Star Wars Expansion At Disney Is Good News For Shareholders
It’s every Star Wars fan’s dream – a real life, interactive Star Wars land, complete with rides, shows, memorabilia and other attractions. This fantasy is about to become reality for Star Wars fans worldwide, perhaps within the next five years, thanks to Disney.
According to the Motley Fool, Disney unveiled the plans and preliminary artwork for Star Wars land last month. Earlier reports estimated that the project might not break ground until 2017, so the announcement was welcome news for both Disney shareholders and Star Wars fans alike.
The Star Wars land expansion includes plans to break ground at two Disney parks, in Orlando and Anaheim. Considering how well received the trailer for the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens movie has been, if a fraction of that excitement spills over to the Disney Star Wars addition, it could mean a boom in tourism and money for the park (and shareholders).
Star Wars is a franchise that even gets celebrities excited. In November of 2014, Anna Kendrick tweeted, “STAR WARS!!!!! Language and emojis fail to express what’s in my heart at this moment.”
STAR WARS!!!!! Language and emojis fail to express what’s in my heart at this moment.
— Anna Kendrick (@AnnaKendrick47) November 28, 2014
The Orlando Business Journal confirmed that Disney COO, Tom Staggs, revealed that the Star Wars section of the park could begin construction as early as 2016.
“This will be I think perhaps the most immersive land we’ve ever built. We want people to feel like they’ve stepped into the world of Star Wars and so that’s really sparked our imaginations and it’s got people fired up,” said Staggs about the Star Wars project.
It seems that Disney knows what its customers want and they don’t want to leave money on the table by prolonging the construction. Similar projects at Disney have taken two to five years to build. The timing on the new Star Wars land construction is a strategic move for Disney, as it will give the new Star Wars movies time to garner their own fan base, which could further add to the park’s appeal.
The Star Wars addition to the Disney Parks could be exactly the breath of fresh air they need to get out of the stagnancy they’ve experienced the past few years. Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida has come in dead last on attendance for all the Disney Parks for the past couple years in a row.
[Photo courtesy of StarWarsUnderworld.com]
