In 1987, the original version of Star Tours opened in Disneyland’s Tomorrowland. The motion simulator ride based on the Star Wars franchise featured Captain Rex, a droid that attempted to fly guests to the planet Endor.
In 2011, Disney debuted an updated version of this ride: Star Tours – The Adventures Continue. The new ride uses advanced 3D technology, randomly chosen alternate scenes, and frequent updates with new characters and locations as new Star Wars films come out.
The new version also exists at other Disney Parks around the world: Disneyland Park, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris.
Queue Details
- Captain Rex can still be found in the new version – the droid is near the entrance to the queue’s cargo bay, ready to be shipped far, far away as DEFECTIVE stickers are now stuck to him.
- The security droid found at the end of the cargo bay room is G2-4T. This gossiping droid is voiced by actor Patrick Warburton. Warburton has starred in a number of Disney projects including the voice of Kronk in The Emperor’s New Groove (2000) and the host of both Soarin’ Around the World in both Disney California Adventure and in Epcot.
- The droid found during the boarding pre-show is Aly San San. She is inspired by Attack of the Clones‘ waitress droid, WA-7. Voiced by actress Allison Janney who you may recognize as the voice of Peach in Pixar’s Finding Nemo (2003) as well as Doofenshmirtz’s ex-wife Charlene in Disney’s Phineas and Ferb.
Ride Details
- The original version of the ride featured Paul Reubens (of Pee-Wee Herman fame) as the voice of Captain Rex. Reubens credited his casting in this role based on a similar character he performed in Disney’s Flight of the Navigator (1986). In the new version, our pilot is C-3PO, voiced by the film’s original voice actor/performer Anthony Daniels.
- The ride doesn’t have an original score, but rather a compilation of music from the Star Wars films by John Williams. Composer Richard Bellis was in charge of arranging and orchestrating the melody including some original elements such as the infamous chime. Bellis played a similar role in Disneyland’s Indiana Jones And The Temple Of The Forbidden Eye as well as a number of original projects for Disney including The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter and Dinosaur.
- One of the sequences takes riders to Crait, the mineral planet seen during Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017). Crait was inspired by and filmed on Bolivia’s Uyuni Salt Flat. The portions used during the ride are likely to be completely CGI.
- Another sequence takes riders to Hoth, the ice planet seen during Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Hoth’s battle scenes were filmed on and near Norway’s Hardangerjøkulen (Hardanger Glacier), although the ride footage appears to all be CGI.
Be sure to take a look at the other versions of Star Tours on our site:
- Star Tours – The Adventures Continue (Disneyland Park)
- Star Tours – The Adventures Continue (Disneyland Paris)
- Star Tours – The Adventures Continue (Tokyo Disneyland)
Official Information: WaltDisneyWorld.com
Address
Our Address:
Disney's Hollywood Studios
){kind=link}