Some might say that Disney World isn’t really a Roller Coaster resort, well I would disagree so I’m going to go through all the best Disney World Roller Coasters. There are some fine roller coasters across the 4 parks at Walt Disney World Resort.
There is a lot more to the Disney World parks than just roller coasters of course, it is packed with dark rides, shows and all sorts of attraction that makes the resort so wonderful and immersive. However there are some fantastic roller coasters for guests of all ages. The variety of different roller coaster styles is also very good from more traditional types of rides to new start of the art ride experiences.
The Best Disney World Roller Coasters Ranked
Let’s rank all the best roller coasters across the Disney World Parks. These are ranked based on my own opinion of the rides and how much I have enjoyed them over the years when visiting Disney World.
8. The Barnstormer
Location: Magic Kingdom – Story Book Circus
Height Restriction: Guests must be 35in (89cm) or taller
Located in the Story Book Circus area of Magic Kingdom this is very much a Kiddie Coaster. It is quite fast but is over very quickly and I’ve always thought you should be able to go around the track twice to get a bit more out of the ride. We made a bit of mistake on our first trip by queueing up for 40 minutes too have a go on this ride and it was over in a very short period. Give it a go if there isn’t a long line especially if you have younger kids.
7. Slinky Dog Dash
Location: Hollywood Studios – Toy Story Land
Height Restriction: Guests must be 38in (97cm) or taller
Slinky Dog Dash is a family/kiddie coaster so don’t expect the same thrills as Rock n Roller Coaster. I love the design of the ride vehicle itself along with the Toy Story/Slinky Dog theming in general. A fun ride for all the family. There are also some great views of Galaxy’s Edge during the ride. Family friendly thrills are guaranteed on Slinky Dog Dash.
The Slinky Dog ride vehicle is great and it is great to watch as Slinky Dog fliesalong the tracks when you are in Toy Story Land. This is a very popular ride so look to get a lightning lane if you can.
6. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Location: Magic Kingdom – Fantasyland
Height Restirction: 38in (97cm) or taller
This coaster with a Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs theme is part roller coaster and part dark ride. You climb on board fly around the track and then slow down to pass through the Seven Dwarf’s diamond mine with some fantastic state of the art animatronics to see, before heading up to the big drop in the ride and getting back into proper roller coaster mode for another short period and then arriving at the Dwarf’s cottage with Snow White inside at the end of the ride. The ride vehicles tilts which is a great as you fly around bends and this is a great roller coaster for all the family. This makes my best list as it is a great family coaster. My only criticism would be it always seems too short a ride time compared to Big Thunder Mountain.
Like Slinky Dog Dash this is a very popular ride so look to get a lightning lane if you can.
5. Space Mountain
Location: Magic Kingdom – Tomorrowland
Height Restriction: 44in (113cm) or taller
This dark high-speed dual rail roller coaster was opened back in 1975 and the thrills it generates comes from not being able to see a lot whilst hurtling through the dark. The use of sound effects in the ride adds to the atmosphere and a lot like Big Thunder Mountain it is more of an old-fashioned coaster (well it is well over 40 years old). You get thrown about it on Space Mountain but that adds to the fun. This makes my best list as it is a lot of fun whilst being an iconic ride not only from the ride experience inside but also from the classic design of the building from the outside too.
Aim to ride Space Mountain from rope drop at Magic Kingdom if you cannot get a lightning lane.
You can find my favourite Disney World Dark Rides here.
4. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Location: Magick kingdom – Frontierland
Height Restriction: Guests 40in (102cm) or taller
Big Thunder Mountain was opened way back in 1980 but has been updated over the years. It makes my best list as it what I would call a proper old-fashioned roller-coaster experience, where you either hold on tight or just wave those arms around as you fly around the track. You travel through bat filled caves and hurtle around the mountains and it is a lot of fun. I find it even more fun at night when its dark as it’s not so obvious which direction you will going as you hit the twists and turns, and it is great seeing the rest of the park at night whilst riding Big Thunder too.
3. Rock n Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith
Location: Hollywood Studios – Sunset Boulevard
Height Restriction: Guests must be 48in (122cm) or taller
Rock n Roller Coaster is the only the only attraction at Disney World that has inversions (three in total), so you will go upside down and is also a launch coaster. You will go from 0 mph to the top speed of 60 mph in 2.8 seconds which is a thrill in itself as this is the fastest coaster at WDW. In this Aerosmith themed ride where your coaster is a stretch limo trying to get you as quickly as possible to the Aerosmith concert downtown and whilst you ride the speakers in the ride vehicle blast out classic music from Aerosmith.
I love the pre-show in the G Force records studio with the band and the countdown before you launch is very exciting. Not a ride for people who don’t normally go on thrill rides as you are going very fast in the dark as well as upside down, so it might be a bit much for someone who doesn’t normally ride this type of coaster. I love it though it is thrilling, tells a good story and has a great soundtrack. Rock on!
2. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
Location: Epcot
Height Restriction: Guests must be 42 inches or taller
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is the newest big thrill ride to open at Disney World and is attracting huge crowds to Epcot.
