The new Star Wars attractions have come to Disneyland to amp up anticipation for The Force Awakens.
It’s kind of amazing that the world is only just getting started on creating a Star Wars theme park. Considering the franchise’s popularity has rarely wavered over the course of nearly 40 years, and the fact that every movie contains numerous scenes that could be naturally adapted into rides, one wonders why George Lucas never decided to build some roller coasters in a galaxy far, far away.
Instead, Disney will be taking up the reins on the project. The so-called Star Wars Land (although we don’t have an official name for it yet) will take shape at both Disneyland in California and Disney World in Orlando, and will be the biggest expansion ever for both parks. Construction on both of them will start early next year.
But that timeline doesn’t agree with the Mouse’s plan to get you addicted to everything Star Wars before The Force Awakens comes out on Dec. 18, so it’s decided to hastily throw some Star Wars into its parks for the time being. The result is Season of the Force, a Star Wars-themed promotional period that features some park additions and changes to rides to make them fit in with a galaxy far, far away.
This event hasn’t yet come to Disney World in Orlando, but it was just unveiled Monday at Disneyland’s Tomorrowland, and I managed to snag some tickets to check it out. I was able to ride the retooled Space Mountain, now Hyperspace Mountain, as well as the new Force Awakens sequence that was added to Star Tours. And I checked out the much-touted Star Wars Launch Bay, a museum/gift shop dedicated to the franchise. I even found time to watch Path of the Jedi, a theater experience that pays homage to all six films in the series.
Click ahead to get my thoughts on each experience, and whether they’re worth your dollars.
Next: Heading to Hyperspace Mountain