Astro Orbiter: Advice, and Wait Time.

[CaptiveJustin]

Hello My Disney Friends,

My vacation to WDW is just around the corner now, and I had a few questions about Astro Orbiter in Tomorrowland / Magic Kingdom. During my last vacation to WDW, my mother & my brother had went on Astro Orbiter, and they said that it was pretty fast. Does anybody know the exact speed of Astro Orbiter, or how fast it was when they had gone on it? I have been on Dumbo before, but would imagine that Astro Orbiter goes faster. I have not yet been on Astro Orbiter and would really like to during my vacation to WDW this year! Also, how long is the wait for the ride? I once saw the line, and it looked fairly long, I would imagine 10-20 minutes but I could be wrong, does anybody know?

If anybody could answer these questions for me, that would be greatly appreciated!

-Thanks in advance
(Your Pal) Justin

[PIRATEGIRL007]

I don't remember how fast Astro Orbiter is mostly b/c I was clutching the side of the rocket in fear that I would be thrown to my death. DH and I rode it together a few years back and it is the one ride on the planet that terrorfies me (and I've been on alot more extreme stuff than WDW offers), maybe if we rode it alone with each our own rocket it wouldn't be that bad. We were crowded and I was in the front and it was just awful. I am trying to convince myself to try it again with my own rocket next trip.

The waits for Astro Orbiter vary but can get long during the day, it is best to ride early in the morning or very late in the evening. We go in September which is one of the slowest months and the waits are still in the 25- 30 min + range most of the day and early evening. I recommend late evening b/c the view seems like it would be amazing, I wouldn't know I was pre-occupied.

[smitch425]

Originally Posted by PIRATEGIRL007

I don't remember how fast Astro Orbiter is mostly b/c I was clutching the side of the rocket in fear that I would be thrown to my death.

Meeee toooo!!!! I expected it to go faster than Dumbo, but I did not prepare myself for THAT speed. My son had marks on his arm from me holding onto him so tight. It was fun, but WAY faster than I thought it would be.

[mikat]

My son *LOVES* Astro Orbiter. That and Living with the Land are currently his favorites (could there be an odder pair of attractions?) Astro seems to be a bit faster than Dumbo, but i wonder if that's because it's up so high in the air. The majority of the ride is pretty similar to Dumbo, but as the ride ends and they bring you down it feels to me like the centrifugal force kicks in and they speed it up a bit. As long as spinning isn't an issue for you, I doubt you will have a problem.

My major problem with Astro (and me son's obsession with it ) is that the wait is onlyl partially shaded and seems to take forever because you are limited by the space in the elevators. Also, the elevators are packed and get very hot - that is my least favorite part of the attraction. We went in June and waited for about 40 minutes both times. Fortunately, it allowed me older son and DH to hit Space at the same time.

Have a great time! You should definitely ride it - the views are amazing!!!

[lorli]

The kids love it but the wait is usually horendous because you have to take an elevator to get there. The line looks short but it is deceptively longer than that.

[Scubee]

Originally Posted by PIRATEGIRL007

I don't remember how fast Astro Orbiter is mostly b/c I was clutching the side of the rocket in fear that I would be thrown to my death.

I should *NOT* have been drinking coffee when I read that. Made me lol for some reason.

[GaRain]

The ride does not really go faster than Dumbo or Aladdin - it just feels like it due to your perspective of being so high in the air.
The wait times can be brutal, due to the stop load facet of the ride. I did learn that 2 good size adults CANNOT fit into one flying machine comfortably!
But you can get some great pictures from up there!

[Kevin_W]

I don't know - I seem to recall it being quite a bit faster than Dumbo. I was actually pretty amazed that a <40" kid can't ride something like Soarin' (which takes you maybe 10' in the air and gently tilts side to side while you are securely strapped in), but there is no height restriction for this ride.

Not that we were indanger of being thrown out... the CM told us "Sure! Mom, dad, and 2.5-yr odl can all easilly fit in one orbiter." Ha! The 3 of us combined came in at ~320 pounds and we needed a can opener to get back out of the ride...