Imaginers Disney developed a working prototype of a safe lightsaber from “Star Wars“(Star Wars). The presentation took place as part of the President’s speech Disney parks Josh D’Amaro at the conference A Special Look Inside Disney Parks…
How do the new lightsabers work?
Let’s clarify right away – we are not talking about real weapons that can burn through metal and flesh. This version of the lightsaber has existed for a long time and is a plasma stream, for which a backpack with liquefied gas is required.
Instead, Disney introduced a device that would be suitable for acting in amusement parks. In addition, toys could be mass-produced in the future.
The patent was registered back in 2017. Before that, toy lightsabers were analogs of a telescopic plastic baton or a handle with a lamp instead of a blade.
Imaginers Mickey mouse came from the other side, taking as a basis a retractable measuring tape. Inside the sword hilt are two reels of translucent strips and one reel of LED strips. They are attached to the tip, resulting in a brightly lit tube.
Eyewitnesses report that the final result looks very realistic, but Disney is in no hurry to share photos. Presumably, this is due to the flaws in the project. So, the length of the “blade” is only about 60 cm.
If the description of the concept is in a stupor, one of the enthusiasts prepared a demo.
Did #Disney invent a real working #lightsaber?
Yes they did.
It won’t melt through metal blast doors, or cut off your hand, but it does feature an illuminated blade that will extend and retract at the push of a button.
This animation shows the concept behind the tech. pic.twitter.com/e7fwP06CxF
– Ben Ridout (@benridout) April 12, 2023
Next, widen the tapes and increase the curve, allowing them to partially wrap around each other and form a complete cylinder. Drive this system with a motor so both reels can be extended and retracted in synch at the push of a button. Now, you’ve got a lightsaber! pic.twitter.com/B3lLMmclDN
– Ben Ridout (@benridout) April 12, 2023
Where can you get hold of a new “wunderwolf”?
Most likely, the new model of the lightsaber will be used in the amusement park Galaxy’s Edge in California, next to which Disney plans to open a hotel Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Resortstyled like space cruiser Halcyon… You can get inside through a special dock, which is currently under construction.
An unusual attraction will await visitors. Using a combination of smoke machines and fiber optics built into the walls, the illusion is created in the room as if blaster fire is being fired at people. For greater effect, sparks will appear in some places.
Tourists will be divided into two groups. The first team consists of “Jedi”. They will be given lightsabers with which they will “deflect” shots. Before that, people will be allowed to customize the appearance of the sword by matching the color of the kyber crystal.
The members of the second team will become “guards”. They will be given blaster shields, with which they can also reflect explosions and shots. Shields and swords have vibration feedback and special sound effects that make it feel like a person is really repelling attacks.
The performance will last about 40-45 minutes and will be divided into several rounds. As part of the attraction, a theatrical show will also unfold, within which Ray Palpatine and wounded Chewbacca will come to grips with Kylo Renom…
The Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Resort project is easy to find a lot of flaws that can cause it to fail. Firstly, the hotel will have only 100 rooms, and the creators did not provide for any standard entertainment, such as a swimming pool or a wellness center.
In fact, tourists will pay to visit the long bunker, the interior of which is stylized as the deck of a space cruiser, and displays instead of windows (claustrophobic ones will appreciate this). There are also doubts that people would even want to plunge into the setting of the new Star Wars trilogy.
The main issue is the price. We are talking about a premium vacation for a few days, for which you will have to pay an impressive amount of money.
The Galactic Starcruiser Resort is unlikely to open at all during 2023. The US pandemic continues to pose a host of problems, and amusement parks are limited. Moreover, insiders are signaling that the very concept of the hotel and associated attractions may eventually be redesigned to reflect the new realities.
Galaxy’s Edge problems
For the construction of two Galaxy’s Edge parks in California and Orlando Mickey Mouse House spent over a billion dollars. However, the new sites not only did not attract a new audience – they scared off the old one. According to official statements from Disney executives, cumulative tourist traffic fell 3% after the parks opened.
There are several reasons for this. Only one attraction was available at the opening – “Smuggling flight“in which several people go aboard”Millennium Falcon “… You could also visit the stage for theatrical performances and the walking area with the market.
Visitors were additionally offered to assemble their own toy lightsaber. But people constantly complained about the lack of components, and the final quality of the product (Made in China) was so lousy quality that the toy’s illumination could stop literally after 10 minutes.
Later, a new attraction was opened “The rise of resistance“, which is a theatrical performance, in which the audience found themselves in the center of the battle between First Order and Resistance… But at launch, something always went wrong, and the trolleys were constantly breaking. Once a group of tourists were stuck indoors for several hours without food or water, and the park staff brought them only apples, chips and soda.
It was also a mistake that Galaxy’s Edge does not use characters and locations from films. George Lucas… Instead, the park is stylized as a new planet. Batuu, and the focus is on the characters from the new trilogy.
how told former vice president Walt disney world Dan Cockerell, Imagineers originally proposed styling the main part of the park as Tatooine. However, chapter Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy opposed. She argued that the original trilogy is supposedly of interest only to people aged 50 and over, and the company needs to “expand its audience.”
Another man had to pay for Kennedy’s mistakes. This is about Katherine Powell, who was fired from her post of head Disney Parks West, at the same time eliminating the position itself.
According to the publication specializing in amusement parks Pirates and PrincessesDisney has no plans to expand Galaxy’s Edge in the next few years, limiting itself to completing the Galactic Starcruiser Resort. This can negatively affect attendance as only people who have booked a hotel room should be allowed to enter the laser saber ride.
Presumably an amusement park instead split into twoby presenting more interesting characters for tourists. The first half of the location will still be devoted to the new Disney trilogy, but the second will allegedly be given to the series “Mandalorian“(The mandalorian) and its spin-offs. To do this, you don’t even need to redo anything – the walking area with the market and the “Millennium Falcon” already resembles a location from the series.
Read also: “Toxic” Kennedy harms Disney and Marvel, Lucasfilm forgot about Lando’s birthday
