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Star Tours Secrets Revealed! 10 Facts About Iconic Disney Ride

Your chance to visit a Star Wars galaxy is not so far, far away thanks to Disney’s Star Tours attraction. Located at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, Star Tours (now called Star Tours – The Adventures Continue) provides Guests with the opportunity to climb aboard a Starspeeder and go on a tour that is truly out of this world .

It’s no secret that Disney Imagineers always go above and beyond. They never simply come up with an idea for a ride and leave it at that. They take their creation and they sprinkle Disney magic throughout it. Whether that be through an amazing storyline, the efforts that were taken to learn and create, the attention to detail, or the less noticeable nods that are placed throughout an attraction. Everything that you experience (and perhaps don’t even notice) within a Disney attraction is all thanks to Disney Imagineers.

In regard to Star Tours, things are no different. There are multiple secrets and fun facts that surround this classic ride. In this article, I’m going to share 10 of these with you. Grab your 3D glasses and buckle up. It’s time to blast into lightspeed!

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Star Tours is a beloved Disney ride that has been taking Guests on Star Wars adventures since 1987. By combining a flight simulator, 3D visuals, special effects, and exciting music, Disney puts Guests right in the middle of scenes from classic and new Star Wars movies and shows. The best part? You never know what adventure you’ll have! With its continuous additions, there are now over 250 storyline variations that Guests can experience.

While you never know what storyline you’ll have or what characters you’ll see, everyone’s Star Tours experience starts out the same. Before you arrive at your ride vehicle, you’ll weave through an extremely detailed and imaginative queue. You’ll see a variety of droids and animatronics, including an impressive life size C-3PO and R2-D2. You’ll find R2-D2 sitting in a Starspeeder 1000. This should get you ready for your flight since this is the same type of ship that you’ll be traveling in!

As you make your way through the queue, it may feel similar to an airport. You’ll go through security, see a luggage check, destination posters, flight information boards, and hear overhead announcements. All of this will lead you to your own personal flight.

How Did Star Wars Come to Disney?

In today’s world, it’s not uncommon to see Star Wars in the Disney theme parks. Especially since Disney now owns the Star Wars franchise. However, when Star Tours first opened in 1987, as the first Star Wars addition to a Disney theme park, the Star Wars franchise was not yet under the Disney umbrella.

Star Tours wasn’t originally meant to be based off of Star Wars. When the idea for the ride was originally pitched, it was meant to be an attraction for Disney’s live-action film The Black Hole.

However, this attraction never came to light due to the cost of the attraction as well as the unpopularity of the film. Since the movie wasn’t very popular among viewers, it didn’t make sense to pour so much money into the cost of an attraction based off of it. This led Disney to contact George Lucas in regard to a Star Wars attraction.

While Disney Imagineers had worries about the success of an attraction based off of The Black Hole, they had nothing to worry about when it came to their newly developed Star Wars ride. Star Tours was an immediate success after it opened up at Disneyland. It was so popular that it was then put into other Disney theme parks including Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris .

💫  Take a look at our full guide on STAR WARS RIDES at Walt Disney World!

10 Secrets and Facts About Star Tours

1. announcements.

As I mentioned earlier, the operations going on within the queue of the ride are very similar to those within an airport. You can hear announcements being made over the loudspeaker when a particular passenger or worker is needed. If you listen carefully, you can hear two particular passengers being paged – Egroeg Sacul and Mot Worrom.

Sound familiar? No? Try reversing the spelling of these names. After reversing the spelling, you’ll be left with George Lucas and Tom Morrow! Of course we all know how George Lucas fits into all of this. However, not everyone may know who Tom Morrow is.

Tom Morrow is a character that has appeared in multiple Disney attractions. He was first introduced to Disneyland Guests in an attraction called Rocket to the Moon. Over the years, Tom Morrow has appeared in and has been referenced in a variety of attractions at both Disneyland and Disney World. You can also hear “Mr. Morrow, Mr. Tom Morrow” being paged on another Disney ride. Do you know which one? It’s the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover in Magic Kingdom!

2. Pee-Wee Herman

Did you know that Pee-Wee Herman was a part of Star Tours? That’s right. Pee-Wee Herman, whose real name is Paul Reubens, voiced one of the characters on Star Tours! When the ride first opened, Guests were not only flown on a different spacecraft (the Starspeeder 3000), they also had a different pilot. While our adventures are now led by C-3pO, flights used to be piloted by a droid called RX-24. This droid was also known as Captain Rex.

When Star Tours was still in the creative process, Disney Imagineers were having a hard time finding the right voice for Rex. After going through multiple voice options and doing recordings, they still didn’t have the perfect voice for Rex.

After watching the film, Flight of the Navigator, Disney Imagineers finally found the voice that they wanted for Captain Rex. To their surprise, it was none other than Paul Reubens.

Mark Eades, the casting director for Star Tours, said this about his experience casting Paul as the voice for Captain Rex. It turns out that they actually stumbled upon him unintentionally. During an audio documentary put out by The Forcecast titled “Next Stop: Endor – The Story of Star Tours”, Mark said,

“I went to see, as luck would have it, one night, Flight of the Navigator.”

“In Flight of the Navigator, at a certain point, something goes wrong, of course, and the spaceship is basically a robot. But it has a voice. And the voice was this very crazy voice, and I’m going, ‘Wow. That might be our Rex.’ Ya know, and I’m listening to it.”

“And I’m sitting in the movie theater by myself going, ‘That’s our voice. Who the heck is it?’”

After watching the end credits and finding out who voiced the spaceship, Mark immediately encouraged fellow Imagineer, Tom Fitzgerald, to go watch the film and hear the voice for himself. After agreeing that Paul Reubens was the perfect choice, they contacted him to see if he was interested in voicing a character for a Disneyland ride.

Paul was then cast as the voice for the quirky pilot droid that took many Guests on their Star Tours adventures.

3. Where is Captain Rex Now?

As I previously mentioned, Rex is no longer the pilot. His role has been taken over (rather unwillingly) by C-3PO. Even so, you can still find Rex in two locations. One of his current locations is still within Star Tours!

While you’re in the queue, you’ll be able to spot Rex. However, now he’s not as active, lively, and entertaining as he once was. Now you’ll see him in a box and labeled as defective.

Even though this is a rather unfortunate state to see him in, you can have a better experience with him by going to Oga’s Cantina! Oga’s Cantina is the local watering hole of Batuu, the planet that you’re on when you’re in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge . At Oga’s Cantina, you’ll be able to find a spread of concoctions, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, as well as some small bites. The atmosphere at Oga’s is fun and high spirited. Part of this vibe no doubt comes from the music that’s being played.

The sweet beats at Oga’s Cantina are being spun by none other than DJ R-3X (or DJ REX ). Rex is the same droid that previously piloted the Starspeeder 3,000 for the Star Wars attraction. Even though he’s moved on from his piloting job, it’s nice to see him still take on a special role within the Star Wars universe at the Disney theme parks.

🍹  For more information on Oga's Cantina, click here for our FULL REVIEW!

4. THX 1138

Another announcement that you may hear prior to boarding your flight is in regard to a Landspeeder. This Landspeeder will be identified with a license plate that reads “THX 1138”. This license plate number is another reference to George Lucas.

The first film that George Lucas ever directed was called THX 1138. He is known to throw in references to this movie in a LOT of his work, including Star Wars! Almost every Star Wars movie has a reference to THX 1138. It’s very fitting that a reference was also included in the Star Tours attraction.

5. Goose Droids

I bet you never thought that there were geese on Star Tours. There are actually two! The now known “Good Droids”, G2-9T and G2-4T, are actually stripped down geese animatronics that were once part of Disneyland’s America Sings attraction.

America Sings was a theatrical production that was put on entirely by audio-animatronics. (Think Country Bears Jamboree.) The attraction not only paid homage to the history of music in America, it also was a celebration of the United States Bicentennial.

