Ranking Our Excitement for Upcoming Disney Rides
The Walt Disney Company will unveil a series of new attractions and amenities over the next 18 months.
Disney wants to turn the 50th birthday of Walt Disney World into an unforgettable event. So, Imagineers have stacked the deck.
Depending on how you count them, the various parks will host at least 10 showstopping new features.
Suffice to say that we’re giddy with anticipation about all of them. Which one has us the most intrigued, though?
That’s a tricky question that I’ll try to answer today. Here’s how I would rank my excitement for the upcoming Disney attractions.
8) New Disney Nighttime Presentations
I’ve combined these three offerings for the sake of convenience.
As a reminder, Disney will offer two evening fireworks displays plus an afternoon show.
At first, Disney Enchantment will probably get the most views as it’s the new show at Magic Kingdom.
Park officials have hinted that it’ll employ some digital projection techniques that we’ve already seen at Disneyland. So, that part sounds spectacular.
At EPCOT, we’ve waited a long time for Harmonious, which triggered the end of IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth in 2019.
Due to the pandemic, we haven’t gotten it yet, but we’re counting down the days until October 1st, when it finally debuts.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom will operate KiteTails, which uses kites up to 30 feet in size to tell a visual story.
Overall, KiteTails seems to have the least going for it. I’ll withhold judgment until I watch it, though. Conversely, Harmonious sounds brilliant.
As for Disney Enchantment, I’m still lamenting the loss of Wishes, which makes the cancellation of Happily Ever After that much more confusing.
Logic dictates that Disney Enchantment must be groundbreaking for Disney to make this call. So, I’m looking forward to it.
Still, my lack of enthusiasm for KiteTails brings down the average here.
So, this trifecta scores the lowest, even though I’m counting down the seconds until Harmonious arrives.
7) Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana
Okay, I fully expect that this new water feature at EPCOT will blow everyone’s mind.
People’s love for Moana rivals even the Frozen franchise. You can check the Disney+ Trending section if you don’t believe me.
The idea of Imagineers somehow bringing that interactive water to life seems impossible. Somehow, it’s going to happen, though.
Still, at the end of the day, how much time do you expect to spend watching the water flow during a park visit?
I have to rank it as a spectacular amenity that won’t quite match the others on the list.
6) Space 220
Here’s an instance where my imagination probably got the best of me.
After spending years counting down the moments for its release, I had probably built it up too much in my mind.
When Disney finally released photos of this outer space restaurant, it seemed…cozy.
Don’t get me wrong. I’ll relish the opportunity to sit in an entirely immersive space and feel like I’m orbiting the planet.
Still, the imagery from inside the restaurant reminded me that it’s a smaller place with modest intentions.
Of course, as a NASA superfan since childhood, I reserve the right to change my mind entirely if the process of exiting orbiting is as great as Disney believes.
Spoiler: They’re usually right. So, it probably will be.
5) PLAY! Pavilion
Here’s something else that’s a bit challenging to conceptualize. It’s, you know, a pavilion.
Even though Disney has shown artists’ renderings, it’s still a monorail attraction and a bunch of interactive games.
Basically, the PLAY! pavilion counts as a Disney fan’s dream. We just don’t know enough specifics yet.
Still, I AM a Disney fan of the highest order. Ergo, I would happily walk into this pavilion right now if I could. So, I’m cautiously optimistic about this one.
4) Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser
You may have noticed a trend here. The first five items on the list are all non-ride amenities.
Each of them possesses incredibly strong selling points, as you’d expect from anything Disney-related.
Still, one upcoming amenity stands above the rest. Of course, I’m speaking of Star Wars: Galactica Starcruiser, aka the Star Wars Hotel.
From a meta-perspective, this resort mirrors Space 220 in that the conceits are identical.
You board an intergalactic ship and travel through space. The difference is that Space 220 circles around our Earth.
On Galactic Starcruiser, you’re flying through identifiable Star Wars locales, which fans of the franchise consider the Holy Grail.
Living out your own Star Wars adventure qualifies as something that people have wanted since 1977. It’s a big deal with the sticker price shock to match.
Realistically, the overwhelming majority of people will only stay here once over the next few years, twice at the most. So, I cannot rank it any higher.
3) Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
Now we’re getting to the fireworks factory! Look, as much as I talk about the other stuff, we all go to Disney theme parks for the rides.
Even the best hotel – and Galactic Starcruiser might be that – cannot compete with the simple awesomeness of a roller coaster.
That goes double when Imagineers create one that tells a story. In fact, for the first time ever, Disney will control the line-of-sight to ensure that guests don’t miss anything!
Cosmic Rewind promises cutting-edge coaster design and would count as the pride and joy of most theme parks. Seriously, they’d build an entire promotional campaign around it.
Somehow, Disney is in the process of introducing two attractions that are even better!
2) Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
In 2014, Disney threw a bone to the entity that owned Disneyland Paris at the time. Back then, Disney was only a part-owner of a park that needed help.
The situation was desperate. So, Imagineers built an E-ticket attraction for the virtually ignored park, Walt Disney Studios Park.
Attendance at this park increased by almost exactly one million guests in just three years.
Yes, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure spiked traffic by 19 percent! That’s how good it is.
Ever since then, American Disney fans have clamored for our own version of Ratatouille. In roughly two months, we finally get it!
On Ratatouille, guests will shrink down to Remy’s size and then experience similar misadventures on the rooftops of Paris and in the kitchen.
This dark ride will make you feel like you’re living through the events of Ratatouille, which explains why it’s been such a blockbuster hit for Disney.
1) Tron Lightcycle Power Run
All the other attractions and amenities listed here would provide justification enough for another trip to Disney.
However, Tron Lightcycle Power Run towers above the rest, and I mean that literally at Tomorrowland.
Even now, you can gaze at the skyline to appreciate the unique webbing for the exterior. It’s almost hypnotic!
Guests who ride the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover receive the best view of what’s to come, which gives you a new reason to ride it!
When the Tron roller coaster debuts, it’ll immediately become the most popular ride at Walt Disney World.
I speak with confidence here as the ride has already done the same at Shanghai Disneyland.
For five years now, two attractions have anchored that park. One is their Pirates of the Caribbean ride, and Tron’s the other.
So, when Tron opens at Magic Kingdom, it’ll garner more attention than any park ride since Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, maybe even Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!
Best of all, the color scheme and aesthetics for Tron will add to the immersion. It’s a gorgeous thrill ride that will satisfy everyone.
As such, Tron Lightcycle Power Run is the upcoming Disney attraction that excites me the most.
Which one on the list are you counting down the days to ride?