Best Walt Disney World Rides

The Top 10 Best Rides and Shows at Walt Disney World's Theme Parks

• Thrill Scale (0=Wimpy!, 10=Yikes!): 0
  This is a charming show with no gotchas or scary moments.
• Height Requirement: None
• Location: The Seas with Nemo & Friends Pavilion in Epcot
• Fastpass: No

Some might find it odd to choose the "Finding Nemo"-themed show above classics such as Jungle Cruise, Star Tours, and Big Thunder Mountain for a top-10 list of best Walt Disney World attractions. But Turtle Talk with Crush, in which the surfer dude interacts with audience members via real-time animation, is an astonishing Imagineering breakthrough. Between laughs, adults scratch their heads in bewilderment, while young kids nonchalantly, if delightedly, chat with the witty reptile. If you haven't seen it, what are you waiting for, dude?

• Thrill Scale (0=Wimpy!, 10=Yikes!): 4.5
  One giant splashdown
• Height Requirement: 40 inches
• Location: Frontierland in the Magic Kingdom
• Fastpass: Yes

Disney marries the classic log flume ride (with one humdinger of a drop) to an animatronics-filled dark ride themed to the Uncle Remus characters from "Song of the South." You'll be humming "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" (once you regain your composure from the drop).

• Thrill Scale (0=Wimpy!, 10=Yikes!): 6
  Fairly intense positive G-forces, backwards coaster motion, darkness.
• Height Requirement: 44 inches
• Location: Asia land in Disney's Animal Kingdom
• Fastpass: Yes

As a roller coaster, Expedition Everest is just OK. And as a themed dark ride, the attraction would be just OK without the coaster elements. But the combination of the coaster, which is integral to the ride's story, and the attraction's lavish, immersive environment, creates another Disney E-ticket must-ride and a welcome addition to Disney's Animal Kingdom.

• Thrill Scale (0=Wimpy!, 10=Yikes!): 2.5
  Gentle motion simulation, moderate height, and "soaring" simulation.
• Height Requirement: 40 inches
• Location: Living with the Land Pavilion in Epcot
• Fastpass: Yes

A captivating Disney E-ticket ride that incorporates technology in a new and exciting way, Soarin' is a charming and giddy adventure up, over, and through the sights of California. It will engage your senses and figuratively, if not damn near literally, send you soarin'.

• Thrill Scale (0=Wimpy!, 10=Yikes!): 1.5
  Loud, bright fireworks.
• Height Requirement: None
• Location: World Showcase Lagoon in Epcot
• Fastpass: No

Another Disney nighttime spectacular, IllumiNations is audacious in scope. It uses the pavilions that circle Epcot's World Showcase as its canvas to paint a pyrotechnic tapestry of international goodwill. The rousing soundtrack, soaring fireworks, dazzling lasers, and sonic booms are sure to leave you, um, illuminated.

• Thrill Scale (0=Wimpy!, 10=Yikes!): 7.5
  The sustained G-forces can be unnerving; the simulated liftoff and flight is very realistic; the capsule is quite confining.
• Height Requirement: 44 inches
• Location: Future World in Epcot
• Fastpass: Yes

A groundbreaking, awe-inspiring attraction that delivers sensations unlike any you have ever felt (unless you're an astronaut) and replicates space travel with an astonishing degree of reality. It figuratively--and literally-- takes your breath away.

• Thrill Scale (0=Wimpy!, 10=Yikes!): 2.5
  Percussive explosions, nightmare scenes.
• Height Requirement: None
• Location: Sunset Boulevard in Disney's Hollywood Studios
• Fastpass: No

The nightly Fantasmic! show is an incredible Imagineering achievement that combines classic Disney animation (projected on enormous water screens), pyrotechnics, animatronics, live actors, and other wizardry to deliver a storytelling tour-de-force. With Sorcerer Mickey at the helm, Fantasmic! positively oozes "Disney-ness." Be sure to get to the stadium at least an hour before show time for decent seats, especially when the park is crowded.

• Thrill Scale (0=Wimpy!, 10=Yikes!): 3.5
  More silly than scary, the ride is dark, loud...and haunted! Very young children may find it disconcerting.
• Height Requirement: None
• Location: Liberty Square in the Magic Kingdom
• Fastpass: No

Casual and ardent fans alike typically pair The Haunted Mansion with Pirates of the Caribbean as the archetypal Disney attractions. Coming on the heels of the wildly successful and innovative Pirates and Disney's New York World's Fair attractions, the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland was part of an incredible burst of creative energy from the company and one of its high watermark moments. The classic ride is essentially the same in Florida.

• Thrill Scale (0=Wimpy!, 10=Yikes!): 7
  Multiple freefall drops and launches, sensations of weightlessness, psychological thrills.
• Height Requirement: 40 inches
• Location: Sunset Boulevard in Disney's Hollywood Studios
• Fastpass: Yes

The Tower of Terror is a modern-day classic Disney theme park attraction. Combining a thrilling freefall ride, dazzling effects, and an inspired and fiendishly clever storyline based on the seminal "The Twilight Zone" television series, Disney Imagineers have created a ride that, like a select few E-ticket attractions, is so much greater than the sum of its parts.

• Thrill Scale (0=Wimpy!, 10=Yikes!): 2.5
  Small splashdowns, mildly frightening images.
• Height Requirement: None
• Location: Adventureland in the Magic Kingdom
• Fastpass: No

Dead men may tell no tales, but Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean have entertained millions with their salty tales. A landmark achievement in theme park storytelling when it debuted at Disneyland in 1967, Pirates remains one of Disney's--and all of parkdom's--most beloved attractions. First-timers and those returning with nostalgia-tinged memories alike adore its timeless tales and pitch-perfect presentation.