Walt Disney World and Orlando's Best Thrill Rides
If you're a speed freak who lives for the ups and downs of a good ride, here are the top stomach churners and G-force generators in Orlando:
- Expedition Everest-Legend of the Forbidden Mountain (Animal Kingdom): Disney's latest contribution to the thrills category takes you on a hair-raising expedition through the Himalayan Mountains ending in a face-to-face encounter with the legendary Yeti.
- Mission: SPACE (Epcot): Disney used NASA technology to create an astronaut simulator so effective that they've installed "lunch bags" for all the motion sickness it causes.
- Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith (Disney's Hollywood Studios): You launch from 0 to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds and go right into the first inversion as 120 speakers in your "stretch limo" mainline Aerosmith at (yeeeow!) 32,000 watts right into your ears.
- Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (Disney's Hollywood Studios): The free-fall experiences (there are several possible scenarios) are more than thrilling — they're scary. After your legs stop shaking, you may want to ride again.
- Summit Plummet (Disney's Blizzard Beach): This one starts slow, with a lift ride to a 120-foot mountain summit. But it finishes with the world's fastest body slide, a test of your courage and swimsuit as it virtually goes straight down and has you moving sans vehicle at 60 mph by the end.
- Revenge of the Mummy the Ride (Universal Studios Florida): This thrill ride combines a coaster run with magnetism and the best cinematic special-effects technology (flame ceilings, scarabs pouring out of the walls) for a ride that touches on your worst phobias.
- The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man (Islands of Adventure): 3-D doesn't get any better than this chase-the-bad-guys ride where you twist, spin, and soar before a simulated 400-foot drop that feels an awful lot like the real thing. It's sure to get your Spidey senses tingling.
- Dueling Dragons (Islands of Adventure): Your legs dangle as you do five inversions at 55 to 60 mph and — get this! — three times come within 12 inches of the other roller coaster.
- The Incredible Hulk Coaster (Islands of Adventure): You blast from 0 to 40 mph in two seconds, spin upside down more than 100 feet from the ground, and execute seven rollovers and two deep drops on this glow-in-the-dark roller coaster. You may find this hard to believe, but it's the smoothest ride around.
- Jurassic Park River Adventure (Islands of Adventure): Riders travel through a prehistoric land inhabited by fierce, unbelievably real-looking dinosaurs. Creatures five stories tall growl and bare their teeth, some within inches of your face. As if that weren't enough, after being threatened by a Tyrannosaurus Rex, you plunge 85 feet almost straight down into water below.
- Kraken (SeaWorld): This floorless, open-sided coaster uses speed (up to 65 mph), steep climbs, deep drops, and seven loops to create a stomach-churning ride that lasts far too long for some folks.








