Hi Everyone,

As I reflect on my recent trips this summer, a question that I am constantly asked by friends and family is, what are my top ten favorite rides at Disney World? I’ve been to Disney World countless times, and with so many great rides, it is difficult to narrow down the list to only ten. Because of this, I am including a few honorable mentions as well. Keep in mind that I have never been to Pandora at Animal Kingdom, so Flight of Passage is omitted from this list. Let’s get started:

Honorable Mentions:

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster: This Vekoma LSM launch coaster is a crowd favorite, and for good reason. Its limousine-themed trains offer a solid first launch, a cool “sea serpent” double inversion, and some nice lateral forces. This was one of my first (relative to my age and experience) “large” roller coasters when I was 11, and it serves as a good bridge ride between family coasters and larger thrill rides you’d find at a Six Flags or Cedar Fair Park.

Toy Story Midway Mania:

This shooter dark ride is criminally underrated. While it was very popular when it first opened, I have never waited longer than 25 minutes for it, and it is very fun. The spinning vehicles traverse a course that features various classic carnival midway games, with the objective of using your gun-like device to hit as many targets as possible, and it can get hilariously competitive with other people in your vehicle. While this ride won’t bring crowds to Hollywood Studios in a way that all the attractions in Galaxy’s Edge or Sunset Boulevard will, I still consider this a must-do when you visit the park.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train:

This custom Vekoma family coaster is one of the most popular rides at Magic Kingdom, often with a minimum of a 35-45 minute wait and sometimes exceeding 90 minutes. Its not hard to see why, with a decent ride time, a few moments of floater air, and some great animatronics/theming towards the end of the ride. This ride completely changed the landscape of Fantasyland, and I make a point to go on it each time I visit Magic Kingdom.

#10:

Spaceship Earth:

I’m sure this will be considered a controversial pick. I distinctly remember the first time I was at EPCOT in the late 90s, asking my parents what that “giant golf ball” at the entrance to the park was. Little did I know that the ride was an interesting trip through human history. While it can feel somewhat outdated these days, I still find the quirky ride vehicles, steep ascent and descent into and out of the main ride area, and detailed animatronics to be compelling enough to ride each time I go to the park. Given the ride’s location, it’s not surprise it often has long lines, but the ride’s continuously moving vehicles mean that I have never waited longer than around 35 minutes. This ride is a piece of theme park history and I recommend anyone visiting EPCOT for the first time to experience it.

#9:

Test Track:

Besides roller coasters, cars are my second biggest hobby, so it’s not surprised that Test Track lands on this list. I really enjoy the interactive pre-ride activity, where you customize your own virtual vehicle, and the ride itself has some fun moments of sharp turns, acceleration, and deceleration, before concluding with the iconic outdoor sections where you hit 64.9 MPH and speed by the ride’s entrance.

#8:

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad:

This ride is essentially the “gold standard” for the popular mine train style of roller coasters, which arose all over theme parks worldwide from around 1970 to 2000, with some new models still being made to this day. This ride has a couple nice pops of airtime, and some cool theming, as you encounter, among other things, goats, bats, and dinosaur bones as you traverse the mountainous layout.

#7:

Expedition Everest:

I remember going on this ride during preview days in February 2006 prior to its official opening in April, and being blown away at how much I enjoyed this ride. The enormous model of Mount Everest is imposing, and its forced perspective gives the appearance that the ride is much taller than the nearly 200 feet that Disney claims (although the track itself tops off at 112 feet). The backwards section towards the beginning of the ride is a ton of fun, as are the fly-by of the Yeti and the 80 foot drop out of the mountain. With almost 3900 feet of track, the ride duration is also relatively long, and for the most part Expedition Everest is well-paced.

#6:

Splash Mountain:

Widely considered the greatest log flume ever built, it goes without saying the Splash Mountain would make this list. The great animatronics, long ride time, and multiple fun drops all contribute to a must-ride at the park, and give it a charm that distinguishes it from other excellent water rides in Orlando, like Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls, or Jurassic Park River Adventure.

#5:

Rise of the Resistance:

Using Disney’s groundbreaking trackless vehicle technology, Rise of the Resistance is one of the greatest dark rides ever built. The interactive experience leading up to the actual ride vehicle portion brings guests through multiple scenes that will bring a smile to any Star Wars fan’s face, including the jaw-dropping “Stormtrooper Room” which makes guests feel as if they have actually been transported to a First Order star destroyer hangar bay. The ride itself features shootouts with storm troopers, some close encounters with heavy machinery, and Kylo Ren himself. This was my favorite dark ride of all time after my first ride in 2020, but it wasn’t quite as impressive in 2021, hence why two dark rides are ranked ahead of it on this list.