This attraction was housed in the Carousel Theater, which was previously home to Carousel of Progress. America Sings did utilize the rotating theater’s space, putting on four different acts. The four acts celebrated different eras of American music. These acts were: Going South, Heading West, the Gay Nineties, and Modern Times.

America Sings closed on April 10th, 1988. However, Star Tours opened in January of 1987. The two geese used for Star Tours were pulled from America Sings prior to the attraction closing, leaving the Geese Quartet to be a Geese Trio in two of the show’s acts.

G2-9T and G2-4T’s past goose life is still visible if you look closely. These droids have robotic webbed feet and tails!

One of the Goose Droids, G2-4T, may have a familiar sounding voice. That’s because this droid is voiced by Patrick Warburton ! Patrick has given his talents to multiple Disney projects including:

• Hercules (TV Series)
• The Wonderful World of Disney – Angels in the Infield
• Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins
• Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (Video Game)
• The Emperor’s New Groove
• The Emperor’s New Groove (Video Game)
• Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (TV Series)
• The Emperor’s New Groove: Groove Center (Video Game)
• Disney·Pixar Learning: 2nd & 3rd Grade (Video Game)
• Home on the Range
• Chicken Little
• Kronk’s New Groove
• Open Season
• Open Season (Video Game)
• The Disney Channel Games (TV Mini Series)
• Kim Possible (TV Series)
• Bee Movie Game (Video Game)
• The Emperor’s New School (TV Series)
• Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom (Video Game)
• Planes: Fire & Rescue
• Elena of Avalor
• Puppy Dog Pals

However, within the Disney Parks, Patrick is most notably known for his role on the attraction Soarin’. Many Guests have come to know and love Patrick in his role as not only the host of the attraction, but as the friendly Chief Flight Attendant. He cheerfully fills us in on the details of the ride and gives us proper safety instructions. Many of his lines from the Soarin’ pre-show have become beloved among Disney goers and you’ll often hear them saying his lines along with him as he speaks.

It’s nice that his voice can be heard on more than one Disney attraction. Take a listen the next time you’re near G2-4T to see if you can hear any fun sayings coming from the droid!

While you’re in the Star Tours queue, take a look at the screens overhead. More specifically, keep an eye out for the code TWB3000. This code has two references within it.

The TWB is a nod to Tony Wade Baxter. Tony Baxter is a Walt Disney Legend and the former Senior Vice President in Creative Development for Walt Disney Imagineering. Tony not only helped with attraction concepts, he also worked on lands and areas around the parks.

Some of Tony contributed to things such as:

• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
• Big Thunder Mountain
• Seas and Land pavilions
• Discovery Bay (which was never built)
• Dumbo’s Circus area
• Newly developed Fantasyland for Disneyland
• Journey Into Imagination
• Indiana Jones Adventure
• Splash Mountain
• The Disney Gallery
• Disneyland Paris (served as Executive Producer)
• WESTCOT Center (a never built version of EPCOT for Anaheim)
• Tomorrowland redesign
• Projects for Disneyland’s 50th Anniversary
• Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
• Re-opening of Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough
• Upgraded restoration of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
• Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
• Fantasy Faire

The numerical portion of the code, TWB3000, is a nod back to the original ship that was flown in Star Tours – the Starspeeder 3000.

8. Flight 1401

As I mentioned previously, Star Tours operates very similarly to an airport. When you book a flight at an airport, you have a specific flight number. The same is true for Star Tours!

When flying with Star Tours, you will be on Flight 1401. The number 1401 is a reference to Walt Disney Imagineering. More specifically, it’s the address number of Walt Disney Imagineering’s physical location. The address is: 1401 Flower Street, Glendale, CA 91201.

9. Hidden Mickeys

Hidden Mickeys can be found all over Disney Parks. Even on Star Tours! In one area of the queue, there is a lighted window where you can see silhouettes of workers and passengers as they pass by. Keep an eye on these silhouettes!

When one astromech droid rolls by, it opens up two satellite dishes over its head. These two circles make the droid appear to have Mickey ears.

There is also another hidden Mickey that can be seen in the queue. There is a very small robot that has a light shining on it. Due to the light, the shadow that is cast is shaped like Mickey!

10. Star Trek

Besides Star Wars, the next biggest galactic franchise is undoubtedly Star Trek. While the two franchises never intertwine, the Disney Imagineers did place a Star Trek reference in the Star Tours queue!

In the queue, there are two white plates with codes on them. There is one code on each plate that nods to the Star Trek universe.

The first code is JK 0966. JK stands for James Kirk. This is the first and last name of the legendary Captain Kirk. The numbers 0966 also hold a Star Trek significance. Star Trek first debuted in September of 1966, or 09/66.

The second code takes some deciphering in order to find the reference. This code is N1C7C01. If you separate the letters and numbers and group them together, you’ll get NCC-1701. This is the identification number of the USS Enterprise, which is one of the most popular starships in Star Trek.

Magic In the Details

There are so many fun nods and references in Star Tours. Did you know about these secrets and facts? Do you know a fun fact about Star Tours that we didn’t mention here? One of the best things about Disney is that they don’t miss a thing. The attention to detail is unmatched. The next time you’re on Star Tours, or any other Disney attraction, keep your eyes and ears open. You never know what you’ll discover!

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Frequently Asked Questions

If you've ever wondered, “How does Star Tours choose the spy?”, here's how! The Rebel spy for Star Tours is randomly chosen by a nearby Cast Member. During the time when the flight before you is unloading and the time when your group loads, a Cast Member takes a look at your group and randomly chooses one of you to be the Rebel spy.

In Star Wars, BBY means Before the Battle of Yavin. Events that took place prior to the Battle of Yavin are marked with BBY, essentially like a date code. Events that took place after the Battle of Yavin are marked ABY, or After the Battle of Yavin.

The year 0 is when the Battle of Yavin took place. Star Wars events that take place are put on a timeline which reflects this battle. Events that took place before the Battle of Yavin occurred at marked BBY, or Before the Battle of Yavin. Likewise, events that took place after the battle are marked ABY, or After the Battle of Yavin.

A year in Star Wars is 368 days long.

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About Rebekah Brown

Rebekah's love of Disney and passion for writing is what led her to Mickey Visit and Disney Dose. Her first visit to Walt Disney World was when she was a young child. Now she enjoys her Disney vacations with her own two children, husband, and parents. Rebekah will keep you up to date on all things that have to do with Walt Disney World. As a frequent visitor, Rebekah will share both her knowledge and personal experience with you through her articles.

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Star Tours - The Adventures Continue: Every Possible Combination You Can Experience On The Disneyland And Disney World Ride

Every place you can currently visit on Star Tours.

The Opening Sequence

First destination, the message, second destination, optional ending.

When Star Tours first debuted at Disneyland in 1987 it was an immediate hit. The first Star Wars theme park attraction made guests feel like tourists in the galaxy, far, far away, traveling to Endor before things went terribly wrong. Star Tours used a lot of cutting-edge technology at the time, but there was still a lot that George Lucas and Walt Disney Imagineering wanted to do they were never able to accomplish, like sending guests to different locations over time.

In 2011, Star Tours was given a major redesign and reopened as Star Tours: The Adventures Continue. More than 20 years later, technology had advanced to allow the ride to use video rather than film for its simulator experience, which allowed Star Tours to finally achieve a previous dream. Star Tours is now a randomized experience, where every ride can be different.

There are so many different things that can happen on Star Tours now that having the same ride twice is quite unlikely. Its variety is what makes it one of the best rides at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. If you’ve only been on the ride a couple of times, however, that means there’s a lot you’ve never seen. With the recent additions to Star Tours , that's even more likely, so here’s a rundown of everything that’s possible to see and feel on the ride.

As your speeder gets ready for takeoff you discover that your pilot is nowhere to be found. Instead, C-3PO, who had simply come on board to do some maintenance, is stuck in the pilot seat. From here, there are a few things you might see.

Darth Vader

Darth Vader and some Imperial stormtroopers arrive looking for a Rebel spy on board the StarSpeeder. When R2-D2 tries to fly off, Vader uses The Force to hold the ship in place. R2 then tries to blast Vader, forcing him to let go of the ship to deflect the blasts with his lightsaber. The ship escapes and goes to hyperspace.

