star tours 1990

Here at Theme Park Tourist, we’ve spent the last few years filling up our library of Lost Legends : in-depth features that tell the full, behind-the-scenes stories of beloved-and-lost attractions to make sure these masterpiece experiences aren’t ever forgotten. With your comments, we’ve glimpsed tomorrow aboard Epcot’s Horizons , survived an onslaught from the gods aboard  TOMB RAIDER: The Ride, merrily traveled to Nowhere in Particular on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride , lived through an ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter , toured along the highways of Walt's Tomorrowland on the Peoplemover , met Dreamfinder on Journey into Imagination , and so much more .

Image: Disney / Lucasfilm

But today, we’ll explore the outer reaches of the galaxy en route to the forest moon of Endor as we remember a ride so prolific, it sincerely changed the course of Disney Parks forever. STAR TOURS was more than just a cutting-edge E-Ticket thrill ride: it was a purposeful test to see if Disney Parks could become teen-friendly places where guests of all ages could “ride the movies.” While you probably already know the ending, you won’t believe the story that gets us there…

And it all starts a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. Star Tours announces the boarding of the Endor Express, non-stop Starspeeder service to the moon of Endor. All passengers please prepare for immediate boarding.

Liquid Space

Image: Disney

As is always the case with our Lost Legends entries, the real story behind Star Tours begins long before the interstellar adventure carried its first passengers. And like so many legendary Disney attractions, it’s tied closely to storied Imagineer and Disney Legend Tony Baxter. The creative force behind everything from Indiana Jones Adventure to Journey into Imagination, Baxter is revered by Disney fans for bridging the gap from Walt’s original crew of brilliant designers to the second generation who moved in in the late 1960s to prep for Walt Disney World… a generation who had experienced Disneyland as guests first , giving them a tie to the park that the original design crew just couldn’t have.

Baxter’s story closely resembles the one that many Disney Parks fans wish for: discovered by Imagineering when one of his college portfolio projects was seen by the right person, Baxter was whisked away from his part time job operating Disneyland’s Submarine Voyage, hired by Imagineering, and paired with Disney legend Claude Coats to design Florida’s version of the sub ride.

Their first issue was timing. At Disneyland, the Submarine Voyage would glide through the crystal lagoons of Tomorrowland – fittingly futuristic for audiences of the 1950s and ‘60s, for whom the technology behind submarines was as futuristic and mysterious as space travel. But as designers planned for Magic Kingdom’s 1971 opening, they recognized that submarines were no longer the stuff of “tomorrow.”

So the ride was relocated to Fantasyland and, under Baxter’s brilliant design, was recast as a cinematic underwater fantasy as told in Jules Verne’s famed adventure novel. You can dive deep into the full story of the sunken Fantasyland favorite in its own  Lost Legends : 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea feature that'll tug at the heartstrings of Walt Disney World guests.

But what has a voyage through liquid space have to do with an adventure among the stars? Stay with us…

Discovering gold

When Tony Baxter returned from Magic Kingdom’s opening to California, he was handed his next task: to fix “the Frontierland problem.” While legends of the Old West, cowboys and Indians, and The Lone Ranger had been all the rage at Disneyland’s 1955 opening, by the 1970s the public and pop culture had simply lost interest in the idling, dusty past. Frontierland needed a new lease on life, and Baxter had a plan.

In fact, he crafted an entirely new narrative that would extend Frontierland’s story and excite a new generation. At the intersection of Fantasyland and Frontierland, Baxter planned for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, a wild runaway mine train adventure through glimmering gold mines that would add excitement and kinetic energy to the park. But that wasn't all. Designers posed a thoughtful question: “What would those 1860s miners do with the gold they found in Big Thunder Mountain?” Would they settle down in the sleepy town of Frontierland and bask in their newfound riches? Of course not! They’d continue on westward with their fresh fortunes and establish a bustling city of wonders on the coast!

Which is why this intersection of Fantasy and Frontier would now act as a portal into an entirely new themed land on the north shore of the Rivers of America: Discovery Bay. A sort of fantasy, steampunk version of San Francisco in the late 1800s, this harbor of golden rocks, glass towers, lighthouses, zephyrs, bubbling lagoons, inventions, and submarines would be like a seaside port straight from a Jules Verne novel. And best of all, it was official. A model of Discovery Bay was on display on Main Street announcing its 1976 opening at Disneyland.

One of its headlining, anchor attractions would test the limits of the era’s technology. Captain Nemo’s Adventure would allow guests to board underwater pods right from the Nautilus and descend into wild adventures through serene reefs, lost ruins, and into the arms of a giant squid. But unlike the more traditional Submarine Voyage over in Tomorrowland, Captain Nemo’s Adventure would use a cutting edge ride system: “motion simulators” attached to motion bases, with the pods rocking, bouncing, and jostling along to a synchronized ride film to give guests the uncanny impression that they were truly piloting through the ocean. 

We chronicled every last detail we know about Disney’s most incredible lost land in a full Possibilityland : Discovery Bay article that’s a must-read for Imagineering fans. But you know the ending already: Discovery Bay was canned. The primary reason was because the land’s other E-Ticket was unfortunately based on The Island at the Top of the World , Disney’s 1974 adventure film that bombed at the box office and changed Hollywood’s approach to fantasy for decades. It also seemed that the plans for Nemo’s Adventure were simply too ambitious, as Imagineers physically lacked the technology to bring this motion base attraction to life. Discovery Bay and Nemo’s Adventure were shelved.

But it’s often said that good ideas never die at Disney, and a decade later that proved to be true when a new CEO made a brilliant connection… Read on…

Just your friendly neighborhood fan of tropical hideaways, Victorian boardwalks, mid-century tomorrows, ancient temples, and cursed forests! In between dreaming of Dole Whips, I'm a museum experience developer. I'm also the researcher behind Theme Park Tourist's  Legend Library   – filled with stories of  Lost Legends , Modern Marvels , Declassified Disasters , and more.

You're wrong about Avatar and you'll realize how Avatar is remembered worldwide when the sequel releases in December 2022. The mediocre SW sequel trilogy will be totally forgotten by then.

Never rode the ride before but we are visiting the parks in June for the first time. This ride looks really promising and this article was very interesting. It was great learning about the history of this ride!

Fun little article. Only correction is C3PO is the Pilot not R2D2. :)

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Star Tours: Inside the Secret History of Disney’s Classic ‘Star Wars’ Ride

The Disney Parks attraction’s origin and evolution is an adventure all its own

Earlier in January, Star Tours turned 35.

The groundbreaking attraction has been a favorite of Disney Parks visitors the world over, and it would prove an influential part of the “Star Wars” mythology, even today. In Jon Favreau’s “The Book of Boba Fett” (streaming now on Disney+) a familiar-looking droid has been dealing cards in the cantina/casino hideout The Sanctuary in the Tatooine village of Mos Espa. The droid looks like Rex, the inexperienced pilot of the original version of Star Tours. Predictably, fans went nuts.

In fact, the influence of Star Tours has been felt strongly in the current era of “Star Wars” on both the big and small screen. Rex previously appeared in an episode of animated series “Star Wars: Rebels,” and the Star Tours spaceship the Starspeeder made blink-and-you’ll-miss-it background appearances in J.J. Abrams two sequel trilogy installments, while Rian Johnson admitted a looser influence over his installment, “The Last Jedi.” The sequence where the Millennium Falcon is careening through the crystalline caverns of Crait was inspired by the original ride film’s trip through a craggy comet.

But the story of how Star Tours was developed – how it came to be, what technology was employed, and the profound implications for both the Disney Parks and George Lucas’ Lucasfilm – might be even more thrilling and complex than the actual ride, which was heavily retrofitted in 2010 now goes by the name Star Tours: The Adventures Continue.

So, without further ado, lightspeed to Endor !

A Long Time Ago …

Long before there was any kind of official partnership, Lucasfilm and Disney Parks were linked, thanks mostly to some fortuitous timing. George Lucas’ “Star Wars” hit theaters on May 25, 1977, intoxicating audiences with its depiction of bold heroes, dastardly villains, fussy droids and otherworldly creatures. Those that saw it went back again and again but itched for something more . Thankfully for Southern California audiences, Space Mountain, an adaptation of an attraction that opened at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom two years earlier, opened at Disneyland two days after “Star Wars.” Folks would go see “Star Wars” and then book it to Disneyland for a chance to ride Space Mountain, nestled in the far corner of Tomorrowland. The line for the attraction snaked from that distant part of Tomorrowland all the way up Main Street, U.S.A. Even if their pairing was still a decade away, Lucasfilm and Disney Parks were already strongly bound by the Force.

But if the actual Lucasfilm/Disney enterprise had a point of origin (something that we are painfully aware that George Lucas just loves ), it was when Michael Eisner, then the head of Paramount, decided to green light “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” As Brian Jay Jones recounts in his biography “George Lucas: A Life,” Lucas’ financial terms for the movie were aggressive and mirrored those of the “Star Wars” sequels. Lucas would fund the movie himself and the studio would “distribute the completed film in exchange for profits.” While many of the studios passed right away, Warner Bros., who had clumsily distributed Lucas’ first film “THX-1138,” initially wanted to make it, but they were ultimately usurped by Paramount and Eisner.  “George came over to my house,” Eisner later said, “and he said, ‘Let’s make the best deal they’ve ever made in Hollywood.’”

On November 7, 1979, Paramount announced an agreement with Lucasfilm – they’d agreed to Lucas’ demands and would be making “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Eisner believed in George Lucas, even when other studios didn’t. This is baffling, after the astronomical success of “Star Wars” just two years earlier, but true. “Eisner was no dummy,” Jones says now. “Professionally, they spoke the same language. They got the cultural sensibilities.”

