Wasn't Star Tours supposed to be refurbished?

[Planogirl]

I remember some time back talk about Star Tours being completely changed to correlate to the new series of movies. Has anyone heard anything more about this? Could it perhaps be planned to coincide with the second film or has it been shelved?

 

[HBK]

The last I heard was the new movie contained some scenes which would "spoil" Episode 2. As such, the ride alterations have been put on hold until Episode 2 is released next year.

 

[wdwguide]

It seems next year would be the perfect time for a rehab, it being the release of Episode II and the 25th anniversary of the series... Personally, I hope that they'll have the new version in four or five of the simulators, and leave the old one in one or two.

 

[YoHo]

wdwguide, I've been on the both shows bandwagon for a while now, but I don't see it as likely. To make it effective, they would have to randomize the theaters every day which is likely not possible, or specify which line was which. The negative being that one line would be much much shorter then the other.

 

[HBK]

Personally I think that's a great idea....

I don't know if they'll do it, but I think it would be great.

 

[Sarangel]

It seems to me that I've heard rumors from several sources about the second ST film being held for a while & speculation that it will be integrated in time for the next Episode release.

I personally love the 2 film idea, it would provide some much needed variance in the ride. Though, YoHo has some valid points about the difficulties of randomization (which is really the only way to do it, since the 2 line point is definately a non-starter) - you can't just stick a second projector in, the ride needs to be sincronized to the film & they should be different.

Oh well, we can dream....


Sarangel

 

[larworth]

I'm also a fan of the two film idea, but how to make it work???

It doesn't make sense to make it random. I could see some pretty unhappy people who came to see one version and got the other. Plus, too expensive to reprogram.

There will be a huge demand to see the new one when it opens and they will probably need all six going to keep the lines moving in the early days.

I don't think there is any space for another queue line now that Fastpass has taken one of the sides.

Hmmmmmm

Body Wars is so sparsely attended that I'm sure they could spare a couple of theaters to place it here. Now, if we could only figure out how to tie it into the Pavilion.

Maybe, we can make it part of a drug awareness exhibit and classify it as a "flash-back" experience.

 

[HBK]

Here's a way to tie Star Tours to EPCOT....

Take the simulators in Body Wars and plop them into the SPACE Pavilion....then put the old movie to use!

It fits the theme, and it would add something in the pavilion for guests to do other than the MISSION SPACE ride.

P.S. Speaking of space and such, did anyone notice the latest rumor on WDWMAGIC?

The company which sold Disney the centrafuge got about $25 Mill....leaving $75 mill from the inital announced cost of the pavilion.....anyone else heard any rumors about this surplus (other than it becoming Ei$$ner's bonus?)

As WDWMAGIC speculates, could it be a Disney intro to CAVE?

 

[DisDuck]

Yes, they gave it to Di$Duck.

 

[HBK]

ROTFLMAO!

I didn't know you were an ei$ner relative!

 

[larworth]

I don't know about surpluses, but when it comes time for his christmas bonus I have always understand that he considers all of us relatives.

 

[HBK]

I don't know about surpluses, but when it comes time for his christmas bonus I have always understand that he considers all of us relatives.

Huh?

I haven't got my check

 

[Another Voice]

The original concept was to have a different destination for each of the four simulators (this attraction was designed for Disneyland and that’s all they could fit in the old ‘Adventure Thru Inner Space’ building). Problems started to show up when they began the design for the queue: how do you tell the guests about the different flights, when do they make the decision, what happens if one is much more popular than the others, etc. Fortunately, budget cuts quickly put a stop to the idea of creating four different shows at once, but the intention was always to go back and create the others.

I always get slammed for saying this, but relations between Disney and Lucasfilm are not what they once were. Rumors say that George is somewhat miffed by the whole Eisner-Katzenberg spat and some hardball tactics Disney pulled while negotiating for the distribution rights to ‘The Phantom Menace’. On Disney’s side, Star Wars ain’t the draw that it used to be and Eisner doesn’t really like the idea of hyping a franchise he doesn’t own. He’d much rather be pushing Frisbees from ‘Tron 2.0’ at Target than trying to make a living off the occasional Ewok plush from the exit shops in the parks.

The whole thing’s in a swamp at the moment. A new ‘Star Tours’ film will only be put in if Lucas needs to really hype Episode II, or if Disney wants to draft off the hit from another studio. If it does happen, expect a complete swap out. The ride system is so outdated that it will have to be replaced to accommodate a new show, and Disney isn’t likely to reprogram the old show.

 

[Planogirl]

Somehow, I can't see Lucas unwilling to do whatever it takes to push one of his Star Wars films. However, Eisner and company could balk at spending money on this project. Oh that money thing again! I hope that they go ahead with it.

I wonder what kind of profit is made by the store? I have certainly spent my fair share there!

 

[larworth]

I believe that the "let's find synergy" game too often gets in the way of good longterm attraction development. However, given their batting average on maintaining productive relationships with creative third parties, maybe it is the right practice for them after all.
Does it just seem like they have a much higher disfunctional relationship rate than other creative houses?


Let's say that WHEN they replace the movie will they also have to do a major redo of the themeimg elements. Does it matter that the exterior and queue references are all strongly related to the original movie. Few of these icons have any relevance to the time period of the new movie.

Will they assume that most people will not care and they can get by with a few cosmetic (less budget) changes?



HBK, you read my intent backwards. When it comes time for Eisner to GET his christmas bonus he considers all of us customers as relatives that should be contributing to it.

 

[HBK]

HBK, you read my intent backwards. When it comes time for Eisner to GET his christmas bonus he considers all of us customers as relatives that should be contributing to it.

Now I get it

Sometimes I need special help....

 

[wdwguide]

Originally posted by HBK


The company which sold Disney the centrafuge got about $25 Mill....leaving $75 mill from the inital announced cost of the pavilion.....anyone else heard any rumors about this surplus (other than it becoming Ei$$ner's bonus?)

As WDWMAGIC speculates, could it be a Disney intro to CAVE?

Well, I assume the extraordinarily long construction and testing time for the pavilion is quite costly for Disney - they've built entire theme parks faster than this attraction.
I don't know much about CAVE, but unless the pavilion will have multiple levels, there won't be much space left to fit things other than the centrifuges in there.

 

[YoHo]

I often wondered about how good old George felt about the Katzenberg thing. He is afterall very good friends with Spielberg. On the other hand George has been known to return to destructive relationships (I wonder if Jabba was based on Coppala?) After all, Mikey Didn't Steal and "ruin" any of his movie ideas. George also loves Disneyland. I suspect if anything, the current direction of the company and theme parks has him upset?