Mark January 9, 2007 on your calendar.
Why for? Because that’s the 20th anniversary of the grand opening of Disneyland’s “Star Tours.” And — in honor of this very auspicious occasion — rumors are now flying that StarSpeeder 3000 may begin flying to a brand new destination on that very same date.
Mind you, nothing’s carved in carbonite yet. But “Star Wars” creator George Lucas has been dropping some Rancor-sized hints lately. Take — for example — last month, when George was speaking at the “3D: New Dimensions in Digital Cinema” event at ShoWest. When one of the reporters there attempted to pin Lucas down about “Star Tours” ‘s future, the noted director supposedly used some Jedi mind tricks to try & cloud that journalist’s mind. Saying only that — when this Disneyland attraction was finally updated — it would be done digitally.
(“Alright, Jim. Enough with the stupid ‘Star Wars’ references already,” you say. “Just get on with telling us about what’s reportedly going on with ‘Star Tours’.” Okay. Will do. )
Copyright 1987 The Walt Disney Company
Well, it is true that — last month in Vegas — Lucas did reveal that the next generation of “Star Tours” would be done digitally. But what George didn’t mention is where exactly an update for this Disney theme park favorite would fit into his upcoming work schedule.
According to my sources at Skywalker Ranch, Lucas is actually quite anxious to get a new version of “Star Tours” installed at the Disney theme parks. Which is kind of understandable. Given that over six years ago, George allegedly approached Mouse House management about possibly putting a new ride film into this simulator. Only to have Disney’s Big Cheese supposedly say “No.”
Strange but true, folks. But the story (as I heard it a number of times from WDI insiders) goes something like this:
Back in late 1998/early 1999, as the dedicated craftsmen at Industrial Light & Magic are dropping finished FX shots into the work print for “The Phantom Menace,” these grizzled effect guys can’t help but notice how well that movie’s pod race sequence was coming together. How the camera POV shots in that section of the movie particularly gave you a sense of speed and movement of Annakin’s vehicle.
Copyright 1987 The Walt Disney Company
Which was why — given how effective this part of “Star Wars: Episode I” was on a non-moving screen — the crew at ILM then began to wonder: How well would “Phantom Menace” ‘s pod race play inside a moving theater? Like one of those simulators that Disney uses for “Star Tours”?
And quicker than than the Millennium Falcon can make the Kessel Run (Okay. I know. I promised. No more obscure “Star Wars” references …), the guys at ILM were calling their buddies at WDI. Saying things like “We just did Disney a huge favor. We made your new ‘Star Tours’ film for you. Do you wanna see what this stuff looks like when it plays inside a simulator?”
And — of course — the Imagineers did want to see what these effects guys were talking about. So arrangements were made to screen this section of “Phantom Menace” on board a moving StarSpeeder 3000. And it quickly became obvious that “Star Wars: Episode I” ‘s pod race sequence really would make one hell of a “Star Tours” ride film.
The only problem was that this was the Spring of 1999. And Disney CEO Michael Eisner had just spent tens of millions of dollars on the redo of Disneyland’s Tomorrowland area. Only to have the public greet this radically revamped portion of that theme park with a collective shrug.
Copyright 1987 The Walt Disney Company
Worse than that, Eisner now found himself saddled with a new Tomorrowland attraction that didn’t really work. How many of you remember the Rocket Rods? That high-speed replacement for Disneyland’s PeopleMover that ran fitfully from May 1998 to September 2000. Only to suddenly shut down & never re-open again.
Well, here’s Uncle Michael being told by the Imagineers that “We need another $20 million to make repairs & improvements to Rocket Rods so that this Tomorrowland attraction can then run safely on a daily basis.” And right behind the guys from WDI, here comes George Lucas, saying: “My guys have come up with a great idea for a new ‘Star Tours’ movie. But — in order for this new ride film to play properly — I’m going to need Disney to make some expensive modifications to your existing fleet of simulators.”