Eisner’s decision to help Lucas out on “Raiders of the Lost Ark” would have far reaching ramifications; for one, it would lead to Paramount releasing one of the most successful franchises (after Lucas’ own “Star Wars”) of all time. It would also ultimately assist in the rehabilitation of one of Hollywood’s most celebrated brands, which by the early 1980s had fallen into disrepair and disinterest.

Rebellion Reborn

In 1984, after greenmail attempts by corporate raiders, the Walt Disney Company got a fresh transfusion of new executive talent in the form of Michael Eisner, Frank Wells and (a few months later) Jeffrey Katzenberg. As CEO and Chairman of the Board, Eisner set his sights on strengthening the company’s bottom line and refreshing the brand, which in the nearly 20 years since Walt Disney had died, became a creaky dinosaur, badly out of step with modern audiences and accompanying cultural shifts. (The year before Eisner became CEO, the top grossing Disney movie was “Never Cry Wolf,” with a whopping $29.6 million .)

Similarly, the Disney Parks had been badly neglected despite accounting for nearly 70% of the company’s annual revenue, in part because of the wobbly, extremely over-budget opening of EPCOT Center in Florida, but more pressingly because Disney wasn’t producing anything that could be adapted into rides, shows, or attractions at the parks. While Katzenberg looked to return the studio’s feature animation unit to its former glory (it existed, in the early 1980s, as a partially mothballed group that was in constant danger of shuttering completely), Eisner looked to the parks. “You couldn’t walk through the theme parks and not recognize that they lacked contemporary development. But when Frank and I walked down Main Street for the first time, Frank turned to me and said, ‘There’s so much here. There’s so much potential,’” Eisner recounted in “The Imagineering Story” documentary on Disney+.

Imagineering had reached out to Lucas before Eisner had been installed. Marty Sklar had set up a meeting between Ron Miller, who was president and CEO of Disney before Eisner (he was also Walt’s son-in-law), and Imagineer Tony Baxter. Baxter was, and remains, a superstar of Walt Disney Imagineering, the kind of persona that Disney fanatics dress up as at Disney fan conventions. (Seriously.) At the time, Baxter wasn’t even 40 and had already contributed to the Disney portfolio in meaningful, some would argue profound, ways. He was behind the Journey into Imagination pavilion at EPCOT Center, which featured some truly next-level technological breakthroughs alongside a whimsical story about the power of creativity; and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland, a runaway train thrill ride that would become instantly beloved and replicated at Disney parks the world over. Miller was still stinging from the failure of “The Black Hole,” Disney’s bid to challenge “Star Wars,” but agreed with Baxter that “Disneyland did need an infusion of new IP for younger generations of visitors” (according to Baxter). Miller suggested that they meet with Lucas at Miller’s Silverado Ranch. In addition to Sklar and Miller, Imagineers Rick Rothschild and Gary Krisel were also at the meeting. “There was no lag time between those initial agreements at the Silverado Vineyard, the subsequent leaving of Ron Miller, and Michael and Frank’s arrival in September 1984,” Baxter said. (Another former Imagineer had told me that after that initial meeting, “those discussions went nowhere.”)

Interestingly, before Eisner was hired, Disney board members had originally turned to Lucas to run the entire company in the early 1980s. “It wasn’t what he wanted to do with his life,” said Howard Roffman, who was the chief operating officer of Lucasfilm, in The Cinema of George Lucas by Marcus Hearn. Instead, the board offered the job to Eisner, the man who had the guts and the creative ambition to back “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Now Eisner quietly reached out to Lucas about projects with the Disney Parks. Lucas had been a lifelong Disneyland fan (his family had first visited the park on July 19, 1955, two days after it had opened), making annual treks to the resort. And just as Eisner had gotten behind a lucrative deal (in Lucas’ favor) for “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” he offered Lucas an equally eye-popping arrangement for his services: for every Lucas-originated project, the filmmaker would get $1 million per attraction per park per year. Lucas happily agreed. This arrangement even applied to later attractions Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril (a fairly off-the-shelf rollercoaster with the Indiana Jones name) located in Disneyland Paris, and Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull (essentially a clone of the Disneyland attraction) at Tokyo Disney Sea.

According to Baxter, during their first week at Disney, Eisner and Wells asked several Imagineers to come in on a Saturday and pitch “everything we had in conceptual design.” For Baxter, that meant he showed off the “Star Wars” project and what would later be known as Splash Mountain. (This is the infamous meeting where Eisner brought along his son Breck. Eisner told Baxter that Breck “loved theme parks” and Michael knew little about theme parks.) Both Star Tours and Splash Mountain were “given the green light” during Baxter’s presentation but according to Baxter executives were “disturbed” by the proposed 3-year production time designated for Star Tours. Famously, Eisner willed the teen-oriented dance club Videopolis into existence at Disneyland in a mere 100 days, partially due to architect Chris Carradine salvaging structural elements from the 1984 Olympics. He wanted things in the parks and he wanted them now .

With Lucas onboard for a Disney Parks “Star Wars” attraction, Imagineering began spit-balling ideas. At a National Fantasy Fan Club meeting in July 1988 legendary Imagineer David Mumford, whose notable work includes the Land pavilion at EPCOT Center and the Mermaid Lagoon section of Tokyo DisneySea, spoke of a cutting-edge “Star Wars” rollercoaster that was originally proposed. In this attraction, guests in the ride vehicle would vote on whether they would follow Yoda and become a Jedi or instead choose the path illuminated by the Emperor, embracing the dark side of the Force. Depending on that decision, you would rocket past show scenes featuring animatronics of your favorite characters (Boba Fett, Darth Vader and Jabba the Hutt on one path or Leia, Luke and Han Solo on the other). It was a wonderful idea, utilizing interactivity and good old-fashioned Imagineering magic, but Mumford said that it would take at least five years just to design the complex mechanism that would allow the ride to work. They needed something sooner.

Enter Mark Eades. Eades was a young Imagineer who had moved over from the Walt Disney Studios to work on EPCOT Center. In the days after EPCOT Center’s opening, when Imagineering’s ranks shrank and viable new projects became scarce, Eades was tasked with researching motion simulator technology. He visited army bases and tested out rudimentary versions designed for entertainment purposes (including “one where they basically stuck a camera on a rollercoaster”). At the end of his exploratory journey, he wrote a memo outlining the potential uses of the technology in the parks (he notes that, contrary to much reporting, the technology was never looked at for a “Black Hole” attraction, but rather “The Black Hole” was thought of as a potential overlay for the aging Mission to Mars). “We either a) treat it as a Tomorrowland attraction where we talk about how the pilots of tomorrow are being trained and you get to go train with them,” Eades said of the simulator technology. “Or there could be other stories if we’re willing to not admit that it’s a simulator. One of them could be in the ‘Star Wars’ universe.” At the end of the memo, he even suggested a possible narrative, should the ‘Star Wars’ idea actually be chosen: “Take a ride on the Millennium Falcon and when we get off we can go over to the Mos Eisley cantina.” This exact idea would be recirculated, 30 years later, at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

At the urging of Imagineer Randy Bright, Baxter went to Retifusion London, a test facility, to see if the flight simulator technology could successfully be used “for entertainment purposes.” (According to Baxter, Bright had stopped at the facility following an Abbey Road recording session for some new orchestral elements for EPCOT.) “I took several leaders from Disneyland operations & maintenance along on the trip to validate the practicality,” Baxter said. Imagineers might design the attractions, but operations and maintenance keep it running. Baxter and the small group seem to have watched the same “rollercoaster” ride film that Eades had also seen. “The simulator was limited in what it could mimic, but we were impressed enough to begin the project in earnest,” Baxter said. Disney made a deal to buy one of the simulators. It was housed in a custom-designed building in the parking lot of Imagineering’s Glendale headquarters.  

In Spite of ‘Captain EO’

While work progressed on Star Tours, Michael Jackson had approached the company about joining forces for a new project. Jackson loved Disneyland and Walt Disney World (later he would fashion a Disneyland-style theme park at his home, Neverland Ranch). Eisner and Katzenberg were both dazzled by big name stars and made the Jackson project a priority. At the same meeting where Splash Mountain and Star Tours were greenlit, the executives first brought up the possibility of a Jackson project (according to Baxter). “Imagineering was challenged to give Michael Jackson three concepts to choose,” Baxter said. In his memoir, Eisner describes the concept: “Our notion was to put him in an extended 3D music video.”

One pitch had the entertainer at Disneyland after dark, when various attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean would spring to life. (It was deemed too similar to his beloved “Thriller” music video.) Another version had Jackson inhabiting the role of a Peter Pan-type character who battled an ice queen, eventually melting her heart. And yet another, dubbed the “intergalactic ‘Music Man’” had him visiting a cold, distant planet and bringing music to the people, literally transforming them. Jackson liked the space idea but had a list of demands, including hiring either George Lucas or Steven Spielberg to help oversee what would ultimately become a cumbersome, costly, 17-minute 3D film (a “miracle of a movie” according to Whoopi Goldberg in the “Captain EO: Backstage” episode of “The Disney SundayMovie”). Spielberg was busy with “The Color Purple.” But Lucas had just signed on with Disney and was happy to oblige. At the very least, it would mean another $1 million per year per park.

