Nothing quite can put your fun on pause at Disney World than waiting too long for a ride that was just ok.
The parks are full of rides that are mind blowing and worth long waits, but you won’t find those rides in this article.
Today, I’m highlighting 11 rides at Disney World that aren’t worth the wait. As someone who goes to the parks a lot, I’ve learned to avoid these attractions, or only go on if they have a really short line. I’ve ranked the rides in each park, and I’ll be counting them down from maybe not worth it to my biggest skips. You can also watch a video version of this article from the Guide2WDW YouTube channel.
Now, this isn’t a list of bad rides – although there are some stinkers here. But there are some good attractions that I do like, but they have waits that are usually too long. And I’m backing this up with data, using the average wait time via Thrill-Data.com.
There are some incredibly popular rides on this list, so this might be a bit controversial. But just remember that this is all my opinion so it is scientifically and objectively correct.
Video: The 11 rides I won’t wait for at Disney World | Video
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The 5 Rides That Aren’t Worth the Wait at Magic Kingdom
Let’s start with Magic Kingdom, where I’ve picked 5 rides that aren’t worth the wait.
7 year old me would be so disappointed in 37 year old me right now, because the first ride not worth the wait at Magic Kingdom is Tomorrowland Speedway.
I used to love this ride as a kid. And if you have kids, this might be worth the wait, because they’ll love the chance to drive a car around a track. It’s actually on the lower end of average wait times at Magic Kingdom at 21 minutes.
But unlike many other Disney World attractions, this ride doesn’t give me any warm feelings of nostalgia.
I live in Atlanta, so I have enough experience driving at a frustratingly slow pace. Plus, the track is a sea of asphalt, resulting in some pretty boring views – it doesn’t have the charm that Autopia has in Disneyland.
Avoid the gasoline fumes and skip this ride.
I’m guessing this pick will be pretty controversial, because even I didn’t want to pick it.
But if I’m being really honest, Space Mountain isn’t worth the wait.
Look, before you take away my Disney fan card — first of all you can’t, I paid Disney a lot of money for that. Secondly, I love Space Mountain. The building, the line, and the music all still thrill me. But the ride itself?
Magic Kingdom’s Space Mountain is the original version… and it really shows its age.
I recently ranked all of Disney World’s roller coasters, and I was really shocked when I realized that Space Mountain was my second least favorite roller coaster in all four parks.
It just pales in comparison to those other more thrilling coasters, and both Tron and Guardians of the Galaxy are kind of way better versions of Space Mountain.
There’s a reason that Tokyo Disneyland is tearing down their Space Mountain and building a new version.
Now, this doesn’t mean I skip Space Mountain. I just don’t think it’s worth the average wait time of 57 minutes, which makes it the third longest wait in Magic Kingdom. This is Lightning Lane or Bust for me.
Sometimes a ride not being worth the wait has nothing to do with how long the line is.
Sometimes it’s just because you don’t like that type of ride. And, for me, that’s the case with Mad Tea Party.
I just don’t like spinning rides, and that’s all there is to this ride. With an average wait time of 14 minutes, it has one of the shorter waits at Magic Kingdom. But I don’t care if it’s a walk on. It wouldn’t be worth the 30 seconds it took to walk on and walk off the ride, I’m not going to have fun no matter what.
The tea cups are iconic, so you might feel differently if you can handle spinning, but to me there’s not enough to this ride other than nausea.
Now that’s a pretty personal take, but I think the next ride just stinks no matter who you are.
It’s in a terrible spot, it doesn’t do anything special, and it feels extremely unnecessary.
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin was the third aerial spinner added to Magic Kingdom when it opened in 2001. There’s already Dumbo, which is way more iconic and has two carousels, and Astro Orbiter, which has really cool views above Tomorrowland.
Magic Carpets is placed really awkwardly in the middle of a walkway in Adventureland, and a Aladdin Magic Carpet Ride shouldn’t be this lame.
The whole thing feels like a spit in the face from one of those camels standing outside the attraction — who actually have spit me in the face
Don’t get me started on those guys.
The number one ride that isn’t worth the wait in Magic Kingdom is one of the most popular attractions in the park that’s been providing magical movie moments since 1971.
That’s Peter Pan’s Flight, which had the second longest average wait last year in Magic Kingdom at 73 minutes.
That’s a really long average wait time for ride that is just 2 minutes and 48 seconds long.
Now, why isn’t Tron on this list, that ride is even shorter? The thrill of the launch, the feeling of speed, and the awesome visuals make up for Tron being a bit on the short side. Like Space Mountain, Peter Pan is showing its age, and could use a visual refresh like they did at Disneyland a few years ago with projection mapping.
Plus the brakes at the end of the ride somehow always slam my knees, even though I know its coming.
This ride just isn’t worth the wait.
The 3 Rides That Aren’t Worth the Wait at EPCOT
Let’s park hop over to EPCOT, where we have 3 rides that aren’t worth the wait.
This is a bit of a marginal call. I actually think Frozen Ever After is a good ride, and there are some really fun scenes.
