Guide to Star Wars Season of the Force at Disneyland in 2024

Season of the Force is the spring and early summer Star Wars celebration featuring fireworks, limited-time offerings, and other new experiences–plus seasonal snacks, exclusive merchandise and more. This guide covers everything you need to know about the 2024 special event at Disneyland. (Updated April 7, 2024.)

For starters, Season of the Force is back Disneyland from now through June 2, 2024. It started towards the tail end of Spring Break and before DCA Food & Wine Festival concludes, running for May the Fourth and that entire month, before coming to a conclusion after Memorial Day and right as the summer season starts.

There are also events and offerings overlapping with Season of the Force. As noted above, Disney California Adventure’s Food & Wine Festival is currently underway. Later in April, Pixar Fest will kick off in both parks. Then there’s the modified Fantasmic, which makes its long-awaited return to the Rivers of America on May 24, 2024.

The big thing for which we’re excited during Season of the Force is the fireworks. To be clear, there is NOT a new Star Wars fireworks show at Disneyland. Rather, you’ll be able to head back to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and enjoy “Fire of the Rising Moons,” a new nighttime ‘experience’ that debuts a different view of the stunning Disneyland fireworks display, with musical accompaniment, on select nights.

Disneyland has announced that although “Fire of the Rising Moons” is debuting for Season of the Force, it is NOT one of the limited time offerings for this event. Instead, it’ll continue indefinitely for at least the rest of 2024 on select nights, with tweaks for different fireworks being shown at Disneyland throughout the year.

During this “Fire of the Rising Moons,” villagers and visitors on Batuu will come together to celebrate their freedom and to honor the heroes and legends of the galaxy who came before them. As the skies over Batuu light up in bursts of color, imaginations are ignited with the iconic music associated with tales from across the galaxy. It will be a powerful moment you won’t want to miss! (All of this is according to Disney.)

Let’s unpack what, exactly, this means (and doesn’t). Basically, what “Fire of the Rising Moons” is doing is capitalizing on the great angle Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge offers of the existing Disneyland pyro pad. This part of the park is actually much closer to the rear launch site than is Sleeping Beauty Castle or Main Street. That’s been true since the land opened 2019–it’s not a new development.

Accordingly, what Disneyland is doing is “borrowing” the fireworks from Wondrous Journeys or Mickey’s Mix Magic or Together Forever (and so forth) and using those to “create” a new show. Rather than piping in the (off-planet) music from those shows, they’re scoring them to music from composer John Williams’ Star Wars film scores.

This is also why “Fire of the Rising Moons” is only available on select nights–because sometimes the above-mentioned shows are presented in ‘projections-only’ mode without pyro. On those nights, there will be nothing to see in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

“Fire of the Rising Moons” can be experienced from multiple areas in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, including the Black Spire Spaceport, the TIE Echelon docking platform and the speeder garage. Your MagicBand+ will also add to the ceremony’s atmosphere with colorful lights and ambient vibrations.

This is actually a brilliant idea. As mentioned above, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has always been a great spot for fireworks viewing. But it’s also been a weird one, as no music is played (for the sake of thematic integrity). So you just have the pyro and, maybe, Cast Members trying to keep things on-theme by making in-universe comments about explosions or attacks or something of that sort.

“Fire of the Rising Moons” will make it feel like an actual nighttime spectacular designed for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. It’ll also give people a reason to head back to this area, which can be eerily uncrowded during the Disneyland fireworks. We would not expect that to continue, but we also wouldn’t expect it to be packed (after the first weekend). That, in turn, should relieve some of the strain from Main Street.

Disneyland already does a good job of this with the projections on the Rivers of America and the facade of “it’s a small world.” Having watched and photographed the fireworks in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge on a number of occasions, I’m confident this will be a superior vantage. Probably not a better overall experience than viewing from Main Street or the Central Plaza in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle, but also not wall-to-wall people. I’m looking forward to “Fire of the Rising Moons” and would highly recommend it based slowly on the angle and John Williams’ Star Wars scores.

Also beginning April 5, Star Tours – The Adventures Continue will feature new additions inspired by characters and locations from Disney+ shows: Ahsoka, Andor, and The Mandalorian. During your flight, you may also receive urgent transmissions from Ahsoka Tano, Cassian Andor or Din Djarin and Grogu.

With these additions, you’ll have an opportunity to experience one of more than 250 storyline variations aboard the Star Tours attraction, including a visit to the planet Peridea from the Ahsoka series. Unless a lot more is being added than we expect, this number increasing from ~140 to ~250 suggests that there aren’t going to be distinct groupings by era going forward. Instead, it’ll be fully randomized again.

We’ve had the chance to experience Star Tours a couple of times since the new additions debuted, and as with all past plussings of the attraction, we’re fans of these changes. The visit to the planet Seatos is (spoiler alert) highlighted by Purrgil, otherwise known as space whales. It’s a really amusing scene. We haven’t received the transmission from Mando and Baby Yoda yet, which is presumably the highlight of that bunch.

The high-speed Space Mountain overlay, Hyperspace Mountain, will return to Tomorrowland for a limited time through June 2, 2024. You’ll once again be able to race through the galaxy, encountering a Star Destroyer and dodging TIE fighters along the way.

