Vote of the Week: Star Wars fans would love to know when they can start planning their Disney vacations to see the new Star Wars Land, either at Disneyland or Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World. Although Disney has officially announced its plans to build these two lands, it hasn't said anything about when they will open... beyond "it will take a while."
But even though we have no official news about an opening date for Star Wars Land, Disney's left a trail of clues for dedicated theme park fans to follow. By taking a look at the timeline of previous major building projects at Disney World and Disneyland, and considering the current status of the project, we can make a very educated guess about when these new lands will open.
Construction has not yet started in either Anaheim or Orlando. Disneyland has identified the site in the park where it will build its Star Wars Land, but Walt Disney World has yet to announce its location in DHS. At least one contractor is on board in Orlando, and the permitting process has begun in Anaheim.
Both parks will have to start major demolition and infrastructure work as the first steps in their Star Wars Land construction. Disneyland is moving some of its backstage facilities to remote locations in order to expand the on-stage boundaries of the park to accommodate Star Wars Land. Disney's Hollywood Studios is said to be working on new access roads and expanded parking, which will allow for the expansion of on-stage boundaries for its Star Wars Land, as well. In addition, existing on-stage facilities will be need to be demolished to clear space for Star Wars Land on both coasts.
How long will all this take? Let's look at Disney's recent construction history with major new lands. Disney announced plans in 2007 for Cars Land at the Disneyland Resort, completing that project in 2012. That's five years. In Florida, Disney announced its Avatar project for Disney's Animal Kingdom in 2011 and will complete it in 2017, for a six-year development period. Disney announced the New Fantasyland project in 2011* and finished it last year, for a three-year build. (*Update: Comment points out that the original plans for New Fantasyland were announced in 2009. The 2.0 version, with Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, was announced in 2011. So let's say three-to-five years for that project.)
Plans for Star Wars Land appear to be further along than Avatar was when it was announced. However, Star Wars Land will require more surrounding infrastructure development than even Cars Land did, and certainly much more than New Fantasyland. And then there's the timing of promotions to consider. Disney is also working on a Toy Story Land for Disney's Hollywood Studios and its much-hyped Avatar land opens in 2017 at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
It's hard to imagine Disney squandering promotional opportunities by opening any two of these new lands in the same year. Given that Disney has not announced an opening date for Toy Story Land, either, that tends to suggest that it won't be open by next year. If you save 2017 for Avatar, that slides Toy Story Land to 2018. That then puts Star Wars Land on deck for 2019 — at the earliest.
Disneyland doesn't have any competing projects on deck. But parking at that resort is causing gridlock on busy days already, even without Star Wars Land attracting thousands of new guests each day. It's hard to imagine that its Star Wars Land will open before Disneyland completes its new 5,000-space parking garage east of Harbor Boulevard, which is expected to take several years, as construction has not started on that, either.
So with all this in mind... let's crowdsource an answer here. (Or at least, a collectively educated guess.)
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Clearly the only reasonable date to open Star Wars land is May the fourth.
Unless Disney grows a pair and pays their construction workers overtime, I don't see this happening any sooner.
I agree. I was expecting them to open SW land at DHS first to get an idea of reliability, capacity, and crowds. I was surprised to see most people here think it will open at DL first since that park is already near capacity all the time.
Unless they completely eliminate APs, I have no idea how DL is going to handle an influx of more people.
The actual construction times from ground breaking to finished product (and I'm not talking about how they phase projects), but straight up start on an attraction and finish an attraction - runs about 6 months longer on average than Universal. 6 months longer than they used to as well.
Disney will be done building Star Wars approximately 36 months after they start construction. It's the starting construction that is often the problem with Disney.
I Respond: Why can't the Star Wars construction and the civil work begin at the same time?
Working Heart of House at Epcot and having quite a bit of knowledge about what sells the best, I would put my money on the latter.
Thoughts?
Really, I see the reason as something very pragmatic. To build the infrastructure improvements, a great deal of undeveloped property needs to be used. This requires a great deal of studies and permitting from the South Florida Water Management District. Disney does not control them like they do the Reedy Creek District. The surface and ground water permitting process is a big effort and the resulting conditions have to be acceptable to SFWMD not just an adherence to lines on a plan map. Unexpected things do happen during construction and plans have to be changed. Disney will not know exactly how the new roads etc. will look like until near the end of construction. Then the 14 acre Star Wars land plot plan can be implemented. But this is a guess, I don't work for any of the involved parties.
If you look a few blocks away from DHS you will find the Disney Springs development -- a civil and architectural project that is every bit as large as anything proposed for DHS. There seems to be no problem with building the guest areas at the same time as the civil work. That same project involved the SFWMD and RCID. It also required heavy construction (roadwork, three parking garages, pedestrian bridges, construction of an off-ramp from I-4) in an area where there is a water park and a retail, restaurant and entertainment district (including a live music venue, recreation [bowling], attractions [DisneyQuest], a live theatrical production [Cirque] and one of the areas most trafficked multiplex movie theaters) -- facilities that attract just as many guests as DHS.
They pulled the trigger on the entire expansion at Disney Springs, no reason they can't (or won't) do the same at DHS.
Another problem is scheduling/getting the construction personnel, bulldozers, cranes, plumbers, electricians, etc. for the work. There are finite numbers of such qualified resources.
I Respond: There were several acres of undeveloped area behind and Typhoon Lagoon that were torn up to build the Disney Springs off-ramp from I-4 and the associated traffic bridges. And the project absolutely involved the SFWMD and RCID. That area around Typhoon Lagoon was adjacent to the Bonnet Creek area – not to mention the Downtown Disney waterways – that posed environmental challenges.
Mr. Duda writes: “Also, no one is charging the people who visit Disney Springs $100 per day for the privilege of being there … “
I Respond: I’m not sure what that has to do with any impediments to starting civil and attraction construction around the same time. But, while folks are not paying an admission price for the restaurants or retail at Downtown Disney, they are still spending money in those businesses when they have alternatives at CityWalk and International Drive. Also people ARE in fact paying admission prices at House of Blues concerts, the AMC multiplex, La Nouba and DisneyQuest.
Mr. Duda writes: “I am sure there will be many people who would visit DHS despite the impediments to walk around just as there are many people who are going to Disney Springs during this construction phase.”
I respond: Um … okay. I agree. After all they built the Dwarf Mine Train smack in the middle of Fantasyland.
Mr. Duda writes: “Another problem is scheduling/getting the construction personnel, bulldozers, cranes, plumbers, electricians, etc. for the work. There are finite numbers of such qualified resources.”
I respond: The labor shortage in Orlando construction is certainly a concern. But those issues are managed at the subcontractor level. Writing as someone who has worked in Central Florida commercial construction for the last 20 years, I have never heard of a project owner (let alone Disney) base a development schedule on concerns about finding skilled tradesmen. Indeed, Universal keeps announcing work without fear of finding people to turn wrenches. Also the Disney Springs development will be substantially completed in May 2016 (if not sooner) – releasing a small army of “construction personnel, bulldozers, cranes, plumbers, electricians, etc.” to move on to new projects.
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