Disney Updating Star Tours Again

Imagineers are feeling The Force these days, as Disney just announced a few Star Wars updates.

The most important one involves more scenes coming to Star Tours – The Adventures Continue! Let’s talk about it.

More Scenes = More Randomization

Disney just hosted Star Wars Celebration 2022. So, most of what we’re discussing stems from the announcements there.

The biggie involves Star Tours, which hadn’t gained any new scenes since 2019. That’s primarily because Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker came out that December.

Disney hasn’t released any new Star Wars movies since then. Still, it has introduced new characters and sets on The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and now Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Star Tours could slurp up any content from these stories, as its ride structure features a unique randomization mode.

Each segment of Star Tours could be one of a fixed number of options, such as a character appearance by BB-8, Yoda, or Princess Leia.

The math here is already large enough that you could ride Star Tours 1,000 times and not have the identical experience.

Odds are good that you would watch every piece after 25 rides, though. However, Disney is ready to change the math a bit.

According to Imagineer Scott Trowbridge, Star Tours will add new destinations soon. However, he didn’t specify a timeline or specific details.

Personally, I would expect The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda to be involved somehow, though. They’re easily the most popular new Star Wars characters in recent memory.

Speaking of which, the next time you stroll through Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, you may notice some new faces.

Courtesy of Disney Tourist Blog

Boba Fett and his ally, Fennec Shand, are now appearing at Black Spire Outpost.

Park officials acknowledge that this could break the timeline for Star Wars fans. So, Boba Fett and Shand won’t interact with characters from the most recent trilogy.

According to the Parks Blog, The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda – I’m not calling him Grogu – will appear soon as well. That’s gonna make Star Wars fans euphoric.

Courtesy of Disney Tourist Blog

Another Cosmic Rewind Update

I’ve only got two days of data about Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. However, I know that many of you are interested.

So, here’s what I’ve noticed. For starters, the virtual queue and Lightning Lane are both selling out in minutes. The former was expected, while the latter isn’t that surprising.

Still, you must act fast each morning to avoid getting shut out. Remember that you’ll also get a chance at 1 p.m. with the virtual queue.

Courtesy of Disney Tourist Blog

Also, on Mondays, you can try again at 6 p.m. if you’re a DVC member staying at a Deluxe resort.

The competition probably won’t be as fierce then, but it hasn’t happened yet. So, I’m merely speculating.

Once you have a Boarding Group reservation, I’ve got great news. The throughput on Cosmic Rewind must be spectacular.

Guests are reporting waits in line of 45 minutes or less for the most part. Of course, that’s on opening weekend, which happens to be a holiday, too!

The bottleneck is reportedly the pavilion line queue, not the attraction. Disney planned for the worst here.

So, the experience includes a pre-show movie akin to DINOSAUR or Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

A Shorter Wait than Expected

The bunching before and during this room represents most of your wait. Once you’re past this part, you’ll be on the ride in minutes.

When you pay the $17 for Lightning Lane, you’ll experience virtually no wait. Here’s a video demonstration from a live stream:

The channel, Living in Diz, enters the movie room in less than four minutes. They board Cosmic Rewind 21 minutes after tapping their MagicBands for Lightning Lane.

The other two questions I’ve seen involve multiple rides. Disney won’t stop you from experiencing the attraction twice during the same park visit.

However, one of those must be a Lightning Lane purchase, at least for now.

If you snag a Boarding Group at 7 a.m., you’ll be locked out of the 1 p.m. lottery, just like with previous virtual queues. So, to ride it twice, you must pay once.

Also, the difference in the virtual queue vs. the Lightning Lane appears to be 20 minutes or less thus far.

Once the summer ends, riding Cosmic Rewind may not take any longer than Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.

We’ll know more after we have more data, but the throughput appears ideal for this ride experience.

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