WDWNT Reporter Matt Paul brings us to the shut-down ceremony for Star Tours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios during “Last Tour to Endor” (don’t worry, the attraction doesn’t actually lose until September):
More videos from “Last Tour to Endor” are on the way, so stay tuned to WDW News Today!
WDWNT Reporter Adam Roth continues his coverage with day 2 of Star Wars Celebration V in Orlando, including an in-depth look at some upcoming Disney merchandise:
Did you get your Donald Duck Shadow Trooper?
Read More about Star Wars Celebration V – Day 2 Coverage (8/13/10)
While it isn’t Walt Disney World, Star Wars Celebration V is in Orlando and it’s pretty hard to ignore, especially with the large Disney presence. WDWNT Reporter Adam Roth is on the scene and here’s a pictorial re-cap of day 1:
Follow R2-D2 to Celebration V!
Read More about Star Wars Celebration V – Day 1 Coverage (8/12/10)
From the Disney Parks Blog:
Last year, Disney Parks fans learned that “The Adventures Continue” with the return of a new Star Tours attraction in both California and Florida in 2011. Earlier today at the Star Wars Celebration V fan event, Star Wars fans caught a first glimpse of a new video that will appear in the queue area of the reimagined Star Tours attraction in Disneyland park and Disney’s Hollywood Studios next year. The video produced by Star Tours is a new “commercial” that shows one of their exciting getaway travel packages.
Today we’re also giving our Disney Parks Blog readers a peek at the video before it appears in the queue next year. While Star Tours now offers flights to new destinations, we cannot confirm that you will travel to any of the destinations shown in this video . . .
Since many Disney Parks fans know the new Star Tours attraction will take place between the two sets of Star Wars Trilogies, and that Star Tours can now take guests to more places in the Star Wars galaxy, what do you think of this video? Is there a destination you hope to visit on the new attraction when it opens next year?
From 3 PM-4 PM ET today, Disney had the floor at Star Wars Celebration V’s Behind-the-Scenes stage, where they used the opportunity to give us more details on Star Tours II, Last Tour to Endor, and more! Here’s the rundown of what happened at the presentation:
Live Updates from Star Wars Celebration V Disney Presentation:
2:59 PM ET – “Jason Surrell set to arrive soon. Diego Parras just walked into the room. The room is nearly filled already.” – Adam Roth
3:00 PM ET – “Lights dimmed. Music silenced. Room filled. I think we’re starting!” – Adam Roth
3:02 PM ET – “We are talking about Star Tours today…” Jason Surrell is here.
3:04 PM ET – “George Lucas has been a Disney fan forver. The home of his attractions could only be Disney.”
3:06 PM ET – “Tony Baxter and other imagineers ate lunch at the vineyard with Ron Miller, Walt’s daughter and George Lucas.” Talking about the creation of the original Star Tours of course.
3:07 PM ET – Original concept sketchs on screen. High pitched Eisner parody just happened! Star Tours was slowly fast tracked by Wells and Eisner along with Captain EO due to impressive concept art.
3:09 PM ET – Original concept art shows Vader in opposite screen in the Starspeeder. Odd to see.
3:11 PM ET – “George was passionate about the moment where things go wrong. That’s why Rex is so important.”
3:12 PM ET – Just referenced ice comet cut in the film. Supposedly “seamless”…..
3:14 PM ET – Surrell just did a Captain Rex scream impression. Epic. Switch to Indy. Lots of applause.
3:15 PM ET – Indiana Jones Adventure concept art on screen. Beautiful.
3:16 PM ET – “To be in the movie, the ride does what no other ride in the world does.”
3:18 PM ET – The majority of the audience has chimed in that they will be at the “Last Tour to Endor”.
3:19 PM ET – Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) just walked onto the stage to offer an original perspective on Star Tours!!! *jaw dropped*
3:22 PM ET – Daniels talks about the making of his animatronic.
3:24 PM ET – Just reference his mo-cap programming for the queue animatronic where his animatronic looked at him when it was completed.
3:29 PM ET – “Does C3PO speak French?” “I suppose so… Three thousands forms of communication.” Then he does his queue spiel in French!
3:31 PM ET – Why has Star Tours endured? Daniels says “It combines the wonders of screen excitement but it involves the audience.” He says Body Wars makes him nauseous!
3:35 PM ET – “I never realized the story was in the wrong order.” In regards to the canon of Star Tours. Anthony Daniels will be at the Last Tour to Endor!!!
3:39 PM ET – Daniels is involved in the stunt show and the sendoff show for Star Tours on Saturday.
3:41 PM ET – Here come details for the mashup show! 3 shows of the mashup with some famous cameos of faces and voices.
3:42 PM ET – Anyone that has seen what is in store for the fireworks show has had many emotions evoke because of the soundtrack. New super-sized Hyperspace Hoopla coming on Saturday.
