has star tours always been 3d

How Star Tours Laid the Stage for Disney's Galactic Ambitions

How star tours laid the stage for disney's galactic ambitions, nearly 40 years ago, star wars set the stage for disney and lucasfilm's special relationship—and is still just as important to that evolving connection today..

Even in the era where the House of Mouse is Star Wars ’ home , few things about the galaxy far, far away have defined its relationship with Disney other than Star Tours , the Disney Parks ride that shaped generations of collaborations between Lucasfilm and Mickey Mouse. Now, as Star Tours gets ready to evolve again in Disneyland’s new Season of the Force , we look back at its history—from the ride that almost wasn’t, to the herald of Star Wars ’ current interconnected age.

The early phases of the ride that would become Star Tours weren’t Star Wars- themed at all. Disney originally envisioned a ride simulator attraction in Tomorrowland based around the 1979 box office flop The Black Hole . But the combination of a massive cost for the ride’s simulation technology—which planned to let guests more directly interact with the ride experience, controlling the path they went on—and the fact that, well, people were not exactly clamoring for Black Hole nostalgia, after six years of development plans were scrapped.

But Disney still wanted a new simulator ride, and decided to take a rare step—go outside the Magic Kingdom and follow up on a partnership with an outside brand that could help ameliorate the cost. Having worked together on Captain EO —1986 the 3D Michael Jackson sci-fi short film/stage attraction shown in Disney parks—Disney decided to approach George Lucas, and ask if Star Wars could make its way into its parks.

Destination Endor

Lucas agreed—and ILM was tapped to help build the video that Star Tours would play in front of its ride machines to guide visitors through their adventure. There were a few compromises along the way. Original plans for the ride video were up to a total of 20 minutes, and needed to be cut down to just five. Lucas also wanted to avoid direct conflict in the ride: he wanted Star Tours not to directly be about the military aspects of the franchise, but find an alternative way to weave its story around the Empire-Rebellion conflict. What was planned then, was a relatable protagonist: a ditzy droid driver taking you on a tour of the galaxy, but naturally getting caught up in Star Wars along the way.

At last—and after $32 million, a huge cost but nowhere near what Disney expected to spend on a Black Hole ride—on January 9, 1987, Star Tours opened its door to Earth tourists in Disneyland hoping for a whirlwind visit to the planet Endor... with ads in the attraction’s queue (which featured animatronics of C-3PO and R2-D2 bickering, as well as other droids, to bide the time while guests worked through the four flight simulators) teasing the likes of Hoth, Dagobah, and Tatooine as locales, even if initially there were never actually plans for such additions.

The Expanded Universe Grows

Star Tours launched at fascinating time in Star Wars ’ internal canon in 1987. The movies were long over, and Marvel’s comic book continuation of the story and universe wrapped over the course of the prior year. Plans to keep the similarly legendary Kenner toy series afloat with its own original worldbuilding had fallen through as well. We now know that things were about to change in the next few years: the early ‘90s brought with it the Heir to the Empire trilogy , and with it, the explosive formation of what became the Star Wars Expanded Universe . But Star Tours inadvertently took its own huge step forward: although it wasn’t majorly acknowledged, the ride was actually set after the events of Return of the Jedi , with C-3PO referring to his capture at the hands of the Ewoks in the film as having taken place in the past.

Of course, considering that Star Tours included riders seeing the sight of a Death Star under construction, that was actually a wild thing to casually drop at the time. For years the topic was left untouched, even as the Expanded Universe flourished with its own post-film continuity that simply danced around Star Tours having any kind of determinate place within canon. It wasn’t until decades later that Lucasfilm tried to square the circle on the “Death Star III,” a term first officially raised in a 2005 article on the official Star Wars website , placing the ride’s story as taking place during the latter years of the Marvel Star Wars comics.

The Adventure Continues

The year 2005 was already an important one for Star Tours , however. Although as previously mentioned Star Tours launched with elements of the ride teasing other locales for the attraction, the original ride never received updates beyond the Endor adventure. But at Star Wars Celebration III in April 2005, Lucas confirmed, at long last, that the adventures would indeed continue.

With the prequel trilogy about to conclude with Revenge of the Sith ’s release in May of that year, a new upgrade to Star Tours would be able to incorporate locations and ideas from the prequel trilogy, as well as expand on elements from the original trilogy beyond Endor. The new ride would also use 3D technology to immerse audiences, and no longer would they just visit a single location on each trip—the update would offer dozens upon dozens of potential unique combinations of locales in a single ride. Originally, the sequel ride would draw from six potential locations —Coruscant, Tatooine, Hoth, Naboo, Geonosis, Kashyyyk—after opening at Spaceport THX1138, with visits to different planets interspersed with messages from various Star Wars characters advising visitors about a secret mission to rescue a randomly chosen spy aboard their ride.

