Over the weekend, the Walt Disney Company held a huge event called the D23 Expo, which basically was like the 100% Disney version of the SD Comic Con. The event was held at the Anaheim Convention Center and for three days Disney executives including CEO Bob Iger and the head of animation John Lasseter and many more made large public announcements about a number of big Disney events, movies, shows, etc. One of the biggest bits of news that I was personally floored by was the long awaited official announcement of a forthcoming new Star Tours attraction at the Disneyland Theme Parks.
I'd posted a few months back some news that Lucasfilm had been secretly filming scenes for the new attraction, but since then we haven't heard anything from Disney at all about when this new ride of awesomeness would be bestowed up0n us. Wel, we finally have some information about when things will be changing for the ride. During the expo, it was announced by Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Jay Rasulo that that would be closing the existing Star Tours attraction in October, 2010. Then, this happened:
So there you have it. The brand new Star Tours in 3D ride will be opening sometime in 2011. I'm assuming by their lack of a more specific date that it will be somewhere around Christmas 2011, but that's ok. A year without Star Tours won't kill me. What may kill me though is if the new ride is heavily prequel trilogy influenced. Sure, I'm ok with a podracing scene in the new ride seeing as how that race and Darth Maul were the only good things to come out of Episode One. But if there's more than a 50/50 ratio of prequel trilogy to original trilogy stuff, I'm going to be thoroughly annoyed.
Overall though, prequel stuff aside, I'm pretty damn happy with this news. I love Star Tours, but it definitely has been needing an update for well over a decade now. I've ridden the ride more times and blown up more Death Stars than I can count. I know the script of the ride by heart, and I definitely know that to escape a Star Destroyers tractor beam all you have to do is ease off on your main thruster. It's time for a change. Star Tours opened back in 1988, so to say that the technology used in it is dated is a bit of an understatement. I've seen motion simulators at the local mall that have the same basic tech. Star Tours needs to be made great and awe inspiring again, and now it will have the chance to do it.
Making the ride 3D will be one cool addition, new digital effects are sure to enhance the experience as well, and I'm sure the motion control of the ship itself will be even more finely in tune with the video so that the feeling of actual space travel will be all that more real. While I will definitely mourn the loss of the original attraction, I will wait with baited breath for the new ride to open. Here's to hoping that it will blow my mind just like the original did to a 10 year old Pat the first time he rode it.
No comments:
Post a Comment