Is a Major Space Mountain Refurbishment Coming to Walt Disney World?
Could Walt Disney World’s Space Mountain be headed for a massive transformation? Lauren and Eric explore the latest refurbishment rumors, what a rebuild could mean for Tomorrowland and the PeopleMover, and whether updating a beloved classic is worth the risk. They also share some of the roughest, most uncomfortable and downright painful rides found across Disney Parks.
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Is a Major Space Mountain Refurbishment Coming to Walt Disney World? Transcript
Lauren Hersey: Welcome to Dis and Hers, the show about what’s happening in the Disney community from his, hers, and your perspective. I’m Lauren.
Eric Hersey: And I’m Eric, and on today’s show we take a look at those rumors of Space Mountain going down for a lengthy refurb and also discuss what rides take you down for a lengthy refurb after riding. Yes, we’re discussing those most painful rides on Disney property.
Lauren Hersey: Been there. But before we get started, we want to remind you that Dis & Hers can be found on all your favorite podcast platforms and also in video format on YouTube and Spotify. We would love it if you could head over to Apple, leave us a rating or review, and let us know what you want us to talk about on an upcoming episode.
Eric Hersey: Okay, Lauren. So while we were away at the Disney Attractions, the major story of the Space Mountain refurb was broke by, I believe, WDWMagic.com came out and people are having their opinions. Now this is something that is going around. It is not confirmed. But what is the general report that we’re hearing?
Lauren Hersey: Yeah.
Lauren Hersey: So from what we know, Disney is considering a large-scale rebuild of Space Mountain, like a big deal. This isn’t just like, you know, you’re basically getting the same track or you’re getting an upgraded track experience like Big Thunder Mountain. But they are saying like the full retrack, a redesigned queue area and loading areas, updated ride vehicles, new audio.
Lauren Hersey: The project, it’s still in the planning phases, but we’ve heard this multiple places and not just WDW Magic. And people really latched onto this because, you know, we’re sensitive when you mess with some of the classics. So what else do we know so far?
Eric Hersey: Well, we know that, you know, this is an attraction that was built and put together in, what, ’75, I think. So it’s dang near 50 years old. And, you know, it is slightly different than the one in Disneyland, obviously. And there’s always been talks and discussions that this ride should get some type of upgrade, refurb. There are many Space Mountains around the world, and I think even the one in Tokyo is currently being done, and that got completely gutted inside and out.
Eric Hersey: The one in Paris is different in its own right, but that has been changed to, like, I think Hyperspace Mountain forever. And the same situation over in Disneyland. So this Space Mountain is true to pretty much the original with slight modifications and slight upgrades over the years. But I think what you’re seeing is that, you know, we just did Big Thunder and that retrack was wonderful. It goes from being super bumpy to a pretty smooth experience. So I don’t think anybody would complain about that.
Lauren Hersey: No.
Eric Hersey: But there are people out there that are saying, “Hey, you know, these queues and the loading stations are all iconic, and we don’t necessarily want you messing with that.” So I think that is what caused a lot of the scuttlebutt in the comment sections of pretty much anywhere you go.
Lauren Hersey: I mean, and it came right after the new animatronic at Pirates of the Caribbean in Disneyland with the new face where they’re testing this technology. And so similarly people are like, please stop plussing the classics.
Eric Hersey: Yeah, well, I mean, I think this is one that probably is not going to be a plus. This is going to be like a complete overhaul and redo. And D23 is coming up here shortly. So I’m wondering if we’ll get some type of comment or talk about that. And as you can tell, there’s a lot of stuff going on in the other side of the park. So you got Big Thunder up, but you have this entire Tom Sawyer and Villains Land all kind of being put together, and that’s not going to be done until almost, what, 2030, something like that.
Eric Hersey: Taking this down and fixing this part of the park, which is the Tomorrowland section, that kind of will, if you have something new there, that’ll kind of help balance people coming over and not just necessarily just kill the Villains Land and the new Cars road race or whatever they’re calling it, Piston Peak. So I think it is a nice balance on both sides of the park that if you get refurbs, it can help balance things out.
