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📍 Orlando, FL

I know it is cliché to say, but the most magical place on earth really does exist in Orlando, Florida. After spending a long weekend in January exploring every inch of the four Disney World parks, I am positive that Walt Disney gave us simple humans the closest thing we would ever experience to true sorcery.

The nostalgia that most of us have for Disney World makes enjoying the classic rides around Magic Kingdom something we could never tire from. In addition, the ever expanding technology of the world has given imagineers the tools needed to make guests feel as though they have been transported to different times, galaxies, and dimensions (depending upon your chosen attraction). As a full-time traveler who also happens to be an everyday science nerd, one of the aspects that surprised me about my most recent visit to Disney World were the scientific lessons that hid behind some of their most iconic rides. From the ride themes, to the queue decorations, to the emerging technology needed to create aspects of the experience, every day can be a science lesson at Disney World if you know where to look.

There’s an old saying that comments, “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Apart from Arthur C. Clark, nobody knows this better than the creative minds at Disney World.

Believe it or not, Disney World is the perfect place to visit as a science lover. One could even make an argument that it’s educational enough to count as a home-school field trip! So, in order to help point all my science nerds in the right direction, I have organized the top 9 Disney World Rides for science lovers to enjoy. Organized by theme park and scientific discipline, you can read all about it down below so that you can easily find the ride that will be perfect for the science lover in your life.

Mission: SPACE 

Discipline: Physics

Theme Park: EPCOT

Located in the Future World section at EPCOT, Mission: SPACE is a realistic shuttle simulator meant to make riders feel as though they have been launched through earth’s orbit on a mission to Mars. In order to provide guests with an immersive experience, the ride actually uses the physics of centrifugal force to increase the G-forces experienced by the passengers. That, coupled with the on screen display, provides a convincing glimpse into what real astronauts feel when they are taking off from earth on a space mission. This ride is perfect for those who have a curiosity toward physics as it gives them a chance to experience the effects of centrifugal force and then later dig into why those effects occur in the first place. If this sounds nerve wracking to you, there is also always the option to partake in the less intense, “green mission” of the ride which provides a similar experience without the added G-forces.

Test Track

Discipline: Engineering

Theme Park: EPCOT

Test Track is a long beloved attraction where guests are taken on a high speed car ride as they test their automobiles ability to withstand different environmental variables. This attraction became much more appealing and educational for the engineeringly inclined after a major refurbishment in 2012. After this time, guests waiting for the ride are now led through multiple design studios, and given short video lessons about the testing procedures which take place during vehicle production. Riders are then provided the opportunity to actually design a car of their own, choosing between different body shapes, tires, and safety options. Not only is this an ingenious way to occupy guests during long wait times, but it also adds another dimension to the entire experience as riders then complete the Test Track course in their own design which are then given scores based on its performance. If the queue isn’t too lengthy, you could even ride the attraction several times, changing different aspects of your car until you find a design that performs in a way that satisfies you.

Spaceship Earth

Discipline: Anthropology

Theme Park: EPCOT

Anthropology is the study of the principles that make us human as well as how these principles have changed over time through environment, diet, cognition, technology, and everything in between. There is no better ride in all of Disney World for the anthropology lover than Spaceship Earth which you may better recognize as the giant, silver sphere which greets you as you enter into EPCOT. This gentle, dark ride takes you on a journey through time, starting with the time of Cavemen, walking you through the technological advances of human civilization, ultimately leading you up to modern civilization and into the future. After the show, as your spaceship makes its descent, a built in computer station asks you questions about yourself in order to show you an idyllic future designed just for you, using inspiration from emerging technologies. The exit to the attraction even leads you through an exhibit called Project Tomorrow which features games and interactive displays to teach guests about the future of technology and medicine.

Living With the Land 

Discipline: Agronomy

Theme Park: EPCOT

As our last stop in this long train of EPCOT attractions, I take you to the ride that had 10 year old me dreaming of one day working in a greenhouse. Living With the Land is a gentle boat ride that teaches riders about the many steps necessary for a bountiful earth of sustainable farming practices. After a brief moving show, the boat passes through a series of greenhouses and fisheries, each utilizing cutting edge farming practices such as vertical farming, cover crop fertilization, and natural pest management. To add to the wonder of this ride, the vegetables grown and the fish reared in these facilities go back into the park to feed guests at their many restaurants.

