At Disney's D23 EXPO in Anaheim, California held during the weekend, the company unveiled its new Disney parks expansion, a "Star Wars"-themed park named "Galaxy's Edge."
Bob Chapek, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, announced the expansion's name while speaking to an eager audience at the conference. The company also displayed a model of the park, which was also featured in a video released by Disney Park's YouTube channel two days before the event.
Two "Galaxy's Edge" expansions are currently under construction at Anaheim's Disneyland and Orlando's Walt Disney World. The new park expansion will take guests to a remote trading port located in a new and yet unnamed planet on the outer rim of the galaxy, hence the name. Chris Beatty, Disney Imagineer and executive director of the new expansions, said the new planet is a "smuggler's planet," which is something that is in the heart of the "Star Wars" franchise.
Scott Trowbridge, lead designer of the project, stressed that the new expansion will be all about the guest experience. He said the park's highlight will be two rides that will allow guests to lead their own adventures. The first will allow riders take control of the ship Millennium Falcon while completing a critical mission. The second one places the guests in the middle of a climactic battle between the Resistance and the First Order.
Chapek also said during his presentation that fans will see familiar faces in "Galaxy's Edge," including BB-8, Chewbacca and Kylo Ren. The park will also feature a cantina, where Rex, a troublesome robot who received the most applause during the presentation, will be working as a DJ. Visitors will also be able to acquire trinkets and treasures from across the galaxy in the cantina.
Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge will open in 2019, first at the Disneyland Resort and later in the year at the Walt Disney World Resort.
