Walt Disney World’s Most Overrated Attractions

I have to start this article by saying I love all things Disney. That said, while there are many amazing rides in the parks that are well worth waiting for, there are also several that are perhaps a little overhyped. This isn’t to say all of these overrated rides need to go away. In fact, I really do enjoy most of them. However, the amount of time people will put into waiting for these attractions seems ridiculous to me when there are so many other amazing options in the parks. The list below includes ten attractions that I think are a bit overrated. This doesn’t mean you should skip these rides entirely. Instead, I hope you use the list to get a better understanding of how long you should actually wait for each ride, so you aren’t disappointed when you finally reach the end of the 90-minute wait. Here goes!

1. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

This is a must-do ride when visiting Disney, but it isn’t a “wait in line for two hours” kind of ride. Basically, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is a well-themed kiddie coaster with a short section of traditional dark ride added in for good measure. It’s fun, and well done, but isn’t a big thrill ride that deserves super long wait times. I recommend hopping in line for this one first thing in the morning in order to avoid the longest wait. A 45-minute wait seems reasonable for this experience.

2. Peter Pan’s Flight

This is a Disney World classic, and absolutely deserves its place in Fantasyland. That said, for some reason this ride will often have a wait time of an hour or more. Considering this is a relatively short dark ride that is intended for younger children—the old ride technology still being used certainly won’t wow any adults—this seems a little excessive. Fortunately, I’ve been seeing some shorter wait times for this one during certain parts of the day lately. Watch for the wait to be 30 minutes or less and then hop in line.

3. “it’s a small world”

Another Disney classic, I couldn’t ever bear to see “it’s a small world” go away completely. That said, for whatever reason, this ride has become “untouchable,” meaning it hasn’t been updated in years and has become incredibly worn and tired looking. On top of that, we will often see 60-minute waits for this ride in the afternoons. We wish Disney would do a refurbishment of this ride, adding in some fun modern elements like they have over at Disneyland in California. That said, we do still recommend riding the current version if you have small children in tow, but we recommend waiting until the ride is closer to the 20- or 30-minute mark.

 

4. Tomorrowland Speedway

This is one of the only rides that I actually don’t recommend riding at all. In fact, while my son would strongly disagree, I wish this ride would be demolished entirely. Yes, I know it’s been there since the park opened, and yes, I know kids love it. However, I just can’t get into hopping into a tiny uncomfortable car to drive in a circle going 2 miles an hour while sending noxious fumes into the air. I’ll just stick to the teacups down the road, thanks!

5. Magic Carpets of Aladdin

Listen, I love a Dumbo-style ride as much as the next guy. This is especially true when I have my toddler in tow. That said, I don’t think more than one of these rides per park is really necessary. Since we already have the iconic Dumbo ride in Fantasyland, the flying carpets in Adventureland seem like overkill, and I’m sure there is something better that could be put in this space. Plus, who wants to be “spit” on by camels? Gross.

6. Jungle Cruise

Not far from the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, you’ll find the Jungle Cruise. This ride is pleasant enough, with some punny jokes and cute animal animatronics. That said, there’s nothing truly exciting about the ride, the skippers are often far too unenthusiastic, and to be honest, the animatronics are a bit dated. Sure, I still enjoy this Disney classic from time to time, but overall, I find that the line is too long for the amount of enjoyment I get from the experience.

7. Alien Swirling Saucers

Hollywood Studios is chock-full of brand new attractions. One of these is the Alien Swirling Saucers in Toy Story Land, and we can only guess why this teacups-style ride tends to have a mid-day line of 45 minutes or so. Don’t wait 45 minutes for this one. It’s cute and fun for little ones (even if the smallest kids can’t ride due to height restrictions), but it’s really only worth 15 or 20 minutes of waiting.

8. Test Track

I have never understood the hype over Test Track. I mean, designing a car is fun, but the ride itself is just mediocre, and it’s starting to look pretty dated and shabby. To top it all off, the ability to design cars is gone for the moment thanks to the pandemic, meaning the most fun element of this ride is gone. I’d ride this if I only had to wait a few minutes, but if the wait is in hour, just skip it and head over to Soarin’ instead.

9. Frozen Ever After

This is a super cute dark ride with some pretty impressive animatronics. I totally see the appeal, especially if you have some young Frozen fans on your hands. What I don’t understand is why anyone in their right mind would wait 2.5 or 3 hours for a kiddie boat ride that lasts a few minutes at best. Go ahead and hop in this line if it’s 60 minutes or less. Otherwise, your time is likely better spent elsewhere, and the line will probably be shorter by the time the end of the night rolls around.

10. Na’vi River Journey

Na’vi River Journey is another dark boat ride that I do really enjoy. It’s visually stunning and there is an animatronic at the end that is even more impressive than the Frozen animatronics. Once again though, the line for this one is often much longer than I’d be willing to wait for such an attraction. I’d say 60 minutes is the most anyone should wait for this boat ride, and even that is pushing it.