While Disney is currently the king of the box office, the company has not been neglecting the theme park side of their business. Major lands dedicated to Star Wars are currently under construction on both coasts, and now we finally know when they'll be opening. No estimate was given when construction began last year, but today Disney's CEO told shareholders that both lands at Disneyland and Walt Disney World will be opening in 2019.
Disney head Bob Iger made the announcement during a regular quarterly earnings call which has now been reported by the Disney Parks Blog. Nothing more specific than the year was given, but considering these are the largest park expansions that either Disney Park has ever seen, it's entirely possible that they simply can't be more specific at this point. We're looking at least two full years out, probably and then some.
If we were to guess, we'd expect that Disney is shooting to have both new lands ready by late Spring of 2019. In fact, as we look at the calendar, we can't help but notice that Star Wars: Episode IX currently has a release date of May 23, 2019. Opening both lands in conjunction with the finale of the newest trilogy would seem like a marketing no-brainer. Star Wars fandom will likely be running as hot as it was when the franchise returned in 2015, if not hotter. In addition, Summer is always the busiest time at the parks and they usually shoot to have new attractions ready in time for that part of the season. Still, they likely won't want to commit to a more specific date as this far out delays could certainly happen that might push things back. Of course, they must be confident that things won't get pushed back too far if they're willing to mark the year.
Disney has released a handful of details about what will make up the lands. We know that the setting for Star Wars land will be a previously unknown planet in the Star Wars universe. It's described by the Disney Parks Blog as a remote trading port, one of the last before entering wild space. The primary attraction of the new area will be a ride that puts guests in the pilot seat of the Millennium Falcon.
Star Wars Land is currently under construction at both Disney Hollywood Studios in Orlando and at Disneyland in Southern California. While we still have a couple of years to wait to check out the new land, it's nice to know that we only have to wait for two more years. A construction project of this size could easily have taken significantly longer. Now we know the rides will be open in just a couple more years, and the massive crowds will hopefully die down four or five years after that so that we don't have to wait all day in the lines.
Will we see you in line at Disneyland or Walt Disney World? Let us know down in the comments below.
