Star Wars hotel | |
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Location | Epcot Resort Area |
Resort type | Deluxe resort |
Theme | Star Wars |
A Star Wars -themed luxury hotel is currently being built near Disney's Hollywood Studios, in the Epcot Resort Area of the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. The hotel accompanies the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge themed area in Disney's Hollywood Studios. [1]
Star Wars is an American epic space-opera media franchise created by George Lucas. The franchise began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The original film, later subtitled Episode IV – A New Hope, was followed by the sequels Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), forming what is collectively referred to as the original trilogy. A prequel trilogy was later released, consisting of Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005). Years later, a sequel trilogy began with Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015), continued with Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017), and will conclude with Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019). The first eight films were nominated for Academy Awards and were commercially successful. Together with the theatrical anthology films Rogue One (2016) and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), the combined box office revenue of the films equates to over US$9 billion, and is currently the second-highest-grossing film franchise.
Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Based on a concept by Marty Sklar, Randy Bright, and Michael Eisner, the park opened on May 1, 1989, as the Disney-MGM Studios (Theme) Park, and was the third of four theme parks built at Walt Disney World. Spanning 135 acres (55 ha), the park is dedicated to the imagined worlds from film, television, music, and theatre, drawing inspiration from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
The Epcot Resort Area is the area between Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort which consists of six individual resorts, five of which are interconnected via footpaths and waterways surrounding a large central lake known as Crescent Lake.
In April 2017, Disney contracted the website swagbucks.com to survey visitors in order to gauge interest in a possible Star Wars-themed hotel. As a result of the survey, Disney decided to approve such a hotel, with a visitor experience based on the Star Wars storyline. [2] [3]
Definite plans for the Star Wars hotel were first announced at the 2017 D23 Expo in Anaheim, California. [4] The proposal was announced as part of the unveiling of 23 improvements and additions to Disney parks around the world. [5]
D23 is the official fan club for The Walt Disney Company. Founded in 2009, the organization is known mainly for its biennial exposition event, the D23 Expo. The name D23 refers to D for Disney and 23 for 1923—the year Walt Disney founded the company.
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a population of 336,265, making it the most populous city in Orange County and the 10th-most populous city in California. Anaheim is the second-largest city in Orange County in terms of land area, and is known for being the home of the Disneyland Resort, the Anaheim Convention Center, and two major sports teams: the Anaheim Ducks ice hockey club and the Los Angeles Angels baseball team.
The Star Wars hotel has no set opening date according to the Orlando Sentinel . [6] According to renderings, the new hotel would be shaped like a Star Wars starship. [5] [7] The rooms would have children's bunk beds and adult-sized beds in the style of Star Wars bunkers, [8] with each room fitting up to four people. [2] Renderings also showed a lobby in the style of a Star Wars spaceship interior. [8]
The Orlando Sentinel is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company.
A starship, starcraft or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between planetary systems.
A bunk bed is a type of bed in which one bed frame is stacked on top of another, allowing two or more beds to occupy the floor space usually required by just one. They are commonly seen on ships, in the military, and in hostels, dormitories, summer camps, prisons, and the like.
Bob Chapek, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, stated that the Star Wars hotel would be Disney's "most experiential concept ever" when it opens. [6] Chapek described the hotel as a "100% immersive" experience that "will culminate in a unique journey for every person who visits.” [9] Some examples of the planned features included creatures and droids acting as certain hotel staff such as butlers; guests wearing Star Wars costumes; and an ability to interact with features of the hotel as if visitors were really in the Star Wars universe. [10] Visitors would also be able to have lightsaber training and duels (an extension of the Jedi Training Academy in Disney's Hollywood Studios [2] ); explore and pilot Star Wars spacecraft; and go on "secret missions" personalized toward the visitors' experience. [7]
A lightsaber is a fictional energy sword featured in the Star Wars universe. A typical lightsaber is depicted as a luminescent blade of magnetically contained plasma about 3 feet (91 cm) in length emitted from a metal hilt around 10.5 inches (27 cm) in length.
Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple is a guest experience based on the Jedi teachings found in the Star Wars series, located next to Star Tours – The Adventures Continue in the Echo Lake area at Disney's Hollywood Studios, at the Tomorrowland Terrace in Disneyland, inside Videopolis in Discoveryland at Disneyland Park Paris and at the original UFO Zone area in Hong Kong Disneyland.
One writer for The Verge called the planned hotel a "Westworld for Star Wars fans," noting the different hotel amenities that would allow the immersive-hotel experience to occur. [10] Mic compared the planned hotel to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge and Universal Orlando’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort, both of which are existing hotels containing immersive experiences, though to a lesser extent. [11]
The Verge is an American technology news and media network operated by Vox Media. The network publishes news items, long-form feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, and podcasts.
Westworld is an American science fiction-thriller media franchise which began in 1973 with the release of the film Westworld, written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced, Western-themed amusement park populated by androids that malfunction and begin killing the human visitors; it was followed by the sequel film Futureworld (1976).
Mic is an American internet and media company based in New York City that caters to millennials.
