What started out as a regular Anaheim Star Tours picture on MiceChat, EndorExpress staff researcher Alex saw something weird in the picture. R2-D2, our loved droid, was facing the visitors all the sudden! As this was quite unusual, we called in for a small investigation.

When we sent Paul to Anaheim, he came with some very interesting news! Much to our surprise, we found out that the Screen Used R2 was no longer there. Instead, it has been replaced by a stickered tube, with a dome. Also, none of the Animatronics are active. It just sits there, with no lights, no legs, a plastic dome, on a plastic tube.

Our educated guess is that our feisty droid has been taken for reparations.

Update: Disney provided us with following info: We had a themed temporary R2D2 stand-in in the attraction while the original R2 was rehabbed and reinstalled on 8-27. The rehab included a complete mechanical overhaul, paint, and new LED lights.

And indeed, R2-D2 is back again!

Photos by Paul Hruby, Jennifer L and David Yeh