The Tomorrowland attraction that would evolve into Star Tours began in early 1985, when George Lucas and key Disney managers met to discuss the possibility of collaborating on a new attraction at Disneyland. Soon, ideas were flying between the Lucasfilm headquarters in Marin County and WDI in Glendale, Calif.
VP of Walt Disney Imagineering Tony Baxter was a WDI concept designer during the initial talks between Lucasfilm and Disney, and also functioned as George Lucas' co-director on Star Tours.
"George Lucas had captured the popular myth for the generation that grew up in the late '70s into the mid-'80s, of Star Wars and Indiana Jones," Baxter explains. "And Disneyland had always been the repository of whatever was guiding America with the strongest force. He understood the kind of mythology that touches people's hearts, much like Walt Disney has done for generations of children. So, we went to management and said, 'What do you think about developing a deal with George Lucas?' and they supported us.
Lucas, who the media often nicknamed the "new Walt Disney," has been a fan of Disneyland since he first visited the theme park as a child with his family when it opened in 1955.
"I've always had an interest in doing something at the Park. I've enjoyed my visits to Disneyland," Lucas said when the Star Tours attraction first opened at Disneyland in 1987. "The prospect of introducing the Star Wars characters at Disneyland just fascinated me."
