As most Disney fans know: When a new ride opens up, keep clear for about a year. That would normally have stood true for me, but since my layoff I am able to do things earlier that I used to. That being said, I went to Disneyland yesterday in order to catch this new Star Tours ride. For those of you that don’t know, the original Star Tours opened in 1987 and was worse for wear by the time it was closed in late 2010. The video quality had suffered and the animatronics were looking pretty bad.

George Lucas and Disney decided to revamp it and add better effects as well as give you more than one destination. The plan at the beginning was to able to travel to different planets, but for some reason that never happened. Now you are able to travel to a random planet by way of a random location. The idea behind this is keep this ride fresh each time you ride it. I am told that there are about 50 combinations that you can experience and maybe room for more.

I showed up at 8:30am, a half hour before opening. Main Street was open for all of the people wanting to spend early. I bought a coffee as I do (free refills all day) and waited until the rope dropped. As soon as the park opened, everyone pretty much took a step and they were in line for Star Tours. The park hadn’t been open 5 minutes before they announced that there would be an hour wait. It was really about 45 minutes, but I was determined this time to do it and that was the only reason i was there. That and the coffee (free refills all day).

I tend to find things predictable, so when my Star Speeder ended up in the Pod Race scene from Star Wars Episode 1 and the space battle scene from Episode 3 I can honestly say I was disappointed. Not with the overall effects and visual, but because I didn’t enjoy those movies (Episode 3 was better than the other 2). I also remembered that the simulator ride always made me feel sick and break out in a cold sweat. I think this may have something to do with poor air movement and a room full of people breathing heavy at the same time.

Did I mention it is now in 3D? It’s okay, but it doesn’t add to any “realism” since everything is CG and the lighting feels closer to a video game than anything cinema quality.

I was more impressed with the queue than the ride, but that’s the designer in me. They did a great job updating the droids as well as paying homage to the previous Star Tour ride. The twin droids that talked to you while you were line are still there, now updated and cleaned up. I gotta say, I loved their animation before, but now they are amazing. I spoke with some employees after the ride and they asked if I caught all of the hidden stuff in the queue. I hadn’t, but that makes me want to see more.

Should you wait the 225 minutes or get a fast pass with a return time of an hour before the park closes? Hell no. It’s not THAT good. You could be the biggest Star Wars fan and maybe wait 90 minutes, but the 225 minutes I have seen posted is horrible. Wait until after the summer and all the kids are back in school.

(Reposted from My other site)

With just over 500 passages arranged by historical era, this collection contains very little filler, essentially presenting a string of “all-star” legal quotations. This volume is a recommended read or gift for the law student, lawyer and judge – not to mention anybody interested in the legal profession. As should be said of any good read, Rapkine’s reference book accomplishes two goals – it entertains as well as educates. . .

I’ve checked out the excerpts of the book and found a few familiar names. Probably one of my favorites would have to be:

“If books and laws continue to increase as they have done for fifty years past; I am in some concern for future ages, how any man will be learned, or any man a lawyer.”

~JONATHAN SWIFT
Thoughts on Various Subjects, 1711