South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Star Tours rolls out fresh scenes, new characters
Updates have been installed at the Star Tours attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and some of the new scenes and faces may have been seen in your living room.
Characters from Disney+ streaming series now appear in the simulator ride, which shuffles through multiple scenarios to create a multitude of story options. “The Mandalorian,” “Andor” and “Ahsoka” series are now in the mix.
Visitors may see Ahsoka Tano, Cassian Andor or Din Djarin with Grogu, the character fans sometimes refer to as “baby Yoda.”
“There’s one new scene with purrgil on the planet of Seatos, which everyone loves — the space whales, as they call them,” said Clint Gamache, owner of ThrillGeek, a theme park website.
“I think it was the right addition. Not everybody’s going to get it … but the ‘Star Wars’ fan base, I think, will enjoy it for what it is,” he said.
Star Tours was Disney’s first “Star Wars” attraction, predating the company’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012. The motion simulator opened at Disney World in 1989. It was upgraded in 2011 with characters such as Princess Leia and Chewbacca and destinations such as Hoth and Tatooine.
There also have been additions to go with “The Rise of Skywalker” and other films, plus Batuu, the planet from the park’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, which opened in 2019. The contents of the attraction’s video are not randomly selected, but there’s also no way of knowing which story (or planets) you’re walking into.
There are Star Tours attractions at Disneyland in California, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris.
“Star Tours is a classic attraction, so it’s great to see Disney continuing to update it with new additions for everybody to enjoy,” Gamache said.
ATTRACTIONS TIDBITS Walt Disney Imagineering
has launched a YouTube series named “We Call It Imagineering.” First up: advances in animatronics, particularly ones that will be seen in Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, set to debut at Magic Kingdom this summer. youtube.com/ waltdisneyimagineering
With Merlin Entertainments Group taking over the Orlando Eye observation wheel, the Great Florida Road Trip game has been discontinued. New experiences are being planned for that space. iconparkorlando.com
Gatorland is offering a $20 discount on its Screamin’ Gator Zipline. The price, through May 31, is $49.99 and includes Gatorland admission for the day. gatorland.com
Orlando Science Center’s Kids Night at the Museum
— which includes exhibits, STEM activities, pizza dinner — is set for Saturday. Price: $85 for first child, $65 per sibling. OSC.org
Recent baby animal arrivals at ZooTampa:
a 10-pound pygmy hippopotamus (mother is Zsa Zsa) and an endangered Malayan tapir calf (mom is named Ubi).