
by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:52 PM ET, Tue September 29, 2015
Photo courtesy of Thinkstock
To help build excitement for the eventual opening of Star Wars Land next year, Disneyland will host a fan festival celebrating the classic movie franchise starting on November 16.
According to Disney's website, the amusement park will break ground on Star Wars Land in 2016, but in the mean time, the theme park will host a fan festival dubbed "The Season of the Force."
The Star Wars-inspired fan festival will be held in the Tomorrowland section of Disneyland, and will feature themed attractions, live shows, exhibits, food and more. The celebration will also feature meet-and-greet opportunities with characters from the Star Wars movies.
The Tomorrowland portion of the park will undergo an overhaul for the celebration, including temporarily transforming the Space Mountain ride into Hyperspace Mountain, which will give fans to experience an X-wing battle firsthand. The classic Star Tours ride will also be in full effect during the festivities.
In the Innoventions building - which will be called Star Wars Launch Bay - props and exhibits featuring items from the Star Wars movies will be on display, including lightsabers, starships, stormtroopers and more.
Tomorrowland Theater will also be showing highlights from the Star Wars franchise - including previews from the new "The Force Awakens" movie.
Also announced during the fan festival reveal were closures associated with the construction of Star Wars Land. Disney said that the Rivers of America and the Disneyland Railroad attractions will be shut down temporarily and Big Thunder Ranch will be shut down permanently, all on Jan. 10, 2016.
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