#4:

Pirates of the Caribbean:

This was my first dark ride ever, and to this day, is one of my favorites. The heavily themed queue and catchy theme song convince guests that they have been transported to the Golden Age of Piracy, where they hop on board a boat, go down a suprising(yet small) drop, and pass by some iconic scenes/animatronics. I’m not sure if I’ve been incredibly lucky, but I have never waited more than 25 minutes, which increases the attractiveness of this ride’s re-rideability.

#3:

Space Mountain:

Space Mountain is arguably one of the most iconic roller coasters in existence. I have been on this ride over 20 times, and yet every time I ride it, there is something new to discover with respect to the theming. The soundtrack is great as well, and really gets riders excited for the coaster. The ride itself features several cool tunnels, a heavily themed lift hill, and when sitting in the back car, some excellent, borderline ejector, pops of airtime. Disney has made some minor updates to the ride in the past, but I would invite them to make some more to ensure that this ride continues its greatness into the future.

#2:

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror:

Likely the most elaborately themed drop tower of all time, Tower of Terror combines a dark ride and drop tower into one. The 1930’s style themed lobby and preshow featuring Rod Serling build up the rider’s anticipation, which is furthered by the five missing passengers and the fifth dimension scene. The drop sequence itself varies in intensity, but regardless of which drop profile the computer choses, riders experience a great mix of big, airtime-loaded drops and smaller, more disorienting ones. Tower of Terror is also incredibly smooth, and is thus one of the most rerideable rides at Disney World.

#1:

The Haunted Mansion:

From start to finish, this ride is a masterpiece. The outside graveyard is filled with funny tombstones that keep guests entertained, before they are introduced to the Ghost Host in the sinking room. The doom buggies are among the coolest ride vehicles I have ever seen, and the attention to detail inside the mansion itself, with scenes such as the ballroom, Madame Leota’s seance, and the Singing Busts in the indoor graveyard are simply incredible. I went on the Haunted Mansion for the first time when I was 7 years old, and despite having been on it around a dozen more times since then, never cease to find some new or interesting details related to the ride. Haunted Mansion is not only my favorite attraction at Disney World, but is my favorite non-roller coaster ride as well.

Hi Everyone,

This past weekend I was in Orlando to visit a few parks with an old friend from college. We anticipated going to IOA and riding Velocicoaster, however, his flight was delayed until 9 p.m, and thus, we got refunds for our tickets. We ended up spending Friday night going out in the Central Business District near Lake Eola, and the bar scene was lively. It is one of the last weekends until UCF and other colleges in Florida start back up for the semester, which would probably explain this. I’d recommend checking out some of the bars in this area if you’re ever in downtown Orlando.

We got up early on Saturday and were fortunate enough to get an 11 a.m. virtual queue reservation on Rise of the Resistance. It was great as usual. After getting some food at Docking Bay 7, we proceeded to get a ride in on Star Tours, which had about a 15 minute wait, before getting three rides on Tower of Terror and one on Rock N Roller Coaster. Neither of the rides were that crowded, as we waited between 15 and 30 minutes for them.

Rock N Roller Coaster was running much better than last year, and I think this may have something to do with the fact that the train was full, and that we sat closer to the back. The LSM launch seemed punchier than normal, and we had a very smooth ride.

Our first ride on Tower of Terror was great, as the views from the front row, a strong drop sequence, and some hilarious fellow riders contributed to some of the highlight moments of the day. The second and third rides were good as well, with the second ride having a strong mix of drop lengths and the third focusing more on small “fakeout” drops. I love Tower of Terror and after getting more rides in can confidently say it is one of my top 3 favorite rides at Disney World.

We then got a ride in on Smuggler’s Run, which was great as usual. We had almost no wait because we took the single rider line while standby was 35 minutes, so I’d highly recommend using it. We then headed over to Toy Story Mania, which was also better than I remembered, and had a relatively short line at around 20 minutes. This is a very underrated shooter dark ride that is just as good as, if not better than, rides like Buzz Lightyear’s Spance Ranger Spin or Men In Black: Alien Attack.

We were able to get off the standby list for Oga’s Cantina, and really enjoyed the atmosphere. I got the Carbon Freeze, and I still don’t understand how they made it continuously bubble. It was kind of like a light orange soda, and pretty affordable at $7.50, so it could make a good choice if you’re unsure of what to get.

We finished up by going to Savi’s where I watched while my friend build a lightsaber. It was a really cool experience, although personally I’m glad I built a droid on my last trip, as it is substantially cheaper to do so.