3:44 PM ET – “This event will never happen again.” We’ve heard this before…
3:45 PM ET – Star Tours II is a game changer according to Surrell.
3:46 PM ET – The ride is in fact a prequel. This was a strategic decision so that we could take you to more destinations than ever before.
3:47 PM ET – “Adventures” is not a typo in the ride title. Time for audience questions.
3:49 PM ET – My question to Surrell: “Would there be any throwbacks to the old ride in the new one?” His response: “It’s too early to say!”
3:50 PM ET – Whose idea was the “remove before flight tag on Rex?” It was either George, Tom or Tony.”
3:51 PM ET – Will Paul Rubens return to Star Tours 2? “Its too early to say!”
3:53 PM ET – Any hope for an Indiana Jones Adventure in Florida? “Because of the similar Dinosaur experience *cue the audience booing* that isn’t likely to happen.”
3:55 PM ET – Last question: Will John Williams be attending Last Tour to Endor? No.
3:56 PM ET – Daniels wants to know about the future!
4:00 PM ET – They just showed us an incredible teaser for Star Tours II. I got footage of it from the front row so that will be up tonight. Looks like we’ll be heading to Bespin, Endor, and Alderaan. Stay tuned!!!
Pictures, video, and more coming later today. Thank you for joining us for our live coverage.
In case you have been living under a rock, Star Wars Celebration V is coming to Orlando, and as expected, the event has quite a few seminars, presentations, exhibits, and events for Disney/Star Wars fans to drool over. Here’s an overview:
Last Tour to Endor
-Official description:
When Darth Vader moonwalks and Donald Duck sports Imperial stormtrooper armor, something special must be happening.
With a heaping helping of Disney magic, the Star Wars galaxy will descend upon Walt Disney World Resort from 8pm – 1am on Aug. 14, 2010 for an exclusive party to let fans of the sci-fi saga provide a special send-off to Star Tours before the popular attraction “powers down” in preparation for a new, 3-D Star Wars adventure that will open in 2011 at Disneyland park in California and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida.
But before the blaster doors on the attraction close temporarily, Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park will host “Last Tour to Endor,” an after-hours, private event that will feature live entertainment, Disney characters in their favorite Star Wars attire, a special Star Wars-themed fireworks spectacular, the “Death Star Disco,” Jedi Training Academy, Star Wars trivia challenges and more.
And yes, Darth Vader may even moonwalk.
The Dark Lord of the Sith and his stormtroopers, known to many Disney guests for their Michael Jackson-like dance moves to songs like “Thriller” and “Beat It” during the popular “Hyperspace Hoopla” at the park’s annual Star Wars Weekends event, will take the stage during the “Last Tour to Endor” for a special edition of “Hyperspace Hoopla.” They will be joined by a cast of Star Warscharacters moving and shaking to their favorite 1970s and 1980s dance tunes in the “Dance-Off with the Star Wars Stars.”
“Dance-Off with the Star Wars Stars” premiered several years ago and has since become a hit not only for Star Wars Weekends guests each year, but also for millions more on YouTube. (See more detail about the “Dance-Off” at the “Last Tour to Endor” party below, including the scheduled cast of characters and tune selections.)
And while the Star Tours attraction serves as the galactic centerpiece of the celebration, “Last Tour to Endor” guests also will be able to enjoy other Disney’s Hollywood Studios attractions during the evening, including The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, “The American Idol Experience,” Toy Story Mania, the Great Movie Ride and more.
“Last Tour to Endor” tickets are $75 in advance, and will be $89 at the gate (if available). Advance tickets may be purchased online at starwarscelebration.com.
–StarWars.com interview with Jason Surrell about the event:
StarWars.com chats with one of show directors for the Last Tour to Endor event — Jason Surrell (Senior Show Writer and Show Director for Walt Disney Creative Entertainment and Walt Disney Imagineering) about what fans can expect from this special Last Tour to Endor event.
Why is the Last Tour to Endor such a special event for a Star Wars fan to attend? What are some of the key benefits that you think fans will enjoy most from this event?
As any Star Wars fan knows, Star Wars Celebration V — like the four before it — is the ultimate Star Wars fan experience, but this time it’s taking place in Walt Disney World’s backyard. Since Star Tours is the ultimate Star Wars thrill ride, we wanted to give fans the chance to “be among the first to be the last” to experience the attraction one last time before it “powers down” to make way for the new and “reimagineered” version of Star Tours, which is set to make its debut at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2011.
We’re going to send Star Tours off in classic Disney style — with a little help from some favorite Star Wars characters — so fans aren’t going to want to miss that. That’s reason enough for a lot of fans to attend the party, but we’ve created an entire evening of live shows and events around this historic moment. On behalf of the entire creative team, I can tell you that Last Tour to Endor truly is an experience that has been created “by the fans, for the fans.”
