That's it, Star Tours 2 is now officially open at Tokyo Disneyland Tomorrowland and Walt Disney Imagineering just released a video to celebrate the event, and WDI Imagineers explain the changes they did in this new version! Among the new additions, the hitchhikers droids robots above.
Georges Lucas couldn't be here but he sent a video message to TDL fans!
TDL did several fun TV spot to announce Star Tours The Adventures Continue, among them the two below.
Let's end with this video filmed by a fan on opening day.
Picture and TDL videos: copyright Disney - Oriental Land
Since two months DLP fans forums are talking about something pretty exciting: a "Star Wars land" is supposed to come to DLP Discoveryland in 2015! Disney Central Plaza forum detailed what we might expect in this Star Wars land and so far it is listed on DCP as a "rumor". Of course, i tried to know what is true in all this and, yes, from what i've been told it seems that DLP Imagineering is indeed working on a Star Wars Land project for Discoveryland. I will explain you in details why this Star Wars land is very probably going to be build, but before let's have a look to what is supposed to be planned.
The plan is not only to bring Star Tours 2 at DLP Discoveryland but also to transform what is now the Captain EO theatre, the Star Traders shop as well as the Pizza Planet restaurant to create a "Star Wars land" and as you will see on the Google Earth screen capture below they not only have plenty of room backstage to do it but probably will even have enough room in the future to add new rides if necessary. The back of Discoveryland already don't have the same architecture than the front, so this Star Wars land shouldn't be a problem, esthetically speaking.
What you must NOT expect: I found back a Tim Delaney rendering - which is reproduced in my DLP book among 250 others WDI artwork and that you can find HERE - and in this artwork Tim had envisioned, a long time ago, a kind of Star Wars land with a full scale Millennium Falcon and a Space Mountain dome designed as the Death Star. This will certainly not happen, so don't even think about it as Space Mountain will definitely keep his beautiful dome as it is right now.
What you CAN expect: Of course, Star Tours 2 will replace the original version and the pre-show will have the same changes than in the U.S versions, but according to the DCP forum - and for a big part confirmed to me - the plans apparently are to do big changes in the Star Tours post-show, which will be welcome as since IBM is not anymore the attraction sponsor the great games which were there on DLP opening day have been replaced by arcade games. I don't know yet exactly the DLPI plans but a Star Tours shop will very probably take place in this quite large area, hopefully with great theming. Close to the exit the Star Traders shop might become a Star Wars photo location and what kid wouldn't be happy to have his picture with his favorite Jedi?
Young kids will also probably be happy with the plans for what is now the Captain EO theatre as apparently DLP is planning to replace it with the Star Wars Jedi Academy like the popular one at Disney Hollywood Studios. Sure, if you're 8 years old its more enjoyable to become a young padawan - a Jedi apprentice - but i think it will be a cute and fun addition even if DLP Jedi Academy may not be located outside as it is at DHS for obvious weather reasons. All of you have heard about the DHS Jedi Academy but some may have never seen it in real so i post below a video showing the full DHS show.
The next transformation is an exciting one as the idea seems to be to transform the Pizza Planet restaurant - located a bit backstage behind Space Mountain - by Star Wars famous Mos Eisley Cantina which appeared for the first time in the Episode 4, i.e the first Star Wars movie to have been released. Not only it's for sure the most famous Star Wars "restaurant", the one that everyone remember from the movies, but it shouldn't be too difficult too to recreate it. From the outside it looks like this - below a picture of a diorama model by Stefan Weber:
And here is the same model but showing the inside.
Here are two pictures, the first one is the original model for the movie, and the next one is another model, non-official.
I remind you that in the movie the Cantina is located on Tatooine, in a desert environment, which mean that DLPI would probably have to recreate a bit of desert landscape all around it, which is not the most difficult thing to do. And they have the space to do it. Some additional creatures like the one you saw on the diorama and a land speeder waiting at the entrance would be welcome, too.
To be perfectly honest, this "Cantina" addition is the one on which i didn't had confirmation yet but it'll make sense to build it and if this Cantina project is finalized you can be sure that Lucas Film will keep an eye on the theming to make sure that the restaurant will be faithful to the original one. This next picture will give you an idea of where is what in La Cantina.
Now, we all remember that the Cantina is full of aliens from all over the galaxy. In this case it's probably DLP guests who will be the aliens (!) but it would be nice if the cast members who will work inside the Cantina could be a little bit "themed" - if french regulations allows it, which remains to be proven...
