Star Tours questions

[LetsDoDisney!]

I have a Star Wars obsessed 6 year old son. However, Star Tours is too intense for him I think. I've been on the original, haven't been on the new one and DH and DS have never been on either.

I watched the youtube video of the ride and I don't think any of us will do it. I remember being queasy when I came out last time and it looks to be even more intense now.

My questions are, is there a way to see the queue and then not go on the ride? He'd LOVE the queue area that I saw on youtube!

Also, at the end of the old ride there used to be an area as you headed into the gift shop that had Darth Vader's costume on display. Is that still there? I am hoping we can go through the shop to see this if it made it through the refurbishment.

I'm not looking to be convinced to let him ride, I just want to know if we can see some Star Wars stuff WITHOUT actually riding the ride. Thanks for your help!

 

[ktlm]

I know you are not looking to be convinced to let him ride; however, I will tell you that my 6 year old DD (5 on our last trip) generally does not like thrill rides. She hates Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, and is not a fan of Test Track. She has never seen Star Wars. On our last trip, she asked to ride Star Tours because the boys in her kindergarten class love Star Wars. DH and I let her, thinking "Oh this won't go well". To our surprise, she loved it. It is one of her favorite rides in all of WDW. I can get dizzy on rides really easy (you won't see me on the teacups that's for sure). I can ride Star Tours once without any problems whatsoever. I don't feel dizzy at all. Twice directly in a row (no line just walk on the ride), and I felt just a tiny bit dizzy. Not enough to make me feel bad at all, but enough to tell DD that she was going to have to wait an hour before we could do it a 3rd time as I knew 3 in a row would be too much for me. I had a lady sitting next to me that said she got motion sick pretty easy and was worried about the ride, but she did it for her daughter. I asked her if she was okay when it ended and she said that she felt just fine and she loved it.


That said- you could probably walk through the line and then once you got to the front, tell the CM that you changed your mind and do not want to ride. I'm guessing when the doors of the simulator open, they would let you just pass through the vehicle to the exit ramp. My concern about doing that would be if your son would be really upset about walking through the ride vehicle and not getting to ride the ride.

I don't recall seeing darth vader's outfit in the store after the ride. That doesn't mean it wasn't there. I may just not have noticed it. They do have a build your own lightsaber you can buy though. DD loved the ride so much we wound up coming home with one of those.

 

[wbeem]

I don't know of a specific way to get into the queue area other than to get in the line. However, I'd simply mention the issue to a CM working there and see if they could accommodate your family. It's not a big request and could put a big smile on his face, so it's worth a shot.

 

[Atchley]

DS is Star Wars obsessed and rode the last one at 3 years old. He loved it. I don't know that he would really enjoyed just the queue line. I would probably just let him look through Tatooine Traders.

 

[mesaboy2]

You can go through the queue like everyone else and then simply tell the loading CM you do not wish to ride.

 

[GillieRose]

My son who is 9 is a wimpy rider. We live near Cedar Point and he hates the big rides. That being said he went on Star Tours when he was 4 and loved it. Rode it a few times when we where there. I would let him decide when you get there.

 

[Tarffri]

I know you are not looking to be convinced to let him ride; however, I will tell you that my 6 year old DD (5 on our last trip) generally does not like thrill rides. She hates Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, and is not a fan of Test Track. She has never seen Star Wars. On our last trip, she asked to ride Star Tours because the boys in her kindergarten class love Star Wars. DH and I let her, thinking "Oh this won't go well". To our surprise, she loved it. It is one of her favorite rides in all of WDW. I can get dizzy on rides really easy (you won't see me on the teacups that's for sure). I can ride Star Tours once without any problems whatsoever. I don't feel dizzy at all. Twice directly in a row (no line just walk on the ride), and I felt just a tiny bit dizzy. Not enough to make me feel bad at all, but enough to tell DD that she was going to have to wait an hour before we could do it a 3rd time as I knew 3 in a row would be too much for me. I had a lady sitting next to me that said she got motion sick pretty easy and was worried about the ride, but she did it for her daughter. I asked her if she was okay when it ended and she said that she felt just fine and she loved it.

I had the same experience with my DD last week (turned 9 while in WDW). She is just terrified of roller coasters and intense thrill rides. She's never seen a Star Wars movie. She decided to try this ride because school friends recommended it and loved it so much, we did it twice. Actually, the experience made my daughter braver and paved the way for her to try the Spiderman ride at Universal and Harry Potter Forbidden Journey ride at IoA which were both more intense IMO. She loved both those rides. Everyone is different, and you know your child better than anyone else.

 

[ReluctantDisaholic]

Darth Vader's costume is at the end of the Backlot Tour.

