Scary Rides

[kaills483]

I'm planning my 5th DL trip in the fall & I want to be more adventurous when it comes to ride. I'm a pretty big woes though so the ride I usually go on are pretty tame. Last trip my family got me to go on Indiana Jones & that was a really big deal & I loved it & did it a few times. This time I want to try a few more new rides. I think I'm going to try the Matterhorn, but I'm a bit nervous. Are the drops that much bigger than Indiana Jones? My DH wants me to go on Splash Mountain with him. I'm thinking no but a YouTube video shows that it's okay & it's just the one drop at the end. Is that drop really that terrifying? Also, how wet do you get? Will our camera be okay to bring on the ride? One last question...how is the drop on Space Mountain?

 

[BrianL]

Matterhorn does not have big drops really. It is more of a "wavy" track where you'll crest over a small hill, and then drop while curving around a corner, and it's not that fast.

Splash has a few very small drops. Only the big one at the end should be concerning. How wet you get depends on the weight distribution of the boat, or at least it seems that way because sometimes you get soaked and somethins you get nothing. A camera, if it is tucked away should come through just fine.

I have little experience with DL Space Mountain. I don't remember it being too wild, but definitely more intense than Matterhorn. It is also a bit more intense than WDW Space Mountain (which is more like Matterhorn) if you have any experience with that.

My advice? Just go for it. You liked Indy, right? It can't hurt to try them at least once. Good luck.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Definitely do Matterhorn. The drops in Indy are bigger. Splash Mountain has a couple drops. The animatronics inside are quite fun though! The drop really isn't that big, but try to sit in back. When you sit in front it seems MUCH bigger. Think twice about Space Mountain. Remember, you can't really can't see anything and that's much more "roller coaster" like IMO than anything else at Disney. I find Matterhorn and Splash Mountain to be more "fun".

Oh, you can get anywhere from a little wet to soaked on Splash. Don't have anything out that can't get wet, make sure to put those items in a waterproof bag.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

I'm planning my 5th DL trip in the fall & I want to be more adventurous when it comes to ride. I'm a pretty big woes though so the ride I usually go on are pretty tame. Last trip my family got me to go on Indiana Jones & that was a really big deal & I loved it & did it a few times. This time I want to try a few more new rides. I think I'm going to try the Matterhorn, but I'm a bit nervous. Are the drops that much bigger than Indiana Jones? My DH wants me to go on Splash Mountain with him. I'm thinking no but a YouTube video shows that it's okay & it's just the one drop at the end. Is that drop really that terrifying? Also, how wet do you get? Will our camera be okay to bring on the ride? One last question...how is the drop on Space Mountain?

I can speak to Space Mountain. There is only one significant drop. It is just about exactly in the middle of the ride, and it is at most perhaps 15 or 20 feet. For the most part, Disneyland's version of this ride is fast and smooth, and concentrates on swooping curves and unexpected fast but slight changes in elevation that eventually bring you back down to the bottom of the mountain. It really doesn't give you stomach butterflies much, but it is very thrilling. By contrast, Matterhorn is much (much, much) bumpier and less comfortable.

 

[GatorChris]

I want to say that the drop on Splash Mt is 50ft. By comparison, the super thrill rides of today are in excess of 150ft and beyond. Not, is this drop thrilling? Absolutely! But in a fun way. Besides that, this ride is far too great for telling the story of Brer Rabbit to miss it.

For me, it's the perfect attraction. It tells the story far better than a Fantasyland dark ride, and the thrill at the end plus the fun splish-splash factor makes this #1 on my list. Don't get psyched out over the drop. You'll handle it just fine. And I bet you want to ride it twice. Hey, don't shake your head at me and say no way!!! Trust me. You'll be on it twice.

 

[nannyz]

I went to DLR many times and never did Splash Mountain because I was a scaredy cat. I finally got up the nerve to do it and now it is my favorite ride. Go for it. You will love it.

 

[BriannaRuth]

You have to do Splash Mountain!!! I'm kind of a chicken when it comes to some rides, too, but Splash Mountain is one of my favorite rides in the park. You will get less wet in the back if that's a concern.

Matterhorn is not all that scary, there are no big drops. Have you ridden BTM? If so, you should be able to handle Matterhorn as far as the "scary" factor. However, it's really bumpy and jostles you around.

Space Mountain is the one ride I absolutely refuse to ride. I rode it once and will never do it again. I just couldn't deal with not being able to see what was coming up next. It makes it so you can't "lean in" to the turns and that sort of thing to stabilize yourself. I felt like someone threw me in the dryer and tumbled me around by the time I got out. And it made me nauseous, but I have motion sickness issues.

