Some news stories fell through the cracks during Star Wars Celebration last weekend, perhaps because we were busy watching the the first teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi and obsessively analyzing it. One of these news stories is what was revealed during Star Wars and Disney Parks: A Galaxy in the Making, a panel in which Lucasfilm and Walt Disney Imagineering honchos talked about the Star Wars themed lands coming to both Walt Disney World and Disneyland in 2019. (The 14-acre one at Disneyland will be their largest single-themed expansion ever.)
Beyond the normal talk about building an entire themed land (as seen in the video above), the panel revealed something wholly unique to these Star Wars theme lands. Seemingly small decisions you make while in the park will markedly change your experience, as io9 explains:
If you ride the attraction that pits the First Order vs. the Resistance, the side you pick will have ramifications throughout the park. Fly the Millennium Falcon in another ride and, depending on how well you do, maybe a Bounty Hunter will start hunting you. You may be asked to do tasks for one side or the other in a bar and, whether you choose to do it or not, could affect your park experiences.
That would weird me out so much and I want to go there immediately.
We don’t know how Disney will track those details, though io9 speculates it might be related to MagicBands.
The Star Wars themed lands will be based around a new planet lying on the edge of the Unknown Regions. It seems like an intriguing place from the description given by Disney Parks Blog:
The remote village was once a busy crossroads along the old sub-lightspeed trade routes, but the prominence of the outpost has been bypassed with the rise of hyperspace travel. Now home to those who prefer less attention, it has become a thriving port for smugglers, rogue traders and adventurers traveling between the frontier and uncharted space. It’s also a convenient safe-haven for others intent on avoiding the expanding reach of the First Order.
It isn’t just Star Wars getting the Disney treatment. Both Avatar and Guardians Of The Galaxy are also getting attractions. No wonder the ticket prices went up. Pay handsomely we must.
(Via io9 and Disney Parks Blog)
