If you haven’t been to Disneyland, California or Walt Disney World, Florida in the last few months sadly, you missed the final Star Tours trip to Endor on the Star Speeder 3000.
Yes, Rex, the beloved robot who took riders on a journey reassuring them each and every time “Welcome aboard… if it’s your first flight, it’s mine too” has been retired. He has been replaced by a new Droid style robot AC-38 or “Ace” for short. Also, C-3PO has been removed and in his place, a W-7 Waitress Droid from Attack of the Clones has been inserted.
We hear she adds an element of comic relief while passengers eagerly wait in the long cue lines on their way to the boarding dock. There are several other Droids that have been strategically placed throughout the ride but we will have to wait until 2011 to see and experience the full potential of this remodeling of an old time classic.
Star Tours 3.5, as it has been named was scheduled to be remodeled as Star Tours 7 after the release of the Episode 1, on May 19, 1999. However, Disney Imagineers thought it best to wait and see what George Lucas had in store for us finishing up the Legacy. After Episode 3 was finally released, the project was continued and as of August 2010 has been under construction. From what we “Disneyphiles” have been hearing through internet rumors, and the new Official Disneyland Fan Club affectionately known as “D23,” the new Star Tours 3.5 will be an even better, more technologically advanced pod racer type ride.
It has been said on some of the more popular Disney blogs that they have even replicated a Star speeder 1000, an earlier version of the 3000, which is sure to entice Disney and Star Wars fans. Maybe this time they will “Use the Force” to take us on a galactic journey to one of the other popular locales; I myself have always wondered why we have never been able to explore Tattooine or journey to Naboo. In all, although the final tour to Endor has come and gone, Star Tours 3.5 will be bigger and better. Disney fans can’t wait to hear “Star Tours is Now Boarding.” Grab yourself a ticket in 2011, and perhaps you will be one of the first riders of Star Tours 3.5!
