Star Wars Stuff on Star Wars Day

 by Ray Keating

News/Analysis

DisneyBizJournal.com

May 4, 2021

 

May the 4th! Happy Star Wars Day! Here’s an opportunity to take stock regarding what you’re most excited about in the Star Wars universe. As it turns out, there’s a heck of a lot on the way.

 

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser

 

First, what’s the deal with the “real” lightsaber, created by Walt Disney Imagineering Research and Development? Well, we might not find out the full story until Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser starts embarking on two-night journeys in 2022. 

And with or without that new lightsaber, I’m exceedingly interested in finding out how guests’ personal adventures will play out on the starcruiser, given the various descriptions that Disney has served up – including this latest one at the Disney Parks Blog – about this immersive experience. 

 

Over at StarWars.com,  there’s even more info. Ann Morrow Johnson, an architect and artist at the Disney Parks, reported, “This is the Coruscant, Canto Bight, Dryden’s yacht, Orient Express of space. The food, the dining, the overall experience is an upscale, refined version of Star Wars that guests haven’t gotten a chance to step into yet.” Orient Express of space? Yes, please. I look forward to dining at the Halcyon’s (the name of the starcruiser) Crown of Corellia dining room.

Merch from a Galaxy Far, Far Away

 

Star Wars merch always grabs my attention, and starting today at the Star Wars Galactic Outpost at Disney Springs, as well as at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, new stuff from a galaxy far, far away was made available, including apparel featuring the new Disney+ series “The Bad Batch” (more on that in a moment).

 

Oh, yes, new Star Wars desserts, including the Grogu Mini Dome Cake at Amorette’s Patisserie at Disney Springs, sound inviting.

Star Wars Lounge at Sea

 

For good measure, might a Disney Cruise be on the agenda? Hmmm. Well, perhaps your decision will be helped by the Star Wars: Hyperspace Lounge that will be on board the new Disney Wish cruise ship when it ventures onto the high seas in the summer of 2022. This lounge is being billed as “a high-end, immersive Star Wars bar for adults.”

 

From an interview at StarWars.com, Imagineer Danny Handke provides some intriguing details. Here’s a taste for what people will enjoy: “Some of the galactic destinations that fans can look forward to include Tatooine (set during The Mandalorian), Batuu (‘almost a day in the life of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge,’ featuring the Star Destroyer from Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Hondo Ohnaka’s ship), and Mustafar (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story era). And Handke reveals one more locale exclusively to StarWars.com: the home of the Ewoks, Endor.”

What’s Coming Regarding Stars Wars on Screen?

 

Finally, let’s serve up a reminder of what’s coming to Disney+ and/or in theaters to enhance the Star Wars joy…

 

“The Mandalorian” – Season 3 has been approved without a release date set on Disney+.

 

“The Bad Batch” – a 16-episode series arriving on Disney+ on May 4 (today!).

 

“The Book of Boba Fett” – a spinoff from “The Mandalorian” that will debut on Disney+ in December 2021.

 

“Star Wars: Visions” – a 10-part anime series on Disney+ due to land in 2021.

 

“Andor” – a 12-episode prequel series to Rogue One due on Disney+ in 2022.

 

“Obi-Wan Kenobi” – a six-part limited series with Ewan McGregor back as Obi-Wan. It’s due on Disney+ in 2022, and takes place ten years after Revenge of the Sith.

 

“Rogue Squadron” – a movie about X-wing pilots is scheduled to hit movie theaters in December 2023.

 

“Ahsoka” – another spinoff from “The Mandalorian” will star Rosario Dawson on Disney+, but it has no release date as yet.

 

“Rangers of the New Republic” – another spinoff from “The Mandalorian” is supposed to bring a group of New Republic soldiers to Disney+. (No release date.)

 

“The Acolyte” – a mystery/thriller series on Disney+ dealing with the Dark Side a century prior to The Phantom Menace. (No release date.)

 

“Lando” – a series about Lando Calrissian, which also is expected to come to Disney+. (No release date.)

 

“A Droid Story” – a Disney+ movie featuring C3PO and R2D2. (No release date.)

