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.
The Opening Sequence
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.
Kylo Ren
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.
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.
First Destination
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.
Tatooine
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.
Hoth
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.
Kashyyyk
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
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.
Kef Bir
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.
The Message
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
- Yoda
- Maz Kanata
- Poe Dameron
- BB-8
- Lando Calrissian
- Ahsoka Tano
- Cassian Andor
- The Mandalorian And Grogu
Second Destination
Once the message has been received and the coordinates are given, you’re off into hyperspace once again to the next location.
Coruscant
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.
Naboo
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.
Geonosis
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.
Crait
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.
Exegol
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.
Seatos
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.
Optional Ending
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.
Batuu
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.