Flight of Passage 

Discipline: Ecology

Theme Park: Animal Kingdom

In their newly refurbished Animal Kingdom, Disney introduced Pandora: World of Avatar, along with two mind bending rides to go along with it. Flight of Passage is one of these long anticipated rides where guests are taken on a 3D flight on the backs of winged banshees as they soar over alien landscapes. It’s incredible, and has a reliably long wait time to prove it. Luckily, their immersive string of queue rooms is full of educational hidden gems which make the world of Pandora seem just as real as earth. Waiting to board the attraction, you can read about how banshees are considered a keystone species, a commonly used term in ecology which describes a species whose presence is vitally important to the health of an entire ecosystem. As you walk through the laboratory of Alpha Centauri Expeditions, you get to learn about the many flora and fauna which make up the ecological world of Pandora as well as the important role that they each play in that world. Using principles of our own world, guests can learn a thing or two about ecology without even realizing it.

Kilimanjaro Safaris

Discipline: Zoology

Theme Park: Animal Kingdom

At 100 acres in size and 18 minutes in length, the Kilimanjaro Safaris is the largest and longest attraction in all of Disney World. It is also the only ride that has ever brought me so close to tears, but that’s a story for another day. If you are an animal lover, this ride you simply cannot miss as it gives you a chance to see freely roaming live animals from the African Safari. I’m talking about hippos, giraffes, elephants, rhinos, lions, flamingos, and zebras if I could just name a few to spark your interest. Each tour is given in an open sided safari vehicle and is narrated by a knowledgeable tour guide who gives you great detail about every animal you encounter, as well as a few tidbits about some of the unique plants you pass along the way. While this ride has gone through several iterations since its opening date in 1998, it currently ends with the safari guide providing you with some easy ways that you and your family can help preserve the natural habitat of some of the species that you just had the pleasure of seeing. For example, recycling your old technologies slows the need for destructive coltan mining in parts of Africa.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Discipline: Geology

Theme Park: Magic Kingdom

This thrilling roller coaster in Magic Kingdom is so popular that it can also be found in Disneyland: Tokyo as well as Disneyland: Paris. The premise of the Big Thunder Mountain experience is that you are taking a ride down an abandoned mine shaft, although the reason for the expedition still remains a mystery for most analytic guests such as myself. As you wait for your ride to begin, you pass by several fictional assay reports which describe the quality of the metal being mined as well as the conditions of the different mining locations. In addition to walking you past interactive pieces of machinery used in mining practices today, the entire experience educates guests on what really goes into geological mining. Additionally, the design of the coaster weaves you through striking geological formations which were inspired by the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon as well as the rising buttes of Monument Valley in the Midwest. Both of these geological marvels are created over millions of years through erosion of different sediment types and are affected by the hardness of the different rocks and minerals. If you need a midday break from the fun, learning all about these formations would be a great addition to the day.

Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run

Discipline: Astronomy

Theme Park: Hollywood Studios

For all lovers of space exploration, the entire Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge section of Hollywood Studios will be worth visiting with a particular emphasis on the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run ride. This space simulator attraction is unique as it assigns every rider a designated job: pilot, gunner or engineer. Your performance at your assigned duty affects the experience of the ride, giving riders the closest thing many of them will ever get to real space travel. They even provide you with a score at the end of the experience so you can see how your group performed. Of course, you will encounter many fictional alien characters that are less realistic, but that simply adds to the immersive Star Wars experience.

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

Discipline: Computer Programming

Theme Park: Hollywood Studios

At the time of writing this, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is the newest and, in my opinion, best attraction in all of Disney World. With a 15 minute start to end run time, this ride was described to me as “the closest thing that exists to being in a Star Wars movie,” and I am inclined to agree. One of the things that makes this ride so fantastic is the trackless ride technology where the ride vehicles seemingly operate by themselves throughout the entire ride. It creates an experience that feels unpredictable, and blends the line between technology and magic better than anything I have ever experienced. Of course, the ride does not run on magic, but rather utilizes cutting edge computer science and programming technologies which the onboard computers within the attraction vehicles use to navigate throughout the ride. If none of this makes much sense to you, all I say is that you may have to trust me on this one. Once you experience it, you will most definitely want to learn about it.

With that, we have officially reached the conclusion to my top 9 rides at Disney World for science lovers. Is there a ride for science lovers that I missed? Be sure to share it in a comment down below so that we can help future travelers together. And don’t forget to subscribe to our weekly newsletter if you don’t want to miss out on new destination guides. As they say at Disney, have a magical day, friends!

Thank you for joining us at Discovery Detour, where the destination is always unknown.