Preview The New 'Star Tours' Sequence: 'Force Awakens' Jakku Escape

At D23 Expo 2015, Disney announced that a seasonal Star Wars promotional event called Season of the Force would be coming to Disneyland in California and Disney Hollywood Studios in Florida. In California, the event would bring a new Star Wars skin of Space Mountain called Hyperspace Mountain, an updated version of the Jedi Training Academy show featuring the characters from Star Wars Rebels, an interactive meet-and-greet and experience area called Star Wars Launch Bay, and a new Force Awakens Star Tours experience.

Today Disney has released new information about the Star Tours ride experience that will bring park guests into the world of J.J. Abrams' new movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Hit the jump to learn more and see video from the new ride experience.

Starting on November 16th in Disneyland park, guests riding Star Tours – The Adventures Continue will experience a brand new adventure inspired by the upcoming film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. As you probably know, Star Tours – The Adventures Continue usually features a randomized assortment of experiences (2 openings, 3 first locations, 3 different messages, and 3 final locations) that combine into 54 different possible rides. The new Force Awakens Star Tours experience will be added to the mix, most likely in the series of final locations.

But don't worry, Disney knows that Star Wars fans will want to experience the new Force Awakens sequence so they are promising that "everyone who rides Star Tours will experience the new adventure." After Season of the Force is over, Disney will put the Force Awakens sequence into the randomizer as part of now 72 possible ride experiences on the attraction.

Of course, the Star Tours – The Adventures Continue ride was set in the timeline post-Revenge of the Sith and pre-A New Hope (even though some sequences like the Hoth escape take liberties with the Empire's forces being on planet before the rebels set up a base in Empire Strikes Back). The addition of the Force Awakens sequence seems to take the ride completely out of the timeline, as the Starspeeder 1000 seems to be following the Millennium Falcon as it escapes First Order TIE Fighters on the planet of Jakku (one of the big action sequences in the upcoming film). Above is a preview of the new ride experience.

photo thanks to Making Star Wars and Universal Core

We also have new details about the Star Wars presentation which will be inside the Tomorrowland Theater (formerly Magic Eye Theater, where Captain EO played). We had originally heard Disney wanted to put a Star Wars: The Force Awakens preview in the space, but Abrams or someone else didn't want to show whole sequences of the new movie before its release. Instead, Disney will put a presentation in the Tomorrowland Theater titled Star Wars: Path of the Jedi which will "feature scenes from the complete Star Wars saga, also giving anyone new to the Star Wars galaxy an opportunity to get acquainted with the films."

The new Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple will open at a later time in early December, with a reimagined Jedi Training experience that "will take younglings to the secret site of an ancient Jedi temple where they will face Darth Vader along with the Seventh Sister – a new villain from the Disney XD series Star Wars Rebels." I'm sure Kanan and maybe Ezra Bridger will also be some of the new characters in this experience.

While Season of the Force will kick off at Disneyland park on November 16th, Florida will have to wait a couple weeks as it won't come to Disney Hollywood Studios until December 1st.