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The Best (and worst) Rides in the Theme Parks
Of course I can only comment on the rides I have done myself, but after 30 years of visiting Disney parks, I have done most.
However I have
never done the thrill seeker rides that turn you inside out and upside down. Having said that, my husband convinced me to go on the Aerosmith ride in Disney’s Hollywood Studios and I thought I was going to die! That definitely turns you upside down. I saw a teenager being helped shaking and crying from the Tower of Terror which is also at the Hollywood Studios, so I guess that is a good one too!
If you suffer at all from motion sickness, do take notice of the warnings on the rides – they are there for a very good reason and they are not kidding either!
In particular, the simulation roller coasters are probably the worst for this. These include, Star Tours at Hollywood Studios and The Simpsons and Mission: Space at Epcot. But, if you are OK these rides are well worth it.
To combat some of the long queues, Disney have a Fast Pass ticket which you get from the ride you wish to do and it gives you a return time later in the day when you can come back and go straight on. You can only have one at a time, you can’t fast pass all the queues and you can’t get another until you have used the first one, so use them wisely. Universal have a different system, whereby you pay for a fast park ticket.
At The Magic Kingdom, The Pirates of the Caribbean is probably the best visual ride followed by The Haunted Mansion and It’s a Small World – although this is mainly for the very young ones, most adults love it too. The Country Bears Jamboree is great fun for all the family and always has a feel good factor to it. Everybody loves Space Mountain and this is a roller coaster that is more sedate than the ones described above.
At Epcot Space ship Earth is well worth doing as is The Universe of Energy if you like dinosaurs. Honey I shrunk the Kids is good fun, a 3D movie with special effects, and Soarin’ always has a long queue but you need to be OK with heights for this one. A good one to use a Fast Pass on.
At Disney’s Hollywood Studios we covered the rides there above, but there are a couple of shows for the tiny ones which change from time to time. At the moment they are showing Beauty and the Beast and Playhouse Disney an interactive show. The best thing at Hollywood Studios is the Extreme Stunt show. See how they do all those car chases on the screen and the tricks they employ.
Universal Studios has two parks: the studios have rides like ET - for the kiddies again – (mind you I’ve seen it, but only in the name of research you understand) and Shrek 4D which is not to be missed. An absolute riot of fun. The old favourite is Jaws, everyone loves that one, but you may get a bit wet! Be warned.
Revenge of the Mummy is another roller coaster like Space Mountain but the special effects are staggering here. Flames, Mummies, snakes and scarabs so a bit of a ghost train too. Really good, especially if you have seen the movie.
The other park at Universal is The Islands of Adventure. This is almost exclusively for the thrill seekers. These are some of the scariest roller coasters I’ve ever seen so not for the faint hearted. (or me)
So there you have it, I hope it will be of some help as you will not be able to fit in all the rides, these are some of the not to be missed.
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