[Disneyland Park] Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge (31 mai 2019)

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Disneyland cast members will be the first to see the new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

Disneyland cast members and their guests will be the first to see the new Star Wars land during a series of employee previews running on select days from May 20-27.

Disneyland cast members have a difficult choice to make: Who to bring with them to the employee preview of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the highly anticipated new land coming to the Anaheim theme park.

Cast members and their guests will be the first to see the new Star Wars land during a series of employee previews running on select days from May 20-27, according to Disney officials.

Cast members, Disney speak for employees, will only get to bring one guest to the Galaxy’s Edge preview. But who will it be? Mom, Dad, brother, sister, girlfriend, boyfriend, best friend or beloved Star Wars fan?

Employee previews of Galaxy’s Edge will take place on May 20-22 and May 26-27. Smartphones will not be allowed in the land during the previews and posting photos to social media will be prohibited.

To get ready for the grand opening of Galaxy’s Edge, cast members will get the chance to watch all of the “Star Wars” movies this weekend during a series of screenings. Employees also received a copy of the first edition of the new “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge” comic book from Marvel. A fashion show unveiling the new costumes for Galaxy’s Edge was attended by 6,000 cast members.

A Galaxy’s Edge cast member preview center offers Disneyland employees a first look at the Black Spire Outpost village on the Star Wars planet of Batuu, the setting for the new land coming to the Anaheim theme park. Disneyland recently selected 1,400 cast members to work in Galaxy’s Edge.

Disneyland cast members will have to enjoy Galaxy’s Edge while they can. They won’t be able to see the land for free again as a visitor all summer long — in order to make room for the crowds expected to descend on Galaxy’s Edge. Free admission to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure is one of the perks of being one of the 30,000 cast members working at the Disneyland Resort.

Disneyland Resort employees will be prohibited from visiting Disneyland for free from May 18 through at least Aug. 31, according to the cast member block out calendar.

The Orange County Register - 9 mai 2019.

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How the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge virtual queue system will work after the initial reservation-only period  

Starting June 24, Disneyland visitors who want to explore Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will need to secure a 'boarding pass' in a virtual queuing system.

A second wave of visitors descending on Galaxy’s Edge after the initial reservation-only period will still need to book a time to enter the new Star Wars land just after they step foot in Disneyland.

Starting June 24, Disneyland visitors who want to explore the 14-acre Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will need to log into the Disneyland app to secure a “boarding pass” in a virtual queuing system designed to manage crowds in the new land at the Anaheim theme park

“It’s very, very important for us that our guests who are coming here don’t spend their time standing in line to get into the land,” said Disneyland vice president Kris Theiler.

Star Wars fans hoping to explore Galaxy’s Edge between May 31 and June 23 will need a free reservation in order to get into the land. No advanced reservations will be needed to enter Galaxy’s Edge beginning June 24, but visitors will need to secure a “boarding pass” to get into the new land.

Push notifications will be sent to Disneyland visitors when it’s time for their boarding group to enter Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Kiosks throughout the park will issue paper boarding passes to visitors not using the smartphone app.

The goal is to allow visitors to explore Disneyland attractions, restaurants and shops while waiting to experience Galaxy’s Edge without having to stand in long line to enter the new land. Visitors will have two hours to show up for their Galaxy’s Edge boarding pass entry after receiving their push notification. You must be inside the park to select a Galaxy’s Edge boarding group using the Disneyland app. There will be no time limit on how long visitors may spend in Galaxy’s Edge.

Early morning visitors will be able to head directly into the land without securing a boarding pass with the virtual queuing system. A status bar in the Disneyland app will notify visitors when Galaxy’s Edge is full and boarding passes are required. Late night visitors may also find that boarding passes are not required to enter the land.

Disneyland plans to stop using the virtual queuing system as soon as crowds dissipate.

The Orange County Register - 9 mai 2019.

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I saw the finished Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland and you’re going to be blown away  

Take an exclusive tour of Black Spire Outpost on the Star Wars planet of Batuu, the setting for the 14-acre Galaxy’s Edge themed land set to debut May 31 at Disneyland.
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Seeing the mandible tips of the 100-foot-long Millennium Falcon poking into view in the open backstage elephant doors nearly made my heart skip a beat as I stepped into Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge for a preview tour of Disneyland’s highly anticipated newest themed land.

“Pretty cool, huh?” said Disneyland vice president Kris Theiler.

