Disney World and Universal have an incredible selection of rides whether you’re into thrill rides or gentler kid-friendly ones
Typhoon Lagoon: Wave machine at Disney water park
I spent an incredible two weeks visiting both Disney World and Universal in Florida. The two parks are enormous and there’s more to do in both of them than anyone can possibly do in a fortnight.
Disney World’s scale, especially, is hard to believe. It is effectively its own city or county. It is comparable in size to San Francisco in the USA or Manchester in the UK and is twice the size of Manhattan. It has its own roads and transport system including ferries, a cable car network and 490 buses. For comparison, the entire Cardiff Bus network has 171 buses.
Around 58 million people visit Disney World every year. Estimates from the ONS indicate that there were around 42.6m inbound visits to the UK in 2024. Disney World employs 80,000 people, making it the largest employer in the state of Florida.
Universal seems small in comparison but by any other measure Universal itself is also huge. And its comparatively smaller size gives it plenty of advantages, particularly in allowing guests to “hop” easily between some parks on foot, something that’s not possible in Disney World.
Of course, both Disney World and Universal, which are both near Orlando, are about far more than rides. There are countless shows on everything from Beauty and the Beast to Indiana Jones, as well as parades, fireworks and character meets, not to mention thousands of shops. But for many people the rides take centre stage.
In two weeks, I did more than 50 of them. I was travelling with young children so I got to sample the “thrill” rides as well as those for younger children. Both are a huge part of the Disney and Universal experiences and many of the kids’ rides are just as enjoyable as the more adrenaline-pumping (and, at times, frankly insane) flagship roller coasters. So I’ve included both in the list to help you make the most of your trip, especially if you’re visiting as a family. But one ride will live in the memory more than any other. Here are my top 10 rides from both Disney World and Universal, ranked in order:
10. Ko’okiri Body Plunge – Volcano Bay, Universal
At the heart of Universal’s Volcano Bay water park is the volcano itself. And going from the top to the bottom via a 125ft drop, 70-degree fall through a dark tube is this body plunge ride. You start to realise how scary this drop is going to be during your long climb up the stairs to the top – it’s way higher than it looks. You begin the ride by climbing into a one-person pod at the top. Then, with no warning, the floor gives way and you plummet to the bottom at blistering speed, emerging into a pool at the bottom. Watch it here:
9. Avatar Flight of Passage – Animal Kingdom, Disney World
The queue for this ride is an event in itself. You pass through an “active ACE (Alpha Centauri Expeditions) research lab” complete with working experiments and a life-size Avatar in a tank before you reach the linking chamber where you have fun while linking to your avatar. This journey builds up a huge amount of anticipation for the ride itself but nothing prepares you for what is to come. You put on 3D glasses and board your own mountain banshee before embarking on a totally immersive flight. Though your seat doesn’t actually go anywhere (though it does tilt and turn to an often- terrifying degree) the ride is completely immersive and you really feel like you’re flying. It’s a Disney must-ride! Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts at Universal Studios is a similarly brilliant experience.
8. Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment – Epic Universe, Universal
Monsters Unchained is the marquee attraction of Dark Universe at Universal’s new Epic Universe and tells the story of Dr Victoria Frankenstein’s attempt to control Dracula in her “ultimate challenge”. Like Avatar above, the build-up to this ride is as much of an attraction as the ride itself, building suspense as you go, not least when riders are shown a model of the chair they’ll be sitting on being hurled around by an enormous robotic arm as a crazed scientist Igor raves at them on a screen. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at Universal Studios is a similar style of ride and just as good.
7. Haunted Mansion – Magic Kingdom, Disney World
In some ways, Haunted Mansion is a much gentler version of Monsters Unchained. There’s far less motion to the two-person Doom Buggy carriages that take you through the mansion as the disembodied voice of a ghostly host guides you through so it’s kid-friendly (though obviously there’s a major supernatural theme). The part of the ride where ghosts dance as a pianist plays is fantastic. I loved this ride, all the more so for being able to experience it with my nine-year-old daughter and five-year-old son.
