Changes

Beginning in the late 1990s, there was constant speculation that Star Tours would be getting a new film. In fact, prior to the release of Star Wars Episode I, Disney World spokesman Craig Dezern stated the company had a "verbal agreement" with George Lucas about creating a new film for the attraction <ref> http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/star-tours/news/23oct1998-george-lucas-and-disney-discussing-refurbishment-of-star-tours.htm </ref>. Next, in April 2005, George Lucas confirmed that “Star Tours II” was in production <ref> http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/star-tours/news/25apr2005-george-lucas-comments-on-star-tour-changes.htm </ref>. Disney finally acknowledged the update at the 2009 D23 Expo, and also informed guests that the current version of Star Tours would be closing in October of 2010, before reopening in 2011 <ref> http://www.studioscentral.com/attractions/star-tours/news/star-tours-2-announced-d23-expo </ref>. T

On August 14, 2010, Walt Disney World held the "Last Tour to Endor" event, exclusively for Celebration V (a Star Wars convention) attendees<ref> https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2010/07/star-wars-last-tour-to-endor-party-is-august-14-at-disney%E2%80%99s-hollywood-studios/ </ref>. At the event, Star Tours was officially "powered down". Instead of R2-D2 shutting down the ride as intendedhowever, Bobba Fett "blew up" the soon to be closed attraction using a thermal detonator<ref> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAYKO-0QHDQ </ref>.

The original Star Tours closed for good on September 8, 2010. The next big announcement regarding the Star Tours update came in October 2010 when the new character “Ace” (the attractions new pilot) and a droid named Aly San San were revealed <ref> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jQaHgsKhQ4 </ref>. Construction on Star Tours II : The Adventure Continues started almost immediately, and the attraction opened to the public on May 20, 2011. The new attraction features more than 30 different experiences, a high definition screen, and an improved motion simulator<ref>http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-01-19/the-daily-disney/os-daily-disney-star-tours-open-date-20110119_1_star-tours-episodes-iii-disney-dream </ref>.

On March 26, 2015 it was announced that SMS Audio would become the official sponsor of Star Tours: The Adventure Continues as part of a wider agreement with Disney Parks and Resorts<ref> http://smsaudio.com/pages/press-releases-as-blog </ref>. On November 16, 2015, Star Tours: The Adventure Continues received a new experience based on the 2015 film Star Wars: The Force Awakens <ref name= "attractions"/> . At this time, characters from the film were added to the attraction, as was a new scene featuring Jakku <ref name= "attractions"> http://attractionsmagazine.com/new-star-wars-force-awakens-scene-added-star-tours-hollywood-studios/ </ref>.