Disney shows off new Star Wars Land sets
If anyone can, it's Disney.
Disney has unveiled a lot more of its new Star Wars worlds at the D23 Expo, pulling back the curtain on scaled 15 metre model of the new attractions.
In a world of Disney parks crowded with new developments, including an Avatar-land, Guardians of the Galaxy upgrades and more superheroes than ever before, the two new Star Wars lands, set to spring up in Orlando and Anaheim by 2019, are Disney's most ambitious yet, coming with a price tag of about $1 billion each according to Bloomberg.
And that's just the construction. The actual park operations are looking at lot like Westworld in space, with guests immersed in a non-stop Star Wars experience for days on end.
The guest figurines in the scale models are dwarfed by their surroundings, which really brings home the sheer immensity of these projects.
Too much of a good thing?
You can't have a grand enough park, but the models might not capture the whole experience. If previous reports hold true, there will be a Star Wars themed hotel, rumoured to resemble the Millennium Falcon, and the entire stay will be carefully choreographed, with premade booking options in order to avoid breaking immersion. You'll take meals in the Cantina and give your drink orders to droid butlers.
You'll train with lightsabers, be given missions to complete and will generally be living and breathing Star Wars from the moment you set foot in the park. Disney has been putting out feelers for this idea throughout the year, and probably got an overwhelmingly positive response.
Come for the sets and costumes, stay to watch grownups battle kids in lightsaber duels, and then hang around to see park stormtrooper-armoured park security bounce them into a theme-friendly holding cell.
Ticket prices are reportedly going to be about AUD$1,200 to $1,400 for a two night stay, but it's when things go off script that you'll really get your money's worth. And boy, look at those sets.