And what about the Cantina musicians, by the way? They have to be there, right? DLP have the choice of real musicians wearing masks or audio-animatronics musicians. My guess is that DLP might prefer "real" one for financial reasons but WDI AAs would be welcome..
For those of you who don't remember the Cantina scene from Star Wars Episode 4, here is the video.
Is this Star Wars land going to be build at DLP? Very probably, yes, and here is why: One year ago, during a press event, a dinner was organized with a selection of web masters and Philippe Gas, DLP CEO. I was part of the dinner but it's another web master who asked him if DLP was planning to replace Star Tours 1 by Star Tours 2. To what Philippe Gas answered that they will be very happy to do so but unfortunately the attraction have a cost - read: an important cost - and for the same cost DLP could have a brand new attraction. One of the problem is that DLP had bad experiences with previous upgraded attractions. They did Space Mountain Mission Two and expected it to be a success as big as they had in 1995 when Space Mountain opened, and it hasn't been the case. And Captain Eo just brought in more guests than HISTA during one week or so. So, we can understand why DLP execs can a bit dubious with upgraded rides even if in this case i think they're wrong as everyone will agree that Star Tours 2 is considerably better than the first version.
But, at the time of this dinner we didn't knew the real price of Star Tours 2, and it was hard to understand why Philippe Gas thought that ST2 cost was high. Thanks to Oriental Land company who always reveal the cost when they bring a new ride at TDL or TDS we know now that TDL will invest 7 billion Yen to bring Star Tours 2 - $84 Million which makes around 63.5 M euros. Even if the costs are always a bit higher in Japan because of anti-sismic regulations, the price for DLP is certainly not under 50M euros, and probably closer to 55M. I can understand now why Philippe Gas thought that it's quite a lot of money to upgrade a ride, as popular as it can be. Not to mention that it's also harder for DLP marketing to advertise an upgraded ride than a brand new one.
But DLP have two problems: the first one is that Star Tours 2 will be introduced to all the others parks next year except at DLP, and the pressure by DLP fans would surely grow in the next years. And also, to put it more simply, the original ride is really getting old, so sooner or later DLP couldn't escape to upgrade it. The second problem is located next door to Star Tours. As i told you Captain EO is not tremendously successful and obviously they can't keep it for years and years. Captain EO closed on April 2 but the main problem for DLP is: what can they put in instead of EO? WDI don't do anymore 3D movies considering - and they're right - that because a new 3D movie is released almost each week in normal theatres it's better to use 3D technology in rides - like in Toy Story Mania or in the upcoming Ratatouille ride at WDS.
And it's at that point that someone probably came with this brilliant idea: what about having a Star Wars land in the back of Discoveryland? And this concept change everything as DLP marketing will be able to "sell" or advertise not only an upgraded ride but a whole new land, and a new land dedicated to one of the most popular movie mythology in the world! And God knows that there is a lot of Star Wars fans in Europe. Not to mention that, as i told you, there is still plenty of land backstage to eventually add a new Star Wars attraction in the future if needed. Honestly, if they do it for real i think it's a very smart move from Philippe Gas and DLP Imagineering as this Star Wars land is probably the best way to resolve both the ST1 and Captain EO problems at the same time.
For sure, this Star Wars land will cost more to DLP than a simple upgrade of the ride but the benefit on many points will be greater. For instance, once DLP will have this Star Wars land why wouldn't they organize Star Wars week-ends like they do at WDW? It's very popular, and for sure it would bring fans from all over Europe in the park...and in DLP hotel rooms, right? So, for all these reasons, i'm quite sure that a Star Wars land will come to DLP, and from what is said on the DCP forum it won't be before Ratatouille opening which is scheduled for 2014. But 2015 might be the year that both Jedis and Empire forces will land again at DLP Discoveryland!
Pictures: copyright Disney, Lucas Film, Mark Dermul
You were the first to learn about it when i've announced it last month on my Disney and more web site and today it's officially confirmed by Oriental Land: Star Tours 2 is coming to Tokyo Disneyland and will open Spring 2013! Here is the official press release.
(November 16, 2011) Tokyo Disneyland Park announced that its attraction Star Tours in Tomorrowland will be revamped, reopening with the new title, Star Tours: The Adventures Continue. The new version of the attraction will open in spring 2013. The current Star Tours is an immersive motion-based adventure that lets guests experience the thrills of space travel in the world of the Star Wars film series. The attraction opened at Tokyo Disneyland in 1989, and now after more than 20 years, it still remains popular among guests of all ages.
