Ahch-To and either back towards Frontierland or to the second smaller attraction on the island.
Porg Encounter
This small walk-through encounter, akin to the Tricerotops encounter formally at Universal Studios, takes you on a walk-through of a Porg family of inhabitants where you can walk-through and see the cute creatures who live on the island. See them walk around up on the top levels, nestle together with their babies in the nestles as you walk through. Approximately 23 porg animatroincs appear throughout the small walk-through area. As mentioned before, for smaller children who are too young for the Path of the Force experience, this is a great place to entertain them.
Conclusion
Overall, the second land addition to the Star Wars theme park universe might be a more intimate follow-up to the expansive 14 acre first installment, but will hopefully add a bit of unexpected nuance to the overall Star Wars theme park experience at Walt Disney World.
Super cool to ride the monorail into Epcot, and vice versa into MK. All it takes is boarding the express or resort monorail line going to the TTC (transportation and ticket center) getting off, and getting on the Epcot monorail line
