Star Wars on Disneyland’s Forefront

The force is strong at Disneyland, as the park is launching its largest expansion ever to house its new 14-acre Star Wars land. This month, 10 eateries and attractions, representing 14 percent of the park’s availability, will close down. Some, like Big Thunder Ranch in Frontierland, will permanently shut down, while others, like the Disneyland Railroad, will only close temporarily.

A few months ago, Disneyland increased its annual entry price by 31 percent, and although there’s less to offer for the time being, Dennis Speigel, a theme park consultant, predicted “At the end of the day, you won’t see any attendance drop.”

As Universal Studios is ramping up for its Harry Potter attraction, Disney is hoping to capitalize on its $2 billion dollar acquisition of Star Wars from George Lucas in 2012.