May the Fourth is nearly upon us! Now recognised by many as Star Wars Day, the event sees a number of extra Star Wars related activities in Disneyland Paris, from character meet and greets to shows. But what if you’re unable to visit early May? Star Wars fans rejoice because there’s a lot you can do in Disneyland Paris year round that can help transport you to a galaxy far, far away.

Star Tours: The Adventures Continue

When talking about all things Star Wars in Disneyland Paris, you can’t not mention Star Tours: The Adventures Continues!

Occupying the back left corner of Discoveryland in Disneyland Park (as you look into the land its main entrance), Star Tours is a simulator attraction. The premise is that you are taking a short flight in the Star Wars galaxy on board a tourist vessel, and the tourist firm is being managed by C3P0 and R2D2. While waiting for your shuttle, the C3P0 sends the Captain away and takes over to fix a glitch, but ends up stuck as the Captain instead when the ship takes off early – with you on board! Adding to C3P0’s woes is that on board the ship is a ‘rebel spy’ (a randomly selected member of the group riding), and various Star Wars bad guys end up trying to chase you down, while you aim to get to safety. The screen on Star Tours is 3D and wearers wear glasses throughout, adding to the immersion.

Star Tours has a lot going for it. One is its re-ridability. Each ride on Star Tours can be different as it has several scenes it can pick from a wide selection, featuring notable locations from the prequel, original and sequel trilogies, as well as some of the more recent TV shows. So you may see Darth Vader, take a trip to Coruscant, go Pod racing, end up underwater in Naboo, or on the crystal planet from Star Wars the Last Jedi. The ride also features a wide range of Star Wars characters, from Leia to Boba Fett and beyond.

Another major plus for Star Tours is the queue – you move through the departure area for Star Tours including glimpses of C3P0, R2D2, a Star Tours shuttle, departure boards, and security droids. (And glimpses of ‘defective’ droids being returned – alas Captain Rex, we hardly knew you). Honestly, even if you can’t ride the ride, going through the queue might be worth it to see the theming!

Speaking of people who can’t ride the ride, that’s the biggest con of Star Tours. This is a simulator attraction and can be a rough and wild ride. It has a height requirement of 1.02m which excludes younger guests from riding, and also comes with a number of ride warnings for those with medical conditions to think about. (Side note, folks in wheelchairs can ride as long as they can transfer to the ride vehicle). Being a screen based attraction, Star Tours also sadly makes a lot of people motion sick. If you can ride the attraction we think it’s worth it, but it’s not for everyone. But it’s probably the most ‘Star Wars‘ thing you can do at Disneyland Paris!

Hyperspace Mountain

Nearby in Discoveryland to Star Tours is Hyperspace Mountain, and you really can’t miss it – it’s the huge gold coloured building with the cannon on the side sitting in the middle of the land!

Hyperspace Mountain is part of the ‘Space Mountain’ family of Disney rollercoasters – those are rollercoasters that take place in the darkness with a theme of taking you into Space. And the original version of this ride was just Space Mountain and nothing to do with Star Wars at all! But that changed in 2017, when the ride was rethemed into the Hyperspace Mountain we have today.

The theme of Hyperspace Mountain is that you’re blasting off into space, in this case joining a reconnaissance mission to Jakku with Admiral Akbar. The Columbiad Cannon (sitting on the side of the building) is designed to get you into lightspeed super fast! Once you blast off you’re on a wild ride through space, with projections showing how you’re helping to battle Tie Fighters and a Star Destroyer. What this really amounts to is a serious roller coaster in the dark with inversions and a high speed launch!

Hyperspace Mountain is a funny beast. Some love the Star Wars tie in, others dislike that the ride has gone away from its Jules Verne roots and argues that the Steam Punk Columbiad Cannon on the side doesn’t really fit into the Star Wars universe. (Which they have a point about to be fair). But rollercoaster fans are sure to love Hyperspace Mountain and it delivers a lot of thrills!

As with Star Tours this ride isn’t for everyone. There’s a height requirement of 1.20m, and it comes with a lot of ride warnings for those with medical conditions to consider. If you don’t like super thrilling coasters, going upside down or being in the near pitch black then Hyperspace Mountain may not be the ride for you! But coaster junkies are sure to love it.

Characters

Disneyland Paris offers a chance to meet some Star Wars characters as you explore Discoveryland!

The main meet and greet location in Starport, a little building just outside of Star Tours. Inside here guests can get some one on one time with a Star Wars character. The vast majority of the time this is Darth Vader, but he does sometimes swap out for other characters like Chewbacca. Meet and greets at Starport are popular and to be able to meet a character here you need to get a virtual queue spot on the Disneyland Paris app. To be able to join the queue you must be scanned into one of the Disneyland Paris theme parks. Queue times are dropped at 9.45am and 2pm, and if you want one we suggest you’re on the app as soon as they drop to secure a spot. While Starport isn’t as competitive to get spots at as the Princesses, spots do still get snapped up quickly.

