Which Disney Rides Smell the Best?
Did you go to the carnival or the fair as a child?
Those of us who did have distinct memories of the smells, many of which…weren’t great.
That’s one of the remarkable parts of a Disney visit. The parks provide unlimited bliss for our senses.
Photo: Disney
While you know about all the stunning sights and hypnotic sounds, I want to talk about something else today.
Which Disney attractions smell the best?
Avatar Flight of Passage
Photo: OC Register
Have you ever taken a whiff of Pandora? It’s strangely not that hard to do.
All that’s required is a visit to Pandora – The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
As soon as you enter the area, you’ll start sniffing aliens…well, alien plants.
Photo: Facebook/Imagineer Podcast
Both Pandora rides offer this unique experience, indicating that a few Imagineers had the strange job assignment of creating alien aromas.
Remarkably, they nailed the gig, imbuing Avatar Flight of Passage with an otherworldly aroma that lingers in the memory long after you’ve exited the ride.
Mickey’s PhilharMagic
Photo: Disney
The fresh scent of champagne in the air signals triumph in all phases of life.
You only break out a little bit of the bubbly when something good has happened, right?
At Disney, this statement holds, albeit in a very specific case study.
Disney
Imagineers reward you for watching Mickey’s PhilharMagic by popping the champagne corks at the end of Be Our Guest.
The stunning part is how accurate the fragrance is.
You’ll honestly buy into the illusion that recently opened champagne bottles surround you.
Disney
To prove the point, here’s a video from this part of Mickey’s PhilharMagic:
If you’ve experienced the attraction multiple times, I guarantee that your memory connected that scent with corks popping.
Pirates of the Caribbean
Photo: MaleficiousVillain/https://disney.fandom.com/
Most of the attractions I’m discussing today employ Smellitzer technology to permeate the background with fragrances.
Pirates of the Caribbean works a bit differently in that its most recognizable scent is unavoidable.
Disney hasn’t treated the waters of Pirates of the Caribbean with chlorine like many presume.
Photo: Yahoo
Instead, Disney has chosen a stronger solution.
Bromine ensures that the waters remain pristine at all times, no matter what disgusting things children and drunks may do.
As you sail from shore to shore, Pirates of the Caribbean will always offer that powerful bromine smell.
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
Photo: Josh D’Amaro on Instagram
One of the precepts of haute cuisine is that you first eat with your eyes.
Of course, long before that happens, you’ll smell all the tasty goodness lurking within the restaurant.
Nothing makes your stomach rumble more quickly than smelling something cooking in the kitchen.
Photo: Josh D’Amaro/Instagram
At Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Imagineers have leaned hard into this premise by seeding key moments of the ride with Smellitzer queues.
Perhaps the most recognizable one is the bread, which causes you to crave a baguette.
(Matt Stroshane, photographer)
Ratatouille is unique on this list in that it’s a 4D attraction, brimming with immersive elements like a hot stove and splashed mop water.
Still, the core of the attraction is the food, which explains why your nose will believe it’s in a bakery toward the end of the ride.
Soarin’ Around the World
Photo: Touring Plans
When I close my eyes, several aromas from this ride immediately spring to mind.
Part of that is because I receive a monthly Disney room spray and candle as part of a loot crate.
Several fragrances from Soarin’ Around the World have made the list.
I still have something akin to the Lau Islands of Fiji sitting on my dresser, but the candle is long gone.
Other distinct scents from the attraction include the Taj Majal and Kilimanjaro National Park.
The latter choice caused me to reconsider whether I should list this attraction because I find it too zoo-like and pungent.
Photo: WDW Magazine
So, that part of the attraction closely mirrors my experiences at county fairs.
Still, the joys of Soarin’ Around the World vastly outweigh that one intentionally (animal) sweaty segment.
Remarkably, I don’t consider this version of the ride the most aromatic, though…
Soarin’ Over California
Yes, Soarin’s fragrances are so good that it gets two. I’m confident you agree with me, too.
We all know the iconic aroma so closely identified with Soarin’ Over California.
Disney California Adventure as a theme park was intended to celebrate the great state of California.
Soarin’ Over California
Fittingly, Imagineers selected the orange groves as the attraction’s most iconic smell.
As a reminder, before Walt Disney built The Happiest Place on Earth, farmers used the land as orange groves.
So, Soarin’ Over California returns the land to its roots with what happens to be one of my favorite scents.
. (Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort)
Technically, Disney has replaced Soarin’ Over California with its successor, which made me debate whether I should add it.
However, DCA frequently brings back the original version during its food festival, and EPCOT also offered it for several months in 2023 and 2024.
Photo: Disney
Personally, I love both, but I consider the new version the superior attraction.
If I could only pick one for the smells, Soarin’ Over California wins in a walk, though.
Spaceship Earth
Finally, we have quite possibly my favorite smell at Walt Disney World.
My top two are this ride and the glorious bakery smells on Main Street, U.S.A.
You may not know this, but Spaceship Earth was one of the first attractions to employ Smellitzer technology.
Photo: Tomorrow Society
Imagineers wanted to capture the emotion of what it felt when Rome was burning.
To do that, Imagineers piped in this scent of burning brimstone, which permeates the set.
Riders know that they’re approaching the Fall of Rome before it happens because the unforgettable aroma works as an early warning signal.
I realize that the smell of fire isn’t for everyone, but I’ve had a fire in my home.
Despite this fact, I still love candles that remind me of Spaceship Earth’s Fall of Rome scene.
This aroma inevitably leads to one of my favorite moments during a Disney vacation.
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