Star Wars Land

[GoofGoof]

MK - Nabboo
AK - Kashyyk, or Endor, or Yavin
HS - Tatooine
EP - Coruscant

It would increase the amount of park hoppers sold, AND if all opened at the same time it would prevent attendance from lowering at the three parks while increasing at one.

That's a lot of Star Wars. Maybe a little too much. Did I just say that? I'm all for a big Star Wars presence at WDW, but I'd lean towards having it condensed to one park. I cringe when I hear people talk about Potter 3.0. Just build something new instead.

 

[G00fyDad]

That's a lot of Star Wars. Maybe a little too much. Did I just say that? I'm all for a big Star Wars presence at WDW, but I'd lean towards having it condensed to one park. I cringe when I hear people talk about Potter 3.0. Just build something new instead.

Yeah. That actually had not occurred to me. It would be awesome, but maybe too much. In that case I'd say stick with either HS (Tatooine), or AK (Kashyyk).

 

[GoofGoof]

Yeah. That actually had not occurred to me. It would be awesome, but maybe too much. In that case I'd say stick with either HS (Tatooine), or AK (Kashyyk).

I think 2 parks would be possible. Star Wars is about as big a franchise that's out there so it has huge draw.

 

[FigmentJedi]

MK - Nabboo
AK - Kashyyk, or Endor, or Yavin
HS - Tatooine
EP - Coruscant

It would increase the amount of park hoppers sold, AND if all opened at the same time it would prevent attendance from lowering at the three parks while increasing at one.

I'd much rather have a Star Wars/Lucasfilm 5th Gate rather then spread em out like that.

 

[Yankee Mouse]

You don't even need to expand the park. You can get rid of Echo Lake and Streets of America and you have a huge footprint. I could see that being the approach with only Star Tours still here in the next 10 years.

They would have to find somewhere for Osborne lights if they get rid of streets of america.

It is likely though they will at least get rid of the Echo Lake area, and that still provides a pretty large footprint but that wasn't really the point of my very sarcastic post. I hate the idea of putting a Star Wars land into that area for a few reasons. The first being that I like the Echo Lake area, we like to get some ice cream and sit by the water and I would hate to see it filled in. Secondly, I wonder how that area would look. If they don't put some kind of wall up then you will come out of 50's Prime Time or Hollywood and Vine and be in Star Wars land, and I don't think those restaurants are going anywhere so I imagine some kind of barrier between "classic hollywood, and Star Wars is necessary. I guess they could put something up on the north side of where echo lake is and that would separate it well enough, but again that still feels like it is squeezed in there. It will be interesting to see how they do that.

Finally, and what my post was getting at, is that this type of thing is exactly the reason to have all that extra land, so they could expand. But instead of expanding, they build DVCs. I realize it isn't as simple as I make it seem, but why are we talking about how to squeeze it into DHS by removing current attractions (regardless of the size of the footprint) when they have all this land? Why is the land only suitable for DVC expansions? (Those are rhetorical questions BTW, I know the answer$)

Also, as I was typing this I realized, Echo Base is the name of the rebel base on Hoth. Kind of adds some irony to filling in Echo Lake to make a star wars land.

 

[FigmentJedi]

They would have to find somewhere for Osborne lights if they get rid of streets of america.

It is likely though they will at least get rid of the Echo Lake area, and that still provides a pretty large footprint but that wasn't really the point of my very sarcastic post. I hate the idea of putting a Star Wars land into that area for a few reasons. The first being that I like the Echo Lake area, we like to get some ice cream and sit by the water and I would hate to see it filled in. Secondly, I wonder how that area would look. If they don't put some kind of wall up then you will come out of 50's Prime Time or Hollywood and Vine and be in Star Wars land, and I don't think those restaurants are going anywhere so I imagine some kind of barrier between "classic hollywood, and Star Wars is necessary. I guess they could put something up on the north side of where echo lake is and that would separate it well enough, but again that still feels like it is squeezed in there. It will be interesting to see how they do that.

Agreed on keeping Echo Lake as a breather space. It's really the one actual body of water the park has seeing as the Fantasmic arena is just for the show and I love having Gertie around. That said, if Gertie had to go, take a cue from that Weekends poster and make Echo Lake into a Dagobah inspired vignette.

