Is Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Scary? Height, Speed & Drops
If you’re planning a trip to the Magic Kingdom, you may have noticed that there’s a ride based on the movie “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” And, after taking a brief look at the description of the ride, you might be wondering: is Seven Dwarfs Mine Train scary?
Well, in this article, I’m going to break this ride down completely to help you best determine whether or not this attraction is too scary for kids (or perhaps even adults), or if it’s a relatively tame ride the whole family can enjoy. So let’s dive right into it.
How Scary is Seven Dwarfs Mine Train?
Disney lists Seven Dwarfs Mine Train as a “family coaster”, which I would agree that it absolutely is! Despite this classification, many people would consider Seven Dwarfs Mine Train a mixture between a traditional rollercoaster and a dark ride. Disney lovers of nearly all ages are able to enjoy Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, despite its speed, bumps, twists, and turns. Of note, this ride does not turn you upside down and does not contain any jump scares.
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is an overall LOW on my “Scary Meter” for rides and attractions at Walt Disney World, however, there may be some aspects of the ride that younger audiences may be upset by.
Let’s break down the specifics of the ride in brief:
- Theming: 2/10 on the Scary Meter
- Story: 1/10 on the Scary Meter
- Ride Speed: 4/10 on the Scary Meter
- Drops: 4 /10 on the Scary Meter
- Age Appropriateness: 4/10 on the Scary Meter
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Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Height Requirements
The height requirement for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is 38 inches tall. As far as Disney World coasters go, this is a relatively low height requirement!
If your child can ride Splash Mountain or Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which both have 40-inch height requirements, your child will be tall enough to ride the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train!
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Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Theming and Story
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is themed after the 1937 Walt Disney Animation film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the ride fits in well with the newer Princess-themed attractions in New Fantasyland. The coaster takes you aboard a mine train as you journey on your destination to the diamond mine where the Seven Dwarfs go to work and mine gemstones each day, just as they do in the film!
As a rider on the mine train, you will journey through a series of short, sharp twists and turns that are very reminiscent of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (though much less jerky!) until you reach your destination – the diamond mine itself. The ride then slows down as you journey into the darkness of the mine where you can see the Seven Dwarfs themselves. This combination of a full coaster with a dark ride is something that builds off the allure of Disney’s Splash Mountain, but without all of that pesky water!
As the ride ends and your mine train is returning to where you boarded it, you will also be able to see Snow White herself in the iconic cottage dancing with the Seven Dwarfs themselves. (Pro-tip, if you turn around as your mine train passes by the cottage then you might be able to spot the Evil Queen herself lurking outside!).
As far as whether or not the theme of the ride is scary, I would say that it is not at all scary, earning just a 2/10 on the Scary Meter. The ride’s theme of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is based upon a rated G animated film and the overall decor of the ride is upbeat and appropriate for even the youngest Disney guests and fans of the Disney Princesses. As for the story, a simple and quick journey to a diamond mine and past a cottage is about as much story as this ride has and is definitely not a fear factor for this Disney coaster, resulting in a 1/10 on the Scary Meter.
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Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Ride Vehicle
The ride vehicle itself is designed to look like a mine car and the individual cars themselves sway back and forth a little bit during the ride. This is a very mild feeling but adds to the experience as the mine train approaches its many turns. The cart itself is not something that adds to any amount of scariness for this ride in this author’s opinion, however. The theming of the ride vehicle is a bright spot in this adorably themed Walt Disney World coaster.
The ride vehicle may cause some hesitation or fear for younger guests or guests who aren’t expecting the mine carts themselves to move, but fear not, this is not a major aspect of this ride!
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Ride Speed
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is a contender at Magic Kingdom in terms of speed. Part of the appeal of the coaster is how fast it gets. At 34 miles per hour, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train comes in just under the speed of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and surprisingly over the speed of fan-favorite Space Mountain.
This speed is on the quick side for those little ones that are more accustomed to the likes of The Barnstormer (also in Magic Kingdom and with a top speed of 25 mph). However, this ride does have a sizable amount of slow time as well during its dark ride portion through the diamond mine itself. Because of this, many people do not think of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train as a particularly fast ride!
For this reason, I have rated the speed of this coaster at a 4/10 on the Scary Meter – it is definitely one of the faster rides in Magic Kingdom, but it has some balance to it with its dark ride duality.
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Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Drops
Instead of bringing butterflies to your stomach with the large drop that you would find on Splash Mountain or massive plunges on the Tower of Terror, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train chooses to dazzle you with its speed and its many twists and turns. The majority of the “drops” in Mine Train are not large by any means, they are mostly in the form of turns that bring you twisting downward. There is, however, one large drop that is 39 feet.
When considering if Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is scary, it might be best to compare this drop to other Magic Kingdom coasters. When doing so, you will find that it is a moderately large drop for the park. For reference, the highest drop on Splash Mountain is a whopping 53 feet.
However, despite being one of the larger drops in the theme park, the largest drop in Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is on a curve. This makes it much, much different from that vertical drop in Splash Mountain. With this drop, you hardly realize the actual height of it! For this reason, I rated the drops at only a 4/10 on the Scary Meter. This ride does a little more in terms of drops than some Walt Disney World roller coasters but is nothing too scary or stomach-dropping.
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Darkness
The ride does have an extended period of darkness through a montage of the Seven Dwarfs singing their famous “Heigh-Ho!” while they are in the mine itself. There is enough lighting to see, as the gemstones and characters themselves are lit up. However, if you or your little one has an intense fear of dark rides, they might find this part of the ride to be a little bit uncomfortable!
This darker section inside of the Seven Dwarfs mine is also the portion of the ride which takes you back up from your initial series of loops and small drops. As you ascend towards a drop, you are mostly in the dark and this part can definitely feel a little scary, but the chipper music and beautiful lit up gemstones serve to soften the fearful anticipation of the next part of the coaster. This darkness aspect is what makes Seven Dwarfs Mine Train a 4/10 on the Scary Meter for Age Appropriateness for me.
Conclusion
The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is a short and fast ride, lessening the amount of fear that you may feel while riding the coaster. Due to the coaster’s dark ride portion, you may feel like the actual bumps, curves, and turns aspect of this roller coaster is surprisingly short. In fact, many Disney guests tend to complain that Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is too short because of the dark ride section, and they wish that there was more to the ride!
The overall Mine Train experience is a family friendly, curvy, and twisty Princess-themed coaster that will offer an enjoyable experience for most Walt Disney World guests. The ride can have a bit of a longer wait, but I would still recommend trying to build it into your day if you are interested in riding.
So, is Seven Dwarfs Mine Train scary? Well, I would venture to say that this Fantasyland attraction is definitely not scary for adult Disney lovers and older grade school children, but possibly on the scarier side for littles ones in your party. But, if your child can enjoy Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, your child can definitely enjoy Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
For the younger kids, Mine Train is an upgrade from The Barnstormer, but is a good “next coaster” before approaching thrills of the more intimidating likes of Splash Mountain or Space Mountain.
Overall, Mine Train is a must do for those who want a quick thrill and an experience with Disney’s newer ride technology and is a LOW on my personal Scary Meter for Walt Disney World guests.
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