Nearby is another spot to meet a Star Wars character, and for some time now this has hosted the Mandalorian and Grogu from the Mandalorian TV series. Meeting Mando is easier than Starport in that there’s no virtual queue, you just need to turn up and queue. Times that the Mandalorian will appear are listed in the Disneyland Paris app, we suggest you get to the meeting spot before the queue time starts and begin lining up early to ensure you get your meet and greet in! It’s possible that in the future this spot could be used for different characters, but given the popularity of the Mandalorian and Grogu and that their film comes out soon I’d expect them to be around for a while yet!

Other characters have been known to pop up for shows, special events (like May the Fourth), or pop up experiences like Lightspeed Lounge last year; but Starport and the Mandalorian are the main two experiences that operate most of the year.

Dining

While there’s not a Star Wars themed restaurant in Disneyland Paris (boo!), there are some opportunities to grab some snacks themed to that galaxy far, far away.

Just inside Discoveryland off the Main Street Hub on the right hand side is a little kiosk called ‘Cool Station’. While a lot of people visit this spot for the crepes, the most unique (and cutest!) snack here is the Grogu biscuit – this is a pistachio sandwich biscuit shaped like Grogu, filled with chocolate-hazelnut filling (so Nutella pretty much). You need to like pistachios to like this treat, but it’s certainly photo worthy!

Another little kiosk tucked behind Hyperspace Mountain (near to where you meet the Mandalorian) is called Rocket Cafe. The main food item here are waffles shaped like Darth Vader or a Stormtrooper, covered with either sugar or Nutella. And they are delicious!! You can also get a Boba Fett biscuit here – it’s essentially the same as the Grogu one mentioned above, but shaped like Boba Fett’s helmet instead.

Also Discoveryland’s main quick service is Cafe Hyperion. While not Star Wars themed itself, when there’s not a seasonal menu for Halloween or Christmas this restaurant often serves up a Star Wars themed burger (it’s been a Yoda burger for while – the character is printed on the bun. No Yoda’s were hurt in the making of this meal!). It also typically has a Star Wars themed dessert on the menu, currently it’s a Lemon Macaron with C3P0 on it – appropriate as Cafe Hyperion is very close to Star Tours!

Shopping

If you’re a Star Wars collector then you have the opportunity to pick up some great Star Wars themed merchandise at Disneyland Paris!

Your main port of call should be Star Traders, the shop in Discoveryland that also is the exit for Star Tours. This shop sells a wide range of Star Wars merchandise including clothing, accessories, toys, collectibles, Minnie ears, keyring, pins and pretty much anything you can name that could have Grogu on it! There is a lot of merchandise for the Mandalorian and Grogu in here but other parts are the Star Wars universe a well represented here too. The most unusual offerings here are the build your own lightsaber and droid spots. If you are used to the US Disney Parks please note this is not a full on experience like you get there and the items you get are definitely toys more than collectibles! For the lightsaber you get to choose your different lightsaber parts and put them together, including choosing blade colour and more. If you like there’s a little training droid you can practice your lightsaber moves against too! (It’s on a screen but still kinda cool). For the droid building you can create a small action figure size droid with custom colours and even choose it a natty hat if you like (R2 with Mickey ears anyone?)

Over in Disney Adventure World, while Star Wars isn’t really represented in the park you can find a small selection of merchandise in Mickey’s of Hollywood – the best offerings are definitely in Star Traders though. If you’re in Mickey’s of Hollywood or anywhere in World Premiere Plaza pay attention to the soundtrack – the Star Wars theme does make its appearance here!

Over in Disney Village the hub of Star Wars merchandise was Disney Store, but that’s now closed to make way for Disney Wonders which should open this summer. It’s been confirmed though that there will be a Star Wars section in the new shop – we look forward to seeing what it looks like!

Also you can sometimes find a smattering of Star Wars items in other shops as appropriate – so look out in the shops selling Pandora jewellery for Star Wars themed charms, and Disney Style in Disney Village offers adult clothing, some Star Wars themed. You can of course by Star Wars Lego in the Lego store in the Disney Village too – however this is likely to be stuff you’ll be able to find at home as opposed to unique to Disneyland Paris (and it might be cheaper there too).

Phew, I need a blue milk after listing all that off! Hopefully this helps Star Wars fans plan their days in Disneyland Paris, and May the Force be With You!

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