This option essentially plays out the same way as the Darth Vader sequence, but it’s done with Kylo Ren and First Order stormtroopers instead.

Imperial/First Order Droid

In the third opening option, a droid suctions itself to the viewscreen of the StarSpeeder and stormtroopers are looking for the Rebel spy. In the background, there are also stormtroopers investigating the Millennium Falcon. The Falcon tries to escape at the same time the Star Tours ship does, and riders follow it out of the dock and jump to hyperspace.

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There are a couple of slight variations on this scene. The Falcon can be piloted by either Rey or Han Solo, and the stormtrooper look changes accordingly. In the newest variation, the ship isn’t the Falcon at all, but Ahsoka Tano’s T-6 Jedi Shuttle.

Following the jump to hyperspace, the Star Tours ship arrives at one of several planets, allowing guests to experience variations on sequences from their associated films.

Arriving on Tatooine, the Speeder finds itself in the middle of a pod race. One racer explodes near the ship, causing its engines to get thrown and lodged on the Speeder. C-3PO wins the race before dumping the engines and flying off.

Arriving on Hoth, the ship finds itself in the middle of a battle between the Empire and Rebellion. The Star Tours ship flies through the legs of Imperial AT-ATs before getting stuck on the edge of a cliff, teetering and falling before the engines get re-engaged and the ship flies off.

Coming out of hyperspace and seeing a planet of green means you’re coming onto the Wookiee planet. The ship gets involved in a speeder bike chase among the stormtroopers and Wookiees. Chewbacca gets thrown from his bike and hits the viewscreen. Then you fly through treetops causing minor havoc before heading back into space.

Jakku can be easily mistaken for Tattooine on approach, but instead of pod racing, you’re following Rey and Finn on board the Millennium Falcon as they try to out run First Order TIE Fighters. You chase after the fighters in pursuit of the Falcon, entering a derelict Star Destroyer. You briefly lose power and hit the ground, watching some scrappers at work before getting back in the air and taking off.

In a moment reminiscent of the original Star Tours, you fly right past Endor, but then find yourself above the oceans of Kef Bir. Ocean waves send the ship into the remnants of the second Death Star, where you must contend with some angry dianoga before heading to space.

Once the StarSpeeder returns to the stars, the ship receives a holographic message. The gist of the message is the same, with a Star Wars character asking Star Tours to transport the Rebel spy to a secret location, and sending the appropriate coordinates. However, the message itself can be conveyed by a number of different characters listed below:

• Admiral Ackbar
• Princess Leia
• Poe Dameron
• Lando Calrissian
• Ahsoka Tano
• Cassian Andor
• The Mandalorian And Grogu

Once the message has been received and the coordinates are given, you’re off into hyperspace once again to the next location.

As seen in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith , you travel to Coruscant, flying through the sky of the city and frequently going the wrong way and having to dodge to avoid traffic. Finally, you come in for a rough landing on a platform, that then lowers the ship into the hanger. One of two minor differences that can be found here,:in one version, the hangar is full of StarSpeeders, and in another, the Millennium Falcon is here.

Arriving at Naboo in the middle of a battle, the Star Tours ship flies through the air before diving into the ocean. You go past the Gungan city before being attacked by massive sea creatures. Escaping from the largest one, you find the hanger and have another rough landing. One of two things can happen in the end, with the tip of an N1 Starfighter either breaking when the Star Tours ship hits it or the tip “breaks” the glass of the viewscreen.

One option actually doesn’t have Star Tours land on a planet at all. Instead, the ship ends up in the orbit of Geonosis, where Jango Fett attacks the ship in an attempt to kill the spy. Star Tours evades, but is then attacked by TIE Fighters, and the still-under-construction Death Star is discovered. The StarSpeeder enters the unfinished battle station, and then flies out, only to be met by Jango Fett again. Fett drops a Seismic charge but R2 ricochets it back at Fett before jumping to hyperspace and finding the Rebel fleet.

The finale of Star Wars: The Last Jedi is the location of this possible outcome. With some help from Poe Dameon, you attack the First Order and fly though a cave of crystals that was actually inspired by the original Star Tours .

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ends with an army of resistance fighters from all over the galaxy taking on the Emperor’s army of Star Destroyers. This segment of the ride simply includes the Star Tours ship as part of that ragtag militia.

The one major segment not specifically based on a Star Wars movie includes Rosario Dawson reprising her Disney+ role as Ahsoka Tano. The section takes place on Seatos, and we fly among Purgill. It’s quite peaceful at first before Ashoka’s ship flies past and she asks for our assistance. We fly through the star whales and take on the enemy ships, ultimately saving Ahsoka with some Purgill assistance.

The original segments for Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, which were all based on the Prequel movies, each have their own landing sequences, but the segments added since from the Sequel Trilogy and Ahsoka see the ship jumping to hyperspace one final time, leading to one of two endings.

Spaceport THX1138

One option has the ship returning to the spaceport, where you previously dealt with Vader and/or Kylo Ren with stormtroopers, and nearly colliding with another ship before coming to a stop. The pilot of the Star Tours vessel that got left behind is seen angrily walking toward the ship.

The second option sees the ship fly to the planet Batuu , the location of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. You fly over the Black Spire Outpost before landing just outside the urban area.

As of now, that’s everything that can happen on Star Tours. Of course, several of these segments were added years after the ride opened, so new additions to Star Tours as upcoming Star Wars movies get released are likely to happen.

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.

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Star Tours - The Adventures Continue

• Replay Star Tours

• 40" (102 cm) or Taller
• Small Drops
• Thrill Rides

Visit a Galaxy Far, Far Away

When your Starspeeder accidentally starts up without a pilot, tour guide C-3PO takes the controls. Suddenly, the ship is intercepted by menacing Imperial—or First Order—forces searching for a Rebel spy. To avoid capture, you’ll take off on a thrilling, unpredictable flight that rockets you to the farthest reaches of the galaxy.

Starting April 5, 2024, embark on exciting new Star Wars adventures featuring characters and locations from some of your favorite Disney+ series. Hold on tight as urgent transmissions from Ahsoka Tano, Cassian Andor, the Mandalorian and Grogu may soon be part of your next Starspeeder flight.

With these additions, you’ll have the opportunity to experience one of more than 250 storyline variations, including a visit to the planet Seatos from Ahsoka .

Star Tours Takes Flight

On January 9, 1987, George Lucas and Walt Disney Imagineering brought the Star Wars galaxy to life at Disneyland Park .

The original Star Tours attraction blasted off to Endor. In the years since, the experience has been updated with new worlds and iconic characters from Star Wars: The Force Awakens , Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker .

The attraction now features state-of-the-art technology—including a flight simulator, digital 3D video, Audio-Animatronics characters and “in-cockpit” special effects and music.

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Star wars at disneyland resort, blast off to tomorrowland, save time in line, earn the achievement, get the pin.

© Disney/Lucasfilm, Ltd.

Safety, Accessibility and Guest Policies

Times for star tours - the adventures continue.

Star Tours – The Adventures Continue

• Replay Star Tours – The Adventures Continue

• 40in (102cm) or taller
• Small Drops

Explore a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Board your Starspeeder 1000 and prepare for take off! When a series of mishaps unwittingly causes your starship to launch too soon, protocol droid C-3PO takes the controls.

Suddenly, the ship is intercepted by Imperial—or First Order—forces searching for a Rebel spy. To avoid capture, you’ll embark on a thrilling, unpredictable flight that rockets you to the farthest reaches of the galaxy.

Featuring a flight simulator, digital 3D video, Audio-Animatronics characters and “in-cockpit” special effects and music, this attraction immerses you in the Star Wars mythology for an unforgettable intergalactic adventure.

Will your starspeeder elude capture and make it back to the base? May the Force be with you—always.

Featuring Favorite Star Wars Characters

Always a new adventure.

