Challenge accepted

This is it. Four amazing theme parks. Hundreds of rides and attractions. Our job? To point out only a single ride from each park, awarding it the gold medal and the title of Famvia's Bestest Best! This is definitely a title and award that every theme park from all over the world - no, from the galaxy - achieves to obtain, a medal of the highest order that breaks the laws of time and space.

Enough talk, let's get down to business. We are here to look at Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Epcot and Animal Kingdom, which are the three main parks in Walt Disney World, Florida. Our mission is simple: through meticulous research, twenty years of visiting Mickey Mouse at Disney and the power of science, we have finally chose the victors through objective means that are 100% objectively right and can't be contested. Especially on the internet.

Here we go, time to present the winners!

Magic Kingdom

Winner: Space Mountain

Yeah, yeah, a safe choice. But I mean, you can't blame us, right? Space Mountain is a classic for all ages and tastes. It has survived decades at the Magic Kingdom and it still manages to surprise us with how fun it is. Sure, the vehicles are still a bit tiny and larger guests might feel like they're getting squeezed in their seats, but you only need to feel the breeze in your face and start noticing the sci-fi blinking lights around you to know you are going to have a good time traveling through the galaxy.

Space Mountain launched back in 1975 and it's still one of the most popular rides in Walt Disney World. Queue times usually range from 40 minutes all the way to 120 minutes during a busy day. There were a bunch of updates throughout the years, but the charm is always there.

It also helps that Space Mountain isn't just fun, but a long roller coaster that keeps the high quality during the entire ride. Space Mountain takes almost three minutes to complete a full run, while Tron Lightcycle Run takes a little more than a full minute.

Space Mountain is also great for all ages. Your children can go there and have an amazing time yelling in the dar. There are no loops or sharp turns. I guess that the most scary thing in Space Mountain is when you want to raise your arms and it looks like there are tracks just above your head. No worries, guys, it's just an illusion. You can raise your arms and yell as much as you want.

Animal Kingdom

Winner: Avatar Flight of Passage

This was a very hard decision, honestly. The final battle was between Flight of Passage and Expedition Everest, but it looks like the Na'vi came strong and defeated the Yeti. Avatar Flight of Passage is probably the best 3D motion simulator in Florida. In theory, this is a very easy ride to explain and might even not sound that exciting: you hop on what looks like a bike made for a single passenger, stare at a screen in front of you and enjoy your tour. The bike doesn't even move across a set track, as you are stuck in place only moving to the sides a bit.

Let me tell you, however, that Flight of Passage rocks. The best thing about it are definitely the visuals. I've always had a problem with 3D when it comes to high resolution textures and crispy details - take Harry Potter and the Foribben Journey in Islands of Adventure, for example. This is a fun ride but the details are blurry. The same thing applis to Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts.

Thankfully, the visuals in Flight of Passage never cease to amaze you. It feels like you are staring at a 12k resolution screen in front of you. It also helps that the visuals in Pandora are magnificent, with a lot of colorful plants, amazing oceans and images that would make James Cameron proud. It definitely has the prettiest visuals in all motion simulators, at least the ones I've experienced in the past.

Queues for this ride tend to be huge, but everything that is good will attract a crowd, right? Expect waiting times to always be around 60 minutes, reaching 140 minutes during peak seasons. Still, you should come here. It also helps that the queue is very fun, as you can see models of the Na'vi and a bunch of awesome details made for the Avatar fans.

Hollywood Studios

Winner: Tower of Terror

Sorry, the Slinky Dog Dash picture above was just to trick our beautiful readers. The final battle was between Tower of Terror and Rise of the Resistance. Both are amazing, by the way: we have the most classic drop tower in the world against the Galaxy's Edge star that has been awarded the title of best dark ride for the last few years.

In the end, it felt nice to give Famvia's "best of" award to Tower of Terror. Much like Space Mountain, this is an attraction that has truly survived the test of time. Tower of Terror launched back in 1994 and I was there, a poor nine year old lad holding my mother and almost crying for my life. It was so scary! The ghosts looked so real! And you know what? The visual effects are still amazing to this day.

Sure, there have been lots of updates to Tower of Terror in the last few decades. The most important one added not only multiple drops, but made them feel random. Yes, sometimes the elevator will go up then dive down without notice, and sometimes you will drop screaming for your life only to go back up and fall down again. The experience is very cool, especially since you get a lot of air time and that amazing feeling that you're about to leave your seat.

Tower of Terror is also full of style even in the pre-show. The queue looks fantastic and has a lot of fun easter eggs related to one of the most important shows in TV history - The Twilight Zone. It even has a Rod Serling impersonator to tell you that you're about to enter a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind.

The story leans on traditional horror, with a family getting zapped by a lightning bolt as they were riding a service elevator. Poor unfortunate souls. No worries, you will see them again. As ghosts, yep, asking you to join them in the afterlife. Every visual effect here is great and a treat to your eyes. 

Tower of Terror is a massive success to this day. It's not rare to see queue times reaching 70 minutes, and that's for a non-roller coaster ride that is almost thirty years old. That's an achievement that few can accomplish.

Epcot

Winner: Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind

Sorry, there wasn't a final battle between Guardians of the Galaxy and Journey into Imagination with Figment. 

That was the easiest decision on the entire list, by the way. Cosmic Rewind is simply one of the best rides in all theme parks. Yes, we are talking about the whole galaxy. This is an amazing indoor roller coaster which feels like the future, where your seat can move in a three-sixty degree angle while your vehicle is still following a set track.

Cosmic Rewind is still collecting awards from all over the industry, and I imagine Peter Quill will have to find new space in his wardrobe for all the medals he's going to get. There isn't a single bad thing about this ride. Well, it does suck when it ends and nowadays you can only ride it by using the Virtual Queue or by buying an individual Lightning Lane pass. 

Now to the good things, and there are many! Cosmic Rewind is extremely comfortable, has a nice backwards launch, a great sense of speed and each turn feels just right. It also lasts for about 3 minutes, which is a perfectly acceptable duration for such an amazing, expensive roller coaster. 

The pre-show is also great, featuring actors like Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista and Zoe Saldana reprising their roles. There is even a small trick in the queue similar to that surprising moment from Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. 

As expected, the visuals are also top notch, with projections on the walls and next to the tracks, making it feel like you are on an adventure through space and ready to fight aliens. All of that happens while a random soundtrack plays on your seat, with songs that could very well be part of the movies, like Disco Inferno and One Way or Another.

Oh, and Terry Crews.

Do you agree with our choices?

We hope you had fun reading what we think are the best rides in each park. There are still a great number of rides that surely deserve a place on the podium, like Test Track, Fantasmic, Expedition Everest, Rise of the Resistance and Dumbo the Flying Elephant. Okay, maybe not that one.

Do you have your own list for best rides for each park in Walt Disney World? We would love to hear it. Make sure to send us a message with your faovorite rides, memories or if you want some help planning your next magical trip.

Ready to book your next trip to Disney?

Request a Quote

Visit Disney's page on famvia.com or send an email with your preferred travel dates to travel@famvia.com and one of our Travel Specialists will reply with personalized quotes and guides for your trip!

Earn Rewards

Our Annual Rewards Pass program helps you earn rewards on every trip you book with Famvia Travel. The Blue Pass is included for free on each trip and gives you a 1% earnings rate. Redeem your rewards for a gift card, stateroom credit, future trip deposit and more. Want even more rewards? Earn 2.5% or 5% when moving to a paid Annual Rewards Pass.