Star Wars has had a small presence in the Disney Themepark World for quite a few years now, along with other Lucas film franchises such as Indiana Jones. The Star Tours ride that was featured across many Disney parks was the highlight of this. Star Tours, Well ahead of its time, was a faux tour company that took riders on a vacation through the Starwars Universe. However, when things started to ramp up on Disney’s Acquisition of Lucas Films, They began ramping up the Star Wars presence in the Parks, and the much loved but aging Star Tours simulator needed an upgrade.
Star Tours – The Adventures Continue is that upgrade and while it always felt like a stop-gap before the arrival of Galaxies Edge, the ride provides a really compelling and immersive trip into the universe and touches on a little of the old and little of the new in terms of location and characters. Find out more in our Star Tours – The Adventures Continue Review and see why you should definitely book a trip on the next Star Tours adventure…Urgh, Sorry, that sounds way too corny!
- Location – Disneyland Park – Tomorrowland
- Type – 3-D Star Wars Motion Simulator
- Duration – 4:30 Mins
- Height Restriction – 40 In
- Average Queue time – 15 mins – 60 Mins
- Genie+ – YES
- Single Rider – NO
- Additional Info – Modern Replacement for the Classic Star Tours Simulator
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Thrill Rating
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Fun
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Uniqueness and Theming
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Smoothness and Comfort
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Value For Time
What is Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
Star Tours is a Motion Simulator ride themed around the Star Wars Universe. The Premise is really simple, you are a space tourist off on a jolly to a destination somewhere in the Star Wars Galaxy. Stat Tours are the Galaxy’s premier destination specialists and ship millions of tourists all over the galaxy every year.
However, As fun as that sounds, it’s not exciting enough so inevitably something has to go wrong. This calamity is in the form of a Stowaway Spy, that is discovered by the Empire leading to C3PO and R2D2 enacting an escape plan for the Spy involving you and your fellow Tourists.
The best part of the ride is the Random generation of the escape scenarios, there are up to 384 different ride experiences available (and probably more to come following the release of the “Final” Film) so seeing the same ride twice is highly unlikely. The possible scenes are from all three trilogies meaning the timelines can be a bit screwy but it’s good to see characters and locations from all of the films.
Queue
The Queue line for the ride is really excellent. The indoor area is a fully realized Starport with all the trappings of a commercial airport only “Specified” There are droids, arrival/departure screens, security warnings, destination adverts, and a whole lot of stuff going on. Some of the Droids are going awry and the Baggage Scanning droid is of particular hilarity as he comments and jibes about the contents of the bags he scans. It is a rare queue line where it really can go too fast! We often find ourselves watching a little show, or peering off to observe some little detail to find the queue has disappeared off into the distance!
Once you are near the ride loading area you pick up your 3-D Glasses. You are then assigned to one of several simulators and line up ready to board. Here you will receive a pre-show featuring C3PO and Aly San San (From the Original Ride). The Doors then Open and you Board your StarSpeeder 1000 ready for your Tour!
Ride Experience
The Ride Starts off with C2PO Reluctantly in charge before the Tour is intercepted by a random Character from the Dark Side, a Droid, Darth Vader, or Kylo Ren. If it’s a Droid then either Rey or Han Solo in the Falcon will intercept to facilitate your escape. Whichever happens, you will be informed of a Spy on board. The spy will be identified as a random Guest and photo displayed on a screen, so yes it could be you!
The immediate surrender of the Spy will be demanded. Predictably this is refused and we head off on our adventure. A short duel will take place and then you will jump to light speed to one of 4 Random Locations, Hoth, Tatooine, Kashyyyk (Home Planet of the Wookies), or Jaku where an exciting chase through the scenery of the planet will take place, then it’s another jump where a random Rebel Character will provide coordinates to the final destination where the Spy must be delivered, Again a random choice of Naboo, Coruscant, The Salt Planet of Crait or the Death Star. More high-octane action occurs before a final victory or escape and the Spy will be delivered to the Rebel Alliance.
The tech is really very effective. The Layout of the Starspeeder simulates a real shuttle with the screen at the front simulating a windshield of the craft with C3PO sat to one side as the pilot. The Footage is really high quality and detailed and in High Definition. The Motion Simulation is also very convincing and the feeling of falling, banking, or acceleration are all very lifelike. Whichever random adventure you get the ride is seriously fun and almost everyone leaves with a huge grin.
Overall
We always find Star Tours – The adventures continue as a real overachiever. It is not really a terribly enticing ride and we seem to head here a bit reluctantly. Mainly as the feeling is always this is a stop-gap ride, but once ridden we quickly remember just how good it is!
Some Scenarios are much better than others and the timelines can be jarring to Star Wars fans. The Ride can be a bit disjointed and does have the impression of a not perfectly planned experience. But the overall feeling is, it’s just really good fun. The Second the Craft starts pulling side to side to escape the Force grip of Vader, or Kylo Ren, or the first jump to light speed you know you are in for a fun ride.
By the end of the 4+ Minute ride, you will be left with a big smile and a real feeling of contentment. Couple this with the fantastic queue line that really adds to the ride experience and you have some really good use of time at the park.
You do not need to be a big Star Wars fan to appreciate the ride and even if you have no real idea of any of the locals or characters it’s still a fun ride. However being a big fan has mixed blessings, there are tons of cool nods and references to the films, but it can be hard to be intercepted by Kylo Ren, before joining the battle of Hoth, and then meeting Jar Jar binks at the Battle of Naboo!
Still, it is a very fun ride and if you can just overlook these canonical inaccuracies it can provide a really exciting and fun experience and one you can ride again and again!
Have Your Say
The Slightly disjointed nature and the possibility of “historical” inaccuracies can leave some Star Wars fans unable to see past the issues and hating the ride. If that’s you you may find our review a touch generous. Feel free to set us straight in the comments, or maybe you agree that it’s a ride with fairly modest expectations that really over-delivers. Again we would love to hear from you. Just fire away in the comments if you have anything at all to say about Star Tours – The Adventures Continue.