Mickey Madness Sweet 16

We’ve officially reached the Sweet 16, and one thing’s for sure.

The four seeds officially were the weakest link. Goodbye.

As we enter the third round of the tournament, the top three seeds remain in all four brackets.

Meanwhile, the only four seed that has survived the carnage thus far is Spaceship Earth.

The other trio of four seeds all failed to reach the Sweet 16, making them the only real upset victims of the tournament to date.

Thus far, it’s good to be the heavy favorite in this shockingly chalky tournament. But that’s about to change.

We’ll have upsets in half of today’s matchups, and half the one seeds are about to go down!

So, we’ve definitely got carnage in the Sweet 16 of Mickey Madness. Let the bodies hit the floor!

About the Sweet 16

As a reminder, this tournament works just like the NCAA Tournament, the one delighting you all month.

The difference is that we’ve subbed out the mighty SEC and 52 other basketball teams and subbed in Disney attractions.

At first, the bracket featured plenty of shows and even a couple of experiences: Tom Sawyer Island and Journey of Water: Inspired by Moana.

Those days didn’t last long. Now, as we enter the Sweet 16, all remaining attractions are rides…and iconic ones at that.

I suspect that any list of the top ten attractions at Walt Disney would include some of these attractions.

Since we largely avoided upsets up until now, it’s nothing but heavyweights from here on out.

The lowest remaining seeds are Expedition Everest, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, and Soarin’ Around the World.

Those are theoretically the “weaker” rides at this point! Then again, all of them have already pulled off an upset.

I suspect that at least one of them can win again today, too.

But before we get started, I should remind you of the updated bracket. Here’s the Sweet 16 for Mickey Madness:

At this point, which ride would you expect to win? Well, hold that thought until the end of the article.

A couple of heavyweights are about to fall.

The East Region

As the top overall seed, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance had a gimme in the first round.

I felt a little weird about having Main Street Vehicles in the tournament in the first place.

So, this was the ultimate 1/16 matchup in that the 16 had no chance whatsoever.

In the second round, Rise of the Resistance faces the upset winner from round one.

Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid edged the favored Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin in a close match.

However, Cinderella won’t be dancing anymore at the ball. Rise of the Resistance annihilates Journey of the Little Mermaid.

This one’s a blowout, and it raises questions about whether any attraction can hope to unseat the top overall seed.

The next contender will be the winner of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure versus Soarin’ Around the World.

Those two attractions are battling for a spot in the Sweet 16. Each ride beat a show-based attraction in round one.

Now, the two rides compete, and I’m…about to irritate some of you.

After a lot of consideration, I ultimately decided that the unique ride structure of Soarin’ differentiates it.

While I adore the gentility and charm of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, it hasn’t gained the stature of Soarin’ quite yet.

Soarin’ “wins” the right to face Rise of the Resistance for a spot in the Elite Eight.

The East Region’s Other Half

On the other side of the bracket, we’ve got what I perceive as less interesting clashes.

I agonized over the Soarin’/Tiana’s Bayou Adventure battle. Now, we have 3/6 and 2/7 matchups that aren’t as close.

The 3/6 tiff involves Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Na’vi River Journey.

I’m the one always talking up Na’vi River Journey, but come on! It’s no Tower of Terror. Twilight Zone advances to the next round.

Then, we have “it’s a small world” versus Alien Swirling Saucers, which is coincidentally the same conversation.

I’m an ardent proponent of Alien Swirling Saucers, but it would be malfeasance to pick it over “it’s a small world.”

So, we’ll have a matchup of “it’s a small world” versus Twilight Zone Tower of Terror for a spot in the Elite Eight.

The winner gets to face the winner of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance/Soarin’ Around the World.

Will we see an upset on either side of this bracket? You’ll have to wait until next time to find out!

The West Region

In this region, a nine seed and a ten seed, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Festival of the Lion King, advanced to round two.

Then, reality promptly smacked them in the face, allowing Pirates of the Caribbean and Tron Lightcycle / Run to move forward.

Meanwhile, Minnie & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, a very strong five seed, matched up against Kilimanjaro Safaris.

As my wife summarized, it was the heart of Disney’s Animal Kingdom vs. the heart of Disney as a whole.

So, Runaway Railway pulled the upset over its more storied rival.

On the other side of the bracket, the higher seeded Frozen Ever After faced a brutal matchup with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

That was one of the toughest battles of the second round, but Frozen Ever After prevailed in the end.

That leaves the following rides remaining in the West Region of our Sweet 16:

• 1) Tron Lightcycle / Run
• 2) Pirates of the Caribbean
• 3) Frozen Ever After
• 5) Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway

In the round of 16, Tron squares off against Runaway Railway, and I could see an argument for both rides.

