Iconic Attractions

General Mayhem

General Mayhem

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In your opinion what attractions have had the biggest impact on either their park, the company, the industry or you? This thread is not asking what is the best or most iconic, it's more of a collection of game changing things the parks have introduced since 1955. I'll start:



One massively Iconic attraction that sadly hasn't been itself since 2005 is Disneyland Paris's Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune. This ride single handedly saved Disneyland Paris resort from going under while also being an amazing ride experience that easily sits on the shelf with the big time greats. This ride was so well conceived that it eased the minds of critics of the park being negligent of French culture and history. It solidified Discoveryland's dedication and tribute to Jules Verne and put Disneyland Paris on the map as a must see theme park.




So what do you think are some Iconic attractions, and why?
 
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Robbiem

Robbiem

Well-Known Member
Really interesting idea.

Star Tours - Disney’s first attempt at using someone else’s IP bringing non Disney storytelling to the parks. Without this there would be no Indiana Jones, Avatarland etc

Pirates of the Carribean (Magic Kingdom). The Disneyland original if iconic for so many reasons but the Florida version changed the direction of parks when it replaced the Western River ride creating the idea of the franchise ride. I know that Mansion and the fantasyland dark rides etc came first but I think this was probably this was the first time that an attraction had been deliberately cloned for guest demand in place of something new.

Pooh’s Hunny Hunt. Reimagined classic dark ride with modern tech, the wow factor from the way trackless tech was used. This was a ride which sadly showed the gap between the Japanese and other Disney parks and the ride which made Tokyo a must see rather than being thought of as the cookie cutter clone park.

Mystic Manor - Like DLP Space Mountain a reimagined version of a Disney classic (Haunted Mansion) using new technology to create a real iconic attraction for a struggling resort
 
BabyYodaHasCorona

BabyYodaHasCorona

New Member
For me it's the Haunted Mansion. The first attraction to be completed post-Walt, it represented a do-or-die time in Disney history for the Imagineers and how they were going to move forward without their leader. As we see, they successfully navigated the rough waters and proved to themselves and to everyone else that they were more than capable of carrying on.
 
Parker in NYC

Parker in NYC

Well-Known Member
mergatroid said:
Splash Mountain and the Tower of Terror. If those two had never happened and were opened this year, you'd struggle to find too many negative remarks on here about them apart from the one or two usual suspects.
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You're just limiting it to one or two? They could install a money tree with legit money to take home and a lot around here would complain about the theming and its location.
 
B

BASS

Well-Known Member
For me personally--I'm in my late 30s--I'd say Space Mountain and the original Snow White ride.

Space Mountain was the attraction. It was quite a draw. It's what I most looked forward to. While it doesn't give me the thrill it used to, in terms of nostalgia, it hits the spot.

Similarly, the Snow White ride reminds me of visits as a child with my family. The witch always scared me, enough to where the memory is still vivid today!
 
FettFan

FettFan

Well-Known Member
Park: The Tower of Terror for DHS. While the Haunted Mansion was the cornerstone for a number of haunted attractions, Tower of Terror was definite proof that a haunted attraction could also be one heck of a thrill ride. Combine that with the southern California Spanish-style architecture that blends it in to the rest of Sunset Boulevard, and you have an icon that is easily identifiable, so much so that it's been on every piece of DHS advertising, even during the dark days of the BAH.

Company:
Pirates of the Caribbean is iconic to Disney as a whole simply because it was one of the last attractions Walt Disney personally had a hand in designing. It was SO Iconic for the company that when the Magic Kingdom opened in Florida, customer demand for PotC pumped the brakes on the in-development Western River Expedition.
Toss in a billion dollar movie franchise, and you've got a recipe for iconography.

Industry:
This is the toughest one, but I'm going to come out and say.....Expedition Everest. In fact, EE was a massive game changer for themed roller coasters. In fact, I'd go so far to say that EE's success is what led to the creation of the Tron Lightcycle, Hagrid's Motorbike and the upcoming Velociraptor coaster at Universal.
 
