Bob Iger and George Lucas at the Star Tours grand opening.

I know what it feels like to visit Tatooine.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios today held the grand opening of its new, revamped Star Tours: The Adventures Continue attraction – a move roughly 24.5 years in the making. (OK, that may not be true, but it felt dated to me for a long time.)

Here’s the summation for Short Attention Span Mousejunkies: Star Tours 2.0 is an immersive, sharp, funny upgrade to a loved attraction based on an adored movie franchise. The 3D puts anything before it to shame. I love Mickey’s Philharmagic, but this technology renders it instantly archaic. The crisp visuals are flawless and completely convincing. It feels fast, smoother than its predecessor, and worth a wait in the incredibly detailed queue.

So why do I know what it feels like to visit Tatooine? Well, two reasons: Part of my first flight on the revamped Star Tours took us onto the sun-blasted planet to compete in Pod Races.

Also, the official launch ceremony took place on a stage in front of the Sorcerer Mickey hat in the direct sun on a rather humid day. Remember what Uncle Owen looked like when the Stormtroopers got through with him? That’s what I felt like.

Only, you know, alive. And happy.

Oh, and I also did get to drink some of that weird Aunt Beru blue juice, but more on that later.

The relaunch of Star Tours had all the aplomb of a royal event. It began with a procession of dozens of Star Wars characters. John Williams’ classic score screamed through the park at ear splitting decibels – which, I believe, makes it sound even better. If there was ever a piece of music (other than Iron Maiden’s “Aces High”) that needs to be heard really loud, it’s Williams’ Star Wars work.

Cast members waving flags of assorted Star Wars universe planets led a procession to the massive stage. Naboo royalty, bounty hunters, Eewoks, Jedi and a squadron of Rebel Alliance pilots, among others, marched past the crowd.

A Sandperson in the procession.

Gene Simmons of Kiss during the procession.

Once assembled across the back of the stage, the storyline began: Darth Vader arrived to prevent Star Tours from ever becoming operational. A shield descended over the attraction. (Viewable on the massive video screen atop the stage.)

A pair of Jedi appeared, and began slashing their way through the armies of Stormtroopers guarding the captive attraction. The two ran through the streets of Hollywood Studios – still on screen and their faces hidden by their flowing Jedi robes – nearing the stage. Our host announced the pair had arrived at the stage. The doors in the back opened, and out strode Disney President and Chief Executive Bob Iger and Star Wars creator George Lucas.

George Lucas

R2 was directed to the edge of the stage by Lucas. He activated an ion cannon (which my friend and gigantic Star Wars fan Kevin says probably wouldn’t have really been powerful enough to do the job) which shot fireworks in an arc toward the attraction, disappeared behind some buildings, and caused a smoky, loud explosion from the direction of the actual Star Tours.

Good had defeated evil.

(Best line of the day was by Bob Iger, as Vader and George Lucas took the stage: “Darth Vader, prepare to meet your maker!”)

Lucas and Iger lined up on stage with Anthony Daniels (C3PO), “Clone Wars” director Dave Filoni, Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Asoka on the animated series, Chewbacca and R2D2, among others.

The attraction was declared open. And I sprinted to a refreshment cart for a Bud Light to bring back the sweet, sweet life that had been sweated out of me. (You know that’s a lie, because I don’t sprint. I just kind of lope at a rather slowish gait. Plus it was only 10:45 a.m., and everyone knows you don’t lope before noon.)

My friend Kevin joined me in the procession to the refreshment cart, but we traveled in single file to hide our numbers.

The attraction itself is everything I hoped it would be: It completely immerses you in the incredible world of Star Wars.

In “Star Tours – The Adventures Continue,” there are more than 50 story combinations, so guests can find new adventures each time they experience the attraction.

Utilizing the random story combinations, the Starspeeder spacecraft embarks on a wild adventure, visiting several planets made famous in the Star Wars films. Among the locations that might provide haven from the Empire’s pursuit are the icy planet of Hoth, the lush jungles of Kashyyyk and the underwater Gungan world on Naboo.

Well done, Disney and Lucas. Very well done.