After all, I just described Runaway Railway as the heart of Disney.

Still, Occam’s Razor applies here. Tron is newer, hotter, and cooler than Runaway Railway, making it a tough call.

But I just can’t go against the first Mickey Mouse ride ever. Runaway Railway pulls off the upset. A one seed has gone down!

The West Region’s Other Half

On the other side, we have Pirates of the Caribbean versus Frozen Ever After.

I view this as a matchup nightmare for Frozen Ever After, which could have beaten several one and two seeds.

But Frozen cannot beat Pirates of the Caribbean, one of Disney’s most storied rides.

So, we’ve got all chalk in the Elite Eight in the West Region, as Tron squares off against Pirates of the Caribbean next time.

The South Region

In this region, Avatar Flight of Passage hasn’t really been challenged yet.

I say that with all due respect to The Seas with Nemo & Friends, a charming attraction. It just isn’t comparable to Avatar.

Expedition Everest has faced a more challenging road to the Sweet 16, including the most fascinating battle to date.

This roller coaster faced off against Slinky Dog Dash in round two, creating a fascinating battle of older versus newer thrill rides.

Obviously, Expedition Everest won, which sets up another battle between thrill rides with a spot in the Elite Eight on the line.

Who should win this battle? Well, Avatar Flight of Passage has earned a reputation as “Soarin’ on Steroids.”

And the cursory evaluation indicates that it’s the more popular ride at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

But this is Mickey Madness. Sometimes, upsets happen, and this is the shocker of the tournament so far!

Expedition Everest has demonstrated sustained excellence for nearly 20 years now and remains arguably the best Disney coaster.

Straight up, it’s a better ride than Avatar Flight of Passage. So, it advances. Another one seed has gone down!

On the other side of the bracket, an opportunity arises for the two and three seeds.

Haunted Mansion just became the highest remaining seed, while Jungle Cruise is also ranked in the top 12.

Now, these classic attractions have a chance not just to reach the Elite Eight but possibly even the Final Four. But which one?

Picking between Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion is among the hardest decisions in the Sweet 16…for most people.

While I love Jungle Cruise, I barely even hesitated here. It’s Haunted Mansion all the way.

We’ll have Expedition Everest versus Haunted Mansion as the matchup to win the region and advance to the Final Four.

The Midwest Region

Finally, we have the Midwest Region, which seemed to break in Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind’s favor from the start.

The top seed faced Wildlife Express Train in the first round, followed by Mickey’s PhilharMagic after that.

Neither attraction stood a chance against the EPCOT roller coaster.

Meanwhile, Spaceship Earth, the four seed, had a similarly easy first round matchup against Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor.

Then, we had an odd battle between Spaceship Earth and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.

So, it was classic EPCOT versus the new hotness, which is also how I’d describe the Sweet 16 matchup.

Cosmic Rewind is the new hotness at EPCOT, but Spaceship Earth remains the heart and soul of the park.

In any other year, this outcome might go the other way, but Cosmic Rewind has too much momentum right now. It wins handily. Again.

On the other side of the bracket, we have some more hot coaster on coaster action.

The bracket breaks as Space Mountain versus Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and I mean it when I say that this one froze me.

Like, there’s no right answer here, but there’s also no wrong answer.

Space Mountain redefined the roller coaster wars and became a signature theme park experience.

Meanwhile, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train has anchored Magic Kingdom for the past decade as the most popular ride.

That’s a huge accomplishment since Magic Kingdom is the most trafficked theme park on the planet.

Ultimately, I don’t feel great about the decision, but I sided with Seven Dwarfs Mine Train here in a nail-biter.

Let’s call this one the half-court buzzer beater upset of the tournament.

So, the winner of the Midwest Region will be either Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind or Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

Meet the Elite Eight

I’ll level with you. When we set up the brackets for this tournament, I never could have imagined some outcomes.

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway and Expedition Everest aren’t attractions I would have expected to make the Elite Eight.

But here we are. Cinderella is still dancing at the ball. Meanwhile, Avatar Flight of Passage must wait ‘til next year.

At this point, the one seeds are still looking strong, though, as three remain.

Meanwhile, we’re down to a pair of two seeds, albeit super-strong ones.

Then, we have the remaining upstarts: the three seeds and five seeds that are still alive. We’ve got two of each.

So, the possibility of a surprise winner remains alive. Everything gets tougher from here, though.

The next three wins are decidedly more challenging than beating Main Street Vehicles or the Wildlife Express Train.

If you thought round three was tough, wait until next week. Some iconic Disney rides are about to go down.

Here’s the updated bracket for the Elite Eight.

 

 

Which of these phenomenal Walt Disney World attractions do you think will win?

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