Star Tours

Every kid who was lucky enough to go any of the Disney theme parks as a kid (if not your parents obviously didn’t love you!) has that one memory of a ride or attraction or even simply a sight or smell that has stuck with them to this very day.  Whether it was the first time you saw the winding pirate filled caverns or high reaching peaks of the castle its self, everyone remembers something about their experience more than the rest.

For me it wasn’t the Haunted Mansion or Hall of Presidents or even the musical birds of the Tiki Room, it was the fantastical journey that was wrapped around the Star Wars franchise in Space Tours.  I remember being completely blown away not only by the ride that at the time was one of a kind, but also by the entire process of simply getting to ride it in the first place.  It has become fairly common now days for large attractions like this to have some form of entertainment for those people waiting to experience them, but back in the late 80’s what Star Tours was doing was simply incredible.

As you slowly made your way through winding halls that hid just how long of a wait you still had you were being introduced to elements of the story that the eventual ride was getting ready to tell you.  Small conversations between robots that were working various tasks, in what was presented as (big shocker) a touring agency for space travel, would slowly hint to you that the journey you were going to be taking wasn’t going to be as smooth as you would hope.  Add in the presence of both R2D2 and C3PO and you’ve got a line worth waiting in.

But the real magic comes from the ride its self.  What has now become something that you would have seen in random malls 10 years ago, in 1986 was a first of its kind.  A simulator that would allow its passengers to be presented with a choreographed set of on screen action and a structure that can move to match them.  It’s pretty straight forward, but the way it all comes together is nothing short of amazing!  In fact, although I was aware of the basic process, I was completely unable in my young state to put my finger on exactly how it worked.  I spent a large portion of the next few years thinking about it all of, and perhaps that’s why it stuck so hard in my memory.

Anyways, I ran into this LONG article about it which is what prompted me to bring it up.  Check it out