Details Released for Season of the Force event at Disneyland
The Disney Parks Blog recently released the details for what to expect at the upcoming Season of the force event for Disneyland in Anaheim, California. From the release, it looks to be a mix of ride and attraction updates, limited offerings, and the addition of the Star Wars launch bay.
Opening at Disneyland park on November 16 will be:
Star Wars Launch Bay – This new area will offer opportunities to visit with favorite Star Wars characters, special exhibits, peeks at the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens and much more.
Star Tours—The Adventures Continue: This popular attraction will feature a new scene inspired by the upcoming film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple: Coming in December, a twist on the Jedi Training experience will introduce new characters and a new villain from the popular Disney XD series, Star Wars Rebels.
Hyperspace Mountain: For a limited time, guests will join an X-wing starfighter battle in this reimagining of the classic Space Mountain attraction.
Other limited-time experiences include:
– An opportunity to revisit favorite scenes from classic Star Wars films at Tomorrowland Theater.
-Special themed food and beverage, merchandise, and entertainment.
From a movie fan’s perspective two items stand out here.
First, the update to Star Tours: the adventures continue will be a scene inspired by The Force Awakens. Star Tours, a 3D simulator ride which randomly takes you to 2 of 6 possible Star Wars locations on each ride, will seemingly have a new random option added representing a location from The Force Awakens. Considering the marketing so far, one would guess it will be Jakku. The recent 3D fly though could have even been related to that project as encompassing 3D environments such as the one released would have needed to be built in order to update the ride. This is speculation of course, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see that same footage of BB8 peeking out from behind some wreckage in Disney Parks starting this fall.
The second item to note is the seemingly unimportant “opportunity to revisit favorite scenes from classic Star Wars films at Tomorrowland theater”. A few days ago a bit of a stir was caused by this tweet from Matthew Gottula who writes for Theme Park Insider.
Hyperspace Mountain will debut in November after Ghost Galaxy ends. Abrams is fighting w/ Disney over a planned “Force Awakens” 3D preview.
— Matthew Gottula (@DLthings) September 20, 2015
Many took this to mean Abrams was attempting to hold back any form of 3D Theatrical trailer. But it seems likely that what Abrams was pushing back against was a theme park preview. Disney has in recent years used 3D theaters in their parks to promote upcoming Disney Studios films by showing theatrical trailers with an addition exclusive extended clip or full scene. It would appear Abrams was not on board with the idea of screening an entire scene to millions of theme park patrons a month before release. And, it would also appear that he won that battle seeing as the spot that would have been reserved for an Episode VII preview will now just feature classic scenes.
“An opportunity to revisit favorite scenes from classic Star Wars films at Tomorrowland Theater” – no Force Awakens sneak peek for yoooou
— Matthew Gottula (@DLthings) September 25, 2015
The piece goes on to mention what to expect from the new Star Wars launch bay (such as character meet and greets and props from upcoming films) as well as details on what parts of Disneyland will soon be closing to allow for construction of the new Star Wars land.
Season of the force is scheduled to start in Disneyland on November 16th. It is expected the version running in Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida will follow suit sometime in December.
Source: Disney Parks Blog (Announcement)
Source: Disney Parks Blog (Details)
Star Tours was always the coolest ride. I haven’t been to Disneyland in years and haven’t seen any of the new scenes but it’s time I go. So damn expensive though..
Republic credits are no good there.. they need something “more real”….
Yes.i need to go too. its been 15 years since i was there and alot has changed. i had no reason for wanting to go there anymore until now. its a couple hours away way too damn expensive and crowded but i guess its worth it going to see all this new star wars stuff.
Looks cool, but I’m waiting for the GOOD stuff.
We just booked our vacation to go in February and SOOOOO glad there is going to be some EXTRA Star Wars stuff to do!!!!! SO pumped…..just hope it isn’t ending before we make it!
Why are they all asian? The park will be in the US, will it not?
Nevermind. I shouldn’t even question it.
I have NO idea. Maybe it’s the poster for the Thailand version.
I think it’s the same picture which was used a few months ago which I seem to recall was about a star wars park within a new Disneyland attraction in Shanghai – something like this anyway. It’s just a re-use of an older picture, not an illustration related directly to the article content.
Why are they all asian lol..
So will they be showing clips from the original trilogy in 3D then???
Looks like it.
I used to think that Massassi temple was for A New Hope but now I think it’s for Rogue One.
So glad I have a Disneyland annual pass! Already planning on going in November. This is perfect timing! 🙂