New Star Tours Problems

[Dirton]

This is a new article about the effects of an updated Star Tours would have on Tomorrowland. A friend saw it and sent it to me so I thought I would pass it on. A new tomorrowland sure would be awesome.


Tomorrowland2007?

[nish221]

Thanks for the link!

Some comments...

* PM 2 & Astro Orbitor news: Al himself broke that one
* HISTA replacement: strongly rumored and desired by a lot of people for a while.
* Also this pod-race scenarios jives w/ what Jim Hill mentioned several weeks ago.

But Jim Hill's article didn't have the level of detail that Mr. Koenig did.

[JiminyCricketFan]

I am sure that the update would create some problems, but maybe not as bad as he thinks.

First, Star Wars is not has popular as it was twenty years ago when the ride went in. Second, remember it is still an update. It is not totally a new ride. The simulator was totally new and different went it came out the first time. Today people might not be falling over themselves to ride it. Lastly, if the update to ST makes the other rides look like they too need updating, so be it. They DO!

[Dirton]

I wasn't saying that this is a better source than AL, I was just merely adding to what has already been established.

[ah schucks]

I am sure that the update would create some problems, but maybe not as bad as he thinks.

First, Star Wars is not has popular as it was twenty years ago when the ride went in. Second, remember it is still an update. It is not totally a new ride. The simulator was totally new and different went it came out the first time. Today people might not be falling over themselves to ride it. Lastly, if the update to ST makes the other rides look like they too need updating, so be it. They DO!

Thats why the films are grossing higher and there is more Star Wars merchandise than any other film franchise ever...right not nearly as popular.

[jmuboy]

The thought of TL in 2 yeras really excites me. If only just 1/2 this stuff comes true we'd be sitting pretty with a great new TL with some real "life"

[Reaver]

Thats why the films are grossing higher and there is more Star Wars merchandise than any other film franchise ever...right not nearly as popular.

I'm sure that has nothing at all to do with the fact that movies cost nearly as much as Disneyland admission prices now. That means they make more. And the fact that you can't swing a stick in your local department, grocery or convenience store without hitting some piece of food, toy or other bobble with a star wars tie-in...

Don't get me wrong, I'm a SW fan, but it's not the phenomenon it was when the originals came out. And the first two have been sub-par, which hurts the franchise... I was discussing this with a friend of mine the other day, and we were talking about how when Ep 1 came out, Lucas didn't have to do any media - no commercials, ads, merchanise tie-ins, and it would have made just as much money, because people were ready for this incredible new experience. Now we're not getting our hopes up, because of the disappointment of the last two stinkers, and you can't walk down the street without hearing the imperial march playing on someone's TV, from all the commercials... The market is over saturated now, and that's usually a bad thing, from a marketing perspective. It seems like they're getting desperate...

We'll see.

But the fact of Star Tours not being such an eagerly awaited addition stands true. When ST originally hit, there wasn't much in the way of SW happening, and it was a cool new concept. Now it's been around for a while, and this will simply be a variation on a theme, in a time when SW is everywhere. We''l just see what Lucas has up his sleeves...

[Cap'n Jack]

Thats why the films are grossing higher and there is more Star Wars merchandise than any other film franchise ever...right not nearly as popular.

Actually they are NOT nearly as popular, if you look at the box office figures after adjustment for inflation, they are much less popular then they once were....

Rank /Title / Inflation Adj / Original

2 Star Wars Fox $1,113,247,500 $460,998,007 1977
12 The Empire Strikes Back $613,629,000 $290,475,067 1980
14 Return of the Jedi Fox $587,871,300 $309,306,177 1983
19 Star Wars: Episode I Fox $530,138,300 $431,088,301 1999
80 Star Wars: Episode II Fox $334,177,900 $310,676,740 2002

[ModHatter]

Very well said, Reaver.

Episode 3 seems to have taken the abusive boyfriend approach to marketing. "Please, I know I've done some bad things in the past, but I'm better now, I swear!" And it helps that, these days, there really has been an onslaught of mediocre to just plain BAD movies, so that a movie that might get a C in better years gets an A+ by comparison.

This is a prequel, so while I shouldn't have to do this...

Spoiler

Almost ALL the Jedis die!

That should have made for one heck of an exciting, action-packed thrillride of a trilogy. Instead, it's been a real yawnfest so far.

And the worst part is, having grown up with the original trilogy, it took me a while before I realized that even it had a lot of stuff that I would trim. Without the first trilogy in the can, that first Luke Skywalker stuff was sort of a drag. ESB... pretty much everything with Han and Leia is filler. And too much with the Yoda. Yoda I do not care for. (And thank goodness it looks like the Green One gets so much screntime in episodes 2 and 3 ) And of course, the Ewoks... It's sort of sad to me that the more interesting characters from Ep 4 became so blah in the next two.