But it had the 6th longest wait at Disney World last year at 74 minutes, and those projected faces seem to malfunction quite a bit.
If Disney ever gets around to upgrading the animatronics to be the kind that they have in Hong Kong, then Frozen Ever After will probably be worth the wait, and I’ll Let It Go off this list.
Like Mad Tea Party, rather than a long wait time, this boils down to personally getting motion sickness on this ride , but that seems to be a pretty widespread issue.
This ride is no joke and can make you really sick, which can derail an entire day of your vacation.
Some people have also reported motion sickness issues with Guardians of the Galaxy. While I haven’t personally experienced that, it’s worth keeping in mind. (But Guardians is a much better ride than Mission Space).
I have an entire Disney World motion sickness guide that breaks down the different issues you may encounter on Disney rides in each park.
- Magic Kingdom Motion Sickness Guide
- EPCOT Motion Sickness Guide
- Hollywood Studios Motion Sickness Guide
- Animal Kingdom Motion Sickness Guide
1) Disney Pixar Short Film Festival
You may think this is an odd pick for the number one ride at EPCOT that’s not worth the wait. In fact, the Disney Pixar Short Film Festival usually doesn’t have a wait.
Wait, what?
Bear with me, because this will make sense. I promise.
Now, yes, this is a chance to see some great animated shorts in 3D on a big screen. That’s cool.
But a lot of these shorts can be found on Disney+ and online elsewhere. Disney World tickets are really expensive, and there are a ton of unique attractions and activities. Taking even 20-30 minutes out of your day to do something you can do a similar version of at home whenever you want just seems like not a great use of your valuable vacation time.
Plus, this attraction is kind of out of the way, so just getting to it takes up some time.
If you need an air conditioned break and you’re nearby, sure. But don’t seek this out.
And Disney, update this attraction already so it’s actually worth using a Lightning Lane on.
The 2 Rides That Aren’t Worth the Wait at Hollywood Studios
At Hollywood Studios, we have only have two rides that aren’t worth the wait.
Alien Swirling Saucers is a charming flat ride. The ride vehicles are super fun, and the swinging from side to side is actually a blast.
As a side note, I totally can’t do the tea cups, but this ride doesn’t invoke the same spinning motion sickness.
However, Alien Swirling Saucers had an average wait of 37 minutes last year, and I’ve seen this wait get well over an hour.
To me, this is a 15 minute max ride. Fun, but not worth anything more than that.
This is the type of ride that should just be a short wait that helps fill out the day, like Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree is at California Adventure. That’s the same ride with a different theme, and it had half the wait time at DCA than it did at Hollywood Studios.
The fact that this line is so long is of a sign that Disney World desperately needs more capacity right now — but that’s a story for another article.
Now, the number one ride that isn’t worth the wait at Hollywood Studios is another ride that many families don’t want to miss on their vacation. It’s extremely popular, and I actually really like it.
It pains me to say that Slinky Dog Dash isn’t worth the wait.
This coaster really punches above its weight. When they announced Toy Story Land, I didn’t expect that Slinky would be as fun as it is. But it’s an awesome ride, with two launches, really fun visuals, and a ride that threads the needle between being approachable for kids and still pretty thrilling for adults.
So, why isn’t it worth the wait? The way I’m talking about, I kind of want to go ride it right now.
Well, last year, Slinky Dog Dash had an average wait of 96 minutes. That’s 4 minutes longer than the runtime of Toy Story 2.
And it was the second longest wait of any ride at Disney World. Any ride.
Slinky ranked just between Rise of the Resistance and Flight of Passage for wait times. I mention those two other rides because they are true next generation theme park attractions. Rise of the Resistance is four attractions all mashed together on a scale we’ve never seen before. Avatar features the best 3D visuals I’ve ever seen, and its somehow thrilling and moving at the same time.
Slinky Dog is a really good family roller coaster. It’s a D-ticket through and through.
It’s just not on the same level of those other attractions, or the other attractions in the top 5 wait times.
The Ride at Animal Kingdom that isn’t Worth The Wait
Finally, at Animal Kingdom, there’s only one ride that isn’t worth the wait. It’s a ride that I should love — and want to love — but I have a hard time not being disappointed by it.
Na’vi River Journey has some highs. The bioluminescence (that’s science speak for glowy stuff) looks really cool and really glowy. The Shaman of Song at the end is Disney World’s best animatronic.
The idea of a slow moving boat ride through Pandora that’s mostly vibes should be a slam dunk in my book. Living with the Fictional Land brought to you by Jim Cameron.
However, the ride is way too short – this should be a 10 or 15 minute relaxing journey in a big boat to increase capacity, but it’s a 5 minute jaunt that feels like it ends just as its getting started. To me, this is a classic ride that’s worth it if the line is 15 minutes or less because there is some cool stuff.
But the actual wait time was a ridiculous 72 minutes last year, way longer than better Animal Kingdom rides like Kilimanjaro Safaris, Expedition Everest, and Dinosaur.
Let me know your thoughts!
Well, there you have it, the rides I don’t think are worth the waits at Disney World. Are there any I missed? Was I being unfair to any rides? Let me know in the comments.
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