6. ET Adventure – Universal Studios, Universal
There are lots of gentle-ish flying rides across the two parks and you should also try Peter Pan’s flight at Magic Kingdom. But this was the pick of the bunch for me, especially for some pretty serious childhood nostalgia vibes. You sit on a bicycle as you try to avoid chasing police and secretive forces to get ET home. It’s wonderful.
5. Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges – Islands of Adventure, Universal
There are lots of fantastic water rides across Disney and Universal and I could have picked any number of them here. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom is superb, featuring a major and thrilling drop at the end. Pirates of the Caribbean, also at Magic Kingdom, is also fantastic, with pirates so realistic I found myself checking with fellow riders that some of them were not in fact actors. Na’vi River Journey at Epcot is stunning, with the animatronic Na’vi Shaman seen towards the end of the ride reportedly the most advanced Audio-Animatronics figure ever designed by Walt Disney Imagineering at a reported cost of $23m.
Living with the Land at Epcot is a one-of-a-kind (very) gentle educational boat ride, as are It’s a Small World at Magic Kingdom and Jungle Cruise in the same park, one of very few rides which comes with a host (Kilimanjaro Safaris at Animal Kingdom is another). Jurassic Park River Adventure at Islands of Adventure is also brilliant – and exciting.
But I’ve gone for Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges at Universal’s Islands of Adventure as my pick of the bunch. It’s a great white water ride without being excessive so it’s kid-friendly. And it gets you absolutely soaked.
4. Tron Lightcycle/Run – Magic Kingdom, Disney World
This exceptional ride sees riders climb aboard their very own Lightcycle and take off on a high-speed adventure, racing against the Grid’s most menacing “programs”. Part of the ride takes place in daylight under the ride’s domed roof where you soar at speed above the park-goers on foot below, with the other half of the ride in near darkness set against thrilling screens. Guardians of the Galaxy at Epcot was another futuristic contender for this spot, but the additional spinning on that roller coaster made it too much to handle and Tron was a much smoother and more enjoyable ride.
3. Fearless River – Volcano Bay, Universal
If you thought you liked a lazy river, then wait until you try the Fearless River at Universal, which my family all took to calling the “crazy river”. We went around it so many times I lost count, with the kids refusing to leave for large parts of the day, usually to my secret delight. A strong current carries you around the river as you float in large rubber rings (or just swim) at a pretty fast pace, with big, chopping waves and churning rapids adding to the adventure. Life jackets are a must for adults as well as the kids. It’s amazing.
2. Surf Pool – Typhoon Lagoon, Disney World
There are wave machines… and then there’s the Typhoon Lagoon Surf Pool. I’d seen so many videos of this before arriving at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon and wasn’t convinced it was real until I saw it with my own eyes. The Surf Pool is the centrepiece of this Disney water park and is a relatively calm and enjoyable pool for the most part. But every 90 seconds a “sonic boom” is heard sparking immediate squeals and screams of excitement at what is to come: a six-foot wave that comes surging through the pool consuming everything in its path. Some experienced lagoon-goers are able to body-surf it. Others, like me, were just battered. At one point, it knocked me into a backwards somersault. I’ve never seen anything like it.
1. Velocicoaster – Islands of Adventure, Universal
Of all the amazing rides throughout Disney World and Universal, this one stands out as the best. I’d been watching videos of it for weeks and was so nervous about riding it that I didn’t know I’d follow through with it until I was at the front of the queue and stepping on to the ride with a thumping heart.
Velocicoaster is the fastest and tallest launch coaster in Florida, launching to 70mph in 2.4 seconds. The Velocicoaster’s “top hat” is 155-feet tall, with riders plunging from its peak down an 80-degree drop. There are inversions and the “Mosasaurus roll” which inverts riders over water at 53mph to end the ride. A truly incredible experience that I will never forget. Other superb roller coasters I tried were Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure in the Islands of Adventure and Stardust Racers at Epic Universe. The Crush n Gusher water coaster at Typhoon Lagoon is also fantastic, as is the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom. For a gentler ride for younger children that’s still fun, try the Trolls Trollercoaster at Universal Studios.
