In celebrations of Star Wars day on Saturday (did you have YOUR blue milk?), and in anticipation of the upcoming opening of Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, we thought we’d take a tour of the other much-beloved “far far away” attraction at the Studios: Star Tours – The Adventures Continue. Ready? Here’s where the fun begins!

1. Captain Rex

Your inexperienced pilot in the attraction’s original version was RX-24, known as Captain Rex. Unfortunately (though predictably, it was his first flight and he was still getting used to his programming), Rex went the wrong way, getting the ship caught in a tractor beam, then took you “safely” through an asteroid field at light speed…right into a battle between the Rebellion and the Empire. Unwittingly, Rex gave the squadron of X-Wing fighters a hand and helped them to destroy the Death Star. The film for the attraction was produced by George Lucas and the team at Industrial Light & Magic.

2. A New Adventure

In September of 2010, Guests took one “Last Tour to Endor” as the attraction prepared for a major refurbishment. At Walt Disney World, Star Tours – The Adventures Continue opened on May 20, 2011, with a special midnight event and an Imagineer Q&A session. The next day, a grand opening celebration was held with several dignitaries from around the galaxy
in attendance. The newly renovated attraction gave Guests the chance to visit new destinations in the Star Wars universe, including the ice planet of Hoth, the underwater Gungan world of Naboo, the lush jungles of Kashyyyk, podracing on Tatooine, and more. Original movie favorites such as Boba Fett, Princess Leia, Admiral Ackbar, Darth Vader, Yoda, and others now made appearances aboard the StarSpeeder 1000 in the 3D attraction.

Have you seen them all? Which is YOUR favorite? Let us know in the comments below!

3. What’s Up with Our StarSpeeder Number?

Why is the current StarSpeeder numbered 1000, when the previous version was numbered 3000? Shouldn’t it be higher? Well, with the inclusion of many new scenes that established the timeline for this attraction as taking place before the events of the original Star Tours, the ship was “back-numbered” accordingly!

4. Your Flight Number

In case you were wondering, the 1401 flight number came from the number of the street address for Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale, California.

5. Defective Rex

And for those nostalgic for the original Captain Rex, he can still be found in the attraction. Since the events of the new attraction predate those of the original, Rex is not yet a pilot, but he can be found in the pre-show security area called “Droid Customs,” being “returned to sender” for defects, which actually explains a lot for those who enjoyed the original attraction.