Nothing takes a magical day at the Magic Kingdom to a halt like motion sickness. One minute you’re enjoying a Dole Whip in Adventureland, and then one ride later the entire Disney World is spinning around you. Guide2WDW’s Disney World Motion Sickness Guide is here to help prevent you from experiencing motion sickness while on your Disney vacation, with this section focusing on the Magic Kingdom. From Tron Lightcycle Run’s intense launch to the spinning tea cups, we’ll highlight every ride that could possibly make you feel dizzy or sick.
Motion sickness is a very personal subject, and everyone’s tolerance is unique to them. For some people, roller coasters are an immediate no-go. For others, they can do the most intense coaster, but they can’t handle being spun around even once.
For the purposes of this guide, I’m going to break down every attraction in Magic Kingdom into the following categories:
- High Risk: These attractions have the biggest chance of making guests feel nausea. These rides will feature the most intense movement.
- Medium Risk: These rides have some sort of pronounced movement that could trigger motion sickness. Most guests will be find the intensity of these rides tolerable, but if you’re sensitive to the attraction type, you may want to skip it.
- Low Risk: The vast, vast majority of guests will have no problem on these rides, but there’s still a small chance it could make some guests feel woozy.
- (Almost) No Risk: Almost every guest should have no issues with the type of movement on these rides. However, I say this with a caveat that sometimes I get lightheaded standing up after tying my shoes, so I know that there’s still a chance some guests could feel sick from these.
Update 03-09-2023 – We’ve updated this guide with recommendations for Tron Lightcycle Run, as well as removed Splash Mountain.
Table of Contents
ToggleHigh Risk
Mad Tea Party – Risk Factors: Spinning. The only thing this attraction does is spin you around for a couple of minutes. For some, this is a thrill. But for many guests (like me), this will only make you feel dizzy or worse. This is probably the only Disney World ride I’ve never ridden because spinning makes me feel sick.
Tron Lightcycle Run – Risk Factors: High Speed Roller Coaster, Motorbike Seats, Launch. Tron is definitely the most thrilling ride at Magic Kingdom, and it’s the fastest roller coaster at Disney World. With those thrills comes the risk of motion sickness. We actually consider this a medium-to-high risk, because the ride is very short and very smooth. However, the motorbike seating position and the intense launch may be problematic for some guests. You can read more about if Tron will give you motion sickness and what you need to know to fit in the seat in our in-depth guide.
Medium Risk
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – Risk Factors: Roller Coaster with Drops and Banked Turns. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has three drops and three runouts with sudden twists and turns. While the drops aren’t too big and the top speed is only 35 mph, the turns are intense enough that they can throw you from side to side in your train car. It’s a far cry from the most intense roller coaster out there, but it is the wildest ride in the wilderness. And that means you can feel some g-forces.
Space Mountain – Risk Factors: Darkness, Roller Coaster with Drops and Banked Turns. Space Mountain’s top speed is a mere 27 mph. You’ll only feel like you’re blasting through space at light speed because you’re in almost total darkness. Moving around completely in the dark can be disorienting, and a trigger for motion sickness is your brain being disconnected from what your body is experiencing. If you’re worried about motion sickness on this ride, try to focus on the track or car ahead of you to orient yourself.
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – Risk Factors: Roller Coaster with Drops and Banked Turns. “Swinging” Cars. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is an extremely smooth coaster, and it punishes your body much less than Big Thunder or Space Mountain. For that reason, most guests will feel like this is a less intense coaster. While it only has two drops and run outs, it does come close to Big Thunder’s top speed of 34 mph. The swinging cars add a mild sway to the carts that is only really noticeable on the coaster’s slower portions. The mine scene in the middle also gives riders a break in the intensity.
Astro Orbiter – Risk Factors: Spinning, Heights. Unlike Mad Tea Party that spins you around rapidly in a tight circle, Astro Orbiter is an aerial carousel that moves you around in a much wider circle. So the sensation of spinning is far less pronounced. However, moving in a circle like this can be a trigger for some guests. This is upgraded in terms of intensity compared to the other aerial carousels in the park just because of how high you go on this ride. It’s one of the best views in Magic Kingdom, but that can be a double edged sword. If heights trigger your motion sickness, you might want to stick to Dumbo.
Low Risk
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (Open in 2024) – Risk Factors: Drop. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will keep the same ride system as Splash Mountain, which has three drops — including that massive one at the end. However, most guests will be worried about staying dry rather than feeling sick. The drops are smooth, go straight down, and there are large breaks in between the intense movement. Still, if a dropping motion makes you feel sick, blue skies and sunshine would only be guaranteed if you skip-a-dee-doo-dah this ride.
Pirates of the Caribbean – Risk Factors: Drop. Pirates of the Caribbean features one small drop at the beginning of the ride. It’s far less intense than Tiana’s drop. Most guests will be fine, and the boat ride is slow moving after that initial thrill.
