Disney unveils 3D model of ‘Star Wars’ lands at fan expo

Los Angeles: Walt Disney Co. gave fans the first three-dimensional look at the new “Star Wars” lands it is building in Florida and California, including its jagged mountains, metal-domed cantina and forest packed with scheming rebels.

Disney unveiled the models at a preview to D23 Expo, a three-day, biennial fan event that begins on Friday in Anaheim, California.

The projects are part of renewed investment surge in the parks.

In 2016, the company opened its first resort on the Chinese mainland, the $5.5 billion Disney Shanghai Resort. That was followed by “Avatar” land in Orlando, Florida, and a “Guardians of the Galaxy” revamp of its Tower of Terror ride in California. More investments are planned, including “Toy Story” lands in Orlando and Shanghai.

The world’s largest entertainment company announced the “Star Wars” plans at the expo two years ago. Costing about $1 billion each, they’ll feature a simulated ride on the Millennium Falcon spaceship and an attraction that puts guests in the middle of a battle between the evil intergalactic empire and the rebels fighting them.

They’re expected to open in 2019 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando and the company’s original park, Disneyland, in Anaheim.

The theme-park division, the second-largest after television, is expected account for the bulk of Disney’s profit growth through 2020, according to estimates from FBR & Co. analyst Barton Crockett.

Earnings from cable TV, which generated more than 40% of Disney’s 2016 profit, are expected to be flat as that business copes with viewers shifting to online video options such as Netflix Inc.

The theme-park division has challenges, too. Attendance in 2016 fell at all but one of the company’s parks, the newly opened Shanghai Disneyland, according to data from the consulting firm Aecom.

New attractions are one way to entice guests and coax more spending on food, merchandise and hotel rooms. Disney has been raising ticket prices, particularly during peak periods, to try to balance demand.

Burbank, California-based Disney will entertain D23 guests this weekend with sneak previews of movies as well as the opportunity to purchase exclusive merchandise at dozens of shops situated in the Anaheim Convention Centre. Single-day, adult tickets for non-Disney fan club members are $81.

Chairman and chief executive officer Bob Iger will hand out the company’s Legends awards on Friday to “Star Wars” actor Mark Hamill, Marvel Comics icon Stan Lee and others, while Pixar’s chief creative officer, John Lasseter, will show clips from upcoming animated films. Parks division chief Bob Chapek is scheduled to preview additional attractions on Saturday.

Corey McConville, a 27-year-old pizza delivery man from Pittsburgh was waiting out in front of the convention centre with his friends from 10am on Thursday so he could get good seats for the Legends event. He planned to spend the night on an inflatable chair in the lobby. It will be his third Disney Expo.

“It wasn’t as crowded four years ago,” he said. “That was before Star Wars.”