Star Wars comes to a park far, far away...
MAY the force be with you next year. For almost 40 years, Disney fans have been clamouring for a Star Wars-themed land, and next summer their wishes will come true thanks to a 14-acre addition to the Hollywood Studios in Orlando, which will be based on a remote trading port.
But if you can’t wait until then, the Force has made an early bid to take over the Hollywood Studios to give you a taste of what’s to come – with shows, character interactions and a fireworks spectacular that is out of this world.
The adventure begins at Launch Bay, with props, characters, merchandise and a ten-minute behindthe-scenes video.
But the real crowd-puller is the chance to meet characters such as Kylo Ren or Chewbacca.
Even if you don’t understand Wookie, Chewy doles out big, hairy hugs and answers questions as only he can.
But don’t expect a warm embrace when you meet Kylo Ren. He’s menacing, domineering and is offering you a position with the First Order. Turn him down at your peril.
Outside, Captain Phasma from The Force Awakens leads her First Order Stormtroopers, pictured above, on daily marches to the central courtyard, and when a Stormtrooper yells at you to ‘move along!’ you do as he says.
The courtyard also hosts Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away, a parade of Dark Side and Light Side characters, with film clips as its backdrop.
Once the sun sets, Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular lights up the sky with pyrotechnic bursts mimicking the twin suns of Tatooine, droid battles, Tai fighters and asteroid fields, all set to composer John Williams’s memorable Star Wars soundtrack. You cannot watch the spectacle without seeing fireworks in a whole new way and, when a lightsaber beam bursts skyward, you’ll believe you’re in that far-away galaxy.
After the high-adrenaline antics of Star Wars, you can experience an altogether different movie at Epcot, where the Norway pavilion has been transformed into Arendelle, the kingdom from the children’s blockbuster movie Frozen, reimagined with a signature ride called Frozen Ever After. Journey with Queen Elsa and Princess Anna through Arendelle, Elsa’s ice palace and the North Mountain with Sven, Kristoff and Olaf in attendance, then meet the sisters in their Royal Sommerhus, tucked into a realistic Norwegian-style village.
To complete your Orlando visit, sample the natural world at Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s Sunset Kilimanjaro Safaris, showcasing the savannah after dark, with ‘eternal sunset’ and moon-glow effects creating silhouettes as lions prowl and elephants bathe in the dim light. The savannah’s sounds are deep and mysterious, but it’s all about festive rhythms as street performers take over Africa’s marketplace with Harambe Wildlife Parti, before a charming projection show, The Tree Of Life Awakens.
Next year the park will launch its Rivers Of Light, showing nightly on the Discovery River Lagoon. It’s set to be a technological masterpiece which Disney is hailing as ‘fanciful painted water effects, dancing fountains, and lanterns that transform into animals whose spirits rise into the sky to form the Aurora Borealis’.
It will be set to an original score and promises to be a triumph of storytelling, making the park a genuine full-day experience. Until the Rivers are fully unveiled, another new show – Jungle Book: Alive With Magic – will be performed on the water in front of the massive amphitheatre.
So whether it’s the Force, the fantasy, or the feelgoods you’re looking for, Walt Disney World’s new attractions will have it in spades next year – and beyond…