Orlando StarFlyer Trip Report and 360° POV!

Nick: Perhaps the best thing about living in Orlando is the huge variety of attractions and things to do. One of the newest attractions is the Orlando StarFlyer, which just so happens to be the world’s tallest swing ride! We got the chance to experience it first hand, so come take a swing with us!

– Over the years, many of our images have popped up on other sites and forums, awesome that our coverage spreads, not so awesome that not everyone mentioned where they got the images from. We are totally fine with our audience using our images, BUT ONLY IF credit is given to californiacoasterkings.com. Thank you! –

The Orlando StarFlyer is located on International Drive in the ICON Orlando 360 complex. It stands a whopping 450 feet tall and swings riders around at speeds of up 45 miles per hour! I typically have no fear when it comes to roller coasters and thrill rides, but there’s just something so intimidating about the StarFlyer. Luckily, there’s a bar located right at the base of the attraction, so we decided to have a few drinks before taking flight.

The Star Bar

The menu consists of several cleverly named mixed drinks. I decided to go with the Liquid Courage, as I definitely needed some of that before getting on the ride, and my wife went with the namesake StarFlyer drink. Both were very tasty, and definitely go us in the right mindset for riding.

The atmosphere in the Star Bar is great – the walls are adorned with schematic drawings of the ride as well as some awesome construction photos showing off various parts of the ride. It gives you a really good look into what went into building this massive attraction.

You can check out the bar for yourself with the nifty 360° photo embedded below! Click (or tap, if you’re on mobile) and drag the photo to look around.

The StarFlyer

At night, the Orlando StarFlyer comes alive with a gorgeous lighting package. It’s covered from top to bottom in LEDs, and even the seats have lights on them! I’d definitely recommend riding at night if you can. It can get pretty busy on weekend nights, but you’ll at least be able to chill in the Star Bar before your ride!

So, how’s the ride, you ask? Well, in my opinion it was quite scary, even after the drinks! Swinging around at that height and speed really made me miss being on solid ground. My wife wasn’t as scared of it as I was, and said she enjoyed the views as well as the sensation of flying. The seats are relatively open, with only a seat belt, lap bar and a strap between your legs, so you definitely have some freedom and really feel the wind. As you can see below I had a great time, but I never let go of that lap bar!

Once we were back on the ground, we spent some time exploring the plaza around the ride and taking photos. It features a nice seating area that offers some great views of the tower, and some fun statues.

The Orlando StarFlyer staff was also kind enough to let us come back during the day to get a 360° POV of the ride. Huge thanks to them for being so accommodating! Check out the video below to take a 360° virtual ride on the Orlando StarFlyer! Note that this POV was filmed with permission using approved equipment. Please make sure to follow all posted rules when visiting the attraction!