Walt Disney Co. C.E.O. Bob Iger stated this past Tuesday during a conference call that the company plans for a far greater Star Wars presence in its’ theme parks. While reporting record corporate earnings, Iger also said that the Star Wars: Episode VII footage that he’s seen so far is “spectacular”.
Variety reports:
"During the call, Iger said when Disney now decides to build new attractions, “the likelihood of their success is greater” when they’re branded. “When we grow ‘Star Wars’ presence, which we will do significantly, you will see better bets being made that will pay off for us than were made in the past,” adding that leveraging the collection of popular franchises and properties that the company owns for rides and experiences will deliver “better returns than we saw in the past.”"
While this isn’t really news to any that have been paying attention, it’s exciting to hear Bob Iger again bring up the subject of new Star Wars theme park attractions. It’s been a hot topic of discussion ever since Disney first announced their purchase of Lucasfilm, back in October of 2012. There has been endless speculation as to just how expansive this “Star Wars presence” will actually be. How many new attractions will we get? Will there be an entirely new park opened altogether? That’s highly unlikely, but it sounds like we can expect this “far greater presence” to begin appearing in the near future.
More from the Variety report:
"The first look at new attractions based on the sci-fi franchise, beyond “Star Tours” that currently operates at several of its parks, will be revealed next year, Iger said during a conference call with analysts to discuss Disney’s record third quarter results."
This is a very exciting development for all Star Wars fans, particularly those who live near Orlando or Anaheim.
We here at DSOTF have been hearing rumblings for several years now; about a possible Star Wars expansion into the Disney Hollywood Studios theme park at Walt Disney World. This would make sense, since Disney‘s annual Star Wars Weekends event is held there. The problem would be finding room for Iger and company to “grow… significantly” at Hollywood Studios. While the park itself is very large, this process would no doubt force Disney to close a number of long established and popular attractions such as the Indiana Jones EPIC Stunt Spectacular or Muppet-Vision 3D. There have also been rumors of Disneyland in Anaheim fast-tracking several new Star Wars attractions, most notably a life size replica of the Millennium Falcon to be located somewhere in the park’s Tomorrowland section.
There’s no doubt that we’ll be hearing much more from Disney on their theme park expansions very soon. Keep checking back with DSOTF for all of your Star Wars related news!
Dork Siders, sound off! We’d love to hear what you all think about Disney‘s plans to open new Star Wars attractions at their theme parks. What types of attractions would you like to see? Do you have any ideas for Star Wars themed rides or restaurants? Leave us a comment below!
We actually think that a speeder bike chase through the forests of Endor would make for a cool ride. That would be pretty wizard.