Which Disney Rides Get Better the Next Time?

The Walt Disney Company is currently overhauling several beloved attractions.

For example, Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress will look entirely different next year. Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin received a similar overhaul earlier this year.

As Disney changes so much, I cannot help but think about my own evolving tastes.

Sometimes, a ride I didn’t love at first grew on me after repeated experiences.

So, which Disney rides get better with time?

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin

Some of Disney’s best attractions feature a bit of randomization.

The gamified attractions have proven especially good in this regard.

Anything can happen each time, even as players ostensibly improve with practice.

In the case of Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Disney recently modernized the ride.

Now, guests can easily tell whether they’ve successfully hit their targets.

The ride rewards great shots by making the targets light up and spin.

In the process, Disney rewards guests for riding again and again.

We’ll notice new, high-point targets throughout the experts.

Disney literally gives us something new to aim for with each ride. It’s addictive.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

This roller coaster features an entirely different kind of ride variance.

The soundtrack changes with each spin down the tracks.

When you board the coaster cart, Cosmic Rewind automatically assigns you a song.

This piece of music determines the vibe of your ride experience.

That sounds ridiculous, yet you’ll completely agree once you’ve ridden Cosmic Rewind.

Then, you’ll recognize just how much it changes when you ride with a different song.

The difference between Conga and Everybody Wants to Rule the World will stun you.

Disney tested hundreds of songs before narrowing the list to the final six.

Each one provides an entirely distinct ride experience, giving this coaster shocking repeat value.

Haunted Mansion

Disney brags that 999 Happy Haunts live at this Haunted Mansion. How many of them can you name? Before you answer, please think about it for a moment.

You’ve hopped on a Doom Buggy and ridden by most of them. So, you may know more than you think, and I don’t just mean Madame Leota and the Hitchhiking Ghosts.

Everyone can name them, the Ghost Host, and The Bride in The Attic.

When I mention the operatic singer, you know who I mean, though, don’t you?

Those dueling ghosts in the painting should ring a bell as well. Imagineers have seeded this ride with hundreds of mischievous, malevolent spirits.

My wife, who has ridden this attraction more than 100 times, is still finding new ones. If that doesn’t speak to this ride’s greatness, I don’t know what else could.

Kilimanjaro Safaris

This selection likely speaks for itself, as loyal Disney fans know the deal.

As great as Cast Members are, they cannot control the animals who live at this park.

No, the residents of Disney’s Animal Kingdom play by their own rules, and it’s wonderful.

You never know what you’ll get on this ride, nor does the Cast Member driving you.

Their job focuses on relaying information about the various animals they see.

They have no control over which ones are feeling frisky on that particular day.

For this reason, I find myself drawn to the new adventures on Kilimanjaro Safaris during every visit.

Living with the Land

This one may seem like an odd inclusion, but we’ve ridden it a lot.Honestly, we often pick it to take a quick nap during the darkened sections early in the ride.

However, I always wake up in time for the Greenhouse section. The second half of Living with the Land reveals Disney’s secret.

I think of this place as a hidden lab where Cast Members diligently perform agricultural research.

Yes, that sounds deadly dull to some, but it’s absolutely engrossing to me.

When on the ride, I keep my head on a swivel as I admire all the plants growing here.

Disney thoughtfully adds signs to each one, allowing guests to quickly identify the products.

This one facility hosts hundreds of delicious ingredients for future meals. I often think of Living with the Land as a sleeper ride.

People literally sleep on it at first, but then they come to appreciate its genius gradually over time.

Pirates of the Caribbean

Disney often tweaks this ride, typically to the annoyance of its most dedicated fans.mI don’t really care about the specifics of the controversial changes in recent years, though.

My focus remains on discovering the pirate jokes I’ve never previously noticed.

Imagineers have meticulously hidden countless Easter eggs and in-jokes in each section.

Sure, the Pooped Pirate and the dog with the key receive much of the attention.

However, I’m on the lookout for the Pirate Mr. Smee, the pirates with real human hair, and the skull.

No, I’m not referencing the human remains once visible on the ride.

I mean the point where Imagineers created a line of sight where the various set pieces align into a skull shape.

For nearly 60 years now, Pirates of the Caribbean has captivated Disney fans. Every time we ride it, we’re always finding something new.

As proof, notice some of the locks on your next ride. Don’t some of them look like Hidden Mickeys…

Spaceship Earth

I definitely practice what I preach on this one, as it’s probably the ride I’ve repeated the most. In fact, I consider any EPCOT visit a failure if I ride Spaceship Earth less than twice.

Why am I so passionate about EPCOT’s signature attraction? It’s the attention to detail. Disney has encapsulated some of the most significant events in human history on this ride.

Over the course of just a few minutes, you’ll fast forward through millennia.

The set pieces tell the stories of how we as a people learned to hunt, write, and share information.

Imagineers have done a remarkable job of disseminating specifics about each event. So, I try to pay attention to one specific part of each scene on various rides.

I’m gradually piecing together the full picture across dozens of rides.

My favorite is the invention of the home computer scene. Pay attention to the desk the next time you ride. It’s like a mini-biopic of Apple’s founders.

Star Tours – The Adventures Continue!

Here’s another ride that varies with each boarding, but this one’s the most extreme example.

Guests can literally ride Star Tours 1,000 times and never experience the same version.

A random digital dice roll determines which sequence you’ll get at several ride intervals.

For this reason, you’ll still be experiencing new stories after 25+ rides. That’s the breathing definition of getting better over time.

Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover

Finally, here’s the ride that inspired this entire list, as it’s the most accurate for me.

When I first rode the PeopleMover, it did little for me as an adrenaline junkie.

At the time, I prioritized thrill rides, followed by dark rides and show-based attractions. The PeopleMover doesn’t count as any of those ride styles. It’s its own thing.

My inability to fit this Tomorrowland classic into a single box made me overlook it for a time. As I grew older and rode it more, I started to admire it more.

Most importantly, I’m obsessed with the original model of Progress City.

I’m happy when the ride breaks down here, as I get to look at it for longer.

I also enjoy getting to see unusual views of other Tomorrowland rides.

The PeopleMover carries guests through most of the ride buildings here. I can’t think of another Disney ride that plays the greatest hits of other rides in the area.

Oh, and the PeopleMover gets better at night, especially when the fireworks are bursting in the sky.

All these elements have caused me to switch from indifferent about the PeopleMover to one of its most passionate evangelists.

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Feature Photo: Disney