Star Tours and Motion Sickness?

[godders]

See now Star Tours makes my dad feel nauseous as do the tea cups but I'm fine with it (in fact it's my favourite ride) but then I feel really nauseous on Soarin' and rides like Wild Arctic at SeaWorld where you have large landscapes that you are flying through. We can all do roller coasters though

I think the best thing to do is try it once as it's a bit hit and miss for motion sickness. If you do find you're suffering just focus on one spot and breathe through it and then you never have to do it again but it would be a shame to miss out on such a classic if you are in fact ok with it

 

[ToddyLu]

I ride everything at WDW, including Star Tours before the refurb. I rode it after the refurb. I mistakenly sat in the far right seat on the very last row. The simulation was awesome with all the effects and I loved that aspect of it....but I thought if this ride goes another 5 seconds I am going to loose it. The nausea lasted about 30 minutes and I have not had the gumption to go on it again. Nobody else wanted to ride it a second time, either that day. Of course they were right next to me on that row.

Definitely sit in the middle of the ride.

 

[floreksa]

Last trip, we went w/ my parents & my sister's family. Star Tours was my nephew's favorite ride. He hated most others, so we rode it a lot. It makes me sick, but if I close my eyes I'm fine. Its the combination of the motion on the screen with the motion of the room. Eyes closed, feeling just the motion of the room and I'm fine, so that's how I rode it every single time. (I can't watch movies that are filmed in the "shaky, hand held camera" style like Cloverfield)

This next trip, I promised DD, I'd ride with her, since DH can't handle it at all. I'm going to try w/ some dramamine and see if that helps. If not, it'll be eyes closed again.

The only ride I told DD she'd absolutely have to ride alone if she wanted to go on is Primevil Whirl at AK. I couldn't do that if you paid me. (she has no interest in Mission Space orange thank goodness!)

 

[LaurenT]

I don't know what it is about Star Tours....
I ride Mission Space Orange and only feel queasy a little bit once in a while.
I was a flight attendant and never got airsick.
But Star Tours almost always leaves me feeling queasy. DD loves it, so I go on anyway - but if she's with a friend de can ride with, I'm more than happy to sit it out!

 

[Frozen2014]

OP here...thanks for all the responses.

I think it depends on whether or not you've had other problems with motion sickness. Has he gotten sick in the car or while flying or on a ship? How has he handled other amusement park rides (or the whirley go puke in the local playground). I love Star Tours and ride it once every visit, but I've never made it through a ride without getting nauseated. Usually I can stop it by staring at the floor for a minute. I won't go anywhere near the Tea Cups, but I can ride any of the coasters with no problem.

I'd let him try it once, but tell him in advance what to do at the first sign that he is getting queasy. There's every chance that he'll be fine.

DS9 - Has never had an issue at amusement parks, but is sensitive to car sickness (if stop and go)

DH - As a kid, was sensitive to car rides. As an adult, does get queasy on some rides (more sensitive stomach in 'old' age...ha ha)

Me - Very sensitive stomach (along with claustrophobic)

I will show DH this post as am thinking that we should skip this one (but I will probably still try for FP for them though just in case). Would be such a shame though as they are both Star Wars fans...and this is something for him (compared with all the princess stuff for DD). If they do ride it, I will mention to them what was said here about closing their eyes or looking at one spot if they feel sick.

It's funny how there are comments about 'try it once'...since this is our first Disney World trip, and most likely our only Disney World trip (it's very $$$ and we'd like to do a cruise as our next big trip). So each ride we go on will by 'trying it once'

One thing I guess I should ask....what exactly is a simulation ride? i.e. what is it that makes you nauseous?

 

[alicat8]

This is the only ride I've ever gotten sick on (not to "disturbance in the force" level, thankfully). But it was partially my fault-I spaced out and stopped paying attention to the screen. It was really disorienting. Haven't been on since, and that was my first time on the new version, but I'm pretty confident I'd be ok if I focus next time.

 

[elgerber]

It really is a great ride, but I only do it once per trip, if at all. Different scenarios on the ride seem to affect me differently. Sometimes I've been ok until the end, another time, I was queasy right away. I take Meclizine every day before we go to the park, but Star Tours still gets me sometimes. My dd on the other hand, gets really car sick, and sea sick, but has no problems on Star Tours for some reason. My men though, eat it up and ride repeatedly.

 

[shyjade]

DD16 and I both suffer from motion sickness (backseat of a car, airplane, etc.) but really love Star Wars so we finally tried Star Tours last year for the first time.

While at Disney we each take a 24-hour Dramanine ("less drowsy") before going to bed each night which seems to help. We also each have "Sea Bands" that we wear as needed, but I can't remember if we wore them on Star Tours or not.

DD16 never had any issues on Star Tours and of the 2 of us, she suffers motion sickness the worst (she almost threw up on the 1.5 hour plane ride to Disney and I was fine). I feel "woozy" but never felt sick in any way (I also get frequent ear infections so that may have been why I felt dizzy vs. sick to my stomach). I did refuse to ride it twice in a row because I felt that would have been too much for me but we did ride it several times during our visit and neither of us suffered motion sickness on it.

