Mickey Madness Round Two

I don’t want to say that round one of Mickey Madness was a bit boring, but…

We had a grand total of three upsets in the first round, and the lowest remaining attraction is a ten seed.

While I had chalky brackets as much as the next person, they do make for amazing rounds later in the tournament.

In fact, today’s update is when I begin to burn a few bridges, as several of your favorite attractions are about to go down.

The Path to the Sweet 16

We have 32 remaining attractions after round one, which is the savage part of 64-player brackets.

Half the participants never make it out of the first round.

In the NCAA Tournament, that’s a LOT of teams who wondered why they packed so much luggage.

Seriously, between the men’s and women’s brackets, 64 teams will go home by this Friday. Another 32 will leave by Sunday.

So, we start with 128 basketball teams but drop to 32 in a matter of four days.

That means 75 percent of teams don’t last the week. It’s a brutal war of attrition.

At Mickey Madness, we’ve already lost several beloved attractions, including everything closing in 2025.

Yes, It’s Tough to Be a Bug! and Muppet*Vision 3D are already out, as are Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith and DINOSAUR.

And that was just the first round! You can imagine how brutal this tournament will get by the end!

So, let’s go region by region to evaluate the matchups and determine which attractions make the Sweet 16.

Spoiler: This ain’t gonna be pretty. Odds are good that I’m about to make you mad. It’s the harsh nature of competition.

Something’s gotta lose in order for something else to win. Let’s get started!

About the East Region

Here are the remaining teams in the East Region, along with their seeds:

• 1) Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
• 2) “it’s a small world”
• 3) Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
• 4) Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
• 5) Soarin’ Around the World
• 6) Na’vi River Journey
• 9) Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid
• 10) Alien Swirling Saucers

And here’s the current bracket so you can see the matchups:

The Matchups

When you glance at this, you should quickly realize that Rise of the Resistance has another mismatch in this round.

Frankly, I’m surprised that The Little Mermaid is out of round one, and I say that as a huge fan of the dark ride.

The plucky underdog has no chance whatsoever against the overall top seed in the tournament.

And a lot of what I just said applies to “it’s a small world” versus Alien Swirling Saucers as well.

The flat ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios had low odds of making it to round two but stumbled into a favorable matchup.

I’m not going to make Mary Blair roll over in her grave by picking an upset here. So, “it’s a small world” advances.

The other two matchups are MUCH tougher. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is the hot new thing at Magic Kingdom.

But Soarin’ is an essential part of the spirit of EPCOT, with an unforgettable soundtrack and exceptional ride experience.

Here’s where I start making enemies. I choose Soarin’, even though I’m an ardent supporter of Tiana.

Soarin’ simply matters more because it’s had years to become such an influential part of the EPCOT experience.

Finally, Na’vi River Journey versus Tower of Terror is probably harder for me than for most people.

I’m not going to do anything ridiculous here, though. Tower of Terror, if anything matters more to its park than Soarin’ does.

So, the thrill ride avoids the upset by overcoming the boat ride.

Here’s the updated East region bracket after two rounds:

About the West Region

Here are the attractions that survived round one in the West Region:

• 1) Tron Lightcycle / Run
• 2) Pirates of the Caribbean
• 3) Frozen Ever After
• 4) Kilimanjaro Safaris
• 5) Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
• 6) Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• 9) The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• 10) Festival of the Lion King

Let’s pause for a moment and appreciate the strength of this bracket.

Those top six seeds are legitimately among the best attractions at Walt Disney World.

Simply escaping the West Region will be a victory in and of itself for one of these attractions. Here’s the current bracket:

The Matchups

You’ll notice that I only praised the top six seeds. Meanwhile, the ninth and tenth seeds definitely qualify as “lucky to be there.”

With all due respect to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Festival of the Lion King, two excellent attractions, they’re out of their depth.

So, Tron, which I consider far and away the weakest one seed, coasts into the Sweet 16, as does Pirates of the Caribbean.

Then, we have the pride of the World Showcase, Frozen Ever After, against Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

I’m going to break someone I love’s heart by saying this, but the roller coaster falls a bit short, especially at the moment.

Disney is currently reworking the coaster tracks at Big Thunder, which means we don’t even know how it will be when it reopens.

