Star Tours

''For the 2011 version of Star Tours, see Star Tours: The Adventures Continue. For the titular fictional company, see Star Tours (company).''

Star Tours is a simulator attraction, based off of the Star Wars media franchise, at Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris. This version of the attraction has since closed at its original home of Disneyland and at Disney's Hollywood Studios, but was replaced by Star Tours: The Adventures Continue at both parks in Spring 2011. It is themed as a galactic travel agency and spaceport that is employed with droids such as R2-D2 and C-3PO and that you are traveling to the Forest Moon of Endor. However, your inexperienced pilot, RX-24, ends up taking a journey through an asteroid field and a battle with the Death Star.

Although Star Tours may or may not be not be considered canon, its StarSpeeder 3000 is referenced in canon Star Wars works. In the PC game TIE Fighter, one ship appears on a certain level, and when the player identifies it, the ship is identified as "StarSpeeder 3000," LucasArts' tribute to the attraction. The StarSpeeder 3000 is also mentioned in the Star Wars Expanded Universe novel Specter of the Past and PC game Star Wars Galaxies.

Anthony Daniels reprises his role as C-3PO for this project. RX-24 is voiced by Paul Ruebens, a.k.a. Pee-Wee Herman. (Ruebens also voiced a similar role--that is, a wacky alien pilot--in the Disney movie Flight of the Navigator in 1986.)

The ride premiered in Disneyland in 1987, in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the Star Wars franchise. The ride was placed in Tomorrowland and had to be fit in between other attractions. It debuted at the Disney-MGM Studios in 1989, and was given a much more spacious venue, complete with a large AT-AT walker outside the ride entrance.

The soundtrack was remastered and remixed in 2004, and can be found on the CD A Musical History of Disneyland.

Star Tours sequel
Main article: Star Tours: The Adventures Continue At the inaugural D23 Expo in Anaheim, California, on September 12, 2009, Jay Rasulo and Darth Vader announced that Disneyland's Star Tours attraction would be closing in October 2010 to make way for an updated version, which will open in 2011. Tatooine was announced as one of the new destinations in Star Tours II, with footage released of the StarSpeeder 1000 speeding through a podrace.

The original Star Tours attraction at Disneyland saw its final day of operation on July 26, 2010, and Star Tours: The Adventure Continues is now under construction in its place. The Disney's Hollywood Studios version of the attraction closed on September 8, 2010, to be updated to Star Tours II.

Star Tours: The Adventures Continue officially opened at Disney's Hollywood Studios on May 20, 2011 and at Disneyland two weeks later, on June 3.

Tokyo Disneyland plans to close their Star Tours on April 2, 2012 and Star Tours: The Adventures Continue for Tokyo Disneyland will open in Spring 2013.