With by far the most rides of any park at Walt Disney World, you’re bound to skip something at Magic Kingdom. That’s just a practical reality if you only have a day or two in the park, as it’s impossible to see and do everything. This top 10 list covers the ‘controversial’ borderline ones that fans often recommend first-timers avoid with our perspective on what to do and not do.
When it comes to the Magic Kingdom ride roster, there are a few “problems” (air quotes) that make things arguably skippable. Let’s start by addressing those as it’s a bit of a necessary prerequisite to understanding why some fans say you should avoid certain attractions. The first is popularity and wait times. Specifically, are certain rides “worth it” in terms of the long lines they command or do they fall short of the hype and leave guests saying “that’s it?!” at the end.
The second is age or datedness. Walt Disney World’s first park was Magic Kingdom, and that’s now over 50 years old and still has some opening day attractions. In our view, some of those are classics that stand the test of time; in the view of many first-timers, they can be antiquated. The challenge is parsing what has personality and has lasted so long for a reason, and what’s just managed to evade replacement over the decades.
The final one is quality or uniqueness. This is the lowest hanging fruit–the things that are on the chopping block for anyone with limited time that simply don’t bring enough to the table. Rides you could find elsewhere, and don’t require the innovation or excellence of Walt Disney Imagineers to pull off.
These variables would make for some easy picks–especially rides that have 2 or 3 of the above qualities–if it weren’t for the fact that so many attractions that have the aforementioned characteristics have become classics or rite-of-passage attractions. Admittedly, there is absolutely nothing special about Mad Tea Party or Dumbo.
But are you really going to visit Walt Disney World and not fly high on the back of the eponymous elephant?! Same goes for “it’s a small world.” Sure, the earworm song played on repeat may get stuck in your head and the dead-eyed dolls are nightmare fuel…but are you really going to miss out on something that has so permeated pop culture? (Hopefully the answer to both questions is no. If not, it should be. Nightmares build character.)
Suffice to say, choosing the rides to skip in Magic Kingdom can be more difficult than meets the eye (or other lists like this make it sound). With that in mind, here are the attractions we always (or usually, when not field testing strategy) skip in Magic Kingdom…
Magic Carpets of Aladdin – Magic Kingdom is home to three spinner rides, which is a lot of the same ride system that simply flies around in circles. Of these, the Magic Carpets of Aladdin is the most skippable.
Very few families will do all three. If you’re only going to do one or two, the “hooks” of Dumbo and Astro Orbiter are better. This does offer the chance to ride a magic carpet above Adventureland, so there’s that, but it’s less impressive than that might sound and there’s little (if any) suspension of disbelief. Most small children won’t even think they’re actually flying on a magic carpet.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – We love these characters and our daughter is fast becoming part of Pooh’s Posse. So the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh probably won’t be on our skip list for much longer. (Although maybe it will, as she’s starting to seem slightly scared of the rainy day scene in the Disneyland version and I’m not sure the rest is enough to overcome that.)
There are several problems with the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, starting in the interactive queue, which has gotta be a breeding ground for new and novel diseases. If you get in this line midday when the wait time is 45 minutes or more, you’re going to question what led you to that decision.
As for the ride itself, the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is rudimentary and dated (despite not being that old), failing to showcase the heart and charm of these beloved characters. An attraction based on Winnie the Pooh should be timeless, filled with childlike wonder, and more popular than Peter Pan’s Flight. This has its moments, but is the weakest of the Fantasyland-style dark rides.
The thing is, we know a Pooh-centric attraction can be amazing, because there is an awesome older…but it’s at Tokyo Disneyland. (On a personal note, that’s also a big part of why we skip the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh–because we have easy access to the same ride with a shorter wait at Disneyland, and have fallen in love with the better version at Tokyo Disneyland. Of course, not everyone is going to visit these Disneylands.)
Rafts to Tom Sawyer Island – This play area for kids harkens back to a bygone era. It doesn’t feel like it’s in the middle of Walt Disney World’s busiest theme park, but more like a place time has passed by. It’s really well done, and a great place for kids to blow off energy. Adults may enjoy the tranquility of the island, too. We’ve spent relaxed afternoons–especially during peak season when Aunt Polly’s has been open–decompressing on Tom Sawyer Island.
With that said, and at the risk of offending its diehard fans, we usually skip the rafts out to the play area and, by extension, Tom Sawyer Island as a whole. I know I’m probably going to get my “Parks Purist” card taken away, but Tom Sawyer Island just isn’t usually what we’re looking for in Magic Kingdom.
However, and this is of critical importance, I love that Tom Sawyer Island exists. As discussed at length in the commentary to our post about Cars Land Replacing Rivers of America, this is an incredible asset to Magic Kingdom and not just for the guests who actively utilize these attractions. The Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island offers serenity and delightful atmosphere even to guests who simply walk along the waterfront promenade, stopping for a moment to catch their breath and take in the view.
So really, we aren’t skipping Tom Sawyer Island or the Rivers of America at all, ever. And no one is. The rafts, yes, but not the area as a whole. Theme parks are not just the sum of their ride rosters, to be raced around and checked off one by one. They are as much defined by the spaces in between; by the absence of attractions, too.