Pretty cool doesn’t begin to describe the feeling of seeing the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy standing before me in all its battle-scarred glory. Try somewhere between hyper-ventilating and cardiac arrest. Thank goodness most people entering Galaxy’s Edge will have to make their way through a warren of winding walkways before coming face-to-face with Han Solo’s famed starship. Otherwise Disneyland might have to install defibrillators at the entrances of Galaxy’s Edge.

Earlier this week, Theiler took a small group of local media on an exclusive tour of Black Spire Outpost on the Star Wars planet of Batuu, the setting for the 14-acre Galaxy’s Edge themed land set to debut May 31 at the Anaheim theme park.

The Millennium Falcon sat in front of Ohnaka Transport Solutions, a shady interstellar shipping company that serves as a front operation for a clandestine smuggling operation. Towering 135-foot-tall spires formed a dramatic backdrop behind the ship, which serves as the marquee to the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run flight simulator attraction. An E-ticket ride so advanced that it may require Disney to come up with a new F-ticket classification. F as in Falcon.

“Obviously this is the Falcon and this is the Smugglers Run attraction,” Theiler said. “The cast are doing ride testing right now.”

The Millennium Falcon plays the role of Sleeping Beauty Castle in Galaxy’s Edge. What Walt Disney would have called a “wienie” designed to draw you deeper into the land. Galaxy’s Edge visitors will have to hunt awhile before they come upon the famed Corellian YT-1300 light freighter at the back of the land. And hunt they will because they know it has to be somewhere in Galaxy’s Edge. But the Falcon doesn’t reveal herself right away.

The Smugglers Run ride will be the only operating attraction in Galaxy’s Edge on opening day. In order to manage crowds and expectations, Disneyland will require reservations to enter the Star Wars land between May 31 and June 23. FastPasses won’t be used for Smugglers Run during that period, but the park plans to employ a single rider line starting on opening day. Expect the reservation-period queue to stretch backstage as fans rush to be the first to add their names to list of pilots who have flown the Millennium Falcon. Han, Chewie, Lando, Rey and now you. Disney really ought to sell t-shirts that proclaim, “I flew the Millennium Falcon.” No need to send me royalty checks. I’ll take an extra large.

I was fortunate to visit Galaxy’s Edge in February during a construction tour for a small group of media. At that time, the place was a hive of hundreds of construction workers climbing scaffolding, operating cranes and pouring cement. On Monday, it looked like Galaxy’s Edge could open at a moment’s notice. There was merchandise on shop shelves. Cast members, Disney speak for employees, were busy training in the build-your-own droid and lightsaber shops. And Walt Disney Imagineering, the creative arm of the company, was putting the finishing touches on audio-animatronic characters and stage-setting props throughout the land.

“We’re really in the punch list mode, just finalizing all of the details,” Theiler said. “We have WDI crews in here still doing the final finishes.”

A full-size Sienar-Chall Utilipede-Transport ship sat atop the cylindrical-shaped Docking Bay 7 Food & Cargo quick-service restaurant. The food freighter serves as an intergalactic food truck that makes regular deliveries of alien delicacies to the food hall-style restaurant.

“I’m excited about the menu,” Theiler said. “Our chefs did a great job trying to think of traditional comfort foods in a Galaxy’s Edge way. You’ll see something unique and different with every single dish.”

Galaxy’s Edge is about exploration and discovery. It’s like an onion. You have to peel back the layers. The more you look, the more you find. And like peeling an onion, it’s not always easy. Many of the shops won’t have signs out front. At least not in English. It helps if you know a bit of Aurebesh and Huttese. The signs carved into the facades over the shop entrances will need to be translated using the Galaxy’s Edge Data Pad found within the Disneyland mobile app. Unless you happen to be fluent in the Star Wars languages.

Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities is just such a place. From the outside, you’d never know what to expect when you walk through the arched doorway. Inside, visitors will find an animatronic hammerhead alien who deals in black market goods. You can even barter with the dangerous 245-year-old Ithorian if you feel brave enough. Just don’t expect a discount.

“He’s been creating a collection for years and years and years,” Theiler said. “You can come in and get lots of different and unique offerings from the galaxy.”

A group of costumed cast members poured out of a Batuu building on a tour of their own. The walkways were empty except for the occasional cast member dressed in Black Spire villager garb. The vast land is designed to envelop visitors in an immersive atmosphere from a galaxy far, far away.

A team of Imagineers was busy adjusting an animatronic droid who has the thankless and tireless job of turning a spit of “space meat” at Ronto Roasters. The food stand sells sausage wraps and turkey jerky prepared by a smelter droid named 8D-J8 who labors endlessly over a fire stoked by a massive podracing engine. A caged meat locker stood nearby filled with alien delicacies collected from throughout the Star Wars galaxy.

