An updated Star Tours will debut at the Disneyland Resort and Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2011, and Fantasyland at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom will have undergone an expansion by 2013.
The news comes on the eve of competitor Universal Orlando gearing to unveil more concrete plans for its Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park.
A redo of Star Tours, which launched as a 3D-effect simulation ride in 1987, has been rumored for years. Disney did not give much detail about the 2011 version, but just like its predecessor, the updated Star Tours will be based on the "Star Wars" films.
Star Tours will include "immersive new elements that will take guests to many familiar places in the Star Wars galaxy," according to details released by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Jay Rasulo at Disney’s D23 Expo.
Rasulo also outlined the 2013 plans for the largest expansion in the history of Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom.
Plans call for a new flying Dumbo ride twice the size of the existing attraction with a new interactive, three-ring circus tent; a new Little Mermaid attraction (also opening at Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim in 2011); a Tinker Bell-themed area called Pixie Hollow; new interactive opportunities for guests to dance with Cinderella or celebrate Sleeping Beauty's birthday; and the opportunity to dine inside the castle.
