Astro Orbiter in Magic Kingdom appears to have been completely reconstructed following an intensive refurbishment.
Astro Orbiter Refurbishment
After closing in January, Astro Orbiter was dismantled and removed from Tomorrowland for refurbishment work off-site. In the past few weeks, elements of the ride have returned, including the decorative planets.
During the ride’s reconstruction, there was a large crane in Tomorrowland surrounded by construction walls. The crane and walls are gone as of Friday, June 6, indicating no more elements have to be lifted onto the Astro Orbiter platform.
The ride has not reopened. There are probably still final touches and tests to be done before it’s ready for operation. It is scheduled to reopen this summer. The calendar on the Astro Orbiter webpage lists it as closed through at least August 5.
The biggest design change at the attraction is the painting of the elevator shaft gray. It used to be red. The gray blends in with the surrounding Tomorrowland architecture more, which may be the reason for the change.
All of the planets look the same as they did before removal, although they may have been repainted.
A bit of a mystery is the state of the ride’s rocket vehicles. They have not been visible during the re-installation process. We can see the black arms that raise and lower the vehicles.
Still, we expect the vehicles and the ride experience in general to not be significantly different. The refurbishment seems to have been a standard maintenance project.
Astro Orbiter at Other Disney Parks
Disney’s first rocket-spinner was Astro Jets, which opened at Disneyland in 1956 between Submarine Voyage and Rocket to the Moon. It would later be named Tomorrowland Jets before closing in 1966. A new version opened in 1967, this time as Rocket Jets, and was on top of the PeopleMover platform. Rocket Jets lasted until 1997. The park’s present-day rocket-spinner is Astro Orbitor (spelled “or” instead of “er”) and is located at the entrance to Tomorrowland. It underwent an extensive refurbishment in early 2024.
Astro Orbitor at Disneyland is a replica of Orbitron, Machines Volantes from Disneyland Paris. Orbitron opened with the park, originally known as Euro Disneyland, in 1992.
The Magic Kingdom version opened as Star Jets in 1974. It was redesigned and became Astro Orbiter in 1994.
The Tokyo Disneyland version of Star Jets was a replica of the Magic Kingdom ride, opening with the park in 1983. It remained until 2017, when it closed to be replaced by The Happy Ride with Baymax.
Orbitron opened with Hong Kong Disneyland in 2005, with new flying saucer vehicles that could accommodate more guests. The Shanghai Disneyland version, which opened with the park in 2016, is known as Jet Packs.
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