 

[Napria]

My DD wont ride much beyond the Peoplemover or the Mexican boat ride. Last time we were at WDW as a family my husband and DS rode. I wanted to ride, but wasn't too sure so I waited with DD after waiting in line with DH & DS. They didn't have us walk through the spacecraft... There are hallways between the spacecrafts. We walked through the hallways after getting up to the end of the line.

After DS rode, we went back to the beginning and waited all over again so I could ride with him. When we got to the point that we were ready to load, DS chickened out. The had him walk through the spacecraft and out the other side.

I loved it and on my trip back this past weekend I rode StarTours twice. I can't wait to ride it again.

By the way, I had ridden the old version and it was definitely rougher.

 

[LetsDoDisney!]

I think I will show him the Youtube video and see his reaction. He won't wear the 3D glasses, but that's not a big deal. He's done some rides that surprised me so he may decide to do this.

So you all think the new version isn't so "choppy" as the old one? I remember being shaken all around etc.

We will definitely hit Tatooine Traders, and we're doing the build-your-own-lightsaber at DTD as well. That's a surprise.

We watched the Jedi Training last year but he doesnt' want to do that. He'd stand there and watch them all day long though

Glad to hear that Vader's costume is still there. I told him about it and then thought it might not have made it through the refurbishment. Silly me thought that Star Wars costume was at the end of the Star Wars ride

Thanks for all your help!

 

[dolfinjuls]

My girls love star tours! My oldest has loved it since she was three and my youngest loved it this past year at four! We rode three times in one day with the new 3d rode! My youngest squirmed a bit when we had darth vader show up but wanted to ride it again! Id say give it a try!

 

[fflmaster]

Its tough to say to someone they should ride this or any other ride, but I have to agree with most of the other posters and say you will be very happy if you decide to ride.

I don't think this will make you sick or anything like that at all.

As for the queue, the only way is to walk thru the line just as everyone else who is going to ride and then ask the CM to just show you the exit to the store.

Sorry as someone also posted, darth vadar is not in the backlot tour.

 

[magicbob]

So you all think the new version isn't so "choppy" as the old one? I remember being shaken all around etc.

There is still a bit of bumping around obviously, but it is a much smoother ride than the original.

 

[WicketsMom]

My son was 4 1/2 when we went last fall and he LOVED this ride! We had to get off and go get right back in line. I think we did it four times in a row (there were non-existent lines at the time we went) plus a couple more. It was fun trying to guess which version we would get each time.

 

[LetsDoDisney!]

Its tough to say to someone they should ride this or any other ride, but I have to agree with most of the other posters and say you will be very happy if you decide to ride.

I don't think this will make you sick or anything like that at all.

As for the queue, the only way is to walk thru the line just as everyone else who is going to ride and then ask the CM to just show you the exit to the store.

Sorry as someone also posted, darth vadar is not in the backlot tour.

Oh no! Vader's gone? Did he move or is it gone completely?

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I don't know about 6 year olds, but I will tell you the ride made ME sick. I had trouble with the old version making me a little queasy. I rode the new version ONCE last year. It made me feel much worse than the old one did. The movement didn't feel any different to me, but trying to get my brain to sync the visuals along with the movement of the seat was not a good thing. I can ride roller coasters, but things that spin and simulators make me feel quite ill.

 

[magicbob]

I don't know about 6 year olds, but I will tell you the ride made ME sick. I had trouble with the old version making me a little queasy. I rode the new version ONCE last year. It made me feel much worse than the old one did. The movement didn't feel any different to me, but trying to get my brain to sync the visuals along with the movement of the seat was not a good thing. I can ride roller coasters, but things that spin and simulators make me feel quite ill.

I don't doubt that you're telling the truth about your experience, but it's highly unusual. Most everyone who has ridden both versions finds the new one to be better synced and to cause less motion sickness. Sorry you had a bad experience on the new Star Tours. In addition to the enhanced mechanics and 3D effects, the storyline is 20 times better than the original!

 

[princessallegra]

I'm another unusual one then! The new version makes me a bit dizzy. Nothing bad, just a bit dizzy. I found it bad when I sat in the seat all the way to the right of the car, against the wall. Maybe 2 or 3rd row from the front. That was bad. This time I sat more towards the middle and was better, but not good. And I do mission space orange back to back idk what it is about this new ride for me!

 

[Dash&Maggie]

We rode the new version at Disneyland last summer. Much better than the old and I get queasy easily! My 5 yr. old son rode it and really enjoyed it as well as the rest of our family. It is much smoother than the old version and I think easier on the eyes. I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem to go through the queue area and then not ride. The theming is so fun to take in!

 

[ks13]

Rode it Sat. and was impressed at how smooth it was. A lot of these rides are jerky and i didn't feel that way at all on this one.