The main feature of the revamped attraction is that guests can enjoy the thrills of a new and unpredictable experience with every ride. The ride is comprised of several scenes, each with multiple scenarios for each scene that are selected at random. This means that guests never know what they will encounter out of the more than 50 possible story combinations for every ride. The attraction will also feature 3-D images for the first time, allowing guests to feel like they’ve truly entered into the world of the Star Warsfilm series.
Star Tours: The Adventures Continue promises manifold fun and thrills for guests of all ages – for fans of the Star Wars series as well as those unfamiliar with the film. The attraction will create a whole new world of excitement in space travel at Tokyo Disneyland.
Attraction Facts
Opening date: Spring 2013 Duration: About 4 minutes 30 seconds Capacity: 40 seats per cabin Number of cabins: 6 cabins Investment: About 7 billion yen Note: In preparation for this renewal, Star Tours will close as of April 2, 2012.
As you may know the original Star Tours pre-show decor at TDL have some differences with the one at Anaheim, Orlando or Paris. As a matter of fact, and although the Starspeeder exist in the Starspeeder - C3P0 room TDL has another one, the one you can see on the picture below. There is no doubt that this pre-show scene will be updated too and i'm curious to see how will be the changes. Anyway, TDL fans can be happy as they will be able to enjoy ST2 in a year and a half from now.
Now, the only Disney theme park which is still waiting for its Star Tours 2 update is Disneyland Paris and i'm afraid we might have to wait a bit more to get it. I'll let you know when i will hear anything new for DLP!
Here is two new Star Tours 2 "full ride" videos - with also some footage showing the pre-show. The first one is showing a different beginning than the other full ride video embedded two days ago in a previous article - here it's the Storm Troopers beginning instead of the Darth Vader one. The first destination" is also Hoth but the second destination is different - it's the Death Star sequence with the Boba Fett chase - and the ending is different too. We also see more shots of C3PO as Starspeeder pilot!
As usual a big spoiler warning: no need to say that the full ride video is a giant spoiler and if you prefer to keep the surprise you definitely must NOT watch the video, or at least the ride part. That said, you're all big enough to make your own decision! And, as it is a HD video, if you decide to watch it, watch it full screen!
The second video is showing the Kashyyyk and Coruscant sequences, with the Storm Troopers beginning and a new different ending. The sound, though, is not as good as on the video above and of course there is the same spoilers warning!
Videos by JediEmpire66 and BigBubbaB - copyright Disney-Lucas Film Ltd
Here is a selection of videos showing the Star Tours 2 queue and pre-show decor, audio-animatronics and movies. Warning: like most of the ST2 videos there is plenty of spoilers! That said, let's begin by two videos showing some of the "Star Tours promo" movies that guests can see on the big HD screen located in the Starspeeder room. The first one below is the Naboo Destination promo video, the second is the one about Tatooine.
Inside the Magic also did a great video showing the queue decor, animatronics droids, and the full pre-show video - the one you see just before getting inside your Starspeeder.
Don't forget to go to Inside the Magic to see more of their reports on Star Tours 2!
Star Tours 2 will have its grand opening in Disneyland on June 3 but yesterday DL fans had the pleasure to discover it during a specail day called "Star Tours 2 early departure". Hundreds of them were there for this soft opening!
Here is a Disney Parks video showing the Disneyland fans reactions at the exit of the ride.
Yesterday Disney released the first official video showing the Star Tours queue decor and animatronics as well as clips for each ST 2 destination! And it looks fantastic!
Attractions Magazine also did a great walk-through video showing the DHS ST2 pre-show and AAs, plus official clips of the ride movies. More pics on Attractions Magazine web site HERE.
And, we knew it had to happen, that from day one ST2 videos will appear on Youtube and here is the first one, filmed by Asianjma123 at Disneyland. Not only you will discover the new pre-show in the Starspeeder room but also the full ride video of one of the ST2 destinations.
A big spoiler warning: no need to say that the full ride video is a giant spoiler and if you prefer to keep the surprise you definitely must NOT watch the video, or at least the ride part. That said, we're in a democracy so it's up to you to make your own decision! And as it is a HD video, if you decide to watch it, watch it full screen!
Video by Asianjma123, copyright Disney - Lucas Film Ltd