For our part, we enjoy Hyperspace Mountain. While many purists scoff at the overlay, it’s fun and adds even more energy and excitement to the normal Space Mountain experience. Hyperspace Mountain takes the foundation of Space Mountain, an excellent coaster on its own, and ups the ante by engaging with elements of the Star Wars universe.

There are some cool details, a blast-off tunnel, space battle, and on-board music to spice up the experience. While this is done mostly through the same screens used by Ghost Galaxy, the Halloween incarnation of Space Mountain, there are some added effects that are simple yet…effective. These overlays are just a lot of fun, even if they aren’t anything revolutionary. They keep the core component of Space Mountain (so first-timers shouldn’t feel “cheated”) while adding their own unique twists on the flavor–like Mountain Dew Baja Blast.

The fun doesn’t stop there, as the biggest addition (in our opinion) for Season of the Force is the BDX Droids in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. These are ‘Duckling Droids’ that have been created and playtested in the past by Walt Disney Imagineering, and are back for the duration of Season of the Force (and hopefully beyond).

The BDX robots are capable of an enormous amount of expression in its child-size body, with a highly-expressive head, two wiggly antennae, and little legs. What sets this bipedal robot apart from others that simple look like it is how it walks. The BDX Droids is full of personality, emoting as it moves in a way that makes it look alive and teeming with personality.

Here’s a video of the ‘Duckling Droids’ meeting actual Ducks of Disneyland:

The BDX Droids will appear at various locations around Black Spire Outpost throughout the day. Like other roaming atmospheric characters, we’d expect to see them from around 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., but there’s not a published set schedule.

We highly recommend hanging out in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in the mid-morning in order to see them when fewer other guests are around–these droids are adorable and are really great at connecting with guests. They’re our favorite thing about Season of the Force.

Speaking of characters, Sabine Wren from Ahsoka will be making appearances in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at the Disneyland Resort for a limited time during Season of the Force.

It’s the same deal with Sabine Wren as the Duckling Droids. No specific times; she’s a free-roaming character who you can spot at various times throughout the day, typically between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., or thereabouts.

Unfortunately, other Star Wars entertainment–such as Jedi Training Academy–will not return for the event in 2024.

During Season of the Force, be on the lookout for new merchandise coming to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Star Trader in Tomorrowland at Disneyland park, plus Star Wars Trading Post in Downtown Disney District.

Among the new releases will be the Star Tours – The Adventures Continue merchandise collection, coming to Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort. Pictured above, the hoodie and tee are a great way for galactic galivants to flex their frequent flyer status! Select items will also become available at DisneyStore.com later this year.

Harnessing the power of the Force can really work up an appetite. Fuel up with specialty themed food and beverages available for a limited time, such as the Star Wars sugar cookie. Plus, you will be able to store rations in new collectible novelties, available for purchase while supplies last.

One food item that’s sure to be popular during Season of the Force is the Salvaged Stormtrooper Helmet Pocket Bucket. sees an old stormtrooper helmet turned upside down and into an exciting collectible — the perfect way to snack when marathoning Star Wars.

Available for purchase at select locations throughout Disneyland Resort on May 4, while supplies last, and served with popcorn, french fries, or Galma Garlic Puffs, depending on location. Coming in May, the Salvaged Stormtrooper Helmet Bucket will also be available for purchase at select locations throughout Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort.

New this year, aspiring bounty hunters in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will be able to join the search for Din Djarin, Grogu and more with a holopuck Magic Shot from Disney PhotoPass Service.

Returning Star Wars Magic Shots and themed Disney PhotoPass Lenses (included with the purchase of Disney Genie+ service) create additional opportunities to commemorate your visit to a galaxy far, far away.

In addition to everything seasonal for Season of the Force, Disneyland is home to Star Wars Stuff year-round. The first thing to know is that Galactic Grill is a nominally Star Wars-themed counter service restaurant in Tomorrowland. It’s easily the worst large-scale dining spot in all of Disneyland. I’d be willing to reassess that if they brought back the late night menu, but as it stands, Galactic Grill is just awful, awful food and no one should even consider eating there. It has literally no redeeming qualities. Even Alien Pizza Planet is better. ALIEN PIZZA PLANET!!!

Of course, there’s also Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, which is home to thrilling attractions like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. Unlike Galactic Grill, this Star Wars Stuff is not “awful, awful.” To the contrary, it’s quite good. Both of those attractions are high up our list of All Attraction Rankings at Disneyland and DCA.

There’s other Star Wars Stuff in Galaxy’s Edge. At Savi’s Workshop – Handbuilt Lightsabers, you can forge your own lightsaber under the guidance of skilled Gatherers. Droid Depot is stocked with parts, chips and more to assemble your own BB-series, C-series or R-series unit. Both are a lot of fun upcharge offerings–we recommend Savi’s Workshop to anyone with the budget.

Then there are the dining options, all of which bring something to the table. Oga’s Cantina is a great wish fulfillment experience, even if the substance and atmosphere do fall short for us–you still want to experience it. Then there’s Docking Bay 7 and Ronto Roasters, both of which have delicious food.

Planning a Southern California vacation? For park admission deals, read Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site hotels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. For comprehensive advice, consult our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides beyond Disney, check out our Southern California Itineraries for day trips to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and many other SoCal cities!

YOUR THOUGHTS

What do you think of Season of the Force returning? Excited to see the “Fire of the Rising Moons” fireworks over Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland? Wish this were a different seasonal event, or happy with Star Wars? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!