The open-air Ronto Roasters leads directly into the Black Spire Souk, which draws inspiration from the outdoor marketplaces of Istanbul, Turkey and Marrakesh, Morocco. Lanterns hung from the open-air rooftop shaded by what looked like air conditioning coils. A stall at the end of the marketplace displayed a collection of Star Wars blasters. Imagineers huddled under a black pop-up tent poring over plans for the land

“There’s villagers that are living up above,” Theiler said. “This is going to be a busy marketplace down below.”

A short queue weaved inside Kat Saka’s Kettle, a space popcorn stand that will serve a savory and spicy take on the theme park staple.

Plush dolls of Ahsoka Tano, Lando Calrissian and Jabba the Hutt lined the shelves of the Toydarian Toymaker. A silhouette of a winged alien named Zabaka will flit around the back of her workshop amid toys, dolls, games and musical instruments inspired by the Star Wars universe.

Oinking Puffer Pigs, tongue-flicking Worrts and vibrating Rathtars collected from across the Star Wars galaxy stuffed an alien pet store in the marketplace. The Creature Stall was crammed to the rafters with cute and cuddly animatronic beasts that filled hanging cages.

The marketplace souk spilled into a secret rebel base camp in a wooded area on the edge of the Black Spire village, where the heroic Resistance was hiding from the villainous First Order. Imagineering crews were testing the sounds of starship engines spooling up before takeoff during our tour of the land. Every once in awhile you could hear the distinct sound of a X-wing streaking overhead. The newly planted trees are so lush I couldn’t see the massive Rise of the Resistance that boasts four rides in one attraction. Disney calls the trackless dark ride its most ambitious to date.

At a clearing in the forest, a military outpost will sell merchandise to Resistance loyalists. The shelves were already filled with fighter pilot helmets and the distinctive orange and white flight gear of the rebel forces. Beverage stands selling the distinctive “thermal detonator” Coca-Cola bottles exclusive to Galaxy’s Edge had yet to installed.

Deeper into the forest, a rebel gun turret stood at the entrance to the Rise of the Resistance attraction. The dark ride, which won’t open until later in the year, will take riders on a journey to outer space where they will be imprisoned on a Star Destroyer and have to figure out how to escape.

A full-size X-Wing and A-Wing sat docked across from the Rise of the Resistance entrance.

“We’re going to activate this space with entertainment and characters,” Theiler said.

Down around the bend stood the Critter Country entrance to the land. I couldn’t see even a hint of Disneyland in any direction I looked. In fact, Galaxy’s Edge is a hermetically sealed space bubble that doesn’t let in any whisper of the real world, let alone the Happiest Place on Earth.

Heading back into the Black Spire village, a collection of astromechs stood sentinel in front of the droid-building shop near the Frontierland entrance to Galaxy’s Edge. A broad-shouldered yellow and red droid looked like a short but stout body builder. The sad EG-series power droid seen in the belly of the Jawa Sandcrawler in the original 1977 “Star Wars” film joined the lineup in front of the Droid Depot shop.

Across the way, a trio of landspeeders sat in a garage awaiting repairs. A Tatooine landspeeder similar to the one used by Luke Skywalker was parked next to a Jakuu Raider model seen in “The Force Awakens.”

“It’s a location for all the space vehicles that are coming in and need work on them,” Theiler said.

Following a set of droid tracks in the cement took us into an intimate courtyard covered by a sail-like canopy. A red R5 and a yellow R2 were getting an oil bath behind the Droid Depot shop. Across from a well-labeled restroom, a worker tinkered with a drinking fountain with a glass cistern attached that will occasionally be populated by an animatronic dianoga beast. The one-eyed garbage squid that nearly drowned Luke Skywalker dwells in the pipes of Galaxy’s Edge, according to the backstory for the land.

A menacing full-sized TIE Echelon starfighter lurked near the Galaxy’s Edge entrance from Fantasyland. Talk about a dramatic transition. The Red Fury flags of the First Order’s 709 Legion hung from the Galaxy’s Edge buildings. First Order stormtroopers will patrol the sector of Black Spire village that lays just a few steps away from the genteel Dumbo the flying elephant ride and the regal Sleeping Beauty Castle.

“This is really a big First Order statement right here,” Theiler said. “We’ve got a First Order shop over there. They are really trying to sign up recruits and make sure they know they’re going to bring order to the land and help everybody live a more disciplined life.”

