When the Disney Company originally purchased Star Wars from George Lucas in October of 2012 speculations immediately arose as to what they were planning to do with it. Of course a new movie was a no brainer and Disney is no dummy when it comes to merchandising. In fact, when George Lucas originally created the Star Wars film he did not accept his significant pay increase coming off of the success of American Graffiti. Rather he opted to be paid $150,000 (same amount he was paid for American Graffiti) instead of $500,000 in exchange for the merchandising rights and sequel rights. I don't know about you but ever since Disney bought Star Wars I have see a significant increase in available merchandise at my local Target, Hot Topic, Walmart... You name it and there is an R2D2 on it!
In Walt Disney World Star Wars Land is set to be built in the (soon to be renamed) Disney's Hollywood Studios (DHS). DHS currently has a Star Wars attraction named Star Tours. Guests are escorted onto a 3D simulator called a Starspeeder and selected to experience 1 of over 50 adventures. Maybe you'll even be discovered as a rebel spy! This attraction had a minor overhaul a few years ago (2011) to include more than just one storyline and also upgraded to a 3D adventure! Star Wars' presence has slowly been growing over the years to include the Jedi Training Academy and Star Wars Weekends.
Star Wars Land is going to be Disney's largest themed expansion in history coming in at 14 acres. While exact details have yet to be given as to what we can experience in this galaxy not so far far away we know that Disney will do everything it can to ensure it lives up to the hype and the brand name that so many fans have experienced and come to expect. We know they have plans to build the famed cantina, and there will be an attraction surrounding the Millennium Falcon in a "climatic battle"!
With the release of the upcoming Star Wars movie The Force Awakens you can expect a lot of hype in the parks. In fact, 2016 is being named the "Season of the Force". Existing attractions will be getting a themed face lift for the event. One of the included attractions is the famous indoor roller coaster Space Mountain which will be transformed into Hyperspace Mountain. The next few years are going to bring a lot of change to the Disney theme parks. I for one am very excited to see what is going to unfold as more details come out!