Part of the magic of the first trilogy was that they created such an interesting world to explore. Though, yes, after the desert planet, the ice planet, Cloud City, and the Forest Moon, you do sort of set up an unfortunate pattern. Let's see, what's left, Underwater City? Check. City Planet? Check... There's just not enough mystery being put into the world of these movies, the ending isn't much of a mystery (gee, who will win the final battle?), and so you're left just watching to see how well they tell you what you kinda already know. And when you have JarJar, and the "romance" with zero chemistry... Not a good sign.

Fan inertia has carried the first two movies along. The Batman and Superman series didn't end at 3 even though both of their third installments were disposable. Heck, the James Bond franchise has survived the Timothy Dalton era. People will still buy tickets and see the show, but it does seem as if a lot of the enthusiasm has worn off. Most people I know who want to see Ep 3 are going more out of morbid curiosity than anything else.

[Carlarella]

May the Force be with us!

A new Star Tours would be nice, but I, like many other SW fans, feel a little jaded by George as of late. I've heard that Episode 3 is supposed to be fantastic, so if it does indeed redeem the franchise then a new Star Tour would be a welcome thing.

I don't know how I feel about remodeling the whole thing...personally I'd like to keep the older one going at the same time, that way you never know what you're going to see. Still, something new would be really nice. Since they're sprucing up the whole Land they can't ignore the coolest ride in it, right?

[ModHatter]

Actually they are NOT nearly as popular, if you look at the box office figures after adjustment for inflation, they are much less popular then they once were....

Rank /Title / Inflation Adj / Original

2 Star Wars Fox $1,113,247,500 $460,998,007 1977
12 The Empire Strikes Back $613,629,000 $290,475,067 1980
14 Return of the Jedi Fox $587,871,300 $309,306,177 1983
19 Star Wars: Episode I Fox $530,138,300 $431,088,301 1999
80 Star Wars: Episode II Fox $334,177,900 $310,676,740 2002

Yeah, with the way ticket prices are, I wish someone was able to track the actual number of tickets sold. And of course, how many screens the movie was shown on, and population growth, and all the other factors that figure into how popular a movie really is. But even in UNadjusted figures, that's a radical drop between episodes 1 and 2

[Cap'n Jack]

Yeah, with the way ticket prices are, I wish someone was able to track the actual number of tickets sold. And of course, how many screens the movie was shown on, and population growth, and all the other factors that figure into how popular a movie really is. But even in UNadjusted figures, that's a radical drop between episodes 1 and 2

To get the number of tickets sold, simply divide the inflation adjustment amount by todays ticket price.. about $9.50.

[ModHatter]

To get the number of tickets sold, simply divide the inflation adjustment amount by todays ticket price.. about $9.50.

Well, I wasn't sure if they were using ticket price inflation or a more general economic inflation. Because it seems, especially in the last five years or so, that ticket inflation has skyrocketed in comparison to national inflation.

[TheManator]

You people pay $9.50? Sheesh, I pay $5 a person for the movies here, that's with tax included!

[Reaver]

I'm actually a bit more excited about Episode 3 now that I've seen it is rated PG13, and have played Episode 3 on my XBox. I'm not sure how the film will hold up to the game (even though there are clips from the movie in it, but no Natalie Portman, alas...), but the game is dark, grim, and unhappy. Vader is a serious bad-donkey, and he cuts through the Jedi like they're Ewoks. I'll enjoy this movie twice as much as the last two combined if it's even half as dark as the game. I've heard rumors about some of the reasons it is PG13, and if they're true, it deserves the rating. After the fluff of the last 2 films, a good dose of dark is just what this franchise needs. Then, of course, there's the forthcoming TV show...

[Disneylandrocks55]

You people pay $9.50? Sheesh, I pay $5 a person for the movies here, that's with tax included!

Yeah, same here.



About the article: The new Star Tours ride sounds like it will be awsome!

[TheManator]

I'll wait till it comes out on DVD before I watch it. Clones was such a disappointment; even thought the Clone Wars series on CN is great and has made me happy, I doubt this movie can undo the damage of Ep VI, I, and II.

[Ghostbuster626]

I think you guys should rewatch Episode I & II again. They werent nearly as bad as people make them out to be.

[TheManator]

I think you guys should rewatch Episode I & II again. They werent nearly as bad as people make them out to be.

You're right.

They're worse.

[Reaver]

I think you guys should rewatch Episode I & II again. They werent nearly as bad as people make them out to be.

I've watched the DVDs several times. I have them ripped onto a memorystick so I can watch them on my PSP. And yes, they ARE as bad as people make them out to be.

Don't misunderstand, they're not bad movies, they're just terrible Star Wars movies, if you take my meaning. They're just sub-par for the franchise. You know a movie is bad when the combined presense of Liam Neeson and Ray Park can't save it...