Even though we skip the rafts to Tom Sawyer Island most of the time, that’s also at this stage of our lives. It breaks my heart that our daughter will never remember playing on this island, or the Boneyard at Animal Kingdom, for that matter. I hate that immersive playgrounds, for lack of a better term, are going extinct at Walt Disney World. Accordingly, it pains me to include this entry…even if it is true. Which is precisely the problem from Disney’s perspective, as they look only at guest utilization numbers and miss the forest for the trees in the process.
Tomorrowland Speedway – The silver lining of Cars Land replacing Rivers of America is that it means Tomorrowland Speedway is on borrowed time, and probably won’t be around for another decade. There’s just too much overlap between the Cars trackless E-Ticket and this, and the new attraction will make this look even more archaic by comparison. (Then again, you could’ve said the same about TRON Lightcycle Run and Space Mountain, but the two coexist wonderfully, so who knows!)
We dread the day that our daughter learns Tomorrowland Speedway exists. Worse yet, that like so many kids, she falls in love with the wish fulfillment ride that puts little ones in the driver’s seat and lets them race into the future. Well, not so much ‘the future’ as a past that predicted we’d all be stuck on noisy and stinky roads with poor drivers. So basically, the present.
The problem with Tomorrowland Speedway is more or less identified above, but to put a finer point on it, the ride is loud and the exhaust fumes are awful. As someone who doesn’t have any brain cells to spare, doing Tomorrowland Speedway and getting dumber with each ride probably isn’t the wisest move. Adding insult to (cognitive) injury, it’s absolutely nothing special–it’s a dime-a-dozen go-cart ride that you can find just about anywhere.
On the other hand, Tomorrowland Speedway is a rite of passage attraction. For kids, sitting in the driver’s seat and steering through a car course is really cool. It’s an attraction that’s really memorable and repeatable, and (for parents like us) that presents a bit of a dilemma. For everyone without small children, Tomorrowland Speedway is an easy skip. It’s not even a remotely close call.
Barnstormer – One of my Walt Disney World “confessions,” for lack of a better term, is that I sometimes ride Barnstormer to pad my stats when doing research runs. I don’t enjoy Barnstormer at all and it’s awkward to do as a solo adult man, but if you time it right, it can take under 3 minutes from entering the queue to exiting to add a ride to your count. It’s the attraction with the lowest time commitment, even better than Mad Tea Party or Dumbo.
And that’s precisely the problem. Barnstormer is over as fast as it begins, with a short duration, lackluster visuals, and overall unsatisfying experience being its key characteristics. Unless you are a small child who is too short for other coasters, Barnstormer is skippable. It fulfills its role as a rite-of-passage roller coaster, but does the bare minimum to check that box. If it weren’t for that, we’d say everyone should skip Barnstormer.
Astro Orbiter – “Always” is too strong of a word when it comes to how frequently we skip Astro Orbiter. We probably do it fewer than once every 20 visits to Magic Kingdom that are for fun, which places it among the rides we do least. But that’s still a decent amount.
Our rides on Astro Orbiter for personal enjoyment are always strategic. Outside of Early Entry and rope drop field testing, I cannot recall the last time we rode during the daylight hours (the above photo is over a decade old!). That’s because the line is long, boring, slow-moving, and entirely unshaded. Astro Orbiter is not the least bit worth it, especially during the day when Dumbo is the superior alternative.
After dusk, it can be a totally different story. Tomorrowland is awash with neon glow and pulsating with kinetic energy, from the swoosh of the TRON Lightcycles to the gentle gliding of the TTA PeopleMover. Pair that with Astro Orbiter having little to no wait and the ride can be an unexpected delight at night.
Honorable Mention: Space Mountain – I would never skip Space Mountain. Sarah always would. Consequently, I skip Space Mountain when we travel together and ride it repeatedly when it’s just me. For her, the problem with Space Mountain is the roughness of the ride, which makes Sarah physically uncomfortable and headache-inducing. That’s really it, but I also think she’d be more willing to tolerate all of that if she liked Space Mountain more. But she views it as do many fans–an antiquated thrill ride that time has passed by.
I’m the exact opposite. If I were forced to choose between TRON Lightcycle Run and Space Mountain, and could only ride one of the two for the rest of my life, I’d pick Space Mountain. To be sure, that is the objectively incorrect pick. And one I might end up regretting once age catches up with me and Space Mountain starts hurting my back and giving me headaches.
For me, it mostly comes down to nostalgia. Space Mountain in Magic Kingdom was the ultimate rite of passage for me when I was a kid (and could not do it), and I’ve loved it ever sense. When Sarah and I started visiting together (back before it got the best of her), we’d ‘loop’ Space Mountain repeatedly at the end of Extra Magic Hours. There are days when we rode it literally a dozen times.
Beyond that, there’s something about Space Mountain I find very endearing. I love the old school effects in the queue, the star tunnel music, the dual track layout, and even the post-show scenes. To me, it’s the most complete version of Space Mountain from start to finish, and that (plus the aforementioned nostalgia) scores it big points in my book. I’m so happy the PeopleMover goes through Space Mountain, as I know someday that’ll be how I get my “fix” on all of that once my body starts saying no to the herky-jerky wild mouse coaster.