Instead of helming the project himself, Lucas would install Francis Ford Coppola, one of his oldest friends, in the director’s chair. And Jones pointed out, not only would Lucas be spared the drudgery of daily production (“Return of the Jedi” had nearly killed him), handing Coppola the Disney project meant that he’d be “giving his mentor a much-needed job” (this after the middling response to Coppola’s costly “The Cotton Club”). Since it was technically a film, the production for what was now known as “Captain EO” (named by Coppola after Eos, the Greek goddess of dawn) was handled mostly by the film studio and therefore overseen by Katzenberg. Initially, at least, Imagineering was consulted (they’d be brought back later to design the in-theater effects and motion). “I’d talked to them about it. I’d done an estimate and said it was going to cost $17 million,” Eades said. “The studio people said it would cost $10 million. I said, ‘Make that movie.’ They spent a lot more than $10 million and they spent a lot more than I said it would cost.”

As it turns out, considerably more than what Eades had quoted. The production of “Captain EO” was long and difficult, with original actress Shelley Long dropping out of the role as the evil queen because of the extensive prosthetics (Anjelica Houston replaced her) and Coppola struggling with the complicated requirements of shooting in 3D. (Coppola would lean on Lucas for guidance when it came to the visual effects and creatures.) Behind schedule, the production went over-budget and had to cut corners. On an episode of the “I Was There Too” podcast, comedian Doug Benson talked about his time as an extra on the movie; the production was so over-budget that they couldn’t afford to pay actual dancers anymore. Benson had to stand in the background and gyrate. While most cite the $17 million budget as the final cost, Eades told TheWrap that the actual figure was more than $22.7 million – “and that was in real money in those days.” At the time, per minute, it was the most expensive movie ever produced. Imagineers, still hard at work on Star Tours, printed out custom memo templates that read Star Tours – In Spite of EO .

The Star Tours team was assembled, involving some of Imagineering’s key talents, led by Baxter, and including Eades. Bruce Gordon was the original producer on the project and had, according to Baxter, “as to what you could and could not do in programming events to physically simulate an experience.” “You cannot just write a story and then film it. It’s impossible for many kinetic options to dovetail into one another, due to the limitations of the hydraulic system,” Baxter said. “After we matched the capability of the simulator to a list of ‘Star Wars’ ‘stunts,’ their running order became a dictate of what capabilities were available after the completion of the preceding stunt. The most notable example was being caught in a tractor beam . This motionless backward tilt was the only capability that could be achieved after exhausting the hydraulics in the preceding ice cave sequence.” They had worked out the runtime of the ride: 4 minutes and 35 seconds. “This was the maximum time before an increasing nausea curve would begin ticking upwards,” Baxter said. The Imagineers also learned that they had to put in story pauses every 45 seconds or so, “to let riders regain their bearings.” He also notes that this fact was ignored when developing Body Wars, a sort of “Fantastic Voyage”-type experience that would open with the Wonders of Life Pavilion at EPCOT Center in 1989. Guests got so sick that several seconds of the ride film were removed after Body Wars opened.

For Star Tours, Imagineering had some key collaborators in the form of the wizards at Industrial Light & Magic, the groundbreaking effects house that Lucas had started for the first “Star Wars,” although getting them to grasp the concept of the project (which Eisner wanted to call Star Ride) was difficult. There was a meeting beween Imagineering and ILM, where George Lucas, ILM artists Dennis Muran and Dave Carson (who would serve as the “directors” for ILM), and Imagineering personnel like Tom Fitzgerald, Randy Bright, Marty Sklar and Eades, discussed the project. Eades remembered the scene: “Dennis starts talking to George, ‘We could cut to this angle, cut to that angle.’ And I’m a neophyte at the time. I’m not even 31 years old. I’m the new kid on the block and I’m listening to this and thinking, They’re wrong . I stopped at one point and actually said, ‘Wait a minute, wait a minute. You guys don’t understand. This isn’t a movie. This is a window like in a jet. We can’t cut.’ And I’m looking right at Dennis. ‘However long this is, it’s a continuous take.’ He sat back and looked at me and said, ‘Gee, George. He’s right.’”

The concept of the attraction, where Star Tours was one of several “commercial companies have started business to take people across the galaxy” following the events of “Return of the Jedi,” coalesced quickly and stayed mostly in place. “That way we can give people a ride going through a ‘Star Wars’ movie without giving them a ‘Star Wars’ movie,” Eades explained. Other things remained in flux. The voice of Captain RX-24 (“Rex”), originally described by Lucas as a frazzled Clone Wars veteran named “Crazy Harry,” remained elusive, until Eades (also working as the casting director for the project) saw “Flight of the Navigator.” “Flight of the Navigator” (released by Disney) featured a UFO voiced by Paul Reubens, who had yet to gain fame as Pee-Wee Herman. Eades knew that Reubens was the perfect voice and urged Tom Fitzgerald to see “Flight of the Navigator.” After watching the film, Fitzgerald agreed. Reubens was in production on the first season of what would become the fabled television series “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.” “We got ahold of [Reubens] on set and he agreed in principle, and we sent a recording to George and he said, ‘That’s it,’” Eades said.

At one point, Baxter and Muren went to Las Vegas to watch a demo of HD digital technology. They came back “pushing for the use of HD media rather than 70mm film.” “That decision was predicated on Sony being a sole source supplier of equipment. A safer decision was made to go with 70mm film rather than Sony HD, but it would set the variability of the ride experience back for 20 years,” Baxter said.

The troubled production of “Captain EO” actually gave the Star Tours team some cover. “They were so focused on ‘Captain EO’ and we were doing this thing and working with ILM and we were kind of ignored. Which was great for the team,” Eades said. “We had a budget and we stuck to the budget. We figured out how to get the most bang for our buck.” Somewhat amazingly, Eades explained: “We actually had Star Tours done first but they wanted to open ‘Captain EO’ and open Star Tours the next year. It was great because it gave the simulators some time to get some run time on them.”

After an equally arduous post-production, which saw Disney executives shocked at the number of crotch-thrusts Jackson squeezed into the choreographed dance numbers (amongst other woes), “Captain EO,” the tale of a singing, dancing space fighter (Jackson) and his band of puppet-y confederates, opened on Sept. 12, 1986 at EPCOT Center (then in desperate need of a starry attraction) and Sept. 18, 1986 at Disneyland. It had two new songs by the King of Pop that you could only hear in the movie (one of the songs would be reworked for “Bad”). An hour-long television special dedicated to its opening and featuring a laundry list of celebrities, including such 80s staples as Judge Reinhold (“I want to know how to dance leaving that theater”) and, um, OJ Simpson (with Nicole on his arm), aired nationally. Disneyland stayed open for 60 hours and ran the 3D film continuously just to meet demand. Disneyland was not only popular again; it was also hip .

Before Star Tours officially opened, Eades was joined by a clean-shaven Lucas, Oscar-winning sound designer Gary Rydstrom (who told me that he came up with the famous Star Tours “chime”), and many of the Imagineers who had worked on the project, for a soft opening. Eades had a good feeling about it but an attraction like Star Tours was the first of its kind. Nobody knew how guests were going to react. “The first group came off and I heard this guy say, ‘Can you imagine how many miles of track Disneyland had to build under the park for this ride?’” Eades remembered. The guest thought that he was actually moving through space. Eades and the rest of the team knew they had a hit.

A few months after “Captain EO,” on Jan. 9, 1987, Star Tours would open at Disneyland. Lucas and Eisner were on hand, with Mickey and Minnie in their iconic silver space suits (with the rainbow on the chest), joined by C-3PO. Instead of a pair of oversized scissors, they used a lightsaber to cut the ceremonial ribbon. Just like “Captain EO,” they left the park open for 60 hours straight to meet demand. It was a smash out of the gate. But the success of Star Tours ultimately derailed an aspect of the attraction Eades had designed for the project: that every three years, the ride film would change. (That’s right, he said at some point you were actually supposed to get to Endor.)

In the early 1980s, Disneyland management and Imagineering had noticed an uptick in guests visiting multiple times a year, so Eades and his team had a refresh built into their proposal so that Star Tours would never get stale. “But because the damn ride was so popular, the parks said, ‘Why do you want to spend money, because you don’t need it,’” Eades said. ”And they were right.” Undoubtedly the decision to go with 70mm film also set the multiple-planets conceit back, as Baxter previously alluded to. It would be much trickier to switch out the ride film or the projection system. And he was right: it would be decades before that idea would be revisited.

Galactic Expansion

With two successful Lucas-led projects, both Disney and the filmmaker were emboldened. This was especially heartening for Eisner, who was about to open a risky new theme park in Florida dedicated to the behind-the-scenes aspects of the entertainment business.

Disney-MGM Studios, as it was then known, was designed to be many things: a working, world class film and television production facility (complete with a satellite animation studio designed with animators in mind), a theme park, and giant middle-finger to Universal Studios, which was planning to open its own multiday resort in Orlando. (Eisner, while still at Paramount, was supposedly in the meeting where Universal executives revealed the Florida project and by 1985, just a year after he assumed power at Disney, Eisner had begun work on what would eventually be Disney-MGM Studios.) The debut of Disney-MGM Studios would also serve as the opening salvo for an ambitious, 10-year effort to rejuvenate the Disney Parks brand and expand that brand worldwide. Eisner would later publicly refer to this initiative as the Disney Decade.

By the end of 1989, Star Tours would be open at Tokyo Disneyland and Disney-MGM Studios in slightly modified configurations. Instead of the Disneyland version, which took over a pre-existing attraction (Adventure Thru Innerspace) and was converted under the supervision of legendary Imagineer Tom Morris, the Disney World version was a blank slate. This new Star Tours was just around the corner from the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, also based on a Lucas property, which also opened in 1989. A more intricate façade was developed with a full-sized AT-AT walker (that at the time shot water from its moving turrets) and forested Ewok village and a show building that still maintained the “backlot” look of the rest of the park. It’s just an illusion, this new show building said, but what an illusion.

