Magic Kingdom

Best Rides in Magic Kingdom for 2024: An Honest Opinion

Best rides in Magic Kingdom

Have an exciting trip to Disney World planned? Want to know the best rides in Magic Kingdom for 2024? Are you looking for an honest opinion on the best rides in Magic Kingdom for 2024? Then you have come to the right place.

Nostalgia, comfort and sentiment: are all words that come to mind when I think about Magic Kingdom. And the absolute joy of walking around the different lands of Magic Kingdom with a great coffee.

Magic Kingdom should be savored where you can enjoy the details Disney has included to engross you in a story. Sadly the sometimes insane crowds and desire to do everything prevent this. BUT if you accept you won’t do be able to do everything and do some research on the park you will have a more magical and relaxing time where you can truly enjoy the park.

Use this list of the best rides in Magic Kingdom for 2024 for your research and planning. It is my honest opinion. These are the rides I would be sad not to visit when in the park. Remember this is just what I like (someone who goes to Disney often). I don’t have a fancy rating system; it’s just do I like it and am I willing to wait in line for it.

Use this list to pick the rides you don’t want to miss and the ones you will skip so you can spend more time enjoying the park.

At Pragmatic Travelers, we only recommend what we actually enjoy and experience to provide quick and practical travel advice. We are developing more Disney World content everyday. Make sure to subscribe to get the latest information!

Best rides in Magic Kingdom: Cinderella's Castle
Use our honest opinion to help pick Magic Kingdom rides for 2024.

Best Rides at Magic Kingdom

These are, in my opinion, the best rides in the Magic Kingdom. These are the rides I am willing to wait for and would be so disappointed if I didn’t get to ride them.

I grabbed all the information on the rides like accessibility and height requirement from Walt Disney World. In particular, the Magic Kingdom page.

Haunted Mansion

  • Height Requirement: All ages, heights
  • Type of Ride: Dark slow ride
  • Accessibility: Must transfer from Wheelchair/ECV, Audio Description, Handheld Captioning
  • Land: Liberty Square

A Disney Classic! Your Ghost Host guides you through the Haunted Mansion while riding a doom buggy. 999 ghosts are waiting to meet you on this slow moving dark ride. This is another one of my absolute favorites. A wonderfully fun story with great immersive effects/details. Plus one hell of a song! I just love it.

Disney Pro Tip: Mid afternoon seems to crush this ride. Head there in the morning or later in the day.

Pirates of the Caribbean

  • Height Requirement: All ages, heights
  • Type of Ride: Dark slow ride
  • Accessibility: ECV must transfer to wheelchair then to the ride vehicle, Audio Description, Handheld Captioning
  • Land: Adventureland

Another Disney classic! My favorite ride in Magic Kingdom is Pirates. It feels me with that gooey happy feeling whenever I think about it. We get to join pirates as they ransack Caribbean seaport towns while listening to one of the best songs in the Disney parks. (I said, what I said.) Just a wonderful ride and great place for an AC break.

Disney Pro Tip: Make sure to breathe in deeply while on Pirates. That Disney water smell is forever engrained in my memory and makes me a giant cheeseball!

Liberty Square Riverboat

  • Height Requirement: All ages, heights
  • Type of Ride: Slow ride
  • Accessibility: Can stay in Wheelchair/ECV
  • Land: Liberty Square

A gentle ride that forces to take a break. Sit and watch the beauty of the Magic Kingdom as you sail by. The Riverboat provides a unique prospective on the Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It is really quite beautiful and offers a great opportunity to take amazing pictures and videos.

Best rides Magic Kingdom: Haunted Mansion
View from Liberty Square Riverboat of the Haunted Mansion. Two of my favorite rides in Disney.

Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin

  • Height Requirement: All ages, heights
  • Type of Ride: Slow ride with spinning
  • Accessibility: Transfer to Wheelchair, Audio Description, Handheld captioning
  • Land: Tomorrowland

Getting to battle Zurg while on a slow moving ride where you control the spinning?? Yes, please! I have so much fun on this ride trying to score as high as I can with my laser! It is a fun change of pace getting to compete against friends and family. Really, just a fun ride!

Disney Pro Tip: Sometimes the wait can get long with this ride. I wouldn’t wait over 30 minutes. Use the Genie Tip Board in the My Disney Experience app to check wait times. Once you see the wait time dip, head on over. ORRRR If you are rope dropping Space Mountain just head to Buzz Lightyear right after.

Space Mountain

  • Height Requirement: 44″
  • Type of Ride Thrill ride
  • Accessibility: ECV must transfer to Wheelchair then to the Ride Vehicle, No service animals
  • Ride Warnings: Warning for those with high blood pressure, motion sickness, heart, back or neck problems, etc. Expectant mothers should not go on.
  • Land: Tomorrowland

Space Mountain is an in the dark high speed thrill ride. You can barely see in front of you so the dips and turns are often a surprise, adding to the thrill. PLUS, you sit by yourself so no one is there to comfort you. The music and orbs of light flying by just add to the overall immersion of the story. It is quite a lot of fun. I also really enjoy the queue as it adds to the story.