Find yourself in a unique story again and again—including one inspired by Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Anytime you ride, you might fly into the middle of a furious battle on Crait, dodge blaster fire from TIE fighters on Jakku, swoop into the dreaded Death Star or dive deep under the oceans of Naboo. 

Plus, to celebrate Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker , Star Tours now features an all-new destination from the movie—the ocean moon of Kef Bir.”

Because the many story twists are random, you never know where you’ll go or who you may encounter along the way! 

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Star Tours – The Adventures Continue

• Replay Star Tours – The Adventures Continue

• 40in (102cm) or taller
• Small Drops

Explore a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Board your Starspeeder 1000 and prepare for takeoff! When a series of mishaps unwittingly causes your starship to launch too soon, protocol droid C-3PO takes the controls.

Suddenly, the ship is intercepted by Imperial—or First Order—forces searching for a Rebel spy. To avoid capture, you’ll embark on a thrilling, unpredictable flight that rockets you to the farthest reaches of the galaxy.

Featuring a flight simulator, digital 3D video, Audio-Animatronics characters and “in-cockpit” special effects and music, this attraction immerses you in the Star Wars mythology for an unforgettable intergalactic adventure.

Will your Starspeeder elude capture and make it back to the base? May the Force be with you—always.

Featuring Favorite Star Wars Characters

Always a new adventure.

Hold on tight as urgent transmissions from Ahsoka Tano, Cassian Andor, the Mandalorian and Grogu may soon be part of your next Starspeeder flight.

Starting April 5, 2024, embark on exciting new Star Wars adventures featuring characters and locations from some of your favorite Disney+ series. With these additions, you’ll have the opportunity to experience one of more than 250 storyline variations, including a visit to the planet Seatos from Ahsoka . Because the many story twists are random, you never know where you’ll go or who you may encounter along the way!

©Disney/Lucasfilm Ltd.

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Star wars : galaxy’s edge, even more magic – as you wish, more star wars, safety, accessibility and guest policies, times for star tours – the adventures continue.

Disney's Star Tours - The Adventures Continue

Disney's Star Tours - The Adventures Continue improves on the original attraction in every way—and sets a new standard for motion simulator rides. What had become a slightly tired trip to a Star Wars galaxy far, far away is now a giddy jaunt to... well, half the fun is you never know where in hyperspace the ride will whisk you.

• Thrill Scale (0=Wimpy, 10=Yikes): 4.5. Relatively mild motion simulator thrills. Those prone to motion sickness may experience discomfort (although closing your eyes should quell any queasiness). The ride also offers Star Wars -style action. It makes our list of Disneyland's most thrilling rides .
• Location: Disneyland , Disney's Hollywood Studios at Disney World , Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland.
• Height requirement: 40 inches

Disney Raises Its Own Bar

When it debuted at Disneyland in 1987, the original Star Tours was the first major motion simulator attraction at a theme park, and the newfangled virtual reality concept ushered in a new era for park attractions. If theme parks are about escaping from the everyday world, motion simulators offer an ideal means of escape. Using seats that move in sync with filmed action projected onto a screen, the destinations are only limited by the imagination of the attraction's designers. Star Tours was also a bold departure for Disney which, up until that point, had used its own content as the basis for its attractions.

Since the ride film made its debut, developers have added Omnimax screens (such as The Simpsons Ride ), roving motion base vehicles (such as Transformers: The Ride 3D ), and other features to enhance the you-are-there experience. The movie ride space cowboys at Walt Disney Imagineering, Lucasfilm, and Industrial Light & Magic (Lucasfilm's visual effects mavens), have upped their own ante with a retooled version of the attraction that launched in 2011.

The impetus for the re-imagined ride dates back to the late 1990s when Episode 1 of the Star Wars prequel trilogy was being filmed. According to Tom Fitzgerald, executive vice president and senior creative executive at Walt Disney Imagineering , "George Lucas contacted us and said the pod racing scene in the movie would be perfect for Star Tours." Anyone who has seen the movie would agree; the largely point-of-view sequence, with the hover vehicles tearing through a desert course, seems tailor-made for a park ride. So what took so long? "We needed to raise the bar," says Fitzgerald. Thankfully, the bar has indeed been raised.​

3-D Without the Gimmicks

The infrastructure of the attraction remains essentially unchanged. Guests still make their way through a mythology-packed "spaceport" en route to their Starspeeder 1000 boarding gate and an allegedly uneventful journey to some friendly planet. Star Wars stalwarts R2-D2 and C-3PO are on hand to help ready the vehicles (and entertain riders stuck in line). After some pre-flight safety instructions, guests enter the familiar Starspeeder cabins and buckle up for a bumpy ride.

Once the ride begins, however, it's clear that this is not the same Endor-bound Star Tours that lurched ad nauseam through the cosmos for 24 years. Speaking of clear, the super high-def clarity of the digitally projected film is remarkably crisper than the original ride. And by adding 3-D to the mix, the attraction offers a vivid sense of depth, while the dorky 3-D goggles don't noticeably dim the alluring brightness of the images.

Unlike the gotcha gimmickry of most 3-D park rides, the extra dimension of the spiffed-up Star Tours is more understated. With its easy availability at the local cineplex, the novelty of 3-D has long since worn off. Wisely, the Imagineers have seamlessly incorporated the effect in a largely unself-conscious and elegant way that helps bring Lucas' alternate-universe to life.

You Are There. But You Never Know Where.

The most compelling improvement over Star Tours 1.0 is the ride's random sequence generator. By slicing together many different destinations and transition scenes, Disney says that there are over 50 possible story combinations. No two rides, therefore, would likely be the same (unless uber-fans boarded Star Tours a lot ). That keeps the attraction fresh and makes it eminently re-rideable. It also makes other motion simulator attractions, with their fixed been-there, done-that plots, seem so 20th century.

Like the original Star Tours (and nearly every other motion simulator ride), what all versions of the attraction have in common is that things very quickly go horribly wrong. Rookie pilots R2-D2 and C-3PO are unexpectedly drafted into action, rebel spies are discovered lurking among the passengers, and the Starspeeders must periodically engage in evasive maneuvers and travel to distant planets to avoid certain calamity. Other destinations include the ice planet of Hoth, Naboo, and the ominous Death Star.

It's quite impressive to experience the attraction more than once and be treated to an entirely unique story arc each time. Different characters (which might include, among others, Boba Fett, Yoda, Princess Leia, and supreme baddie Darth Vader), different missions, different locations, and even different gags will have you marveling at the audacity of the ride. "It was a challenge to sync everything," says Spiegel, referring to the on-the-fly nature of the stitched-together film, the corresponding motion sequences, and the in-cabin effects. “We wanted to be able to take guests to many places in the Star Wars universe. And now we can."

Even More Places to Visit

Because it is screen-based, Disney has the ability to add sequences and make updates to the attraction, which it periodically does. For example, in late 2019, the parks introduced new scenes inspired by Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker , the latest installment in the movie franchise. Among the places added to the Starspeeders' itineraries was the ocean moon Kef Bir.

Since the introduction of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge , the groundbreaking lands at Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, it has been a bit disconcerting to have Star Tours exist outside of the contained Black Spire Outpost, the trading port on the planet Batuu. It is especially strange at the Disney World park, where Star Tours is just a couple of blocks away from Galaxy’s Edge. Disney has explained the disconnect by saying that the Star Tours attractions pay homage to the movies and mythology while Galaxy’s Edge represents the “real” Star Wars lands.

It may be some time before we actually have the technology to fly off to faraway stars. Until then, the mighty impressive technology that fuels Star Tours - The Adventures Continue can virtually transport us, if only for a few minutes at a time, to places that were previously unthinkable.

As is common in the travel industry, the writer was provided with complimentary services for review purposes. While it has not influenced this review, TripSavvy believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. For more information, see our  Ethics Policy .

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Complete Guide to Star Tours – The Adventures Continue at Hollywood Studios

May the force be with you on this thrilling 3D space flight to legendary destinations from the  Star Wars  saga.