Overall, it was a great day and definitey “filled in” a lot of the gaps I felt were missing on my last trip to Hollywood Studios, particularly the fact that I missed Tower of Terror last time. My three rides on Tower of Terror were arguably the highlight of the day, and solidify that Hollywood Studios is my second favorite park on Disney property behind Magic Kingdom. I look forward to any future expansions to the park, especially if Disney were to built a Star Wars themed rolled coaster, as I feel this would make the park more competitive with other “thrill-oriented” competitors in Orlando such as SeaWorld or Islands of Adventure.

Hi Everyone,

I’m currently in the midst of a long road trip from the Midwest to the East Coast, and with Cedar Point only 20 minutes off I-90, I decided that a return trip, at least for a few hours, was in order.

My primary goal was to ride Top Thrill Dragster, which was down nearly the entire time last year. I arrived at the park at rope drop and promptly headed over to Dragster, which, surprise surprise, was once again down for maintenance. I decided to ride a bunch of the credits I was missing in the meantime and return to see if Dragster was up and running. Here are my impressions from those rides:

Gemini (Red Side):

My past impressions of this 125 foot tall Arrow racing coaster have generally been positive, and with only a 15 minute wait, I decided to give the red side, which I have never ridden, a spin. It rode fairly similarly to my rides in the past, with a decent first drop, some solid headchoppers, and some floater airtime. While there are definitely some rough patches, overall, it is a fairly smooth experience. While Gemini isn’t quite a “family” coaster per se, I can see how it would be fun for a variety of people in terms of age and experience with roller coasters.

Verdict: 7/10

Magnum XL-200:

This classic Arrow hypercoaster was once the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world when it opened in 1989, and has continued to be a favorite among enthusiasts, still landing in Amusement Today’s top 20 steel coasters to this day. I was fortunate enough to walk on to Magnum today, and get a ride on the row 3 “magic seat,” known for its powerful ejector airtime. The ride didn’t disappoint. While the first half is a little less intense, the return trip on this out and back coaster was filled with violent, borderline scary airtime while the train ripped through darkness in its multiple disorienting tunnels. My ride this year was much more impressive than those in the past, and I was thrilled to be able to experience Magnum at its best.

Verdict: 9/10

Wicked Twister:

Cedar Point recently announced that they are removing this Intamin Impulse at the end of this season, so I was happy to finally ride it, especially because the wait was on the shorter side at around 20 minutes. Wicked Twister is one of the largest Impulse coasters in the world, and one of only two where both the front and back spikes are twisted, so it’s a fairly imposing ride upon first glance.

For whatever reason, I found this one to be both more fun, and to have more tolerable forces/smoothness than posessed at Dorney Park or Steel Venom at Valleyfair. The initial launch is not that intense, but the floater air on the front and back spikes is great. You get a solid 2-3 seconds of float when you’re falling in reverse, and it’s a really cool feeling without being quite as rough as I’ve come to expect on some other impulse coasters. While Wicked Twister has mixed reviews in the theme park community, I”m definitely a fan, and I think this ride is criminally underrated. I’m going to miss it, although I look forward to the Gerstlauer Multilooper that Cedar Point is likely going to build on Wicked Twister’s plot of land.

Verdict: 8.75/10

Valravn:

This was my third North American B&M Dive Coaster, after Griffon and Sheikra, and like the others, I really enjoyed it. The first drop was great as usual, as was the somewhat unusual zero-G roll in addition to the typical Immelman and Dive Loop. The ride feels a bit out of place on Cedar Point’s relatively “open” midway compared to the tree-heavy setting on Griffon, so for now, it is tied as my #2 dive coaster with Sheikra. I waited about an hour and 15 minutes, the longest of the day, so if you’ve been on the other dive coasters and are short on time, I might skip this one, unless of course you have a Fastlane pass.

Verdict: 7.5/10

Top Thrill Dragster:

Well…Dragster was down for pretty much the entire 4 hours I was at the park. They ran one train but quickly shut the ride down, much to my chagrin, sitting, waiting, and wondering in the bleacher section outside the entrance. I heard rumors that Dragster has experienced substantial downtime this season, but hoped I could get lucky on my visit. If there is any silver lining, its that I am planning a trip to Great Adventure to ride Kingda Ka, as Cedar Point will not be providing my Intamin Stratacoaster fix anytime soon.

Overall, I think the moral of the story is that you need two full days at Cedar Point, and getting Fastlane definitely helps. It is an incredible park, but ample planning is required to ensure that you have an optimal experience.

