With an absolutely eclectic lineup of rides, EPCOT offers a little something for everyone. So what needs to be at the top of your list? In this post, we rank all the rides at EPCOT. Read on to see what ride you’ll have to fit in no matter what, and what experiences are better left to the imagination. Here’s how we rank all the rides at EPCOT!
About This Post and Related Posts
We have a separate EPCOT Rides and Entertainment Guide that takes a more objective look at all the rides, plus other attractions and entertainment at the park to help you understand everything that’s offered. Our EPCOT One Day Itinerary will help you build your day at the park. And our EPCOT Lightning Lanes Strategy will come in handy if you’re planning to skip the lines.
The Best Rides at EPCOT - Every Ride Ranked
Here’s how we rank all the rides at EPCOT…
Honorable Mention: Test Track
Before we get to the list we have to mention one ride that we can’t rank right now—Test Track. Test Track is closed for reimagining until “Late 2025.” This will be the second significant reimagining that Test Track has gone through. We expect the ride to retain its track layout and famed fast finish, but details about this new interpretation are limited.
Realistically, the outdoor 65 mph segment more or less defines the ride. We expect it to be somewhere in the top 3 when it reopens, but I doubt it’ll dethrone our new number one.
1. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is out of place at EPCOT—we can’t deny that. Try as they might (and maybe they shouldn’t have tried at all), Disney hasn’t managed to really bring a sense of why Cosmic Rewind belongs there. But it doesn’t really matter.
Cosmic Rewind is a fun, thrilling coaster. The story is on the most cosmic scale possible, but the jokes and soundtrack bring it right down to Earth. It’s a stellar balance. While the Universal / Marvel deal has always caused trouble for Disney World, they sort of lucked out because it turns out the Guardians of the Galaxy make for great rides (I happen to think California’s Mission: BREAKOUT is even better than Tower of Terror, and I’m not alone).
The ride definitely can make people a little nauseous, but it doesn’t go upside down. Zoe (now 4), enjoyed it enough to be willing to ride it in the future. Personally, as I get older it’s definitely on the margins of what I’ll tolerate, but I expect a few more years of rides. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is definitely the best ride at EPCOT.
2. Frozen Ever After
While EPCOT has a clear #1 ride, the list quickly gets challenging. The park offers a pretty varied lineup, especially relative to its ride count. But I think Frozen Ever After has a pretty solid claim to the number 2 slot.
Frozen Ever After is a quintessential dark ride, taking you on a boat ride through the story of Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Sven, and, of course, Olaf. The ride took over for the Norway Pavilion’s old Maelstrom ride, which closed in 2014, and it retained the layout and ride system of that ride. This leads to some unexpected moments in an otherwise standard dark ride, but they work perfectly well and serve—as they did with Maelstrom—to bring uniqueness to the ride.
The queue is also enjoyable enough, and as new / updated rides start to overtake Frozen Ever After in popularity, it becomes much easier to fit into your day (though it’s still not easy yet).
3. Soarin’ Around the World
I give Soarin’ Around The World the third spot because of one consistent experience I have at Disney World—hearing people say “wow” at the end of it. I personally feel like the technology has aged a little bit—just look at Avatar Flight of Passage to see what’s actually possible with this concept—but Soarin’ remains an overwhelming favorite with people who aren’t “ride geeks.”
Taking you on a soaring journey to thirteen destinations around the world in a simulated sky glider, Soarin’ maybe does more than the entire World Showcase to inspire wanderlust. You can make a pretty perfect travel bucket list from those scenes alone.
My only problem with Soarin’ is most of what comes before the ride. The pre-ride film with Patrick Warburton is a classic, but even with a Lightning Lane you can expect to wait 20 minutes before boarding, and the queue isn’t much fun.
4. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
Some people would make a case for putting Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure at the top spot in the list, but I really think the ride is more top-5 than top-1. It does a lot right, but it lacks any real “wow” factor.
From start to finish, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is well executed. The exterior and queue are nice, though I mostly use the Lightning Lane or visit at rope drop when waits are minimal. The ride is fun and quirky, with some thrill thrown in (enough to scare the smallest children). Despite heavy reliance on screenz, the ride balances in some nice practical sets and effects, too.
But I’m not sure anything really sets it apart, and I’m definitely not convinced the experience justifies the popularity. As a 3D dark ride it’s definitely more “fun” and “dynamic” than a lot of what EPCOT offers, but something’s missing. When I think of trackless dark rides, I can’t even put Remy’s in the same ballpark as Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway or even the same sport as Rise of the Resistance.
As always, it’s worth remembering, this was not a brand new ride when it came to EPCOT in 2021. It debuted in Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris in 2014. This makes it—yes—older than Frozen Ever After. Overall, I think Remy’s does a great job of bringing some dynamism to the World Showcase, and I put it at a respectable fourth on this list.
