I don’t know if you’re familiar with the movie… Star Wars?
–Dan Aykroyd as Irwin Mainway in 1977 SNL skit
Today is May 25th, 2007… and that means it’s exactly thirty years to the day since a little movie called Star Wars exploded into the national consciousness.
George Lucas was still working on foreign language dubs of the film for international release when he ventured out for dinner, only to see lines forming around the block. He was surprised to learn those folks were queueing up to see *his* movie!
All of us here at SWST wish George and Star Wars a happy anniversary! Here’s to 30 more!
Of course, Star Tours celebrated its 20th anniversary earlier this year… so how are fans commemorating that milestone as well? One fan named Mark Patton is paying tribute to the thrill ride at the party for the film that inspired it!
Some of our staff is currently working Celebration IV in Los Angeles, joining with millions of other Star Wars fans from around the world to mark the three-decade milestone of George Lucas’ little ‘space opera’.
Our own Paul Hruby reports in from the diorama room at C4, where his Ultimate Group Project display is getting lots of attention. Near the UGP is a sight that Star Tours fans, especially those from California, should easily recognize.
It’s a miniature Star Tours diorama, complete with Threepio’s control platform, a custom-built Starspeeder 3000, and even a group of People Mover trams (instantly identifying this as the Anaheim starport of the past).
According to a conversation I had last month with diorama-maker extraordinaire Frank D’iorio (aka Niubniub), the Star Tours diorama is the masterpiece of his friend Mark Patton.
For more pics of this fantastic miniature re-creation, check out our cIV coverage in the Special Feature Archive!
Alex Newborn
Alex is a lifelong fan of the Star Wars movies and everything Disney, so his obsession with Star Tours comes as no surprise. Born in 1970, Alex visited Walt Disney World for the first time in 1975, and saw the original Star Wars film in its first theatrical run in 1977. He returned to Disney in the 80’s and the 90’s… riding STAR TOURS (twice!) on one fateful day in 1991. He has yet to visit Disney in the new millennium, waiting for both his children to be the required 40″ tall to ride STAR TOURS.
“What I’d really like to see is a Tour chartered for the planet New Bornalex,” says Alex with a smile. The planet, mentioned first in Cloak of Deception, is a Tuckerization of Alex’s name, an honor bestowed on him in print by author Jim Luceno.
Alex is currently at work on a partial realisation of his childhood Disney-in-miniature wish– he is constructing a hyper-accurate 1:18 scale Star Tours diorama to showcase his collection of park-exclusive action figures.
In the meantime, Alex is always on the lookout for more STAR TOURS video or audio files, and other STAR TOURS memoribilia. Alex also is our site’s researcher, and comes with never seen before goodies, for your entertainment. Give him a round of applause guys.
Kris Van de Sande 
