Disney Thrill Rides

The words speed, thrills and adrenaline might not be what you think of when planning a trip to Walt Disney World, but over the past decade the theme park has stepped up to give guests experiences that leave them breathless, weightless and wanting more. Here, we reveal Disney's most intense attractions.

Fastest Thrill: Test Track
Epcot
This high-velocity ride can reach speeds of 65 mph. Here, visitors experience the same rigors cars do before being deemed road worthy. Except perhaps for NASCAR drivers, this kind of driving is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Best "Scream Your Head Off" Thrill: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Disney's Hollywood Studios
It's dark, it's creepy and it might make you scream again and again and again. Once visitors enter the eerie Hollywood Tower Hotel, it becomes obvious that something isn't quite right. You suddenly find yourself an unwilling participant in the Twilight Zone and the best elevator drop in the world!

Best Classic Thrill: Space Mountain
Magic Kingdom
Fans return over and over to ride this attraction. Known for being the first-ever indoor, dark roller coaster, this world-renowned space race has been thrilling visitors for decades, without losing a beat.

Best Adrenaline Rush: Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
Disney's Hollywood Studios
The creators of the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith wanted to construct a thrilling attraction that was synchronized to music. Much like Space Mountain, this indoor thrill ride combines the speed of a coaster with rock music, special effects and rockin' visuals. Buckle up! This ride goes from 0 to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds, catapulting you straight into the first of 2 inversions and 1 corkscrew.

Best Thrill in the Dark: Dinosaur
Disney's Animal Kingdom
As with all Disney attractions, your journey to Animal Kingdom begins with a story. And this story takes place at the Dino Institute, where you've just volunteered to take on a perilous assignment -- traveling back in time to save an iguanodon from extinction. Your only hope for survival? The time rover, a vehicle built to out-run fierce dinosaurs and beat the clock in a race against time.

Best Family Thrill: Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
Magic Kingdom
Inspired by the Disney presentation of the Pixar Films Toy Story and Toy Story 2, this ride is the ultimate family thrill experience. Buzz's Space Ranger Spin offers passengers a unique ride experience, featuring an interactive vehicle that puts you in control as you help Buzz save the universe from the sinister Emperor Zurg.

Most Terrifying Plunge: Summit Plummet
Blizzard Beach
At Blizzard Beach, you'll find some of the most extreme water rides in the world. After going on high-velocity water rides like Toboggan Racers and the Slush Gusher, you'd think you had reached the pinnacle of water park excitement. But these attractions pale in comparison to what awaits you on the 120-foot precipice of Summit Plummet. You have to have a lot of nerve to climb up the mountain, lie down, cross your arms, legs, and ankles and plunge down the face of this mountain.

Most Thrilling Finish: Splash Mountain
Magic Kingdom
As you walk into Frontierland at Magic Kingdom, your attention will no doubt be grabbed by the mammoth attraction known as Splash Mountain. There, standing at the base of the ride, you'll see screaming passengers come face down the mountain every 12 seconds.

Ultimate Climactic Thrill: Catastrophe Canyon
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Part of Disney's Hollywood Studios' back-lot tour, this special-effects show gives guests a sneak peek at what it's like to be on a film set during an explosive action sequence. Here, you'll not only see the action, you'll live it. From gallons of gushing water, fire and trembling tracks, this ride gives guests a look inside movie-making magic.

Wettest Thrill: Kali River Rapids
Disney's Animal Kingdom
Don't even bother with ponchos - you'll get soaked anyway. Located in the heart of the (simulated) Asian Rain Forest, Kali River Rapids is a fast-paced, whitewater adventure. From the top of the drop, there's no turning back. You will get wet. The rafts offer little protection against the water that showers upon you from every direction, at each twist, turn and spin.

Hottest New Thrill: Mission: Space
Epcot
Once you've enter the building, you arrive at the International Space Training Center, or ISTC. It's now more than 30 years into the future, and you've become an astronaut in training to man the X2 spacecraft for a harrowing mission. What's the mission? How about an exciting inter-planetary journey to Mars? The ride uses real data and photographs that orbiters send back to Earth. So when you start to plummet to the surface of Mars, you see the Valis Marineris (the Grand Canyon of Mars), as well as the volcanoes that exist on the Red Planet's surface. Mission: Space is very similar to actual astronaut training, in that it uses the same technology NASA employs to train astronauts.

Best Kids' Thrill: The Barnstormer
Magic Kingdom
Located in Mickey's Toon Town Fair, the Barnstormer is a coaster for guests too young for Space Mountain or Splash Mountain. The story of the Barnstormer is that Goofy has a crop-dusting company, and you're invited to hop onboard these extra-special crop-dusting planes and take a little tour over Mickey's Toon Town Fair and Goofy's farm.