The Japanese version of Star Tours was even more ornate. As Kevin Rafferty recalls in his memoir “Magic Journeys,” he was tasked with Astrozone, a “unique-to-Tokyo Disneyland part of the Star Tours complex.” This new area was to include an “enclosed skyway bridge that connected Star Tours and a new two-level dine-in restaurant,” hosted by an adorable animatronic alien and eventually dubbed the Pan Galactic Pizza Port. In 1992, Star Tours would open, with a full-sized X-Wing, at the Euro Disney theme park (now known as Disneyland Paris). Fun needs no translation.

But the biggest change for the attraction would happen in late summer 2010, when both the Disneyland and Walt Disney World versions of Star Tours would shut down completely. Years of rumors persisted that the attraction would be shuttered and reopened, this time themed around the pod-racing sequence from 1999’s prequel film “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.” As it turned out, the plans were much more ambitious.

Instead of a single new theme, the ride would be re-conceived, with the idea that Eades, Baxter and the other Imagineers had concocted during the blue-sky phase of the attraction’s development. You wouldn’t just be going to one planet, you would be going to all of your favorite “Star Wars” planets, including Tatooine (hello pod-race!), the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk, underneath the opulent planet of Naboo, and on the snowy planet of Hoth, made famous by the opening battle sequence from “The Empire Strikes Back.” Incredibly, you don’t visit Endor, the Ewok-filled planet that you were attempting to visit in the first iteration of the ride, despite the fact that early marketing materials suggested the forest moon would be part of the new version of the attraction.

This new Star Tours, now dubbed Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, allowed guests, thanks to a cutting-edge randomization feature, to visit many planets in the course of a single trip aboard your new Starspeeder. The new version of the ride featured additional in-theater effects and C-3PO as your new in-cabin pilot, as well, and the digital projection of the ride film could be enjoyed in 3D.

In 2011, Star Tours – The Adventures Continue opened at Disneyland and Walt Disney World (it would reach Tokyo Disneyland in 2013 and Disneyland Paris in 2017). Further randomization was added when planets and characters from the new “Star Wars” sequel trilogy, including Jakku and Kef Bir, were included. And in a full circle moment, there was a sequence now devoted to Crait from “The Last Jedi,” the planet that was inspired by the original version of Star Tours.

On Friday, May 20, 2011, there was an opening celebration at Walt Disney World for the new Star Tours – The Adventures Continue. The park that was once Disney-MGM Studios was now called Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but Star Tours was just as important to the park. Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger, who had succeeded Eisner, was there to inaugurate the new version of the attraction, as was Lucas. Darth Vader was on stage too, as was the creator of “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” Dave Filoni, who would go on to shepherd “The Mandalorian.”

“Star Tours is a timeless adventure,” Iger said at the event. “Guests will be immersed in the Star Wars galaxy like never before.” He touted the “over 50” combinations that this new attraction would deliver, plus the fact that the Disneyland version would be open the following month. Lucas called the new attraction “amazing.” “It turned out better than we could ever imagine,” Lucas said. Lucas also cited the original plan to switch out the original ride film every few years. “This time we figured when we did it, we would give you all the reprogramming in one event,” Lucas said. He also referred to “secret cookies,” which were further randomizations (in one version you narrowly miss Jar Jar Binks who is seen swimming underneath Naboo, in another version you hit him dead on). These weren’t turned on until the “Force Awakens” additions in 2015.

After the event in Florida, Lucas and Iger convened to have lunch at the park’s Brown Derby restaurant. According to Iger, this is where he first floated an intriguing idea to Lucas – what if Disney bought Lucasfilm? Lucas listened. A few years later, he agreed. This conversation would lead to, amongst other things, the production of the sequel trilogy and the design and construction of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, a 14-acre land that would feature the Millennium Falcon simulator attraction Eades had dreamed up all those years ago, along with Rise of the Resistance, one of the most technologically innovative and immersive attractions in the history of Walt Disney Imagineering. There’s even a “Star Wars”-y cantina, which, just as Eades had imagined it, is a few steps from the Millennium Falcon.

That cantina’s DJ might seem familiar. It’s Rex from Star Tours, once again voiced by Paul Reubens. Wonder if he ever made it to Endor.   

The History Of Disneyland's Star Tours: How Star Wars Came To The Disney Parks Long Before Galaxy's Edge

A look back at how Disneyland's first Star Wars ride came to be.

For more than 10 years Star Wars has been the property of the Walt Disney Company . In that time, the studio have produced several hit films for the franchise, more than one popular TV series and even expanded the Star Wars universe through a brand new series of novels . But the biggest addition to the Star Wars universe may be in the theme parks. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland and Walt Disney World brought the galaxy far, far away to life for people in a way that movies never could, but the first Star Wars attraction, Star Tours,  happened decades before any of that.

Ever since Galaxy’s Edge opened, many fans have wondered if Star Tours was not long for this world. But during the recent Star Wars Celebration it was confirmed that next year, new segments will be added to the popular attraction. Since this one isn’t going anywhere, let’s take a look at where it came from and the incredible history of Star Tours.

Star Wars Comes To Disneyland Thanks To Indiana Jones

The story of Star Wars at Disneyland actually begins with another franchise entirely, which wouldn’t make it to the park until years later. When Michael Eisner became the CEO of The Walt Disney Company one of his major initiatives was bringing young people into the parks. Disney was seen as a park for kids and their parents, but not so much for teenagers or young adults. The hunt was on for new attractions based on franchises that were popular with this demographic. 

Eisner had previously been the President of Paramount Pictures, the studio behind the Indiana Jones movies, and so he had a relationship with George Lucas . The idea was floated of turning Indiana Jones , Star Wars and more into attractions at Disneyland, and Lucas was interested in the idea.

Walt Disney Imagineering and Lucas’ own Industrial Light and Magic came together to put together the attraction, which would use a motion simulator combined with a projection screen that would give the guests the feeling of flying through outer space. A number of technical hurdles had to be overcome, including the fact that the motion simulator wasn’t originally designed to do all the things Disney would need it to do in order to properly give guests a Star Wars experience. The projection system mounted to the front also threw off the system’s weight.

Eventually these issues were dealt with, a story and a film were put together, and Star Tours opened at Disneyland in 1987. And if you thought a new ride draws crowds now, Disneyland was open for 60 straight hours to accommodate the crowds for this one.

The Original Star Tours

The concept of the ride is that guests are tourists taking a trip to visit the forest moon of Endor. Unfortunately, the pilot for your journey, RX-24, also called R3X, is new at the job, so after taking a couple of wrong turns just getting out of the dock, he overshoots his mark and flies right by the moon. Numerous other unfortunate things take place, like flying through a comet cluster. The craft gets knocked around before flying through a large comet and barely escaping.

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After that, the speeder is captured in the tractor beam of a Star Destroyer, but is freed by a fleet of X-Wings. The Star Tours ship then travels with the X-wings where they find a Death Star, and guests get to experience a trench run like the one we saw in Star Wars: A New Hope . After successfully destroying the Death Star, R3X returns the ship back to the dock so guests can depart.

The Star Wars Prequels And Star Tours The Adventure Continues

Roughly 10 years after the original Star Tours opened, George Lucas began working on his Star Wars prequel trilogy . Very early on, Imagineering began to consider updating Star Tours to tie it into the new trilogy, but eventually it was decided to wait until the new set of movies was complete before deciding just what story to tell or what world, or worlds, to visit.

After a decade, technology had progressed enough that some of the initial concepts that had been considered for Star Tours were able to be revisited. From the beginning, the idea that Star Tours could be updated or changed over time with new films had been on the wish list, but it had never happened.

With the advent of digital film, the massive projection system on the front of the motion simulator could be replaced with something less fragile. In addition, digital projection allowed for a system that could put together different pieces of film chosen randomly.

Opening on the same day at both Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the new Star Tours, Star Tours: The Adventure Continues, replaced RX-24 with C-3PO, who found himself in the pilot’s seat accidentally. From there, guests are treated to a story broken into four main segments, but each segment has multiple options, and what you get is chosen randomly. It's all focused around keeping a Rebel spy safe. The spy is a randomly selected person on the ride.

Guests may visit Tatooine during a pod race on one ride, and go to Hoth on another. A trip may end on Coruscant or it could go to Kashyyyk. It’s unlikely that you’ll have two rides that are exactly the same, and you'll need to go on the attraction several times in order to see everything. 

The Addition Of The Star Wars Sequel Trilogy

But the real benefit to the new Star Tours system came later, after Disney had purchased Lucasfilm from George Lucas and began to make all new movies. Because with each new movie came a new addition to Star Tours.

A new addition to Star Wars was released more or less alongside each entry in the Sequel Trilogy. A flight through a crashed Star Destroyer on Jakku from The Force Awakens , a flight on the salt planet of Crait from The Last Jedi , ( a part of the movie that was actually inspired by the original Star Tours ), and a couple of different segments were added with The Rise of Skywalker . 

Each of these new additions also includes cameo appearances by members of the cast of the films, so fans can see Rey, Finn and Poe as part of the ride. Each new segment was simply added to the existing ride, increasing the number of options and making the chances of getting the same ride twice even less likely.

The Adventure Will Continue For Star Tours

Since 2019, there had been no additional updates or changes to Star Tours: The Adventure Continues , and considering that both Disneyland Resort’s and Walt Disney World’s versions of Star Tours are in the same park as Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, many wondered if Star Tours might eventually get replaced. 

