Let’s Talk About Walt Disney World’s Four Newest Rides
During the past three years, Walt Disney World has introduced four new E-ticket attractions.
We’re talking about the best of the best in Imagineering history. We’ve got a Star Wars ride the size of an airport hangar, the world’s first Mickey Mouse ride, and more.
In short, now is a good time to be a Disney fan. Let’s talk about the remarkable appeal of all four of Walt Disney World’s newest rides.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind – May 2022
The newest attraction at Walt Disney World somehow does the impossible. It tells a story while you ride a roller coaster!
You’ll reach 60 miles per hour as you stare at a 270-degree digital display and watch a Celestial try to wreck your ship.
Thankfully, you have the Guardians of the Galaxy as your protectors. Sure, they’re often incompetent, but they tend to save the day in the end.
Fittingly, a musical accompaniment provides the soundtrack for your interstellar journey at something akin to warp speed.
The dizzying nature of Cosmic Rewind plays perfectly with the Guardians of the Galaxy theme.
Even better, you’ll hear one of six different songs during your coaster ride. Each musical selection alters the experience in some way.
The upbeat pace of I Ran by Flock of Seagulls turns Cosmic Rewind into a more kinetic experience.
Conversely, Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fears adds a melancholy vibe to your unexpected encounter with mortality.
Cosmic Rewind is unquestionably the best new attraction in the world for 2022, but there’s a debate about whether it’s even Disney’s best ride from the past four years.
After all, this coaster can and does trigger nausea in some riders.
I recently witnessed a panicked British family move to protect the family matriarch as she fought back a wave of vomit trying to escape her mouth.
That sort of thing happens more than Disney had expected. So, some guests may enjoy a calmer ride like…
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway – March 2020
Here’s the new attraction that doesn’t receive the attention it deserves.
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway perfectly encapsulates the chaotic nature of Disney cartoons.
What starts as a calm ride to a picnic quickly devolves into an adventure through cliché toon circumstances.
You’ll plummet down a waterfall, get swept into a tornado, and nearly die in a manufacturing facility.
Mickey & Minnie Mouse will join you every step of the way. That’s not necessarily the best news, though.
After all, they’re in as much peril as you. And nobody wants to see Mickey Mouse get flattened by a machine press!
So, you’re all in this together as you try to escape a series of impossible cartoon sequences.
The whole ride mesmerizes with its color schemes and vibrant backdrops.
In fact, thanks to the novel nature of each room, you won’t catch everything that happens during a single ride…or even two or three!
Instead, you must train yourself to watch one specific aspect of each scene if you want to track everything that happens. I’m several rides in, yet I’ve still missed a lot of stuff.
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure – October 2021
The reverse is true with Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. For many years, Americans dreamt of riding this themed adventure. It was the pride of Disneyland Paris for the longest time.
On Walt Disney World’s 50th birthday, EPCOT opened its own version of Ratatouille. And I’m happy to report it’s every bit as good as the original!
On Ratatouille, you recreate some of the events from the movie…sort of. You go on an unintentional trip through the kitchen of Gusteau’s Restaurant.
This happens because you fall through the roof. Since you’re rodent-sized, you’re unwelcome in the kitchen. That jerk Chef Skinner is out to get you, too!
You’ll ward off flying knives, a kitchen oven, and many other unexpected aspects of rat life.
Imagineers have crafted a 4D ride experience, which means that the dangers come right at your face.
Also, when you’re staring down the oven fire, you’ll feel the flames against your face. It’s that realistic!
If there’s one thing that Disney has mastered over the years, it’s the dark ride. Ratatouille is legitimately one of the best and most immersive ever.
You will totally buy into the illusion that you’ve shrunk down and fallen into a kitchen…and that you might not survive the fury of Chef Skinner!
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – December 2019
Before Cosmic Rewind’s debut, I was unconsciously equating it with Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
This happened because Rise of the Resistance redefined the greatness of Disney attractions.
While Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway are delightful in their own ways, they cannot touch the quality of Rise of the Resistance.
For that matter, Cosmic Rewind has fallen short of the prize as well. At this point, Rise of the Resistance stakes a claim as the best theme park attraction on the planet.
How is that possible? I don’t even think of this experience as a single ride. It’s more of a two-fer with some improv thrown in for good measure.
You start on a mission for The Resistance. Then, you wind up a prisoner of The First Order. However, your friends in The Resistance don’t forget about you.
So, the ride plays out as a hostage crisis with a happy ending, which you’ll appreciate since you’re the hostage.
Along the way, you’ll encounter a rarity at Disney. You’ll run into cast members who say nasty things to you or about you.
These workers portray members of The First Order, and they’re not afraid to let you know that you’re not up to imperial snuff.
Instead, you’re one of those goody-goody types who work for The Resistance. As such, you deserve scorn and derision…and they really give it to you!
The whole attraction plays out like a Star Wars fantasy come to life, which is precisely what Disney had promised for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Ergo, this sweeping adventure accomplishes the impossible. It turns George Lucas’ fiction into a reality that Star Wars fans can enjoy daily.
For that reason alone, this attraction is currently the crown jewel of the Disney empire.
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Feature Photo: Disney