Star Wars Land Debuts as Disneyland Biggest Park Ever

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Walt Disney Co. unveiled the wildly anticipated Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, providing an early look Wednesday at the ambitious expansion of its original Disneyland theme park in Southern California.

The 14-acre (5.7-hectare) project is the largest-ever addition to the park that founder Walt Disney first opened in Anaheim in 1955 and takes its place alongside the well-known Frontierland, Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. Galaxy’s Edge opens to the public on Friday and will be followed in late August by a similar expansion at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida.

Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger laid the groundwork for the debut almost seven years ago with the $4 billion takeover of filmmaker George Lucas’s “Star Wars” empire. The blockbuster deal, one of several under the 68-year-old CEO, spawned a new generation of space-adventure movies, toys, TV shows and now billion-dollar park expansions. It’s helped cement Disney’s status as the world’s largest entertainment company.

“This is the biggest thing that’s happened at Disneyland almost since it opened,” said consultant Dave Price, whose father helped design the original park for Walt Disney. “They spent a year under demolition just to create the location for Star Wars land.”

Heavy investments typically deliver a boost to Disney’s theme parks. Attendance at nearby California Adventure rose 23% to 7.78 million the year an attraction based on Pixar’s Cars movies opened. The Animal Kingdom in Orlando saw a jump, to 12.5 million, after the addition of “Avatar’’ land two years ago.

The company is girding for what’s expected to be record crowds at the $1 billion Star Wars expansion, while Anaheim is doubling the number of traffic cops on hand to direct cars and pedestrians. In March, the company announced its first-ever reservation system for the park, requiring Galaxy’s Edge guests to stay at one of its three area hotels or reserve spots online. The online reservations, which extend through June 23, were gone within two hours.

Disney is allowing guests four-hour visits to Galaxy’s Edge -- after which they’ll be asked to leave. Colored wristbands will identify who came when. Last week, the company was auditioning applicants to serve as costumed stormtroopers. Candidates had to be between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet fall, over age 18 and have a high school diploma.

In anticipation of long waits, the company is using passes that allow those queuing up for rides to leave the line to go to the restroom. It’ll also have employees in costume entertaining fans as they explore the new area.