 

[nkereina]

I'm not particularly prone to motion sickness, but I do tend to avoid rides like Mission Space and the tea cups to prevent it. Star Tours has made my stomach slightly upset in the past, but not consistently. There's been times I've been on it with no effect. I'll continue to take my chances on it, it's certainly not as bad as some others (like Mission Space).

 

[Frozen2014]

Hmmm...not so encouraging...which is a shame with 2 star wars fans.

I can understand those that take something beforehand, but I don't want to give my son anything, just for a ride (and even DH).

Mission Space is not on our list (even the easier version), nor is tea cups (that kind of ride makes DH and me sick...although DS likes that and will make it do the extra spin).

As for 'if simulator rides' makes you sick...well, I don't even quite understand what a simulator ride is (i.e. never been on one, or know of one, at an amusement park that we tend to go to)

 

[Cjones13]

Yes. I have always gotten motion sick on this. It shakes you around pretty well.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

There is a pre-show that sets up the ride. During it, they explain that you're about to go on a ride in a space shuttle.

The doors open. You walk into a room that looks like a small theatre and then sit in the seats. You put on 3D glasses and the ride begins. The screen looks like you're looking out the front windshield of the "space shuttle" you're supposedly on.

You then go "flying" through several scenes. The seats move a bit, but mostly the motion is simulated via the 3D effects. The "shuttle" doesn't actually move anywhere. It's a simulator because you feel like you're flying when you're really not. The flying feeling is accomplished by the effects on the the ride.

There really is very little actual motion to the ride. It's not like spinning in circles. The motion sickness is caused by your mind being tricked by the ride effects. I can't even ride the carrousel, can't even look at the tea cups, and I still get sick in cars if someone is driving like a maniac, but I can ride Star Tours repeatedly.

I would hate to see any Star Wars fan skipping it, especially if this is a one-and-done trip for you.

 

[Frozen2014]

There is a pre-show that sets up the ride. During it, they explain that you're about to go on a ride in a space shuttle.

The doors open. You walk into a room that looks like a small theatre and then sit in the seats. You put on 3D glasses and the ride begins. The screen looks like you're looking out the front windshield of the "space shuttle" you're supposedly on.

You then go "flying" through several scenes. The seats move a bit, but mostly the motion is simulated via the 3D effects. The "shuttle" doesn't actually move anywhere. It's a simulator because you feel like you're flying when you're really not. The flying feeling is accomplished by the effects on the the ride.

There really is very little actual motion to the ride. It's not like spinning in circles. The motion sickness is caused by your mind being tricked by the ride effects. I can't even ride the carrousel, can't even look at the tea cups, and I still get sick in cars if someone is driving like a maniac, but I can ride Star Tours repeatedly.

I would hate to see any Star Wars fan skipping it, especially if this is a one-and-done trip for you.

This is an excellent description. Thanks for much.
I will show this to DH along with the comments and let him decide. I will still put it on our FP list so they can decide when we are there.

 

[Mickey Maniac]

I personally have never had an issue, but I guess it is dependent on each person and how they handle this type of ride.

 

[Surfinpiratee]

My DS9 is just getting into Star Wars and is watching a movie per week, so he would really love the Star Tours ride with DH. However, I'm reading about it and it says "likely to cause motion sickness". Is this true? That doesn't sound like such a fun ride. How are your experiences (adult and child)?

I'm pretty prone to motion sickness and I don't have much of a problem. If I start to feel a little funny, I'll shut my eyes or look away from the screen for a second

 

[ThE FuTuRe ImAgInEeR]

I will admit that the past few times that I've ridden ST (after the upgrade) I did have trouble with motion sickness (I had the same problem with Harry Potter and the forbidden journey) I'm pretty sure that with ST it is because of the 3D because if I close my eyes for a few seconds during the ride the motion sickness tends to subside. Staring at a non moving screen on a moving ride always gets me. My other family members have had no trouble with ST though so it depends on the person I guess.

 

[mirage0306]

I can't ride Mission Space: Orange and I hate the tea cups. I have no problem at all with Star Tours.

 

[EPCOTatNight]

I never got sick on this attraction before , but I did on my most recent trip in March. Ironically, I just bought ginger tabs today for my trip next week. I guess I am getting old because almost everything had me queasy.

 

[mom2jcg]

I don't know if they would ever do this again, but my youngest son was once too short to ride and the CM saw how disappointed he was. He said, "Come with me!" and took us through the exit, spoke with CM running the ride, and let us ride in a simulator with NO MOTION! Basically, just watched the movie My son was thrilled, and that was the only time I've ever enjoyed the ride.

I do not get sick on cruise ships, roller coasters, tea cups, or riding in the car (unless I'm trying to read or roads are unusually curvy) but this ride does me in. I don't even try anymore. I would be extremely careful about giving any form of Dramamine unless you've tried it and know how he reacts to it. Less drowsy version knocked me out for 14 hours once.

 

[Sarahleigh]

I've never been very prone to motion sickness. I could ride those crazy carnival rides over and over... after walking off Star Tours I had to beeline straight for the nearest bench and actually lay down for a bit.