Posted by Mike and Chris Pettey Updated on February 25, 2021
Category: Disney vs. Disney
Tags: Disneyland Disneyland Paris Hollywood Studios Star Tours Star Wars Tokyo Disneyland Tomorrowland

Star Tours – The Adventures Continue is a motion simulator attraction based on the adventures from Lucasfilm’s Star Wars franchise. The simulator randomly combines different scenes from many Star Wars locations, creating a wide variety of experiences. The attractions can be found at four of the six Disney Resorts across the globe. We’ve ridden every Star Tours – The Adventures Continue ride in person.

Major Similarities & Differences

You can watch fantastic videos of all versions of the attraction online, so we won’t spend time re-hashing the details of each experience. Instead, we will just point out the major similarities and differences we feel are worth calling out:

When the ride originally opened, the experience was the same every time, with a sightseeing trip unexpectedly “detoured” to assist blowing up the Death Star, based on the original Star Wars The ship’s pilot was Rex, a robot who can now be found malfunctioning in the queue for the updated experience.
All versions of the attraction except Florida are located in Tomorrowland (“Discoveryland” in Paris), within their respective castle parks. The Florida version is located in Disney’s Hollywood Studios park.
The California version is located in a building that originally housed the attraction Adventure Thru Inner Space.
The California version has four simulators, while all other versions have six.

The Rankings (from least favorite to favorite)

4. Star Tours – The Adventures Continue – Disney’s Hollywood Studios (Florida)

The ride experience of Star Tours – The Adventures Continue is identical in every Disney park, so the focus here will be on all other aspects of the attraction. The Florida version is the only one not based in Tomorrowland, and that is a drawback. Disney’s Hollywood Studios is a mish-mash park full of unrelated attractions, and this one is no exception to that rule. Plopped down in between the Muppet Courtyard, and the Backlot Express dining area, the ride’s exterior is a mock-up of the Endor forest – complete with a large AT-AT – based on the film Return of the Jedi. It’s a cool setting, but it doesn’t blend into any of its surroundings. And it makes even less sense once inside the building, which is themed to a spaceport, having nothing to do with the Endor forest. This type of inconsistency carries through to the ride’s exit, where guests are dumped into the Tatooine Traders retail store – themed to the desert planet. Again, a neat environment, but it doesn’t fit at all with the ride experience itself. From exterior facades all the way through the exit gift shop, it’s a jumbled mess that really illustrates the need for cohesive theming, and it’s why the Florida attraction is the weakest of the pack.

3. Star Tours – The Adventures Continue – Disneyland (California)

In third place, California’s version of Star Tours – The Adventures Continue is the first version on our list that shows how well this attraction works within a Tomorrowland setting. Here, a futuristic exterior leads immediately into the spaceport – and this does a fantastic job blending in with Tomorrowland seamlessly. It’s an even greater feat when realizing this building was once home to the Adventure Thru inner Space dark ride – and also houses part of the old Peoplemover/Rocket Rods track. Unfortunately, today that track has been covered up, and guests move through the rest of the queue in a unique pattern found only in this version of the attraction. The ride here does lose points for being the only version with four simulators instead of six, but that’s a minor complaint, as the capacity of the attraction still keeps the queue moving nicely. At the ride’s exit, the pathway feeds in to the Star Trader gift shop, which is themed nicely with an X-wing fighter, as well as several First Order troops. Overall, this version – like so many things in the California park – manages to squeeze into its relatively small space just perfectly, and fits Tomorrowland like a glove, as the third best version of the attraction in the world.

2. Star Tours: The Adventures Continue – Disneyland Paris (Paris)

In Paris, Star Tours: The Adventures Continue is located near the back of Discoveryland, with an impressive full-size X-Wing Fighter perched atop a large, lighted platform. It’s a fantastic way to set the stage, and is the best exterior setting of any version in the world, commanding attention both day and night. The Paris version was the last in the world to receive the “Adventures Continue” update, making its debut in 2017. Truthfully, this attraction may have seemed a bit out of place in the original Discoveryland retro-future theme, but today, given the numerous changes that have compromised the land’s original vision and integrity, it works just fine. Six simulators means that the throughput is higher than California’s, while the ride’s interior queue is mostly a replica of that found in Florida. The ride itself is presented in both English and French versions – a nice touch for the variety of languages spoken by guests. The exit leads to a fantastic second-story view of the Star Traders gift shop, and empties back into Discoveryland with an inspiring vista of Hyperspace Mountain. It’s all of these little plusses that add up to making the Paris version of Star Tours: The Adventures Continue the second-best in the world.

1. Star Tours: The Adventures Continue – Tokyo Disneyland (Tokyo)

From the exterior, it might seem like Tokyo’s version, while fitting in nicely with their compact Tomorrowland, would not be the most impressive overall. But one step inside, and immediately those thoughts vanish, as a massive interior queue sets the stage with lofty ceilings blazing high-resolution images of recruitment for the First Order. From here, the queue winds through not only enhanced versions of the familiar settings from the others found around the world, but also some added bonus features, including a group of unique talking robots, and some gorgeous lighted walkways. As with all versions except California’s, six simulators keep the line moving along. And the exit – while lacking the now-removed and legendary Officer Zzzzyxxx (he’s worth learning about) – leads to fantastic second story enclosed walkways, providing unique views of Tomorrowland from an area one might expect to find a Peoplemover attraction. It’s a refreshing twist from being funneled into yet another gift shop. It would also be a crime not to point out the obvious – Tokyo’s version is well maintained to the point of near perfection: the lights work, the effects are always functioning properly, and the Cast Members have that infectious next-level enthusiasm that rubs off on guests in a way not found at any other Disney resort. It’s an idealized version of the attraction at the Tokyo park, and – not surprisingly – it is the best version of Star Tours: The Adventures Continue in the galaxy.

Written by Mike and Chris Pettey

YOUR THOUGHTS?

Agree or disagree with our rankings? Have you experienced any of these attractions – either in person, or virtually via the internet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

4 Comments

Chris says:

May 19, 2024 at 9:00 pm

The reason the Florida version of Star Tours is themed like that is to evoke a studio theme for the ride. The reason for the thematic inconsistencies was that they were movie props waiting to be used.

Mike and Chris Pettey says:

May 28, 2024 at 3:02 pm

An attraction’s poor/disjointed theming should not have to be explained via a backstory or otherwise, to justify its existence. See Dinoland at DAK for another example of this.

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Ethan says:

July 7, 2024 at 1:11 pm

Sorry to ask so many questions but have you done a vs on galaxys edge

Mike and Chris Pettey says:

July 18, 2024 at 5:57 pm

No, not yet. They’re very similar…kind of like the Toontowns…but we could probably split enough hairs to come to a conclusion. Disneyland 3 entrances vs. DHS 2; DHS more colorful spires vs. Disneyland more “desert” colors. We’ll keep it on the list to eventually review!

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