My Top 5 Central Florida Non-Roller Coaster Rides

My Top 5 Central Florida Non-Roller Coaster Rides

Disney and Universal really know how to immerse guest in ride experiences. They really excel in the dark ride genre.Their immersion for their rides comes in story lines, preshows(the detail put into the lines and waiting areas), and also in the technology that make their rides thrilling and appealing to all ages. These are the rides I feel are at the top of the game in all of central Florida and possibly across the United States.

5) Star Tours 2- The first trip was great, humorous and memorable. Now with multiple story lines and 3D, this ride has gone to a whole new level. Disney and George Lucas have done wonders with this re-imagined ride. The story lines are randomly chosen so it make re-riding this ride a must. The preshows areas are amazing and humorous with homages paid the original Star Tours. This is must for any Star Wars fan! Who am I kidding, you don't need to be a Star Wars fan to enjoy this journey.

MIB the ride at Universal Studios Orlando

4) Men In Black- This is a great interactive shooter ride. Universal Studios take the humor from the movies, adds a nice story line for theme park visitors, and sends riders shooting and spinning through town under siege. Everyone emerges as a hero with fun and surprise awaiting you around every corner.   Men in Black will beckon you to re-ride and best your last score or see what you missed and make your opponent's car spin. There as scenes and characters from the movie in the preshow line, including the worms. While some may argue that Toy Story Mania is better, Men in Black has more depth and discovery than Toy Story Mania. Suit up and see if you have what it takes to Save the city.



3) Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. It's a classic dark ride combined with drop ride. It may not have the towering heights that some drop towers have, but it sure to give you plenty of air time and different drop sequences, something those other towers can't do. Themeing of this ride is by far one of Disney's best in all of the parks. There are great visual effects and I just love when the star field opens and the dropping and lifting begins. Be sure to try the penny trick.(Drop me a line and I will let you in it.)

What's up with that guy in the center...oh wait that's me.

Have fun storming the castle!

2) Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey- It's Harry Potter goodness and an over all great experience. To take it all in you need to ride it several times. I recommend sitting on the far right hand side, that is if you like dragon breath. The one flaw I see in this ride is that  you do have the same story over and over and over again. This is something Disney has been able to out do Universal with when Star Tours 2 opened. That doesn't make this a horrible ride, it is by far one of the most interesting and fun rides out there. Make sure you look closely at the mist from the Dementor, you will see your own face. Oh if your afraid of spiders, you might want to skip this ride. The line is very entertaining as well. Since the line moves at different rates, you may not get to see all of the stories or spells that are cast. For example, once in the room where you meet Harry and gang, it started snowing and other times we got to see some interesting happenings from the paintings that are hung through out the line.

1)The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man- This ride just got a digital upgrade(which I won't be able to experience until the fall) and is getting rave reviews! This ride was getting rave reviews even before the digital upgrades. Harry Potter may be the new kid in town, but this ride in my opinion offers a more multi-sensory trip. This ride can leave you disoriented,feeling toasty from real flames, and allow you to battle side by side with Spider-Man against some of Marvels most fearsome Villains like Doc Oct and Venom. Universal has a winner on their hand here!




The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man has a big brother and technology upgrade out there that just opened up out in California. Transformers:The Ride. Ride reviews have been phenomenal about this new version of the Spiderman ride as Transformers. Maybe someday it will show up at Universal Orlando?


What are you favorite Dark Rides? Who do you think has the better rides?