You’ll take to the stars with C-3PO and R2-D2. But watch out for some familiar, less-than-friendly faces like Kylo Ren or Darth Vader!

In 2024, more stories and characters will be added to Star Tours at Hollywood Studios. Further details haven’t been announced just yet, but we will let you know about the changes as soon as we learn more.

Blast off with our complete guide to Star Tours – The Adventures Continue!

In this article

New Adventures Coming April 5, 2024

As announced at 2023 Destination D23, beginning April 5, Star Tours will include new locations and adventures from Ahsoka , Andor , and The Mandalorian .

Once added, the ride will have over 250 different adventure combinations for guest to experience.

Star Tours – The Adventures Continue Quick Facts

• Location:   Echo Lake , Hollywood Studios
• Height req : 40 inches
• Suitable for: Anybody 40″ or taller who can handle simulators and some rough movement.
• Attraction length: About 7 minutes
• Do we recommend? Yes, especially for Star Wars fans
• When to visit: 2nd hour
• Scheduled Refurbishments
• Tip(s): The exit area is a great Star Wars gift shop that has areas to build LEGO Star Wars characters and affordable light sabers. If this store seems too busy, you may have better luck at Once Upon a Toy store in Disney Springs where you can get the same items.
• Description: 3D flight simulator that takes guests through one of dozens of different Star Wars experiences including new characters and adventures from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker as well as Star Wars: The Last Jed i and Batuu, the home planet of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Star Tours – The Adventures Continue is located in Echo Lake near Backlot Express, a Quick Service restaurant.

Here is the location on the map:

• Download the PDF

How to Ride Star Tours – The Adventures Continue

Star Tours – The Adventures Continue has a Standby Line and a Lightning Lane. There is no  Single Rider Line .

Do I need to use Genie+ at Star Tours – The Adventures Continue?

Genie+ is available at Star Tours – The Adventures Continue however this wouldn’t be an early priority ride to grab those Genie+ reservations because availability rarely runs out.

This ride is also available for Early Entry to those who qualify.

Be sure to check out our  touring strategies for Hollywood Studios for more Genie+ advice.

Rider Switch/Child Swap

Since you must be 40″ to ride Star Tours – The Adventures Continue, this attraction does offer Rider Switch.

Rider Switch is Disney’s system that allows guests with small children to take turns riding bigger rides, while another person/people wait with the little one.

You can  learn more about Rider Switch  via our handy guide.

What to Expect when you Ride

The queue at Star Tours – The Adventures Continue is designed to resemble a spaceport terminal.

You’ll see posters advertising voyages to different planets with Star Tours and a large LCD screen informing riders of flight statuses and planetary weather forecasts.

You’ll also see some of your favorite characters like C-3PO and R2-D2, as well as Captain Rex from the original attraction. He occasionally has a power surge and delivers a line from the first Star Tours ride.

Two G2 droids process passengers’ “luggage” on a scanning system that reveals the contents to you as you wait in the queue.

You’ll then retrieve your 3-D “flight glasses” before you are directed by a flight agent to a gate where you’ll wait to board.

While you wait, you’ll be entertained by a pre-show on the screen above you. C-3PO has been assigned to maintenance on the StarSpeeder 1000 that you’re about to board and he gets trapped in the cockpit after the ship’s captain leaves!

Make sure you then pay attention to the safety instructions before you board.

Play Disney Parks  is available for Star Tours – The Adventures Continue. This free mobile app is only available for select attractions and allows guests to pass the time as they play games, trivia, and earn achievements along the way.

Ride Vehicles

The ride vehicles at Star Tours – The Adventures Continue are large 3D flight simulators.

When the door to your flight simulator opens, make your way inside to the last available seat. There are four rows in the simulator and each row contains 10 individual seats with armrests and a place to store your personal items below.

Make sure you buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!

Accessibility Information

Guests who wish to ride Star Tours – The Adventures Continue must transfer from their ECV to a wheelchair and then to the ride vehicle.

Keep in mind, Disney has issued a warning that those who ride Star Tours – The Adventures Continue should be in good health and free from high blood pressure, heart, back, or neck problems. Expectant mothers should not ride.

Video and handheld captioning are available and those under 40″ are not allowed to ride.

Motion Sickness

Since Star Tours – The Adventures Continue is a 3D flight simulator, this ride is highly turbulent and includes sharp turns and sudden bumps which can aggravate motion sickness.

If you experience motion sickness in general, check out our  guide on motion sickness  for any Disney World attraction.

On the Ride

If you prefer to experience Star Tours – The Adventures Continue without spoilers, make sure you skip over this section!

Board your Starspeeder 1000 and prepare for takeoff! While you’re supposed to be heading off on a relaxing tour (hence Star Tours), a series of mishaps ends up launching you early, forcing C-3PO to take control.

But as soon as it appears that your trip is back on track, your ship is intercepted by Imperial — or First Order — forces searching for a Rebel spy. This spy is chosen from one of the guests on your ride vehicle— it could even be you!

To avoid capture and not give up your rebel passenger, you’ll be taken on the ride of a lifetime to the farthest reaches of the galaxy.

Since the attraction features several different segments that are selected randomly, your ride will be different each time! You may end up facing off with First Order villain Kylo Ren, bounty hunter Boba Fett, Princess Leia, or Jedi Master Yoda.

Just a few of the scenes you may encounter is a narrow escape from a battle on the planet Crait, following Scout Troopers as they chase after Chewbacca and a Wookiee warrior on Kashyyk, or discovering the still-to-be-finished Death Star.

With so many story twists, you never know where you’ll go or who you may encounter on your Star Tour! 

May the Force be with you as you and your fellow passengers attempt to elude capture and make it back to the base on Star Tours – The Adventures Continue.

Is Star Tours – The Adventures Continue Kid-Friendly?

The height requirement for Star Tours – The Adventures Continue is 40″ and there can be some dark moments during the action so this ride is more for older kids, tweens, teens, and adults.

We have a list of things that may scare little ones at Disney World that you can check out, if you’d like.

Strollers are not allowed in most queues or theaters at Walt Disney World.

You’ll need to leave your stroller in the designated stroller parking area near the entrance to the queue at Star Tours – The Adventures Continue.

In 1986 Disney and George Lucas, the creator of  Star Wars , partnered on the Captain EO attraction, a 3-D musical film starring Michael Jackson at Disneyland. Since the partnership was so successful Disney then approached Lucas with the idea for Star Tours.

The original Star Tours ride opened on January 9, 1987 in California’s Disneyland. Two years later, Star Tours opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, then known as Disney’s MGM Studios.

Set in the  Star Wars  universe, the motion simulator attraction sent guests on a tour to Endor, where they got caught in an altercation between the New Republic and an Imperial Remnant. The attraction featured Captain “Rex” RX-24 along with series regulars R2-D2 and C-3PO.

In 1998, Disney began planning to upgrade Star Tours as part of the release of the upcoming 1999 film  Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace , the first film of the new prequel trilogy.

This version would be in 3D and feature new flights. However, since more films for the franchise were in pre-production, officials chose to wait until 2003 when production began on  Revenge of the Sith  before remodeling Star Tours.

In April 2005, at  Star Wars  Celebration III, creator George Lucas confirmed that a revamp of Star Tours was in production. Then at the 2009 D23 Expo it was announced that Star Tours at Disneyland and Hollywood Studios would close in October 2010 for renovations.

The rides would reopen in May and June 2011 as Star Tours – The Adventures Continue.

On August 14, 2010, Hollywood Studios hosted the “Last Tour To Endor” event for Celebration V attendees. This extravaganza included an appearance by George Lucas, character appearances, Jedi Training Academy, Death Star Disco,  Raiders Of The Lost Jedi Temple of Doom: A Fan Film of Epic Proportions  live show, Hyperspace Hoopla, and  Symphony in the Stars  fireworks.

It also included the Star Tours shutdown ceremony which was a live show with C-3PO, R2-D2, Boba Fett, Darth Vader, as well as a few Stormtroopers, culminating in the official power-down of Star Tours.

