The attractions are set on a yet unspecified planet that flourished in what Trowbridge describes as the “sub-light-speed era,” before the galaxy’s more adventurous residents could, for instance, make the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs. “We decided to not build a place that you knew from movies,” he says. “We wanted to create a brand-new planet, a remote frontier outpost somewhere on the edge of wild space that is rife with opportunities for you to discover your Star Wars story. It used to be a trading port. But with the advent of hyperspace, it kind of got left behind, which made it a perfect place for those who didn’t want to be in the mainstream, our rogue’s gallery. All the interesting people? This is where you’re going to find them now.”
Visitors will enter the Star Wars world through a doorway in a surrounding berm, plunging into one of the science fiction saga’s familiar-looking desert outposts, marked by low, circular buildings. “It’s this exotic marketplace,” Trowbridge says. “It’s like a souk street market filled with stalls where you can buy fragrances and spices and clothes and toys and equipment from all across the galaxy, sometimes from the black market, but don’t ask too many questions.”
At a cantina, park guests will be served by some unusual characters. Trowbridge points to two sculptors in the rear of the room who are carving alien prototypes. The artists look up and wave. One is working on a large fish-headed creature. “He’s one of our cooks,” Trowbridge says of the character. “He’s awesome. Just ask for the special. It will be worth it.” The Imagineers will play around with these chiseled figures until they get their look just right. Then they will fashion molds based on the forms to create life-size robotic doppelgängers. “You’re going to see aliens,” Trowbridge promises. “You’re going to see droids. You’re going to see beasts.”
Beyond the bazaar, the attraction will feature a First Order spaceport and an ancient forest compound where members of the Resistance can be found. Trowbridge says visitors will meet some favorite characters (“no names,” he says when asked for specifics), choose between the light or the dark sides, and, unavoidably, wait in line for either of two anchor attractions—one of which is a ride that will involve “a very epic battle, everything that makes Star Wars Star Wars.”
Trowbridge is reluctant to say much more about the ride, in part because it will incorporate aspects of future films, whose secrets are zealously guarded. “We’re looking at this through the lenses of an audience that’s arriving in 2019 and what they know,” he says. He’s more forthcoming about the second ride, which involves the Millennium Falcon. “We’re going to give you an opportunity to not just fly on it but to actually be at the controls,” he says.
Trowbridge leads his guests to an SUV for a short trip to a nondescript warehouse. No signs signify what’s going on in the building; if there were any, fans would no doubt be sifting through the trash bins outside. Trowbridge heads into the main space of the warehouse, where a round, black sphere resembling a small Death Star sits. Inside the malevolent-looking structure, the Imagineers are testing a prototype of the Millennium Falcon ride. A ladder leads up to a crude version of the cockpit, made with plywood, foam, and thumbtacks. It’s surrounded in front by a screen that gives the Falcon’s riders the illusion that they’re in some kind of docking bay, ready for takeoff. From there, they can go for a test run in an Imax-like environment, navigating their way through tunnels and out into space, where they must dodge the Imperial fleet’s TIE fighters.
The real ride will be much more polished and convincing, of course. The mock-up is designed primarily to see how test subjects respond. The Imagineers have put pilots ranging in age from 3 to 79 behind the controls, which tells you something about the franchise’s broad demographic appeal. The cockpit is rigged with cameras that record the grimaces and shouts of a few novices who repeatedly crash the world’s favorite spaceship while attempting to steer it out of a tunnel. We can’t all be Han Solo.
“Ultimately, we’re in the fun business,” Trowbridge says. “People have to laugh and scream. It’s OK to hit things.”