After being completely deconstructed and reconstructed, the Astro Orbiter rockets took to the sky on Friday for testing.
Astro Orbiter Testing
The Magic Kingdom attraction has been closed for refurbishment since January. The ride was dismantled to receive maintenance off-site, but progressively put back together over the past few weeks. With Friday’s testing, we can see the refurbished rockets for the first time. They don’t appear to have any design differences, retaining their blue, gold, and red color scheme.
See the spinner ride in action in our TikTok video embedded below.
Disney has not announced a reopening date for Astro Orbiter. It’s still set to open this summer. The Walt Disney World calendar lists it as closed through August 19, the furthest the calendar is currently available, but that could change.
History of Astro Orbiter
Disney’s first rocket-spinner was Astro Jets at Disneyland. It opened in 1956 near Submarine Voyage and was later renamed Tomorrowland Jets before closing in 1966. A new spinner opened in 1967 atop the PeopleMover platform. This one was Rocket Jets and remained until 1997.
Disneyland then received the Astro Orbitor they have today (spelled “or” instead of “er”). It’s at the Tomorrowland entrance and is a replica of Orbitron, Machines Volantes, the Disneyland Paris rocket spinner that opened in 1992. The Disneyland ride underwent an extensive refurbishment in early 2024.
The Magic Kingdom spinner opened as Star Jets in 1974. It was redesigned and renamed Astro Orbiter in 1994.
Tokyo Disneyland opened with its own Star Jets, a replica of the Magic Kingdom ride, in 1983. It operated until 2017, when it closed to be replaced by The Happy Ride with Baymax.
Hong Kong Disneyland has its own Orbitron with flying saucer vehicles, while Shanghai Disneyland has Jet Packs.
Are you excited to ride Astro Orbiter again? Let us know in the comments.
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