Star Wars – Page 13 – A Walk With The Mouse

Next “Star Wars” Trilogy, “Avatar” Sequels, and More Disney Films Postponed Due to COVID-19 Pandemic

Posted on July 24, 2020July 24, 2020 by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

According to Variety, Disney has decided to delay all upcoming Star Wars and Avatar films as they change their release calendar to account for the COVID-19 closure.

Each film has been offset by one year. The next Star Wars trilogy will now release every other Christmas season starting in 2023. The first will release December 22, 2023, the second will release December 19, 2025, and the third will release December 17, 2027. A recent rumor suggested that Disney might be seeking to “erase” the most recent Star Wars trilogy but this is not corroborated by any sources.

The four Avatar sequels will alternate Decembers with the Star Wars trilogy. “Avatar 2” will be released December 16, 2022, “Avatar 3” will be released December 20, 2024, “Avatar 4” will be released December 18, 2026, and “Avatar 5” will be released December 22, 2028.

“Avatar 2” was supposed to start filming this summer, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed production. James Cameron tweeted the following in addition to Disney’s announcement:

The second Avatar film will now hit theaters thirteen years after the first film.

Disney removed and changed release dates for several other films as well. Mulan and Searchlight title, The French Dispatch, have both been removed from the calendar. The Personal History of David Copperfield, also a Searchlight title, has been moved two weeks to August 28, 2020.

Antlers, a horror film originally scheduled for an April release, has been postponed to February 19, 2021. Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile has been shifted two weeks to October 23, 2020, and The Empty Man has been moved from August to December 4, 2020. Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel has been moved from Christmas 2020 to October 2021.

Virtual Queue Booking Windows Reduced for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Starting July 24

Posted on July 23, 2020July 23, 2020 by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Hollywood Studios

Walt Disney World recently debuted a modified virtual queue system for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, with three opportunities to book at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. or 4 p.m. Starting Friday, July 24, opportunities to join the queue will be reduced, and will only be available at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m, due to issues with capacity. You can read the full update below.

Since Disney’s Hollywood Studios reopened, we’ve received questions about why the virtual queue fills so quickly each day.

As you’ve also heard here on the Disney Parks Blog, new health-and-safety measures include limiting theme park attendance and implementing new measures to promote physical distancing. This includes requiring extra space between groups in queues and on attraction vehicles. With all of this in mind, we are not able to accommodate as many people on Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance as we could before we implemented physical distancing.

For guests with a Disney Park Pass reservation to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the attraction will continue to have limited availability accessible through the My Disney Experience app virtual queue. Starting Friday, July 24, guests will have an opportunity at either 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. to join the virtual queue. These two opportunities are intended to give guests more flexibility in their planning, and are also a way to further support physical distancing.

RISE OF THE RESISTANCE — Disney guests will traverse the corridors of a Star Destroyer and join an epic battle between the First Order and the Resistance – including a face-off with Kylo Ren – when Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance opens Dec. 5, 2019 at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Jan. 17, 2020 at Disneyland Resort in California. At 14 acres each, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland Park and Disney’s Hollywood Studios is Disney’s largest single-themed land expansion ever. (Joshua Sudock/Disney Parks)

Here are more details to be aware of before you arrive:

First, make sure you have the My Disney Experience app. Once you enter the park, log in to your account at one of the distribution times (10 a.m. or 2 p.m.).
Once you have logged in, select “Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance Virtual Queue” on the home screen. You will be able to view the current status and next steps for joining the virtual queue.
The app will indicate when there is no availability for a specific distribution time. Some guests may join backup groups.
As long as your My Disney Experience account is linked to park tickets for you and the others in your group, you can enroll everyone in the virtual queue at the same time. In order to give as many guests as possible the opportunity to join the Resistance, each guest can enter the virtual queue no more than once per day.
Make sure push notifications are turned on for My Disney Experience so you will be alerted if your group is called to return. You’ll have up to an hour from the time of the alert to go to the entrance of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
Guests who are enrolled in the virtual queue will be able to see an estimated return time indicating when they may be called back to experience the attraction. This time may change throughout the day, so continue to check the app for updates. Also, the tip boards around the park will display the boarding groups that have been called back.
Please note that joining the virtual queue does not guarantee the ability to experience Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.

New Products Inspired by Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Landing at Target

Posted on July 22, 2020July 22, 2020 by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Hollywood Studios

Who’s up for a little shopping at Target? If you’re a Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge fan, we have some exciting news for you! Check out all the details and images below as shared by DisneyParksBlog about new merchandise landing at Target!

Inspired by the adventures of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland Resort & Walt Disney World Resort, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Trading Outpost transports new Star Wars products directly to your galaxy with never-before-seen toys, stellar fashion and collectibles at a Target store near you, online at Target.com and on the Target app.

