The best part of traveling to Disney resorts isn’t always a visit to the parks. Sure they’re the reason the resorts exist and they give guests lots of things to do, but sometimes it’s the outside of the parks extras that deliver the unexpected magic that have us coming back for more. Take for example, Disneyland Paris’ Star Quest Virtual Reality (VR) experience at Disney Village.
While I’ve played my fair share of video and computer games, Virtual Reality has never really been my thing. Probably because I know I’m not going to spend more on repeat visits no matter how amazing it is. Fortunately for me, Star Quest doesn’t cost anything. Star Quest is a limited-time free experience being offered at Disney Village and is hosted by France’s Orange network (think Verizon and AT&T) in partnership with Disneyland Paris. Guests can visit the pop up trailer and enjoy a five-minute immersive VR experience.
I love stars I always have, which is part of the reason that Pixar’s “La Luna” short is my very favorite. Despite my initial hesitancy, when I realized this VR experience featured a little lost star, I was on board. I was seated in a chair in front of a monitor and a cast member helped me get situated with hand/wrist straps and the VR headset. I didn’t mention that English was my preferred language, but fortunately, when the experience started, I was delighted that the story was in my native tongue.
The story begins with a group of shooting “wish” stars when one of them gets lost and lands in a child’s (my) Disney-themed bedroom. This little star usually grants wishes, but she doesn’t have enough star/pixie dust to get back home, so it’s my job to help her by collecting stardust. Being that child me is so big, I have to shrink down to the size of a small star. From here the star guided me around the room and I used my hands to collect the star/pixie dust. We moved around on the ground, hopped up to some shelves and flew a few times. Of course the room featured items from several Disney brands, with Captain America’s shield, Toy Story army men, and many others popping up. At one point, the Starspeeder 1000 even made a cameo!
Throughout the entire experience I felt like I was moving. I knew I was stationary and the chair doesn’t jostle or pitch you forward, but it does have haptics and responds (gently) to your surroundings. As I mentioned before, I don’t have a great deal of practice in the VR world, but this was much more enjoyable that I was expecting. It’s family friendly, fun and free!
Star Quest is located across from Cafe Mickey near Earl of Sandwich at Disney Village. This limited time experience is open daily from 4pm–10 pm. Star Quest started on September 10 and will be offered through October 10.