Deep in the announcement of the “Star Wars”-related attractions opening at Disneyland today was this: Included are special “Star Wars”-themed food and beverages, merchandise and entertainment. Which means my dream of a Nick Winters Star Wars Cantina still has legs.
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Star Wars Disneyland Expansion Announced While Anaheim Continues to Crumble
Actually, today's official start of the “Season of the Force” includes the Tomorrowland opening of a replica cantina from the original Star Wars, just waiting for cell phone photographers and their subjects. I'd show you why a hologram of Bill Murray's character would be a perfect fit there but, alas, Broadway Video's copyright protection monkeys do a bang-up job removing embeddable scenes from early Saturday Night Live episodes from the Interwebs. You can find various non-embeddable snippets or just close your eyes and pretend Nick Winters is the fellow singing here:
As we've reported before, most “Star Wars”-related attractions are not so much tied to the first movie from the franchise as much as they are Star Wars: The Force Awakens opening Dec. 18. (See what they did there?)
Funny side note, I was at the South Coast Plaza Disney Store picking up a Buzz Lightyear Halloween costume for a 6-year-old–no, not any 6-year-old, Uncle Roy–when there at the cash register getting rung up figurines they'd plucked from the large Star Wars: The Force Awakens display in the middle of the room were two guys who appeared to be in their mid-30s, quite single and reeking of mom's basement. Ah, stereotypes.
Those two will likely be near the front of the line for today's “Season of the Farce,” er, “… Force” debut, which includes the opening in Tomorrowland of an updated Star Tours and the Star Wars Launch Bay, where you'll find various prop and model galleries, Darth Vader and Chewbacca roaming about and a theater playing video loops of interviews with directors, writers, producers and other key crew members from the “Star Wars” franchise.
Space Mountain, which is being dubbed Hyperspace Mountain for a limited time, thrusts guests into a battle between Rebel X-wings and Imperial TIE fighters. Clips from “Star Wars” films, including The Force Awakens, roll in Tomorrowland Theater. Watch for the cast member getting thumb cramps clicking a counter to log all the walkouts during Jar Jar Binks scenes.
Still to come next year is groundbreaking for an entire “Star Wars”-themed land. Sure hope Bob Iger has as much faith in another franchise he's apparently picking up, the future Los Angeles Raiders of Carson. Hey, J.J. Abrams: Just win, baby!
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.