Have you done Star Tours? That might be a good one to try next if you were okay on Indy.

Have fun! And ride Splash Mountain!

 

[sgtdisney]

I guess I will be the dissenter here. I think it depends on what part of the thrill ride scares you most. I am not a roller coaster person, as I hate straight down drops. On top of that I really have a dislike of water rides. I think it was probably due to the fact I was talked onto a water flume ride at Knots Berry Farm at a young age and hated it. To put it in perspective, I love the Pirates of the Carribean but would love it even more without the drops because I just don't like them. They are mild and there for a purpose (at least in Disneyland), but I could easily live without them

That said, I LOVE Big Thunder Mountain, mostly because the bigger drops are curved and not straight down and the others are more like a bumped up hill. I don't mind going fast around corners, just can't do drops (or go upside down). I've ridden on Matterhorn and liked that, as well as Space Mountain, but Space Mountain is about as extreme as I will go.

I avoided Splash Mountain for years and years, and finally I decided, hey, I will go on it (at Disney World) and try it. I absolutely hated it and couldn't wait for it to be over. The theming was good, I think. I don't remember it. I think part of it was I worked myself up over it as it was a "flume ride". However when I got the bottom of the last drop I was so worked up, I lost my breath and everything. I know, big baby I guess. I really thought I was going to hyperventilate or something. Of course the friends who were with me were laughing and not helping either...

So, I guess it would depend on what your fear is and if you think you can conquer it. I, personally, will never go on Splash Mountain again. But you may have a different experience and love it. You have to decide if it looks like something you think you may like try. If you do go on it, you will survive it and then you can decide if you like it (like Indy) or you don't want to do it again. There are certain Disney rides I know I will never go on, because I am certain I won't like them like Tower of Terror, Rock'n Roller Coaster and California Screaming to name a few. If if it looks like you "may" like it, it may be worth trying it once.

 

[Jkpark]

If I didn't have kids wanting to ride Splash - I would never do it. I hate drops and get nervous every single time. Prefer WDW because you have a lap bar but either way - not my thing. What gets me on is that the drop lasts a couple seconds? As bad as it could possibly be, again - depending on the person - will be over very quickly. I have done it so much now I can actually keep my head up and pose for the picture!! Still won't do Tower of Terror and will never again doing a swinging gondola. Space Mtn I like once I tried. You don't see the little drop coming and you are moving faster so I can handle that (now). Matterhorn is easy from a thrill ride perspective but very jerky. BTMRR is great all the way around and you can sit in the front for a little less thrill.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I am not necessarily a thrill ride person, in general. But for some reason, I don't mind the ones in Disney parks. I think because the theme of each ride is so fun and it just makes it less scary.

 

[KOUKLI]

I love that you asked this question. My first trip to DL/DCA we did no 'Big' rides and only did a few of the smaller more 'tame' rides. I think Alice in Wonderland, The Teacups and Mickey's Fun Wheel are to name a few.

The second time we were a bit more adventureous (probably because we had friends with us pushing us into it) and did Raidiator Spring Racers in DCA. It was the most fantastic ride we had ever done and even went on it again. I will try upload it later. Having RSR under our belt we decided to try Indy. Now that was more full on than I would have liked and I closed my eyes and had my head down the whole time haha.

This year when we are back we have already started to discuss which 'Big' rides we are going to do this year. I'm going with my younger siblings for their first time to DL/DCA so they might encourage us to try some of the more thrilling rides but I know they are very similar to us so we might just all be a bunch of chickens!

Love reading everyones experiences on these rides, makes me feel like I'll be making informed decisions on which ones to pick. Watching them on youtube helps too so you know what you are in for! I've done this with a few rides at Universal Studios and know that the Mummy is completely ruled out!!

 

[abminer]

Great question. I'm a mega chicken, like really terrified of many rides others find tame. I don't like drops or extreme speed. I can only speak to WDW (first DLR trip coming up), but I hated Space Mt, which took me many years to get up the nerve to ride. If the lights were on it wouldn't be so bad. I can handle splash mt, but it I nearly break my DBF's arm on the big drop.

I wasn't aware Indy was so scary! I was so excited to try it and now I'm second guessing. Can someone explain it to me a bit? I'm hesitant to watch videos and ruin the surprise, but I may have to cave in.

