Best Walt Disney World Thrill Rides for Adventure Seekers

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From the classics to newer, more technological attractions, Walt Disney World parks provide plenty of thrills for those who enjoy that sort of thing from an amusement park. While WDW is not overflowing with the latest and greatest roller coasters like other theme parks, the one area that Disney has those other places beat is in storytelling, which provides an immersive experience.

For quick reference, here are the attractions you’ll want to check out if you’re looking for some thrills:

Space Mountain (Magic Kingdom)
Big Thunder Mountain (Magic Kingdom)
Splash Mountain (Magic Kingdom)
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (Magic Kingdom)
Test Track (Epcot)
Mission: SPACE (Epcot)
Soarin’ Around the World (Epcot)
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith (Hollywood Studios)
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (Hollywood Studios)
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance (Hollywood Studios)
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run (Hollywood Studios)
Star Tours – The Adventures Continue (Hollywood Studios)
Slinky Dog Dash (Hollywood Studios)
Avatar Flight of Passage (Animal Kingdom)
DINOSAUR (Animal Kingdom)
Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain (Animal Kingdom)
Kali River Rapids (Animal Kingdom)

After that quick look, let’s dive in deeper to what these attractions offer in each park.

Best Magic Kingdom Rides for Thrill Seekers

If you’re familiar with the attractions listed above, you’ll note that there aren’t too many in the Magic Kingdom, as the original park is devoted to attractions that the whole family can enjoy. The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train won’t win the award for fastest or steepest coaster, but it’s a smooth ride that has a unique feature where each individual car rocks back and forth as it speeds along the track.

The other main thrill attractions at the Magic Kingdom makeup the famous “Mountain” range. Splash Mountain is Disney’s take on the classic log flume ride. The ride is themed around The Song of the South with Brer Rabbit trying to avoid the villainous Brer Fox and clumsy sidekick Brer Bear, and it features several mini-drops before the big 52-foot drop towards the end of the ride. It was announced in summer 2020 that the attraction will soon be rethemed to The Princess and the Frog.

Big Thunder Mountain is similar to the Mine Train, but it’s a rougher ride. The Frontierland classic rumbles in and out of mines, twisting and turning its way through towns and across bridges, living up to its billing as “the wildest ride in the wilderness!”

Perhaps the Magic Kingdom’s most popular attraction, Space Mountain has been thrilling guests since 1975. While only reaching a top speed of around 35 miles per hour, there are two factors that make it feel much faster. First, the entire ride is in the dark. Second, the rockets are much smaller than traditional roller coaster seats and leave the upper part of your body in the open. You also sit single file, which is another rare feature in a coaster.

This article will be getting an update once the Tron coaster opens in Magic Kingdom. Currently under construction, this ride looks to be one of the most thrilling rides in Disney World.

Best Epcot Thrill Rides

Originally containing only slow-moving attractions and shows, Epcot has stepped its game up in the thrill-ride department and will add to it in the future with a coaster themed to Guardians of the Galaxy.

For now, the most iconic attraction for adventure seekers at Epcot is Test Track. Reaching a top speed of nearly 65 miles per hour, Test Track is Walt Disney World’s fastest attraction. Riding in a concept car, you can create designs and assign different attributes to your vehicle in the pre-show area prior to boarding. Your car will then travel up and down hills, ride curves, go through evasive maneuvers before it finally hits the outdoor high-speed loops.

If an attraction could be too realistic, it might be Mission: Space. Designed to simulate the astronaut training experience, you pull up to 2.5 g-forces in the ride compartments that achieve the effect by spinning the vehicles in a giant centrifuge. But thanks to screens inside the capsules that show your journey to Mars, you don’t feel the spinning effect (unless you close your eyes!). Mission: Space has been known to be a little too thrilling for some riders, so a less-intense version that cuts down on the spinning was installed in 2006, three years after the ride opened. For the original, more intense version, pick the orange side. Green side is less intense, but still exciting.

While not a traditional thrill-seeking experience, Soarin’ Around the World is popular among every type of theme park afficionado. Rise up into a giant movie screen while enjoying the sights and sounds of some of the world’s most popular and breathtaking locations, with some twists thrown in along the way. For the best views, request to be in the top row of the center section. Cast members will often try to accommodate you.

Best Thrill Rides for Adventure Seekers at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

With Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge complete, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is once again complete and quite full of some of the best attractions for thrill-seekers. In fact, at the end of Sunset Blvd. sits two of the premier thrill rides in the world: Tower of Terror and Rockin’ Rollercoaster!