Lauren Hersey: Right, do you think that they realize that Tomorrowland is, you know, kind of outdated now and that they’re going to touch everything? I mean, where I’m leading is, are they going to touch my PeopleMover? Like if you look at the Carousel of Progress and Buzz being, you know, zhuzhed up, and then Space Mountain, what’s left? The Speedway.
Eric Hersey: I think that will come up, yeah.
Eric Hersey: Yeah, well, I think that’s part of what’s happening. We always know Tomorrowland has kind of been a hot mess for a long time. I mean, what, ’94, ’95, they tried to do like the, you know, the realistic, like, odd spaceport where you had, you know, it. But then you get Laugh Floor coming in there, Stitch’s Great Escape, it’s been empty forever. The Speedway has always kind of seemed out of place.
Lauren Hersey: Yeah.
Eric Hersey: So I don’t think you would think that they would just be like, all right, we’re going to redo it all at once. And it doesn’t seem like that’s happening. So if this Space Mountain thing does happen, yeah, you’re kind of almost seeing it going along the lines. And it wouldn’t be surprising if, hey, we got this new Monsters, Inc. land over in Hollywood Studios. Why the heck is the Laugh Floor here? And maybe there’s an opportunity to kind of revamp and put something there and look across the street and see if there’s something for Stitch. So they could make, you know, maybe the 2040 big spin is Tomorrowland is all good now that we have this other side of the park.
Eric Hersey: Because they’re going to have to keep moving and moving to keep up. Everybody, it’s just a competitive world, and if you want people to travel every year or every two years, you’re going to give them a reason. And once they’re done with these projects, they’ll move right to the next. So I don’t think there’s ever a breathe, relax, we’re good for a while. I guess that’s good for fans, but it’s also bad for fans because, as you’re going to know here as we go through the comments, there are a lot of people that are happy and unhappy that we’re touching a classic, right?
Lauren Hersey: Right.
Lauren Hersey: Yeah, and I think, do you think that people would hold off on booking a trip if, say, Space Mountain was down for two years and that they know, like, if you’re a big coaster person, I know that that’s one of your favorites and Hunter’s favorites, and so if you know your favorite thing is going to be down for two years, would you just wait until everything opens back up?
Eric Hersey: I don’t think so. I mean, when we went to Disneyland for the first time, Space Mountain was down. When we went to Disneyland for the second time, Space Mountain was down. So it was like, I was really excited. It was my third trip to Disneyland, I think, before we finally actually got to do Space Mountain. So I do know it’s iconic, but it is a reason there’s going to be so many new elements that hopefully are around the park that you’re like, well, I know Space is down, but hey, there’s this whole new Cars area that we haven’t witnessed. So I think every year they’re just trying to give you something of substance that you’re going to visit.
Eric Hersey: And truth be told, if you have Monsters, Inc. at Hollywood, you’re going to book that trip. It’s not like you’re not going to pay to go to, you know, Magic Kingdom still. So, I mean, yes, there’s elements. I think something like a whole brand-new land might hold you off, but one attraction probably not so much.
Lauren Hersey: All right. Well, I guess we shall see. But like you have mentioned, people in the comment sections, they’re pretty divided here. The biggest thing that we’re seeing is please keep the queue. Like keep the queue, keep the queue. Music, keep, you know—
Eric Hersey: The dioramas and—and by the way, the queue is interesting because I’m not sure if they’re meaning like the loading queue, which is fine. It’s just a long, narrow pathway.
Lauren Hersey: I mean, I was going to say, like, what is it? Like there’s not much going on up there. It’s not like Peter Pan where it’s interactive or like you’re just kind of standing there.
Eric Hersey: Well, it was at one time. There was that one point in time where you could play like games on the panels. Like you were shooting, almost like an Astro Blaster-type, like asteroid-type thing. And it did not last very long, but I remember that. But now it’s primarily just a long queue. I like the music. I think the atmosphere is wonderful in aspect, but like—
Eric Hersey: I’m more—I was more concerned about like leaving. I like kind of seeing the old kitchen or like the futuristic kitchen and so forth. So I’m wondering if that’s what a lot of people were saying. There’s an element that brings, like, Space Mountain has its own style, vibe, atmospheric feel. So I think keeping that intact is kind of important.
