Disney World is full of exciting rides and attractions.
Haunted Mansion in Disney World
Whether you’re a thrill seeker looking to help save the galaxy or a lover of nostalgia hoping to relive some of that opening-day magic, Disney has a ride for you. Unfortunately, after riding some of its rides consistently over the past few years, there are a few that we just don’t go on anymore.
Space Mountain
Hear us out, Space Mountain is great — a classic, really. Tomorrowland arguably wouldn’t be what it is today without it — but this ride is not for everyone.
Space Mountain
Sure, when this ride opened in 1975, it brought some much-needed thrills to Magic Kingdom. And to this day, it’s still a thrilling attraction! But, to be honest, it’s not the smoothest ride in the park. Compared to some of the newer rides in the park, this can be a really rough and jerky experience. And if you’re sensitive to that, you might get off of this ride with a bit of motion sickness.
Space Mountain with the lights on
If you’re looking for a smoother ride with a ton of thrills, you might want to check out TRON Lightcycle / Run, its new neighbor in Tomorrowland. Or, for a smoother journey through space — Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (although if you’re not a fan of spinning, this one might be a little much for you).
Mission: SPACE
On Mission: SPACE, riders get to blast off in a simulated NASA-style mission to Mars on the Orange Mission — or orbit the Earth in the gentler Green Mission. Actress Gina Torres even gives you a briefing in the attraction’s pre-show video. What’s not to love?
Gina Torres pre-show video
Well, this one is not great for those who suffer from motion sickness — Disney even provides sickness bags in front of each seat, just in case it gets a little too intense.
Mission Space
The Green Mission, while a bit gentler, can still be a little much for some guests, so a lot of people tend to skip this one. Even some of our staff, who once had no issue with the ride, can no longer stomach this attraction now that they are older.
Astro Orbiter
Are you sensing a theme? Space-related rides in Disney World can be a bit of a doozy if you tend to get sick. Astro Orbiter may not be bumpy and intense the same way that Space Mountain and Mission: SPACE are, but it is high up in the air.
Astro Orbiter
Once the ride starts spinning at its highest, the ride vehicles angle inwards so that those with a fear of heights just might get a little queasy.
Hello up there!
Furthermore, those ride vehicles a pretty tight! Typically, Disney puts two guests in each car, so if you’ve got long legs (or are sharing the car with any other adult, really), you’re going to be pretty cramped while you’re up in the air!
Peter Pan’s Flight
Peter Pan’s Flight is a classic in Magic Kingdom. While it isn’t actually an opening day attraction (it opened two days after the park opened, on October 3rd, 1971), many still find this ride to be a must-do for nostalgia’s sake.
Peter Pan’s Flight
And honestly, we agree — this ride does hit us in all of the old Disney feels. But, unfortunately, the line for this ride gets LONG. The ride is not super efficient when it comes to moving guests through the ride, so the capacity is not as high as other rides throughout the parks. This means long lines, even when it’s not an especially crowded day.
Lightning Lane
While we love the nostalgia factor here, sometimes we just can’t stomach waiting over an hour for this one. If you’re headed to Magic Kingdom and have decided to get Genie+ for the day, this one might be a good ride to select as one of your first Lightning Lane selections!
Star Tours
We’re rounding off this list with one final space-themed attraction. Star Tours might seem like an innocent ride — it’s a motion simulator, so you’re not speeding around a coaster track or flying high up in the air.
Star Tours
But, the simulation uses 3D glasses, and that can be a major source of motion sickness for some! On this motion simulator, guests are buckled into a ship and taken on a tour of the Star Wars galaxy.
Star Tours
Things start to go awry, and the ship simulates sudden drops and bumpy crashes. Pair that with 3D glasses and you might be in for a bit of a headache (and a sour belly).
It can get a little bumpy!
Overall, these rides can still be a lot of fun, depending on your preferences. You might just want to come prepared with Genie+, Dramamine, and some ginger ale.
Genie+
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Your article says the Orange mission is the “gentler” one. Might want to correct that.
Oddly, while I don’t get motion sickness as a rule, I have never been able to ride Star Tours. Spinning and roller coasters don’t bother me at all, but something about Star Tours put me over the edge. Soarin’ was always wonderful, as are the other newer simulated motion rides/3D effects, like Avatar and Ratatouille — LOVE them.
We avoid all of Toon Town because it just doesn’t hold any interest for us, Peter Pan was never a favorite among the movies.
I agree whole-heartedly on Space Mountain (and Thunder Mountain got added to the list last trip) — the jarring, back-wracking nature of these rollercoasters don’t cause motion sickness but hurt my back, neck, jaw and head. Space Mountain was eliminated years ago for this reason (the hard corners were some of the worst I’ve been on) and in the last couple years Thunder Mountain has become too jarring for my head and neck. I had higher hopes for Seven Dwarves Mine Train but it didn’t do much for me — while it didn’t jar me as much as SM or Thunder Mountain, I didn’t find it as smooth as I’d hoped based on the other newer coasters, and it felt like one of the shortest rides I’ve ever been on at Disney.
My decreasing tolerance most definitely has something to do with age. 😉
On the other end of the spectrum, the Yeti ride is so smooth I absolutely LOVE it. The Tower of Terror is fantastic with the sudden drops having that wonderful smooth bounce at the bottom. I never feel jarred and I love the free-fall sensation.
Sadly I had to give up Mission;Space after I had an MRI for the first time and my mild claustrophobia went off the charts. The next time I rode Mission:Space — which I had previously quite enjoyed — I was miserable.
Oh no! The ride must have jostled our brains for a second there. No worries, it’s been updated. 🙂 Thanks!
I did Space Mountain with my 8 year old son this Spring and neither of us enjoyed it. We both loved 7 dwarves mine train though.
I had a bad issue on the Mission Space that sort of ruined our dinner plans. We went on the one that orbits the earth and I was absolutely fine; however, an hour before our dinner we decided to try the longer one. My eyesight went wonky and my stomach churned. I didn’t get sick, but it did make me queasy and I could only eat a few bites of my wonderful dinner.
I think one of the things is that Disney always has something for everyone in your family to enjoy, and that is part of the magic. My favorite ride is Soarin’, which can be a bit scary, especially for little ones. One time, I was seated next to this young lady who was informing her dad that she was a bit frightened to go up in the air. Since I’ve been on this ride repeatedly, I leaned over and told her she’d be okay and that the trick was to breathe every time we went somewhere new. The father heard me and told the rest of his party to breathe. By the time we came down, the young lady was smiling and they started the applause you often hear on that ride.