If you head over to Toontown in the Magic Kingdom you will discover a small, but charming roller coaster designed for young children. The roller coaster itself is hardly impressive for those of us over the age of 12, but if you’re paying a call on Disney World with preschoolers in tow – this is a must see.
The Barnstormer
The ride requires you to be 35” tall at least and the best times to head over to the Barnstormer is usually early in the morning before 10:30 or during one of the parades. The ride itself lasts less than a minute even if it takes you ten minutes to get through the line.
What I like about it, is that it makes for a great introduction to the world of roller coasters for the very young. Despite the short ride, it is very zippy and there’s a lot of motion in the zip, zoom around the track and through the barn. The ride is also a great confidence builder for the larger attractions. My daughter loved the barnstormer enough to repeat it three times in a row. When she saw the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, she delighted in experiencing that roller coaster (another 12 times over the course of our week long stay at the parks).
Fair Warning to the Adults
The one drawback to the Barnstormer is that the dinky roller coaster comes with dinky seats that are not necessarily comfortable for adults. Watch the whiplash if you are particularly tall. If you aren’t traveling with young kids, skip the ride because it’s far too long a wait without a little one to enjoy the rich payoff.
Other popular roller coaster attractions at the Magic Kingdom include:
- Space Mountain – The roller coaster in the dark can be intimidating for young children, my 4 year old screamed all the way through it and was laughing/crying when she got off and as scary as she found it, she was desperate to do it again
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – This roller coaster is a really decent ride and it’s located right next to Splash Mountain and not far from Tom Sawyer’s island. This was a must ride repeater for my daughter
- Splash Mountain – This isn’t necessarily a roller coaster, but you are taken on a tour through the Song of the South with Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear and Brer Fox and you end the ride going down the splash part of the mountain as you dive through the laughing place – this was hands down her favorite ride and the first one she wants to visit on our next trip
Have you ridden the Barnstormer at the Magic Kingdom?
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The Virtual Magic Kingdom: Online Play For Kids & Young-At-Heart