Lauren Hersey: Yeah.
Eric Hersey: And that’s where a lot of people are kind of coming through. But, you know, as things go, we got to worry anything that comes into the park nowadays is not just like—I’m surprised they didn’t put IP in Big Thunder, right? They had it down. I’m like, what could they have done there? I’m surprised Jessie and Woody weren’t like out there. What do you think? We have Test Competitive 4673 that went out there and says, “With how IP-forward Disney has been in recent years, I wouldn’t be surprised if they take this opportunity to turn it into Hyperspace Mountain and rebrand it Star Wars. Don’t think it’d be a good thing, but think it’s certainly possible.” What’s your thoughts on that?
Lauren Hersey: Mm. I mean, they could. There’s, you know, I thought of like there’s WALL-E, we talked about, which was a big movie. It’s space. There’s, you know, we can have Stitch somewhere in Tomorrowland. I would say of anything, the most likely, if they were going to put IP in, would be Star Wars, but would they do that to sprinkle it around the different parks? You know, we have Galaxy’s Edge in Hollywood Studios.
Eric Hersey: Yeah, I think that having IP in the different parks, if you look at Universal, it’s worked really well because you have Harry Potter in one park, you put it in the other, and then the other. Now you have to go to both, right? So if you’re looking at multi-day ticket things, it’d be smart. Or it’s, if you want to go see Star Wars, you go to Hollywood Studios. It’d be interesting to say, well, you go to Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom. So if you’re a diehard Star Wars fan, you have to buy two tickets. But I almost feel like if you’re going to Disney, most families—
Eric Hersey: If you have one day, you pick the Magic Kingdom. That’s just how that works because that is where everything is. If you have two days, then you would pick the next, you know, you’d have to decide. And that might say, well, instead of Epcot, we’ll go to Hollywood Studios because I’m a Star Wars fan and I saw it here and there. So it’d be interesting to say, I don’t think that they’ll turn it into Star Wars. I feel like that Hyperspace Mountain was cool when it first came out, but a lot of people feel like it’s overplayed and doesn’t necessarily fit the vibe.
Lauren Hersey: Yes.
Eric Hersey: But I love an idea of WALL-E, but will that pull people in? I would be okay with a slight overlay of space-esque theming in there if it’s characters like in the queue and stuff like that. But let’s keep it a dark, like, dark starry field. Like we don’t need to see where we’re going. That’s what makes Space Mountain kind of what makes Space Mountain a thing. I’m cool with onboard audio, though.
Lauren Hersey: My gosh, and then they can have Woody and Jessie over on the other side of the park. Okay.
Eric Hersey: God. Yeah. No, too much. Too much IP for me. Just listen, Space Mountain has been popular and hasn’t needed any type of IP for years. Why change it now? We don’t really need that. But you mentioned it earlier, you’re worrying about your PeopleMover and other people online had the same questions.
Lauren Hersey: My God. Yeah, TheRealSkull said, “Sorry if it’s already been discussed, but I wonder how the refurb is going to affect the PeopleMover,” because, you know, the PeopleMover goes through the ride. And then you got Bacabar that says, “Well, considering that almost all of the PeopleMover is plunged into that—”
Lauren Hersey: Inky blackness. I like the inky blackness. That’s a good screen name. “For most of the ride through Space Mountain, they could just build a plywood tunnel around it and paint the walls black. Who would even know?” I would know. I’m looking. I have to look up. I have to see those like spacemen, right? And like you can hear people screaming. But I would take the plywood. Go ahead. Put it up there. Punch some holes in the plywood. Put a couple of little twinkle lights and let’s go.
Eric Hersey: Right. You’re absolutely right. Now would you?