EDIT: Looking at a satellite image to remind myself of the layout, might not necessarily have to. Just put a little Dagobah vignette with an X-Wing with Yoda's house on the little island on the side facing the American Idol plot and keep Gertie and the boat lumped in with the Hollywood Boulevard extension or something.

 

[twebber55]

That's a lot of Star Wars. Maybe a little too much. Did I just say that? I'm all for a big Star Wars presence at WDW, but I'd lean towards having it condensed to one park. I cringe when I hear people talk about Potter 3.0. Just build something new instead.

definitely too much....diversity in your IP is always a good thing..thats why im hoping Universal moves on to other IPs for their next themed land

 

[GLaDOS]

definitely too much....diversity in your IP is always a good thing..thats why im hoping Universal moves on to other IPs for their next themed land

They're building a King Kong area as I type this.

 

[twebber55]

They're building a King Kong area as I type this.

yeah I know which I think is a good idea but I was talking more along the lines of a huge land

 

[jt04]

Agreed on keeping Echo Lake as a breather space. It's really the one actual body of water the park has seeing as the Fantasmic arena is just for the show and I love having Gertie around. That said, if Gertie had to go, take a cue from that Weekends poster and make Echo Lake into a Dagobah inspired vignette.

EDIT: Looking at a satellite image to remind myself of the layout, might not necessarily have to. Just put a little Dagobah vignette with an X-Wing with Yoda's house on the little island on the side facing the American Idol plot and keep Gertie and the boat lumped in with the Hollywood Boulevard extension or something.

Needs to be 100% degobah. Because SW was based on movie serials from the era (at least partly) the transition from the 50's architecture is not that jarring and creates a sort of transition by itself. The lake is sort of tucked away until you fully turn the corner. Just add some rock work and you have a transition.

 

[GoofGoof]

definitely too much....diversity in your IP is always a good thing..thats why im hoping Universal moves on to other IPs for their next themed land

They're building a King Kong area as I type this.

I know it's just fanboi banter at this point, but in another thread everyone was gushing over the prospect of when Potter 3.0 would open or what parts of the books/movies they would use. On one hand everything Potter so far has been really good so why not continue with the winning game plan, but I would personally like to see something else next. Kong has potential. I think they could do something else with JP too or go a completely new direction.

 

[RSoxNo1]

They would have to find somewhere for Osborne lights if they get rid of streets of america.

It is likely though they will at least get rid of the Echo Lake area, and that still provides a pretty large footprint but that wasn't really the point of my very sarcastic post. I hate the idea of putting a Star Wars land into that area for a few reasons. The first being that I like the Echo Lake area, we like to get some ice cream and sit by the water and I would hate to see it filled in. Secondly, I wonder how that area would look. If they don't put some kind of wall up then you will come out of 50's Prime Time or Hollywood and Vine and be in Star Wars land, and I don't think those restaurants are going anywhere so I imagine some kind of barrier between "classic hollywood, and Star Wars is necessary. I guess they could put something up on the north side of where echo lake is and that would separate it well enough, but again that still feels like it is squeezed in there. It will be interesting to see how they do that.

Finally, and what my post was getting at, is that this type of thing is exactly the reason to have all that extra land, so they could expand. But instead of expanding, they build DVCs. I realize it isn't as simple as I make it seem, but why are we talking about how to squeeze it into DHS by removing current attractions (regardless of the size of the footprint) when they have all this land? Why is the land only suitable for DVC expansions? (Those are rhetorical questions BTW, I know the answer$)

Also, as I was typing this I realized, Echo Base is the name of the rebel base on Hoth. Kind of adds some irony to filling in Echo Lake to make a star wars land.

Building facades aren't exactly difficult to build. I've suggested moving them to the plot of land behind Tower/RnRC and constructing a set to display them that isn't used during the rest of the year.

 

[GoofGoof]

Building facades aren't exactly difficult to build. I've suggested moving them to the plot of land behind Tower/RnRC and constructing a set to display them that isn't used during the rest of the year.

I'm not an expert, but could they just "unbolt" the existing ones and move them? Maybe it's cheaper to scrap and start over, but I would think real movie sets are reused all the time.

