News about Star Tours: The Adventures Continue*

In February 2025, the Star Tours news was not about new scenes but about availability. Looopings reported that Star Tours: The Adventures Continue would remain closed for maintenance for the rest of the month. Reopening was expected on Saturday 1 March, after work through Friday 28 February. For Disneyland Park guests, the impact was noticeable because Big Thunder Mountain was also absent from the ride lineup for an extended period. Star Tours is a high-capacity indoor attraction and an important pillar of the Star Wars offering in Discoveryland. During the closure, fans still had Starport: A Star Wars Encounter and Star Wars: Hyperspace Mountain. The article places the attraction in the daily reality of park operations: even a simulator with plenty of digital variation still needs physical and technical care. For visitors the message was mainly practical, but historically it shows that Star Tours remains maintenance-sensitive years after its major renewal.

In March 2024, Disneyland Paris announced another major step in the evolution of Star Tours. Looopings reported that from 5 April the 3D flight simulator would receive scenes from recent Star Wars productions, including The Mandalorian, Ahsoka and Andor. Guests could encounter Grogu and The Mandalorian, while Peridea, the planet from Ahsoka, would also become one of the possible destinations. The update was not limited to Paris; it would arrive at the same time in the Disney resorts in California and Florida. For Star Tours, this was more than a small addition. Since 2017, the attraction had officially been Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, built around changing destinations. After these new stories, more than 250 combinations would be possible. A simulator rooted in the 1990s was therefore still connected to the newest Disney+ series through its renewed system. For fans, the news confirmed that Star Tours remains a growing Star Wars platform.

In December 2019, Star Tours again showed how quickly the simulator could move with new Star Wars films. Looopings reported that The Rise of Skywalker became part of Star Tours: The Adventures Continue at Disneyland Paris during the film's cinema week. The Starspeeder took guests to the ocean moon Kef Bir, while pilot C-3PO received help from Lando Calrissian, played by Billy Dee Williams. One striking detail was that the ride was temporarily no longer random: for the coming months, passengers would receive the same route so everyone could experience the new scenes. Later they would return to the mix of combinations, which the article said would rise above one hundred. For visitors, this kept the attraction current at the exact moment the film was in theaters. At the same time, the language issue remained: the Paris ride was generally in French, with only occasional English runs on request.

The English-language option for Star Tours proved less straightforward in December 2017 than the announcement had suggested. Looopings described a heated social media debate: guests asked for an English ride, but several reports said they still received the French version or were told English was unavailable. For an international destination like Disneyland Paris, that touched a sensitive nerve. Star Tours is not a ride where language is merely background sound. The briefing, robots, mission and characters help guests understand why the Starspeeder is rushing through the Star Wars universe. When visitors miss that layer, they lose part of the experience. The debate was therefore not just about service, but about accessibility and consistency. The article adds useful context to the history of the renewed simulator, because it shows that a technical language option only matters when staff actually apply it in daily operation.

In November 2017, Disneyland Paris addressed one of the most discussed issues around Star Tours: language. Looopings reported that cast members could now launch an English-language ride on request. That mattered for international visitors, especially Dutch guests who had complained since the March reopening that the fully French version was difficult to follow. Star Tours is not only about motion and visuals; briefing, characters and mission context are part of the experience. When that layer is lost, the ride becomes less complete. The change also arrived at the same moment as the new The Last Jedi scenes, making the attraction more current again. The system resembled the approach used at Tower of Terror, where staff can also choose between language versions. In the attraction's history, this was not a technical upgrade, but it was a meaningful improvement in accessibility and guest experience for an international resort.

One month after the announcement, Disneyland Paris was already using the new Star Tours scenes earlier than planned. Looopings reported on 17 November 2017 that guests could experience a preview of The Last Jedi in Star Tours: The Adventures Continue from that day. The ride visited Crait, with a battlefield, combat walkers and fighters. In some versions Kylo Ren appeared, while Poe Dameron or Maz Kanata entered the mission through holograms. For fans, this created a strong link between a park visit and the film release: the Dutch cinema premiere had not yet happened, but the attraction was already bringing that world to life. Batuu was also mentioned as a nod to the future Star Wars lands being built in the American Disney parks. Star Tours was using its modular design exactly as intended: as a platform that could quickly absorb current Star Wars moments into an existing attraction.

