Extinct Attractions: Star Wars Launch Bay
Welcome to Extinct Attractions. This week, I stayed in the Star Wars spirit and looked at an attraction that was represented in three parks with the final version closing towards the end of last year.
In just one week, Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu will hit theaters, the first Star Wars movie to receive a theatrical release since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. There has been no shortage of television content with nine seasons of live action television released since that last film, but that doesn’t erase the longest gap between Star Wars films in theaters since The Force Awakens hit in 2015, ten years after Revenge of the Sith.
Back in 2015, the fever pitch for The Force Awakens was unreal, with Disney going all-in for the first Star Wars film that they would release. Part of that initiative was theme park tie-ins wherever possible with one of the key moments being the Season of the Force event held at Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in preparation for what would become the biggest film of all-time domestically.
As part of the Season of the Force, Disneyland decided to close Innoventions, with the entire building getting a facelift to become the Star Wars Launch Bay on November 16, 2015. The walkthrough exhibit included a lot of models (primarily of starships), concept art from all eras of Star Wars, plus some teases of costumes from The Force Awakens along with Rey’s speeder.
But the highlight was the Launch Bay serving as the official meet and greet home of Chewbacca and Darth Vader. Guests could choose the Light Side or the Dark Side with the queue featuring helmets from each side as well as replicas of some of the most iconic lightsabers.
Across the country, Disney’s Hollywood Studios wanted to join the party with their version of the Star Wars Launch Bay opening on December 4th, 2015, taking the place of The Magic of Disney Animation. Honestly, the Hollywood Studios version was nearly the same, even down to the character meet-and-greets, though there was a cool edition of some pod racers to add that nice prequel tie. The Orlando version also included some chances for guests to play Star Wars video games popular at the time.
The third iteration of the attraction was part of the Opening Day lineup at Shanghai Disneyland, debuting on June 16, 2016. There isn’t a ton of information on this version of the walkthrough, but it was likely very similar to the other versions we’ve already discussed.
Star Wars Launch Bay was a perfect product of its time. It served the parks well with the ability to funnel guests through quickly, while still providing plenty to do. At the same time, the costumes and models were all steeped in Star Wars history to help guests reinvigorate their Star Wars spirit. Over time, some of The Force Awakens things were replaced by other memorabilia from Disney Star Wars films, helping keep everything as current as possible.
By their very nature, these exhibits were doomed to close at some point with the last to open being the first to close, with Shanghai Disneyland’s version being replaced by Tomorrowland Pavilion featuring Avatar: Explore Pandora in June 2019.
Disneyland’s version didn’t last much longer, serving as a COVID casualty with its last day of operation on March 14, 2020. One can still meet Star Wars characters there (if they have a Disney Visa card), but the building primarily functions as a Disney Vacation Club Lounge now.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios managed to keep their Launch Bay alive for nearly ten years before finally closing on September 25, 2025. In a fun twist, the Hollywood Studios version will again become The Magic of Disney Animation with a completely revamped experience.
Star Wars Launch Bay was a perfect experience for its time, but I’m excited to see the parks continue to grow and look forward to seeing what comes next.
Via Bored Panda
As always, don’t forget to check out my interactive maps of the Disney Parks throughout the years where you can watch or learn more about all the attractions from every Disney park around the world.
Thanks for reading and have a magical day!