Eric Hersey: But that has to be something they’re considering. If they take that down, they’re actually going to be taking down two rides if they can’t figure that out. So I don’t know what kind of configuration. I mean, it’s not like you’re just going to take a PeopleMover and reroute it. It could be like the train where you, once you go to Space Mountain, then you go backwards. I don’t even know if that’s possible, but it’ll be interesting to see. Now, I was following this online real time and I think I found the most ridiculous and entertaining—and I don’t know if this is controversial in its own right—like—
Lauren Hersey: My—
Eric Hersey: So I was on X and there is a follow that’s called Brer Oswald. And this account shows up all the time. Random thoughts. But this one was interesting. And it says, “This all started with the darn purple wall. That’s when all of the Instagram aesthetic girlies jumped on board the Disney Park train and they brought their Neanderthal sports bro boyfriends who have completely hijacked the fan base.” Right? So—
Lauren Hersey: What does that have to do with Space Mountain? We’re, like, getting a refurb because of the sports bros?
Eric Hersey: Listen.
Eric Hersey: Listen, that is the take that I thought was the most entertaining because then, of course, it goes threads upon threads and people are all commenting on both sides of the mountain, literally. Because, all right, so we’re going to get a refurb to a 50-year-old attraction because people like to take pictures with a purple wall. So that’s just funny that, you know, one of the slapbacks here was from Montana, says, “Rumor of a ride refurb… hate girls that take pictures at theme parks… hate girls with boyfriends.”
Lauren Hersey: My gosh.
Eric Hersey: “Perfectly normal line of thinking.” And then Ali says, “Sports bros love to update coasters with modern control systems.”
Lauren Hersey: Ha ha.
Lauren Hersey: This is the best. Thank you, Brer Oswald, for delivering. Delivering.
Eric Hersey: Yeah, so of course Brer comes back, and there’s other people that were commenting on it. It says, “‘It’s still tons of fun’ is subjective,” says Brian. “I don’t like it and haven’t ridden it for years. I know plenty of others who feel the same way. If they’re going to change it, I’m sure they have data to support the decision.” So Brer—
Lauren Hersey: Yeah.
Eric Hersey: Comes back with, “‘I haven’t ridden it in years, so nobody else has.’ Ignore the fact that it’s always one of the highest wait times in the park. They have the data to support it, I guess.” So—
Lauren Hersey: Listen, I was cool with Brer giving their opinion, but their next comment is to blow up the PeopleMover too. Like, who disagrees? I’m like, I’m hoping that the tone was like, “Yeah, if you’re going to do this, take the PeopleMover too.” Like—
Eric Hersey: Well, no, no, no, listen.
Eric Hersey: Yes, I think that was the tone. I think it was the—and Johnny, on the other hand, is just like, “Blow up the inside track and keep the PeopleMover.” And Brer was almost just like, no, just get rid of everything. And it went on. I mean, Brer had a three- or four-day just going straight-up very, very unhinged about this Space Mountain thing. But let’s go back over. We’ll get off X, and we’ll go back to some of the comments over on WDW Magic and Reddit. Undecided Lemon says, “If they fix it, it would put so many chiropractors out of work.”
Lauren Hersey: Ha ha ha.
Eric Hersey: And that is indeed where a lot of people stand. And Viral Vortex says, “But they’ll see an uptick in appointments for kidney stones,” right? So with that being said—
Lauren Hersey: Just shake it right out.
Eric Hersey: That being said, let’s take a quick break. But that brings it up to a lot of reason why people don’t like Space Mountain, you included, is that it is a bit bumpy, it’s a bit tough, and this isn’t the only ride in the Disney portfolio that has that reputation. So when we get back, we’re going to talk about some of those other rides that make you kind of need to go see a chiropractor or not, or pass a kidney stone when you come back. So some of the most disturbing and uncomfortable rides when we get back from this break.
Eric Hersey: And we are back, and like we were talking, Space Mountain, the rumor is getting a refurb, and that track is pretty windy. And Lauren, I mean, why don’t you like to do it so much?
Lauren Hersey: Well, the chiropractor thing is certainly one. I would always kind of try to avoid Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain because you get jerked around so much. And I’m also prone to getting headaches. So the, like, being in the complete dark and being jerked around can also give me a headache. So I’m not a huge coaster person, but I love Guardians of the Galaxy because it’s such a smooth ride. I don’t get yanked around. I’ve never gotten a headache. Maybe a little queasy depending on the day, but no headaches or, you know, my back being thrown out.