Not every change would be popular with Disney diehards. Although the upgrade—dubbed Star Tours: The Adventure Continues —would still maintain a lot of elements from the original, one controversial decision was to replace Star Tours ’ droid pilot RX-24 (better known as Captain Rex, well before the Clone) as the ride’s “pilot” and instead directly integrate C-3PO and R2-D2 into the ride’s story, rather than just keeping them part of the queue. After shutting down the year prior in 2010 for refurbishment for the overhaul, Star Tours: The Adventure Continues formally debuted at Disney World in Florida in May 2011, before opening at Disneyland that June.

The Disney Era

The Adventure Continues carried on as it had launched before everything changed again. Just over a year later, Star Wars was no longer a third party license: Disney was its master. The deal by the studio to acquire Lucasfilm, and develop new Star Wars movies (and re-establish a whole new rebooted continuity along the way) was announced in October 2012, and now Star Tours alone represented a way for Disney to synergize with its new material in its parks.

Unlike the prequel era, which wouldn’t be integrated into Star Tours until well after it had concluded, the sequel trilogy came into Star Tours like an event with every release: 2015 brought with it The Force Awakens , and with it a chase sequence on the desert planet Jakku as well as new interstitials featuring Finn and BB-8, as well a tweaked alternative for the opening spacesport docking sequence to include Kylo Ren and First Order stormtroopers instead of Darth Vader and Imperial forces. The years 2017 and 2019 respectively brought with them additions based around The Last Jedi —a visit to the planet Crait inspired by the climax of the film—and The Rise of Skywalker —a return of sorts to the Endor sequence Star Tours began with decades prior, as you rode to the watery moon of Kef Bir and through the wreckage of the second Death Star.

With the arrival of material from the new films, Star Tours ’ original continuity was diverged to classify sequel-era material as non-canonical, given that the rest of The Adventures Continue ’s material was intended to be set between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope . But even in an age of transmedia continuity, that didn’t stop Star Tours from being a vital place for Disney to sell its own era of Star Wars to audiences.

New Horizons

That brings us to now, and a world where Star Tours is no longer the sole source of Star Wars in Disney’s parks. Five years ago next month, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge , an entire hub of Star Wars storytelling, stores, restaurants, and rides, opened at Disneyland and Disney World . But while Star Tours is perhaps not the focus of Disney’s Star Wars ambitions at its parks anymore, it’s still important—even if Captain Rex is now DJing over at Oga’s Cantina instead of piloting a Starspeeder.

This week sees the beginning of the 2024 “Season of the Force,” and with it, the addition of new material to Star Tours: The Adventure Continues . As well as an additional location inspired by the events of Ahsoka , the planet Seatos, three new interstitials featuring Andor ’s Cassian Andor, Ahsoka ’s Ahsoka Tano, and The Mandalorian ’s Din Djarin and Grogu will now be incorporated into the ride’s myriad options. Although characters from Disney’s streaming service series have been added to Galaxy’s Edge in recent years as limited-time wandering characters, the latest additions to Star Tours mark the first time these characters and worlds have been brought into parts of the rides themselves—continuing the tradition established with Star Tours ’ own sequel trilogy evolution.

Star Tours’   Star Wars Legacy

Star Tours is itself almost as resilient as the franchise that spawned it. Evolving from an unprecedented exterior partnership to the nostalgic heart of Disney’s connection to Star Wars over the past nearly 40 years, Star Tours isn’t now just a part of Star Wars continuity—from its designs and characters to the faux-company itself being weaved into the tapestry of both eras of the franchise’s expanded canon—but still a vital way to keep the newer and newer elements being added to Star Wars a part of the parks.

Galaxy’s Edge , for better or worse, is now itself rooted in a specific setting and moment in Star Wars ’ history, creating its own thriving world with its own story to tell, but one still very deliberately connected to a moment within the sequel trilogy’s own tale. The edges of that have begun to fray here and there with every new character that shows up to wander around Batuu—but it’ll never have Star Tours ’ adaptability. With more Star Wars happening than ever before, Star Tours can always be there to add a new hero or new world to its roster. After all, the adventure does continue...

Star Tours at 35: A Timeline From 'Star Wars' Simulator Ride to Galaxy's Edge Land (Flashback)

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While the upcoming Galactic Starcruiser hotel at Disney World might be advertising an out-of-this-world vacation, Disneyland 's Star Tours has been offering tourism-themed Star Wars experiences for 35 years. The attraction was met with a passionate enthusiasm from the shaded Venn diagram of theme park fans and George Lucas devotees when it opened on Jan. 9, 1987. 

Speaking with ET in December at the Make-A-Wish’s Galaxy of Wishes event at Disneyland, Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill , shared his initial reaction to the groundbreaking ride. The actor recalled putting to Lucas if he could ever have imagined one of his movies “inspiring a ride at Disneyland” and told the iconic director, “‘We’ll never top this, George.’” 

