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Star Wars shuts down Disney Attraction for Its Own Park
Quote:
To make way for "Star Wars," Disneyland is about to launch its largest expansion ever, which means shutting down a significant chunk of the Anaheim theme park.
In January, 10 attractions and eateries will close — some temporarily, some permanently — only a few months after the resort hiked the price of annual passes as much as 31%. This spring, Disneyland's biggest rival, Universal Studios Hollywood, plans to unveil a widely anticipated Harry Potter attraction.
For any other operation, charging customers more and giving them less would be a perilous business strategy, especially if the competition is upping its game. Not so at Disneyland.
"At the end of the day, you won't see any attendance drop," said Dennis Speigel, a theme park consultant and president of International Theme Park Services in Cincinnati. "The tourists will come, hell or high water."
Instead, the construction project to build a new "Star Wars" area is likely to demonstrate the devotion of hard-core Disney fans.
Daniel Bowmen of Sylmar, who has owned a Disneyland premium pass for 24 years and visits at least twice a week, said he is disappointed that the park is closing so many attractions during construction. But that won't keep him away.
"I just renewed my annual pass, so I'll be going to Disneyland," he said...
...Park executives don't seem worried, noting that Disneyland has added several new features in recent months to appeal to devoted "Star Wars" fans. Disney acquired Lucasfilm, along with the "Star Wars" franchise, in 2012 for $4 billion.
In Tomorrowland, the Space Mountain and Star Tours rides have been overhauled to include special effects borrowed from the recently released movie "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."
An underused area in the Innovations building of Tomorrowland has been converted into Star Wars Launch Bay, a hall where parkgoers can play "Star Wars" video games, buy merchandise and meet costumed characters from the movie franchise.
The Galactic Grill eatery now sells treats inspired by "Star Wars" characters, such as a dessert dubbed Darth by Chocolate and the Cheese 3PO Burger...
(Disneyland officials say the animals in the petting zoo have been adopted by a Southern California family that has worked with Disney animals in the past.)
Nearby attractions on the Rivers of America — mainly Fantasmic, the Mark Twain Riverboat, the Sailing Ship Columbia, the Pirates Lair on Tom Sawyer Island, the Disneyland Railroad and the Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes — will close temporarily.
In total, 14% of the park's attractions will be closed either permanently or temporarily in an area that represents nearly a quarter of Disneyland's 85 acres...
To clear more space for the new "Star Wars" land, Disney employees who work in offices outside the park, just north of Big Thunder Ranch, have begun to move into two office buildings that Disney purchased last year a few blocks away on South Manchester Avenue.
A completion date has yet to be announced for the "Star Wars" land, but industry experts predict that an opening date could be at least a year away.
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http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1.../p2p-85417398/
Star Wars ha Power. 
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