Eric Hersey: Yeah. Well, I figured that as much. I just, when it comes down to it, I think my brother didn’t necessarily like this being in the dark and going. I, on the other hand, if there’s somebody that would be outraged, you would think it would be me since Space Mountain is like my favorite attraction, like my favorite ride ride. I’m not upset about it at all. Like, I just feel like they’ll do a fine job, and, you know, coasters are coasters in a sense, and I don’t know the ride track layout that much. I just know it’s fun to be in the dark and just kind of going and not knowing where you’re going.
Lauren Hersey: Yes, yeah.
Eric Hersey: So it never bothered me, but I can definitely understand where it whips you around, and as I get older with stuff like that, maybe it’s a little bit more painful. It’s more painful getting in and out of that single-track car because it’s, like, hard to get in and out. But I went online, and I know that most people in the forums were saying this was a painful ride. I went online. I did the unthinkable, Lauren. I clicked on Inside the Magic.
Lauren Hersey: Yeah.
Lauren Hersey: No, you didn’t.
Eric Hersey: Yes, I did. I found an article as the most painful Disney theme park ride. So this was pretty, you know, from an SEO title standpoint, it lived up. They did exactly what they said they were going to do.
Lauren Hersey: All right.
Lauren Hersey: But did it say anything about the most painful theme park rides?
Eric Hersey: Yes, it did. That’s the thing. This is from October 18, 2025. So, by a guy named Luke. So good job on you, Luke. It wasn’t clickbaity. It actually lived up to the title.
Lauren Hersey: Okay.
Eric Hersey: So I will go over a couple of these because, for the most part, it was just four. It was just four of them that were listed. So it wasn’t a long article or anything like that, but I just want your opinions. And I don’t know if they necessarily ranked them in terms of most, but Space Mountain was on that list. And then you also have Matterhorn Bobsleds. So—
Lauren Hersey: Which I will not do. I’ve heard—no, I have heard the horror stories. And I think I actually got in line with y’all the last time, and then one of our children was like, “I don’t know, Mom,” and you were like, “No, do it, do it,” and one of the kids was like, “I don’t know,” and so then it scared me and I was like, “Yeah,” because I guess that one is very, very jerky.
Eric Hersey: You have never done that, right?
Eric Hersey: I think it was me even. Right. Okay.
Eric Hersey: My God. I don’t know how that’s not number one on a list. I mean, doing the Matterhorn multiple times, it is a—I mean, this is something that was built in the ’50s, right? Maybe early ’60s. I don’t have the exact date on when Matterhorn came out, but it was like the first steel tubular roller coaster. And I don’t know how much they’ve updated that. And it is jerky and it boom, bang. Like, it’s tough. It is a rough ride.
Eric Hersey: You almost do it for the nostalgia aspect of it. I don’t know if you do it for the thrill, but that is one that chiropractors, like, you’re going to need to see somebody after this. So having that on the list is not—it does.
Lauren Hersey: It just looks so cool on the outside, and, like, it makes me really, really, really want to do it. But I also spend a lot of money to go to Disney, and, like, then to be miserable for the rest of the day, it’s not worth it for me.
Eric Hersey: Yeah.
Eric Hersey: Right. The other one, I don’t know if you—have you done? You’ve had—you’ve had to. You’ve never done Mission: Space either. Same reason. Yeah, I mean, now Mission: Space isn’t like it jerks you around. Your head just—like, it’s one of those things where I learned, all right, don’t look to the side. You have to look straightforward. It will make you nauseous. And, I mean, it has officially, unfortunately, you know, more people keel over after that than any other attraction, I imagine.
Lauren Hersey: No, no, no, no. Same reason.
Lauren Hersey: Yeah, and so my big reason was when Guardians came out, we have a young son who just did not want to do it, and the space playground is awesome. It’s indoor, it’s AC. So we would sit in there for hours, like, while, you know, we’re waiting for you guys to go on Guardians, and people just come out of there and they were—
Eric Hersey: Yeah, yeah.
Lauren Hersey: Green. They are gray. And I’m like, why would anybody put themselves through that? If there’s anybody listening that likes Mission: Space, please let us know. Like, what is the appeal?
