In-Depth with Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
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I've always wanted to do this
The Ride
The spiel ends, the door opens, and you walk through the familiar corridor into your StarSpeeder (oh, to be able to see the other StarSpeeders' movement as you take this walk). Take your seat, fasten your seat bell, pull on the yellow strap - you know the drill. Glasses on, doors close, ready to go. But ... something goes horribly wrong. Much to the dismay of C-3PO the StarSpeeder (flight 1401) is cleared for take-off and even though the captain isn't aboard. The autopilot takes over and off you go. But before you can even get out of the hanger, the Empire appears to put a stop to things. Here is the first of several places in the ride where variations occur. On my first ride Darth Vader stopped us and, in what was a very cool effect, moved our ship around using the Force from his hand. On another ride a probe droid (forgive my lack of Star Wars terminology expertise) tried to stop us.
Why the need to stop our ship? Because a rebel spy is aboard. They even show us their picture taken from right aboard the StarSpeeder. It's one of the guests - an extremely effective and clever moment that catches everyone by surprise and invariably gets laughs from the person's friends.
Eventually we managed to escape the hanger, maneuver through imperial fighters and make the jump to light speed. Where do you end up? In my case it was Kashyyyk (Chewbacca's planet) the first time, the ice planet Hoth the second and third times and Tatooine for a pod race the last time. All three experiences are completely different and completely awesome, but Hoth was definitely my favorite. I saw Empire Strikes Back at least 20 times when I was nine years old (a double feature with Superman II) and now I was on Hoth dodging AT-ATs.
We escape again and are visited by a holograph explaining how important it is that we protect the rebel spy and deliver them safely. In my rides the holograph was either Yoda or Princess Leia but someone else I talked to had Admiral Ackbar on both of their rides. A very nice touch - the holograph correctly says "he" or "she" when referring to the spy.
Another jump and you're at your destination. In my rides that was the city of Coruscant the first ride and The Death Star the other three. Both offered still more battles including a one-on-one with Boba Fett in the Death Star variation. Happily, he brought a sonic charge (I love that sound!) Finally, a safe and sound landing and the ride comes to an end.
A Vacation Poster in the Unload Area
So ... How Was It?
I had fairly high expectations going in tonight based on all the positive reviews I had read. I'm very happy to say even those were exceeded. My first ride I was on the rightmost seat in the front row and I thought sure that would get in the way of the 3D effect, but it didn't in the least. From four different seats with all the shaking, I never once had any visual issues. It was perfect. The screen is absolutely crystal clear and beautiful. The crispness and detail of the Stromtroopers running through the hanger can make you forget you're watching a movie. The 3D works very well. The first time I saw the holograph I had to raise my glasses to convince myself it was on the screen and not an actual holograph in the cabin. The eagled among us (I do not count myself as one) will also notice lots of little gems throughout the ride like a fuel truck homage to Star Tours 1 in one of the endings.
The sound was a little disappointing. It was all crystal clear, but the sonic charge seemed to lack the "oomph" I remember from seeing Attack of the Clones at the Big Newport. Maybe I'm asking too much? Also, Darth Vader's voice did not sound right to me. I don't know if they got James Earl Jones or not, but it sounded different enough to me that it caught my attention every time.
The movement within the cabin seemed to be less pronounced than before. I feel like on the original Star Tours there were a few times where I'd really be thrown forward and have to grab the seat in front of me. Tonight there weren't any times where I really had any trouble controlling myself. But this is meant as a description, not a criticism for it didn't detract at all from the effectiveness of the film. Perhaps the 3D itself requires less movement to achieve the same effect? I was a little surprise there didn't seem to be any in-cabin effects added, but they certainly weren't missed.