Walt Disney World in Florida is widely known as one of the best family vacation destinations in the world. However, it’s also fantastic for thrill-seekers. You can experience some of the latest and greatest in ride technology in Disney World, as well as good old-fashioned speed.

Let’s review the fastest rides at Disney World organized by their top speed.

You can use this guide to ensure your family gets all the speed they can handle on your vacation. We couldn’t believe how lightning-fast some of these rides are.

Take a look for yourself or why not check out guide on how much it costs to go to Disney World in Florida.

Table of Contents:

Test Track: The Fastest Ride at Walt Disney World

What’s the fastest ride at Walt Disney World? Test Track, located at EPCOT theme park, has a top speed of 65 miles per hour, which is as fast as a ride in any of the four parks gets. You must be at least 40 inches tall to get on this thrilling ride.

Test Track allows guests to build their own digital car and then take it out for an intense test drive under various adverse conditions. The end of the ride is a speed test, where you’ll be able to see your top speed on a speedometer overhead.

That being said, you won’t hit 65 miles per hour every time you ride. The conditions–including weather–have to be ideal. Even a tiny amount of wind resistance can slow your car down a couple of miles per hour.

It’s worth noting that Test Track is the only ride at EPCOT on this list, but that doesn’t mean it’s the superior thrill ride. Even though you’re spinning rather than traveling, you’ll feel like you’re breaking the sound barrier on Mission: Space (the Orange version). It’s another “fast” ride that you shouldn’t miss.

Runners Up: Rides From 50-60 MPH

Other rides throughout the parks provide thrills from top speeds. Let’s look at the runners-up to Test Track. All of the attractions below reach at least 50 MPH.

Summit Plummet–60 MPH

Although Summit Plummet isn’t actually in one of the four Disney World parks, you can find it at Blizzard Beach, one of Disney World’s water parks. It’s a waterslide that is almost entirely vertical. It’s even more thrilling because you aren’t strapped into any car or safety device.

What’s more, the top of the ride sits at a 120-foot summit, where you can see a beautiful view of much of Disney’s property, but it’s scary; lots of would-be riders turn back at the top. Guests must be 48 inches to enjoy this thrilling experience.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster–57 MPH

The fastest ride at Hollywood Studios is the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster featuring Aerosmith. In this ride located in the Sunset Boulevard area of the park, you’re transported to the streets of Hollywood to make it across town to an Aerosmith concert. Luckily, the band members have secured you a high-speed car.

One of the best parts of the ride is the take-off when your car will reach its top speed of about 57 miles per hour in a matter of seconds. The ride then propels you on a wild track with several relatively small drops, a corkscrew, and loops.

The minimum height requirement for this attraction is 48 inches, and riders should be free of heart, neck, back, pregnancy, and other conditions to ride.

The Monorail–55 MPH

Once again, this ride isn’t in one of the four theme parks. Instead, it’s a primary mode of transportation between some of the resorts and theme parks, and riding it is an essential experience on any trip to Walt Disney World.

The Monorail won’t reach top speed on every ride; it depends on your route. You don’t go very fast when traveling from the Magic Kingdom to one of the nearby resorts (the Polynesian, Grand Floridian, or Contemporary). Still, if you transfer at the Transportation and Ticket Center and proceed onto EPCOT, you’ll hit around 55 MPH.

That being said, even if you’re moving quickly, the Monorail is designed to provide a smooth ride, so you might not even realize how fast you’re going.

Expedition Everest–50 MPH

Expedition Everest is the fastest ride at Animal Kingdom, and it’s also the tallest. You will feel every one of those 50 miles per hour when you go shooting down the large drop toward the end of the ride, which is a total of 200 feet of scream-inducing thrill.

In many ways, this is an old-fashioned style roller coaster built with state-of-the-art technology. It has several climbs and drops, twists and turns, is partially in the dark, and even travels backward. Guests must be 44 inches to ride Expedition Everest.

Still Speedy: Rides Over 40 MPH

Don’t worry; there are many more fast rides found throughout Walt Disney World. While 45 or so miles per hour may not sound very fast, especially compared to driving speeds, remember that you’re often loosely strapped and in open-air vehicles. We promise this collection of rides provides a lot of thrills, too!

Splash Mountain–45 MPH

Splash Mountain is the fastest ride at Magic Kingdom. Big Thunder Mountain tops out at 35 miles per hour, while Space Mountain doesn’t get much faster than 27 MPH. The Seven Dwarfs’ Mine Train is no faster than 34 MPH. Guests must be 40 inches to ride.

For the most part, Splash Mountain is a relatively calm boat ride through a series of scenes in which Brer Fox and Brer Bear attempt to catch Brer Fox, who tricks them into throwing him into the Briar Patch, his home.

You’ll go on the fall with him, where your log flume reaches about 45 miles per hour. It’s over almost before you know it. The ride also has a few smaller dark drops throughout as well.

Slinky Dog Dash–40 MPH

You can find Slinky Dog Dash in Toy Story Land in Hollywood Studios. It gets its adorable name from Slinky Dog, one of the beloved toys from Andy’s Room in the Toy Story series. It’s a traditional outdoor roller coaster, and it goes pretty fast, up to 40 miles per hour.

After the second launch, the ride gets more thrilling when it reaches top speed. There are hills and drops throughout, and the theming of the ride is very amusing and perfect for families. Still, guests must be 38 inches tall to ride this attraction.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror–40 MPH

If you haven’t gathered it already, Hollywood Studios is full of fast rides, and the classic Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is one of them. It feels faster than it is because you’re dropping, but because the ride doesn’t drop the elevator car all the way, it doesn’t typically get faster than 40 miles per hour.

Tower of Terror takes you on a thorough adventure, and it’s one of the best themed attractions in Walt Disney World. Even while waiting in line, you’ll walk through the old hotel, beginning in the courtyard and ending in the underground boiler room. Guests must be 40 inches tall to ride.

Enjoy These Fastest Rides at Disney World

One of the great things about Disney World is that they’re constantly innovating new ride technology. In recent years, that has meant more digital ride technology and simulators to create some of the fastest rides at Disney World.

Many other rides throughout the parks feel faster than they are. These include Millenium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run in Hollywood Studios, Mission: Space (orange side) in EPCOT, and Flight of Passage in Animal Kingdom.

In addition, rides in the dark feel faster than they are. That includes Space Mountain in Magic Kingdom.

Walt Disney World has gone out of its way to accommodate families with many kid-friendly attractions. But they also haven’t forgotten about big kids and thrill-seekers, as this list shows. Plan your visit so that everyone gets to do their favorite types of rides.

Facebook X Reddit

More about our TFVG Author

Author Profile

James Brockbank

Founder at The Family Vacation Guide

A seasoned traveller, Dad, and avid sports tourist, James foundered The Family Vacation Guide to share his expert vacation experiences- especially when it comes to being a travelling family man.

Featured in Travel articles such as Travel + Leisure, TripSavvy and SFGate, you know you're reading some of the best vacation tips online.

Additional menu