The last stop on the tour took us to Oga’s Cantina, the wretched hive of scum and villainy that will be the first public location in Disneyland to serve alcohol. The copper dome-topped cylindrical building was built into one of the many petrified tree spires dotting the village. A double take revealed “cantina” spelled out in a futuristic font above the arched doorway. The bar menu will include a Jedi Mind Trick cocktail, Bad Motivator IPA beer and Imperial Guard red wine.

“It’s highly themed and very immersive,” Theiler said. “There’s a lot of neat little touches by our Imagineering team.”

Off in the distance, the Millennium Falcon came into view again beyond a curved archway.

“The long shots in the land are really beautiful,” Theiler said.

The sight of the Falcon’s cockpit once again quickened my pulse. The heart palpitations returned. As I said farewell to the Falcon and Galaxy’s Edge.

The Orange County Register - 9 mai 2019.
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Star Wars : Galaxy's Edge regorge de détails !

la folie tous ces détails quand même ! Et ce n'est qu'une infime partie

Wahooo ,c’est incroyable. Ils ont de la chance. On aura pas ça chez nous .

Zelko, ne parle pas trop vite, encore rien est fait.
Scott Trowbridge et Chris Beatty ont eux-mêmes confirmé pendant la Star Wars Celebration Chicago qu'encore rien n'a été fait pour la version Française, même au niveau de la conception et réflexion.
Après nul doute sur le fait qu'on aura une seule attraction.

zobyeg62 a écrit:

Zelko, ne parle pas trop vite, encore rien est fait.
Scott Trowbridge et Chris Beatty ont eux-mêmes confirmé pendant la Star Wars Celebration Chicago qu'encore rien n'a été fait pour la version Française, même au niveau de la conception et réflexion.
Après nul doute sur le fait qu'on aura une seule attraction.

Merci ça fait du bien d’entendre ça . J’ose espérer que ça soit un record niveau cash ,que ça soit tellement une cash machine pour la Disney Cie qu’ils reconsidèrent leur ambition pour chez nous en nous offrant du lourd . C’est tellement pas pour de suite chez nous que d’autres PC peuvent arriver d’ici la pour la zone encore libre .Et faire un Land entier et pas une moitié de Galaxie Edge .

Je ne veux pas casser tes espoirs, mais il n'y a pas quinze jours Scott Trowbridge réaffirmait lors d'un media event à Disneyland :

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While plenty of work remains before the opening day of Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland, Imagineers are already planting seeds for future expansion of the bi-coastal themed lands.

“We are being open to wherever Star Wars goes over the next decade,” Trowbridge said. “I would never put a limitation on what we might be able to do in the world of Star Wars.”

A smaller Star Wars area is also in the works for the Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris.

A luxury Star Wars hotel is being build in Orlando but an opening date hasn’t been revealed.

Many fans assumed Galaxy’s Edge might bring the end of Star Tours - That ride is not located near the new Star Wars land. But Disney plans to keep Star Tours open despite it not being physically connected to the new land.

Le management ne doute pas du succès $$$ de Star Wars : Galaxy's Edge puisque les Imaginieurs réfléchissent déjà à une future expansion des lands sur les deux côtes américaines !

Pour donner une idée, trois semaines après l'annonce de la date d'ouverture aux Disney's Hollywood Studios, les hôtels de Walt Disney World Resort affichaient 20 à 30 % de réservations supplémentaires pour la période septembre 2019 - mars 2020 par rapport à la période septembre 2018 - mars 2019

Ils sont bien conscients du potentiel du merchandising et du F&B avec pas moins de cinq points de restaurations et huit boutiques ! Même les bouteilles de Coca-Cola et les seaux à pop-corn vont s'arracher

Quelques photos aériennes de la version Californienne by Bioreconstruct. Les derniers détails à peaufiner et le rêve deviendra réalité dans quelques semaines !

Vinc, je n'ai aucun doute non plus sur la taille du land, qui sera petite.
Je parle à petite échelle. Exemple : le village.
J'ai moi-même démontré avec un modèle 3d que la position des bâtiments sur le plan de masse présentée lors de la concertation, étaient beaucoup trop resserrés au E-Ticket et ses preshows / files d'attentes. Ce qui remet en cause le plan (la zone Star Wars) de la concertation.

PS. Aurais tu le lien de l'article ?

Les infos pour se garer: https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2019/05/know-before-you-go-parking-during-your-visit-to-star-wars-galaxys-edge-at-disneyland-resort/

Impatient de voir le résultat en vidéo et de voir les attractions !
Même si c'est baser sur une licence ça à l'air d'être du grand art !

