Disneyland, Disney World Release Star Tours II Information

Image Copyright © 2010 Disney

(06/17/2010) – Anaheim, California – At last week’s “What’s Next?” press event at The Disneyland Resort, which followed the debut of “World of Color” at Disney’s California Adventure, Disney released new details on the highly-anticipated Star Tours II. The new attraction will continue in the tradition of the 1980′s Star Wars-based Star Tours attraction, but will feature 3D HD projection, new simulators and a new storyline.

The current incarnation of Star Tours (open through July 26 at Disneyland and through September 8th at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World) places guests in motion simulators for a planned trip to the Moon of Endor (in the ride, Star Tours is touted as a type of intergalactic airline of sorts). Unfortunately for guests, the StarSpeeder 3000 spacecraft always ends up being piloted by Rex, a robotic pilot who states “If this is your first flight, don’t worry, it’s mine, too!” Of course, as in the great tradition of Disney, “something goes terribly wrong” … while you never end up arriving at the Moon of Endor, you do get an adrenaline-pumping ride through some memorable scenes inspired by the movies.

After nearly over two decades, though, the film-based attraction is tired. Star Tours is not the draw at either park that it used to be, and the old 70mm projection and simulators are showing their age. Ride co-creator George Lucas and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner often touted about how the attraction could be changed and upgraded to feature new films. After that relationship was soured and budget cuts were applied through the company, that promised upgrade never happened. Luckily, things at Disney have changed – and with that, the company announced last year that Star Tours II would be “coming to a galaxy near you in 2011″.

While guests make their way to the parks to take one last trip with Rex, Disney unveiled some new details for the attraction. Not only will the ride feature 3D effects, but it also is heavily implied that no ride will be the same; at least, not the same every time. Whereas the old attraction always ended up the same, Walt Disney Imagineering and Lucas are teaming up to take advantage of Star Tours’ intergalactic travel flights theme to offer multiple trips; one detail released last week was that Coruscant and Tatooine will be among the destinations in the new attraction (it is still not believed that guests will actually exit the simulator for a follow-up experience in those destinations, or how this will otherwise be thematically handled).

A Star Tours II preview clip at the D23 Convention in Anaheim last year also revealed the inclusion of a pod-racing scene, leaving many to speculate as to when the attraction’s storyline would take place in the fictional Star Wars universe. This was coupled with other reports from as long as two years ago that stated many of the movie franchise’s principal actors had recorded dialog or scenes for the Disney ride. The press event also cleared that up, stating that Star Tours II would take place between Episodes III and IV (Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope). This leads fans to hope that some characters may be included in the new adventure (Darth Vader) while some, mercifully, may be excluded (Jar Jar Binks).

While no official reopening dates for Star Tours II have been announced for either the California or Florida parks, both resorts have mentioned Star Tours being closed from their respective closing dates through mid-May, 2011. No formal announcement has been made yet on the Star Tours attractions at Tokyo Disneyland or Disneyland Paris.

-Report by William J. Nash-McAdam