Expect a story telling roller coaster experience with the thrills of a rotating ride vehicle combined with show sequences. The standby line is a science museum style building with a pre-show that involves a video edutainment section that gets interrupted by the Guardians of the Galaxy prior to you boarding the ride vehicle. This is also a reverse launch coaster, the first of its type at Walt Disney World.
The ride vehicles spin to keep the riders focused on each part of the rides story. You can read more about this one in my article about all the rides at Epcot.
1.Expedition Everest – The Best Roller Coaster at Disney World
Location: Animal Kingdom – Asia
Height Restriction: Guests must be 44 inches or taller
For a long time, this was probably the best attraction at Animal Kingdom, but it now has competition from Flight of Passage over in Pandora. The theming as soon as you enter the ride line is great along with the exhibit section teasing the Yeti before you get on the ride.
The ride itself is so much fun with the early twists and turns before you climb Mount Everest and discover the broken track. The track switching part of the ride works so well and the section where you hurl backwards through the darkness before the Yeti projection section is thrilling. The big drop towards the end can make for a great photo too once you have worked out where the camera is located. We will quite often head to Expedition Everest from rope drop where you can usually get on it at least twice before the lines start building up. I love this ride as its use of different methods and the great theme makes at roller coaster you really want to keep riding.
Disney World Roller Coasters in Development
There is a lot of development happening at Disney World right now and part of that includes some new roller coasters.
Tron Roller Coaster
Development started earlier in 2018 on the Tron Light Cycle roller coaster adjacent to Space Mountain in Magic Kingdom. This was one of the big announcements from D23 in 2017 and I can’t wait to see how this looks once it is completed. There is already a Tron Roller Coaster at Shanghai Disneyland Park which looks stunning so getting one at Magic Kingdom is so exciting. Expect the Tron coaster to open sometime in 2023 at Magic Kingdom.
Find out about the new Disney Genie App and Disney Genie+ here.
Disney World Roller Coaster FAQ’s
How many roller coasters are at Disney World?
There are now eight roller coasters across the four parks since Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind opened in May 2022:
Magic Kingdom Roller Coasters
Space Mountain
Seven Dwarfs Minetrain
The Barnstormer
Big Thunder Mountain
Epcot Roller Coasters
Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind
Hollywood Studios Roller Coasters
Rock n Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith
Slinky Dog Dash
Animal Kingdom Roller Coasters
Expedition Everest
What Disney Park Has the Best Roller Coasters?
I would say that each Disney World Park now offers a great roller coaster experience especially with Guardians of the Galaxy opening at Epcot. Disney World can now offer great thrill ride roller coasters at each it’s four parks. Overall though Magic Kingdom offers the best variety with Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
What is the Most Intense Roller Coaster in Disney World?
In my opinion the most intense roller coaster is Expedition Everest. This is because of the various changing elements in the ride including a reverse decline in the dark which feels very fast and the steep drop after the Yeti at the end of the ride.
My Top 3 most Intense Roller Coasters at Disney World are:
- Expedition Everest
- Rock n Roller Coaster
- Space Mountain
Why Doesn’t Disney Have Big Roller Coasters?
This is an opinion long held by many guests that have been to Universal. The answer to this question is that Disney World isn’t about big thrill rides although they do make up part of the experience.
There are roller coasters at Disney World but overall the aim of the resort is to provide a magical and immersive experience for guest of all ages. This means offering many different styles of attractions.
What is the Slowest Roller Coaster at Disney World?
The Barnstormer is the slowest Disney World Roller Coaster. This is the because it is very much aimed at being a ride suitable for younger children but still offering a short and very mild roller coaster ride experience. This is a great ride to take children on if they seem a little wary of the other roller coasters at Disney World.
Are There Drops on Rock n Roller Coaster?
There is a combinations of twists, turns, inversions and drops when riding Rock n Roller Coaster.
What Roller Coasters Go Upside Down at Disney World?
The only roller coaster to go upside down at Disney World is Rock n Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios. However due to its darkly lit setting it can be hard to tell that you are upside down.
What Disney Ride Has the Biggest Drop?
Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom has an 80’ drop which is the largest for any of the roller coasters at Walt Disney World.
How Scary is the Expedition Everest Roller Coaster?
If you are not an experienced roller coaster ride Expedition Everest can be scary. The ride has a big steep drop, there are parts of the ride when you are in the dark and cannot see and the ride does take you fairly high up too (with some great views of Walt Disney World).
When my daughter first rode Expedition Everest at the age of 7 she found it very scary and didn’t want to ride it again. She did though as she got a little older and more confident.
Is Rock n Roller Coaster Scary?
Again, if you are not an experienced roller coaster ride Rock n Roller Coaster can be scary. However unlike Expedition Everest the ride is over a lot quicker and due to the darkly lit settings of the ride you never know if you are up high or down low making it a fast experience where you never quite catch your bearings.
Disney World Roller Coasters 2023
You can have some great fun on the roller coasters at Disney World. There are roller coasters to take the younger kids on, classic coasters like Big Thunder Mountain and bigger thrills to be had on Expedition Everest and Rock n Roller Coaster. Whatever your personal preference in roller coasters I think it is fair to say that you will find something to your taste at Disney World.
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Thanks for taking a look at this article on the Best Disney World Roller Coasters. We have a lot more articles abut the rides and attractions at Disney World here.
Darren
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