“Borderline” Magic Kingdom Rides We Never Miss
Peter Pan’s Flight – We have been critical of Peter Pan’s Flight. It was the most controversial pick on our List of 10 Attractions That Have Aged Poorly at Walt Disney World. That’s not because we dislike the substance of the attraction. To the contrary, we love Peter Pan’s Flight. It’s a truly timeless ride and flying high over London and Neverland never gets old. The first scene is arguably one of the most iconic in all of Walt Disney World–I still remember it from when I was a kid.
The problem is that Peter Pan’s Flight commands long lines and high wait times, while also being very dated. It feels very much like a ride from the 1970s, and the substance of it hasn’t been updated much. So it’s jarring to go from newer rides with smooth tracks and awe-inspiring Audio Animatronics to the jerky ships and static figures of Peter Pan’s Flight.
There are few attractions at Walt Disney World with greater potential for “that’s it?!” reactions from first-timers exiting after waiting over an hour. We love Peter Pan’s Flight, but we’d never wait that long for it (always do it during Early Entry, via Lightning Lane or at the end of the night) and recognize that it’s a “warts and all” classic.
Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover – This is the attraction we do more than any other at Walt Disney World. On the one hand, I love the PeopleMover for the laid back experience it offers. On the other hand, there are so many opportunities for plussing the show scenes, narration, and atmosphere. At its core, the TTA PeopleMover is a leisurely transportation attraction, but little fixes could elevate it into so much more.
While its unrealized potential bothers me, we love that the Peoplemover “forces” us to slow down, decompress, and converse. It’s the ultimate change of pace attraction, and for us, it presents the perfect opportunity to embrace why we visit Walt Disney World in the first place: to have fun together. So many other attractions engage you, individually, with the show scenes and ride experience, itself.
“Thanks” to the lack of show scenes, the PeopleMover does this to a far lesser degree than most other attractions. As a result, the TTA PeopleMover is whatever you want it to be. If you want a place to enjoy the nighttime ambiance of Tomorrowland, it’s that. If you want an attraction for socializing, it can be that. If you want to get off your feet and feel a nice breeze, it’s that. If you want a leisurely place to catch up on work emails, it can be that. However, if you want a ride that actively engages and wows you with thrills, Audio Animatronics, or scenes to see…it’s definitely not that.
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – This is the second longest line at Magic Kingdom, with an average wait time range of 65 to 120 minutes. Much of that line is outdoors in the sun, making it feel even less pleasant. After TRON Lightcycle Run, it’s the newest ride in the park–even though it’s a decade old. (It still feels new and modern.) In terms of family-friendly rides, it’s still the newest. That alone goes a long way in explaining its popularity.
Despite its popularity among the park-going public, we’d actually argue that Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is underrated among Walt Disney World fans–and is a modern classic! This family roller coaster’s strengths are its Audio-Animatronics, themed design, music, and novelty level. Its biggest weakness is its duration followed, for some, by its lack of intensity (leading to “that’s it?!” reactions).
We always do Seven Dwarfs Mine Train either during Early Entry (although that can be a gamble) or at the end of the night (always a surefire success). Waiting less than 20 minutes and not in the direct sunlight makes the whole package of the ride much more enjoyable. If we had to wait 2 hours during the middle of the day…we wouldn’t!
Carousel of Progress – No attraction better exemplifies the tension between fans and first-timers. If you’re new to Walt Disney World, you might hear the emphatic praise for Carousel of Progress from people like me, and be shocked to see it yourself. You might even think you’ve been Punk’d. Why does anyone love these dated robots talking about the past, and a version of the future that is also, pretty much, the past?!
Carousel of Progress has a rich history, and although that’s part of its place as an undeniable classic, that only plays a small part in why I love it so much. First of all, there’s personal nostalgia. I remember frequent visits here as a child. Thanks to that, the Carousel of Progress family feels like actual family.
That feeling also exists, and even endures, because the Carousel of Progress characters have so much character. This is something I’ll get into more with the next attraction, but I’m really drawn to attractions that develop their characters, and give them personality. Probably more than any other attraction at Walt Disney World, the ‘Progress’ family has this, and it’s always enjoyable to grow old with them, so to speak. This is the big thing, and why we recommend Carousel of Progress even to first-timers–because it still “clicks” with a good number of them, so long as they know what to expect.
As a whole, that’s really what this list of attractions to avoid and not skip at Magic Kingdom comes down to: setting expectations. From the above descriptions, hopefully you have a better idea of whether Carousel of Progress or Space Mountain or Tom Sawyer Island is right for you. There’s no one size-fits-all answer to any of this, but hopefully the above gives you a better idea of what might “click” for you and what definitely won’t, and you can make personalized judgment calls on that basis!
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Your Thoughts
Which attractions do you skip at Magic Kingdom? Are there are rides that you recommend first-timers to Magic Kingdom don’t do or actively avoid? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
