Nov 24, 2015 Season of the Force at Disneyland
The holidays have been a big deal at Disneyland for a long time now. It’s a Small World has been decorated with Christmas lights since 1997 and the Haunted Mansion has had a Nightmare Before Christmas seasonal makeover since 2001. Just a couple of years ago, the Jungle Cruise boats have been rechristened with festive–and of course punny–names that look as if they were quickly painted by inebriated skippers. (Of course, there have always been holiday jokes woven into the spiels, officially or not.)
During the holidays, the park is more lit up than ever, with every facade, tree, and corner of the souvenir and gift shops glowing in festive colors. The parades end with Santa Claus instead of Mickey Mouse–unless they’re the same person. And what are those “holiday” odors pumped out in lieu of the fresh popcorn smell on Main Street? But this year all that is eclipsed by the Season of the Force.
My family and I went to Disneyland on Friday, just four days into the feeding frenzy for Star Wars freaks, and it wasn’t until then that I realized what a genius move it was for Disney to buy the George Lucas franchise. Of course, the movie trailers are excellent and the new toys are next level. But now a lot more of us know what it’s like when little kids see their princess heroes in person at Disneyland. I didn’t see much cosplay but there sure was a lot of Star Wars gear.
We arrived late in the afternoon and headed straight to Tomorrowland, where most of the Star Wars installations take place. Most notably, Space Mountain has been resurfaced as Hyperspace Mountain, with the planets and chocolate chip cookie replaced by TIE Fighters and a Destroyer zooming by and accompanied by a full-on orchestral score and voice samples. You actually hear female voices when riding on your mission in your X-Wing Fighter, too. It’s great and worth the wait.
Star Tours features a new segment featuring landscapes and characters for Episode VII, which will build on the excitement for most fanboys and girls who can’t wait for the December 17 premiere. It’s pretty cool, although there are certainly purists who won’t want to know anything about the movie until they can see the entire thing. Same goes for the 10-minute Star Wars sampler that’s playing at the old Captain EO theater. “Path of the Jedi” combines clips from all six movies as well as the upcoming one to get fans up to speed. Not much from Episodes I-III, thank Yoda.
The Launch Bay (the spot once held by America Sings!) has been transformed into an exhibition space for costumes and props. That’s pretty interesting, but I was a little bothered by the fact that it purports to be a Rebellion stronghold yet goes behind the scenes at the same time. There’s a disconnect after taking your picture with Chewbacca and having people in Rebellion gear say, “May the Force be with you,” to walk by video game previews and the gift shop. But that’s nothing that hasn’t been broached by the Abe Lincoln Story.
A more cynical or even just critical person might call out the Season of the Force as the latest cash grab for Disney. Another way for the World’s Largest People Trap Built By a Mouse to get locals to keep shelling out 100 bucks to get in as well as tourists. Did I mention that the food at the Tomorrowland Terrace has been renamed Star Wars style and you can buy a Han Solo in Carbonite lunch box for an extra 10 bucks?
Yet we loved it. My brother and I actually grew up behind the Orange Curtain and we both worked at Disneyland. After quitting he said something like, “To still enjoy Disneyland even after working there is like enjoying Christmas even though you know Santa Claus isn’t real.” I’ve probably quoted that on this blog before, but last week that was doubly true.