Disney is known for incredible fireworks spectaculars. Tell us about this one!
Needless to say, a Star Wars fireworks spectacular is an idea whose time has come — in fact, it’s long overdue! We gave our guests a little taste of what we could do with Star Wars in “Sorcery in the Sky” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and “Remember…Dreams Come True,” Disneyland’s 50th anniversary fireworks spectacular. But we have been waiting our entire careers to design an entire Star Warsfireworks spectacular, and “Symphony in the Stars” is just that.
John Williams gave us some of the most memorable music in film history with his scores for the six Star Wars films, and we’ll be using the best of the best to transport our guests to a galaxy far, far away. But it’s more than just amazing music. We’ve also jam-packed the show with memorable dialogue and sound effects from all six Star Wars films, so odds are that if you love it, then it’s in there.
It was quite a challenge to try and tell the entire Star Wars story in 12 minutes, but I think we’ve done that through all the beloved John Williams music, classic lines from George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan, and Ben Burtt’s sound effects that we’ve selected for the show. Everyone who has listened to our soundtrack has had a strong emotional reaction to it based on their love for the Star Wars films, so I can only imagine how fans are going to react when they see this show unfold before them in the skies above Disney’s Hollywood Studios. My only regret is that we’re only going to do this once!
Can you tell us a little about the Death Star Disco?
I know we’re all celebrating Empire’s 30th anniversary, but the Death Star Disco takes us straight back to the summer of 1977, at least musically! It’s no secret that Star Wars fans like to have fun — I’ve seen it at shows and cons all over the country — so we wanted to create a dance party just for them. We’re taking our design cues from the signature look of the Death Star, and the music will be all Meco, all the time. Just kidding! We’ll probably throw a little Bee-Gees and Village People in there, too! And remember, it’s the Death Star Disco Dance Party, so I’ll let you try and figure out what our mirror ball is going to look like.
Why do you think Star Wars – Disney fans such a special group of people?
I think the reason there is such a crossover between Disney fans and Star Wars fans is that the Disney “kingdom” and the Star Wars “galaxy” are built upon the imaginations of two of the most impactful and influential creative visionaries of all time, Walt Disney and George Lucas, so it’s only natural that fans have such a strong emotional connection to both of those worlds. In both cases, we’re not talking about “just” characters, stories or films; we’re talking about people’s memories and childhoods — we’re talking about their lives.
Walt Disney and George Lucas have helped shape who I am personally and professionally — they’re among the main reasons I got into the entertainment industry — and I know that I’m far from alone in terms of their inspiration. It’s only fitting that George chose Disney as the permanent home for his characters and stories — and that Lucasfilm chose Orlando as the site for Celebration V — and we’re going to honor those choices with an evening of amazing entertainment for Star Wars fans.
Star Wars Celebration V is obviously a “must-attend” event for anyStar Wars fan, and the Star Wars fans among us here at Disney have pulled out all the stops to make the Last Tour to Endor a “must attend” part of Celebration V. We know that there are going to be all kinds of demands for their attention throughout those four days in August, and I can tell you as a hardcore fan myself that they will not want to miss the event we’re putting together for them. If I wasn’t working on the Last Tour to Endor, then I’d be attending it, I can tell you that!
-Indiana Jones and Star Wars collide for one night at “Last Tour to Endor”:
Celebration V
-There are two exciting events taking place at Celebration V that are directly Disney related:
Thursday, August 12th
The Creative Force at Disney: From Star Tours to Indiana Jones Adventure
Join author, screenwriter and Walt Disney Imagineer Jason Surrell for a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the classic Disney attractions. Jason will recount the history of the blockbuster attraction through rare Disney concept art, and offer an exclusive sneak peek at the “reimagineered” Star Tours – featuring the first film footage from the new attraction – as well as Last Tour to Endor on Saturday, August 14th at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the ultimate Star Wars party at the ultimate Star Warsevent! 3 – 4 pm, Behind-the-Scenes StageFriday, August 13th
Disney Collectibles — What’s Cool and What’s Coming
An inside look at how Disney creates exclusive Disney Parks’ Star Wars merchandise, with insights from Disney’s creative development team. Hear an overview of Disney Parks Star Wars exclusives for 2010, and see sneak peeks into the 2011 line. With Brad Schoeneberg, Cody Hampton, Quynh Kimball. 12 – 1 pm, Behind-the-Scenes Stage
-Disney Theme Park Merchandise will have a booth in the Celebration Experience exhibit hall (#441) where they’ll have new merchandise created especially for the event. For an updated look at some (this is not all of it) of that merchandise, click here.
Be sure to stay tuned to WDW News Today as we will be attending all of these events and providing full coverage of “Last Tour to Endor and “Star Wars Celebration V” as soon as they begin!!!
