Star Wars has been in the hearts and minds of people around the world since it debuted in 1977. The popular film series comes to life at Disney World in Orlando, Florida with the Star Tours – The Adventures Continues ride. The ride includes a high-definition, 3-D film in a flight simulator.
Fans of the movie saga will recognize scenes from the films, including clips from The Force Awakens. Because of the sheer number of fans who come to Disney to experience Star Wars, knowing all the details about the Star Tours – The Adventure Continues ride can make your visit to the parks more magical.
Important Factors to Consider
The ride is located in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. In the Echo Lake area. The ride lasts about seven minutes, and riders should expect to wait about an hour. While the line might cause riders to leave, it’s helpful to know the ride is one of the best in the park, so the wait is worthwhile. The ride has a large capacity, so the lines move quickly.
Riders sit in a flight-simulator cockpit, so if you are in a scooter or wheelchair, you’ll have to transfer out of it to get into the ride. Disney requires all riders to be at least 40 inches tall. Unfortunately, The Star Wars ride does not have a ride swap program, but the ride is climate controlled with air conditioning and heat.
Disney warns that the ride can trigger motion sickness for people who are sensitive to it. If you are prone to motion sickness, consider sitting in the middle of the ride. The back row is the best choice for people who want more motion during the ride.
A benefit of the Star Tours – The Adventure Continues ride is the variation of each ride. Disney has over 50 opening and closing scenes. You could visit the ride throughout the day and never have the same experience twice.
Disney Characters You’ll See in the Ride
While flying through the Star Wars world, riders will enjoy seeing their favorite characters. The ride features characters like Rey and Kylo Ren from the new trilogy, and it includes classic characters like Darth Vader, Chewbacca, Yoda, and the Droids.
History of the Ride
The first Star Wars ride opened as Star Tours in 1989, and Disney gave it a refresh with a redesign in 2011 that is still open to the public today. Disney frequently offered Star Wars Weekends where fans could interact with their favorite Star Wars characters who wandered around the Ewok park near the ride.
Disney updated the ride in 2019 after The Rise of Skywalker arrived in theaters, after updating the ride to add characters from The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. Disney added more video clips and audio-animatronics.
Visitors can ride Star Tours – The Adventure Continues at Disney World in Orlando, Disneyland in California, Tokyo Disneyland in Japan, and Disneyland Park in Paris, France.
What Happens in the Ride
Riders at the park in Tokyo get a special Easter egg when they enter the queue. The first room they enter while in the line features a billboard of potential travel destinations, one of them being Spaceport THX1138, named for the first movie George Lucas made.
Otherwise, guests encounter their first Star Wars characters when they enter the hangar with the StarSpeeder 1000. Iconic droids C-3PO and R2-D2 are working on the speeder and a set of commercials share information about flight lists and space stations.
The next step includes a security droid scanning baggage and broadcasting the items on a screen. Guests will quickly recognize several Easter eggs from Star Wars and Disney. They will eventually reach the boarding area where C-3PO is chatting with AC-38 about the status of the speeder.
AC-38 (Ace) inspects the ship, then the ship takes off and C-3PO and R2-D2 take the controls. At takeoff, you’ll face one of many obstacles including an angry Kylo Ren and a checkpoint filled with Stormtroopers. It all happens while being chased by the First Order.
Potential Sights in Star Tours
Your Star Tours ride could include interactions with Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon. YOu could also see Boba Fett, TIE fighters, and Kylo Ren with First Order stormtroopers.
All rides stop at one of five planets including Hoth, Kashyyyk, Tatooine, Jakku, and Kef Bir. While visiting these planets, riders could encounter snow speeders, speeder bikes with Wookiees, pod races, First Order TIE fighters, or a Death Star Mobile Battle Station.
After stopping at or around the first planet, riders will receive a hologram message from Yoda, Admiral Ackbar, Princess Leia, BB-8, Maz Kanata, Poe Dameron, or Lando Calrissian. The messenger will announce the next step of the journey.
The second leg of the journey includes one of five stops: Coruscant, Naboo, Geonosis, Crait, Exegol, or Batuu. On the visit, riders could end up attacked by Buzz droids while in a star battle. They could meet Jar Jar Binks after a battle above Naboo. Riders chased by Boba Fett could end up on Geonosis.
Riders who end up in a non-canon location could be forced to survive a battle between the First Order and the Resistance. They could also face the Sith Eternal Forces, and finally, they could visit Spaceport THX1138.
Stop at the Store on Your Way Out
In typical Disney and Star Wars fashion, all exits feature shops loaded with Star Wars merchandise. At Disneyland, the store is appropriately named The Star Trader, while the Disney World store is named Tatooine Traders. The Star Wars shop looks like it could be at home on Tatooine. Some merchandise can only be found at these shops, making them popular with fans.
Easter Eggs in the Queue
Disneyland reused several animatronic geese to make the G2 repair droids you’ll see in the queue. If you listen carefully, you’ll hear the droids singing various versions of “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad,” which is a song the original geese sang in the America Sings ride.
The Easter eggs continue as the G2-9T droid answers a call from a supervisor by harkening back to A New Hope saying “Uh, everything’s perfectly alright now, w-we’re fine. We’re all fine here now, thank you. Uh, how are you?” – just like Han Solo did.
The Easter eggs continue in the scanned luggage. People in the queue will notice a Goofy doll, Jar Jar Binks, Chip and Dale, and the lamp from Aladdin. If you’re lucky, you’ll see WALL-E, Madame Leota, or Stitch. Occasionally, riders get to see Sorcerer Mickey’s hat, V.I.N.C.E.N.T., a snowflake, the Mighty Microscope, Mike Wazowski’s teddy bear, and Indiana Jones gear.
Continuity in the Star Wars Universe
The Easter eggs continue in the scanned luggage. People in the queue will notice a Goofy doll, Jar Jar Binks, Chip and Dale, and the lamp from Aladdin. If you’re lucky, you’ll see WALL-E, Madame Leota, or Stitch. Occasionally, riders get to see Sorcerer Mickey’s hat, V.I.N.C.E.N.T., a snowflake, the Mighty Microscope, Mike Wazowski’s teddy bear, and Indiana Jones gear.
Conclusion
Star Wars – The Adventure Continues is one of the most popular rides at all Disney Parks. The ride is pure joy for Star Wars fans who enjoy the surprises and Easter eggs in the queue and the ride itself.
Disney is dedicated to providing several Star Wars rides, especially in the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge section of Hollywood Studios with a few more rides, shops, and restaurants themed after the epic film series.
More about our TFVG Author
- Charmaine Corteshttps://www.thefamilyvacationguide.com/author/charmaine/
- Charmaine Corteshttps://www.thefamilyvacationguide.com/author/charmaine/
- Charmaine Corteshttps://www.thefamilyvacationguide.com/author/charmaine/
- Charmaine Corteshttps://www.thefamilyvacationguide.com/author/charmaine/