A smaller Star Wars area is also in the works for the Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris.

Pfff ,Dlp est toujours le vilain petit canard .Pourquoi ce manque d'ambition alors que ça va etre une cash machine ,je comprends pas ,il y a l'extension des Wds ,ok ,mais bon .....

Une petite visite privée :

Superbes photos, par contre si ils anticipent déjà les pannes dans les articles de presse ça sous-entend que la fiabilité doit encore poser problème.

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The goal is to keep the wait times for Smugglers Run under two hours, Theiler said. Accommodations will be made if the attraction should experience any downtime.

Ils vont aussi avoir du mal à éviter que tout le monde rentre dans la file de l'attraction dans les 5 dernières minutes de leur slot de 4h.

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At the same time, Disney doesn’t want riders waiting until the last minute of their four-hour window to get in line for Smugglers Run.

La soundtrack du land est magnifique! : p

les photos avec JJ Abrams et Spielberg sont à tomber par terre tant tout fait vrai. Et dire que ce qu'on voit dessus n'existera pas à DLP. Car clairement, ce land, si on en parlera, au-delà de ses attractions, c'est pour son degré d'immersion sans précédent.

Ce land fais vraiment rêver.
J'ai un tout petit peu d'espoir qu'ils aient réalisé leur erreur et que le raz de marrée qui attend Disneyland et les DHS leur fasse comprendre qu'il est encore temps d'agir... C'est exactement de ce raz de marée dont DLP a besoin pour se relancer. Ils craignent la prise de risques, mais ils ne cracheront pas sur le profit gigantesque d'un Galaxy's edge européen. Par contre ça pourrait retarder l’expansion des studios. J'ai hâte de voir la prochaine communication officielle concernant les WDS, et je garde espoir. On sait jamais. Le monde a changé, et aujourd'hui les revirements spectaculaires de dernière minute ne sont pas rares.

je suis comme toi, je me dis, bon sang, avec le fric qu'ils ont fait avec Avengers, avec celui qu'ils vont faire avec les deux SWGE (et toutes les extensions dans les autres parcs), on peut espérer avoir quelque chose du même niveau à terme. Le public français sait de plus en plus ce qui se passe en dehors de la France, on voit de plus en plus d'articles depuis quelques mois sur l'ouverture imminente des deux lands aux USA, et pour peu que la plupart des personnes se souviennent qu'une extension Star Wars est prévue en France, ils feront vite la comparaison en ce qu'ils ont vu sur les réseaux sociaux et ailleurs et ce qu'ils auront sous les yeux aux WDS... Ce serait même selon moi une très grosse erreur de stratégie de ne pas avoir la même chose chez nous.

C'est que Dlp a fait le choix de la prudence a l’optimisme vu la pessimisme Européen.. !

Oh que oui Fgth, on va croiser les doigts et quand je pense que les Ima réfléchissent déjà à l’expansion des Galaxie Edge américains. Vu que chez nous ,c’est pas pour demain peut être qu’à la place du ride du Faucon Millenium (qui ne semble pas être pour nous ) on aura un autre ride de leur expansion. Pour leur ouverture,niveau comm, y’avait moyen d’annoncer aussi la zone ,le Land pour l’Europe prochainement.

Cela semble être une bonne hypothèse, zelko. La prudence quant à la taille de Galaxy's Edge en Europe n'est peut-être pas de trop, surtout sachant que la zone coupée au montage comprend notamment 1) une attraction dont l'adaptabilité dans plusieurs langues simultanées fait débat, et 2) la majorité des boutiques et points de restauration. Peut-être ont-ils jugé que les visiteurs européens n'allaient pas autant dépenser que les visiteurs aux États-Unis, et n'ont donc pas pris le risque d'inclure des boutiques dont la rentabilité n'aurait pas été la même ?
(Et sans compter le surcoût éventuel dû à l'adaptation de l'architecture, du design et de la thématisation au climat et aux normes architecturales locales...)

Quoiqu'il en soit, les versions américaines semblent très prometteuses, et je suis heureux de voir que les directions locales aient entrepris de grands changements pour gérer les flux de visiteurs, mais aussi de voir que le design semble prendre ces flux. À en voir les photographies, le contraste avec les autres lands et leurs petites allées qui peinent à absorber la fréquentation est saisissant.