Starting on Aug. 30, you’ll be able to continue your Star Wars story with Target and new toys, clothes, books, collectibles, and more, allowing you to rediscover your favorite moments of the Star Wars saga with friends and family at home.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge fans, this is what you’ve all been waiting for! Here’s a look at some of the products, now available for pre-order:

First up is an all-new LEGO construction set of the Resistance I-TS Transport vehicle as seen in Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. I don’t know about you, but this is one of my favorite parts of the attraction. The best part? This set comes with LEGO Star Wars minifigures of Vi Moradi, Lieutenant Bek, Astromech Droid and GNK Power Droid so you can re-create your favorite moments and create new adventures at home as well!

No trip to Batuu is complete without a visit to Oga’s Cantina to jam with DJ R-3X! Now you can add DJ R-3X to your Star Wars: The Black Series collection for a little Batuu flair! You’ll also want to pick up the First Order captain himself, Captain Cardinal with the latest Hasbro Star Wars: The Black Series figure.

This IS the Droid you’re looking for! Funko POP! brings the R5 Unit from Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge to life in this adorable all-new bobblehead.

Speaking of Droids, you’ll definitely want to add this Hyperdrive BB Unit by Hasbro to your collection! This Droid is RC-controlled and has expressive lights and sounds to interact with you and your families.

As part of the Hasbro Star Wars: The Vintage Collection, this 3.75-inch scale replica of the Millennium Falcon as seen outside of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run features Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge-inspired details and sounds. So, what are you waiting for?! Bring home the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs, don’t worry we won’t tell Hondo Ohnaka!

New to Batuu or just want to get the inside scoop? You’ll love Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: Traveler’s Guide to Batuu. This guidebook includes a history of the outpost, recommendations on where to eat and what to do during your planetary trip, as well as insider tips on how to best navigate the local terrain and politics.

Target Drops Video Ahead of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Merchandise Coming to Stores

Posted on July 20, 2020July 20, 2020 by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Hollywood Studios

Target just dropped a teaser video of the new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge merchandise coming to stores.

Landing soon. pic.twitter.com/ABC2gxhQJp
— Target (@Target) July 18, 2020

In the corner of the video, we see a seal of the outline of Batuu, while a case opens that reveals what could be a Captain Cardinal figurine. While this teaser video doesn’t include a date when the merchandise will be available, it is captioned as “landing soon.”

Recently, Disney and Target have developed close ties, with Disney Stores opening at 25 Target stores across the United States last year. Target was also announced to be among the retail offerings at Flamingo Crossings Town Center at the western entrance to Walt Disney World.

Modified Virtual Queue for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Posted on July 16, 2020July 16, 2020 by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Hollywood Studios

With Disney’s Hollywood Studios reopening to the public yesterday, one of its most popular attractions, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, has made changes to its virtual queue system.

Cast Members from Batuu were stationed outside with iPads to check guests’ status within the Virtual Queue:

Guests have the opportunity to request to join the virtual queue via the My Disney Experience app at three different times during the day: 10 AM, 1 PM, and 4 PM (ET). Previously, all virtual queue spots were released at park open. Guests must be within Disney’s Hollywood Studios to request a queue spot.

Once at the park, pull up the My Disney Experience app and scroll down until you see this Rise of the Resistance section, then tap “Join”. At each of the three scheduled times, the request process will open.

To maintain fairness, guests can only enter the virtual queue once per day. This means that, for example, if you request to join the queue at 10 AM and successfully obtain a spot, you can’t request another spot at 1 PM or 4 PM.

With the 10:00 AM Virtual Queue opening, we found that all Boarding Groups had been fully distributed within 5 minutes. By 10:08 AM, the Virtual Queue page had been updated to reflect that no more groups were available, and that guests were to check back at 1:00 PM for another opportunity to join the Virtual Queue if they were not successful in the first round.

Given that Boarding Groups used to run out in mere seconds in the months prior to the closure at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the fact that they lasted a few minutes is a positive, but we’ll have to monitor how the progression of the Virtual Queue goes throughout the day (and the subsequent days) for a better sense of logistics for the attraction.

If your My Disney Experience account is linked to your park tickets and the others in your party, you should be able to enter everyone into the virtual queue at the same time. The app will also display when queue spots are no longer available for a certain distribution time. Should you be unable to attain a queue spot, backup groups may be available. While waiting for your boarding group to be called, you’re free to enjoy the rest of what Disney’s Hollywood Studios has to offer.

Be sure to have push notifications turned on for My Disney Experience, so that you’ll be notified if your group has been called to return. Guests have an hour from the time of the alert to arrive at the entrance to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Because of the possibility of unforeseen circumstances, Disney has stressed that joining the virtual queue is not a guarantee that guests will be able to experience the attraction.