But it looks like that won’t be happening anytime soon. At Star Wars Celebration in London, Walt Disney Imagineer Scott Trowbridge revealed that not only will additional destinations be added to Star Tours in 2024 , but the locations aren’t even places we’ve ever seen before.

Considering that we’re not expecting new Star Wars movies until at least 2025, it seems like we could be getting new destinations based on Disney+ shows rather than movies. Assuming we will see these worlds before the ride adds them, or at least at the same time, we could be talking about seeing a planet from Ahsoka or The Acolyte becoming part of this iconic attraction. And we could still see some new additions that we have seen before alongside those we have not, like Mandalore.

What’s clear is that after more than 35 years, Star Tours is still going strong. If the Disneyland and Walt Disney World attraction is getting fresh investment now, there are obviously no plans to retire it anytime soon. And with Disney continuing to expand the Star Wars universe, the opportunity for new additions will always be there. This adventure will continue for many more years to come. 

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

For thirty-two years, Star Tours was the only game in town for Star Wars-themed rides. And now that it turns thirty-three on January 9th, we thought it would be fun to revisit the posters that has supported this film-based attraction over the years. Some have been available for purchase and some have not. Let’s light speed through memory lane shall we?

Kicking things off is a promotional poster from 1987 seen by employees of Walt Disney Imagineering, days before the attraction would open to the public. Isn’t it cute how the Star Speeder is just a small shape right there?

There have been many posters and paintings over the years that feature Star Tours in varying degrees, we’re posting this one because it was the first. Painted by artist Charles Boyer, it was created through a partnership with PSA Airlines. 1,000 of these were made so there’s a decent chance you have one if you were around.

For many, one of the oldest posters to take home was this one featuring everyone’s favorite droids. At the time, it really WAS the ultimate adventure!

Still the best Star Tours attraction poster ever created was the one that greeted you right at the front of the queue. They sold this briefly at the Print On Demand kiosks, but only the Disneyland Paris version was sold. Here’s a look at the Tokyo Disneyland version.

Another poster that has made the rounds is this one, showing the Star Speeder dodging explosions… seemingly caused by the fireworks display over Disneyland (haha). Did you know this poster was also used to celebrate the one year anniversary of the ride by Oldsmobile? At the time, they were the “world’s fastest moving car company”.

Perhaps some of the best Star Tours posters didn’t feature the Starspeeder 3000 at all! Sold at Disneyland when Star Tours opened were these travel posters to the various planets of the original trilogy. Note that there’s two for Endor. Which ones do you have?

We didn’t want to focus on the advertisements but hey, why not? Check out the concept art version of Chewbacca riding in the Starspeeder!

This ad is significant only because it was the first poster made featuring the use of photography. Used for both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, it truly IS the most amazing ride in the universe!

Coming out of left field is this poster from Walt Disney World, commemorating the grand opening of Star Tours at Disney-MGM Studios in 1990 despite the ride opening in December of 1989. Oh, M&M’s…

In 2009, D23 Expo guests were the first to learn about a brand new Star Tours experience coming in 2011. Even better, they were given one of three variations of “Star Tours II” poster featuring Darth Vader, Yoda, or C-3PO, all characters coming to the new attraction. (We went with C-3PO, not realizing he would become our future pilot).

The attraction inevitably had to close and one of the older Star Tours posters got reused in Florida for the LAST TRIP TO ENDOR. Oh look, R2-D2 is playing chicken with Star Tours! (Photo by: partyhare/flikr)

Leading up to the launch of the new Star Tours, you can find various billboards on display…

2011 came at last and Star Tours became Star Tours: The Adventures Continue. This brand new poster was made available for purchase in a variety of sizes at the time of launch, BUT prior to launch, a RE-LAUNCHING version of the poster was on display at the Disneyland entrance.

In Japan, guests were able to take home merchandise with artwork that resembled this piece below.

When the new attraction opened in 2011, there were also new artwork created for miscellaneous merchandise featuring some of the newer planets you visit, but ironically, we never go to Bespin and no longer went to Endor.

2015 marked the first new update to Star Tours since the relaunch, going to nowhere aka Jakku. This poster hung at the entrance to Disneyland and on banners at Disney World but was not made available for purchase.

At the D23 Expo 2017, the 30th anniversary Star Tours meant an exclusive poster for sale. Here’s a look at the styles featuring different colors.

With the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi in December 2017, came another update to Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, this time to the planet Crait. This poster also hasn’t been made available for purchase.

And lastly, the latest poster created for Star Tours with the release of The Rise of Skywalker, is a new attraction poster of the Star Speeder 1000 over the planet Exegol. This poster from 2019, is not available for purchase.

And last but not least, we made our very own fan poster featuring our favorite Star Tours pilot, Captain Rex, inspired by the character posters from Solo: A Star Wars Story…

Happy 33rd Birthday, Star Tours!

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Disney History

Splash mountain opening captain eo star tours what do you remember best at the disneyland resort between 1986 and 1990.

by Heather Hust Rivera , Vice President, Consumer Products

I spoke with my colleague and longtime publicist John McClintock, who celebrated his 23rd anniversary with the Disneyland Resort just last month, and asked him what he remembers best during these years. John recalls, “ Star Tours had just opened when I arrived in Disneyland Public Relations. Work was just getting under way on Splash Mountain . So we had this one-of-a-kind Tomorrowland space adventure and we were working on this flume ride, not only the first in a Disney theme park but with an enormous cast of characters, the longest steepest drop and the most elaborate show of any flume ride anywhere. It wasn’t hard, even for the new kid on the block, to get excited about what we were publicizing.”

For those who may not have visited Disneyland park at this time or those who might not remember, here’s an overview of this half decade.

1990 – Disneyland park celebrated its 35th anniversary with “Disneyland Big” and a new parade called Party Gras that featured a parade float that towered 37 feet. The Dream Machine, located in Central Plaza, gave some fortunate guests an opportunity to try their luck to win one of many prizes that included Walt Disney Home Videos, a Mickey Mouse plush or even a new car.

1989 – Splash Mountain debuts and is the fastest, tallest and steepest flume attraction at its time! Disneyland park welcomed its 300 millionth Guest with a new marquee in 1989. The new marquee featured a digital board with changing messages and fiber optics that helped the name Disneyland sparkle at night. “Blast to the Past” returned with Chubby Checker and 2,248 guests breaking the record for most people doing the twist in one location. In the winter, the “One Man’s Dream” show premiered at Videopolis.

1988 – The celebration of 60 years with Mickey Mouse started with a visit to Disneyland park by Earforce One, a 100-foot hot air balloon. In November, five thousand children from North America and parts of Asia were treated to a day at Disneyland park to celebrate. The ’50s were also celebrated in Disneyland Blast to the Past, and the Main Street Hop filled the street with cast members dressed in poodle skirts and saddle shoes. In 1988, Disneyland park set the record for the most people hula hooping at the same time in one location – 1,527 people gathered in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle to break the record. Also in this year, Disney purchased the Disneyland Hotel from the Wrather Company, and Bear Country’s name was changed to Critter Country in preparation for Splash Mountain.

1987 – Star Tours officially opens at Disneyland park in January! A galaxy far far away was brought a lot closer as Star Tours began transporting guests to Endor in a new type of experience, combining military grade flight simulation and a first-person perspective of flight scenes. The Disney Gallery also opened its doors above the Pirates of the Caribbean and offers guests an opportunity to view unique Disney art.

1986 – With a party that lasted 60 hours, Captain EO leaped off the screen in Tomorrowland for the first time, giving guests an intergalactic musical adventure that could only initially be seen at Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort (and nowhere else in the universe). On the other side of the park, Big Thunder Ranch opened, and for the first time, guests could visit with some of the animals from the Circle D Corral. Guests could also visit the new Big Thunder Barbecue where they could drink from a glass jar and get their food from the “chuck wagon.”

So, what do you remember best during these years?

Destinations: Splash Mountain Opening? Captain EO? Star Tours? What do You Remember Best at the Disneyland Resort Between 1986 and 1990?

Topics: Disney History

I was just a li’l one (almost 3 years old) on my first trip to Disneyland in 1987. My memory fails me, but my dad has video footage of meet ‘n’ greets with Goofy and Chip ‘n’ Dale. There was a ferris wheel in Fantasyland, and Rod Miller singing “It Had to Be You” to me at the Coke Corner. I vaguely remember my parents taking me through the Star Tours queue so they could ride “single flyer” style. I remember being scared when alarms set off as R2 charged up the laser cannons…

Splash Mountain is such a creative ride. I’ve been on it a ton of times but I always see new times. Sometimes, I’m lucky enough to see the train passing by.

Sheesh…so hard to choose! Splash Mountain is still one of my favorites, Star Tours is amazing for any Star Wards fan, and Captain EO was so mind blowing as a young girl who loves Michael Jackson. Honestly, I can say that all three of these things were staples of Disneyland in my youth. My daughter loves both rides, and I hope that I can show her Captain EO before it leaves, since she too is a fan of the King. I can’t imagine Disneyland being the same for me without any one of these.

Thanks for bringing back EO! Please keep him for at least another year. =)

The first time we went to Disneyland our children were 10, 8 and 6; I don’t know what was the most exciting; seeing it all for the first time myself, or seeing it through our children’s eyes and smiles. Then 4 years ago, I went back with our grown kids and 5 of our grandchildren…just as exciting all over again. Our son in CA and his wife take their family each time one of the children turns age 6; one day is reserved for the parents and the birthday child. Naturally someone (or someones) have to go along to be with the other children; loved it! Favorite: Small World.

