Star Tours – The Adventures Continue is an attraction located at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris. Set in the Star Wars universe, Star Tours – The Adventures Continue takes passengers on a turbulent trip across the galaxy, as droids C-3PO and R2-D2 attempt to safely return a spy to the Rebel Alliance. Despite conflicting timelines, The Adventures Continue features locations and characters from all nine films of the Skywalker saga, unlike its predecessor Star Tours, which mostly took place after the events of the original trilogy (Episode IV – A New Hope through Episode VI – Return of the Jedi). The attraction opened on May 20, 2011, at Disney's Hollywood Studios, on June 3, 2011, at Disneyland, on May 7, 2013, at Tokyo Disneyland, and on March 26, 2017, at Disneyland Paris.
Development
Pre-production In 1998, Disney began planning to upgrade Star Tours as part of the release of the upcoming 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, the first film of the new prequel trilogy. There would be new flights, with passengers going to the Boonta Eve Classic Podrace on Tatooine. Captain Rex would still be a part of the new version and the droids in the queue line would be working on engines and podrace components. This version would be in 3D, with glasses resembling Anakin Skywalker's goggles. However, changing the story to focus on Episode I would make the attraction outdated, as two new upcoming films would feature new characters and locations. Officials chose to wait until 2003 when production began on Revenge of the Sith before remodeling Star Tours. In April 2005, at Star Wars Celebration III at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, creator George Lucas confirmed that a Star Tours II was in production. In May 2009, /Film reported that filming for the new version of Star Tours was underway in West Hollywood, California. During pre-production, one of the locations that Imagineers wanted guests to visit was the ice planet of Hoth while it was under siege by Imperial walkers. However, the idea was quickly scrapped because it would interfere with the attraction's placement in the Star Wars timeline. According to Imagineer Jason Surrell, after the Hoth battle idea was replaced with an encounter with the planet's native fauna (e.g. tauntauns and wampas), the concept was presented to George Lucas. Lucas, although liking the idea, requested that the battle scene be used instead, even if it meant disrupting the series' canon. Lucas offered the possibility that there was perhaps an earlier scuffle between Rebel and Imperial forces on the planet before the events in Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back unfolded and that they "later decided to build a base there figuring the Empire wouldn't think the rebels would return to that same location." The Kashyyyk sequence was suggested by John Lasseter (then-Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering). Industrial Light & Magic was responsible for the extensive computer-generated imagery seen throughout the attraction. At the 2009 D23 Expo in Anaheim, Walt Disney Imagineering announced that Star Tours at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios would be closed in October 2010 for total renovation and would reopen in May and June 2011 as Star Tours – The Adventures Continue. The updated ride system would consist of high-definition video, a Dolby 3D high-definition screen, an improved motion simulator, as well as several other newly added special effects. A short teaser trailer was shown at the expo featuring a podracing scene similar to that from Episode I – The Phantom Menace. An accompanying teaser picture depicted a red-colored "StarSpeeder 1000" spacecraft.
Previews In May 2010, Disney announced exact dates for the closure of Star Tours at both parks, both earlier than the originally announced October 2010 date. Star Tours closed on July 26 at Disneyland and on September 7 at Disney's Hollywood Studios. On June 11, 2010, at the "What's Next?" presentation, Disney announced that the re-imagined attraction would take place between Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope and would be named Star Tours – The Adventures Continue. They also premiered an image showcasing the StarSpeeder 1000 flying through Coruscant. On August 12, during Celebration V, Disney showed a preview 'commercial' of what guests may expect to see, including visits to Endor, Bespin, and Alderaan. By September 24, two new characters were revealed for Star Tours – The Adventures Continue. The first one was Ace, the "new" pilot, and the second one was the Aly San San spokesdroid, voiced by Allison Janney. During D23's "Destination D" event, Disneyland Resort President George Kalogridis stated that the new ride would feature 54 possible different experiences. On October 26, Tom Fitzgerald, Executive VP and Senior Creative Executive of Walt Disney Imagineering, stated that while Ace was supposed to be the pilot of the StarSpeeder 1000s, by the time riders actually take off, the true new pilot would be C-3PO. Fitzgerald also mentioned that Captain Rex, the former Star Tours pilot (but within the series' timeline, the future pilot), would also make an appearance somewhere on the new version of the attraction. Anthony Daniels, who played C-3PO in all the Star Wars films, returned to portray the character in three mediums; live-action suit, motion capture, and Audio-Animatronic voice. Fitzgerald revealed on February 11, 2011, that more characters would be encountered on the ride, including Darth Vader, Boba Fett, Imperial Stormtroopers, "Jumptroopers", Admiral Ackbar, Yoda, Princess Leia, and Chewbacca. He confirmed on April 1, locations that guests could visit on the new attraction. Destinations include Tatooine, Coruscant, Hoth, Naboo, Kashyyyk, and the Death Star as it orbits Geonosis.
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