The ride remained open until September 7, 2010, when the attraction held its “Final Flight to Endor” for D23 members.

In Orlando, Star Tours – The Adventures Continue began soft openings on May 14, 2011, with the official opening held at midnight on May 20, 2011.

Since its opening, the planet Jakku from  The Force Awakens  has been added to the attraction as well as the planet Crait from  The Last Jedi  and Batuu, from Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Finally, the ocean moon Kef Bir from  The Rise of Skywalker  was added on December 20, 2019, the film’s release date.

In 2023, Disney announced at Destination D23 that Ahoska would be added to Star Tours in spring 2024 .

Other Fun Details

• Star Tours – The Adventures Continue is inspired by all nine films of the Star Wars Skywalker saga: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Episode IV – A New Hope, Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, Empire VI – Return of the Jedi, Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, and Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker .
• There are Star Tours attractions at four different Disney Parks around the world: Disney World’s Hollywood Studios, Disneyland Paris, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland in California.

• The exteriors of all four Star Tours attractions are different in their respective parks. The attraction in Florida is inspired by an Ewok village on the forest moon of Endor.
• Listen closely just before boarding your spaceship. You may hear a reference to THX1138. THX1138 was in all of the Star Wars movies because it was the name of George Lucas’ first movie, so he included it in all of the Star Wars films as a nod to his origin.
• Other boarding call announcements in the first area of the indoor wait queue gives names that are actually anagrams for people like  Star Wars  creator George Lucas (“Egroeg Sacul”) and Tom Morrow (“Mot Worrom”). When you reach the baggage check area, many different Disney attractions and franchises like Haunted Mansion ,  Toy Story, Aladdin, WALL-E, The Incredibles , and  Captain EO get cameos as G2-9T scans boarding IDs. 
• Paul Reubens, perhaps better known for his famous character, Pee Wee Herman, was actually the voice of Captain RX-24 (Rex) in the original Star Tours ride. He was the pilot talking as R2-D2 was being loaded. In the new version of the ride, you can see him in the droid maintenance section in the queue.

• Patrick Warburton, who is known for delivering the safety spiel before boarding Soarin’ at Epcot and for also voicing Kronk in Emperor’s New Groove , is the voice of security officer G2-4Ton Star Tours — The Adventures Continue. You can spot him as you pass through a series of security scanners.
• As part of the attraction, you’ll see scenes with archival footage of Princess Leia, played by Carrie Fisher. The dialogue, however, is re-recorded. Carrie Fisher collaborated with Imagineers to re-record her dialogue so that it fits the attraction seamlessly.
• While the original Star Tours ride didn’t open until 1989, Imagineers originally had an idea for a simulator ride themed to another Disney movie. The 1979 live-action film  The Black Hole  followed astronauts investigating a mysterious spaceship inside a black hole, but it was a commercial flop. This, combined with the high costs for the planned ride, led to the concept being scrapped. It wasn’t until Disney partnered with George Lucas and Lucasfilm in 1986, that the simulator idea was revisited, this time with Star Wars in mind.

Other Attractions in Echo Lake

• For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
• Indiana Jones™ Epic Stunt Spectacular!
• Mickey Shorts Theater
• Star Tours – The Adventure Continues

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Star Tours: The Adventures Continue

An Attraction in Hollywood Studios

Last updated: July 26, 2024

At a Glance

Based on the Star Wars saga, this was Disney’s first modern simulator ride. Guests ride in a flight simulator modeled after those used for training pilots and astronauts, experiencing dips, turns, twists, and climbs. The ride film, projected in high-definition 3-D, has more than 50 combinations of opening and ending scenes, including clips from The Force Awakens. You could ride Star Tours all day without seeing the same scenes twice. The downside to Star Tours is that it’s not in Galaxy’s Edge.

• Lightning Lane Multi Pass - Second Group
• Physical Considerations
• Handheld Captioning
• Video Captioning
• Must Transfer to Standard Wheelchair and then to Ride Vehicle
• No Service Animals

Touring Tips

Other attractions you might like Users who like Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, generally also like:

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Here's roughly how many minutes you'll wait for Star Tours: The Adventures Continue at each Hollywood Studios Crowd Level.

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Home » News

New Scenes Coming to Star Tours Attraction in 2024

By Author Ziggy Oskwarek

Posted on Last updated: April 16, 2023

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The fan-favorite attraction Star Tours debuted at Disneyland in 1987 and has been one of the most popular rides in any Disney park ever since. Now new scenes and characters are coming to the attractions in 3 Disney parks around the world!

Recently, Walt Disney Imagineering announced during the Star Wars Celebration 2023 event that new stories and new characters are coming to 3 of the Star Tours attractions around the world in 2024 .

The parks getting the updated version of the attraction are Disney’s Hollywood Studios , Disneyland Park , and Disneyland Paris .

The beauty of Star Tours is that every time you ride, it’s a completely different experience. For anyone who hasn’t ridden before, it’s a simulator ride where you board a starspeeder that takes you to many of the various planets in the Star Wars universe, places you’re already familiar with and have seen many times in the films.

Current scene locations for Star Tours include Hoth, Naboo, Tatooine, Kashyyyk, and many, many more.

Over the years, these locations have changed quite often and Disney usually updates the ride any time there is a new major film release so that fans of Star Wars can travel to those places in the current films.

For example, back in 2017, Disney updated the ride to include scenes from Star Wars: The Last Jedi . This featured guests caught up on their starspeeder in a massive battle between the First Order and the Resistance on the planet of Crait. There was another mission on the casino planet of Canto Bight and a sequence featuring Jakku.

Then, in 2019, with the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker , they added scenes from Kef Bir , the planet where the wreckage from the second Death Star is located, also the home of new Star Wars member Jannah. They also added Exegol, which put guests right in the middle of the final battle from the film.

At this point, there is no indication of what the new scenes coming to Star Tours in 2024 will be. Disney can’t reveal the locations or characters yet, but they did say that they will be part of the upcoming Star Wars content. This leads to a lot of speculation on what the new additions could include.

Right now, Disney has not officially announced the titles of any of their upcoming films. However, it’s unlikely that we are getting a new Star Wars film before the changes to Star Tours arrive in 2024.

There are 3 dates on the schedule Disney has announced (December 22, 2023, December 19, 2025, and December 17, 2027) but at this point, we are pretty sure that the 2023 date is being canceled and there will not be a new film then.

As for the upcoming shows, we know that Ashoka is coming out in August 2023, while Andor Season 2 and The Acolyte are both coming out in 2024. Since there won’t be any feature films in 2024 that we know about, my guess is that the new locations and characters will be from these 3 Disney+ series instead.

It’s also quite possible we could see something or someone from The Mandalorian show up in Star Tours. This has been the most popular Star Wars franchise in a long time, and Disney would be smart to capitalize on its success.

They already brought The Mandalorian and Grogu character meet to the Disney parks, so why not put them in Star Tours as well?

At this time, there is also no date announced when these additions to Star Tours are going to be made. My best guess would be that you see the new changes in time for May 4, 2024, since that is a huge Star Wars day. However, this is only a guess, and it really could be at any time.

Since there aren’t as many new attractions coming to Disney World in the next few years, this was surely a way to make guests feel like there is something new to see in the parks, even if this isn’t a completely new attraction.

Either way, Star Tours remains one of the best attractions at Hollywood Studios , and we like to see when classic attractions are updated in a way that feels fresh, without ruining what we already loved about it.

We’ll have more info on this in the coming months as Disney starts making announcements, so stay tuned for more soon!

Here is a look at the promo video Disney put out at Star Wars Celebration 2023:

That wraps up our look at Star Tours in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris. Hopefully, we have more info for you on the upcoming changes soon!

If you are thinking about going to Walt Disney World in the coming future, here are some other popular articles where you will find all the info and tips you need to plan your trip.

• Disney World Vacation Planning Guide
• Disney World Crowd Calendar
• When are the Best Times to Visit Disney World?

Your Thoughts

I want to know what you think about the changes coming to Star Tours…

• What new scenes do you think will be added?
• What characters would you like to see in the attraction?

