Summit Plummet has a strong case as the scariest attraction in all of Walt Disney World. Located
at Blizzard Beach, this is a high speed water slide. It stands 12 stories tall and you go
straight down. It’s taller than almost every ride in Orlando and you have absolutely no restraint.
It is just you and the slide. This slide is iconic- both from an off-ride and on-ride
perspective. And in this video, I’ll explain why it’s still well worth experiencing.
Blizzard Beach opened in 1995. The park was themed to a ski resort with the 9 story tall
Mount Gushmore serving as the centerpiece. And standing taller than everything else is
Summit Plummet. This is the park’s icon, and for good reason. It looks amazing.
You have a 3 story tall ski jump perched atop the mountain. While riders safely head through
a tunnel and burrow through the mountain, it appears they will be launched to their death
off-ride. The trough is painted icy blue and the entire course is lined with snowy rockwork.
And every time someone heads down the hill, a water geyser blasts outwards from the end
of the ski jump. The whole attraction is a work of art. That’s why there’s a whole viewing area
at the bottom. Disney knows people will want to watch this, and people most certainly do.
The other key part about this slide’s presentation is its scale. This slide stands 120 feet or 37
meters tall. This opened in 1995 as the tallest water slide in North America. I am stunned a
slide this intense exists at Disney. This chain is usually about themed, family-friendly experiences.
Not record-breaking thrill rides. While a few slides have since topped it, not many have.
Walt Disney World has a few structures taller than Summit Plummet, but only
one ride is technically taller in Tower of Terror. That means Summit Plummet is taller
than every single coaster at Disney World. And it’s even taller than the Incredible Hulk
Coaster at the nearby Universal Orlando resort. To access this attraction, you need to get atop
Mount Gushmore. You can either take the park’s Chairlift or take a series of ramps and stairs.
I think the latter is typically faster since the chairlift is slow and usually has a little wait,
but you will have to expend a lot of energy walking. So pick your poison.
Once atop the mountain, you enter a shared queue line for the two body slides. You’ll
see some theming, as you have snow machines off to the side. If you want to ride Slush Gusher,
which is the triple down slide, stay to the right. If you want to ride Summit Plummet, stick to the
left. This will lead to a 3 story tall staircase. While this is the signature ride at Blizzard
Beach, the wait for this slide is usually minimal. The Disney World water parks don’t get nearly as
packed as the main parks. The longest I have had to wait for this attraction was 5-10 minutes. And
don’t be afraid visiting on a cooler or rainy day. You’ll have even less crowds and the water
is heated, so it feels perfectly comfortable. People are sent down rather quickly. The slide
itself is just 10 seconds long. Then the employees just have to wait for the prior guest to clear the
area. The one thing that can slow the queue down is if someone freaks out at the top. And that
can happen quite a bit. The view from the top is imposing. You not only see all of Blizzard Beach,
but you appear to be eye-level with Tower of Terror and Expedition Everest. Even seasoned
thrill seekers will feel their legs tremble up here. And this uneasiness
is further compounded as you see others drop over the edge. Guests seemingly disappear.
When it’s your turn to ride, you sit at the top. A bar is in front of you,
blocking your motion. The employee will then tell you to cross your arms and legs. Once it’s clear,
they raise the bar and tell you to go. Having to push yourself over the edge is one of
the main things that makes this slide so freaky. A lot of speed slides have a pre-drop sequence
or even a trapdoor that falls out beneath you. On Summit Plummet, you don’t have that. You are the
one who has to initiate the plunge. And that plunge is exhilarating.
It is super steep. The entry is so sharp that you will feel your whole body momentarily lift
off the slide. But in short order, you will reconnect with the slide.
The rest of the experience is a literal and figurative blur.
You have a brief uncovered bit at the start. Then you have a lengthy tunnel through the mountain.
It’s not pitch black, but you’ll likely want to close your eyes at this point. You kick up a lot
of water, so it can easily get in your eyes. And a note about that. While Disney allows
GoPros and handheld sandals, they oddly do not allow riders to wear goggles. You’ll
have to hold those or leave them at the bottom. The large pullout takes place in the open. And
the speed here is phenomenal. It is such a cool feeling gliding down the hill. I’ve heard some
people call the experience uncomfortable, but it thankfully is very smooth on your back. Especially
since the slide was retracked a few years ago. The one part that is still a bit uncomfortable
is the slowdown. The runoff trough decelerates you very quickly. You make a large splash and there’s
a good chance you’ll get a wedgie. And related to that, I would advise against wearing bikinis
on this. I’ve heard it’s possible to lose them on the way down. While on the topic of swimwear,
this slide does allow guests to wear a shirt. This slide used to have a working speedometer
at the bottom to display your top speed. Guests would routinely reach speeds of 60
mph or 100 kph. But this has not worked in my most recent visits, which is a bummer.
So what would I rate Summit Plummet? I would give this slide a 9 out of 10. This is an exhilarating
speed slide and one of the best of its kind. It’s super imposing between the height, visual,
and fact you have to push yourself over the edge. Then the drop is fantastic as well. You
get a pinch of airtime at the start. Then you have blistering speeds down to the bottom. The
only cons with this slide are its understandably short length and the wedgie-inducing pullout,
but these are often inherent to freefall style slides like this.
This is my favorite ride at Blizzard Beach and the main reason I’ll try to visit the park,
if it’s open, when I’m at Walt Disney World. Few slides offer a similar rush to this one.
So those are my thoughts on Summit Plummet at Blizzard Beach. What are your thoughts about this
speed slide? Do you love it? Let me know down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I would
appreciate it if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a
lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!