Star Wars experiences were announced for Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World, Florida at the D23 Expo this weekend. Here are a few of the highlights…
Star Wars Launch Bay will open later this year and allow you to experience exhibits, behind-the-scenes action, visit some new characters, food, and new merchandise from the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This experience will be located in the current Animation Courtyard portion of DHS.
Season Of The Force will debut in early 2016 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This will be a new fireworks show set to the score penned by the brilliant composer, John Williams. This will be a seasonal event and will take place on the weekends. Dates have not been announced, as yet. And, I’m not sure if this is a replacement for Star Wars Weekends, or in addition to SWW.
Star Tours – the Adventure Continues will be getting an update. But, it doesn’t seem like there will be a need for much refurb time. There will be new scenes added to the current ride from the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This should ad a bit more variety to this random experiential attraction.
Disney VISA Cardholders will be able to order new cards with Star Wars characters on them. And, there will be the Star Wars Imperial Meet and Greet for Disney VISA holders, as well.
The Star Wars Land experience will take us to a new, never before seen planet near the outer rim. It will include two new ride experiences, and the much anticipated Cantina will be quite a draw. This 14 acre additions is being considered the MOST ambitious undertaking in Disney Company History. There will be a mirrored experience built at Disneyland Park in California, too. No time line has been announced for completion of these projects, but I hope progress will be seen quickly!
Thanks for reading, sharing, or commenting! Have a Blessed and Magical Day, my friends!
Walt Disney had an affinity for a vast area around him. He always felt it was something to be admired and, to some degree, conquered. That area is SPACE!
When you think about attractions, past and present, at any Disney Park, you can’t help but come across a number of them that have something to do with outer space. One of the first ones you see The Magic Kingdom as you walk toward Tomorrowland is Astro Orbiter. This attraction towers over the part of area of the park and gives you a quick but nearly complete view from a pretty good vantage point, if you can stand to look around while you’re spinning around!
One attraction that shows up in every Disney Park is Space Mountain. The Walt Disney World version opened in January 1975 and had the creative team had some help from former Mercury and Gemini astronaut Gordon Cooper. The use of lighting effects enhance this experience and add to the feeling of flying through space.
Mission to Mars, originally named Rocket to the Moon, Mission to Mars simulated a flight through space to The Red Planet. And, was basically the predecessor to EPCOT’s Mission:Space. Mission:Space takes this journey to a whole different level! There are two versions to this ride. The Orange Team is more aggressive with a lot more motion involved in the mission. The Green Team is still exciting without the aggressive movements.
Misson: Space
Finally, we don’t want to leave Disney’s Hollywood Studios out of this trip through space. And, even though Walt is long gone, I believe he would have been proud to have Star Tours – The Adventure Continues as a part of his park! This ride is a simulator-type experience that uses 3-D technology to deliver an adventure that is as close to being out of this world as we can put together on this world.
Fun day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios! My daughters and I went ahead of the rest of our party and got to ride Toy Story Midway Mania through the Stand-by Line before my wife, son, and mother-in-law joined us. And, since we were given Key to the World cards in addition to our MagicBands, I decided to see if I could score a set of Legacy Fastpasses for later. I was able to accomplish that task with no problems. The return time, however, was 7:20PM. I ended up giving those away to a friend via the LINES Chat and put a smile on a little girls face! A little magic goes a long way!
I did the walk-through of Tower of Terror, but wasn’t feeling my oats enough to make the ride portion. I know! I admit it I USED THE CHICKEN DOOR! But, I saved my breakfast in the process.
After our second ride on Toy Story using Fastpass+, my daughters and I headed to the Great Movie Ride to meet up with the WDW Today podcast group for a special Rocky Horror Picture Show style ride. The responses to the Cast Member script were funny, but it was really hard to get the timing down to make it work. And, while the wait was a lot longer than I had hoped it would be, it was incredibly fun! It was also nice to meet, in person, Matt Hochberg and Len Testa. I am hoping to meet up with them again on Saturday.
WDW Today’s Matt Hochberg
We grabbed a quick meal at The Studio Catering Company located off of the Streets of America next to the “Honey, I Shrunk The Kids” play area. The Buffalo Chicken Sandwich was not bad. I do think it could use a bit more buffalo flavor, but I dipped in some honey mustard and it was pretty good that way! Overall, nice location with lots of seating in the shade, and it’s close to Backlot Tour, Pixar Place and Light, Motor, Action.
And, speaking of Lights, Motor, Action! That was our next stop with the use of Fastpass+. And, this is my first real criticism of the FP+ system. If the Fastpass+ gives you a dedicated area that has better viewing, it is worth it, if only for that reason. However, this is NOT the case with LMA. We were at the far end of the stadium and had a support beam blocking nearly half of the view. So, I would not recommend Fastpass+ for this attraction. It really isn’t a necessary one, except during busy seasons.
Muppetvision 3D was a really cute show, and enjoyable! Not only is the theater air-conditioned, but the show itself is quite entertaining. This was our first time seeing the attraction, and I think it is one to visit on future visits!
Star Tours may be the most disappointing part of this vacation, so far. The first time, it was fun and I liked the sequence that I got to experience. However, a visit just before park closing gave me almost the same EXACT sequence. The only change was we had Yoda on the first flight, and Princess Leia on the second. I’m not convinced that there is much randomizing in this show! But, I will have to wait until my next visit.
Our featured meal for today was at 50s Prime Time Cafe. I have heard much said about this restaurant, and I have to say it was the most fun of the day! The Pot Roast lives up to its reputation! It was incredibly tender and the meal was full of flavors I remember from childhood when my mother would make it for Sunday dinner. My wife had the Flounder and raved about it, as well. The kids all enjoyed their meals, also. And, the Pumpkin Spice milkshake? Can you say ‘YUM’!
We did the walk-through part of “Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream”, but didn’t have time to see the movie as it was time for us to head to our first experience of Fantasmic! And, this show did not disappoint. The presentation was stunningly beautiful and the story was engaging! On our last visit, F! was closed for refurbishment, so we were really glad to get to see it this trip!
I closed my night out by making a quick visit to “The Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights”. Can you say ‘crowded’? It was packed! But, I managed to take a brief walk-around video. It’s not much, but it lets me know that I need to really plan better, should I choose to return another time. It is beautiful!
That pretty much rounds out our day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I have some thoughts on the whole MagicBand experience, but will expand on that later.
For now, it’s sleep and then a marathon visit to EPCOT and my first, ever, Candlelight Processional!
Until then, have a blessed and magical day, my friends!
Star Wars Launch Bay will open later this year and allow you to experience exhibits, behind-the-scenes action, visit some new characters, food, and new merchandise from the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This experience will be located in the current Animation Courtyard portion of DHS.
Star Tours – the Adventure Continues will be getting an update. But, it doesn’t seem like there will be a need for much refurb time. There will be new scenes added to the current ride from the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This should ad a bit more variety to this random experiential attraction.
threestrandswdw 