What Are the Two Best Attractions at Each Disney Theme Park?
I recently debated the strongest selling point at each of The Walt Disney Company’s six American theme parks.
What I didn’t tell you at the time was that I had a second internal debate about each park. This subject is much more divisive.
What are the best two attractions at each Disney theme park? Well, nobody can say for sure, but here are my opinions….
Disney California Adventure – Radiator Springs Racers, Soarin’
While thinking about this topic, I established some criteria. The park must host the original version of the attraction, or it must be the only one in the world.
In other words, Disneyland gains a decided advantage this way because many of Disney’s most iconic attractions debuted there.
Conversely, parks that came much later, like Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Disney California Adventure (DCA), operate at a disadvantage.
Despite this fact, DCA proved challenging because it claims several high-quality attractions. The Incredicoaster and Pixar Pal-A-Round are excellent examples.
I could list others, but I’ll skip to the end of the page by saying that the hardest cuts come at Avengers Campus.
Ultimately, I don’t believe that WEBSLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure or Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: BREAKOUT! are on par with some longstanding favorites.
Instead, I chose two park staples, one of which I think would be on everybody’s list.
Radiator Springs Racers has become synonymous with DCA. You really cannot have one without the other. It’s the salvation attraction at DCA.
Similarly, for all the park’s flaws when it opened, it got one thing right. Soarin’ Over California earned immediate acclaim for its novel ride experience.
Since then, most Disney parks have added their version, while DCA has replaced the original with Soarin’ Around the World. It’s still the gold standard, though.
Disneyland – Indiana Jones Adventure, Pirates of the Caribbean
For the reasons I just mentioned, Disneyland proved the most challenging to evaluate. More than 10 attractions merited at least some consideration.
Some of the hardest cuts included Haunted Mansion, It’s a Small World, Jungle Cruise, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, and Peter Pan’s Flight.
I could make an argument for any of them since they all possess international name recognition. Their reputations differentiate them.
Still, I eventually singled out four options for the shortlist. It was my two selections plus Matterhorn and Haunted Mansion.
Ultimately, I settled on Indiana Jones Adventure because there’s legitimately nothing else like it at this or any other theme park.
Next, I chose Pirates of the Caribbean because I deem it the archetype for all popular dark rides in the world.
Walt Disney wanted to tell a story about a pirate’s life, and his Imagineers got it so right that people still obsess over the attraction to this day.
Disneyland is overflowing with masterpieces, but I think these are the top two. If you picked any of a dozen others, I’d understand, though.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom – Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris
Okay, I’m not going to make any friends here, but please hear me out.
Nobody argues against Avatar Flight of Passage as a massive draw. It’s remained the most popular attraction at the park since its opening.
In fact, the difference isn’t even close. It’s like comparing Mickey Mouse to any other cartoon character. Everyone knows what’s better.
Still, when I think of Animal Kingdom, two attractions spring to mind first, and neither of them involves the movie, Avatar.
Kilimanjaro Safaris provides the backbone for the entire infrastructure at this park. It’s the only safe way that guests can explore the various natural habitats.
Without this ride, nobody would appreciate what Disney has achieved at Animal Kingdom. Kilimanjaro Safaris is a no-brainer.
The debate lies in the second selection, and I choose Expedition Everest because of what it represents.
For many years, Imagineers resented Disney’s reputation for creating so-called kiddie rides.
They finally received the green light to go nuts with a super-adult thrill ride at Animal Kingdom.
Imagineers returned with Expedition Everest, one of the most cleverly designed and themed roller coasters ever. It’s a perfect 10 ride.
So, I chose the revolutionary Expedition Everest over the evolutionary Soarin’ clone/enhancement, Avatar Flight of Passage.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios – Mickey and Minnie, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Technically, I could have chosen either Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance or Toy Story Mania! here.
In both examples, the Hollywood Studios version opened a few days earlier than a duplicate elsewhere.
Still, both rides are multi-park experiences from early on. They shouldn’t count.
Instead, I chose two rides you won’t find anywhere else, at least for several months.
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway will eventually join the lineup at Disneyland Park. Still, it’s a Hollywood Studios Exclusive for the moment.
Since its ill-timed debut, Runaway Railway has delighted guests with its whimsical exploration of Disney cartoon logic. It’s a personal favorite for me.
As for Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, it was deemed the best dark ride in the world for so long that it almost retired the category at the Golden Ticket Awards.
To this day, the Tower of Terror remains in the conversation for the best dark ride on the planet, a stunning achievement for an attraction for something that turns 30 in 2024!
By the way, I also debated Slinky Dog Dash, among others. Honestly, the only other serious candidate here would have been The Great Movie Ride, though. Sigh.
EPCOT – Frozen Ever After, Cosmic Rewind
Most people would describe EPCOT as the haves and the have-nots. The park’s top attractions seemingly dwarf the others in popularity.
Test Track, Soarin’, Frozen Ever After, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind drive the overwhelming majority of park traffic.
Well, the World Showcase also does, but you get my point. All these attractions are draws.
Despite this fact, I seriously considered Spaceship Earth, which is undeniably the most iconic attraction at EPCOT. It’s also my favorite.
Even so, these selections aren’t about which attractions best represent their parks. That’s a debate for another day.
We’re simply talking about the rides that get people excited to visit. At EPCOT, those two rides are Frozen Ever After and Cosmic Rewind.
When people’s choices are visiting Arendelle, learning about Xandar, or watching plants grow, most will choose those first two.
As a Living with the Land fan, I hate that this statement is true, but it is.
Magic Kingdom – Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Space Mountain
Like Disneyland, Magic Kingdom hosts so many iconic attractions that it’s hard to choose the best.
So, I used the same decision tree for both places. At Disneyland, that led to Pirates of the Caribbean as a selection.
For Magic Kingdom, Space Mountain steps up. After all, Magic Kingdom redefined expectations for modern roller coasters by inventing this ride.
Objectively, no theme park attraction at Walt Disney World impacted the industry as much in the 20th century as Space Mountain.
To this day, it remains a seminal rite of passage for theme park fans. You have either ridden Space Mountain, or you need to do it asap.
The other selection proved much more challenging. Ultimately, I employed Occam’s Razor.
The most popular ride at Magic Kingdom is effectively the most popular ride in the world. So, that’s Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
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