Disney buys Lucasfilm: 10 things to watch for

New TV series, Disney Store boost, ILM and Pixar collaboration and more

By Gregory Ellwood, Kris Tapley Tuesday, Oct 30, 2012 8:40 PM

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Skywalker Ranch becomes a theme park or true tourist attraction

Skywalker Ranch becomes a theme park or true tourist attraction

There was a time where I was sure I would never visit Skywalker Ranch, and now I've been twice in the last year.  It is an amazing facility, and the Archives alone would be worth paying admission.  There are some problems inherent to the idea of making the property into a theme park, many of which have to do with the neighbors who have repeatedly blocked plans to further exploit that land by Lucas.  The Ranch is in a very high-income residential area, and the idea of suddenly having to cope with the volume of traffic that would be part of turning the area into a theme park would probably lead to further legal wrangling.  The Ranch also houses state-of-the-art sound facilities, and I'd hate to see the work done there disrupted by tour groups.  In the end, I'm sure the public would love the peek inside, but I'm not sure the Ranch could handle it.

-- Drew McWeeny

Photo Credit: Disney Jr.