5. Spaceship Earth
I don’t like to be guided by fears of cosmic retribution, but I simply can’t rank Spaceship Earth lower than #5 without running the risk of being charged with heresy.
Let’s just start with the bad—a lot of people think Spaceship Earth is boring. I’ll admit, I close my eyes on it more than many rides, and I frequently use it as an excuse to “relax” for a bit. The dark ride takes you on a a journey through the history of communication. This is not a thrill ride. It’s maybe not even fun.
But if you open your eyes, you will see some of the most beautiful, intricate dark ride sets anywhere. I’d offer that in terms of quality, every scene in Spaceship Earth beats every scene in most Magic Kingdom dark rides. Take in the details, and if you listen you’ll learn something, too. Along with Living With The Land, it definitely proves that education has a place in a theme park destination.
Enjoying reading this post? Thank the Phoenicians!
6. The Seas With Nemo and Friends
I wrote above that Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure was simply missing something inexplicable. Well, The Seas With Nemo and Friends manages to fight its way up to the sixth spot on this list by having something inexplicable.
Overall, The Seas With Nemo and Friends is a pretty standard dark ride taking you alongside Marlin and Dory as they search for Nemo. Each of the four rides remaining on this list offers something unique to justify putting it above The Seas With Nemo and Friends. But somehow, this ride just…works.
One explanation—it’s incredibly easy to get on The Seas With Nemo and Friends. It rarely has a substantial wait and almost always has immediate Lightning Lane availability. Nemo is also still a pretty popular Disney character, and the remaining four rides on this list don’t really have that modern Disney IP injected into them.
I liked this ride before I had a kid. Now, it’s one of Zoe’s favorite rides. The variety of scenes definitely add some flare to it, but somehow I’m left to shrug and conclude—this is a dark ride that just works.
7. Living With The Land
Living With The Land is a unique ride. It’s a special ride. The boat ride takes you on an educational journey covering ecology and the relationship between humans, animals, food, and the land. It’s usually not too hard to fit into your day, but you’ll probably have to pair it with whenever you ride Soarin’ (a 20-minute wait for Living With the Land now is no worse than a 0-minute wait later since you’ll spend that much time leaving and coming back).
I do think Living With The Land is cool. It pains me a little bit to rank it below The Seas, but I’m otherwise very comfortable with its spot on this list. While the educational content is worthwhile, it can feel a bit long by the end. And its location (next to Soarin’) and cult popularity can make it a little more popular and hard to fit into your day than I think its justified.
8. Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros
Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros is a great idea for a ride, but it’s always felt incomplete to me. We can start by acknowledging that Gran Fiesta Tour replaced El Rio del Tiempo back in 2007—in a reimagining that took only three months.
Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros takes you on a journey with Donald, Panchito, and Jose touring Mexico. It’s a fun bit, but it’s almost entirely done on screens. To be fair—Donald absolutely shines on screen, and I’m not sure his vibes will be caught by animatronics anytime in the near future.
Still, it’s not hard to see why the ride doesn’t have a Lightning Lane and rarely demands a long wait. It’s hidden in the Mexico Pavilion’s pyramid, which definitely leaves it less popular than it otherwise would be. It works as a bit of a hidden gem. It’s a must-do for Donald fans (and Three Caballeros fans, obviously), but otherwise it’s more of a “catch it if you can” sort of ride.
9. Mission: SPACE
Am I letting my age show by ranking Mission: SPACE so low? With two story / experience options, Mission: SPACE uses centrifugal motion simulation (spinning) to take you on a simulated journey to space.
But…why? Why are they doing this to us? Okay—if you’ve never done the centrifuge carnival ride, then this is something of an experience. And if you like being in a super cramped space and pretending to go to space, this ride has that, too. But me? Nah—I pay way too much for my festival food at EPCOT to risk losing it on Mission: SPACE.
10. Journey Into Imagination With Figment
Is this one really just a spite ranking? Maybe. Mission: SPACE is probably the worse ride, all things considered. But what is going on with Figment?
I’m actually not old / experienced /nostalgic enough wax poetically about the good ol’ days of Figment’s past. But I believe people who do. I believe there was something here, once.
Journey Into Imagination With Figment has definitely “lost the plot”, though. Sure, that theme bookends this list—Cosmic Rewind has no idea what it’s doing in EPCOT, either. But Figment ain’t the Guardians, and his Journey ain’t Cosmic Rewind.
The idea behind this ride is that Figment—a mischievous purple dragon—is going to use his pranks and misbehavior to teach us a bit about the power of imagination. I love the power of imagination. Disney presumably does, too. But then why does imagination seem to boil down to stinky smells and upside down rooms? Imagination should be the singular most powerful force in a Disney park. Do it some justice!