Disney Pro Tip: This queue is dark and great for an AC break. If the heat is really bad this a great line to wait in.

Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover

  • Height Requirement: All ages, heights
  • Type of Ride: Slow Ride
  • Accessibility: Must be able to walk onto the ride, Audio Description, Handheld Captioning
  • Land: Tomorrowland

I freaking love this ride. It is the perfect ride to sit and relax, get out of the sun and enjoy a new view of Tomorrowland. Plus it has a great view of the castle towards the end. There is rarely a line and I will often ride it a few times to take a break and just enjoy being in the Magic Kingdom.

Disney Detail: The PeopleMover uses magnets to accelerate and move along the ride.

Best rides in Magic Kingdom: Peoplemover
View while riding the Peoplemover.

Tron Lightcycle

  • Height Requirement: 48″
  • Type of Ride: Thrill Ride
  • Accessibility: ECV must transfer to a WheelChair then to a Ride Vehicle, Audio Description, Video Captioning, Service animals are not allowed
  • Land: Tomorrowland

In truth, I haven’t rode this but have watched several videos of it. I am predicting it is going to be incredible! The opening date is the beginning of April.

Have you rode it? Let me know what you think in the comments!

Best rides in Magic Kingdom: Make sure to slow down
Use our best rides in Magic Kingdom list to slow down and enjoy quiet moments like this.

Carousel of Progress

  • Height Requirement: All ages, heights
  • Type of Ride: Indoor Slow Ride
  • Accessibility: Remain in Wheelchair/ECV, Audio Description, Video Captioning, Handheld Captioning, Assistive Listening
  • Land: Tomorrowland

Disney Classic! This is a moving theater. You follow an American family through different eras and learn about the technological developments of that era. I love watching the animatronics during the show. And I LOVE the song because, “there is a great big beautiful tomorrow.” Listen, it is cheesy but very relaxing and gets you out of the sun!

Peter Pan’s Flight

  • Height Requirement: All ages, heights
  • Type of Ride: Slow ride
  • Accessibility: Must be able to walk onto ride, Audio Description, Handheld Captioning
  • Land: Fantasyland

Another Walt Disney classic that opened on opening day in 1971. With some pixie dust, your pirate ship will fly! You get to fly over London into Neverland. This has been a favorite ride of mine since I was a kid. It is so whimsical and nostalgic. Flying over London is such a special feeling. I just love it. The queue(line) is super interactive and makes your waiting a bit easier.

Disney Pro Tip: The queue gets long fast and stays long. So rope drop this ride, book up a lighting lane pass or go late at night. Even with the interactive queue it is still a bear of a line.

Walt Disney Railroad

  • Height Requirement: All ages, heights
  • Type of Ride: Slow, well train ride

Another opportunity to slow down and enjoy magic Kingdom. The train was built between 1916-1928 and was resorted for the parks. You can ride the entire 1.5 mile trip or use it to get around the park. It stops on Main Street, Frontierland and Fantasyland.

I’ll ride but won’t wait.

These are rides I don’t mind and enjoy riding but will not wait in punishingly long lines for nor waste a lighting pass on, if the rides above are available.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

  • Height Requirement: 40″
  • Type of Ride: Thrill Ride
  • Accessibility: Transfer from Wheelchair/ECV, No service animals
  • Warnings: Warning for those with high blood pressure, motion sickness, heart, back or neck problems, etc. Expectant mothers should not go on.
  • Land: Frontierland

Listen, I enjoy Big Thunder. It is a family friendly coaster that goes relatively slow over small dips and turns. It is a fun ride with great theming. It’s just not my favorite and I won’t wait over 20 minutes for it. Much rather grab a coffee and relax in the park. If I can walk on, then fine happy to ride it. Other than that, it’s a skip for me.

Best rides in Magic Kingdom: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
A different view of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

  • Height Requirement: All ages, heights
  • Type of Ride: Slow Ride
  • Accessibility: ECV must transfer to wheelchair, Audio Description, Handheld Captioning
  • Land: Fantasyland

It is just such a cute ride. I mean who doesn’t love Winnie the Pooh. With that said, I won’t wait in line for it. Great for the younger kiddos and big fans of Winnie.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

  • Height Requirement: 38″
  • Type of Ride: Thrill Ride
  • Accessibility: Must transfer from Wheelchair/ECV
  • Land: Fantasyland

I like this roller coaster, I do. The queue is fantastic and has great theming. The coaster is smooth and enjoyable. I love that the individual mine cars sway while riding. With that said, it is just not my favorite ride. That bloody line is always insanely long. I also won’t spend the money for an individual lighting lane. (I am pretty sure the individual lighting lane will switch to Tron when it opens.) To me this ride, just isn’t worth the wait or the additional funds. However, since it is a coaster that smaller kids can go on it might be worth your time.

