A Disney fan and filmmaker built a Star Tours ride right in his garage for his 8-year-old daughter, characters and all. Mark Eaton, 44, brought Disneyland to his daughter for her birthday while the theme park was closed during the pandemic.
Eaton decided to start the project when his daughter, Indy, asked for a Disneyland-themed birthday party. The family already had Adventureland and Enchanted Tiki Room-themed areas of the house, so it wasn't a huge stretch.
Eaton described the Star Tours ride as essentially a really big teeter-totter. And it was a hit.
Eaton didn’t forget to include Disney’s cast members.
“A couple of times, a minor actor came down and played Hans Solo and Princess Leia and Darth Vader,” he said.
At the ride, an actor introduced himself to the group of kids as Han Solo before asking, “Anybody excited to see some ewoks?”
“My daughters, at least, were surprised by the characters,” Eaton said.
“All the other kids, their minds were blown the whole time.”
That’s because Star Tours wasn’t the only attraction at Eaton’s home. He also transformed other areas of his house into theme lands for the party including Tomorrowland and the village from Frozen.
Eaton said he hopes some of the Disneyland Imagineers who were responsible for the 1987 original ride might see the video of his homemade ride online.
"Hopefully they would get a kick out of watching it."