From Star Wars to Star Tours and Beyond

The great Blue Sky Disney Blog (and welcome back after a brief absence) in a recent post proposed (or re-proposed) the idea that if George Lucas is finished with the commercial aspects of his Lucasfilms then all or part of the properties could be sold off and one of the most logical buyers could be Disney. Most notably are the two properties Disney is already a partner with Lucas in - namely Star Wars and Indiana Jones both of which command a significant presence in Disney parks. Blue Sky Disney further lays out on the table a George Lucas dream of a Star Wars theme park which Disney could build to the scope of imagination unlike any other company.

On the surface of it, sounds like a perfect idea and destined to be mecca for millions of Star Wars geeks and casual fans. I would have a few questions though. A technically advanced Star Wars theme park would be costly, very costly. There would be the ongoing of expense of keeping the park ahead of the technology curve (which the current versions of Disney's Tomorrowlands struggle with now). And can the Star Wars franchise be considered now the valuable property it was a few decades ago in its hey-day.

I am not a Star Wars geek. Star Wars is certainly a great film and worthy of every praise it has been given. It's sequel, The Empire Strikes Back may have even been a better movie (even it didn't have an ending). And then came Return of the Jedi and that's where Lucas kind of lost this fan. Driven by his almost never-ending quest for assorted creatures from other planets, Lucas lost the human touch in Jedi. Sure the where powerful elements to the film ("Luke, I am your father") but those seemed to lost a midst thousands of annoying Ewoks.

The boy gave me the Star Wars Blu-Ray series of the second trilogy (Episodes 1 -3) for Christmas. I never saw any of those films in the theater as Return of the Jedi caused me to lose my interest in Star Wars in general. I haven't even taken off the cellophane wrapping yet.

So Star Wars as a theme park kind doesn't quite excite me as it would a true Star Wars fan. Now a new Star Wars ride in Tommorwland or even remaking Tomorrowland into Star Wars Land would get me excited a little bit. Again, Disney needs to ride a hotter hand - Iron Man, yes - Darth Vader, not so much.

Star Tours Now Open

Darth Vader at the Jedi Training Academy

With great fanfare and long (and I mean very long) lines, Star Tours relaunched yesterday with its all new 3D technology and voyages to multiple destinations. Following the opening ceremonies with Disney Parks President Tom Staggs on hand, the ride opened with wait times in the 3 to 5 hour range for much of the day. This Disney promotional video is hilarious. The first Star Tours traveler seems only appropriate.

"One Popcorn, Please"..."That'll Be $15.50"

There is an old episode of The Simpsons where Homer, trying to save the admission price" hops the wall at what appears to be Disney World's Magic Kingdom.  With only the wall visible, the next voice you hear is Homer, proud that he beat the cost of getting in, walking up to a churro cart and saying, "One churro please."  Without a beat, the response from the vendor is "That'll be 14 dollars". And so out comes the "D'oh!!!".

As my wife and I walk around Disneyland Resort, and money somehow seems to magically fly out of our pockets, we chuckle about Homer's despair over the price of a churro (note: they are not $14). So now comes the grand opening of Star Tours at Disney World's Hollywood Studios and in another week, Disneyland. And what do have here - a souvenir popcorn bucket that sells for..... $15.50.  So, I figure it's about 8 cents for the popcorn.  Maybe another buck or so for the plastic.  That leaves the rest for Disney and George Lucas to pad their already well padded pockets. Nice looking bucket though.....