Harrison Ford Set to Unveil New 'Star Wars' Land on Upcoming TV Special
The ABC special will find Ford dusting off the vest to reveal Disney's brand new theme parks.
Han Solo is coming back!
Well, sort of. Actor Harrison Ford will make an appearance in next month’s The Wonderful World of Disney: Disneyland 60, an ABC special in honor of the park’s upcoming 60th anniversary.
The former Mr. Solo will unveil the upcoming theme park attractions of the new Star Wars Land coming to California’s Disneyland and Orlando’s Walt Disney World Resorts. Construction of the Disneyland location is set to begin some time in early 2016 and might already be in progress.
The TV special caps off months of excitement and speculation after the Star Wars theme parks were originally announced by Disney chairman Bob Iger at Disney’s D23 Expo last August.
It was announced earlier this month that many classic attractions of the existing Disneyland park — including Frontierland’s Big Thunder Ranch, the Big Thunder Ranch barbecue restaurant, the Big Thunder Ranch petting zoo, and something called the Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree — would be closing their doors to make way for these upcoming Star Wars offerings. Thankfully for theme park-loving fans of American literature, the Mark Twain Riverboat and Tom Sawyer Island are only temporarily closing. Phew.
Artist's rendering of Disney's 'Star Wars' Land.
So what can Star Wars fans expect? The 14 acres set aside for Star Wars at the Disneyland location certainly hold enough room for a myriad of galactic possibilities. According to Disneyland reps, there will be a roller coaster called “Hyperspace Mountain” that puts riders in the middle of a battle between X-Wings and TIE fighters. There are also reports of an immense recreation of the famous Millennium Falcon. Specifics have been hard to come by, but the TV special should clear things up and guarantee Disney even more bills from Star Wars fans for at least a few more generations.
This isn’t Ford’s first Star Wars-related TV foray. Lest we forget, he also appeared as Han Solo in the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special that aired on CBS in November 1978. Hopefully this one ages a bit better.
The Wonderful World of Disney: Disneyland 60 airs February 21 on ABC.
