Well today is Star Wars day, and while Lucasfilm is using it to unveil details of the Blu-Ray release of the saga, I am choosing to use it to start the countdown for the opening of Star Tours 2. The attraction opens at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on May 20 and Disneyland on June 3. Today Disney unveiled the artwork that will be on the show building at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and will be used as the attraction poster at Disneyland Park.
The new issue of Disney Twenty-Three also features an article by Lucasfilm’s Steve Sansweet. One tidbit about the new edition of the attraction mentioned is that AC-38 “Ace” was originally going to be the pilot who had a “Top Gun” type attitude to differentiate him from Rex. But George Lucas desired a pilot that was more like Rex so they tried to create another new droid that fit the bill. Then Tom Fitzgerald and his team realized they didn’t need a new droid as C-3PO could fill the pilot seat with his nervous tendencies. But don’t worry both Ace and Rex make appearances in the attraction. George also teases that he wants to see more Star Tours attractions at the parks. However based on how quickly they came up with this new edition of the classic ride, after promising the attraction would always be changing during its grand opening, I would be as patient as a Jedi.
Also, if you havn’t checked out the Star Tours Facebook page, give it a glance. You can make your own Star Tours passport that you can have stamped at the attraction after you experienced one of over 53 variations of the ride. Just make sure you are careful if you visit Alderaan. It might be the safest planet in the galaxy, but I have a very bad feeling about its future.
Quick Takes:
Studio Entertainment: Tron: Legacy has some good news to report. The film just passed the $400 million worldwide box office mark. The Tron: Legacy RECONFIGURED album premiered on the Billboard 200 chart at No. 16 and is No. 1 on the electronica chart. And finally, the 3D Blu-Ray is the number one live-action 3D Blu-Ray of all time.
Media Networks: ESPN has reached a 12-year agreement with the PAC-12. (I wonder if it was required to be a 12-year deal. If the conference became the PAC-16, would this be a 16 year deal?). ESPN will try and prove they don’t have an east coast bias by broadcasting more than 80 PAC-12 events a year. I am happy to know that I will be able to watch UCLA trounce USC on my favorite sports network.
Consumer Products: Disney Store unveiled the Wish-A-Littles collection by Kidada, which is the first of their designer boutique collections. I am not sure I understand the point, but I am pretty sure it could be described as “couture”
Interactive Media: Tapulous’s new game that I mentioned earlier this week, ClubWorld, was named Billboard.biz’s App of the Month. Congrats to whomever should be congratulated for this achievement.