When I was a kid, my favorite part of Disneyland was Tomorrowland. If someone asked what my favorite land was, I wouldn’t even hesitate. To be honest, there was really only one reason. I never liked the rockets that spun around in a circle, Space Mountain always made me a little sick afterwards, Autopia was ok if you liked the smell of exhaust, the Monorail was cool looking but pretty boring to ride, and the Submarines looked like an old, cheap swimming pool. The one reason I loved Tomorrowland was Star Tours. The first time i went on that ride, I was hooked. It was like being in the Star Wars movies, and that was awesome. It wasn’t just the ride, either, but the whole queue leading up to the ride. You got to see C3PO and R2D2 up close and other droids. You got to see travel ads for different Star Wars locations. Then there was the safety presentation at the beginning of the ride. It was all pretty magical to this little kid. I remember thinking that someone should make a whole theme park just based on Star Wars. I would love it. Of course, this was probably never going to happen.
This was during the time between Return of the Jedi and the prequels, when there was little hope of “more” Star Wars. There was no announcement of the prequels coming and it seemed that Star Wars was going to be a cult classic that would always be popular amongst a certain crowd, and not much more. No one was going to build a them park out of that. Fast forward a few years, and we have Phantom Menace, and Star Wars is opened up to a whole new generation, and it begins its journey from just a super successful, quirky trilogy, to a mega franchise consisting of 7 films (soon to be 8) counting the Clone Wars feature-length film and two super successful animated series. It has become one the most recognizable brands in the world, on a level that rivals Disney in its own right. As all of this was happening, I thought maybe someone somewhere would finally build my Star Wars theme park, but it again looked like nothing was going to happen there.
Then, the historic day when George made a deal with the Mouse for the purchase of Lucasfilms, including the rights to Star Wars. The day Princess Leia became a Disney Princess. A lot of folks were unsure about what this would mean for the beloved franchise. A lot of people may have even been upset. I hoped it would mean that we would see a larger Star Wars presence in the parks. Well, one park in particular, Disneyland. I never go to Orlando, so I don’t really care as much about Disney World. Disney was quick to announce that they would be making a new trilogy of films that would serve as episodes VII, VIII, and IX. Then they announced they would be doing a bunch of stand alone films as well, and everyone got excited. I waited, hoping that somehow the Star Wars presence would increase in Disneyland.
I always thought it would be nice to redo Tomorrowland, give it a better theme, an updated theme. When Disney bought Lucasfilms, I thought Star Wars might be a great overall theme for Tomorrowland. My brighter was quick to point out that it wouldn’t really work since Tomorrowland is all about, well, tomorrow, and Star Wars happens “long ago.” This is why we’re not really on speaking terms. Ok, we are, and he was right, so maybe Tomorrowland won’t work for Star Wars, but what other land would it fit in? Frontierland? Maybe Adventureland? I mean, there isn’t really any room to add a land, is there? It looked like if Disney were to ever do something as big as a whole land devoted to Star Wars, it would have to happen in Florida, and not in Anaheim.
Leading up to this last D23 expo, though, rumors began to circulate that there may indeed be a Star Wars Land coming, or something Star Wars related. Some rumors said it would replace Tomorrowland, except for Space Mountain, others said it would take up the Toon Town space and a little bit more. And it could have turned out that none of it was true. Then on Saturday, the news broke from the D23 Expo and these images started circulating Twitter feeds everywhere:
Star Wars Land was coming to Disneyland and Disney World. It will be the largest single land expansion in the history of either park at 14 acres each, and looking at the concept art, it looks glorious. Each land will ave a cantina, I’m sure lots of retail space and great food and two new attractions. One of the attractions will put the riders in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon in the middle of a battle between the First Order and the Resistance. I don’t even care about the second part of that sentence. The first part is all I need. Take my money now, Disney, just take it now.
When I first read the news, the little kid inside of me (the part my wife says I listen to more often than I should) almost fainted with excitement. I could barely contain my inner child, he was so giddy. My childhood dream was becoming a reality, and it looks incredible. This means, in a few years, I will be able to go with my nearly teenage son to southern California and between Disneyland and Universal Studios, we will be able to visit the worlds of Star Wars and Harry Potter. That will be awesome. I can’t wait. They have yet to release a lot of details, like where exactly Star Wars Land will be within the park, or when they plan to have it completed, so I am sure we will be hearing more about it as it develops.
What did you think of the big Star Wars Land announcements from D23? Were you excited as well? Share your thoughts in the comments below, or feel free to send me an email directly at [email protected].
