Star Wars is not only a spectacle to the eye, but will now be an overall experience. Disneyland officially announced its largest expansion ever that includes the making of 'Star Wars Land'.
According to the world renowned theme park, starting in January 10 of next year, attractions and eateries will close. Some will be temporarily, while some will never be opened again. This is only months after the park increased their entrance fees with almost 31%.
Avid theme park goers would bid goodbye permanently to the Big Thunder Ranch in Frontierland, Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue, Big Thunder Ranch petting zoo and Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree starting the said date. Meanwhile, Fantasmic, the Mark Twain Riverboat, the Sailing Ship Columbia, the Pirates Lair on Tom Sawyer Island, the Disneyland Railroad and the Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes will close temporarily.
A total 14% of the park's attractions will be closed either permanently or temporarily in an area that represents nearly a quarter of Disneyland's 85 acres.
This doesn't really bother the park executives, trusting that Disneyland continues to add attractions that would continue appeal to all the people-without age borders. With their Star Wars addition, they broaden their audience further.
"At the end of the day, you won't see any attendance drop," said Dennis Speigel, a theme park consultant and president of International Theme Park Services in Cincinnati. "The tourists will come, hell or high water", he added with confidence.
The said Star Wars addition to the park enables visitors to play the franchise's movie related video games, buy merchandise and meet characters from the movies. The eateries inside the theme park is now also selling food inspired by the characters such as "Darth by Chocolate" and "Cheese 3PO burger". Some news also reveal that some space will be used up for the construction of the Millennium Falcon model, in which guests could take over the controls and tasked to complete a secret misson.
Orange County, where the the Disneyland and Disney California Adventure theme parks is located, is foreseen to be the country's fourth-most-popular destination in time for Christmas celebrations and holidays, according to a study of hotel reservations by the travel website Priceline.com.
Disney acquired Lucasfilm, along with the "Star Wars" franchise, in 2012 for $4 billion. Last spring, Universal Studios Hollywood, the biggest rival of Disneyland, unveils its highly anticipated Harry Potter World attraction.
