Al Lutz on what is NOT coming to Star Tours at DHS

Atomicmickey

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Here's the quote:

"Star Tours 2.0 was originally slated to be ready for soft openings by the time the Pirates movie premiere was held at Disneyland. And Mr. Depp and guests will probably get their own private preview the night of the premiere. However, around that same time a slightly less ambitious version of the remade ride is set to debut out at Walt Disney World (Orlando execs passed on paying for big updates to their exterior and exit gift shop, as well as some improvements to the ride system and vehicles that Disneyland is getting to increase hourly capacity. They're still muggled out there I guess)."

Here's the link:

http://miceage.micechat.com/allutz/al022211a.htm


Admittedly, doesn't sound that bad, but sounds like they were considering a few bits and bobs that WDW is not getting.

Flame on!
 

Jerm

Well-Known Member
I think we all could tell by now that nothing much was happening with the outside (which I think is a good choice) but the store just went through a major rehab not that many years ago and as long as it still fits with the studio theme I think that is the biggest part. As far as ride system.....yeah lets see what that means come May/June!
 

baymenxpac

Well-Known Member
Here's the quote:

"Star Tours 2.0 was originally slated to be ready for soft openings by the time the Pirates movie premiere was held at Disneyland. And Mr. Depp and guests will probably get their own private preview the night of the premiere. However, around that same time a slightly less ambitious version of the remade ride is set to debut out at Walt Disney World (Orlando execs passed on paying for big updates to their exterior and exit gift shop, as well as some improvements to the ride system and vehicles that Disneyland is getting to increase hourly capacity. They're still muggled out there I guess)."

Here's the link:

http://miceage.micechat.com/allutz/al022211a.htm


Admittedly, doesn't sound that bad, but sounds like they were considering a few bits and bobs that WDW is not getting.

Flame on!

yeah, i'm not going to get too riled up about that. i've always enjoyed the entrance as is. and tattooine traders doesn't really need a boost, does it? now if only we could see that visible signs of that money reallocated elsewhere at the studios...
 

GrumpyFan

Well-Known Member
yeah, i'm not going to get too riled up about that. i've always enjoyed the entrance as is. and tattooine traders doesn't really need a boost, does it? now if only we could see that visible signs of that money reallocated elsewhere at the studios...

Agreed. Besides, the outside entrance at DHS is FAR superior to Disneyland's.
 

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Agreed. Besides, the outside entrance at DHS is FAR superior to Disneyland's.

But it's over 20 years old. Certainly there was a way to plus it up, and add a new layer of storytelling that hints at the all-new adventure inside.

It sounds like the experts at WDI had a few ideas to do just that, but it was shot down by TDO. :(
 

pumpkin7

Well-Known Member
not too fussed about the exterior. i like the exterior to be fair. maybe just tame back the trees a little because you can't get a clear shot of the er... walker thing lol. just hope they put a load of ewoks outside to have your photo taken with lol.
 

ryanduggers

Member
Did you think you would get any other opinion about WDW from AL (toy barn) Lutz?

He slants so much against WDW that it's like watching an old Batman episode..... (sorry if I flew over the middle school crowd...batman?)
 

zooey

Well-Known Member
DL's Tomorrowland has a little more freedom with its exterior due to the theme of the land it is in. DHS has the studio lot theme that doesn't get broken after GMR, so there isn't much they can do on the exterior, really. Perhaps new sets, etc could be built, but honestly, the ones they have are great, even still 20 years later. I also hope the queue is simply plussed and not completely redone, since that is still a great queue 20 years later as well.
 

TP2000

Well-Known Member
I think we all could tell by now that nothing much was happening with the outside (which I think is a good choice) but the store just went through a major rehab not that many years ago and as long as it still fits with the studio theme I think that is the biggest part. As far as ride system.....yeah lets see what that means come May/June!

Not to pick on you at all, but I'm amazed at how quickly folks are to rally around TDO and pooh-pooh some plussing and cosmetic upgrades. Is it because the topic was introduced by Al Lutz instead of a more acceptable WDW-based insider?