 

[doctornick]

Building facades aren't exactly difficult to build. I've suggested moving them to the plot of land behind Tower/RnRC and constructing a set to display them that isn't used during the rest of the year.

Yeah, and it isn't exactly uncommon to have parts of the parks that are seasonally used only. That's what Uni does for its HHN houses, right?

 

[Astro Blaster]

What intrigues me the most about Star Wars being added is how it will be added to DHS. Will it be one land focused on one location - i.e. Tatooine - or will they somehow create locations from several planets. I don't see how the latter can work unless they plan on shutting down a lot of currently offered rides/experiences while also adding on to the size of the park. WDW is still pretty good with theming, sight lines (when practical), etc., so having a mishmash of locations right next to one another without the proper transitions is just something that I do not see happening. I am in the camp of them probably doing one main land like Tatooine, with maybe a transition into a secondary land like Endor. If they try to keep adding additional locations I just don't see how it would work. To me, if DHS is indeed the first Disney park where the Star Wars franchise is going to be constructed, it should start with Tatooine. That is where the OT started out and it is one of the most prominent locations throughout the entire 6 film canon.

Although a desert locale, I feel that Tatooine - Mos Eisley specifically - certainly offers an excellent variety of possible rides/shows/activities/etc. The Cantina is a must do, no questions asked. This could be the QS/TS anchor restaurant in the area. Another option (I saw someone else mention) is Jabba the Hut's palace. It might be on the outskirts of Mos Eisley or wherever, but in this case due to the reality of the limitations of usable park land and the necessity for as many experiences as possible, I think it should be included. Jabba's palace could be another eating option, with a show as an added plus to the establishment. I think that to truly compete with DA at UNI, WDW needs to completely take out all the stops with this land. Each trip to Tatooine/Mos Eisley/Jabba's Palace in the movies needs to be rewatched countless times to tease out as much as possible for attractions/interactions. The experience should be stretched out to include CMs dressed in alien costumes walking around the space port area. Someone mentioned an AA Bantha outside the Cantina - excellent idea. One idea I have had for a show would be an evening show, where Tuskan Raiders try to attack Mos Eisley and several Jedi show up to fend off the attack. The ideas are limitless. In the Cantina, Greedo could show up, or at the very least, there should be CMs again dressed up for walk throughs to add to the believability factor. In Jabba's Palace, you could have R2 units serving drinks in the bar area - oh the magic band capabilities. And remember, this paragraph is mainly about the eating options and possible shows.

As far as rides go, in this scenario, I think a land speeder spinner would be good. And instead of all of them looking the same, each one could be unique. You could have a droid factory walk-through of some kind with CMs dressed as Jawas. The Millennium Falcon could also be a walk-through. But I feel that it would be better served as part of a larger queue for a Death Star attack coaster. On Tatooine, there is also the possibility of using the pod race as an E-Ticket ride of some sort. The Star Tours ride could be changed slightly in that it takes off from Mos Eisley. Instead of an Indiana Jones Stunt Show, you could have a stunt show (or actual show for that matter) based off of the great rescue scene from Jabba the Hut in ROTJ.

I could go on and on about this, and I am not a true engineer, just a fan of the franchise. There is so much potential, as I basically touched upon Tatooine only. I wonder what Scott Trowbridge and his team are up to. Maybe they are looking at this from a global perspective. Maybe instead of having multiple Star Wars lands in each of the parks, maybe Tatooine will only be in DHS. Maybe Endor will only be in DL. Maybe Naboo will only be in TDL. When I say only, though, I mean that they would be the primary-themed land. There is always the possibility to have other lands/options in smaller venues at these locations (i.e., Jedi Training Academy).

Time will tell, but as I said before, I hope that UNI has knocked it out of the part with Diagon Alley. I want to be completely amazed when I visit there because UNI has sold me lock, stock and barrel with what they are doing. I am a Disney fan first, though, so I am hoping that Disney responds in kind.

This franchise cost you 4 billion - don't eff it up Iger...

Totally agreed that the "one location" bit makes the most sense. I posted that in the Spirit thread but it works better for the discussion here -

These rumors of Star Wars land amongst the opening of Diagon Alley got me thinking - a Star Wars "land" wouldn't really work, unless perhaps it was essentially its own park.

