Disney Tips Your Guide To A Great Disney Vacation
Despite all the available guides and information about the Disney theme parks, one experience in particular seems nearly impossible to achieve, no matter how hard guests try.
Credit: Disney
Disney World, also known as “The Most Magical Place on Earth,” is full of magical rides, attractions, shows, restaurants, and other experiences—so many, in fact, that guests’ vacations to the Florida resort tend to last a week or longer. Due to the sheer number of things to do at Walt Disney World, it’s crucial that guests are as up-to-date and as prepared as possible prior to their vacation to ensure a seamless experience.
However, there’s one experience that seems to always be out of reach no matter how well-prepared guests are, and it has to do with Disney’s Star Wars-inspired ride, Star Tours.
While Star Tours is a pretty standard Disney theme park attraction, one part of the ride has proven to be incredibly frustrating for those seeking to do everything at Walt Disney World.
The Secret Inside Disney’s Star Tours
Credit: Disney
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Guests can hop on Star Tours for a fun and thrilling journey across multiple planets and galaxies. However, the secret experience we’re talking about takes place before the ride even begins. See, as guests board their StarSpeeder, one rider is randomly elected to be the “Rebel Spy,” someone who becomes crucial to the plot of the ride as the experience continues.
One guest is selected out of the 40 total riders to be the spy, with their photo being taken for use later during the attraction. After the initial scene, it’s revealed that the Sith, First Order, or one of Star Wars’ other evil factions is looking for the Rebel Spy. When this moment happens, the photo that was taken of the guest is shown on the screen at the front of the StarSpeeder.
Guests often laugh as a photo of their son, daughter, friend, brother or grandmother pops up next to C-3PO, with the moment usually ending up being the highlight of the entire experience for the guest who gets picked.
However, with a 1-in-40 chance, getting picked can be quite tricky, even borderline impossible. While not confirmed, younger guests typically seem to be chosen as the Rebel Spy more often than adults.
Some guests claim sitting completely still with heads facing forward will increase riders’ chances of getting picked, but there are even some fans here at the Inside the Magic team that have yet to be picked to be the Rebel Spy despite visiting the parks for decades.
Regardless of whether guests get picked or not, the Star Tours Rebel Spy element is perhaps one of the most fun and unique parts of any of Disney’s theme park rides and adds a level of immersion not seen in most other attractions.
Star Tours is a simulator-based experience at Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park. The ride has been part of the park since 1989 and has received a number of upgrades and enhancements over the years, most notably in 2011, when the attraction reopened as Star Tours—The Adventures Continue.
This revamped version of Disney’s classic Star-Themed attraction added a whole new dimension to the experience, with Disney Imagineers creating a special ride video matrix. This essentially means that several pieces of on-ride video are chosen at random, making each adventure unique.
Not only did this change improve the overall experience of the ride itself, but it has also allowed Disney to continue updating Star Tours with new characters and storylines inspired by projects such as Disney’s sequel trilogy, as well as as the Disney+ original series The Mandalorian.
More on Star Tours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios:
Board your Starspeeder 1000 and prepare for takeoff! When a series of mishaps unwittingly causes your starship to launch too soon, protocol droid C-3PO takes the controls.
Suddenly, the ship is intercepted by Imperial—or First Order—forces searching for a Rebel spy. To avoid capture, you’ll embark on a thrilling, unpredictable flight that rockets you to the farthest reaches of the galaxy.
Featuring a flight simulator, digital 3D video, Audio-Animatronics characters and “in-cockpit” special effects and music, this attraction immerses you in the Star Warsmythology for an unforgettable intergalactic adventure.
Will your Starspeeder elude capture and make it back to the base? May the Force be with you—always.
Credit: Inside the Magic
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Of course, Star Tours is just one part of Disney’s numerous Star Wars offerings at its parks, with Disney’s Hollywood Studios also being home to perhaps Disney’s most immersive land yet, Galaxy’s Edge.
This is where guests can truly live out their own Star Wars fantasies, with several key characters, such as Rey, Finn, and Kylo Ren, making an appearance (or two) within the land.
Placed on the fictional planet of Batuu, Galaxy’s Edge is one of Disney’s largest and most ambitious theme park expansions to date, completely transforming Hollywood Studios’ look and feel. A theme park land is nothing without a few good rides, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is no different, with the land featuring not one but two state-of-the-art attractions for guests to enjoy.
Millenium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run is similar to Star Tours, though the attraction is much more realistic and immersive, placing guests in the cockpit of the galaxy’s most infamous ship; the Millenium Falcon.
Guests will find themselves in the middle of a deadly mission, one that requires a crew of six riders to all work together to reach the highest score they can. One part ride, one part game, and all parts fun, Smuggler’s Run is one of Disney’s most unique attractions to date.
More on Millenium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run at Disney’s Hollywood Studios:
Take Control of the Fastest Ship in the Galaxy
Ride in the famous cockpit of the Millennium Falcon on a daring flight—and whether you’re a pilot, engineer or gunner, every role is crucial.
The engines rumble as the Millennium Falcon blasts off, pushing you and your crew back into your seats when you jump into hyperspace towards adventure. Along the way you’ll face danger at every turn.
Will your mission succeed or fail? It’s up to you—find out if you have what it takes to outmaneuver the odds aboard the Millennium Falcon.
Get ready to punch it!
On-the-Job Training Provided
Never flown a starship before? Hondo Ohnaka is looking for discreet flight crews to deliver a backlog of hard-to-find items to particular clientele—no experience necessary!
Credit: Alex Lue, Inside the Magic
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The other premier attraction featured at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is Rise of the Resistance, which is undoubtedly one of Disney’s most impressive theme park experiences to date. Blending multiple ride technologies and systems together while telling an enthralling story, Rise of the Resistance is an exciting adventure that’s fun for (mostly) the whole family.
Rise is often considered not just one of Disney’s crowning achievements but one of the best attractions in the park’s history, a claim that puts a lot of pressure on Disney’s future projects. Unsurprisingly, Rise of the Resistance consistently ranks as one of the resort’s most popular and crowded rides, with wait times often exceeding two hours during peak times.
An Attraction on a Scale That Is Impressive, Most Impressive
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is a massive attraction with multiple ride systems that is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced at the Disneyland Resort… or anywhere else in the galaxy!
Accept a Mission from the Resistance
The Resistance needs your help! Hidden in the forest outside Black Spire Outpost, the Resistance is gathering recruits for a secret mission.
With the First Order desperate to extinguish the spark of the Resistance, the mission is bound to have unexpected twists and turns. When your transport is captured by an imposing First Order Star Destroyer filled with legions of stormtroopers—and even Kylo Ren!—you’re going to need all the help you can get. Fortunately, a covert team of Resistance fighters—including Rey and BB-8—is at the ready to give you a fighting chance to escape… and a chance for the Resistance to rise.
Prepare for a thrilling, first-of-its-kind adventure!
Do you enjoy riding Star Tours? What is your favorite Star Wars-inspired experience at Walt Disney World?
