12 Scariest Rides At Walt Disney World
The Walt Disney World Resort is home to four incredible theme parks that are packed with fantastic adrenaline-inducing rides that are sure to delight.
Whether you’re on the hunt for the scariest rides at The Walt Disney World Resort or looking for rides that perhaps you should avoid this list has you covered.
1. Pirates of the Caribbean
🎡 Park: Magic Kingdom
Pirates of the Caribbean opened at Magic Kingdom in 1973. Since its debut almost 50 years ago this ride has seen some changes (predominantly off the back of the incredibly successful film franchise), however, the core format of the ride very much remains the same.
You’ll sit alongside other guests in a boat and sail around following the journey of the Pirates of the Caribbean.
With no height limit, this ride is in itself relatively mellow. However, the majority of the ride takes place in the dark and selected scenes can be a little scary for younger guests.
2. Soarin’
🎡 Park: EPCOT
Soarin’ is a motion simulation ride situated in the EPCOT theme park. This ride sees you take a virtual flight around the world which can be incredibly scary for those with a fear of heights.
While the majority of the height upon which you travel is simulated, you will leave the ground during your journey – especially if you’re on the front row.
3. Expedition Everest
🎡 Park: Animal Kingdom
Expedition Everest is one of the scariest and most thrilling rides inside the Animal Kingdom theme park.
This ride takes you on a journey through the Himalayan mountains, heading for the mountain peak as you search for the elusive Yeti.
Of course, the Himalayan mountains are treacherous, and therefore unsurprisingly you’ll come to a point where the track is broken and you can’t continue.
At this point, there’s only one way down, and that way happens to be you riding backwards at speeds of up to 50mph.
This coupled with drops of up to 80ft and loud noises can make this ride scary (and fun!) for even the most experienced rollercoaster enthusiast.
4. Space Mountain
🎡 Park: Magic Kingdom
Space Mountain is one of the scariest rides at Magic Kingdom. This indoor track-based ride takes place in the dark and features a large number of twists, turns, and drops.
This was the first rollercoaster our eight-year-old nephew went on during our trip to the Walt Disney World Resort and I’m pretty sure we terrified him for life!
What can make this ride significantly more scary for younger guests is that you don’t side side-by-side with your family or friends and instead sit in a bobsled style with three people in each car. This can make holding hands or holding onto one another incredibly difficult.
5. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
🎡 Park: Hollywood Studios
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is one of the newest rides to open up at the Walt Disney World Resort as part of Galaxy’s Edge inside the Hollywood Studios theme park.
This simulation ride has been built using a trackless drop system that is so high tech it really makes you believe you’re part of the battle between the Resistance and the First Order.
This combined with the majority of the ride taking place in complete darkness can make it a thrilling experience for older Star Wars fans, but often a scary experience for younger guests.
6. The Haunted Mansion
🎡 Park: Magic Kingdom
The Haunted Mansion is one of the oldest and most iconic rides inside the Magic Kingdom park. Much like Pirates of the Caribbean, this ride has no height requirement as such the ride itself is relatively mellow.
You’ll sit inside a small cart and move around the mansion, similar to a ghost train at a fun fair. There are no jumping moments that should scare you.
However, the majority of children do find the idea of The Haunted Mansion to be scary – we found this first-hand when the five-year-old we were travelling with conveniently needed the toilet just as we got to the entrance.
7. Mad Tea Party
🎡 Park: Magic Kingdom
Mad Tea Party is one of the few original attractions that still operate inside the Magic Kingdom today.
This ride sees guests board a giant teacup and turn the wheel to send them spinning, which in turn can cause a lot of motion sickness – especially if you head on the ride with over-excited young children.
8. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
🎡 Park: Magic Kingdom
While Big Thunder Mountain Railroad doesn’t have any huge drops, scary characters or take you upside down it can still be incredibly scary (and fun!) reaching speeds of 40mph.
A lot of the fear younger guests have surrounding this ride doesn’t come from the ride itself (once on it they tend to really enjoy it) but instead comes from hearing other guests screaming as they come around the bend.
Overall, we found this to be a fantastic introduction to rollercoasters for younger guests and one that while scary we’d still recommend.
9. Dinosaurs
🎡 Park: Animal Kingdom
The Dinosaur ride may seem like a ‘must do’ for fans of Dinosaurs. However, this ride can be incredibly uncomfortable in a number of ways.
This ride sees you travel back in time, and head out on a fast, incredibly jerky ride through the jungles of the Cretaceous period.
Those sensitive to darkness, small unexpected drops, loud noises as well as abrupt starts and stops have been known to feel queasy after going on this ride.
This combined with the fear of not making it back to the time machine safely to avoid mass extinction can be a lot for younger guests to comprehend.
10. It’s Tough To Be A Bug
🎡 Park: Animal Kingdom
Another Animal Kingdom attraction that can be incredibly scary is It’s Tough To Be A Bug.
Many families head to this ride situated inside the iconic Tree of Life at the centre of the theme park because it has no height requirement and often a wait time of under 10 minutes.
However, before you line up, it may be worthwhile knowing what to expect.
That’s because this ride sees you join Flik and his friends in a 4D experience that simulates you being stung by hornets, crawled on by maggots and attacked by spiders.
Most kids (and adults) find this terrifying in the short term and laugh it off shortly after, however for those with a sensitivity to sensations this can be a little much – especially when you add in the screams from fellow guests that ring throughout the cinema.
11. Mission Space
🎡 Park: EPCOT
Mission Space has a relatively low height limit which may make it tempting for families with younger children. However, a couple of words of warning.
Firstly, there are two options when it comes to going on this ride, the orange and the green. The orange route is significantly more intense than the green and has been known to cause motion sickness in guests.
However, and perhaps more importantly for those with younger guests, the brief you get before going on the ride can be convincing.
So much so, the five-year-old we were travelling with was fully convinced we were going into space and that she’d never see her grandparents again.
12. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
🎡 Park: Hollywood Studios
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is an indoor track-based ride at Hollywood Studios.
While this ride isn’t motion simulated it’s still been known to cause a lot of guests motion sickness.
This is predominantly due to the ride taking place in the dark (similar to Space Mountain), moving at significant speed (0 to 60mph in 2 seconds) and going upside down.
If you do plan to go on this ride during your time at Hollywood Studios we recommend pushing your head as far back into the headrest as possible rather than leaning forward. This should help to minimise how much your head moves from side to side.
