The Top Disney World Rides Not Worth Waiting in Line For

Let’s discuss a few Disney World rides and attractions that don’t feel worth their long wait times.

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway

Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto animatronics on Runaway Railway at Disney's Hollywood Studios. — Credit: Inside the Magic

Look, we understand just how cool this attraction is, with all its bright colors, funny characters, and incredible projection mapping technology. Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is definitely one of Disney’s most creative and colorful theme park experiences to date and is a super fun time for the whole family.

However, we believe there are far better ways to spend your time at Disney’s Hollywood Studios than waiting in line for this attraction. Sure, if Runaway Railway happens to be around a 30-minute wait, go for it. However, we would highly recommend avoiding this ride if the wait times exceed 40 minutes.

Enjoy some of the park’s other experiences like Star Tours and/or Vacation Fun. Then, hop aboard Runaway Railway at the end of your day (or during a less-crowded period).

Smuggler’s Run

There’s a lot to say about Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run. While the experience can be fun and quite immersive, Smuggler’s Run feels less than the sum of its parts. Intended to be the next evolution of motion simulator-type experiences, Smuggler’s Run instead feels a little clunky and maybe even dated.

The main problem concerns the roles guests are expected to play during the ride. Six guests will climb aboard the Millennium Falcon, each given a job during the mission. The front two riders are the pilots, the middle row are the gunners, and the back row are the engineers.

We’re not saying this ride can’t be fun, but the pilots really do most of the work. We would argue Star Tours is the better motion simulator between the two, but Smuggler’s Run certainly offers more interactivity if that is your thing.

We would recommend waiting to do this ride until the middle of the day or late at night, before the park closes.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

This is probably the most controversial entry on this list, but we don’t care. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train simply is not worth the ludicrously high wait times it typically sees during a regular day at the Magic Kingdom.

Sure, this coaster is fun and great for the entire family, but it pales in comparison to the park’s other rides, such as Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, and Pirates of the Caribbean.

The biggest problem with the ride is its length, or lack thereof. The coaster lasts roughly two minutes, shorter than both Space Mountain and Big Thunder. Mine Train also lacks any real “wow” moments. The part in the mine is quite remarkable, and the smoothness of the roller coaster is very impressive, but overall, nothing really stands out about this attraction.

We’d recommend avoiding this roller coaster during the day and hopping aboard during Magic Kingdom’s nightly fireworks show.

Do you agree with our list?