After two days of running around all four Walt Disney World theme parks, I was looking forward to simply sitting in a convention hall of Disney’s Contemporary Resort all weekend and enjoying the presentations from Destination D. But… today I received word midday that Star Tours 2 was going to open for the first time to guests. And that was too exciting to pass up.

So I hurried back to Hollywood Studios, arriving at nearly the same time I did yesterday for the final leg of the Great Disney Scavenger Hunt. But this time, I only had one attraction on my mind. A crowd had already gathered in front of Star Tours, but rain scattered everyone for a few minutes. A little while after it stopped, Cast Members finally dropped the rope and let everyone in. And it was glorious.

This ride has needed an update for many years and it is now once again incredibly fun. I don’t want to ruin it for anyone, so I’ve posted a spoiler-free review.

And my first ride turned out to be extra special, as I ended up in the same cabin as Imagineers and Hollywood Studios VP Rilous Carter, who were riding in the back row.

After riding 4 times, I wanted to get back to Destination D in time for Imagineer Tony Baxter’s presentation, so I left the park and snapped the photo below on the way out. It was still raining off and on, so I didn’t get my own picture in front of the ride, but there will be plenty of time for that in the future. For now, I had a blast being one of the first guests to ride the updated Star Tours.