FILM-STAR WARS/THEME PARK 'Star Wars' land coming to Disney's California, Florida parks

Record ID: 143728

  • Title: FILM-STAR WARS/THEME PARK 'Star Wars' land coming to Disney's California, Florida parks
  • Date: 16th August 2015
  • Summary: ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 15, 2015) (REUTERS) ENTRANCE TO ANAHEIM CONVENTION CENTER AND SIGNS FOR THE 'D23 EXPO 2015' D23 EXPO ATTENDEE WAITING IN LINE AND PUTTING ON MICKEY MOUSE WHITE GLOVES SEVERAL HUNDRED PEOPLE WAITING IN LINE OUTSIDE OF THE ANAHEIM CONVENTION CENTER FOR 'D23 EXPO 2015'
  • Embargoed: 31st August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA5HGLENMDC9AQ0I529GAOU8U44
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: "Star Wars" is being transported from a galaxy far, far away to California and Florida after Walt Disney Co announced plans on Saturday (August 15) for two theme park expansions that will bring the celebrated film franchise to life.
    The announcement of "Star Wars" lands, made by Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger, comes as fans gear up for the December release of "The Force Awakens," the opening film in a new "Star Wars" trilogy at the 'D23 Expo 2015'.
    The first "Star Wars" movie was released in 1977 and became embedded in pop culture.
    14-acre (6-hectare) "Star Wars" lands at Anaheim, California's Disneyland and Orlando, Florida's Walt Disney World will introduce a new planet from the intergalactic film saga, the company said on Saturday, commenting on one of Disney's largest park expansions.
    The project will feature two new rides, including one where participants take control of the Millennium Falcon spaceship, as well as the Cantina, the infamous hub of rogue smugglers and traders in the films.
    Director of "The Force Awakens", J.J. Abrams, said he couldn't imagine a Star Wars land without the Millennium Falcon.
    "Well you know I think that Bob nailed it by having, by announcing a Millennium Falcon experience because as much as we could all name a bunch of things and places we'd like to go and like to see the Falcon is, I think even more than the light saber, the most iconic piece of hardware in the Star Wars universe so I think it would be hard to imagine a Star Wars land that didn't have something that involved the flight of the Falcon," Abrams said in a press event following the panel for his Star Wars film.
    Actor, Daisy Ridley, who plays Rey in the upcoming Star Wars film is excited to go to the park when it opens.
    "I just heard that then, I was actually like 'What is this picture of the Falcon in a rocky, mossy place?' and they were like 'It's Star Wars World' or something, Star Wars place? in Disneyland, I can't wait to go see it," Ridley said while her co-star Oscar Isaac hopes that the actors receive a VIP pass to the park.
    "I'm excited about hopefully getting like the VIP pass because I am in the movie right? So, hopefully I don't have to stand in the lines, that's what I am most excited about," Isaac who plays Poe Dameron, told Reuters.
    Construction will begin at Disneyland in 2017, while a start date for Disney World is not set.
    Disney announced several other park upgrades at its annual D23 Expo, a fan convention. They include an 11-acre (4.5-hectare) "Toy Story" land at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida.
    "You know that's not, I feel like there is so much that happens in the Star Wars universe that it's almost impossible for them to go wrong with it, I mean, there's just so many different places they could go with it. I think they should just stay true to what Star Wars is and we will be all good," Lupita Nyong'o said.
    And other than the confirmed Millennium Falcon spaceship ride the sky's the limit for future park goers.
    "In the reel, it does show me perhaps flying something kind of iconic, so it would be great for that to be in there, the Millennium Falcon to be in there. Um, I don't know, it would be cool to have my Speeder but I don't think that would be in there because it needs to be kind of a group thing. I don't know the whole thing's cool," Ridley said when asked to speculate on what other kinds of rides could be at the Star Wars land theme park.
    Disney did not comment on costs. The company spent $1 billion to build a 12-acre (5-hectare) Cars Land that debuted at Disney's California Adventure park in 2012. It will open a $5.5 billion theme park in Shanghai next year.
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