Robert Niles
Editor
Robert Niles

Let's look at the latest Star Wars Land concept art

July 11, 2016, 10:19 AM · Disneyland today released new concept art for its version of Star Wars Land, revealing additional detail about Disney's largest themed land to date.

The new image shows a complete aerial view of the land, which will extend from Critter Country to Fantasyland, along the northern shore of the Rivers of America. If you look closely along that shore in the new image, you can see the Disneyland Railroad trestle that featured in the new Rivers of American concept art that Disney released back in January.

Star Wars Land will be set on an as-yet-unnamed new planet in the Star Wars galaxy. Visitors will entry via portals on either side of the land, from Critter Country to the left and the old Big Thunder Trail from Fantasyland on the right. The land will feature two major attractions: a ride that takes you into a battle with the First Order and a Millennium Falcon ride, for which you can see the entrance in upper middle of the image. You can click on the image for a higher-resolution version.

Star Wars Land concept art

The rest of the land will feature themed shops, a cantina-style eatery, and interactive experiences including meet and greets and opportunities to "use the Force."

We are still waiting for Disney to reveal and official opening date for Star Wars Land. Construction's gone vertical on the Disneyland version, and the consensus seems to be an opening in 2019 with late 2018 being in play as well. Disney's also building Star Wars Land in Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, though that project appears to be heading toward completion after the Disneyland version.

Replies (24)

Anonymous878
Anon Mouse
July 11, 2016 at 10:33 AM · Not much of a berm between the rivers and the new Star Wars Land. You might see the tall structures from outside the new land. The train appears to be routed slightly inside SWL. Could the train allow a peek-a-boo view? I wonder what the black rock work on the left side will become. Looks like a forest of trees on the back side.
anonymous
80.229.228.32
July 11, 2016 at 11:02 AM · Sigh ... Disney Hollywood Studios hasn't even gone vertical.Instead we have a terrible cheap Toy Story Land being built.
anonymous
107.202.212.6
July 11, 2016 at 11:08 AM · Disney is screwing up Star Wars Land.

The Force Awakens was terrible, and its sequels will likely be even worse.

The original Star Wars films (1977, 1980, 1983) are great movies. Why not base Star Wars Land on these films? Disney destroyed Rivers of America for this?

Disneyobsession
Disneyobsession
July 11, 2016 at 1:05 PM · From the rumors I've heard, SWL won't be visible from any other parts of the park. And that's supposed to be a top priority for the Imagineers. With that said, I still don't see how some believe that SWL will open within the next 2 years? Unless WDC ordered 24/7 construction with 1,000 construction workers on site, I don't see that happening at all. While it does look like SWL will open first at Disneyland, the earliest that it will probably open is in 2020. I'm just hoping that the two E-tickets that will anchor the land won't be completely screen based rides, and I'm also hoping that they'll have a high capacity. But knowing WDI, none of these hopes will be fulfilled.
anonymous
24.205.29.101
July 11, 2016 at 1:23 PM · I'm not as old as the commenter stating "original Star Wars films (1977, 1980, 1983)" so I welcome a perspective a young person can relate to.

As far as "destroyed Rivers of America" my grandparents LOVE the slow moving boats. And I can't remember the last time me or my brothers or my buddies hung out on Pirates Lair.

No one wants to be told, you must like what I like!

Disfan
Disfan
July 11, 2016 at 1:38 PM · Here's the dilemma, Force Awakens was good, but maybe I rate it third best tied with Return of the Jedi. Kids today want to see the newest thing, hence you have Kylo Ren instead of Darth Vader in the meet and greet, even though Kylo hasn't proven himself to be a more memorable villain, and I doubt he ever will. I think the land should have been themed to the original trilogy, with the current trilogy in the third Anaheim theme park, but Disney decided to hold off on that, probably because all the money was going to Shanghai. Maybe we'll get the third park in 15 years or so.
rcdude
Writer
AJ Hummel
July 11, 2016 at 2:24 PM · This is looking great! It appears Disney is doing a great job with hiding this area, though the perspective of the concept art is a bit misleading. From what I've heard, the barriers surrounding the land will be 30-40 feet tall and then trees will be planted on top of those, so other than perhaps the top of Splash Mountain it should be mostly invisible from the rest of the park. The land itself looks very detailed and I think it will surpass Cars Land for being the most immersive land in a Disney park.

As for the theme, while the original trilogy is definitely more iconic I have a feeling that the sequel trilogy will connect better with Disney's target audience of today. Additionally, there really is no good way to cover the entire original trilogy within a single immersive land. I think Disney is making the best move they can at the moment, and as long as the land is good I don't really care where it is set within the Star Wars Galaxy.

