Is There Room for Star Tours AND Smuggler's Run?

The Millenium Falcon is pictured chasing an Imperial shuttle through a desert canyon.


I have a hard time seeing Smugglers Run and Star Tours both operating 50 years from now.

They're Not Quite the Same

There rides have differences in complexity, projection technology, and the use of animatronics. But at the core, they are both Star Wars motion simulators. There's a slow beginning, a jump to light speed at the beginning and end, and an adventure through the galaxy.
When Smugglers Run was announced, I wondered how long both rides would operate. I thought the ride that lets you pilot the Millennium Falcon would be a major draw. I thought the ride would outpace Star Tours, and Star Tours would be replaced with a new, non-Star Ward attraction. At both Disneyland and Disney World, this would consolidate the Star Wars attractions to a single land. At first, I justified keeping Start Tours because you needed the additional capacity outside of Galaxy's Edge to spread the crowds. But Disney has continued adding new ride films, which keeps the attraction fresh and popular. It's unlikely that Disney would replace the attraction shortly after one of these upgrades.
Now, Smugglers Run is getting its own new ride film. The films won't rotate, but this version of the game allows the crew to select a different route. That's good for repeatability. Disney has been saying this is the last chance for the original mission. We saw that language used over and over for the Electrical Parade, so it may not be as final as Disney wants us to think. I believe there is opportunity for the old mission to come back for special events, much like the occasional returns of Soarin' Over California.

Are Both Necessary?

I think, for now, both attractions are here to stay. Despite the similar elements, the thrill factor is very different. Star Tour is tune for high thrills, and Smugglers Run is targeting a tamer experience.
Tame may not be the word you would have used for this Smugglers Run. Many have complained that the ride makes for a bad experience because of the pilots. If the pilots know what they're doing, the ride is smooth. If they don't, the crew gets bumped and jostled. This is where the key difference is. Smugglers Run was built on the premise that the users would be decent flyers. They need the freedom to make a difference in the ride. Unfortunately, the way the flight motion was built, the jostling isn't pleasant. Compare that to the Star Tours sequence on Naboo, where the monster tries to eat the ship and shakes it around.
A monster is seen through the viewport of a Star Tours flight.
The motion on Star Tours is completely controlled, so the Imagineers don't have to worry about what part of the screen you're in, or if the simulator is at the edge of its motion. They can take the time to position you where you need to be in order to make the shaking believable. But on Smugglers Run, each rumble has to fit with the independent choices of two live pilots, and that makes the ride experience harder to control.
I think that both will exist for now. That difference in thrill is enough to create two different ride experience. I believe the height restriction is evidence of this difference in intensity. However, I don't see both staying in their current forms 50 years from now.


Popular Posts

Height Restrictions Translated to Age Ranges

Image
Height restrictions keep kids safe, but they can be frustrating. If you have ever taken kids to the parks, you know what I mean. Every cast member measures a little differently, so sometimes you make it all the way to the loading zone and then get turned away. Other times your kids are just slightly too short, and you wish they would have worn taller shoes. One of the most difficult things, in my mind, is planning trips and figuring out how long it will be ’till your kids can meet height restrictions. Especially when some can ride and some can’t, the younger ones want to know how much longer ’till they’ll be big enough. I don’t know any parents that have memorized a growth chart and can say, “My child will grow 1 inch in the next 9 months, so we should plan a trip then.” When we plan trips with our kids, we just keep measuring them and telling them to eat a bunch in hopes they’ll be tall enough for more rides. Fortunately, the CDC (Center for Disease Control) has released  data ...
Read more

5 Fun Facts About Disneyland’s Opening

Image
It’s been 65 years since the Happiest Place on Earth opened to the world. To celebrate, here are 5 facts you may not know about Disneyland’s opening. If it failed, it would have become movie sets Disneyland was expensive to build, and Walt needed more money for it. Roy Disney was the company’s financial leader and was responsible for finding all the funding they needed.. To convince lenders to hand over more cash, Roy told them that the project was low risk. His story was that even if the park proved unpopular, the park could close to the public and turn into movie sets. Frontierland could be used for westerns, Adventureland for adventures, and Main Street for turn-of-the-century stories. I’m not sure what they could have used the Fantasyland circus tents for, though. July 17th was supposed to be a smaller party Disney sent invitations to a selected number of people for the grand opening festivities. The park was meant to open to the public on the next day, July 18th. However, some ind...
Read more

Monte Cristo Sandwich Recipe

Image
If you haven’t tried a Monte Cristo at Disneyland you definitely need to try one. They are by far our favorite meal at the park. And since we celebrated a birthday last week I thought I’d try my hand at making one homemade. After some searching I found this official Disney recipe: It only took a few minutes to make the batter. The batter is much thicker than I thought it would be, almost as thick as pudding, but it coated the bread easily and fried well. We used “Texas toast” instead of regular bread so the sandwiches were a little thicker. We don’t have a fryer so we just heated oil in a pan and that worked well. I realized I didn’t have any powdered sugar so I couldn’t put the finishing touch on. They don’t look nearly as pretty as Blue Bayou or Cafe Orleans, but surprisingly they tasted pretty good.
Read more