Let us know in the comments section below!

If you enjoyed this article, as always I appreciate it if you’d share it with others via social media.  I work hard at making this website into a useful resource for you and your family to plan your visit to the Disney Parks and I hope it can help you! Thanks 🙂

My name is Ziggy and I love Disney, everything Disney! I grew up on Disney and it has and continues to be a huge part of my life. I started young when my parents took me to Disney World when I was 18 months old. Little did they know that would be the first of an uncountable number of trips we would take. I have so many amazing memories going to Disney with my family and friends and it has been interwoven into my DNA.

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Yury Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Centre (Zvezdny Gorodok - Star Town) (7 hours)

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The Yuri A. Gagarin State Scientific Research-and-Testing Cosmonaut Training Center is a Russian training facility responsible for training cosmonauts for their space missions. It is in Star City of Moscow Oblast, a name which may refer to the facility itself or to its grounds. (Read more about Yury Gagarin Cosmonauts training center )

The secret Star City was built to train Soviet cosmonauts, including Yuri Gagarin, the 1st man in space. Many other famous Russian cosmonauts trained here with Gagarin: German Titov, Valentina Tereshkova, the first female cosmonaut, and Alexei Leonov, the first cosmonaut to exit the spaceship into space . The best facilities were built for them: the world’s largest centrifuge and hydro laboratory. Many cosmonauts from other countries (USA, Japan, Germany and many others) also have trained here together with Soviet Russian cosmonauts. On this Star (Space) City Tour you will see:

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If it took Gagarin 1 year to get prepared, now it takes 7 years to become a cosmonaut, and 50 days to pass  security  check for foreign visitors.

Due to the security policy of the Centre, the guided tours are to be arranged in 50 days before the tour date. Last-minute arrangements are not available. 

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StarTribune

From st. paul to milwaukee and chicago, here's where to eat if you're traveling by train.

"We're glad you're here." The sign that greets guests in the foyer of Lou Mitchell's might as well be the Windy City's official welcome mat.

The Chicago diner, which celebrated its centennial last year, claims to have invented many of the hallmarks of a classic American morning meal: an all-day breakfast menu; egg dishes that come out to the dining room in little cast-iron skillets; complimentary containers of house-made orange marmalade on every table; and bottomless cups of really hot coffee.

All around the angular counters and rows of booths-for-two hang Route 66 paraphernalia that hearkens to a grand time for automobile travel. The iconic route originally passed right by the diner's front door. For travelers arriving in Chicago from the coast and the plains, or getting ready to embark on a journey out West, this diner was the place to fuel up for, or replenish after, a long trip.

It still is. Though vintage top-down Mustangs don't regularly roll past anymore, Lou Mitchell's is only a block away from Union Station, where Amtrak's new Borealis passenger train from St. Paul arrives in Chicago.

The new route gives Minnesotans a convenient, inexpensive ride between two Midwestern metropolises, with stops along the way in cities including Winona, La Crosse, Wisconsin Dells and Milwaukee. It also gives us choices: The introduction of the Borealis marks the first time in almost 50 years that the Twin Cities has had twice-daily service to Chicago. That makes it possible to get off at one stop to explore and get back on a later train the same day, or to have more options when planning an overnight stay, as I did.

For my early summer journey to Chicago, I boarded the Borealis at 11:50 a.m. at St. Paul's Union Depot. (The long-distance Empire Builder, coming from Seattle, passes through St. Paul at 8:50 a.m.) I rode about six hours along the Mississippi and across Wisconsin to Milwaukee, where I exited and stayed the night.

Milwaukee was heavily featured in the most recent season of "Top Chef," and the city is settling comfortably into its reputation as an Upper Midwest food-and-drink destination. The break in the trip afforded me time to get to know the city the quickest way I know how: through the food. I crammed into my Milwaukee trip a happy hour, dinner, late-night drinks, breakfast and a brewery before moving on to Chicago, one of the most dynamic food cities in the country.

Getting there was a different culinary story. Amtrak is stocking up the Borealis with a few regional snacks, including canned Caribou cold brew and Surly and Leinenkugel beer, but none were available yet on my train. A premixed brandy Old Fashioned was promised but still in the works. A breakfast sandwich, according to my cafe car attendant, was "recalled." Otherwise, there was a Campbell's soup cup, a microwaveable stromboli, and lots of candy. My best bites came from a packaged Wisconsin cheese plate.

The ride itself was as comfortable as one might expect from a commuter train; forget a dreamier vision of long-distance trains with dining cars and panoramic views. On the Borealis, there's decent legroom but cramped tray tables; the freedom to move about, but nowhere to go other than the basic cafe car or the bathroom. The scenery can't compare to what you'd find out your window in Montana or along Lake Erie. But at only $60 each way, no need to go through TSA lines or to drive my own vehicle, plus the opportunity to stop and explore the food scene along the way, I'd ride it again in a heartbeat.

Only next time, I'll pack my own train snacks.

If you're riding the rails, here's where to eat and drink near the train stations in Milwaukee and Chicago (and St. Paul, too).

Near Milwaukee's Intermodal Station

Milwaukee's train station isn't in the most welcoming of areas, but there are two vibrant neighborhoods just a few minutes away by rideshare or bus. The Historic Third Ward is Milwaukee's arts district, which, with its galleries and restaurants in converted brick warehouses, feels like an eastern extension of Minneapolis' North Loop and Northeast neighborhoods.

Here, you'll find the Milwaukee Public Market ( milwaukeepublicmarket.org ), an indoor assortment of local eats. We stopped at the long counter at West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe ( westallischeese.com ), where my friend picked up a packet of Parmesan nubs that we nibbled on during our walks the rest of the trip. She dubbed it "purse cheese," and I can't think of a more Wisconsin souvenir.

We started the evening with truffle fries and creative cocktails at the bar at The Edison ( edisonmke.com ), a stylish restaurant that melds modern design with a supper-clubby menu. We roamed the neighborhood, peeking into restaurants that spilled out onto the sidewalks and into parks, such as Third Ward Beer Garden in the public art-filled Catalano Square ( thirdwardbeergarden.com ).

Being out on a Saturday night without a reservation, we were out of luck at two hot spots on my list: Bavette La Boucherie ( bavettelaboucherie.com ), a combination wine bar and European-style meat and cheese shop; and DanDan , where "Top Chef" runner-up Dan Jacobs and co-owner Dan Van Rite pay homage to the Midwestern Chinese food they grew up eating. Fortunately, I did snag a dinner reservation a car ride away in the cool Bay View neighborhood at the Dans' tasting menu restaurant EsterEv , esterev.com , where many of Jacobs' out-there "Top Chef" creations appear on the menu.

Just across the river from the Historic Third Ward, the buildings are lower and the sky is bigger in Walker's Point, a more spread-out neighborhood with a high concentration of quirky bars and bites. Stop by Shaker's Cigar Bar ( shakerscigarbar.com ), in a former brothel, for ghost stories the staff is more than happy to share. Don's TV & Repair ( donsmke.com ) is a speakeasy-style burger-and-shakes diner hidden behind a faux electronics repair shop, where we played pinball while sipping from an actual Crock-Pot filled to the brim with a brandy Old Fashioned for sharing. It's a vibe.

Minneapolis' Indeed Brewing ( indeedbrewing.com) has set up a Wisconsin outpost in Walker's Point, and its airy taproom offers a few only-in-Milwaukee brews. For a true Milwaukee drinking experience, venture a bit beyond the neighborhood to Bryant's Cocktail Lounge ( bryantscocktaillounge.com ), the oldest of an entire class of retro cocktail spots that keep the city's penchant for ice cream drinks alive.

The morning afforded us time for a couple last stops before we traveled onward. We began at the handsome black-and-gold-accented Vendetta Coffee Bar ( vendettacoffeebar.com ), which specializes in espresso (for both lattes and martinis, at any hour) and revelatory sheep-cheese-stuffed pastries that have been imported from Sicily and baked on site.