Disney Pro Tip: Everyone will be going to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train for rope drop so it gets busy quick. You might have a better chance at a shorter line at the very end of the day.

Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid

  • Height Requirement: All ages, heights
  • Type of ride: Slow ride
  • Accessibility: ECV must transfer to Wheelchair, Audio Description, Handheld Captioning
  • Land: Fantasyland

I, actually, really like this ride. I liked the movie as a kid. It is just fun to sit in a clam and enjoy the music and story. The line is rarely long as the ride is quick loading and can hold a lot of people. I love the queue. It has great theming and feels incredibly immersive. If there is a long line, either the park is insane or it isn’t working right.

Best rides in Magic Kingdom: Beast's Castle
The Beast’s Castle in Magic Kingdom. Make sure to slow down and enjoy the park!

Rarely Go On

Astro Orbiter

  • Height Requirement: All ages, heights
  • Type of Ride: Slow, spinning
  • Accessibility: Must transfer Wheelchair/ECV
  • Land: Tomorrowland

This ride is a hard pass. The long is usually too long, the seats are uncomfortable and it is boring. The views are nice but that is it.

Tomorrowland Speedway

  • Height Requirement: 32″
  • Type of Ride: Slow Ride
  • Accessibility: Must transfer from Wheelchair/ECV
  • Land: Tomorrowland

This is another nope ride for me. It is dated and kinda boring. Not a fan. The line is always long. That said, your kids will want to ride it. Even my teenage students wanted to go on it.

Disney Pro Tip: During the holiday season, there is a holiday overlay. I haven’t experience it yet but wouldn’t mind checking it out!

The Barnstormer

  • Height Requirement: 35″ and for preschoolers, kids
  • Type of Ride: Small drops
  • Accessibility: Must transfer from Wheelchair/ECV, Service Animals not permitted
  • Land: Storybook Circus

Nope. This ride is not designed for adults. I went on it once and that was enough. Now if I had really little kids then yes I would go on but it is hard pass if not.

Dumbo the Flying Elephant

  • Height Requirement: All ages, heights
  • Type of Ride: Slow Ride, Spinning
  • Accessibility: Must transfer from Wheelchair/ECV
  • Land: Storybook Circus

I feel guilty putting Dumbo on this. I know it is an iconic Disney ride but just isn’t my favorite and I rarely go on it. I do like seeing Dumbo flying around as I tour the park but I won’t be riding it.

Disney Pro Tip: If riding Dumbo is important because it goes hand in hand with Disney then ignore me. Part of enjoying the Kingdom is research but it is just as important to listen to your gut not just influencers.

“it’s a small world”

  • Height Requirement: All ages, heights
  • Type of ride: Slow ride
  • Accessibility: ECV must transfer to Wheelchair, Audio Description, Handheld Captioning
  • Land: Fantasyland

I don’t particularly enjoy this ride. The song is annoying but it a great place to get out of the heat. And it is a Disney classic. I do feel it is one of those rides you must go on, on your first visit. It provides such an appreciation for where Disney started and where it is heading. Plus Mary Blair’s designs for the ride are striking and beautiful.

Mad Tea Party

  • Height Requirement: All ages, heights
  • Type of Ride: Spinning
  • Accessibility: Must transfer from Wheelchair/ECV
  • Land: Fantasyland

Half my childhood was drooling over this ride while watching Disney commercials. It is such an iconic Disney ride. But as an adult, it is a bit boring when you are not spinning and if you are in the teacups with some people (looking at you former students) you might spin too much! I am pretty indifferent to this ride. I haven’t gone on in years and have no desire too.

The Magic Carpets of Aladdin

  • Height Requirement: All ages, heights
  • Type of Ride: Slow Rides, spinning
  • Accessibility: Must Transfer to Wheelchair
  • Land: Adventureland

It’s Dumbo with Aladdin theming, a ride vehicle that you have more control over and a spitting camel. Another cute ride with some pretty views but won’t go out of my way to ride.

Never Been On

These are rides I haven’t ridden. It is amazing to think how many years I have gone and still haven’t enjoyed them. Since I haven’t ridden them, I don’t want to offer an opinion because that isn’t practical or honest!

Main Street Vehicles

  • Height Requirement: All ages, heights
  • Type of Ride: Slow Rides
  • Accessibility: Must transfer from Wheelchair/ECV
  • Land: Main Street

Jungle Cruise

  • Height Requirement: All ages, heights
  • Type of Ride: Slow Ride
  • Accessibility: May remain in Wheelchair/ECV, Sign Language, Assistive Listening, Handheld Captioning
  • Land: Adventureland

Your thoughts…

What do you think are the best Magic Kingdom rides for 2024? Which rides do you skip? Which rides gives you that gooey happy feeling? If you have never been before, which rides are you most exited to ride in 2024? I would love to hear your thoughts, questions and ideas! Leave a comment below.


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