Disney Announces Later-Than-Expected Opening Date For Key Star Wars Rides At Disneyland And Disney World
The Walt Disney Company announced Thursday that a key attraction in the Star Wars-themed sections of both Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida will open later than expected, The Orlando Sentinel reports.
Both at the original California theme park and at the Florida mega-resort, Disney Parks has gone all-in with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. As you can guess from their names, both projects are intended to immerse guests in the universe created by the franchise, complete with rides, shops, and dining all intended to bring the experience to life.
Disneyland’s project has already opened to rave reviews. Meanwhile, construction at the Florida project continues, with an expected opening date of August 29.
One key attraction in both the California and Florida projects is the Rise of the Resistance ride, which the Orlando paper describes in its article.
“Rise of the Resistance will be the most technologically advanced ride in Disney’s history. Its storyline will put Galaxy’s Edge visitors into a battle between the First Order and the Resistance. It will include characters such as Rey, General Organa and Kylo Ren.”
On Thursday, the company announced that guests will have to wait longer than expected for the ride to appear at both parks. In Florida, it will open on December 5, which the company notes is Walt Disney’s birthday. In California, it will open on January 17, 2020.
Disney World announces Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance opening. Orlando gets it first https://t.co/tnkxucRzN6
— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) July 11, 2019
Specifically, the company said that its Imagineers — the engineering, designing, and building teams — will finish up in Orlando before turning around to finish up work in Anaheim.
The company didn’t make clear its reasons for the delay in opening up a key attraction. However, in a statement over on Disneyland’s website, the company seemed to hint that the scope and technological demands of the attraction are more than the building team was prepared for.
“We are pushing the boundaries of innovation and technology with these signature attractions and will not open an attraction until it exceeds our expectations. We also know the level of excellence our Guests expect from Disney and we take that very seriously,” the statement read.
Over in Florida, the Walt Disney World resort is in the midst of a major expansion, the likes of which it hadn’t seen in decades. New attractions are currently being built in three of its theme parks (to exclude Animal Kingdom, which opened up an Avatar-themed land a few years ago). New resort hotels and restaurants are also planned for the coming months and years, and construction is underway on a gondola system that will ferry guests to and from certain sections of the Florida property.
