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Debuting today at the Aventura Mall in Miami is the first of four mall stops promoting the upcoming Disney attraction, Star Tours: The Adventures Continue. The short tour begins one day after an official Facebook page was created for the new ride.
Mall guests are treated to a photo op with a variety of Star Wars / Star Tours backdrops, with StarToursPhoto.com now available to redeem those photos. Jedi Mickey, Leia Minnie, C-3PO, and R2-D2 are available for pictures. Visitors also have a chance to get their hands on special Star Tours Mickey ear hats.
The biggest backdrop reveals a first look at the new Star Tours hangar, presumably from which the ride will depart. Aside from several Starspeeder 1000 vehicles, other recognizable Star Wars vehicles visible include the Millennium Falcon and what appears to be the backside of a Corellian corvette (click to enlarge):
UPDATE (4/18/11): Matt Schlien has provided us with a look at the free photos attendees to this mall tour were able to get with the characters, which led us to find the different destination backgrounds available for choosing on StarToursPhoto.com along with a new piece of concept art showing the Starspeeder 1000 flying above Kashyyyk:
(Photos by Matthew Eng)
@StarTours2Live on Twitter (an unofficial fan group running StarToursLive.com) reported that Walt Disney Imagineer Jason Surrell, co-writer for the updated Star Tours attraction, was in attendance at the special event. Correction: A rep from Walt Disney Imagineering informed me that Surrell is no longer a Disney Imagineer (he works in Disney Entertainment now) and he did not co-write the new version of the attraction.
A mobile web site, m.startoursmobile.com, has also been set up, offering no new information about Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, but showing off four new mobile backgrounds featuring C-3PO, Yoda, Darth Vader, and the Starspeeder 1000:
Note that in the background of Yoda’s image are other space vehicles, with different paint schemes than the Star Tours brand Starspeeder 1000. These are likely competing space tourism companies, as revealed at Star Wars Celebration V.
The three remaining dates on this mall tour are April 30 at the Orange Park Mall in Jacksonville, May 7 at the Westfield Citrus Park Mall in Tampa, and May 14 at The Florida Mall in Orlando.
More photos from the Star Tours 3D mall tour:
