Top 10 Scary Rides & Attractions at Disney World

Here's a list of rides and attractions at Disney World that are scary to some people.

Past and present.
The Top Ten
1 The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter (1995-2003)

It was about an experiment involving an alien who came to Earth and caused mayhem around us.
Seating restraints were involved and would cut into anyone who tried to move a muscle, therefore it had a height requirement of 40".
It scared so many kids and parents were ignorant about the warning signs, that Disney decided to close it down and replace it with Stitch's Great Escape.
Stitch is not as scary, but it is disgusting and suckish, as to be the worst Disney attraction of all time.

I miss this ride to be honest. I like Mature rides at Disney. Too bad the whiny idiot Roy E. Disney closed it down.

I actually thought this was FUNNY when I rode it as a 5 year old in 2001... I liked "the robot." (S.I.R.) Too bad it became Stitch... thank God that closed!

2 The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, also known as Tower of Terror, is an accelerated drop tower dark ride located at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Tokyo DisneySea, Walt Disney Studios Park, and formerly located at Disney California Adventure Park. Except for the Tokyo DisneySea version, the attractions are inspired by Rod Serling's anthology television series, The Twilight Zone, and take place in the... read more

It's a ride where you go on a haunted elevator that takes you on your own episode of the Twilight Zone, but the elevator falls down, and goes out of control.
Alien Encounter was the scariest Disney attraction of all time until Disney closed it, leaving Tower of Terror as the crown of scary Disney rides.
I haven't been on it yet, though I have been on Magic Kingdom's roller coasters, and each drop on this is known takes you by surprise, as it’s unexpected, intense and even random.
If you're even the least bit worried about heart attacks, you should skip this.
Yet somehow the height requirement is only 40", yet it's so intense and scary for many.

SO SO FUN! My whole family except me and my dad were scared! My brother was most scared lol he’s such a wimp. Long live this epic ride!

3 Dinosaur

When I was little my mom took me to ride this ride. To this day, I wish she didn't. I was so scared that I screamed and cried the whole time. Those dinosaurs got way to close to my face! And they were loud.

You ride this EMV back in time on a quest to find the carnotaurus before the meteor strikes.
The ride is dark, jerky and has loud dinosaurs, it's not for everyone, as many get scared, even by the storyline.

4 Rock N' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith

You launch from 0 to 57 mph in 2.8 seconds, and it's the only roller coaster at Disney World with inversions, with the 1st inversion giving riders almost 5 g-forces.
Yet being in the dark and loud music also makes it scary for many.

It's so intense it's not for the faint hearted.
The minimum height requirement is 48".

5 Expedition Everest

You're on a train on an expedition at Mt. Everest, but the Yeti causes chaos, and it's up to you whether you decide to conquer the yeti.
The ride is a big coaster and goes backwards during part of it, in the dark.
Not for anyone under 44" or with high blood pressure, heart, back or neck problems, motion sickness or other conditions, and not for expectant mothers.
It's so intense, as to scare many people, even those who met the minimum height requirement.

Broken tracks + yeti + backwards= scary

6 It's Tough To Be A Bug (Animal Kingdom)

I'm not a huge fan of TheTopTens but I just went on this site to vent about this show. WORST THING AT WALT DISNEY WORLD! Seriously, it's physically impossible to like this show unless you enjoy being pelted with stink bombs, fake acid and other unpleasant experiences. BECAUSE THAT'S ALL THERE IS TO IT! I went on when I was 18 and it was too intense for even me. Okay, I'm autistic so I might be biased but I sat through Stitch's Great Escape fine and even if I am biased the show still sucks. I'm not even that scared of bugs!

It's one of those 4-D experiences that involves scary sensations during the dark parts as well as scary sights.
It's based on a Bug's Life, and it involves giant bugs popping out of the screen and the feeling of bugs crawling, yet hornets "sting" you in the back one time during the show.
It's really scary Disney warns you about it.

7 Space Mountain (Magic Kingdom)

Fly through the galaxy and the darkest reaches of space beyond the speed of light.
Well not really, it's only 28 mph, but being in the dark with space effects and not seeing the tracks, makes it seem a lot faster, and gets your heart racing faster than you think.
Yet to actually feel like the speed of light in 1 second would require g-forces of 8.9 x 10-20 g's, which is WAY more than enough to kill you before you know it, and would splatter you, and worse, punch a hole and destroy the total building.
Being a roller coaster in the dark and not seeing where you're going makes it pretty scary, yet the ride has a 44" height requirement, so many little ones won't be tall enough to ride anyway.

Yet in 2018, during Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween, Disney renamed it Deep Space Mountain and enhanced the ride by turning off the star effects and replacing them with ghosts and the original music with scary rock music.
They made the ride a whole lot scarier.
You feel like you’re falling into hell.

Now that Halloween's over, they turned the stars back on so the ride’s scare level downgraded to its usual.

8 Stitch's Great Escape

It's a sensory experience where experiment 626 a.k.a. Stitch causes mayhem.
Like the Alien Encounter, the show has a minimum height requirement of 40" and involves seating bars, yet you feel sensations of Stitch jumping at and "spitting" on you (which is achieved by water sprinklers).
Yet the worst part is when Stitch steals and eats a tourist's rotten chili dog and burps your face (done by seating nozzles that spray scents), and releases one of the worst smells known to man.
Yet it's not as scary as its predecessor, Alien Encounter.
No wonder it's the worst and most disgusting Disney attraction of all time, and my girlfriend went on it and loved it, is she out of her mind?
Thank goodness it's in seasonal operation, so it's days are numbered.

9 Avatar Flight of Passage

It's one of the rides in Pandora, and a simulator, but simulates flying on a banshee, and it's a wild ride.

It even simulates falling, and the feeling is very realistic, which may be too intense for some.

You have to deal with heights, but even though they're simulated, it's so realistic that it tricks you into thinking you're really high, much more than Soarin' does.

However, the minimum height requirement is 44", so most little ones are too short to ride.

This is my favorite ride at Disney world! I recommend it but my 5 year old sister didn’t like the drops so if you don’t like drops or stuff like that I wouldn’t really suggest it but, the other ride at pandora is amazing and it’s just a boat ride with amazing animatronics and the whole world of pandora is simply amazing but make sure you get fast passes for both rides because they can be looonnngg also go there at night everything is lit up and beautiful so stop by there at animal kingdom!

10 Mission: SPACE Mission: Space is a centrifugal motion simulator thrill ride at Epcot in Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.

It's a ride in Epcot that simulates spaceflight and comes in 2 levels.

Green and Orange.

It simulates the sensations from launch, which is 2.5 g's, and weightlessness, along with maneuvers and landing.

These effects are achieved by spinning on a centrifuge, it works like those found at the fairs and at NASA.

It's SO intense that you should be in GOOD health and free from high blood pressure, heart, back or neck problems, motion sickness or other conditions, and expectant mothers should not ride, and when there was only 1 version, which opened in 2003, from 2005 to 2006, 194 people were treated to the paramedics, 25 people passed out, 26 people had difficulty breathing, and 16 had chest pains and irregular heartbeats, many people were taken to hospitals, and 2 people died.

Most of the injured riders were 55 years old, yet motion sickness was the biggest problem.

The 1st death was a 4 year old boy who met the minimum height requirement (44") from a preexisting and diagnosed heart condition and the other death was a 49 year old woman who suffered a stroke from high blood pressure.

After all the complaints, Disney decided to make the ride safer by adding a mild version, the Green version, for families, which does not spin and is less likely to cause motion sickness and other problems, though both levels are in a very tight space like a real capsule, so no one should ride either level if they're made uncomfortable by enclosed, dark spaces or simulators.

The orange version is the intense version and uses 2 centrifuges that spin to simulate the sensations of launch and weightlessness.

The orange simulates what real space flight is like and is very accurate and realistic, and those with a hint of health problems and/or are any prone to motion sickness should not ride, and you're more likely to experience motion sickness if you have a headache, an inner ear problem or a history of migraines, vertigo or... more

The Newcomers

? Aerophile - The World Leader in Balloon Flight

The main reason is because of the lack of enclosed space plus the point of looking down plus windy days.
It's reportedly more intense on windy days as the wind makes the ride more turbulent.
This proves Disney Springs isn't free of thrill rides.

The Contenders
11 It's a Small World It's a Small World is a water-based dark ride located in the Fantasyland area at the various Walt Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide; these include: Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Hong Kong Disneyland.
12 Haunted Mansion

The queue starts in a strange room, which gets scary, and then you board a "doom buggy" and explore the haunted environment and there are ghosts, and all of that can be scary to some people.

13 Peter Pan's Flight

It can be scary to those afraid of the dark and the feeling of flying, so that might need a warning.

The oldness of the music is honestly kind of creepy and unsettling.

I went on this and it wasn't scary

14 Journey into Imagination with Figment

There's a skunk scene, an upside down room, and Figment says his famous quote "Imagination is a Blast", and triggers an electric explosion, and then there's a creepy face on the Moon.
Some might find this stuff way too scary.

15 Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a mine train roller coaster located in Frontierland at several Disneyland-style Disney Parks worldwide.

It's a roller coaster, and as the spiel says, it's the wildest ride in the wilderness, you get bumped around as you go through turns and drops, yet part of it is in darkness, through the caves, so this ride might take little ones by surprise.

My mom tricked me into riding this abomination. I hate roller coasters, but somehow they guilt tripped me into riding the Rock N Roller Coaster with my dad.

16 Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
17 Churro Cart
18 Splash Mountain Splash Mountain is a log flume at Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, and formerly the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort, based on the characters, stories, and songs originally from the 1946 Disney film Song of the South until controversy & petitions regarding racial history since the George Floyd protests led to a retheming on the U.S. versions based on the 2009 film The Princess and the Frog... read more

It's a log flume dark ride, and aside from the 50' drop, the dark music and scenery leading up to the drop can be scary.
Plus, it's a problem for those afraid of getting wet as you may get wet.

19 The Great Movie Ride (1989-2017)

It was known that it was scary because there was a shootout partway on the ride and the “bad guy” jumped aboard your vehicle.
Also, there was said to be the Alien scene, which was scary as well.

20 The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure

The Ursula scene in this attraction may scare some youngsters.

21 Slinky Dog Dash

It's obvious because it's a roller coaster, and not everybody likes them, and there are 2 launches and the hills generate mild airtime, all of which take many kids and adults by surprise.
Though the scariest part is waiting in line in the shadeless heat and burning.

22 Captain EO
23 Dumbo The Flying Elephant

It's not really scary unless you're deathly afraid of heights.
To casual people, it's a breeze.

24 Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

Just like the one at Disneyland, there’s a drop on this attraction near the end of the ride that scares the wits out of people. I’ve read about it since research over the days.

25 TRON Lightcycle / Run

It originally opened at Shanghai Disney. It's slated to open on April 4th 2023. It's said to go up to 59.3 mph & take riders 78.1' high through a canopy & into the main building where riders go through the grid in the world of TRON. The ride soundtrack is a remix of the Tron Legacy film score by Daft Punk. It's surely enough to make everybody rethink Magic Kingdom's reputation as it's the most intense & undoubtedly scariest attraction at the park, far surpassing everything else there.

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