True to the reputation of Disney Imagineers, the actor’s expectations were later blown away by the fantastical, immersive park regions now at Disneyland Park and Disney World’s Hollywood Studios that go far beyond motion simulator experiences. Nevertheless, Star Tours is still a hallmark attraction at Disney parks around the world, also boasting locations at Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disney.  

Let’s take a look at the audacious beginnings of Star Tours and how its imaginative conception built the foundation of an enduring Disney Parks legacy. 

“Lightspeed to Endor!”

A LONG, LONG TIME AGO, IN ANAHEIM…

Following a slump in Disney’s Imagineering efforts in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, renewed interest in the department picked up when Michael Eisner was installed as CEO of the House of Mouse in 1984. The executive, who remained at the helm until Bob Iger took the reins in 2005, is often credited with igniting new vigor into the legendary team of creatives.

Speaking with ET in 1985, Eisner teased the upcoming ride as one “several exciting things” in the works for Disney parks. Along with the now defunct 3-D space musical Captain EO  starring the late Michael Jackson , and also produced by Lucas, Star Tours was selected to be one of the first projects to benefit from this renaissance. For Lucas, who can boast he walked through Disneyland’s gates on its second day of operation in July of 1955 , he counted both the park and Walt Disney’s animated classics as some of his earliest creative influences. 

With the filmmaker lending his world of lightsabers and Wookies to the parks, Star Tours became the first attraction adapted from non-Disney IP. In promotional materials at the time, Lucas explained in an interview, “I wanted to have an involvement in Tomorrowland. I thought that was a portion of the park that had been a little less than what it could have been, so they've given me the opportunity to include my characters into that part of the park and try to come up with some new ideas.”

As Lucas and Imagineers set out to adapt Star Wars for Disneyland, the collaborators wished to expedite the traditional five-year development process. In this pursuit, they turned to advanced military flight simulator technology that had never been applied to theme park attractions before (an image from one of the original simulation sequences is on the left). The ride’s designers, including legendary Imagineers Tony Baxter and Tom Fitzgerald, recognized the potential for the system’s hydraulic lifts to create a hyper realistic Star Wars adventure. 

For the location, Star Tours took over the show building for Adventure Thru Inner Space (ending its run after 18 years of operation) near the Tomorrowland entrance. With the hardware on standby, stakeholders turned to their biggest challenge: making another Star Wars movie. 

The idea: guests enter Star Tours, an interstellar travel agency promising voyages to multiple deep space locales following the climatic events of Return of the Jedi . Forty “tourists” at a time board their space vessel, the Starspeeder 3000, and sit facing what looks like the craft’s front window. But with a first-time pilot at the helm, a droid named RX-24 -- nicknamed “Rex” (voiced by Paul Reubens) -- complications ensue, as they historically do in Star Wars tales.

Designers at Industrial, Light and Magic spent a year and a half working on Star Tours’ four-minute special effects extravaganza (with the added difficulty of creating a movie without noticeable editing cuts). While passengers are scheduled for a flight to the Moon of Endor, Rex's maiden voyage quickly involves unplanned near-collisions with icy comets and evasive maneuvers against Imperial fighters. Riders drop, rise and tilt -- meticulously in sync with the viewscreen images -- as their rookie pilot narrowly manages to secure everyone's safe return.

THE PREMIERE

Over 65 years after its debut, there’s not many exciting “firsts” or “records” which aren’t routinely broken year after year at Disneyland. But the exception which proves this rule lies with the opening of Star Tours in 1987. For the first, and presumably final time, the park remained open for 60 hours straight to celebrate the attraction’s highly anticipated debut. 

The state-of-the-art motion simulator experience was a hit with parkgoers. ET went on the $35 million ride later that year with Facts of Life star Mackenzie Astin. “It was very bouncy. You shake around a whole lot,” he remarked after exiting Star Tours. “But I loved every minute of it.” 

The ride’s inaugural guests were treated to a commonplace experience today at most theme parks, but was revolutionary at the time: an entertaining queue. As people waited in line, they wound through a spaceport where a big-screen played vacation promotional reels for Star Wars destinations (like Hoth, promoted as "the galaxy's greatest ice planet”). Plus, awaiting passengers walked by a full-size Starspeeder 3000 being repaired by none other than familiar droids C-3PO and R2-D2, who didn’t hold back their trademark bickering as guests inched closer to the boarding zone.

Star Tours made its way to Florida a few years later when it premiered at Disney/MGM Studios (now Hollywood Studios). Following its well-documented popularity in Anaheim, Imagineers chose to provide this location with six Starspeeder cars, as opposed to the four at Disneyland. In addition, the ride exterior was fleshed out with an Endor forest and a 35-foot AT-AT walker looming over the entrance, much like the ones seen today while riding Rise of the Resistance. 