Eric Hersey: Yeah.
Eric Hersey: There’s—listen, it’s like going to space, man. It’s astronaut training. So if you, you know, you pay a couple hundred dollars, you go train to be an astronaut for a couple minutes, and sometimes you make it to the nearest garbage can.
Lauren Hersey: Man.
Lauren Hersey: And then you puke.
Eric Hersey: Yeah. The last one on here that they had on their list, which is no more, but I imagine that the ride technology is going to be slightly different, was Dinosaur. I never thought Dinosaur—I mean, I know it jerks you around, but is it painful? I never had any—I would have never listed Dinosaur as a painful ride. Okay.
Lauren Hersey: Oh yeah, I would have. And I think it was another one that I would get headaches. I think I only ever did it twice. Just because it’s like you’re off-roading. And it really does jerk you around quite a bit. And yeah. But, like, one that was not on this list that Chris mentioned was Goofy’s Sky School at California Adventure. Holy macaroni.
Eric Hersey: Okay. I don’t—I just never felt that way. Okay.
Lauren Hersey: I rode that ride one time, and I was like, I will never, never, never, never go on Goofy’s Sky School again, ever. I do not need the training.
Eric Hersey: I, yeah, well, I mean, I don’t—those mouse coasters, they have those sharp turns, and that sometimes will jerk you around. You know they’re coming, though. It’s not like you’re in the dark. You know, I don’t—I don’t know. I just maybe brace. I—
Lauren Hersey: No, that one was extra bad. What was the one that was in Animal Kingdom? Like Countdown to Extinction? Was that the name of the ride? Primeval Whirl, yes.
Eric Hersey: Well, it was Primeval Whirl, but I felt like that one was a little bit more—there were some people that kind of mentioned Primeval Whirl. I didn’t feel like it was that bad, but, I mean, I am relatively, knock on wood, in good health. I don’t typically get sore from stuff. Like, I’ve been known to be able to wear Converse All Stars to theme parks for, like, five days straight. I don’t need feet support. I don’t—like, I’m relatively bendy, I guess. So I don’t really have much of this.
Lauren Hersey: Mm.
Lauren Hersey: And I need 15 pairs of shoes. I need all the comfort.
Eric Hersey: The yin to the yang here. So I don’t find Goofy’s Sky School—but I understand it. I went over to Reddit and I found one. It says, “Easily the most uncomfortable ride in all of WDW.” And I had to look at it. And it’s a picture of—it’s a picture of a seat. Do you know what that is? All right. It took me a—that—it is. Yeah. Well, I couldn’t tell at first. I’m like, is that Kilimanjaro Safari? And I’m like, that is painful for people, I guess. But if you’re like, do you think so?
Lauren Hersey: That’s a safari. Wouldn’t you say that that’s Kilimanjaro Safari? It’s just a picture of the bench.
Lauren Hersey: Oh my, it does. Like, it really does jerk you around as much as I like it. Like, it again, it’s that kind of off-roading. Now, is it going to give me a headache? No. Like, do I need to see a chiropractor after? Probably not, but it does, it does jerk you around.
Eric Hersey: It is a safari. So, I mean, but you continue on. So this was easily one of the better Reddit threads of people talking about it. And then it’s, ITR Cool, but your case, it kind of said, “Space Mountain has entered the chat.” So we’re back at Space again, which is fun in a sense. It says, “I love roller coasters, but this one’s too intense for me. I’ll never go on Space Mountain again.” It just obliterates their knees, which—
Lauren Hersey: Yes.
Eric Hersey: Yeah. I mean, you can see your knees going back and forth, and then somebody comes in that says they’re 6’2″, so they hear you, but the jerkiness of the ride is what whips around. I don’t know, man, getting in and out has always been kind of tough. I’m six foot, so it’s not like I’m super, super tall, but I’m also not short. It would be interesting when they, if they do the refurb, if they move to a side-by-side as opposed to the one. I think from a capacity standpoint, it’d be silly not to, right?
Lauren Hersey: Yeah. I do not like getting in and out of those little spaceships.
Eric Hersey: Yeah, speaking of spaceships you get in and out of, one we almost couldn’t do—I don’t think you and I could do it together—was the Astro Orbiter.