Je pense aussi que c'est une énorme erreur de ne pas proposer un land complet en France, comme je pense que c'est aussi une erreur la disposition des bâtiments qui réduit la possibilité d'une future expansion. L'espace n'est absolument pas optimisé.

Après je comprends que toute cette extension c'est déjà beaucoup d'emplois supplémentaires, des frais de fonctionnement etc. et qu'ils ne peuvent pas prendre ce risque.

En ce qui concerne les Land américains j'apprécie vraiment les efforts qu'ils font en thématisation depuis WWOHP et j’espère qu'ils vont continuer à proposer de tel land spectaculaire.

J'avais déjà posté l'info il y a quinze jours mais l'article suivant nous communique quelques détails complémentaires :

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What happens to Star Tours after Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens at Disneyland?

Galaxy’s Edge visitors won’t see familiar characters like Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia or Han Solo in the new Star Wars land.

The imminent arrival of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland has left many longtime fans of the Star Tours attraction worried that the venerable 1987 flight simulator might soon be departing for Yesterland.

But have no fear. Star Tours is not going anywhere in the immediate future. Except on an intergalactic journey to Hoth, Tatooine or Naboo.

Disneyland plans to continue operating the Star Tours ride and the Star Wars Launch Bay attraction in Tomorrowland after Galaxy’s Edge opens at the Anaheim theme park, according to Walt Disney Imagineering officials.

“Our other Star Wars offerings — Star Tours and other things that we have in the park — those are not going away,” Imagineering portfolio creative executive Scott Trowbridge said. “We have no plans right now. We’re not announcing any changes to any of that stuff right now.”

The new 14-acre Galaxy’s Edge themed land debuting May 31 at Disneyland will be set in the Black Spire Outpost village on the Star Wars planet of Batuu. The new Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run simulator ride in Galaxy’s Edge is expected to be a next generation version of Star Tours.

Star Tours and Star Wars Launch Bay will continue to serve as a home for older characters in the sweeping Star Wars space opera saga.

The timeline for Galaxy’s Edge will be set in the latest Star Wars trilogy with newer characters like Rey, BB-8 and Kylo Ren populating the new themed land.

“Characters that might be from a hundred years ago, they wouldn’t be walking around this land,” Trowbridge said of Galaxy’s Edge. “But that doesn’t mean that they don’t have a home anymore.”

While Galaxy’s Edge visitors won’t see Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia or Han Solo in Black Spire Outpost, familiar characters from the first two Star Wars trilogies will still make appearances in Tomorrowland.

That means Darth Vader will continue to pose for meet-and-greet photo ops with visitors in Star Wars Launch Bay. Expect villain Kylo Ren and heroine Rey from the current “Star Wars” trilogy to depart Launch Bay for Galaxy’s Edge when the new land opens.

Some characters like Chewbacca who spanned all three trilogies will make appearances in Galaxy’s Edge. Disney hasn’t said if Chewie — who currently poses for photos in Launch Bay — will return to Tomorrowland for occasional visits.

Star Tours debuted at Disneyland in 1987 long before Disney acquired Lucasfilm and the Star Wars franchise. The addition of the Star Wars ride came at a time in the 1980s and ’90s when Disney was introducing attractions based on non-Disney intellectual properties like the Indiana Jones Adventure, Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin and pop singer Michael Jackson’s “Captain EO.”

An extensive renovation of Star Tours in 2011 added new destinations and protocol droid C-3PO as the pilot of the StarSpeeder 1000. Star Tours added a scene featuring characters, spaceships and locations from “The Force Awakens” during the 2015 Season of the Force event. The Galaxy’s Edge planet of Batuu was added to the Star Tour itinerary in 2017.

The cancellation of the popular Jedi Training Academy last year after a 12-year run in Tomorrowland caused some fans to fret that Star Tours could be the next attraction on the chopping block. Others wondered if Star Tours might be relocated to Galaxy’s Edge.

But Disney officials say neither concern is founded. Star Tours is staying put in Tomorrowland and there are no plans to move the ride to Galaxy’s Edge.

Former Star Tours pilot RX-24 will be heading to Black Spire Outpost, though. Rechristened DJ R-3X, Rex will take on a new job as a disc jockey in Oga’s Cantina in Galaxy’s Edge. The animatronic figure will employ an original outer shell from a Star Tours Rex figure with new electronic functions on the inside. Rex will once again be voiced by “Pee-wee Herman” star Paul Reubens.

A nearly identical Galaxy’s Edge themed land opens Aug. 29 in Florida at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which also has a Star Tours attraction.

The Orange County Register - 13 mai 2019.