In October 2017, Disneyland Paris showed that Star Tours: The Adventures Continue would not remain a static refresh. Looopings reported that the attraction would receive an extra scene later that autumn based on Crait, the planet from the upcoming Star Wars film The Last Jedi. The promise of a living simulator became more concrete: scenes could be added as the film saga continued to grow. Visitors were expected to experience the change from 22 November. For fans, this mattered because the Paris version had reopened only months earlier and was already tying itself to a new cinema release. At the time, the attraction offered seventy possible rides with new destinations and characters. Adding Crait linked Star Tours more closely to current Star Wars storytelling. The news also made clear that the ride's randomized structure allowed future expansions without rebuilding the entire simulator again.

Less than a month after reopening, Star Tours: The Adventures Continue was already facing critical attention. Looopings referred to a review by Disney expert Kris Van de Sande, who argued that the renewed simulator felt technically dated. The 2011 visuals were the main issue: compared with newer Star Wars films, he felt they looked more like an old video game than a cinematic experience. The redesigned queue also drew criticism, because the former atmosphere had been replaced by a colder airport feel. For visitors, the story mattered because it showed that a major renovation does not automatically feel modern. The ride system itself still worked, but expectations around Star Wars had moved on quickly. The fully French-language presentation added another layer, leaving international guests with less context in an attraction where story, mission and briefing are central to the experience.

The return of Star Tours happened sooner than expected in March 2017. Looopings reported that Disneyland Paris was already running soft openings one week before the official date. For guests in the park at that moment, it was a rare chance: after a year of closure, they could try the renewed Star Wars simulator early. The core of the new experience was clear. The film was now in 3D, C-3PO was in the pilot seat, scenes were randomly combined and much of the queue had been redesigned. The attraction also received its current name, Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, with the French version Star Tours: l'Aventure Continue. The note that soft openings could stop temporarily or include technical issues made the moment feel very real. This story marks the point where the renewed attraction stopped being only a construction project and became an actual guest experience in Discoveryland again.

In February 2017, Disneyland Paris gave the first clear picture of what the renewed Star Tours would become. After more than twelve months of renovation, the simulator was set to return with seventy possible ride combinations. That number came from a randomized structure of opening, middle and finale scenes, using locations and characters from the seven Star Wars films available at the time. For fans, it was a major promise: Star Tours would no longer be a single fixed film, but an attraction that could change from one visit to the next. Looopings also highlighted the practical upgrades. The film would now be in 3D, guests would wear 3D glasses, interactive elements were being added and C-3PO would take over from Captain Rex as pilot. The official opening was scheduled for 26 March 2017. The old Discoveryland simulator thus gained a new identity: more variation, more modern technology and a closer link to the wider Star Wars saga.

By May 2016 it became clearer how far Disneyland Paris intended to take the Star Tours rebuild. Looopings reported from submitted construction plans that the simulator would receive a new look, including a pointed futuristic structure near the entrance. The surrounding area was also changing: a souvenir shop would become a Star Wars character meet-and-greet, the familiar X-wing would move to the roof, and a new shop would be created at the exit. The project was therefore not limited to technology hidden behind closed doors. For visitors, Discoveryland was about to send a much stronger Star Wars signal even before Star Tours: The Adventures Continue opened. The plans fit Disney's broader approach: the old simulator was not merely being refreshed, but repositioned as a modern Star Wars experience with a recognizable entrance and a bigger franchise presence in the land.

Star Tours did not disappear quietly at Disneyland Paris; it received a proper farewell for cast members and fans. The final flight, billed as Last Tour to Endor, marked the end of a simulator that had belonged to Discoveryland since the park's early years. Looopings described how guests boarded the 24-year-old attraction one last time before it closed for good. The real significance was what came next. The classic film from the late 1980s would be replaced by a new version with 3D glasses, sharper visuals, different characters and interactive scenes. Paris was the last Disney park to replace the old Star Tours, after earlier updates in Orlando, Anaheim and Tokyo. That makes the story the starting point for the current attraction's history: Star Tours: The Adventures Continue grew out of an emotional farewell to a much-loved original.