Lauren Hersey: No, in Disneyland, because everybody is tiny back in the day when these rides were built. I bet we could probably do it at Walt Disney World, at the Magic Kingdom. But Astro Orbiter is, in Disneyland, like if you’re an adult, and I mean I’m like 5’3″, so it’s not like I’m a huge person, and you said you’re six foot, but there was no way that we were getting in this thing together. Yeah, yeah.
Eric Hersey: I don’t know. I don’t know.
Eric Hersey: Couldn’t do it. We tried. We couldn’t do it. We had to—I think you just got out, and you’re like, “You got this.” And I’m like, okay. You know, because I’m a checklist guy. I have to get everything off my list. I have to ride almost everything once. I almost even did Doctor Doom’s Fearfall at Universal because I’m like, it’s on my list. I don’t love these rides. I absolutely hate them, but I have to get it off. So we did Astro Orbiter, and you were, “Yeah, I’m good.” And I just did it. Now you did it with Miles recently. Did you guys do the same car?
Lauren Hersey: Yeah.
Lauren Hersey: Yeah, yeah, yeah. You could do it with an adult and a child. It’s comfortable. But two adults is just, I think it’s too much. It’s very difficult to get in and out. Like it would be easier if it was more of a Dumbo situation, but it’s more of like a Space Mountain up in the air.
Eric Hersey: Yeah.
Eric Hersey: Yeah, yeah. Well, we head over to Facebook and we have someone that basically says, “Hey, I know, I know, be careful, you know, what are truly the worst rides that have your back hurting afterwards?” So somebody that was medically cleared but still very cautious. And Judy, did you see what Judy posted? Because that is true, and I don’t think people will think about this at all.
Lauren Hersey: No, no, no. Good on you, Judy. Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. And when Daisy is doing the conga lessons. Oh my gosh. Thank goodness, like, if you can get one of the cars that is closest to the door, you’re okay. But if you’re one on the back and the side, you’re cha-cha-chaing for far too long.
Eric Hersey: Yeah.
Eric Hersey: Yeah, dude, I hate that part. We looked at each other when we just recently did it. I’m like, “Brace yourself,” and you got to literally grip. I don’t know why they did that. I mean, maybe for us to talk about it. Who enjoys that? I want to know who enjoys that. Yeah, who enjoys that?
Lauren Hersey: Yeah.
Lauren Hersey: Nobody wants to cha-cha-cha. Nobody wants the cha-cha-cha.
Eric Hersey: And then Slinky Saint Dog maybe posted it, that the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster threw out their back for a few days. And I will tell you, that is the ride that I did not do for years. And we just talked about how, you know, I was saying, hey, I’m the epitome of health, joking, of course. But, like, I don’t typically get hurt. The Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, I literally threw out a shoulder years ago. And I think it’s just because I was bracing for, like, I tensed up too much when the launch went and—
Lauren Hersey: Oh yeah, 100 percent.
Lauren Hersey: Yeah.
Lauren Hersey: Oh yeah.
Eric Hersey: Man, I couldn’t carry a backpack. I couldn’t push stuff. So, like, somehow that threw my dang shoulder out. It was just the launch. I don’t think there was anything else. But if you’re talking about Disney—
Lauren Hersey: No, it is a rocky ride. Yeah. Like, I did what? I did the Muppets overlay one time, and I was like, okay, that was enough for me.
Eric Hersey: Well, there’s inversions involved. There’s inversions. Like, you—yeah.
Eric Hersey: No, I loved it, though. Now that I’ve done a couple more high-intense coasters, in my opinion, than that, it seems a little bit more tame, and I don’t have an issue. So I will do that every time. Now that it’s the Muppets, I will certainly do it every time. And I’ll try to do it even more because I’m like, all right, let’s check off the list of songs. Then Jennifer put on here, she said Smugglers Run, especially if you’re the engineer. Have you felt that? I don’t know if I was—I mean, it’s a jerky ride, but, like, your engineers are far in the back.
Lauren Hersey: Yeah.
