Star Wars theme parks: Harrison Ford to reveal Disney's plans in TV special

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Harrison Ford will reveal Disney’s plans for the Star Wars theme park in an upcoming TV special.

The veteran actor, who rose to fame playing Han Solo in the franchise, will share “an exclusive preview of Star Wars-themed lands” with fans in a show celebrating Disneyland on Sunday 21 February.

Airing on US network ABC, The Wonderful World of Disney: Disneyland 60 will feature the Los Angeles Philharmonic performing famous musical sequence “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” from Fantasia.

Elton John is among those confirmed to appear in the anniversary programme and will be performing “Circle of Life” from The Lion King.

Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that Star Wars theme parks will be coming to Walt Disney World and Disneyland in 2016 at D23 last year.

“We are creating a jaw-dropping new world that represents our largest single-themed land expansion ever,” he said. “These new lands at Disneyland and Walt Disney World will transport guests to a whole new Star Wars planet.”

Iger hinted that there will be two key rides: one where fans can control the Millennium Falcon on a “customised secret mission” and another that drops riders into a “climactic battle between the First Order and the Resistance”.

Visitors to the Disneyland park in California were excited to experience the debut of several new Star Wars areas last November as part of Disney’s Season of the Force event.

Space Mountain was given a temporary ‘Hyperspace Mountain’ makeover featuring an X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter battle and the iconic Star Wars music, while Star Tours was updated to allow guests to visit Rey’s home planet Jakku.

Iger recently promised Star Wars fans that there will be “more films” after Episode IX but that, at this early stage, he does not know “how many” or “how often”.