'C3PO' Anthony Daniels with R2D2 and storm troop- ers at the THEAs: the challenge for Star Tours was to remain true to the original vivid stories
THE STAR TOURS – THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE
Disneyland, Anaheim, California, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, Florida, USA
ATTRACTION REFRESH
This nomination recognised the complete reimagining of Star Tours – the fi rst simulator experience in a themed environment. The original attraction has been in opera- tion since 1987, but new technologies had become available that could enhance the experience. At the same time, the Star Wars mythology has remained relevant to succes- sive generations of fans. The challenge was to remain true to the vivid stories while making use of these new technical tools and guest interactive capabilities.
The refreshed attraction has succeeded both operationally and with the extremely loyal Star Wars’ fan base. For the guests, the most compelling feature is the variable content that affords multiple storylines, loca- tions and characters. This element of surprise drives multi-generational audiences to return again and again to explore different vistas into many realms of the Star Wars Galaxy. Today’s audience expectations for a high- tech science-fantasy world as renowned
www.attractionshandbook.com
as Star Wars far surpass the analogue entertainment world that existed back in 1987 when Disney originated this granddaddy of simulators, which later became an industry template. To achieve a breakthrough experience, all new “state of the art” 3D digital media systems were a given, but what really brings Star Tours – The Adventures Continue to life is a unique branching story structure employ- ing multiple destinations and characters. This non-traditional storytelling device provides 54 potential show experiences, evoking guests' curiosity and resulting in a dramatic increase in attraction repeatability. To bring a layer of personalisation and rel- evance, image capture systems are used to integrate riders into the varied story branches. All of this is fed into multiple motion programs which have been designed for each random sequence, creating a multiplicity of options for the 54 distinct profi les and unique real- time guest integrations.
While the major components create the guest “wows”, every nook and cranny along the pre-show queue was given new story elements and advanced special ef- fects. This has extended the experience of this “galaxy far, far away” way beyond the doors of the Starspeeder 1000 and repositions the whole experience firmly in a new century. ●
Client: Walt Disney Imagineering TEA members on the project: Walt Disney Imagi- neering FAR Out! Creative Direction, Rick Rothschild; American Scenic, Phil Bloom (
www.americanscenic. com); Birket Engineering, Steve Birket (
www.birket. com); Electrosonic, Chris Conte (www.electrosonic. com); Entertainment Techknowledgy, Kane Fritz (
www.entertainmenttechknowledgy.com); Exp, Dan Christman; Mivan, Stephen Mills (www.mivan. com); Morris Architects, James Pope (
www.morrisar-
chitects.com); Technical Multimedia Design, David Revel (
www.techmdinc.com); and TWT – The Wheel Thing, Frank Weigand (
www.theTWTgroup.com)
Attractions Handbook 2012–2013 61
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180