Lauren Hersey: No, if you have a terrible pilot, yeah, and you’re in the back being the engineer, you’re just trying to push the button. And, I mean, it really, it will rough you up. It’s not one that I thought of off the top of my head. My brain goes immediately to Epic. And I know we’re talking about Disney, but that Mario Kart Madness, like the Donkey Kong ride, never, never, ever again. It’s like up there with Goofy’s Sky School for me. Like, it is a hard pass. Whew.
Eric Hersey: Oh yeah.
Eric Hersey: Oh my God. Yeah.
Eric Hersey: It’s up there with the Matterhorn, believe it or not. Like, the Matterhorn hurt me, and then Donkey Kong hurt me as well. The difference—well, I guess they both are about an hour-long wait. Like, I would do Donkey Kong multiple times. I can handle the pain temporarily. I can’t handle the 70 minutes in line in the sun. So I’m with you.
Lauren Hersey: No. And it is 2026. So, I mean, like, you’re talking Space Mountain went online in ’75. I get it. Technology’s a little bit different. It is 2026, ma’ams and sirs. Why? Like, why? Why are we so jerky? Please do. Yes.
Eric Hersey: Pad those seats. Yeah, pad them. All right. All right, last one on the list here, which is really interesting. So I’ve been following For the Love of Theme Parks on all the handles. So he’s a content creator and has come up and has done really, really good YouTube, has some really funny shorts. And I came across him on TikTok, and he had the top three most painful rides at Disney Parks. Number two—now granted, number one was, like, Matterhorn, and number three was, I think, Space Mountain—so, but number two, Summit Plummet at Blizzard Beach. This actually has warnings, Lauren. I know you have not done this one. Our son has done this. This is one that almost has warnings. Like, if you’re wearing, like, a bathing suit, or for the females, to be very careful. This is a ride that you go—whew—I don’t know the exact dimensions.
Lauren Hersey: Yeah.
Lauren Hersey: Really? Oh no.
Lauren Hersey: It’s going to rip it right off.
Eric Hersey: Yeah, you’re in trouble. So you’re—yeah, and I guess you could get some serious, serious water up your nose and your face. And it’s got some velocity there. So—
Lauren Hersey: Your bum, probably. This is the one, if you’re not familiar, when you walk into the park, it is—you have to take a—is this one that you can walk up the steps, or do you actually have to take, like, a vehicle to get to the top to go down the slide?
Eric Hersey: No, this—you can walk up. I mean, we’re all going up the ski lift, and then you can go one way. If you’re like us, we go on the family coaster. That is, you know, fine. And then if you—you could go here, and you just got to walk up even further. So this is their big, you know, E-ticket attraction. I’m not a fan of heights, and I don’t know if this is one that I’ll ever be able to check off the list. And luckily I put it over in this category of, like, water parks don’t count, you know, in my own brain. But Hunter has done it, and, yeah, this is one that you got to be kind of careful with, and it is a painful ride if you don’t brace yourself.
Lauren Hersey: Oh my.
Lauren Hersey: Oh no.
Eric Hersey: So, yeah, there’s a lot of painful rides. I don’t think there’s as many, obviously, as some other parks. I’m sure some of these old-school, you know, Kennywood parks and some of those have some really ones that’ll beat you up. I think Disney knows lawsuits are going to be coming, so let’s try to keep it to a minimum. But you can’t stop it. But we want to know what you guys think is the most painful and what kind of stories you have. Have you thrown your shoulder out on Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster? Have you puked on Mission: Space? We want to know. You let us know in the comments.
Lauren Hersey: Oh yeah, yeah.
Lauren Hersey: Give us all the gory details.
Eric Hersey: That’s it. That’s it. But I think that’ll do it. If the rumors come through, Space Mountain might not be as painful, but we still have some other ones here. They have a list that they need to go through to fix all of, right?
Lauren Hersey: Yeah, yeah.
Lauren Hersey: That’s it for this week’s episode of Dis and Hers. For more, make sure you’re hitting up disandhers.com. There you’ll find articles, episodes and updates. And if Disney’s your vibe, be sure to subscribe.
Eric Hersey: And remember, watch what you post. You might end up in next week’s episode. Thanks for listening
