Favourite roller coaster at Walt Disney World?

[Matt N]

Hi guys. Walt Disney World in Florida is the world’s most visited theme park resort, and since its inception in 1971, it has operated a total of 9 roller coasters. But I’d be interested to know; which roller coaster at WDW is your favourite?

In terms of my favourite WDW roller coasters, I might actually do a ranking list of all the roller coasters I’ve done at WDW (I’m only missing Space Mountain Omega), but I’ll preface this by saying that my favourite ride at WDW wasn’t actually a roller coaster (overall, my favourite WDW ride is Tower of Terror by some distance), and WDW isn’t really somewhere you go for roller coasters. As ashamed as I am to say it, my favourite roller coaster I rode on my last Florida trip, where we went primarily to Disney parks, was actually Mine Blower at Fun Spot Kissimmee, which entered my top 5!


But let’s get to the ranking, though, shall we?

1. Rock’n’Rollercoaster - Disney’s Hollywood Studios: I really liked this! Even though it has an LSM launch, I would have genuinely guessed it to be hydraulic if I hadn’t known, because it’s a true gut punch, and combined with the great first inversion, it’s an explosive start to the ride! The rest of the layout also feels fast and adrenaline-filled, and combined with the theming & audio, it makes for a really fun ride! I will say, though; although not unbearably rough by any means, the ride is a little bit rattly, which detracted ever so slightly for me. Overall, though, RnRC is certainly a fun ride! 7/10, #17/74
2. Slinky Dog Dash - Disney’s Hollywood Studios: This may come across as a slightly left-field choice for #2, but I genuinely really enjoyed this! I went in with pretty low expectations after hearing the ride getting mostly maligned for the best part of a year, but those expectations were most certainly exceeded by a fair amount; Slinky was a huge surprise for me! Despite not being the most intense of coasters, I personally found it to be a fun, smooth, and dynamic family roller coaster, with some nice twists and fun pops of airtime! It did have one or two spots where it seemed to be struggling a little pacing-wise (namely the two high points following the launches), but I think this is probably me nit-picking too much, as it is a roller coaster aimed at families after all! Overall, Slinky was a great family coaster, a huge surprise for me, and definitely a worthy #2 in my eyes! 7/10, #23/74
3. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train - Disney’s Magic Kingdom: Like Slinky, this might seem like a slightly left-field choice for such a high ranking, but I did really like this ride for what it was! Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is a very fun, smooth family coaster with some nice twisty sections and fun turns, in my opinion, with surprising vigour in portions, and when combined with the upbeat soundtrack and excellent animatronics, it’s perhaps the very definition of a feel-good coaster, and a real guilty pleasure of mine! 6/10, #26/74
4. Expedition Everest - Disney’s Animal Kingdom: I can sense that this will raise a few eyebrows, as Everest seems to be most people’s favourite coaster at Disney World, but I’ll admit that even though the ride’s grown on me somewhat since I first did it back in 2014, I still don’t really dig it like most people do. Don’t get me wrong, though, it’s a fun family coaster, with some fast sections and cool tricks up its sleeves, as well as spectacular theming! However, I can’t put my finger on why, but I’ve had 3 rides on it now, in August 2014 and in April 2019, and I’ve always come off it feeling a bit underwhelmed. Maybe it’s because I had overly high expectations when I first rode it (“world’s most expensive coaster” was implanted firmly in my head when I first rode in 2014. However, I’d hoped that I might have fallen in love with the ride in 2019 when this hype was gone, and I still didn’t.), maybe it’s because the backwards section and the way it’s implemented kind of ruins the flow a bit (the main flaw I can think of with Everest), maybe it’s something else entirely; I don’t really know. For whatever reason, Everest has just never enthralled me like it does a lot of people, in spite of being a fun ride. 6/10, #28/74
5. Space Mountain Alpha - Disney’s Magic Kingdom: I only rode the Alpha side of Space Mountain, and it has quite a fun layout, in my opinion, with some surprising pops of airtime in places! It also feels like a surprisingly fast coaster, although that could be the darkness talking! However, while I wouldn’t call Space Mountain unbearably rough, it was marred somewhat for me by being quite rattly, as well as having a slightly odd seating position that didn’t make it the most comfortable; it is certainly showing its age a bit. 6/10, #29/74
6. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - Disney’s Magic Kingdom: BTMR was a fun mine train coaster, with some thrilling moments and surprising pops of airtime, but it had a fair few moments where it felt a bit sluggish, and I’d also say that like Space Mountain, it is showing its age a bit in terms of how it rides. 6/10, #30/74
7. Barnstormer - Disney’s Magic Kingdom: This is what it is really; a perfectly fine coaster for families. The layout felt a little slower compared to the likes of Flight of the Hippogriff, however, and it was surprisingly quite rough for a coaster aimed at small children! 3/10, #63/74
8. Primeval Whirl - Disney’s Animal Kingdom (both sides): I do feel kind of sorry for the Primeval Whirls being in last place, as I know they were never particularly well-loved in their operating lives, but as much as I hate to say it, they aren’t coasters I’ll miss. I’m not a fan of the Reverchon spinning mice to begin with, but in spite of the rides’ nice theming, I’d actually say they were perhaps the two roughest Reverchon mice I’ve done; my 2019 ride on the right side in particular was absolutely dreadful, and has to go down as one of my least favourite coaster rides ever. As I say, I do feel bad for placing them last, but I’m afraid I couldn’t really think of anything else. 2/10, #71/74 & #72/74

But what is your favourite roller coaster at Disney’s signature resort?

 

[JAperson]

I am not a big Disney fan and haven't ridden any of these however I would imagine that expedition Everest would be my favourite. I haven't voted in the poll as that would discredit your results @Matt N

 

[Matt.GC]

The last time I went, 6 of those 8 coasters didn't even exist! I was supposed to be getting married in Orlando last year which obviously got cancelled. I had a military daily itinerary planned and everything

 

[Danscott22]

Personally went for Space Mountain, but it could easily be Big Thunder or Everest.

 

[pluk]

Last time I went Expadition Everest was a building site. If I'd been on it I'm sure it would get my vote.

 

[tayspru]

Space Mountain is an absolute classic and my pick, it’s very easy to re-ride and it’s always easy to get FP+ for this ride. Could I suggest that it’s condensed into one Poll option though? The ride experiences are indistinguishable