Top 10 Most Immersive Rides at Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World does a great job of making you feel completely immersed, whether it is on a ride or inside one of their magical lands. Some of the most magical experiences that you can have at Disney World, is feeling like you are a part of something bigger than you can imagine. Feeling like a rebel to fight the first order, soaring over the beautiful Valley of Mo’ara or even climbing the forbidden mountain in search of the elusive yeti, Disney has a special way to have you feeling completely immersed. Here are the top ten most immersive rides at Walt Disney World. 

1.  Rise of the Resistance

Rise of the Resistance, is perhaps, the most immersive ride in existence. This massive attraction has multiple ride systems throughout and is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before! If you have never been on this attraction before, please ride it before reading this. **SPOILER ALERT** The Resistance enlists your help for a secret mission. During this secret mission, you are captured by the First Order. You enter a room filled with Stormtroopers and must face Kylo Ren. Members of the Resistance, including Poe Dameron, Rey and even BB-8, help you escape from the clutches of the First Order taking you on a thrilling adventure of a lifetime! From start to finish, you feel as if you have entered the Star Wars universe. This is one of the best rides that I’ve ever been on, and I highly recommend it. 

2. Avatar: Flight of Passage

Another amazing and immersive ride is Avatar: Flight of Passage. On this incredibly designed attraction, you will board your very own banshee and embark on a thrilling adventure where you’ll soar over the Valley of Mo’ara. You will even feel your banshee breathing as you are sitting on its back. This ride truly makes you feel as if you are really flying through this beautiful and breathtaking place. If you’ve ever seen the movie Avatar, you know that bonding with your banshee is very important in the life of the Na’vi. Once you earn its trust, you can fly on its back and soar through the skies. It is the biggest “rite of passage” in the Na’vi culture- hence the creative play on words for the ride’s name. This made the ride even more immersive for its guests.

3. Expedition Everest

Are you ready to take a fun-filled journey up the forbidden mountain in search of the mythic yeti? Expedition Everest will have you feeling as if you wandered into a Tibetan village at the base of Mount Everest. You walk through the highly detailed queue and before you know it, you are standing before the train that will take you up through the icy Himalayan peaks. Little do you know; this train is about to take you on a wild journey to the “top of the world”. That’s right, you have just boarded a crazy, runaway train! Just as you think you’ve reached the top of the mountain; you discover the tracks have been broken and your train goes flying backwards into the darkness. Who broke the train tracks? Will you encounter the elusive yeti? Climb aboard and go on this thrilling adventure to find out…

4. Na’vi River Journey

One of the most peaceful and lovely rides in all of Walt Disney World, the Na’vi River Journey will have you feeling as if you were magically transported to the gorgeous bioluminescent rainforest of Pandora. From the moment that you sit down on the boat, you start your journey down this beautiful and mysterious river. You will enter a bioluminescent rainforest filled with stunning visuals and sounds of the exotic plants and creatures from Pandora. Perhaps the most impressive part of the whole ride, is the Na’vi Shaman of Songs. She looks so incredible and real, that you will do a double take! The details and scenery of this ride make it well worth the wait!

5. Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway

Have you ever wanted to be put right in the center of a Mickey Mouse cartoon? Well, on Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, you can do just that! Riders will board a train driven by our pal Goofy for what seems like a fun, relaxing ride through the countryside. What ends up happening, is it becomes a runaway train taking you through scene after scene of a fun and zany adventure! It truly feels like a whirlwind ride where the laws of physics don’t apply. Get ready for anything to happen as you are whisked from scene to scene through this Mickey & Minnie cartoon. As it says right on Disney’s website, “There’s no telling where this train is heading!” This ride is extremely immersive because it feels as if you entered a cartoon universe. **SPOILER ALERT** There is a scene where you go over a waterfall and end up “underwater” and even though it’s just a screen projection, I hold on to the lap bar extra tight because you really feel as if you are falling!

6. Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run

Climb aboard the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy, the Millennium Falcon, and help Hondo Ohnaka with a smuggling mission! Riders will actually have the chance to pilot the famous ship! Six guests can enter the cockpit at a time and are given on the job training for positions like pilot, engineer, and gunner! Once you choose your roles on the ship, you blast off and jump into hyperspace to begin your adventure. There are twists and turns and danger around every corner! The cool thing about this ride is that it is up to you and your crew whether you succeed or fail in your smuggling mission. This is a must do for any Star Wars fan because it is every fan’s dream to pilot the Millennium Falcon and this ride lets you do just that!

7. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

There’s a reason why the Hollywood Tower Hotel has been vacant all these years…are you brave enough to enter the Twilight Zone to find out why? As you enter the old, abandoned hotel, it looks like it hasn’t been touched since that mysterious, gloomy Halloween night back in 1939. Cobwebs and dust have taken over old suitcases, bellhop stands, table and chairs, etc. You then enter a spooky library where a lightning strike shuts off the power for everything but the television set. Rod Serling comes on to tell you the story about guests of the hotel who entered an elevator, and it was struck by lightning, and they haven’t been seen since. You are then led to the boiler room to where the elevators are. Are you ready to enter the fifth dimension? Will you make it back to the real world or will you become a permanent resident of the Twilight Zone? This ride amazes guests in so many ways. You feel as if the story has come alive and pulled you right in. 

8. Pirates of the Caribbean

Yo Ho, Yo Ho- is the Pirates life for you? Set sail on this swashbuckling adventure and go back to a time where pirates ruled the seas. You will sail through scenes of what life was like in the 17^th century in Caribbean seaport towns. You’ll also sail past Dead Man’s Cove, past cannon fire, and lots of other pirate shenanigans. You’ll even see Captain Barbosa and Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. All throughout this ride, you will feel like you traveled back in time to experience this all firsthand. It’s a very fun and immersive ride. With the Pirates of the Caribbean movie additions to the ride, you feel immersed in that universe as well. 

9. Haunted Mansion

Join your Ghost Host, along with the other 999 happy haunts on this spooky tour through the Haunted Mansion. Board your doom buggy and go on a private tour of this haunted home to all of the “ghosts, ghouls and supernatural surprises”. The mansion is so detailed and interactive, complete with ghosts and ghouls around every corner. Slowly creep past the ballroom where you’ll see ghosts dancing the night away, then off to the chilling séance room where you’ll find the famous Madame Leota. There’s also a graveyard scene complete with singing ghosts and talking heads. It’s equal parts funny and spooky but nonetheless, it all feels very real! At the very end of the ride, be sure to check your doom buggy for any hitchhiking ghosts!

10. Kilimanjaro Safaris

Have you ever wanted to go on a real African safari without leaving the state of Florida? In this incredibly detailed and immersive ride through the savanna, you will feel as if you left Florida for 18-20 minutes (or more!) and were magically whisked away to Africa. Once you step aboard the safari vehicle, get ready to go on an adventure that you’ll never forget. The Harambe Wildlife Reserve is over 110 acres and is home to over 34 different species of animals. Your expert guide will take you through various areas of where the animals live and even give you very interesting facts about each one. You’ll see animals like lions, cheetahs, elephants, rhinos, hyenas, zebras and so many more! This is one of the best rides on Disney property because you don’t feel like you’re in a theme park at all. This ride is different every single time you ride it!

Overall

Disney has many immersive rides but the ten that are listed above are my favorite and they go above and beyond. No other theme park can make you feel as immersed in every land, ride and story as Disney can. These rides pluck you out of your everyday life and transport you to another world just for a few moments, and it really does make all the difference! Which of these rides is your favorite?