In terms of the rest of this season, I’m headed to Hollywood Studios next weekend to meet up with an old friend, and will likely squeeze in a visit to IOA as well to ride Velocicoaster for the first time. As previously mentioned, a trip to Great Adventure is in the works, (Jersey Devil Coaster looks great too) and I likely will squeeze in a few more parks, somewhere in either the Northeast or Midwest, TBD. To anyone heading out to a park soon, I hope the coaster gods are smiling down on you as Cedar Fair and Six Flags continue to grapple with labor shortages and resulting maintenance concerns.

Hi Everyone,

Here are some more pictures from my day at Hollywood Studios. I think my trip report video, embedded in the previous post, pretty much sums up my day there. I felt bad that I got a ride in on Rock N Roller Coaster, but not Tower of Terror. It is such a great ride. I may go back to Hollywood Studios this winter, so perhaps I will get a chance to ride it then. In general, a goal of mine for 2021 is to ride more drop towers/freefalls. If I go back to Islands of Adventure anytime soon (and Velocicoaster would provide a powerful incentive to do so), I will go on Dr. Doom’s Fearfall, and Cedar Point is the #1 park on my 2021 to-do list, so Power Tower would serve as a great compliment to the park’s incredible coaster lineup. I’ll likely be back at Busch Gardens Tampa within a year, so I’m excited to ride Falcon’s Fury as well. In general, I’m planning on visiting a few more parks before this year is over. Locally, I’m planning on going to Little Amerricka, and Bay Beach, so stay tuned for any updates on those. I’m also considering a trip to a larger park like Indiana Beach or Kings Island, but I am less certain about those given the travel logistics involved at the moment.

Hi Everyone,

Today I made a quick trip to ICON Park to ride the famous Orlando Starflyer. It did not disappoint. Overall, it was a great experience. I’ve only been on one or two other Starflyers, but this was by far the best. You really don’t process that this ride is 450 feet tall until you’re at the top. It’s windy up there (even if it isn’t on the ground lol) and you really feel the G-forces pushing on you. The chairs also rotate a bit in the wind, something you may not notice from ground level. You get some great views of Orlando as well. The ride ops were also super nice. Put this ride on your Orlando bucket list. I didn’t get a ride in on the Orlando Eye; I made a solo trip to ICON Park, and I feel like there is just something weird about riding a Ferris wheel by yourself. In general, ICON park is a cool place with some nice restaurants. I would definitely explore the area more if I lived in Orlando permanently. In other news, I am currently working on my Hollywood Studios trip report; this should be up in the next few days.

Hi Everyone,

I think my video summed up my trip to Magic Kingdom last weekend nicely. I’ve gotten a few questions about the ride times for many of the major attractions; like I said, everything was short, under a half-hour, but here’s the breakdown:

Splash Mountain:

The line was advertised as a 5 minute wait. A cast member confirmed this was inaccurate, and that the wait was a half-hour. We only waited about 15-20 minutes.

Big Thunder Mountain:

The wait time was allegedly 25 minutes, confirmed by a cast member. We waited 40.

Haunted Mansion:

We lucked out on this one. It was very crowded earlier in the day, but when we went on around 3:30 p.m., the line was only advertised as being 15 minutes. We practically walked on! There was no one in the outdoor queue, and the preshow wasn’t being run due to distancing concerns, so that may have sped things up.

Pirates of the Caribbean:

Also more or less a walk-on. The sign said a 5 minute wait.

Space Mountain: If I remember correctly, the sign said 25 minutes. We waited nowhere near that. This ride’s queue often spill out of the building, but we went all the way through the tunnel to the main loading area prior to being behind maybe 20-30 people. I would say it was a 10 minute max wait, probably more like 5.

Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin:

Advertised at 5 minutes; more or less a walk-on.

Jungle Cruise:

Advertised as a half-hour, we waited 10 minutes.

7 Dwarfs:

This one was pretty accurate. It said 35 minutes, and we waited around 30. Of all the rides at Magic Kingdom, this ride had a line most similar to what it normally looks like during “regular” times, although 7 Dwarfs typically has at least a 45 minute wait.

Winnie the Pooh:

Advertised as 5 minutes, this was reasonably accurate.

Peter Pan:

Advertised as a half-hour, and I’d say we waited around 25. The line snaked out of the building and spilled into a common area of Fantasyland, but moved pretty quickly.

It’s a Small World:

Advertised as a 5 minute wait, and we pretty much walked on.

Overall, it was great to get on all the rides this quickly, and due to the unique circumstances under which the park was operating, this was likely a once in a lifetime opportunity.