I remember going to McDonald’s to play Splash for Cash during the celebration of the opening of Splash Mountain begging my mother for the larger sodas just to try and her telling me that day they already gave away the last instant win for the trip but begged her one last try! I pulled it off and told my Mother in my best Disneyland Voiceover Guy Voice “You just won a trip to Disneyland in Splash For Cash What are you Going to Do next??” she looks at it and said “Well someones been wishing real hard huh” Me, My Mother, My Brother in Full Dress Navy Uniform and Goofy on Splash Mountain! Still Have the Picture

I was there for the 35th Anniversary and received one of the lucky tickets and got to spin the Dream Machine! I was only about 5 or 6, and I remember my whole family watching me pull the giant lever, hoping I would win one of the grand prizes — I actually won a giant Mickey plush toy (bigger than me!) and was THRILLED! We even had to buy an extra train ticket home for it, and I think I still have it 20 years later.

I remember the first time I went back after moving out of Anaheim Junction Trailer park on west st. It was right against the back lot of disneyland. It was for my birthday and while we were there Disney had started their own circus. They had a trapeze rigged over Main St and getting your face painted. It was right before Splash Mountain opened. I also remember the first time I rode splash mountain. My sister came back from Desert Storm I and we did all the mountains and Star Tours. It was both awesome memories

Even though I was only three I remember being in the long line when Captain EO firt opened and getting those awesome t-shirts. I was so excited when they brought it back this year that it brought back a lot of memories. To top it all they finally brought back the old t-shirt design and I had to get one.

I had an advanced tour of the opening of Splash Mountain because of a fried who worked at Disneyland. I’ll never forget it. Very exciting to be one of the first people to ride the new ride!

I remember being on the Peoplemover in 1990, and I rode Space Mountain for the first time and it scared the heck outta me, but most of all I remember riding Star Tours and wanting to go on it again and again, I remember getting all excited to see C-3PO and R2 in the que

I was visiting Disneyland for the first time, and I remember watching Whoopee Goldberg coming out of Captain Eo as I was going in (movie stars go to Disneyland with security guards? really?). The first attraction I went on was the Haunted Mansion, then over to Tomorrowland for Star Tours, Captain Eo, the Submarines and Space Mountain. The longest queue after Star Tours and Captain Eo was for the last ride of the day for me – It’s a Small World. I mostly remember everyone smiling on a beautiful spring day.

I remember watching Splash Mountain construction go on next door to my favorite mansion (not a fan of water rides myself, but they did an fantastic job), seeing EO for the first time in 3-D (amazing then & still looks wonderful all these years later) and waiting in line for 120 minutes to take my first ride on Star Tours (and well worth the wait). Can’t wait for Star Tours 2.0!!!

Star Tours was the era’s best addition. I remember having a queezy stomach after getting off. (A true sign of a good ride!) I think if the parade floats of the Party Gras Parade returned, they’d be a huge hit!

Splash Mountain opening, I was in a cast because I had recently had surgery, and my dad took me to the both Disneyland and then Disney World for 3 weeks. It took him at least an hour while we ate lunch for him to talk me into doing it and then, cast wrapped in a bag we rode it. And then again, and again. I have gone to Disney World and Disneyland both over 30 times and this is still one of my favourite memories. By the end of the trip my dad and I would recite the crows mocking lines back and forth to each other.

I remember working in the park during the Star Tours launch party and the park was open for something like 36 straight hours. It was crazy nuts but tons of fun. It was oh so fun to be a cast member.

the MARDI GRAS PARADE!!! i miss that parade!

In 1990 my family took me on my first vacation to “Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom”. I would have been about 5 or 6 at the time (just in Kindergarten), but I have a few great memories. Being terrified of one of my now favorite attractions (The Haunted Mansion), and one that I still get anxious riding (Mr. Toad for whatever reason). Getting a Chechire Cat plush (which I still have). THE PEOPLEMOVER (or as my at the time 3 year old brother called his favorite ride “The People Re-Mover”). Finally dancing in the Mardi Gras themed parade for the 35th anniversary of Disneyland.

Splash Mountain has always been one of my ultimate favorites. Especially when I was a kid though.

I remember all of it when it opened and LOVE all of it still!! Memories

I’ve been looking forward to this post. Splash Mountain is the single piece of Disney history that has effected me most. I fell in love with Brer Rabbit the first time I rode it as a kid, and never looked back, lol. Even to this day, I can’t go to the parks if it’s down for refurb. Heck, I pay the entrance fee mainly just for that ride. I know Disney likes to downplay Song of the South today, but those princesses and Winnie the Pooh were never as magical for me as Brer Rabbit and the music from that movie.

I remember the line for Star Tours being all the way out to Main Street! I’m glad I waited in line for it! It was for my 10th birthday. I was enthralled with everything from the C3PO to R2D2 and everything in between. I’m with Mark about missing “America Sings” I really wish they would bring that back along with “Country Bear Jamboree”! Maybe in time………

1989 saw my first visit! I was only 4 years old and traveled from Phoenix with my parents by bus. It was summer, and wickedly hot, but my parents obligingly waited hours in line so I could ride the dumbo ride! I got my first pair of mickey ears, and fell asleep on my dad’s shoulders while waiting in line for Space Mountain (quite a death-defying ride for a 4 year old!). Although Splash Mountain opened this year, it broke down the day we were there, and I had to wait until my next trip, 4 years later, for it to become my favorite ride!

YES!!! All of the above!!! Splash Mtn is my favorite movie!! So that may be it!!! I LOVE that ride and how you can follow the stories..!!! But I remember when ALL of these opened, and had the best time riding or experiencing them for the first time!!!

My first visit to Disneyland was in 1987 and thanks to my mother’s meticulous records, I just discovered that Star Tours was actually my first ride in the park. Apparently, at the age of four I wasn’t too fond of the loud noises, but it’s one of favorites now!

I was 13 years old when Splash Mountain broke my fear of “E-Ticket” rides. When I found out what Splash Mountain was I was determined that I would ride it. That was at the top of my to do list in the summer of 89. I will always have that special memory of my first splash down.

I LOVED the People Mover. I liked the way they changed it over the years. It was nice to get on it and give my feet a break. Also miss America Sings, and Enter Through Space (where Star Tours is now). I like Splash Mountain more than Star Tours.

#23 – My favorite memory from this time frame was our first ride on Splash Mountain! Some friends had been on it before we ended up getting to the park after the opening and told us you get REALLY soaked when you went on the ride, so we came prepared!!

I had brought a couple of trash bags for each of us and as we were going thru the queue, we started putting them on. We rode the ride, had a great time and were VERY glad I thought of bringing the trash bags, otherwise we would’ve been soaked to the bone! I heard they tamed the water plunge part of it down a little while after the ride opened and even tho we don’t bring trash bags with us anymore, we have yet to have ever gotten that soaked again!

I thought it was great that they incorporated the figures from America Sings into the attraction, since we enjoyed that show too.

Another fond memory for us was going during the “Blast to the Past”, that included a discount on the park ticket. We also enjoyed the Disney Gallery for all the years it was up there and are very happy they changed the Main Street Bank into a gallery.

We also enjoyed Captain EO, but didn’t make it to the opening. We went again when they recently reopened it at DL and enjoyed it then too.

I was 4 years old when I was in Disneyland for the fist time in 1988 and I STILL remember the 50’s theme and everybody dressed in poodle skirts. Loved it!

I remember my favorite: the PeopleMover. I remember riding that forever and ever, over and over. Loved it! Please bring back my favorite.

i was born in 1990.. so i wasnt around, but i have to say that my favorite ride as a child (since i was too scared of the other rides) was Star Tours, i loved the movies, and this ride made me feel like i was in the movie! Disneyland is such a great place

Slash Mountain !!! I love the singing animals from “America Sings” …really miss the “The Carousel of Progress”, and “America Sings”….and “The Bear Country Jamboree” was the best and now it is Winnie the Pooh, which is great eye candy, but not as much fun :(…also liked the Art Museum above the Pirates…now I go to The Vault…loved Star Wars…it was ALL GOOD!…M I C…”see you real soon”…K E Y…”why ? because we ….you know the rest !

CAPTAIN EO!!

My fondest memories are really of the overall MAGIC of Disneyland. You really do feel transported to another marvelous world. But if I had to pick a single favorite attraction, I would say Pirates of the Caribbean. Loved as a kid myself and now its a favorite for my daughters today.

I guess I’m too young to remember these things. Let’s just say that Star Tours is as old as me! 🙂 I still have great memories with those attractions though.

I am so partial to Splash Mountain. I love it, so much. I dream about it…and at least three times a week I work in Critter Country so I get to hear it =)

I remember Star Tours and Captain EO. I remember waiting in line for star tours and thinking how cool even the line to ride it was.

Splash mountain was my favorite addition!

I remember really loving the Party Gras parade!

Star Tours was the highlight for me. Was attending UCSB at the time and a group of friends and I found out that Disneyland would be open for 72 hours straight. The 4 of us packed into my car at about midnight or so and got the the park some where around 3am. I remember it being really cold (by So. Calfornia standards!) and having a blast on Star Tours and roaming around the park with fewer crowds. We were all pretty tired by noon so we decided to go. By that time, the line for Star Tours was so long it was all the way back to Main Street!

I remember road tripping with about ten other people from the Seattle area to get a ride on Star Tours and see Captain EO and then doing it again with the family to take a ride on Splash Mountain. Cannot believe that was over twenty years ago!! Good memories!!!

Still one of my favorites, Star Tours is the best of all three in my opinion.