 

In addition, Taika Waititi is supposed to direct his own Star Wars film, and Marvel’s Kevin Feige is developing a Star Wars film. No specifics or release dates have been announced.

 

If that’s not enough Star Wars for you on Star Wars Day, no doubt, more projects will come along (with a few, by the way, likely never becoming a reality).

 

__________

 

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the  Pastor Stephen Grant novels and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

Keating has two new books out. Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel is the 13ththriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. Past Lives: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story is the 14th book in the series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed book at www.raykeatingonline.com. And pre-order the 15th book in the series What’s Lost? A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story.

 

Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.

 

You also can order his book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York  from Amazon or signed books  at RayKeatingOnline.com. His other recent nonfiction book is Free Trade Rocks! 10 Points on International Trade Everyone Should Know. 

 

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Disney Parks Investments Will Increase the Magic for Guests

by Ray Keating

Analysis/Commentary

DisneyBizJournal.com

December 4, 2019

Today, the biggest fans seem to be the harshest critics – which is kind of weird, if you think about it. Anyway, that strange phenomenon seems to be most glaringly on display when it comes to Star Wars. Indeed, there seem to be no harsher critics of various aspects of the Star Wars universe than Star Wars fans. 

But for The Walt Disney Company, this fan-as-biggest-critic happening is not limited to its Star Wars properties, but occurs with the Disney theme parks as well. Lots of people love the Disney theme parks, but that leads to these same folks being hyper-critical of the parks as well.

A regular complaint among Disney parks aficionados is the cost of attending Disney parks. Naturally, no one likes to see the price increase of something that they love to experience. And any company has to perform a balancing act when trying to find the price that strikes the right mix of revenue and market size when trying to maximize profits. After all, if you aggravate consumers to the point that revenue and profits decline, that’s a recipe for decline. 

At the same time, though, one of the big issues that complainers tend to either ignore or only mention in passing is that the quality of the guest experience at the Disney parks has increased by multiple times over the decades thanks to investments made in those parks.

And those investments continue to be made – indeed, perhaps at the most rapid pace in recent decades – as made clear by Disney’s new announcement regarding opening dates for an assortment of attractions and experiences. Consider the following:

• The Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser – a hotel/space cruise experience - will open in 2021.

Source: DisneyParksBlog.com

• It was announced that Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway in Disney’s Hollywood Studios will open onMarch 4, 2020.

Source: DisneyParksBlog.com

• In the summer 2020, guests will be able to enjoy Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure  in the France pavilion at Epcot.

Source: DisneyParksBlog.com

• Disney announced: “Mickey Shorts Theater in Disney’s Hollywood Studios will show an original short film in the style of the popular Disney Channel animated series ‘Mickey Mouse,’ and will feature photo-opportunity locations for guests.  Today’s new rendering shows the interior of the theater, including fun Mickey Mouse-themed seats.”

• Three new films will debut in Epcot on January 17, 2020: “Awesome Planet” in The Land pavilion; “Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along” in the France pavilion; and “Canada Far and Wide in Circle-Vision 360” in the Canada pavilion.

• Coming this winter is the Space 220 Restaurant, which will be an Epcot table-service restaurant positioned 220 miles above the Earth’s surface, offering impressive views.

• Also opening this winter will be the Regal Eagle Smokehouse: Craft Drafts & Barbecue, which will be a fast-casual restaurant located at The American Adventure in Epcot. The menu will feature regional barbecue and craft brews.

• For those who cannot get enough barbecue – like me – the immersive, family-friendly Roundup Rodeo BBQ Restaurant will open in 2020 in Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios.

Source: DisneyParksBlog.com

• Oh yeah, and don’t forget that the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance attraction opens in Galaxy’s Edge in Walt Disney World tomorrow (Dec. 5). And yes, Disney is ready with an array of related merchandise.

Of course, investments in new attractions and experiences are not cheap, and are meant to enhance the guest experience. That’s just worth keeping in mind the next time you hear knee-jerk complaints about the cost of going to a Disney theme park – yes, from the same people who expect ever-improving park experiences.

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.