Disneyland's Star Trader gift shop had a very thorough upgrade and rehab five years ago too. It's a handsome store, one of Disneyland's busiest, and fits perfectly with the Tomorrowland theme. But it's now closed for a three month rehab to give it a newer theme and upgrades inside and out, to debut with Star Tours 2.0 in May.

The Disneyland ride and queue exterior, about the third version of the cosmetic look since it opened in '87, is also getting a full exterior makeover and rehab.

Pictures from early February when the scaffolding began to go up around the Disneyland ride and gift shop.
1190587682_od65F-M.jpg
1190596822_6PzBV-M.jpg


I guess I just don't get why we would give TDO a complete pass on paying for some cosmetic upgrades, some plussing and theme enhancements that go along with the all-new plotlines. It seems a big missed opportunity for DHS and WDW in general. :veryconfu

As far as the ride system goes, if it's upgrades to help "hourly capacity" as Lutz says, it's likely those types of changes will not be perceptible to actual riders. I'm sure the ride itself will be identical once you are inside the Starspeeder cabin. And perhaps TDO passed on the mechanical upgrades for ride capacity because the DHS version has six Starspeeders, and the Disneyland version only has four.
 

tirian

Well-Known Member
I call BS.

"BS!"

:)

1. He accuses WDW of not increasing capacity like DL. DHS already has more simulators than DL; there's no reason to modify the interiors.

2. He snubs WDW for refusing to spend money on the gift shop. WDW updated its gift shop to Tatooine Traders a few years ago, while DL had a very TL-generic shop that needed to be re-imagineered.

3. He praises DL for updating the exterior, and not-so-subtly jabs WDW for not doing so. Of course DL is updating the bland, baby-blue exterior that's a hodgepodge of styles from Tomorrowland of the 60s, 90s, and 2000s. The exterior at DHS is supposed to be a working movie set and is already superior to the one at DL; why would it be changed?

The interiors will be almost exactly the same on both coasts. Lutz is just crying because we'll get it before his precious West Coast baby.
 

zooey

Well-Known Member
I will say that the exterior sets won't be in the same time period as the ride, which is a pretty big blunder. I'm a pretty big Star Wars nerd but I'm not completely up to date on expanded universe stuff, and I'm not sure if, for instance, the AT-AT Walker fits in with the post-EP.3 / Pre-EP.1, but I highly doubt it. The Ewoks would exist, as would the Tatooine side.

Stylistically though, the only thing they could do is make new sets on the exterior. Otherwise, they are tethered by the studio look of DHS.
 

_Scar

Active Member
But it's over 20 years old. Certainly there was a way to plus it up, and add a new layer of storytelling that hints at the all-new adventure inside.

It sounds like the experts at WDI had a few ideas to do just that, but it was shot down by TDO. :(


They tried to refresh the Star Wars Trilogy back in 1999. Look what happened. Maybe they learned their lesson.





;)
 

tirian

Well-Known Member
Not to pick on you at all, but I'm amazed at how quickly folks are to rally around TDO and pooh-pooh some plussing and cosmetic upgrades. Is it because the topic was introduced by Al Lutz instead of a more acceptable WDW-based insider?

Disneyland's Star Trader gift shop had a very thorough upgrade and rehab five years ago too. It's a handsome store, one of Disneyland's busiest, and fits perfectly with the Tomorrowland theme. But it's now closed for a three month rehab to give it a newer theme and upgrades inside and out, to debut with Star Tours 2.0 in May.

The Disneyland ride and queue exterior, about the third version of the cosmetic look since it opened in '87, is also getting a full exterior makeover and rehab.

...

