Report from the (very) Last Tour to Endor:
Before the park shut down for the day, I waited by the Star Tours Entrance, and was fascinated to see people rushing out from the gift shop (Tatooine Traders, which was at the exit of the ride), and getting back to the entrance to ride it again.
I know, I know. It happens when a favorite ride shuts down and fans of it are rushing to ride it for all it's worth while it's still open, but it's still funny to watch...they were practically RUNNING: once the ride's over, they must have jumped out of their seats, practically SHOVING slower-moving people out of the way, and making mad dashes back to the entrance. If you have been here before, and know the ride and it's layout, it's quite a distance from exit to entrance.
But then 7:00 pm rolls on, and it's time to close Star Tours...for..(sniffle sniffle)..the very....last time! WAAHHHH!!! NOOOOO!!! IT CAN'T BE HAPPENINGWHYWHYWHY....ahem, well, that wasn't me, that was the regular guests who had made the last rides....
...but not for us cast members! We get to ride it one more time! And it's just for us who work in the area called ICON (don't ask, it'll take too long to explain,) from MuppetVision 3-D (my location) , American Idol Experience, Great Movie Ride, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, the shops and restaurants in the area, and of course, Star Tours cast members! I estimated about 60 or so people waited for the area to clear, and then we had at it.
And boy, did we ever. It's almost like attending a convention for Star Tours geeks and fans, we shout out stuff only geeks and fans would understand and laugh ("Are we sure we'll get to Endor?" "We missed it again!! I want a refund!" "(rookie droid captain) Rex!! Where the hell you learn how to fly?" Rex, you idiot, you missed Endor....AGAIN!! For the 40 billionth time!!" "REX!! STOP JERKING OFF...AGAIN!") and a whole lot of others. (NOTE: Read the postscript at the end of this post.)
We took pictures, even DURING the flight, which, of course, is a big no-no in a sim ride, but we didn't care. I was taking pictures with my cellphone cam, and others had their cameras and SLRs clicking away during the ride (got some great X-wing attack and light speed pics).
The staff provided snacks and refreshments, and a special surprise: a small certificate stating that we were the official "Last Riders" of Star Tours and inviting us to come back for "Star Tours: The Adventure Continues" scheduled to open May 2011.
All of us had an hour to enjoy Star Tours, and some of the cast (including myself) rode it a couple of times more. But as for me, I can say with surety that, at 8:30pm (2030 hours), I took THE VERY LAST RIDE of Star Tours, for it was to be shut down for good for the rehab that started the next day. It was a sort of bittersweet moment; a feeling one experiences when something you enjoyed a lot, and now it's going away. Yes, it will have new stuff, it will have 3-D and be a better ride, but it's the originality, the uniqueness...you know the thing by heart, and it's almost sad to see it go. In reality, I will still be passing by the building every time I go to work at Muppets, but you can't go inside, a wall will be out in front of the ride, and now the wait begins,
And like during MuppetVision's own rehab earlier this year, a ton of guests are going to be disappointed...even mad(!) that the ride shut down, that "they spent a ton of money to come to Disney, JUST SO they wanted to ride Star Tours with the kids, and the freakin' ride is shut down??" To them I would say "SUCKS, DOESN'T IT, FELLA?"
...no, I would NEVER say that to a guest, just smile and say, "Sorry, sir/ma'am, but this rehab was scheduled long ago, and it DOES SAY in your pamphlets/schedules that it is shut down." Hehehe, it's sorta fun doing it, but I know there's gonna be a lot of people complaining, so I feel kinda sorry for those cast members that has the task to be bad guys and give them the bad news. Oh well.
But it was still a lot of fun while it lasted. The last speeders have gone for good (along with R2-D2 and C-3PO), so farewell, Star Tours, and May The Force Be With You...Always.
HAL
PS: A challenge for trivia buffs! Scroll up, go the part about the crazy shout-outs we did, and see if you can get the hidden meaning on that last "Rex" joke shout-out, hmm?
