When Star Wars themed lands open at Walt Disney World and Disneyland in 2019, things are going to be interactive. Maybe, a little too interactive.
Concept art from the 2019 Star Wars themed lands coming to Disney. Image: Disney
During a panel at Star Wars Celebration in Orlando this weekend, it was revealed that the fully immersive theme park areas will allow visitors to develop a reputation. That’s right. 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. The whole point is to immerse the viewer in Star Wars in a way they have never felt before.
How will this be executed? We have no idea. Maybe something to do with the technology used in MagicBands? Imagineers and executives aren’t telling (though they did test something similar in 2014). Nor were they detailing the stories the land will tell or which characters, new or old, will inhabit it.
What they were willing to say is that these lands will be based on a brand new planet created just for these locations. It’s a remote outpost somewhere on the edge of wild space that was once very popular. However, after the development of hyperdrive, it became much less busy. That anonymity made it a destination for people who didn’t want to be found. It’s a place with a deep Star Wars history, we just haven’t learned about it yet.
Here’s a video with a bit more information on the world.
More information on Star Wars theme parks will be revealed at the D23 Expo in July. Watch the full panel below courtesy of Inside the Magic.