TielO
O T
July 11, 2016 at 2:23 PM · THe new artwork looks less "vertical" then the firs artwork that was shown. Still not feeling the land because it's not based on any of the movies. For Disneyland they can get away with it but for Disney Hollywood Studio's, the movie park, it's weird. At least they should have build a dark side area next to a light side if the wanted to incorporate meet and greets. The meet and greets in itself are strange. Why meet the bad guy? It also takes something away from these characters to serve them up like that. The droids I would understand but main characters, no.
anonymous
173.55.54.180
July 11, 2016 at 3:44 PM · For the purpose of the artwork, Star Wars Land looks very close to the Rivers of America, so that you can "look into" the drawing. But in reality, when they actually build it, the trees behind the railroad trestle will probably be much taller, thereby "hiding" the new land completely.
It looks exciting and all that, but I still think Star Wars Land could have been the all new Tomorrowland we have been waiting for.
And the area behind Frontierland could have been "the Western River Expedition" or "Discovery bay", or something more appropriately themed to Frontierland.
And please....no more "screen-based" dark rides. Build the actual sets, build the animatronics. Make it immersive.
Lochkray
B Goodwin
July 11, 2016 at 5:06 PM · As expected, it looks like Disney is building something to compete with Universal's Harry Potter themed lands.
With 14 acres, and the Star Wars intellectual property to work with, nothing less than a game changer is needed, and wanted.
This art encourages the hopes that they will succeed in what they are trying to accomplish. An inter-twining series of pathways, with different "neighborhoods" and areas to draw your attention.
Lets just hope the rides, stores and restaurants are as top notch as the layout looks.
SC121
Still a fan
July 11, 2016 at 6:32 PM · It looks pretty spectacular. I'm drooling in anticipation.
I just hope the "battle with the First Order" ride will have real sets and AAs. Robert, any news on that?
anonymous
108.30.91.103
July 11, 2016 at 8:13 PM · Current rumors suggest that the Millenium Falcon ride will be a stationary simulator while the First Order attraction will be basically a 50/50 mixture of screens and sets/AAs on trackless ride vehicles. Essentially Disney's version of Spiderman.
CalvinEggnog
Gabriel Schroll
July 11, 2016 at 8:13 PM · I think it looks fantastic. Then again, that's the point of concept art, isn't it?
gunta
grant crawford
July 12, 2016 at 1:59 AM · I think it looks great. I just wonder how accurate it is.

Can I really get an X-Wing ride to the park?

anonymous
128.115.190.39
July 12, 2016 at 8:31 AM · I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth (especially before it's built!) but is it weird that I want some smaller ride back there? Some kid-friendly dark ride through the Ewok village or something? No spinners though. I'm sick of spinners.
SC121
Still a fan
July 12, 2016 at 8:33 AM · The opportunities to "use the Force" sounds a lot like the magic wand tricks in Diagon Alley.
THCreative
Writer
TH Creative
July 12, 2016 at 9:52 AM · The story of an orphaned young person, who discovers (during his formative years) that he has special powers, is armed with a light saber-like wand and is taught to use his powers by an old man who is killed by a dark villain sounds a lot like Star Wars.

;o)

MaxLaZeb
Max LaZebnik
July 12, 2016 at 10:04 AM · I wonder what will happen to Star Tours when Star Wars Land is finished. Don't you think they should just replace Star Tours with Hong Kong's Iron Man attraction at that point? The Millenium Falcon is supposed to be a Star Tours v3.0 anyway.
MarkSharp
MarkSharp
July 12, 2016 at 11:01 AM · I do not believe that this great looking concept art is remotely accurate in scale. Just look at those lush mountains in background. But it does give us an idea of the general layout and look of the land. Any word on the official name yet? Cannot imagine it will be called "Star Wars Land". Max I wonder about that too. Star Tours would totally seem redundant but it looks like they are going to put Marvel stuff in DCA, in a dedicated land in fact, so I kind of doubt Iron Man Experience will replace Star Tours but who knows? Budget constraint and the popularity of either attraction will likely play into any decision.
anonymous
206.202.88.34
July 12, 2016 at 11:46 AM · What's up with the castle tower type building that will be in plain sight from the Mark Twain? Will it be western-themed on one side and Star Wars themed on the other? The railroad it so close that the view will most-likely be obstructed by trees and rock-work. The Mark Twain, however, will have perfect view of that Star Wars tower.
Anonymous878
Anon Mouse
July 12, 2016 at 1:43 PM · Magic wands are not solely restricted to Harry Potter. Many places use them for games. Just been to Great Wolf Lodge in Garden Grove. They have the MagiQuest game that uses the magic wands to play their games. Quite costly and you can buy many accessories to give you extra powers and decorate them. You play the game on the LCD screens and many props like the crystals and the glass balls in the chest. I would think that if Disney really wants to bring dimension to the Star Wars Land, it will have a game with a magical Jedi object. The sight of many kids running to different stations, monuments, and artifacts will distract kids from ever leaving Star Wars Land. They should consider putting most of these game elements in a special Jedi building. The Jedi Academy comes to mind. After passing the first level, the kids can explore Star Wars Land to advance to the next level until they finish. In the future, put additional levels or an entirely new game in a remodeled Tomorrowland. They can do this for the Marvel IP. Create a new game in the unused warehouse buildings for Avengers Headquarters. There's many possibilities. Take on the role of Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow, and Hulk. Destroy enemies like Loki. Make friends and join quests.
anonymous
173.55.54.180
July 12, 2016 at 5:44 PM · Supposedly, it is rumored that the "next big thing" after Star Wars Land opens is an expanded and remodeled New Fantasyland. Toontown will likely go. The Storybook Canal boats {although beautiful} will be up for grabs, as they expand all of Fantasyland. But that's probably 4-5 years from now. Meanwhile, Tomorrowland just sits there in thematically bad shape. Tomorrowland should have received a major "refresh" 8 years ago. I know these things cost a lot of money, but Disney HAS a lot of money. Last night on the television news, they announced that Disney's new Star Wars Land will cost one billion dollars.
anonymous
198.181.11.141
July 14, 2016 at 6:35 AM · Best part of the picture -- there is a Keel Boat on the river!
anonymous
76.90.20.106
July 14, 2016 at 9:27 AM · So for $2 billion and 2 years, we're going to get only 2 rides? And I thought most of the construction was scheduled to be completed next year?
This concept art still does not appear 'to scale', the lot they're building on can't possibly accommodate the land depicted in this image. Unless there will be some visual trickery, similar to Main St, of course on a much grander scale. As for Tomorrowland and Star Tours - ST needs to be relocated to the new SW Land and then give Tomorrowland the refurbishment it so desperately needs. It is an absolute eye sore - most notably the People Mover track. I'm not quite understanding the allocation of the construction and refurb budget in Anaheim. Oh well.

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