What Are You Going to Do Next? I'm Going on Star Tours!

With Star Tours opening very soon at both Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World and at Disneyland in California, it's interesting to note some of the original events that were part of the Star Tours legacy. This one is shared by Michael Eisner in his Work in Progress book.

When Star Tours opened in January of 1987, Michael Eisner and Frank Wells had dinner inside Disneyland with George Lucas and several celebrities who had been invited to the opening of Star Tours. Among them was Jeana Yeager and Dick Rutan. Just a month prior, Dick and Jeana became aviation pioneers when they circumnavigated the world, nonstop, without refueling their plane, the Voyager. During the dinner, Jane Eisner turned to Rutan and asked, "Now that you've flown around the world and done the most adventurous thing imaginable, what are you going to do next?"

Rutan replied quite sincerely, "Well, we're going to Disneyland." Shortly thereafter, Jane described the conversation to Michael and told him that she thought it would be a perfect advertising campaign. The rest is history. Two weeks later, at the Super Bowl in Pasadena, Phil Simms, quarterback for the New York Giants, was asked "What are you going to do next?" He looked at the camera with a big smile and replied, "I"m going to Disneyland." The next day he was there with his wife and kids at the park. Simms was reportedly paid $75,000 for his participation.

Since then, dozens of athletes have participated in this media campaign, most recently Aaron Rodgers, of  the Green Bay Packers. It's become a part of our pop culture.

As for many guests visiting Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios in the next few months, the question might be asked, "Now that you've been on Star Tours dozens of times, what are you going to do next?" The answer may well be: "I'm going on Star Tours: The Adventures Continue!"