ORLANDO, Fla. — Raising teenagers is not always easy. But as I walked around Walt Disney World recently, observing crying babies, melting-down toddlers and whining 6-year-olds — not to mention stressed-out parents — I felt lucky that my only challenge in visiting Orlando with two big kids — ages 12 and 17 — was to find the fastest, craziest rides.

We spent one day at Disney's Epcot and Animal Kingdom and another day at Universal Orlando, and we had a blast. Here are some of the best attractions, in their opinion, for the middle- and high-school set.

Universal Orlando

Many attractions at Universal Studios Florida and its sister park, Islands of Adventure, seem tailor-made for teens. Like "Disaster! — A Major Motion Picture Ride . Starring YOU" or Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, a 65 mph coaster, 17 stories tall, where they get to customize their own soundtrack, choosing from classic rock/metal, club/electronica, country, rap/hip-hop or pop.

I did not personally experience Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit — no way could this mom handle it! — but I did spring for the $35 DVD, a video of my kids screaming their heads off and laughing hysterically as the coaster shook them silly. Every time I watch the tape, I start cracking up too.

Their No. 2 favorite at Universal was Dueling Dragons, which consists of a pair of inverted roller coasters, each with its own unique design. They go 55 mph, 125 feet in the air, and riders on one coaster pass within inches of riders on the other. The kids rode it twice to experience both coasters.

We aren't big fans of "The Simpsons" show, so for the first few minutes of The Simpsons Ride, as the story line was laid out in an anteroom, we weren't all that engaged. But once we were strapped into our seats for the high-tech ride, we loved it. You feel like you've stepped into the cartoon and are part of the animation.

Sadly, my boys seemed a bit too big to love the relatively slow-paced Jaws water ride, but we all liked Jurassic Park River Adventure, a raft ride. Other attractions that were fun for all of us: Revenge of the Mummy, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, and Men In Black Alien Attack. All are dark rides in vehicles on tracks, with plenty of special effects and surprises. A final coaster that the kids did alone was Incredible Hulk.

We'd visited Universal Hollywood in Los Angeles and enjoyed the live shows that give a behind-the-scenes look at the movie biz, so we wanted to be sure to catch one of those in Orlando. We chose "Disaster!" and loved it. I hope to never be on a real subway during an earthquake with fire breaking out all around me and buildings falling down, but Universal's fictitious depiction sure was some crazy fun.

Disney World Animal Kingdom

No surprise here: Expedition Everest was the favorite at Animal Kingdom, for our whole family. The coaster was thrilling enough for the kids but not so stomach-churning that mom couldn't handle it.

Our No. 2 pick in Animal Kingdom was "Flights of Wonder." This live show features birds — owls, falcons, hawks and more — swooping over the audience as their handlers explain their behaviors. We found it exciting, captivating and often funny. The show was not as highly recommended to us as many of the other live animal attractions at Animal Kingdom, yet my boys preferred it to Kilimanjaro Safaris, a ride through a landscape inhabited by African wildlife, and Maharajah Jungle Trek, a self-guided walking tour to see tigers, bats and other Asian wildlife. My guess is that for kids who are veteran visitors to zoos and animal parks, the opportunity to see interesting behaviors like those shown in "Flights of Wonder" is more exciting than seeing animals lazing about their natural habitats.

Other Animal Kingdom attractions the guys gave a thumbs-up to were Kali River Rapids, a water ride, and Dinosaur, a fun and wild dark ride.

Disney World Epcot

A confession: The kids' favorites here were rides that I got queasy just reading about, so I did not experience them. But Mission: SPACE, Test Track and Innoventions: Sum of All Thrills got high marks from my boys.

Sum of All Thrills lets guests design their own rides using a computer program. They then climb into a capsule attached to a rotating arm that turns and swivels according to the program they created. The boys liked it so much, they wanted to do it twice.

We went on together and all enjoyed Soarin' and Spaceship Earth. Our family has visited many theme parks, and we still find Soarin' — which we first tried at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. — to be one of the most beautiful, exhilarating rides ever — tame enough for a chicken like me but exciting enough for a teenager. Strapped in a hang glider in an IMAX projection dome, you have the sensation of flying over the landscapes of California, with a bird's eye view of mountains, valleys, forests and waterways below you.

Spaceship Earth was, as the kids said, "awesome." You sit in the dark on an "omnimover" vehicle billed as a time machine and take a journey through human history, from prehistoric times to the future. The animatronics are terrific, the audio (narrated by Dame Judi Dench) is wonderful, the story is compelling.