Would it make sense to have an Endor speeder bike coaster next to the Mos Eisley Cantina, which was rumored? Not really, they're on two completely different planets. As a Potter fan, I'm impressed with the theme park areas because you feel like you are truly IN them. Being designed by the same people that designed the movie sets probably helps with that. In order for Star Wars to feel truly immersive, I'd think that they wouldn't be able to jump all around the galaxy in the span of a five minute walk.

That being said, maybe Star Wars "land" could be completely different in Disney parks around the world. I'm sure they will be able to recoup all the costs of building these areas since this franchise prints money, especially if they do it right. I know it's not "original trilogy" but a Coruscant area with the Jedi temple would make me pass out in happiness. Would be simple to throw in a cantina (like the one where the guy tried to sell death sticks to Obi-Wan) and a spaceport with the Falcon, too.

Ok enough armchair imagineering for one night, there are just so many possibilities for amazing Star Wars theme park areas.

My ideal scenario would be that each Disney park would have different locations. If WDW is deemed most important, Tatooine makes the most sense. Like I said in the post above, I'd love Coruscant, and definitely a new location from the ST as well.

 

[GoofGoof]

Totally agreed that the "one location" bit makes the most sense. I posted that in the Spirit thread but it works better for the discussion here -


My ideal scenario would be that each Disney park would have different locations. If WDW is deemed most important, Tatooine makes the most sense. Like I said in the post above, I'd love Coruscant, and definitely a new location from the ST as well.

This would be very cool. Unfortunately, reality is probably that they will clone the same things everywhere. It's cheaper and easier.

I think if they did the bike coaster at DHS it could be a pod racing ride instead of the speeder bike ride to fit the theme of Tatooine. If they chose to do SW at 2 parks in WDW adding Endor to AK might make some sense. Speeder bike coaster could be the E-ticket and they could build a walk through Ewok village. Add in some sort of projection of a half built Death Star (at least at night).

If they wanted to incorporate other worlds from SW without damaging the coherent theme they could build a dark ride with scenes from multiple planets/movies. Something like the great Star Wars movies ride. The outside could still fit Tatooine.

 

[GLaDOS]

I know it's just fanboi banter at this point, but in another thread everyone was gushing over the prospect of when Potter 3.0 would open or what parts of the books/movies they would use. On one hand everything Potter so far has been really good so why not continue with the winning game plan, but I would personally like to see something else next. Kong has potential. I think they could do something else with JP too or go a completely new direction.

Harry Potter 3, and most likely 4, will happen. But they will, and have, built other things. Transformers, Despicable Me, a parade, a nightshow, Springfield, Kong, a water park, new KidZone, new Toon Lagoon, expanded Seuss, expanded JP, etc have all happened or will happen in the Potter era

 

[twebber55]

Harry Potter 3, and most likely 4, will happen. But they will, and have, built other things. Transformers, Despicable Me, a parade, a nightshow, Springfield, Kong, a water park, new KidZone, new Toon Lagoon, expanded Seuss, expanded JP, etc have all happened or will happen in the Potter era

it will be interesting to see what they do after Kong...im thinking new kid zone and possibly a nighttime show for IOA...and of course the new water park all this probably by 2018
exciting times for universal

 

[CinematicFusion]

From Aintitcoolnews:

Harrison Ford will turn seventy-two this July, which means he is at that age where you don't want to sprain or break if you can help it. Problem is, it's a lot easier to break when you're seventy-two, and much harder to make a full recovery.

As you all surely know by now, Ford broke his leg a couple of weeks ago in a mishap somewhere in the vicinity of the actual Millennium Falcon on the set of STAR WARS: EPISODE VII. Ford's a tough , so I've little doubt he'll be up and at 'em as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the word coming from the set is that he could be out of service for as long as six months. And this is a huge problem because Han Solo is pretty much the main character of EPISODE VII, leading a galaxy-wide search party for Luke Skywalker. So I do not have a hard time believing Jedi News' rumor that there was an emergency meeting today on the film's Pinewood Studios set to determine whether J.J. Abrams and company can realistically make their December 18, 2015 release date.