From an article about “What’s Next?” at Disneyland Resort on Disney’s D23 website, here’s more on Star Tours II and Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid:
The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure
A couple sen-sea-tional reveals were made about this mega-attraction sprouting up now along the side of Paradise Bay.
- As guests descend into the water, a cool blast of air will give them the sensation of headed under the sea.
- Scuttle the seagull will be the first character guests will meet once they have loaded into their “clam-mobiles.” And there will be several places you will see him along you way as he helps weave Ariel’s story together.
Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
While it may not open until the fall of 2011, a few exciting elements of the reimagined Star Tours were announced.
- The enhanced attraction — featuring multiple destinations — takes place in between the two Star Wars trilogies, which will enable Imagineers to utilize characters from both sets of films.
- While the planet of Tatooine was unveiled as a destination at last year’s D23 Expo, Walt Disney Imagineering Senior Show Producer Kathy Rogers announced that the bustling urban environment of Coruscant will be another.
- There will be several points during each journey where the audience will be able to change where the story is going. “There’s an incredible number of different variations,” explains Al Weiss, president, Worldwide Operations, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. “You will rarely, if ever, see the same show twice. And it’s all in 3D.
Looks like we may be waiting until Fall 2011 for Star Tours at Disneyland Resort and we imagine it will be a similar wait for the Disney’s Hollywood Studios version. Stay tuned to WDW News Today for more details on these two upcoming attractions as they become available.
At the media festivities last week at Disneyland Resort, we got a closer look and a few more details about both “Under The Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid” and “Star Tours II” (note that Disney has dropped the II from the name, but we’ll be using it just to differentiate it from the current version of the attraction). While the previews are meant for Disneyland, both attractions will be almost identical at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort.
First looking at the Little Mermaid dark ride, the clam vehicles are actually different from the Seas with Nemo and Friends
Read More about New Star Tours and Little Mermaid Attraction Details
The following press release was issued by the Star Wars Celebration website:
BE THE FIRST TO BE THE LAST,
AS STAR TOURS PREPARES TO LAUNCH ITS…
LAST TOUR TO ENDOR
On August 14, Fan-Favorite Disney Theme Park Attraction
Gets the Ultimate, Out-of-this-World Send-Off
Exclusive Festivities Coincide with the Biggest Party
This Side of the Galaxy – Star Wars Celebration V
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – After more than a decade of interstellar travel, Disney Parks’ StarTours attraction is powering down to make way for its reimagining in 2011 – but Last Tour to Endor offers fans the opportunity to attend an out of-this-world, first-of-its-kind decommissioning party before Star Tours launches its final flights. Taking place on August 14 from 8:00pm – 1:00am at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Last Tour to Endor is a special event on the Saturday night of Star Wars Celebration V – THE official Lucasfilm fan convention and the biggest Star Wars™ party in the galaxy! Fans and families attending Last Tour to Endor at the Walt Disney World Resort can enjoy a one-of-a-kind entertainment experience – including specially-themed intergalactic party zones, Star Wars shows, a Death Star Disco and much more. The evening will culminate with Symphony in the Stars – a Star Wars fireworks spectacular as only Disney Parks can create. Though the party begins at 8:00pm, Last Tour ticket-holders will also be allowed early entrance to Disney’s Hollywood Studios at 4:00pm – where they can be sure to secure a seat one of the StarSpeeder 3000’s final voyages!
Disney Parks will also have a prominent presence on the Celebration V show floor at the Orange County Convention Center – including Jedi Training Academy for younglings and Padawans and a Disney merchandise booth featuring a host of exclusive items as well as Star Wars items only previously available at Disney park stores. CV attendees will also enjoy special room rates at Walt Disney World Resort Hotels, specially-priced tickets with pre-arrival purchase savings for Walt Disney World parks and an exclusive, reserved room block at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – which will include complimentary round-trip transfers to and from the
convention center.To purchase tickets – and to take advantage of Last Tour to Endor special offers – visit www.starwarscelebration.com/Disney. For more information on Star Wars Celebration V visit www.starwarscelebration.com for the latest updates.
Tickets to this event guarantee only one of the final rides on the original Star Tours, not the last. The ride will still operate beyond August 14th. How much longer after that date is unknown. Rumors indicate the attraction will close on September 8th, but it is yet to be confirmed by Disney. Stay tuned as we get more information on the Star Tours farewell festivities.
WDWNT Reporter Matt Paul was able to record video of both the “Imagineering the Future of the Disney Parks” presentation and the follow-up press conference at the D23 Expo, and now has both videos available for your enjoyment. Both videos are embedded below courtesy of the WDWNTube:
Hopefully these videos have answered some lingering questions about the exciting upcoming Walt Disney World projects. We still have many questions to ask as well and will try to get them answered as soon as possible, so stay tuned.