On May 30, 2018, it was announced that the hotel would be located just south of Disney's Hollywood Studios, to the east of World Drive. [12] That July, it was revealed that the hotel's direct entrance to Disney's Hollywood Studios would be located between the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance attractions in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. There would be a limited amount of parking in the hotel, although valet parking would be available. Guests entering the park by foot would have to cross over a drainage ditch on the park's southern border. [13] There would also be a driveway connecting to the parking lot of Disney's Hollywood Studios. [14]
In addition to walking, guests at the hotel would also be able to travel directly to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge by a shuttle-pod transportation system. This system would be made to resemble a shuttle spacecraft that would ferry guests between the hotel and the land while maintaining the illusion of traveling from space to the planet's surface and back. [15]
The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World and Disney World, is an entertainment complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, in the United States, near the cities Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is owned and operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, a division of The Walt Disney Company. It was first operated by Walt Disney World Company. The property, which covers nearly 25,000 acres, of which only half has been used, comprises four theme parks, two water parks, 27 themed resort hotels, nine non-Disney hotels, several golf courses, a camping resort, and other entertainment venues, including the outdoor shopping center Disney Springs.
Disney California Adventure Park, commonly referred to as Disney California Adventure, California Adventure, or DCA, is a theme park located in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. The 72-acre (29 ha) park is themed after the history and culture of California, which celebrates the fun and adventure of the state through the use of various Disney, Pixar and Marvel properties. The park opened on February 8, 2001 as Disney's California Adventure Park or Disney's California Adventure, and it is the second of two theme parks built at the Disneyland Resort complex, after Disneyland Park.
The Universal Orlando Resort, commonly known as Universal Orlando, formerly Universal Studios Escape or simply ”Universal“, is an American theme park and entertainment resort complex based in Orlando, Florida. The resort is operated by Universal Parks & Resorts. It is wholly owned by NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast. Universal Orlando is the second-largest resort in Greater Orlando, after the Walt Disney World resort, covering 541 acres of land.
Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc., commonly referred to as Disney Imagineering, is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attractions worldwide. The company also manages The Walt Disney Company's properties, from Walt Disney Studios in Burbank to New Amsterdam Theatre and Times Square Studios Ltd. in New York City. Founded by Walt Disney to oversee the production of Disneyland, it was originally known as Walt Disney, Inc. then WED Enterprises, from the initials meaning "Walter Elias Disney", the company co-founder's full name. Headquartered in Glendale, California, Imagineering was founded by Walt Disney to oversee the production of Disneyland. Imagineering is composed of "Imagineers", who are illustrators, architects, engineers, lighting designers, show writers and graphic designers.
Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Inc., formerly Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and informally known as Disney Parks, is one of The Walt Disney Company's four major business segments and a subsidiary. It was founded on April 1st 1971, exactly 6 months before the opening of Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida just outside of Orlando, Florida.
Universal Parks & Resorts, also known as Universal Studios Theme Parks or solely Universal Theme Parks, is the theme park division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The division, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, operates Universal theme parks and resort properties around the world. Universal Parks & Resorts is best known for attractions and lands based on famous classic and modern pop culture properties from not only NBCUniversal, but also third-party companies, for all of its parks.
Universal's Islands of Adventure is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. It opened on May 28, 1999, along with CityWalk, as part of an expansion that converted Universal Studios Florida into the Universal Orlando Resort. The resort's slogan Vacation Like You Mean It was introduced in 2013.
Sounds Dangerous! was an audio show at Echo Lake inside Disney's Hollywood Studios starring comedian Drew Carey. The presentation took place inside an ABC soundstage with theater-style seating. Guests were told that the show was an ABC test pilot called Undercover Live. Guests wore headphones and were in the dark for the majority of the show, however visuals were also utilized on a projection screen in front of the guests. Drew Carey played an undercover detective named Foster. In early 2009, it was announced that this attraction would operate seasonally. The image of Drew Carey along with the attraction's name was removed from the entrance's marquee and the screen was turned off, indicating the closure of the attraction, which meant that Disney closed the attraction on May 18, 2012, renaming it as ABC Sound Studio, and redressing it as the temporary "Carbon Freeze Me" attraction for the park's annual Star Wars Weekends event.
Toy Story Land is a themed land at Walt Disney Studios Park, Hong Kong Disneyland, Shanghai Disneyland, and Disney's Hollywood Studios. The area is based on the Disney·Pixar film series Toy Story.
Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge is a themed area inspired by the Star Wars universe, located within Disneyland Park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, and forthcoming at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. The area encompasses 14 acres (5.7 ha) at each park. Galaxy's Edge takes place within the village of Black Spire Outpost, on the wild frontier planet of Batuu, and features several attractions, shops, restaurants, and entertainment offerings.
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Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway is an upcoming dark ride attraction scheduled to open in Spring 2020 at Disney's Hollywood Studios in the Walt Disney World Resort and in 2022 at Disneyland.
Disney’s Riviera Resort is an upcoming Disney Vacation Club resort at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is being built by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products between Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios. It will be the first newly-constructed resort to be served by the new Disney Skyliner gondola system and the 15th Disney Vacation Club property to be built. It is scheduled to open December 16, 2019.
Disney Skyliner is an upcoming gondola lift system for Walt Disney World that is scheduled to open on September 29, 2019. It will have five stations located at resorts and theme parks.
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The Walt Disney Company is developing a Guardians of the Galaxy-themed enclosed roller coaster attraction at Epcot. It will be manufactured by Vekoma. Based on the Marvel Studios' film Guardians of the Galaxy, it will be the first attraction at Walt Disney World based on a Marvel Comics property. It will replace the Universe of Energy attraction, which closed on August 13, 2017.
The Walt Disney Company plans to add Marvel Comics–themed areas to several of its theme parks: Disney California Adventure in summer 2020, Hong Kong Disneyland in 2023, and Walt Disney Studios Park in 2020. The Marvel-themed areas or "land" will be developted simultaneously at the three parks and inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They will be developed by Walt Disney Imagineering, in collaboration with Marvel Studios and Marvel Themed Entertainment.