Finally, we waited in a line out the building to order creative takes on East Coast deli fare from Allie Boy's Bagelry and Luncheonette ( allieboysmke.com ). Their huge, chewy bagels were only the start of what I loved about this place. The pastrami chopped cheese, an open-faced bagel tartine shmeared with silky chicken liver mousse, and a potato latke pressed into waffle form might beckon me to ride the train back here again.

Near Chicago's Union Station

The train station that greets passengers in Chicago is a 1925 looker envisioned by Daniel Burnham, the famed architect who left his imprint across the city's skyline. Unfortunately, that's not the view I got upon arrival. With the train entering the station underground, and heavy construction on the street above, I was shuffled through low-ceilinged corridors and up a series of escalators until I made it outside, completely bypassing the Beaux-Arts waiting room. Luckily, I was in town for the James Beard Awards, which celebrated the American restaurant industry's highest honors with an after-party in the station's marvelous Great Hall.

Even without such an event, there are other ways to take in Burnham's talents, especially on an architecture-themed meander through Chicago's downtown Loop. Make time for stops at the hotel bar in the J.W. Marriott, Burnham's former Continental and Commercial Bank Building; for brunch at the Atwood restaurant in the Staypineapple hotel, also known as the Reliance Building, a landmark skyscraper; or — of particular note to nostalgic Dayton's fans — the Walnut Room ( macysrestaurants.com/walnut-room ). The handsome trailblazer in department store dining is in Macy's, which was once Burnham's Marshall Field and Co. Building. The 17,000-square-foot dining room with chandeliers and fountains doesn't hold back on grandeur or on ladies-who-lunch allure. My girlfriends and I played the part, luxuriating over an 1890 recipe for chicken pot pie, the familiar Mandarin chicken salad, and Frango (chocolate mint) Irish coffee.

If your travels are more food-focused than architecture-focused, the immediate area surrounding the train station, called West Loop Gate, has plenty of flavor, starting, of course, with Lou Mitchell's ( loumitchells.com ), the breakfast spot that tips its hat to the romance of travel. The Asian grocery chain H Mart ( hmart.com ) has a giddy selection of packaged ramen, seafood-flavored chips and other treats. And the Indian coffee shop Swadesi ( swadesicafe.com ) offers next-level chai, toasties and sweets.

Being a business district, the area is home to happy hours galore. Directly across from the station, I happened upon an urban pocket of green space, the Green at 320, which had a farmers market, live music and lawn games, an Italian eatery and Girl Scout Cookie-themed cocktails at Afterbar ( afterbarchicago.com ). A block away, the office-party-friendly Little Toasted ( littletoasted.com ) boasts one of the largest patios in the city, perfect for sampling their many whiskeys or a frosty glass of frosé.

Further afield but still walkable, the West Loop and Fulton Market are, together, a sizzling culinary district. "Top Chef" alum Sarah Grueneberg's Monteverde ( monteverdechicago.com) was just named the best Chicago restaurant by Chicago magazine, and I certainly haven't stopped singing its praises since a fabulous lunch, where I devoured an unparalleled eggplant parmesan and watched chefs craft pasta in an angled mirror above the bar. "Top Chef" has had a rather strong imprint in this area, with three of Stephanie Izard's four Chicago restaurants located here ( Girl & the Goat , Duck Duck Goat and Cabra, bokagrp.com ).

At Time Out Market Chicago ( timeoutmarket.com/chicago ), you can sample bites from several Chicago eateries in one place, like the newly opened outpost of the famed Chinatown dumpling shop, Qing Xiang Yuan Mini ( qxydumpling.com ). We ended the night with drinks that showcase Latin-American spirits at Estereo ( estereochicago.com ).

Near St. Paul's Union Depot

Coming in August to Union Depot , the couple behind the Lake Elmo Inn will launch 1881 by Lake Elmo Inn ( 1881bylei.com ), named for the opening year of both the station and the flagship Lake Elmo restaurant. It will be open for lunch, happy hour and dinner Wednesdays through Sundays.

If your train travels summon you to St. Paul on the weekend, the station is a short walk from the St. Paul Farmers Market ( stpaulfarmersmarket.com ), where you can stock up on fresh produce and plenty of snacks and prepared goods to take with you on the journey. Just across the street, look for the small-batch bakery So Yen Desserts ( facebook.com/soyendesserts ), which went viral for its brioche doughnuts. It's open Fridays through Sundays.

Lowertown's Big River Pizza ( bigriverpizza.com) has New York-style pies with farm-fresh ingredients. And long-running Saint Dinette ( saintdinette.com) is still turning out impeccable cheeseburgers and bologna sandwiches. Depending on your arrival time, there's no better welcome home than a good meal.

Sharyn Jackson is a features reporter covering the Twin Cities' vibrant food and drink scene.

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Megan Thee Stallion headlines Broccoli City music fest this weekend as event moves to DC’s Audi Field

Jason Fraley | [email protected]

July 26, 2024, 6:51 AM

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Broccoli City Fest returns to the nation’s capital this weekend for two huge days of music.

This year marks the very first time the festival will be held at Audi Field in Southwest D.C.

“It’s really exciting to be at this new venue,” festival co-founder Jermon Williams told WTOP. “You think of the growth over the years from when we started at The Bullpen then over to St. Elizabeth then over to RFK (Stadium) and FedEx (Field), then back to RFK the last two years. So moving over to Audi Field has really been about enhancing the fan experience. We wanted to revolutionize and redefine what it meant to experience a festival.”

While he remains grateful to Events DC for the recent years spent on the RFK Stadium’s grounds in Northeast, Audi Field offers the festival plenty of new opportunities from both a production and amenities standpoint.

“Audi Field is state of the art and we’re actually able to utilize the stadium and the perimeter around the stadium,” Williams said. “The Jumbotron, those big screens, being able to set up the festival so the experience is comparable to an award show where you’re seeing the interaction of the talent backstage. … Also just the facilities, providing our patrons with air-conditioned bathrooms and seating — I don’t think we’ve had a seating option in 11 years.”

It kicks off with a pre-party on Friday at Echostage hosted by nine-time Emmy nominee Issa Rae.

“She’s hosting and we’re super excited about that,” Williams said. “Anybody can go.”

The official two-day music festival arrives on Saturday with three-time Grammy winner Megan Thee Stallion headlining a star-studded lineup of Party Next Door, Lil Yachty & The Concrete Family, Fridayy and Teezo Touchdown, all hosted by Desi Banks, Funny Marco, Bryson Tiller, Trapsoul Karaoke and introductions by Rae.

As if that wasn’t enough, Sunday brings a second day of music headlined by four-time Grammy nominated rapper Gunna and this year’s Best New Artist Grammy winner Victoria Monét on a stacked bill with rising stars like Sexyy Red, Key Glock and many more, all hosted by Joe Kay of Soulection Radio.

How does Broccoli City always have a knack for finding “the next big thing” of artists?

“It starts with us just being fans of music culture in general,” Williams said of his fellow co-founders Marcus Allen and Brandon McEachern. “When you’re a fan there’s that natural desire to discover new music for me. I think also having a great team that shares in that passion, a younger great team, because now we’re able to get real-time advice and insight on new artists. Beyond your headlining acts it’s always about how you’re filling out your lineup.”

As a result, attendance has grown along with the festival’s reputation over the past decade.

“I would go back to the precursor to Broccoli City Fest, which was an Earth Day block party we did in L.A. called Global Cooling which had Kendrick Lamar as an opening act, we did 500 or 600 people there,” Williams said. “Fast forward to B.C. Fest, the first iteration in 2013 we ended up doing 5,000, then 2016 jumped to about 13,000, then in 2018 to about 30,000. … This year we’re looking at 25,000 each day, so 50,000 total, so we’re super excited.”

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Hailed by The Washington Post for “his savantlike ability to name every Best Picture winner in history," Jason Fraley began at WTOP as Morning Drive Writer in 2008, film critic in 2011 and Entertainment Editor in 2014, providing daily arts coverage on-air and online.

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