I’m really torn. I love Star Tours, and I love Splash Mountain. Of course, I also morn the loss of America Sings every time I’m on Splash Mountain.

Anyway, it would have to be one of those two rides.

I remember being completely spellbound by the line for Star Tours. Between the big board, the robot in a cage, all the parts moving overhead, and the loading area, the line keeps me thoroughly entertained every time! Beyond that, the ride was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. What a thrill it was to dip down into that groove and battle amongst the star fighters! I really felt like I was in space flying around with those characters. What a trip it was!

Is this the same time Disney Afternoon was also at Disneyland in full force? These were my high school years and we made frequent trips to Disneyland a lot of great memories at the Happiest Place on Earth.

my husband and went to disneyland for our honeymoon in june 1990. i loved the parade! to this day whenever i hear ‘hot hot hot’ it reminds me of all the dancers, and the streamers flying around. it was like living a dream! we’ve been back with our children twice since (spring ‘o4 and christmas’ 07) and we’ll be back (just us!)this next October to celebrate (a teeny bit late) our 20th anniversary!

YAY! Splash Mountain! Love that ride…

I remember the 35th Anniversary in 1990! Ok so maybe I was only 3 almost 4 but I do remember the jacket that I had! It was a fancy black track jacket and it had the castle with 35 years on it and confetti around with Sorcerer Mickey. Impressive 3/4 year old mind huh?! hehe

I totally atill have a 3ft or so Mickey plush from the Dream Machine!!!

I remember the first time I rode Star Tours. It was awesome and still is! We still have ideas about how the ride actually works, producing the G-force when accelerating to “light speed!” I look forward to taking my daughter to see Captain Eo since it had changed by the time she was old enough to go to Disneyland. Rock on, Disney!

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Flashback to Star Tours construction in 1989

By Don Gworek

With the official reopening of a new Star Tours experience just days away, it may be interesting to look back at the pre-opening of Star Tours at Walt Disney World.

This is how the Star Tours show building looked on April 22, 1989. Only a painted back drop of the Endor forest was visible and things looked very vacant compared to how we know them today. In the foreground is a model of what the attraction exterior would look like.

The Disney-MGM Studios park opened on May 1, 1989. This photo was taken during a cast member preview.

The plan was for Star Tours to open on Disney-MGM’s first anniversary, in 1990.

Here’s an old Disney press video showing the attraction:

Here’s a full video ride through the final flight of the original Star Tours:

This is the shutdown ceremony for the original attraction:

Stay tuned for news of the 2011 grand reopening of Star Tours.

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Five Things to Know About Star Tours – The Adventures Continue

Star Tours was Disney’s first modern simulator ride, and based on the Star Wars saga it was (as Yoda would say). Thanks to over 700 possible scene combinations in the high-def 3-D film at the heart of the attraction, you could ride all day and not have the same experience twice! Read on to learn more – or if you’d rather zip through hyperspace to the nuts and bolts, here’s your shortcut .

1. You enter the spaceport under an AT-AT.

Your Star Tours adventure begins outdoors, where the surroundings have been designed to resemble an Ewok Village (as seen in Return of the Jedi). You get to pass under a full-size AT-AT walker to get to the entrance of the ride’s building, which in and of itself is pretty cool.

Once indoors, you’ll find yourself in a spaceport where C-3PO and R2-D2 are working on your ride vehicle, the Starspeeder 1000. These life-size audio animatronics look and move exactly like their cinematic counterparts. The queue captures the familiar feeling of a train station or airport of today, but as it might exist in a galaxy far, far, away. It’s complete with a flight status board, weather reports, even a luggage scanner.

Just before you board, you’ll watch on overhead screens as C-3PO gets trapped in the Starspeeder cockpit while doing maintenance. After you enter the simulator and don your 3D glasses, the doors shut on C-3PO’s complaints about accidentally becoming the pilot, and your Starspeeder takes off.

2. You won’t know who you’ll see or where you’ll go.

The ride’s plotline comprises five general segments: an escape scene, a destination, a mission, another destination, and a concluding scene. Disney has multiple film clips from all nine episodes of the Star Wars saga that can be used for each segment of your journey, which creates a different experience each time you ride. So basically, you won’t know where you’ll go or which Star Wars characters you will see!

There are some limitations on how the scenes can be mixed, for instance, characters and scenes from Episodes 7-9 are not mixed with those from earlier movies. Still, it’s been noted by Star Wars purists that the randomized scenes can create a confusing timeline. Probably because of this, the ride experiences are not considered canonical in the Star Wars universe. But that doesn’t make them any less fun!

3. You may be the Rebel Spy!

In the escape scene at the opening, a villain (maybe Vader, maybe Kylo Ren, or ???) is searching for a Rebel Spy. A picture of an actual guest riding with you is shown onscreen and they are identified as being the spy. They’re chosen randomly or by a Cast Member and it can add a bit of fun if it’s someone in your own group – maybe even you!

Once you’ve made your escape, you may find yourself attacking AT-ATs, joining a pod race, being pursued by Tie Fighters, or more. The simulator is modeled after those used for training pilots and astronauts, so you’ll experience real dips, turns, twists, and climbs. It can be a little rough, but all the bouncing around helps to create a pretty realistic experience.

You’ll make it back into hyperspace and the action will pause for a moment. You can catch your breath, and receive your mission from a Star Wars character who appears as a hologram. Sometimes the mission is just to deliver the Rebel Spy to safety, but there are other plotlines . Then you’ll take off and visit another planet for some more action.

Your adventure ends after a jump to hyperspace and a landing on Batuu, or possibly Spaceport THX1138 (the number is a nod to George Lucas’ first film), or one of a few other conclusion scenes. The entire attraction lasts about 7 minutes, the ride portion is about four and a half minutes. You’ll exit through the space terminal and into the Tatooine Traders gift shop, designed to suggest a desert outpost in Mos Espa.

4. It was different, a long time ago…

The first Star Tours attraction opened in 1987 at Disneyland, four years after the release of Return of the Jedi. Disney World’s version came two years later, in 1989. Since there was no Galaxy’s Edge at that time, it was placed in the Echo Lake area of Hollywood Studios.

This original version only had three movies (Episodes 4 through 6) to work with, and the premise was clear and simple. Star Tours was a transportation agency offering trips to Endor. However, according to the droid pilot R-3X (“Rex”), it was his first day on the job and he wasn’t used to his programming. As a result of his mistakes, guests never made it to Endor. But their ride did include crashing through comets, jumping to light speed, and the classic trench run on the Death Star.

Star Tours closed in 2010 for updates, and reopened as Star Tours: The Adventures Continue in 2011. Rex was retired from this version, but later became a DJ. You can see him today at Oga’s Cantina in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Fun fact: R-3X was voiced by the late Paul Reubens.

Today’s version offers 3D film and randomized scenes, and Disney updates the adventures with newer characters. A Jakku scene was added in 2015 for The Force Awakens, Crait was added in 2017 for The Last Jedi, and the planet Kef Bir was added in 2019, after the release of The Rise of Skywalker. As Disney continues to add new scenes, the number of possible adventures changes over time.

5. The Nuts and Bolts.

Star Tours: The Adventures Continue is located at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Echo Lake between the Backlot Express and Grand Avenue. Since the attraction is indoors, it is not affected by weather, although part of the (covered) queue is outdoors.

You’ll be seated in rows in the Starspeeder 1000 simulator. Each of the five rows has 8 padded seats with a fabric lap belt and a shared armrest. A net bag below each seat holds your stuff.

Guests must transfer to a wheelchair and then to the ride vehicle. Disney advises that you should be in good health and free from high blood pressure, heart, back or neck problems, motion sickness, or other conditions that could be aggravated by this adventure. Expectant mothers should not ride.

Guests must be at least 40″ tall to ride, and as with all attractions that have a height limit, Rider Switch is available .  It’s worth noting that flashing lights, the use of weapons, loud sounds, and the appearance of aliens or intimidating figures may frighten or disturb some guests, especially the younger set. Service animals are not allowed. Video Captioning and Handheld Captioning are available.

Wait times for Star Tours are very low in the first two hours the park is open. It’s also a good choice between noon and 4 p.m. Alternatively, you can secure Lightning Lane entry via Genie+. Star Tours: the Adventures Continue is also open for both Early Theme Park Entry and Extended Evening Theme Park Hours.

The Bottom Line.

Our recommendation: Star Tours: The Adventures Continue is not to be missed. Would it be nicer if it were in Galaxy’s Edge? Maybe. Nevertheless, it offers a great experience from takeoff to landing. No matter where you go or who you see!

Have you ridden Star Tours? What did you think? Let us know in the comments.

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Bob Jacobs lives in Wisconsin where he retired as Editorial Director for a well-known catalog company. He and his wife Cristie have four children, seven grandchildren and a cocker spaniel named Penny the Dog. They’ve visited Walt Disney World regularly since 1992.

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Instead of heading out of the normal exit of the hangar, the robotic space pilot turns his craft into a maintenance shed and swoops into several wild near-collisions with girders, walls and other spacecraft before finally emerging into space.

More adventures follow when Rex overshoots the moon of Endor, his destination; careens through a shower of icy comets; and has to outrun pursuers from the Death Star in a desperate, high-speed, twisting chase that leaves passengers gasping.

But, of course, everything comes out fine, and the star craft and its 40 human occupants return safe and sound to the Disney/MGM Studios theme park, where it all began.

This is Star Tours, Disney`s latest thrill ride, which-if its record at California`s Disneyland is any indication-promises to become one of its most popular attractions in the Florida park.

