I meant to post this yesterday when the news broke. The Disney Parks blog announced some big changes to Disneyland, coming up very soon.
Here is what they said:
At Disney Parks, we’re preparing to celebrate the excitement around all things Star Wars with brand-new themed experiences. Guests in Tomorrowland at Disneyland park in Southern California will soon be able to experience their favorite Star Wars stories when Season of the Force begins November 16. We’ll have opening dates to share for these new Star Wars experiences at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida soon.
Season of the Force at Disneyland park will take guests to a galaxy far, far away with these special experiences:
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. Here’s a look inside!
- Choose Your Destiny with Special Character Experiences
- Dark Side – Encounter one of the most iconic villains from Star Wars, Darth Vader.
- Light Side – Fly casual at this makeshift Rebel base, and meet the most famous co-pilot in the galaxy, Chewbacca.
- Explore the Dark and the Light in Themed Galleries
- Dark Side Gallery – Get a look at authentic pieces of stormtrooper armor as well as famous Sith lightsabers once wielded by masters of the dark side.
- Light Side Gallery – Explore a gallery filled with Rebel flight helmets and lightsabers once wielded by Jedi Knights.
- Preview Gallery – See props from the upcoming film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
- Starship Gallery – Discover models of famous starships and their pilots from throughout the Star Warssaga.
- Join the Battle in the Star Wars Game Center – Play the latest games from the Star Wars galaxy, includingDisney Infinity 3.0 – featuring park-exclusive Toy Box levels.
Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple
Coming in December, experience a twist on the Jedi Training experience when you will encounter new characters and a new villain from the popular Disney XD series, Star Wars Rebels.
Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
This popular attraction will feature a new scene inspired by the upcoming film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Limited-Time Experiences
- Hyperspace Mountain – Climb aboard a reimagined Space Mountain attraction, in which guests will join an X-wing starfighter battle.
- Revisit favorite scenes from classic Star Wars films at Tomorrowland Theater.
- Try new themed food.
Choose your side during Season of the Force, beginning November 16 at Disneyland park in California.
Now Here is what I find most interesting: They announced they are closing several attractions to start construction on Star Wars Land. This is VERY exciting news for our family! We are very much looking forward to both Star Wars Lands being built. The closures give us a better idea where Star Wars Land is being built and what we can expect when it opens!
Disney Parks is also preparing to take guests to a galaxy far, far away with new Star Wars-themed lands. With groundbreaking scheduled to take place in 2016 for our largest single-land expansions ever, building the new 14-acre lands will be major projects at both Disneyland park in Southern California and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida.
Work to make room for this new land at Disneyland park in California will require the Rivers of America and the Disneyland Railroad to close temporarily. The following will suspend operations at the end of the operating day on January 10:
- The Disneyland Railroad, including all stations
- Attractions along the Rivers of America, including:
- “Fantasmic!”
- Mark Twain Riverboat and Sailing Ship Columbia
- Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island
- Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes
We look forward to all of these attractions reopening in the future.
Elsewhere in Frontierland, Big Thunder Ranch – including Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue, Big Thunder Ranch Petting Farm and Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree – will close permanently at the end of the operating day on January 10.
Thoughts on the closures? I am a bit sad we won’t be able to ride the Railroad on our next trip. After our many, many, many trips to Disneyland, we never visited the Big Thunder Ranch, or ridden the Canoes (they are usually closed when we go). Pirate’s Lair and The Riverboat/Sailing ship – we have done both of those several times, but are not a “must-do” for our trips, in fact, we skip them on many trips….. Fantasmic is a FANTASTIC show, but I prefer to watch it at Disneyworld, because they have an entire stadium to watch it in, instead of having to find a spot, or wait very eary in a spot (not my idea of fun). So I am not too bummed about any of the closures on our upcoming trip. We are very excited about the new Star Wars experiences available though!