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror takes the simple concept of a drop ride and turns it up to the tenth degree. Set in an abandoned, haunted hotel, you are dropped (no pun intended) right into the middle of an episode of The Twilight Zone, as the hotel’s maintenance service elevators are still in operation. The journey takes you through haunted floors, into the famed Fifth Dimension, and into the elevator shaft where you’ll be pulled down faster than the rate of gravity (causing you to float off your seat as you fall), and adding to the fun, there are several different sequences programmed into the ride, so you don’t just drop once—you’ll rise and fall several times before it’s all said and done.

The Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is the only inverted roller coaster at Walt Disney World. The ride, which is indoors and mostly in the dark, features a high-speed launch that takes you from zero to 57 miles per hour in less than three seconds! Plus you jet through several loops, a corkscrew, and a humpback. The premise is that you get backstage passes to an Aerosmith show, and a limousine is there to take you from the sound studio to the concert. An added treat: Aerosmith tunes blaring in your limo as you enjoy your journey!

Slinky Dog Dash, based on the Toy Story character, features two launches, but this ride is not as intense as Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. The ride hits a top speed of a respectable 40 miles per hour and is designed for everyone in the family to enjoy it.

Three attractions based on Star Wars—two relatively new and a classic one—provide excitement for fans of the hit franchise. Star Tours, which has been at the park since 1990, this is a classic simulator ride that brings you right into several classic scenes from all three film trilogies.

Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run allows you to climb aboard Han Solo and Chewbacca’s ship to take part in a mission to steal items from the First Order. You’ll be assigned a job in the cockpit—pilots, gunners, and engineers. Each rider has a specific task to perform to fly the Falcon into and out of danger. If you are a fan of the Star Wars sagas, just being in Galaxy’s Edge and seeing a full size Millenium Falcon is a thrill. Getting to go inside it is something every fan will freak over!

Although not considered and intense ride, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is a one-of-a-kind attraction that combines several ride systems into one—simulation, drop ride, walk-through, and traditional dark ride. While the most technically advanced ride at any Disney park, it’s actually a ride that the whole family will revel in. The ride itself if face paced and unpredictable, but some the scenery is what makes this a must-do for any Star Wars fan, and even those who are not.

Best Animal Kingdom Rides for Thrill Seekers

Avatar Flight of Passage is one of the most popular attractions at Walt Disney World. Described as “Soarin’ on steroids,” Flight of Passage puts you on the back of a banshee and flies you around Pandora, exposing you to plenty of awe-inspiring views and feelings. You don’t need to be a fan of the movie to get a thrill from this ride. The scenery and the action alone will get your blood pumping.

Notably the most intense ride in Animal Kingdom, and perhaps all of Disney, is DINOSAUR. It is a dark thrill ride that puts you into a Jeep-like vehicle to go back in time and recover an iguanodon dinosaur. Your adventure happens just before an asteroid hits Earth which brings on the ice age, so it’s a perilous journey! One insider tip: the ride vehicle and track is the same as the Indiana Jones Adventure ride at Disneyland. It is a loud, dark, and rough ride, but it’s also electrifying!

If water rides are your thing, you’ll definitely want to check out Kali River Rapids. This is a standard rapids ride where you’re seated in a large, circular raft. This isn’t a long ride, but there’s a big likelihood that you’ll get soaked which is the fun part—so plan accordingly.

Finally, the Expedition Everest roller coaster has been one of the centerpieces of the park since opening in 2006. The ride queue transfers you to the Himalayas, where you’re going to be led on a journey into the mountains to find the legendary Yeti. While there are no loops or launches on this ride, there is a part that goes backwards through some steep curves, which provides quite a unique feeling, and there are plenty of surprises along the way in your journey.

Tips for Big Adventure

Shoud I get Lightning Lanes for Disney World thrill rides?

The short answer is, YES! Book a Lightning Lane, if you can.

Many of the most thrilling rides are also the most popular. Some, such as Avatar: Flight of Passage and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train can have waits 3 hours long on an average day. And Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is even more in demand than that. In fact, that ride has its own separate system for riding it.

Be sure to take advantage of rope drop, and if you will be staying at a Disney resort, your 7-day advance booking window to score a Lightning Lane time slot for the rides you want to do most. It’s a great way to save time and avoid waiting on long lines.

For more information and tips for Lightning Lanes, read our complete Lightning Lanes guide.

How to Do All the Best Rides Without Waiting

Go a step further than a Lightning Lane. Actually, it’s 100 steps further. A private or semi-private VIP tour will allow you to get on all the best rides, in some cases, all the same day!

