2. The wrong focus

Disney’s emphasis within themed entertainment has, naturally, changed over the course of its six decades as a theme park operator, and nowhere is this clearer than at Disney World:  over the past several years, the flagship experiences at the resort have unquestionably become character meet-‘n-greets and the opportunity to dress guests’ little ones up as a Disney Princess (or Prince, depending upon the circumstances).

A quick look at Magic Kingdom’s recently completed New Fantasyland expansion more than bears witness to this evolutionary phenomenon.  Of the new area’s 10 attractions, only four of them are actual rides – and one of them, the venerable Dumbo, was simply transplanted from its previous location in the park.

It’s hard not to think of this, the first major expansion to an existing park conducted at Walt Disney World in some 20 years (since Hollywood Studios got Sunset Boulevard added on), as something of a template for all similar projects moving forward.  And if this, indeed, is the case, then Star Wars Land might be in dangerous territory; new rides based on speeder bike chases or space dogfights may very well take the backseat to the likes of a Mos Eisley Cantina or an elaborate meet-‘n-greet location devoted to Princess Leia Organa and Queen Padme Amidala.

(In this scenario, the rumored tweaking to Star Tours: The Adventures Continue or an expanded, in-door Jedi Academy might be the best that anyone could hope for.)

Such experiences, of course, aren’t to be entirely dismissed – particularly for the segment of the population that they’re clearly designed for – and they can still add up to a wonderfully detailed theme park land, as New Fantasyland (largely) is.  But it would nonetheless be a terrible waste of Star Wars’s immense potentiality, particularly given the series’s penchant for epic action set-pieces.

Not being allowed to tap into that particular aspect of the mythology would be akin to Universal not allowing visitors to its Wizarding Worlds of Harry Potter to wave a wand madly around or, even, to step foot inside of Hogwarts Castle.

1. A watered-down experience

There are many secrets to Universal’s success with its twin Wizarding Worlds, Hogsmeade (at Islands of Adventure) and Diagon Alley (Universal Studios Florida), ranging from the quality of its attractions – Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is still widely considered to be the best theme park ride ever built, even among many Imagineers – to the breadth and depth of its exclusive culinary offerings to the sheer amount of details and level of immersiveness packed into every corner of the lands.

Perhaps the single biggest secret, however, is a small but revolutionary design decision forced upon the company by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling herself:  the Wizarding Worlds, at all costs, have to be isolated from all the rest of Universal Orlando Resort.

There’s actually a number of ways in which this airtight iron curtain is instituted.  None of the other Universal denizens – such as, say, SpongeBob SquarePants or the Minions – are allowed inside Hogsmeade Village or Diagon Alley; conversely, none of the Harry Potter folk can drift outside the Wizarding World, not even for character meals.  And no actor can be hired to portray those parts from the novels that have already been filled by the movies, which means that, say, only Daniel Radcliffe can be Harry.

There is a certain level of extremism present in these demands that borders on the insane – no holiday decorations inside the Wizarding Worlds is breathtakingly ludicrous, although, thankfully, it seems that Rowling may be slowly budging on this particular accord – but their general thrust has guaranteed much of the immersion that has made the two lands the crown jewels of the theme park industry.  Once a guest crosses that threshold, she’s in Harry’s wondrous world in a way that has yet to be as fully realized anywhere else.

Given Disney’s track record of blending its various intellectual properties together – Muppet versions of the Star Wars characters, anyone? – it’s not only difficult seeing Disney take a similar, walled-off approach, it’s outright impossible.  If Epcot’s ban on in-park character appearances could only last a handful of years, after all, there’s no possible way that the company could pass up what it sees as a veritable gold mine in cross-marketing.

And Disney’s not very likely to stop with just merchandise – fireworks shows, dance parties, Mickey Mouse-shaped exclusive Star Wars cupcake offerings, and more are sure to make their presence felt at Star Wars Land year in and year out.

It’s hard to see an easier – or more problematic – trap for Disney to fall into with what could easily be its biggest theme park development since the opening of Disneyland in 1955.