If you are like most STAR WARS fans one of your favorite rides at Disneyland or Disney’s Hollywood Studios must be Star Tours. Its a ride that first opened at Disneyland in 1987. Ironically at the time it was the first ride that park had introduced that was not based on a Disney property (how things have changed). Then in 2010, Disney announced it would be closing the ride to make way for an updated version, the version we have today.

The current version is by all accounts a MUCH, MUCH, MUCH, better experience, it includes segments taken from each Star Wars movie and era, including The Force Awakens and we learned at Star Wars Celebration Orlando that the ride will soon add a portion from The Last Jedi.

But if you never got the chance to ride the original version of Star Tours its not too late thanks to a fan-made recreation of the ride.  Thanks to Gregory Noacco you can now relive it in 360-degree, 4K glory. The only thing missing is the actual feeling of being whipped around in your StarSpeeder 3000. He even did a nice job capturing the personality of the droid pilot  RX-24, a.k.a. Captain Rex who was originally voiced by Paul Reubens, yes, as in Pee-wee Herman, Paul Reubens. 

Watching this nearly brought a tear to my eye with all the memories I have associated with this old ride. It was the first time in my young life that I actually felt like I was a part of the Star Wars universe.

What memories do you have from riding Star Tours?  And do you like the newer version better?

CHECK OUT THE 360-video below. best viewed on a mobile device or, if you have it, a VR headset.