Disney is getting ever close to opening up Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and that means more details for all of us. Here is some brand new information regarding the attractions that will be inside of Galaxy’s Edge on both coasts, and some new teaser trailers along with them!
Per D23:
Adventures abound in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, coming this summer to Disneyland Resort and this fall to Walt Disney World Resort. Encompassing 14 acres in each park, the immersive lands build off decades of collaboration between Walt Disney Imagineering and Lucasfilm Ltd. Droids and humans alike will be transported to the planet Batuu, located along the galaxy’s Outer Rim on the fringe of Wild Space. There, they will discover the Black Spire Outpost, an infamous port for explorers, smugglers, and traders who want to fly under the radar—literally and figuratively.
In their efforts to defeat the First Order, the Resistance has temporarily set up shop in an abandoned, ancient base encircled by forests, mountains, and rivers on the outskirts of Black Spire Outpost. Throughout the land in both parks, fans may see some familiar faces, including Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, BB-8, and Chewbacca—and even find themselves in a face-off with the First Order.
There are three carefully designed entrance points to Galaxy’s Edge in Disneyland, allowing guess to enter via Critter Country, Fantasyland, or Frontierland, and two entrance points at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Short enclosed passageways between lands are designed to compress and then expand the views of visitors, like a movie fading out and then back in, to ensure that the first sight of Galaxy’s Edge is a carefully framed, cinematic view.
As previously announced, Academy Award®-winning composer John Williams has created original musical themes especially for the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge land and its attractions; composers and songwriters from all over the world also contributed original songs for Oga’s Cantina.
Altogether, between 5,000 and 6,000 people have touched the projects on both coasts. “We wanted to build a place where guests could feel, ‘I could be meaningful here,’” says Scott Trowbridge, portfolio creative executive, Walt Disney Imagineering. “[But] if you want to be passive, you can just watch, too.” Long before construction began, Trowbridge says Star Wars fans would almost all tell him the same thing: “Oh, my gosh! I want to fly on the Millennium Falcon.” Thanks to Trowbridge, the Imagineers, and Lucasfilm, that shared dream is about to become a reality.
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Two thrilling attractions await those bold enough to oppose the First Order. In Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, guests will climb into the cockpit of “the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy” to take control of the ship, acting in one of three roles: pilot, flight engineer, or gunner.
“Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is a level of guest participation in a ride that we haven’t done,” says Robin Reardon, portfolio executive producer, Walt Disney Imagineering. “When you step into that cockpit as the only flight crew of the onlyMillennium Falcon for the day that’s going on that mission, that’s a pretty amazing leap in terms of storytelling from the very beginning. And the payoff and participatory nature of the experience are, so far, unparalleled.”
The second attraction, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, is one of the most advanced and immersive experiences ever undertaken by Walt Disney Imagineering. As new Resistance recruits, guests will join a climactic battle against the First Order, including a run-in with Kylo Ren. Their journey will take them inside a full-size starship and aboard a nearby Star Destroyer.
Disney Imagineers worked with Lucasfilm Ltd., as well as with directors and producers J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson, to maximize the experience. “It’s more than just a ride,” says John Larena, executive creative director, Walt Disney Imagineering. “It’s a cinematic immersive experience.”
Calling it “one of the most complex things we have ever done,” Reardon promises Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is replete with “experiential, jaw-dropping, how-did-they-do-that? moments.”
Adds Larena, “We have had wonderful cooperation with Lucasfilm, coordinating shoots with [the actors’] shoots. Turns out, they’re fans, as well. We’re thrilled to get them on a ride, and they’re thrilled to be on a ride. Fitting this within the framework of the movies is very important.” And since the stars mostly film in front of façades on set, “To see it all around is amazing for them.”
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