“What exactly was Lucas asking Eisner to do?,” you query. Well, basically Uncle George wanted the Imagineers to rip out all of those primitive screens & projectors that “Star Tours” currently uses. Lucas then wanted each of these vehicles to be outfitted with digital flatscreens. So that all the detail that the guys at ILM had crammed into the “Phantom Menace” ‘s pod race sequence would then seem to leap off the screen.
As you might understand, what with already being forced by WDI to spend all of this extra dough on Rocket Rods in order to get that attraction to work properly, Eisner was somewhat reluctant to invest another $20 – $25 million into overhauling a Tomorrowland ride that still worked fine. Which was still quite popular with Disneyland guests.
In fact, it was that fact (I.E. That people still love the original version of “Star Tours.” That over 60% of the guests who come to Disneyland each day make a point of riding this attraction as part of their visit to the park) that ultimately led to Michael telling George: “Thanks but no thanks. We’ll stick with what we’ve got.”
This response — as you might expect — supposedly infuriated Lucas. Who then allegedly began to tell friends in the entertainment industry that Disney’s then-management team didn’t care about quality anymore. Which is George reportedly refused to talk directly with Michael for the past four or five years.
Well, less than six months from now, the Walt Disney Company will have a new management team. With Michael Eisner formally stepping down on September 30th and Robert Iger officially picking up the reins of power on October 1st.
And given that Lucas — in addition to getting “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith” ready for its theatrical release next month — has also been talking about producing a “Stars Wars” TV series. A high profile project that George has supposedly already shopped around to various networks …
Well, obviously Iger would love to land a plum like that for ABC’s 2006-2007 broadcast schedule. Which is why it’s in Bob’s best interests to make George as happy as possible right about now.
Which is why — reportedly through back channels at WDI & ILM — Disney’s soon-to-be CEO has allegedly already reached out to Lucas. Passing along the word that Bob would love it if Industrial Light & Magic & Walt Disney Imagineering could soon get to work on a new version of “Star Tours.”
More to the point, with the hope that this helps get the deal done … Iger has already supposedly made it abundantly clear that whatever Lucas wants, Lucas gets. Which will (in theory) mean a complete upgrade of the StarSpeeder 3000 simulator fleet. With digital flatscreens installed in each car, new in-theater physical effects, a complete overhaul of the simulator’s audio system. You know? The works.
“So what’s the tentative timeline for this proposed “Star Tours” redo?,” you ask. Well … Disneyland will basically wrap up its 17-month-long 50th anniversary celebration in the Fall of 2006. From October through December, the Anaheim theme park will then go forward th its standard “Merriest Place on Earth” celebration. (You know. The seasonal retheming of “it’s a small world” and “The Haunted Mansion,” the holiday edition of “Believe!,” etc.)
Then — come January of 2007 — once the Christmas decorations all get packed away and Disneyland’s in serious need of a seasonal attendance bump, here comes “Star Tours” ‘s 20th anniversary. And what better time would there be to unveil an all-new destination for the StarSpeeder 3000 (Which — in theory — could then serve as an in-park promotional vehicle for the “Star Wars” television series. Which — ideally — would already be airing on ABC)?
Mind you, I guess I should caution you all that this project does remain somewhat tentative. Given that Iger really can’t begin any official negotiations with Lucas until Eisner formally vacates the Team Disney Burbank building on or about September 30th. Which is why any talks that have been held to date about this proposed change-out at the theme parks have been strictly informal. With representatives from WDI & ILM using back channels to get a dialogue going between Bob & George.
Which is (not-so-oddly-enough) the same technique that Iger has allegedly been using to re-open talks with Pixar. And — given how Wall Street would really love it if Bob were able to announce (just weeks after he’d fornally come to power at Disney) that he had new deals on the table with both George Lucas & Steve Jobs … Well, I guess you can understand why Iger’s eager to actually see these deals go through.
So — like I said — mark January 9, 2007 on your calendar. Not just because that date is the 20th anniversary of the grand opening of Disneyland’s “Star Tours.” But rather because — as of that date — Endor may no longer be the end-all when it comes to StarSpeeder 3000 destinations.
(Okay. I know. Enough with the stupid “Star Wars”-related jokes.)
Your thoughts?