How scary is RSR? Is it like Test Track? I like that, but got really motion sick on it last time

 

[ClaraOswald]

Great question. I'm a mega chicken, like really terrified of many rides others find tame. I don't like drops or extreme speed. I can only speak to WDW (first DLR trip coming up), but I hated Space Mt, which took me many years to get up the nerve to ride. If the lights were on it wouldn't be so bad. I can handle splash mt, but it I nearly break my DBF's arm on the big drop.

I wasn't aware Indy was so scary! I was so excited to try it and now I'm second guessing. Can someone explain it to me a bit? I'm hesitant to watch videos and ruin the surprise, but I may have to cave in.

How scary is RSR? Is it like Test Track? I like that, but got really motion sick on it last time

Have you been on Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom? Because Indiana Jones is the same thing but with a different theme.

 

[abminer]

Have you been on Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom? Because Indiana Jones is the same thing but with a different theme.

I have and I can handle it, though I am always surprised by how rough a ride it is, really tosses you around. Dinosaur has no legit drops, so then Indy is the same?

 

[Dot2Vegas]

I can speak to Space Mountain. There is only one significant drop. It is just about exactly in the middle of the ride, and it is at most perhaps 15 or 20 feet. For the most part, Disneyland's version of this ride is fast and smooth, and concentrates on swooping curves and unexpected fast but slight changes in elevation that eventually bring you back down to the bottom of the mountain. It really doesn't give you stomach butterflies much, but it is very thrilling. By contrast, Matterhorn is much (much, much) bumpier and less comfortable.

I love basically any ride that doesn't loop you upside down. Love Big Thunder and Indy...rode Space Mountain for the first time last year thinking it would be very similar. I was totally terrified! I hated every second! I did not know until I was riding but I hate being in the dark like that and not seeing where I was going. Can't remember if there were any drops or not because I freaked out the entire time. My entire family thought it was the best ride ever!

 

[Amommy21]

If you can do Indy you can do ANY ride at DLand. It's really mostly about the theme. They aren't hardcore coasters or anything. TRY them. At the worst you can say, "I'll never do that again."

 

[WTFetus]

If you can do Indy you can do ANY ride at DLand. It's really mostly about the theme. They aren't hardcore coasters or anything. TRY them. At the worst you can say, "I'll never do that again."

Pretty much.

I'm not a fan of roller coasters at all (only do the wooden ones that don't loop or the water ones in other theme parks), but all the ones in Disneyland and California Adventures are pretty tame.
Splash Mountain is super fun and the drop is really only like 1 second. My mom hates drops and any "coaster", but she loved Splash Mountain. That's really the only "adult" ride she'll ride in Disneyland (no Indy, Big Thunder, Space, or Matterhorn). Heck, she loved Jurassic Park in USH too.

After Indy, I think you'll be fine on Matterhorn and Big Thunder. The only ride I think you may have a problem with is Space Mountain. Not because of the dips (very little, especially compared to the WDW one), but that it might be a little intense for a first timer since it feels fast and it's in the dark. You get used to it though.

I have and I can handle it, though I am always surprised by how rough a ride it is, really tosses you around. Dinosaur has no legit drops, so then Indy is the same?

I guess Indy might have one "drop" at the end, but it's pretty miniscule. If you can do Pirates, that drop won't be much.

 

[sgtdisney]

I have and I can handle it, though I am always surprised by how rough a ride it is, really tosses you around. Dinosaur has no legit drops, so then Indy is the same?

Indy does have somewhat of a drop in one sequence, but it's not like a roller coaster drop, but a downward drop nonetheless. My wife went on Indy on our most recent trip and didn't like it because of that sequence, but she really, REALLY doesn't like drops and felt the small drop in Peter Pan was too much, to put it into perspective. I loved Indy.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I have and I can handle it, though I am always surprised by how rough a ride it is, really tosses you around. Dinosaur has no legit drops, so then Indy is the same?

I wouldn't call it a drop. You don't really have a weightless feeling or anything like on a rollercoaster drop. It's just more like driving quickly downhill...ha!

Space Mountain has one drop but it's not very big, in my opinion. It may just be a little surprising since it's dark and you don't see it coming. But it's nothing like on California Screamin' or Rock n Rollercoaster.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

I have and I can handle it, though I am always surprised by how rough a ride it is, really tosses you around. Dinosaur has no legit drops, so then Indy is the same?

Indy uses the exact same layout and ride system. The rides are basically clones in everything but theme. So you shouldn't have any surprises--no drops.