How Star Excursions Laid the Stage for Disney’s Galactic Ambitions

The 12 months 2005 was already an vital one for Star Excursions, nonetheless. Though as beforehand talked about Star Excursions launched with parts of the experience teasing different locales for the attraction, the unique experience by no means obtained updates past the Endor journey. However at Star Wars Celebration III in April 2005, Lucas confirmed, in the end, that the adventures would certainly proceed.

With the prequel trilogy about to conclude with Revenge of the Sith’s launch in Could of that 12 months, a brand new improve to Star Excursions would be capable of incorporate places and concepts from the prequel trilogy, in addition to develop on parts from the unique trilogy past Endor. The brand new experience would additionally use 3D expertise to immerse audiences, and not would they only go to a single location on every journey—the replace would supply dozens upon dozens of potential distinctive combos of locales in a single experience. Initially, the sequel experience would draw from six potential locations—Coruscant, Tatooine, Hoth, Naboo, Geonosis, Kashyyyk—after opening at Spaceport THX1138, with visits to totally different planets interspersed with messages from varied Star Wars characters advising guests a few secret mission to rescue a randomly chosen spy aboard their experience.

Not each change can be standard with Disney diehards. Though the improve—dubbed Star Excursions: The Journey Continues—would nonetheless keep plenty of parts from the unique, one controversial resolution was to switch Star Excursions’ droid pilot RX-24 (higher generally known as Captain Rex, nicely earlier than the Clone) because the experience’s “pilot” and as an alternative straight combine C-3PO and R2-D2 into the experience’s story, fairly than simply protecting them a part of the queue. After shutting down the 12 months prior in 2010 for refurbishment for the overhaul, Star Excursions: The Journey Continues formally debuted at Disney World in Florida in Could 2011, earlier than opening at Disneyland that June.