Star Wars fans will have to brace themselves for hyperspace as some tantalizing new preview footage of the brand new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Disney Theme Park rides has now been revealed. These will be part of the massive 14-acre park expansions which have been designed from the ground up as peerless and immersive Star Wars experiences, presently under development at both at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge was first announced at the D23 Expo back in 2015 as themed areas based on the beloved sci-fi series. Earlier this year, fans got a taste of the new development when aerial photos were released, offering a peek at the massive resort project based on the smuggler-filled Black Spire Outpost on the planet of Batuu. The resort destination will also feature never-before-seen representations of iconic Star Wars Universe vehicles - including a life-size replica Millennium Falcon and built-to-scale AT-AT Walkers.
Bob Chapek, who chairs Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products, revealed these first-look videos at today’s D23 event, featuring the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Rise of the Resistance attractions. The former will see guests riding in the Millennium Falcon’s cockpit during a daring escape from Batuu, and the latter will allow them to actually enter and explore interior areas within a First Order Destroyer.
It’s been six years since Disney originally purchased the Star Wars franchise, but these new developments look to offer heretofore-unseen opportunities for complete fan immersion into the beloved culture of the series, fifty years after the release of Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope. In addition to a Star Wars-themed hotel also being built in Disney World as part of Galaxy’s Edge, Disneyland’s own incarnation of Oga’s Cantina will break a long-standing rule: it will be the first time in history that alcohol will be officially served within its main park area.
The Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run video on EW is definitely more of a teaser-styled presentation, but the footage in the Rise of the Resistance video looks absolutely stunning. Featuring a close look at the finished interiors around the ride itself (where attendees will get to explore their surroundings), the detailed architecture looks like a picture-perfect recreation directly lifted from the Star Wars films.
For now, Star Wars fans will have to be patient, as Disney Theme Parks prepare the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge experience for its official debut, currently slated for fall of next year.
More: Star Wars: John Williams Providing Original Score for Disney Theme Park
Source: EW
- Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker Release Date: 2019-12-20