The Endor forest mural outside Star Tours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios has been covered with green scrim.
Endor Forest Mural
The mural serves as a backdrop to the enormous tree trunks that emulate the forest moon of Endor outside Star Tours. It’s pictured below in a photo from 2022.
The stage still stands for the defunct Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple interactive show, but the sign was removed in 2022, signaling its permanent retirement.
The mural had been in poor condition, faded and peeling. The refurbishment has been long overdue.
The scene is supposed to replicate “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi,” where the Rebels fight the Empire on the moon while Luke faces Darth Vader and the Emporer on the second Death Star. The trees resemble California Redwoods, as the movie was shot in Del Norte and Humboldt counties. Sadly, most of the particular grove of Redwoods used for filming has been cut down.
The Sanctuary Moon is the 9th moon of the planet Endor, but is often known by the same name. It’s home to the fuzzy Ewoks as well as a terminal for the Star Tours tour company. Guests can depart aboard a StarSpeeder 1000 and are taken to many destinations across the galaxy (though trips are often waylaid in search of a Rebel spy stowaway). Star Tours — the travel service — is canon in the larger “Star Wars” universe, having briefly appeared in several episodes of “Star Wars: Clone Wars.” However, the events of the attraction are not considered canon.
Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
Star Tours: The Adventures Continue opened in 2011, replacing the original Star Tours attraction and utilizing a new ride system with an advanced motion simulator. The ride takes guests on a randomly selected adventure with four sequences: the Spaceport escape, the first planet, a hologram message, and a second planet. Each sequence has multiple variants, with a total of 54 possible combinations.
RX-24, the original pilot of the previous ship (the StarSpeeder 3000), was replaced by C-3P0 and R2-D2. He retired to work as DJ R3X at Oga’s Cantina. You can find his albums on Spotify, Apple Music, and more streaming services.
Sequel trilogy scenes were added in 2015, 2017, and 2019. On those journeys, the Rebel spy is referred to as a First Order traitor.
Watch our video below to see scenes from the 2019 update for “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” It includes a hologram message from Lando Calrissian before the StarSpeeder becomes involved in the Battle of Exegol.
New destinations are coming to Star Tours in 2024 at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris. The new destinations have yet to be revealed, and it was noted that some “haven’t been seen before,” leading to speculation of planets from upcoming movies and series.
The initial announcement was made during Star Wars Celebration in 2022 with the news of new planets given at Star Wars Celebration 2023. Fans hoping for another update may be disappointed that Star Wars Celebration won’t return until 2025, but more information may be announced during Destination D23 this September.
Is Star Tours still your favorite Star Wars attraction? Let us know in the comments.
For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.