Does the thought of a trip to Disneyland make your heart flutter with excitement? Or your stomach turn with dread? For writer Olivia Kent, it was some of both. But excitement for her visit won over, helping her figure out which rides were the best for people like her, who get motion sick pretty easily. Read her suggested list of the best rides to go on at Disneyland that will help RealFoodTraveler.com readers avoid getting too dizzy or dizzy at all. Be sure to check out the video below for a glimpse.
Save this article to Pinterest to help you choose the best rides at Disneyland if you’re prone to motion sickness. Photos by Olivia Kent. Graphic by RealFoodTraveler.com.
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Top 10 Best Rides for the Dizzy at Disneyland
If you’re like me, then you get motion sick on a playground swing, let alone the thrilling rides at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
As a first-time goer, I did not prepare myself for the microscopic detail that Disneyland is in fact an amusement park. It was certainly made clear on Star Tours – The Adventures Continue. My first ride at Disneyland had me desperately performing breathing exercises while the ride’s chairs rocked and rumbled following the starship fight occurring on the 3D screen. Needless to say, I was relieved there was a water fountain down the exit hall and crisp air back outside.
Learning my lesson, I re-devised a plan for the day working my way towards Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in the northwest corner in time for a lightsaber-making appointment at Savi’s Workshop that evening. After quick a googling and search through the Disneyland App, I came up with this Top 10 list of rides I recommend for the motion sick:
- Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
- Disneyland Monorail
- Jungle Cruise
- Indiana Jones Adventure
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
- Davey Crockett’s Explorer Canoes
- Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
- Mark Twain Riverboat
A Closer Look: The 10 Best Rides at Disneyland That Won’t Make You Too Dizzy
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
If you are claustrophobic, I don’t recommend it. While the submarine is spacious, you are enclosed and moving sideways, something that adds to the nausea. You can distract yourself looking out the portholes, though hunching down to see through child-height view does get tedious. Not too bumpy and it is climate controlled.
The Finding Nemo Seafarer.
Disneyland Monorail
The tram of the park, the monorail runs back and forth from the east and west sides and is a fun way to see an aerial view of the attractions. It is swift yet smooth, like any other light rail in your home city.
Indiana Jones Adventure
On the three-minute ride, expect quick turns, flashing lights followed by moments in darkness with some bumps along the way. Lots to see and hear to distract you.
Pirates of the Caribbean
Unlike Indiana Jones Adventure, this ride is more akin to a lazy river with a touch of bumper cars. An easy ride with occasional splashes coasts through with plenty of pirates to see. Be on the lookout for Captain Jack!
Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
Jungle Cruise
You’re on a river boat on a river. Nothing too crazy. May want to sit angled forward if sideways motion is uncomfortable.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
This one was a risk, especially as I was directed to sit in one of the back rows. My approach to this ride as it veered and zoomed around mountain peaks was to act as if I was driving the carts. That meant leaning into turns before they happened, holding on tight to the handle in front of me, and convincing myself that ‘this is fun!’. It was tolerable and if it weren’t for the crazy line, I would have gone again.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Davey Crockett’s Explorer Canoes
The Canoes were a pleasant recharge after Big Thunder. There was no line; I hopped in with a small group that barely filled one canoe. There we were, gliding on a river like Davey Crockett once did, seeing Moose (Mooses? Meese? Moosi?) and other wildlife while trying to sync my paddling with the person in front of me. Fun and calm, you get a workout in while being entertained by the cast’s witty commentary.
Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run
This ride is similar to Star Tours – The Adventures Continue in that you are looking at a motion-filled screen while the cockpit lurches around. It helped that I was the designated pilot, able to distract myself by ‘flying’ the Millenium Falcon. If you are gunner in the back, then I recommend sitting aiming forward and engage in targeting as many enemy ships as you can as a distraction.
Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Okay, I don’t care how motion sick you get – YOU NEED TO GO ON THIS RIDE. Four minutes long, it is as if you are actually rushing through a First Order Cruiser escaping Kylo Ren. Granted, there are drops, swift turns, and some twists while in the transport vehicles. However, there is so much to look at, you may not even realize you should feel motion sick.
I won’t spoil surprises, I will only recommend that if the ride is closed for repairs, stick around or hang out nearby in Galaxy’s Edge. The line can be INSANE. I’m talking 90–120-minute waits, easily, and you have to pay extra for a ride-specific Lightning Lane Pass. I tried to go on the ride twice in a row and ran out of time before my lightsaber appointment, having to excuse my way through the line to the exit (and I’d been so close to the end! Ergh!). It was pure luck that I returned in time to join the fray rushing towards the recently re-opened ride and got to go through it one more time.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
Mark Twain Riverboat
My last attraction of the night before the Light show over the Sleeping Beauty Castle, the Mark Twain Riverboat was a lovely sendoff to the day. A calm, dinner cruise-esque ride, I sat on the prow and watched the twinkly-light filled park go by while the captain provided narration. The water was still, the night air filled with the smell of fresh beignets from Tiana’s Palace, and the lull of excited guests streaming by on the sidewalks. Highly recommend at night. Riding along during the day is surely magical as well.
The Mark Twain Riverboat.
These suggestions are purely based on my interests as well as level of tolerance. There are plenty more attractions around Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park that you might enjoy. This is all I squeezed in for roughly a twelve-hour day, including a couple stops for food around the park and the evening show. To learn more about visiting Disneyland, check out their website, here.
Let us know if you have any other recommendations for someone who gets motion sick! If I make it out to Disneyland again, I’ll be sure to give them a try!
-Story and photos by Olivia Kent
Hungry for more? Read about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood.
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