Disney Offers Details on “Star Tours” Update

A couple of months ago, we brought you news about the Walt Disney theme parks working to update the popular ride, Star Tours.

Set in the “Star Wars” universe, the original version took riders on a galactic tour of the universe and even included a run at a new Death Star the Empire was building. Along the way, fans got to see R2-D2 and C3PO bickering and meet the new driver/tour guide robot, RX-24.

Bruce Vaughn, chief creative executive for Disney Imagineering, assured fans that Star Tours is only getting better.

“There’s enough love for the existing attraction that we’re going to make sure that there is a sense that this is a continuation of that world and that story,” Vaughn tells SciFi Wire. “We’re not throwing out the whole thing.”

“Star Tours is a great concept,” Vaughn continued. “It’s been a great concept, and it’s almost as if the tour company is adding different tours.”

Vaughn said the new version will take riders to some of the worlds of the popular “Star Wars” universe, including getting audiences inside the popular pod-racing sequence from “The Phantom Menace.”

“We actually showed a clip of the pod race because that’s one of those scenes in a movie where you’re like, ‘I want to go in that pod race.’” Vaughn said. “So we’re going to deliver on that.”

He also confirmed the new upgrades to the ride will be ready in 2011.

The new Star Tours will be digital, which means they could port some of the old film over and then continue to new worlds before returning to the Disneyland space station.

“It could, yeah,” Vaughn conceded in our exclusive chat. “Our capability is pretty expansive.”

The new digital Star Tours will also be in 3-D, so you’ll really experience the distant planets. As for the fate of our old tour guide, RX-24, Vaughn promised we’d find out more on returning and new characters later.

“You know, we’re going to have a little preview center soon at Disneyland, and you’ll be able to see some more stuff on that,” Vaughn said.

“Well, the team has come up with a really great storyline,” Vaughn hinted. “You’re going to love it. It’s going to be great.”

Vaughn didn’t answer the biggest question on most fans’ minds–will we be forced to endure Jar Jar as part of the new “Star Tours” experience?