Disney teases 'real' working lightsaber, supposedly


At the end of a recent Disney Parks press conference, Chairman of experience and products Josh D’amara supposedly revealed a working lightsaber to attendees. 

The reveal came alongside a longer presentation about the park itself, the planned Star Wars Hotel and when Disney plans to reopen everything.  

Theme park journalist Carly Wisel tweeted from the conference last week (April 8), commenting on the reveal. 

The lightsaber will probably play an important role in the planned Star Wars hotel which is currently under construction. 

A real lightsaber… kind of

Featuring a retractable hilt, the lightsaber could exceed previous versions which included either a solid unit or plastic which folds out. 

A patent filed by Disney 2017 hinted at the supposed lightsaber type with a retractable blade, so this new reveal could very well be that.

The patent describes how the retractable blade works: “To extend the blade, a motor provided in the hilt unrolls the blade body members from the spools. Each blade body member passes through a blade forming guideway that nests the semi-cylindrical blade body members together as they leave the hilt.”

It also touched on how the lighting would work, providing the signature look of a lightsaber: “The lighting of the blade is achieved with a flexible strip of light sources. The light source strip is attached to a blade end cap and positioned in the center of the two blade body members such that it is pulled up along with the blade body members during their extension.”

Star Wars Hotel

Disney’s Star Wars themed hotel will be called the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. The company announced its plans to build the park in 2017, and the park will open later this year new Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

The hotel will provide star Wars fans with an immersive experience that includes a story and multiple activities related to the Star Wars universe. The self-contained experience aims to give attendees an out-of-world experience that feels like it's in outer space.

Disney has not announced when the park will open, but you can bet the lightsaber is going to play an important role in the experience. 

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