Are you a thrill-ride seeking Disney fan looking for information on the coaster options for your next trip?
We can help! Here are the best roller coasters at Walt Disney World, with rankings from least to most intense.
Disney World Roller Coasters Ranked by Intensity
- Goofy’s Barnstormer (least intense)
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- Slinky Dog Dash
- Big Thunder Mountain
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
- Space Mountain
- Expedition Everest
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith (most intense)
When it came time to rank the roller coasters at Walt Disney World, we sought help from over 200 of our favorite Disney World super fans. They provided their opinions on what is the mildest coaster all the way to the most intense.
Want to see how *all* the thrill rides stack up?
Magic Kingdom Roller Coasters
Although many people consider Magic Kingdom to be the place to go with young kids, it also has 4 (soon to be 5!) roller coasters for thrill seekers of all ages to enjoy. That’s the most coasters in any of the 4 Walt Disney World theme parks.
Here’s what you will find there:
Barnstormer Starring The Great Goofini (least intense)
Min. height required: 35″ (89 cm) or taller
- Early Theme Park Entry? Yes
- Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lane Selection? Genie+
- Best time(s) to ride with the lowest waits: Early Theme Park Entry, anytime standby, or anytime with G+
Goofy’s Barnstormer is a great entry-level coaster for little ones who feel ready to give a bigger attraction a try.
Located back in Storybook Circus, this coaster has a couple of smaller hills, but nothing too sharp or steep. And, the entire thing is outdoors, which makes it easy for curious little ones to check it out before they commit to riding it.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Min. height required: 40″ (102 cm) or taller
- Early Theme Park Entry? No
- Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lane Selection? Genie+
- Best time(s) to ride with the lowest waits: First hour or last hour of the day (standby line), or anytime with G+
They don’t call this one “the wildest ride in the wilderness” for nothing.
Expect some sharp turns, but no super high drops on this coaster.
It’s also a bit bumpy at times, but not as bad as its notoriously rough mountain cousin, Space Mountain.
Space Mountain
Min. height required: 44″ (113 cm) or taller
- Early Theme Park Entry? Yes
- Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lane Selection? Depends on the season (busier times it is Genie+, less busy times Individual Lighting Lane)
- Best time(s) to ride with the lowest waits: Early Theme Park Entry, first or last hour of the day (standby line), anytime with G+, or anytime with ILL
Get ready to blast off into space on this classic indoor coaster.
Adding to the thrills of this nearly totally in-the-dark ride are the glimpses of the tracks you’ll catch as you whiz by. Good grief, they look so close!
This coaster is known to be a bit rough. So, make sure the fillings in your teeth are secure before climbing aboard.
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Min. height required: 38″ (97 cm) or taller
- Early Theme Park Entry? Yes
- Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lane Selection? Individual Lightning Lane Selection (pay-to-ride)
- Best time(s) to ride with the lowest waits: Early Theme Park Entry, first or last hour of the day (standby line), or anytime with ILL
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is as smooth of a ride as Space Mountain is rough.
This roller coaster has no super-high drops here, just some mild drops, tight turns, and classic Disney character fun.
Plus, if you have a hesitant rider, this attraction is very, very short, which is unfortunate because the lines here can be very, very long.
Tron Lightcycle /Run (roller coaster)
- Early Theme Park Entry? No
- Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lane Selection? Individual Lightning Lane available, along with a virtual queue
- Best time(s) to ride with the lowest waits: With an Individual Lightning Lane Selection or with a boarding group in the virtual queue
TRON Lightcycle / Run is as fast and as exciting as it looks. Even though there aren’t any inversions or spinning ride vehicles, the roller coaster is intense.
The coaster gets up to speeds of 60 mph, and trust us when we say it definitely feels like you’re going that fast. Plus, it’s one of the fastest coasters at any Disney theme park in the world.
This new coaster is semi-enclosed, and kind of like the ride vehicles used for Flight of Passage, guests ride the cycle instead of sitting like on a traditional coaster.
While the cycles aren’t the most comfortable (both your back and calves are strapped in, while your chest lays flat), they definitely add to the intensity of the ride and make it super thrilling.
Overall, it’s pretty smooth. You could compare it to the thrill-level of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
Epcot Roller Coasters
Epcot will get its very first coaster in May 2022 when the brand-new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind opens up.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
Min height required: 42″ (107 cm) or taller
- Early Theme Park Entry? No. But it is available during Extended Evening Theme Park Hours
- Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lane Selection? Individual Lightning Lane OR Virtual Queue
- Best time(s) to ride with the lowest waits: since there is no Standby Line, your only option is to ride during your scheduled return time for either your Individual Lightning Lane and/or Virtual Queue
Epcot is home to the brand-new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, which is an indoor roller coaster themed after Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise.