It`s a sophisticated ride that uses an aircraft simulator to achieve its startlingly realistic effects. Passengers, who are strapped into their seats, are pulled and jerked in coordination with the motions projected on a wide-screen movie screen facing them. When the spaceship swoops in and around the buildings on the Death Star, they feel every twist and turn.

The resemblance to ”Star Wars” is no coincidence; the show was produced by ”Star Wars” creator George Lucas. Looming over the attraction`s entrance stands a 35-foot-high Imperial Walker, that ungainly camel-like military vehicle seen in ”Return of the Jedi.” Inside, visitors are greeted by those two familiar ”Star Wars” androids, C-3PO and R2-D2, who jabber to each other as visitors in line for the ride pass by. And here and there one may see characters costumed as Ewoks, those weird little beings who helped Hans Solo and Princess Leia escape from Empire forces.

The new ride is the second in Disney World to use aircraft simulators. The first, Body Wars, opened last October in Epcot`s new Wonders of Life pavilion. Star Tours, however, is not as rough a ride as Body Wars, and incorporates welcome ”breathers” into its 4-minute-39-second run.

Because of the success of Star Tours in California, six simulators were built for the Florida version, compared to the four in Disneyland.

For those who are connoisseurs of such things, the most motion in the ride is experienced by those who sit at the sides of the back rows, the least by those in the middle. As with Body Wars, pregnant women and children younger than 3 are not permitted aboard.

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September 1, 2021 ·

Walt Disney World 1990 | 50 Days to 50 Years

Travel · Walt Disney World

It’s time to leap into a new Disney decade with Aljon from Jedi Mousketeer .  If you are a Star Wars fan, a Disney fan, or hopefully both, you will not be disappointed by Walt Disney World 1990 . ..

Walt Disney World 1990

Today the wayback time machine presents 1990! That decade represented some of the best years of my life. Including my first visit to the Walt Disney World Resort in 1992. It would also mark the year I would ride the attraction that would help bring together my love of Disney and Star Wars, Star Tours. More on that later. 1990 marked the start of an ambitious ten-year building plan called the “Disney Decade.” That plan, set in motion by then-Disney Chairman, Michael D. Eisner, found record-setting attendance surpassing 500 million guests. The investment increased to five times its 1980 total. Walt Disney World also welcomed its 60-millionth guest September 9, 1990!

New Resorts Open in 1990

In that year the Walt Disney World Resort broadened its resorts offerings by opening new resort hotels. Specifically, Disney’s Yacht Club and Beach Club Resorts as well as the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin.

According to the Disney website the Yacht Club Resort is a lakeside Disney Deluxe Resort. It features lush landscaping and the formal grace of a grand New England yacht club. I love the Martha’s Vineyard styling as well as the nautical costumes of the cast members. The Beach Club is also based on those romantic New England-style Villas. Beach Club is also home to one of my personal favorite restaurants, Yachtsman Steakhouse. Treat yourself right to the best steaks on Disney property!

Not to be outdone are the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resorts. The award-winning Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin (both operated by Marriott) is a deluxe Disney resort located in between Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The hotels are known for their trademark Swan and Dolphin statues. They offer contemporary architecture as well as their heavenly beds, spas, wide array of restaurants, lounges, pools, white sand beach and nearby golf course. The service impeccable at both. Also, they house some of my favorite table service restaurants like Todd English’s Blue Zoo, Il Mulino and Kimono’s.

1990 also marked the passing of Muppet founder and creator Jim Henson (May 16). Henson’s last project was in fact, part of a plan to fold the Muppet characters into the Disney Parks. (Read more about the history of Jim Henson and Disney here .) The Muppets at Walt Disney World was a television special that aired on NBC May 6 and happens to be one of my favorite made-for-television specials. In this special, the Muppets, who have sneaked into Walt Disney World, are pursued by a security guard (played by Charles Grodin). Attractions featured include Big Thunder Mountain, the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, Star Tours, the Mad Hatter Tea Cups, and World Showcase. The special is notable for making the three parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Disney-MGM Studios) seem like one connected area. (Of course, the parks are actually apart from each other.)

The story ends with the Muppets having a friendly meeting at Mickey Mouse’s office where the signature characters of Walt Disney and Jim Henson compare their companies’ theme songs. They sing, “When You Wish Upon a Star” and “The Rainbow Connection” (sung by a young Raven-Symoné to cheer up Kermit) respectively. Coincidentally  Muppet Vision 3D would open at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on the first anniversary of Henson’s death in 1991.

International Gateway Opens 

Speaking of the parks 1990 also marks the year the International Gateway opens at EPCOT Center. This new second entrance allows park access to guests staying in Epcot resort area hotels. Located directly north of Disney’s Beach Club Resort, the entrance puts guests between the United Kingdom and France pavilions.

That same year Mickey’s Starland opens in the Magic Kingdom. Originally known as Mickey’s Birthdayland in 1988, it will later be renamed Mickey’s Toontown Fair in 1996. The former Toontown is now closed making way for the Fantasyland expansion project. The first phase opened in late 2012.

Star Tours Premiers at Disney MGM-Studios

The Star Tours attraction at Disney-MGM Studios had its official opening at Walt Disney World in mid-January to rave reviews. (It had its soft opening December 15, 1989.) Advertised as “The Ultimate Star Wars Adventure!”, Star Tours puts the guest in the role of a space tourist. Each travels to the forest moon of Endor, the site of the climactic battle of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Much is made of this throughout the ride queue, which is designed to look like a spaceship boarding terminal. Detailing includes posters advertising voyages to different planets. Additionally, a giant screen informs riders of the benefits of going to Endor.

This area is stocked with Audio-Animatronic characters that seem to speak to the ride patrons (including C-3PO and R2-D2), as well as a life-size mock-up of a StarSpeeder 3000, the fictional spacecraft which riders are about to board. According to the book Disneyland Detective by Kendra Trahan, the figures of C-3PO and R2-D2 in the Disneyland attraction are actual props from the original film, modified to operate via Audio-Animatronics.

Guests then enter a maintenance area where an apparently under productive G2 droid performs repairs on another droid while being distracted by the observing guests, and another droid inadvertently points out all the supposed flaws of the StarSpeeder 3000 and its RX pilots. The G2 droids are in fact the animatronic skeletons of two geese from the defunct Tomorrowland attraction America Sings. A ride attendant escorts guests to one of several loading stations where they wait for their turn to ride.

A television screen posts a countdown to take-off time and shows images of the Starspeeder 3000 spacecraft being serviced. As launch time approaches, a safety video is shown featuring Star Wars aliens, Disney Imagineers, and their families. It instructs guests how to fasten their seat belts and where to place belongings. Once the doors to the Starspeeder open, guests walk across bridges into one of several ride theatres. As the doors close, the bumbling pilot droid of the ship, RX-24 or Rex (voiced by Paul Reubens), chats up the guests about the trip as he sets up. It happens to be his first flight.

All goes well until a slight mistake on Rex’s part sends the ship down the wrong tunnel and plummeting down into a maintenance yard, just managing to escape to open space before a giant mechanical appendage would have crushed the ship. Once in space, Rex puts the ship into light speed, but overshoots the ship’s intended destination, passing the Endor moon, instead getting caught inside a comet cluster. The ship gets trapped inside one of the larger comets and has to maze its way out. Upon escaping the comet, the ship encounters a Star Destroyer.

The ship gets caught in its tractor beam, but manages to get loose when a rebel X-wing fighter (played by ILM modelmaker Steve Gawley and not to be confused with Wedge Antilles, the popular survivor of three Star Wars films, who was played by Denis Lawson) provides assistance by destroying the tractor beam’s generator. With the tractor beam deactivated, the StarSpeeder escapes the Star Destroyer. Soon the ship accompanies the Rebellion on a massive assault on a Death Star. Rex uses the StarSpeeder’s lasers to eliminate TIE fighters while a rebel destroys the Death Star in the same manner as Luke Skywalker did in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. A final light speed jump sends the StarSpeeder back where it started, but not before a near collision with a fuel truck in the spaceport.

50 Days to 50 Years

I’ll never forget the experience of riding Star Tours for the very first time. It was as if I was actually a part of the Star Wars universe. Who didn’t want to fly around the galaxy with R2-D2 and take on the Galactic Empire? The attraction captivated the hearts and minds of children and adults alike who, for the most part, saw these characters on television or the silver screen.

Today the resorts and the attractions are more loved and enjoyed than ever. The resorts are still offering world-class service and fine dining while the the parks are experiencing growth and the creation of all-new attractions. The new “Star Tours: The Adventures Continue” is taking the fantastic world of George Lucas and classic Disney Imagineering and storytelling to new heights offering more out-worldly destinations and colorful characters that both Disney and Star Wars fans won’t want to miss. I was glad to have been there at Walt Disney World during that time and look forward to what Disney has in store for the next 50 years!

Considering the Star Tours attraction has recently been replaced by Star Tours: The Adventures Continue , Aljon ( @jedimouseketeer ) has officially immortalized the original.  We’ll have to get this post over to the Disney Archives; there is simply no match for his Disney/Star Wars know-how! Follow him at Sorcerer Radio and Jedi Mouseketeer Holonet Daily .

Tomorrow, Deb from Focused on the Magic  will give us a snapshot of 1991 .  (If you’ve seen samples of her photography, you know what’s in store!)

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Wednesday, june 9, 2010, star tours/m&m's commemorative poster from 1990.

i have this same poster...dont really know mch about it... my family is a die hard disney family(my siser did the college program and then went back) and we go every year...oneof the year i quess we picked this up. Great poster

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