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin – Risk Factors: Spinning / Projections. Despite the name, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin doesn’t need to feature any spinning. That’s because you’re in control on this ride. You control the spinning via a joystick in the middle of the ride vehicle. So you could use it to gently turn, or to constantly spin around. There is one section in this ride that’s completely dark except for some projections, which could make some guests feel dizzy.
Dumbo the Flying Elephant – Risk Factors: Spinning. Dumbo is an aerial carousel that spins you around a wide circle at a brisk pace.
Magic Carpets of Aladdin – Risk Factors: Spinning. Same exact ride and risk factor as Dumbo.
Prince Charming’s Regal Carrousel – Risk Factors: Spinning. This regular carousel spins you around in a circle at a brisk pace.
Barnstormer – Risk Factors: Roller Coaster. This is Disney World’s mildest roller coaster, as it’s meant to be an entry point for small kids to go on their first coaster. Barnstormer has only one hill and one runout, so it will be fine for most guests.
Mickey’s PhilharMagic – Risk Factors: 3D Movie. Mickey’s PhilharMagic is an adorable medley of famous Disney songs, but the 3D part of the movie might make some guests feel motion sickness.
(Almost) No Risk
Carousel of Progress – While the theatre “spins” from scene to scene, it moves extremely slowly.
Monsters Inc Laugh Floor – This interactive show has no elements that would induce motion sickness.
Tomorrowland Speedway – This is a slow moving car ride. The fumes from the gasoline might make you feel sick, or if your child decides to slam into the guard rail over and over again. Otherwise, it shouldn’t make you feel sick.
PeopleMover – The PeopleMover is a gentle ride above Tomorrowland. There is a short portion that goes through complete darkness.
Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid – This slow-moving Omnimover ride does go backwards at one point, but the motion is gentle throughout.
Haunted Mansion – Another slow-moving Omnimover with a small backwards portion, you should be fine as you creep through each room in the Mansion. Just beware of Hitchhiking Ghosts.
it’s a small world – Your biggest issue with this cruise around the world will be how easily the song gets stuck in your head.
Jungle Cruise – Jungle Cruise may have some groan-worthy puns, but this boat ride is smooth sailing when it comes to motion sickness.
Peter Pan’s Flight – Go “flying” over London and Neverland. This ride doesn’t move too fast, and the turns are pretty gentle.
Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – There is one “bouncing” section with Tigger that moves the ride vehicle gently up and down.
Liberty Belle Riverboat – This is a gentle ride around the Rivers of America on a large riverboat.
Hall of Presidents – This attraction is an animatronic show featuring no movement or dizzying effects.
Enchanted Tiki Room – Same as the Hall of Presidents, this is an animatronic show featuring no movement or dizzying effects.
Main Street Vehicles – A fleet of vehicles that move slowly down Main Street should give guests no issues when it comes to motion sickness.
Walt Disney World Railroad – The railroad circles the park, but it provides straightforward motion and open air seats.
Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse – This walkthrough attraction does feature some mild heights, but guests are completely in control of their motion.
Disney World Motion Sickness Guides
I’m currently working on more park motion sickness guides. In the meantime, if you’re curious how intense other Disney World rides are and if they can cause motion sickness, check out our in-depth guides:
- EPCOT Motion Sickness Guide
- Hollywood Studios Motion Sickness Guide
- Tron Lightcycle Run Motion Sickness and Accessibility Guide
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Motion Sickness Guide
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance Motion Sickness Guide
- Avatar: Flight of Passage Motion Sickness Guide
- Soarin’ Motion Sickness Guide
We want to hear from you!
Is there anything that we got wrong in this guide? Do you have any tips for avoiding motion sickness at Magic Kingdom? Let me know in the comments below, and I’ll update the article with your input!
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James Grosch
James is a lifelong Disney Parks fan. While at the parks, he loves finding new details, learning more about Disney World history, and taking pictures. His favorite WDW attractions include Rise of the Resistance, Spaceship Earth, and Tower of Terror.
James is a filmmaker and writer based in Atlanta, GA.
Whew, getting misty eyed. I’ve had horrible motion sickness and dizzy spells since I was 2 years old. It’s altered my entire life at 31 years old, and just started planning our very first Disney trip for our four kiddos. I was absolutely panicked wondering what rides I’ll be able to handle and how exactly to find out, because sometimes people just don’t take it very seriously. This calmed so many fears, from the bottom of my heart thank you so much. Guides like this will literally save people’s vacations by knowing what to avoid and not ruin an entire day of fun.
Kayla, thank you so much for reading and leaving this comment! It means so much to me that you find it helpful. I’ve experienced what it’s like to have a fun Disney day be stopped in its tracks by going on the wrong ride. I hope you and your four kids have an amazing vacation!