I know Disney was adamant about keeping EPISODE VII in 2015, but if Ford's out, they've little choice but to shoot what they can without him and wait for him to get better. If that takes six months, this means the studio would likely be forced to move the film to Memorial Day 2016, which means they'd have to find another release date for ALICE IN WONDERLAND 2. This would also leave Disney without a major Christmas 2015 movie, so another tentpole flick would have to be moved into December. Realistic options? TOMORROWLAND (currently set for 5/22/15), ANT-MAN (7/17/15) or Jon Favreau's THE JUNGLE BOOK (10/9/15). There's also Steven Spielberg's untitled Cold War spy thriller starring Tom Hanks (10/16/15), but that's not a four-quadrant picture.

This rumor is getting a good deal of traction, so I'd expect some kind of official response from Disney fairly soon. Given what I know about EPISODE VII's story (along with the recent hiring of writer-director Rian Johnson for EPISODES VIII and IX), I'm genuinely looking forward to this new trilogy. It took them longer than expected to beat the script into shape, but they're really happy with it, and there's zero possibility of a significant rewrite to work around Ford's injury. Han's the man in this movie. That's not going to change.

 

[Lord_Vader]

I figured I'd bring this thread up given all the recent talk about Star Wars.

I also wanted to pose a question in light of the fantastic execution of Diagon Alley: One of the strengths of Harry Potter as a theme park land is that the books take place in a discreet period of time with set characters and locations. That makes it easy to do a quality replication in a theme park by recreating those locations basically as though you are "in" the novel or movie.

Star Wars has an issue in that the movies are spread out over long periods and have many drastically different locations. Furthermore, the locations are not as detailed -- there's perhaps some specific architecture and ambiance you could use to replicate Tantooine or Endor or Naboo or Coruscant, but there is very few specifically locations (buildings/shops/restaurants) to copy and little that is beloved. Mos Eisley Cantina is the obvious one, but other established places are particularly iconic -- do people care about seeing the Jedi Temple or Senate chambers? I think a replica of the Ewok Village would work. A lot of the story takes place in space which is not exactly replicatable as a walk around area (I guess, but would love to see WDI try).

And do you do one planet/land? Do you have multiple environments? How do you transition between them -- like is there an explanation/transport or are they just next to each other?

And how does time work? Would you set the whole land in one timeframe (the OT?) or do you put things from different times but in the same environment together? Is the setting of the land that the Empire exists? or is it pre or post that era?

So, I think it would be tough to really create the type of immersive environment that you see with Harry Potter or even Cars Land. And I have this nagging feeling that no matter what WDI ends up doing, it will be unfairly criticized for not having that level of immersion, even though the source material doesn't lend itself to being done that way. I don't think you can step into scene x of the movie and have it connect to scene y next door chronologically.

Personally, I think they just need to do it MK-style and have different "mini-lands" -- Tatooine, Endor, etc. that have attractions that fit in that land, no matter what the time frame.

They could create a playground that has the look and feel of a smaller Ewok village with tree houses, rope bridges, etc. that would be inexpensive to build yet give smaller children a place to burn off steam. Include a few nicely placed props such as the speeder bike photo op and maybe an AT-ST that is "open" from the rear for photos as well.

Maybe change Star Tours to exit through the back (this would require a lot of road rework though) and make every ending on the ride end on Tatooine. The front side is Endor (already somewhat themed) and the back is Tatooine (the side is already themed this way) but change the exit so you leave to Tatooine. This would allow the current gift shop to be refurbished, make it a SW themed snack location or a highly specialized interactive gift shop with only items like carbonite/storm trooper me. Sell high end SW merchandise here that would appeal to die hard SW fans and fit the theme.

On the backside it would be themed to the space-port and the streets of Tatooine would force guests towards the backlot express location re-themed to the Cantina and other attractions. If they do build a speeder bike coaster the front side would also continue the Endor look and feel in both entrance and exit. If they build a space based indoor coaster the exit could also lead to Tatooine and help provide the transition from Endor. There are lots of opportunities for small shops on Tatooine with a droid factory outlet, bounty hunters warehouse, and who knows what.

If they really wanted to spend some cash, you could land on Hoth and have a completely enclosed Hoth rebel base complete with an indoor coaster themed after the battle of Hoth where guests ride enhanced snow-speeders and battle AT-ATs in a slightly cooler than normal environment. This could be an augmented reality ride with projected targeting, etc. with physical sets.