The “Endor Express” became a staple attraction at Disney parks over the next decade, often spoken in the same breath as Matterhorn and Spaceship Earth. In the early '90s, Star Tours gained extra significance when Lucas began teasing his long-awaited prequel trilogy . As fans waited for these new films, they could at least stop by Tomorrowland for an interactive Star Wars experience to hold them over. 

To celebrate its 10th anniversary in 1997, Disneyland invited Carrie Fisher to re-dedicate the attraction. In a ceremony pointedly reminiscent of the end of A New Hope , Fisher was presented with a “Disneyland Medal of Honor,” seemingly the only person to ever been given such an award. 

In promotional materials at the time, Fisher referenced daughter Billie Lourd  as the reason why she loved going to the park. “The easiest mothering thing I have to do is bring my kid to Disneyland, so I can't tell you how many times we've come here. This represents my best maternal zone, [because] I never grew up to the extent that I grew past the ability to enjoy a great amusement park. And this is the best,” Fisher explained.

THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES 

In 2011, a new version of the ride opened in Florida and California titled Star Tours: The Adventure Continues. This iteration, which is the standing version at the parks today, features different variations of opening sequences, primary destinations, holographic messages and finale set pieces. All to say, the random shuffle of scenes ensures no rider will have the same Star Tours experience twice in their lifetime. 

The updated ride system features a high-definition 3-D experience (requiring guests to wear "flight goggles"), several new special effects and most crucial: a new position on the Star Wars timeline. Star Tours now existed in the prequel era, leading to several changes to retrofit the attraction from its post-Episode VI origin date (the Starspeeder 3000 was now the Starspeeder 1000, etc). But one of the most evident was Rex's demotion from captain to unproven droid placed in the ride queue in order to keep up with this new continuity (but more on Rex later). 

Following the sale of Lucasfilm to The Walt Disney Company in 2012 and the ensuing sequel trilogy, the franchise's latest heroes and villains were integrated into the ride’s experience. During this era, Star Tours also became a go-to place of celebration as new Star Wars movies and TV shows rolled out. To hype the premiere of The Last Jedi , Hamill stopped by Tomorrowland (see below) and to blow the minds of some passengers who can now say they jumped to lightspeed with a Jedi legend. 

Of course, its present-day version fudges the ride's temporal landscape a bit. Guests might run into any characters and locations depicted across Episodes I-XI , be it jumping into a podrace from The Phantom Menace or exploring the Death Star ruins on Kef Bir as seen in The Rise of Skywalker (and who’s to say riders might eventually see TV characters such as The Mandalorian on the Starpeeder viewscreen at some point, let's be realistic).

“STAR TOURS ON STEROIDS”

In 2015, Imagineers announced it would fulfill the ultimate dream of Star Wars fans by creating an entire land within the parks dedicated to Lucas’ space opera. This vision included two new attractions, eateries, character interactions, gift shops and even droid footprints embedded in the cement walkways. As the initial concept art proved, not since the debut of Cars Land at Disney California Adventure had there been such an ambitious execution of placemaking in theme parks. 

When Galaxy’s Edge opened at Disneyland in 2019 , the impact of Star Tours could be seen in both a physical and spiritual sense throughout the 14-acre region. At the opening ceremony, this connection was given the ultimate confirmation when Lucas referred to Black Spire Outpost as “Star Tours on steroids.” 

But the most tangible of these influences was the resurrection of Rex. As fans now know, Rex’s tenure as a Star Tours pilot came to an end after crash landing on Batuu, where he took up a new vocation as Oga Cantina’s DJ (taking on the aptly named title “DJ Rex”). The retired pilot spins records as guests sip libations with names like “Coruscant Cooler” and “Gold Squadron Lager.” Following Rex’s cameo in the first season for Star Wars: Rebels , a couple of his RX-series peers have also been spotted in The Book of Boba Fett . 

Another sign of Star Tours’ enduring legacy is the sense of longing it inspired among theme park fans amid the coronavirus pandemic. Avid Disneyland-goers Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker have made up for plenty of lost time in the park after it reopened in April of 2021. But staying away from Harbor Boulevard stung for the drummer and his band, Blink 182. The proof is in a catchy chorus from their song, “Quarantine,” released in August of 2020. 

"Quarantine, f**k this disease / I'd rather be on Star Tours or stuck at the DMV…”

But maybe the DMV can learn from Star Tours -- or get a permanent music residency -- as a spectacular line queue experience can go a long, long way. 

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Star Tours - The Adventures Continue

• Replay Star Tours

• 40" (102 cm) or Taller
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Visit a Galaxy Far, Far Away

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

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

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

Star Tours Takes Flight

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

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

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

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Star Tours – The Adventures Continue

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Explore a Galaxy Far, Far Away

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

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

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

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

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

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

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