Semi-Private VIP Tours

These are group VIP tours with pre-set itineraries.

The Ultimate Day of Thrills VIP Tour is a 7-hour action-packed experience that includes lunch and expedited access to top attractions at Walt Disney World Resort.

The day begins at Magic Kingdom park*, where you’ll brave the excitement of attractions such as:

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (40” height requirement)
Splash Mountain (40” height requirement)
Space Mountain (44” height requirement)
Haunted Mansion
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (38” height requirement)

You’ll get to stop lunch before taking flight on Soarin’! at Epcot.

Finally, the adrenaline rush continues at Disney’s Hollywood Studios with attractions including:

Slinky Dog Dash (38” height requirement)
Toy Story Mania!
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith (48” height requirement)
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (48” height requirement)
Star Tours – The Adventures Continue (40” height requirement)

The Ultimate Nights of Adventure VIP Tour celebrates the magic of nature at night at Animal Kingdom park. You’ll get to experience all the most popular attractions during this 4-hour guided group adventure including:

Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain (44” height requirement)
Kilimanjaro Safari
Avatar Flight of Passage (44” height requirement)
Na’vi River Journey
DINOSAUR (40” height requirement)
Rivers of Light nighttime spectacular

Make the most of your time in Disney with a Private VIP Tour. It’s a perfect way to avoid the crowds and minimize the lines.

Private VIP Tours

For a custom, one-of-a-kind day, a Private VIP Tour a day all to yourself (well you and up to 9 of your closest friends). You’ll have a minimum of 7 hours to skip the lines, watch parades and fireworks from private viewing sections, and get a backstage pass as you hop from park to park.

You can pick whatever rides you’d like to do that day. Want to ride Avatar Flight of Passage 3 times in a row? Want to mountain hop at Magic Kingdom? Do it! It’s your day to craft.

For more information on Private VIP Tours, contact our friends at Destination Magic. They can help you plan the perfect day!

Make the most of your time in Disney with a Private VIP Tour. It’s a perfect way to avoid the crowds and minimize the lines.

Thrilling Experiences Beside Rides

Rides are not the only way to catch a wave of excitement. Learn to surf, swim with the Dolphins, or cross a rope bridge of crockadiles.

Snorkel or Scuba Dive in Epcot

Take the plunge at Caribbean Coral Reef, the 5.7-million-gallon saltwater aquarium at Epcot, and swim with over 6,000 sea creatures, including sharks. Imagine waving to the guests dinging a Coral Reef restaurant from inside the tank. Not many people can say they did that!

Walk a Rope bridge Over Crocodiles

Walk along a grassy path, cross a rope bridge, and ride in a rugged safari across the open savanna. with a chance to view towering giraffes, powerful rhinos, hippos and crocodiles. Or get an up-close look and learn more about the majestic elephants at Animal Kingdom park.

Learn to Surf

Surfing in central Florida? You bet! Typhoon Lagoon offers early morning surfing lessons at their giant wave pool.

Take to the Skies

Soar over the hustle and bustle of Disney Springs in a hot air balloon.

These are just a sampling of the exhilarating experiences available in within Disney World. Few people know these experiences are even an option. Click here to learn more of contact our friends at Destination Magic for custom itinerary planning.

For Even More Thrills, Venture Outside the World

Disney World has some of the best rides you can find in any theme park, but they tend to be more family friendly and suitable for most. Although there are some very exciting and technologically advance rides, they are not always the most adrenaline pumping ones around.

For those seeking the ultimate thrills, you may need to venture just outside of Disney World.

Universal Studios is known to have some larger roller coasters and bigger thrill rides than you might find in Disney World. Rides like Revenge of the Mummy, The Incredible Hulk Coaster, Dragon Challenge, and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, and just some of the intense, high energy thrill rides you can find there.

And if that still is not enough, check out Icon Park just outside Universal Studios along International Drive. The iconic 400-foot Ferris Wheel will give you a bird’s eye view of all or Orlando. Taller still, adrenaline junkies can take an invigorating spin on the Orlando StarFlyer, which claims to be the world’s tallest swing ride standing at 450 feet. Or let the wind carry you at iFly Orlando to experience the thrill of indoor skydiving.

Conclusion: There are plenty of thrills to be had at Disney

You can find thrills and adventurous things to do in Disney World, and the rides are only part of the excitement. You can find thrills for every member of the family.

For more helpful planning tips, check out these articles:

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