The roller coaster features the first-ever reverse launch for a Disney coaster and is one of the longest enclosed coasters in the world.
If that isn’t enough, the ride vehicles rotate 360 degrees!
This ride is pretty intense, but a lot more smooth than Space Mountain.
Adding to the intensity, is a propensity for motion sickness. Not everyone will get sick on this ride, but it does seem like the ones who do, get really sick.
Hollywood Studios Roller Coasters
Hollywood Studios has a ton of thrill rides, including 2 of the most popular coasters in all of Walt Disney World: Slinky Dog Dash and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith (most intense)
Min. height required: 48″ (122 cm) or taller
- Early Theme Park Entry? Yes
- Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lane Selection? Genie+
- Best time(s) to ride with the lowest waits: Early Theme Park Entry, first or last hour of the day (standby line), anytime with the Single Rider Line, or anytime with G+
Picture Steven Tyler and Aerosmith singing loudly into your ears.
Now, picture Steven Tyler and Aerosmith singing loudly into your ears while you are shooting forward at 60 miles per hour.
If that sounds like an awesome time to you, then this is something you’ll definitely want to check out.
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is totally indoors, has a killer launch, and pairs the loud rock sounds of Aerosmith with a silky smooth coaster-ride.
Oh, and did we mention it goes upside down?
Slinky Dog Dash
Min. height required: 38″ (97 cm) or taller
- Early Theme Park Entry? Yes
- Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lane Selection? Genie+
- Best time(s) to ride with the lowest waits: Early Theme Park Entry, first or last hour of the day (standby line), or anytime with G+
The other roller coaster at Hollywood Studios is Slinky Dog Dash, which is just about as cute as Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is loud.
With a couple of launches milder than those of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and drops a bit more intense than those of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, this coaster is a good “in-between” option for people working their way up to the bigger thrills.
Animal Kingdom Roller Coasters
Animal Kingdom is where you can find Expedition Everest, which is one of the best themed of all the roller coasters (as well as one of the most intense!).
Expedition Everest
Min. height required: 44″ (113 cm) or taller
- Early Theme Park Entry? Yes
- Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lane Selection? Depends on the season (busier times it is Genie+, less busy times Individual Lighting Lane)
- Best time(s) to ride with the lowest waits: Early Theme Park Entry, first 2 or last 2 hours of the day (standby line), anytime with the Single Rider Line, anytime with G+, or anytime with ILL (when available)
This coaster is insanely unique and even though there are no inversions, the portions where you go backward almost feel as if you’re upside down.
Everything about this attraction screams THRILL.
Well, everything except for the Disco Yeti (but rumors are always swirling that he’s going to be fixed soon).
If adrenaline is what you run on, you can definitely fuel up here.
Disney World Coaster FAQs
How many roller coasters does Disney World have?
Disney World has 7 roller coasters, with 2 more (Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and TRON Lightcycle Power Run) under construction.
Can I take my bag with me on the roller coasters?
Yes, you can! You can either store your bag at your feet or in the seat back pocket in front of you.
Do any of the roller coasters at Disney World go upside down?
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is the only coaster at Walt Disney World goes upside down. There is a segment of Expedition Everest (where you are going backwards) that some report feels as if you are going upside down, however, you really aren’t.
Roller coaster & thrill ride data
When it came time to rank Disney World’s thrill rides and roller coasters, we preferred not to make all the decisions ourselves.
Instead, we asked members of our WDW Prep School Patreon private Facebook group to help us out.
Ranked choice voting (probably) would have been the best/most accurate method to determine the order.
However, we wanted to keep things as simple as possible.
So instead of rank choice, we asked each participant to assign all the thrill rides an intensity level individually from 1 (least intense) to 10 (most intense).
From there, we took the averages and compared those to the most common responses to make sure things remained consistent.
Here is how the data looked:
Note: We are curious to see how Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewinds ranks with our readers. We plan to repeat this process after it has been open for a while. And, we’ll do the same thing once TRON opens, too.
- Disney World Genie+ Price Now Varies By Date, Plus Other Cost Increases
- Disney Dining Plan returns January 2024 (plus park reservations ending for date-based tickets)
- TRON Lightcycle / Run Will Have a Virtual Queue, an Individual Lightning Lane, and a Locker System
- Park Hopping Changes & More Coming to Disney World & Disneyland
- TRON Opening April 4, 2023 at Magic Kingdom
- Touring Animal Kingdom (without Genie+) - May 20, 2023
- Magic Kingdom Early Entry & Rope Drop (tips & strategy) - May 16, 2023
- When can I book a Disney World package for 2024? - May 8, 2023