That’s reason enough to side with Frozen Ever After. To my protégé who loves this ride the best, I’m sorry.

Then, we have Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway vs. Kilimanjaro Safaris.

I was on the fence about this one before my wife accurately summarized the matchup as “the heart of Animal Kingdom vs. the heart of Disney.”

Disney wins that one anytime. So, Runaway Railway advances.

Here’s the West Region after two rounds:

About the South Bracket

Here are the attractions that survived round one in the South Region:

• 1) Avatar Flight of Passage
• 2) Haunted Mansion
• 3) Jungle Cruise
• 4) Slinky Dog Dash
• 5) Expedition Everest
• 6) Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
• 7) Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover
• 9) The Seas with Nemo & Friends

This is an interesting composition in that I don’t perceive a heavy favorite here.

Many of the attractions are similar in quality and public perception.

While I think most people would agree that The Seas with Nemo & Friends is probably out of its depth, everything else is viable.

Let’s find out how it all plays out! Here’s the current bracket:

The Matchups

Since The Seas with Nemo & Friends isn’t viable, Avatar Flight of Passage obviously wins.

Similarly, while I’m first in line to tell you to ride the PeopleMover five times on your vacation, it ain’t beating Haunted Mansion.

That’d be the biggest upset of the tournament and one of the most challenging to defend.

So, half the East Region is easy to pick, but the other two matchups are tasty.

Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is clearly the Robin to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance’s Batman at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Still, I think it matches up surprisingly well with Jungle Cruise, which is a classic to be sure but also kinda stale.

I give the nod to Jungle Cruise due to its legacy, but this one was a buzzer-beater.

Then, we have the matchup of the tournament to date. No, your eyes do not deceive you.

We have some hot coaster-on-coaster action as Slinky Dog Dash faces off against Expedition Everest.

This is an excellent example of the nightmare matchup discussion from last time.

We all agree that Slinky Dog Dash delivers a joyous ride experience, but…

Let’s be honest. Expedition Everest is a hotter, better ride. We’ve got a huge upset as old beats new on the coaster front!

Expedition Everest advances to the Sweet 16, leaving the South Bracket as follows:

About the Midwest Region

I’m just going to say it. The Midwest Region is the weakest of the bunch. As proof, here are the remaining attractions:

• 1) Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
• 2) Space Mountain
• 3) Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
• 4) Spaceship Earth
• 5) Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
• 6) Toy Story Mania!
• 7) Peter Pan’s Flight
• 8) Mickey’s PhilharMagic

Please evaluate the attractions seeded two through seven on this list and tell me your favorite.

How big a gap do you perceive from that attraction to the next one?

And are those two attractions capable of winning Mickey Madness? Exactly.

The winner in this region is facing an uphill battle to make an impact in the Final Four.

Here are the current matchups in the Midwest Region:

The Matchups

As much as I love PhilharMagic, it’s simply no match for Cosmic Rewind, the hottest thing at EPCOT right now.

The other three matchups are nearly coin flips, though.

I had the easiest time with the 3/6 battle between Toy Story Mania! and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

A few years ago, this debate may have been tougher, but Toy Story Mania! is still running on Windows XP. It’s lost a bit of its shine.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train comfortably advances, although I’d ride Toy Story Mania! ten times in a day if I could.

Next, we get a Disney diehard’s dream (or nightmare) matchup between Peter Pan’s Flight and Space Mountain.

That’s an opening day attraction at Disneyland versus the ride that has become synonymous with Magic Kingdom.

I came within an eyelash of picking the upset here, but Space Mountain is simply too iconic.

That leaves us with the final matchup of the second round: Spaceship Earth versus Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.

Here’s another example of a matchup nightmare and also a demonstration that timing matters.

Eighteen months ago, I may have felt differently, but my perception is that Ratatouille is fading a bit.

The recent introduction of a standby queue at Cosmic Rewind has cooled off Ratatouille, which is still an amazing ride.

I just don’t think it’s as important as Spaceship Earth, the heart and soul of EPCOT.

We now have our Sweet 16! Here’s a look at the remaining contenders in the Midwest Region:

And here’s the Sweet 16 for Mickey Madness 2025!

Which attraction do you think will go all the way? Let us know in the comments!

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