I guess I just don't get why we would give TDO a complete pass on paying for some cosmetic upgrades, some plussing and theme enhancements that go along with the all-new plotlines. It seems a big missed opportunity for DHS and WDW in general. :veryconfu

As far as the ride system goes, if it's upgrades to help "hourly capacity" as Lutz says, it's likely those types of changes will not be perceptible to actual riders. I'm sure the ride itself will be identical once you are inside the Starspeeder cabin. And perhaps TDO passed on the mechanical upgrades for ride capacity because the DHS version has six Starspeeders, and the Disneyland version only has four.

TDO makes more mistakes than a dyslexic kid in a spelling bee, but Al's latest jabs are the cries of a fanboy, not a real reporter. DL's store and exterior needed to be updated anyway; and since other parts of DHS are receiving landscaping and cosmetic updates, it's clearly a case of budget allowances.

That said, I wish we'd have our own Al for WDW, since he has incredible sources deep in the corporate level and commands enough attention to get things fixed at DL. We're still waiting for a fiberglass rock to get replaced in BTMRR.
 

jt04

Well-Known Member
I call BS.

"BS!"

:)

1. He accuses WDW of not increasing capacity like DL. DHS already has more simulators than DL; there's no reason to modify the interiors.

2. He snubs WDW for refusing to spend money on the gift shop. WDW updated its gift shop to Tatooine Traders a few years ago, while DL had a very TL-generic shop that needed to be re-imagineered.

3. He praises DL for updating the exterior, and not-so-subtly jabs WDW for not doing so. Of course DL is updating the bland, baby-blue exterior that's a hodgepodge of styles from Tomorrowland of the 60s, 90s, and 2000s. The exterior at DHS is supposed to be a working movie set and is already superior to the one at DL; why would it be changed?

The interiors will be almost exactly the same on both coasts. Lutz is just crying because we'll get it before his precious West Coast baby.

Well said. I am amazed that DL gets away with their simple marquee for such a major attraction.
 

TP2000

Well-Known Member
1. He accuses WDW of not increasing capacity like DL. DHS already has more simulators than DL; there's no reason to modify the interiors.

Wouldn't a faster moving line benefit us though, regardless of the number of Starspeeders operating?

Of all the times I've been on the DHS Star Tours, they've never been operating all six cabins even though there's a line and they are running Fastpass; it's usually three or four cabins operating at DHS. The only thing I can figure out to add capacity while keeping the actual show the same on both coasts is to shave time off the loading/unloading process, so why not do it for the DHS version too?
 

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Well said. I am amazed that DL gets away with their simple marquee for such a major attraction.

Since 1987, baby! :lol:

To be fair, Star Tours in Tomorrowland, where it's located in all Disney parks around the world except at WDW, is one of three major E Tickets shoehorned into that corner of Disneyland (Space Mountain, Star Tours, Submarine Voyage). With several other lesser but still quite popular attractions just a few steps on either side of it (Buzz Lightyear, Captain EO, Astrojets, Autopia).

They used the big space they had at DHS to great effect, with the at-at and forest setting.

But I do have to wonder what WDI would have done with that space if they'd been given a budget from TDO for some new upgrades?
 

Mansion Butler

Active Member
I'd be 100% okay with keeping the queue, exterior and store the same as every and putting the money elsewhere. Anything they do I consider a bonus, so I have nothing to flame.
 

jt04

Well-Known Member
Since 1987, baby! :lol:

To be fair, Star Tours in Tomorrowland, where it's located in all Disney parks around the world except at WDW, is one of three major E Tickets shoehorned into that corner of Disneyland (Space Mountain, Star Tours, Submarine Voyage). With several other lesser but still quite popular attractions just a few steps on either side of it (Buzz Lightyear, Captain EO, Astrojets, Autopia).

They used the big space they had at DHS to great effect, with the at-at and forest setting.

But I do have to wonder what WDI would have done with that space if they'd been given a budget from TDO for some new upgrades?

I actually find hope in the fact that they are not doing major new overlays to the exteriors. It is as if Disney, or more likely Lucas, has bigger plans in the future and they don't want to set the bar too high at this time while still doing enough to keep SW fans involved and happy.

Or perhaps I am just being too optimistic. :lol:
 

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