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JIMINYCR

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
The attractions that had most impact on us the most upon being added... ToT, EE, MS, FoP. Show... Illuminations and EP seasonal events.
The company, has to be Eisner/ Wells expansion of parks, resorts and entertainment. Had Disney remained stagnant without their adding on and bringing Disney through the turbulent times, it wouldnt be where it is now.
 
rreading

rreading

Well-Known Member
FettFan said:
Park: The Tower of Terror for DHS. While the Haunted Mansion was the cornerstone for a number of haunted attractions, Tower of Terror was definite proof that a haunted attraction could also be one heck of a thrill ride. Combine that with the southern California Spanish-style architecture that blends it in to the rest of Sunset Boulevard, and you have an icon that is easily identifiable, so much so that it's been on every piece of DHS advertising, even during the dark days of the BAH.

Company:
Pirates of the Caribbean is iconic to Disney as a whole simply because it was one of the last attractions Walt Disney personally had a hand in designing. It was SO Iconic for the company that when the Magic Kingdom opened in Florida, customer demand for PotC pumped the brakes on the in-development Western River Expedition.
Toss in a billion dollar movie franchise, and you've got a recipe for iconography.

Industry:
This is the toughest one, but I'm going to come out and say.....Expedition Everest. In fact, EE was a massive game changer for themed roller coasters. In fact, I'd go so far to say that EE's success is what led to the creation of the Tron Lightcycle, Hagrid's Motorbike and the upcoming Velociraptor coaster at Universal.
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Wouldn't you say that Matterhorn was a precursor of Everest though?
 
FettFan

FettFan

Well-Known Member
rreading said:
Wouldn't you say that Matterhorn was a precursor of Everest though?
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It was....but while the Matterhorn did it first, Everest took the concept and pushed it into full Spinal Tap mode.


So much so that Harold the Yeti wound up being replaced with a much more articulated animatronic in the last big Matterhorn refurb.
 
Model3 McQueen

Model3 McQueen

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
mergatroid said:
Splash Mountain and the Tower of Terror. If those two had never happened and were opened this year, you'd struggle to find too many negative remarks on here about them apart from the one or two usual suspects.
Click to expand...
ParkerLoLs said:
You're just limiting it to one or two? They could install a money tree with legit money to take home and a lot around here would complain about the theming and its location.
Click to expand...

Well in all fairness, ToT and Splash are in a different league when compared to what's been happening under Chapek.
 
ShoalFox

ShoalFox

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
Since most of my initial ideas have already been said, I'm going to go with the Skyway. Sure it may not be around anymore, but the Disneyland Skyway was the first of its kind in America and paved the way for gondola rides at pretty much every major theme park that followed.
 
DisneyNittany

DisneyNittany

Well-Known Member
For the company as a whole, it has to be Pirates of the Caribbean. Not only is it a fan favorite attraction, but it essentially allowed the company to print money at the box office.
 
WondersOfLife

WondersOfLife

Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
The “big deal” for me when I was a kid was Soarin’... I was Food Rocks’ biggest (and only) fan. My dad loved the music and i loved animatronic shows. I can easily remember walking down into The Land pavilion seeing the construction walls with the bland “Soarin” posters. Dad said “Well, looks like it’s gone...” and we left. I was tearing up.

When we came back the year later, Soarin’ opened. We were going through the queue and dad jokingly says “I don’t remember Food Rocks being this big!” We rode it. But we all sort of agreed that it kinda sucked. Yes I realize Food Rocks wasn’t some ground breaking E-Ticket, but it held a special place in our hearts. Especially a bonding moment for me and dad.

I’ve hated Soarin ever since. And that was close to when Epcot moved from my favorite park to slowly becoming my least favorite. Because what followed that was the closure of Wonders of Life, the cool walk-through for Ice Station Cool, the slow closure of Innoventions (especially my family favorite, “Where’s the Fire?”), the bland Test Track overlay, the new sucky ending of Spaceship Earty, the closure of Maelstrom, and finally my last childhood favorite closure: Ellen’s Energy Adventure.

I hate you, Soarin. Wish I could just live in my childhood forever.
 
Kate F

Kate F

Well-Known Member
WondersOfLife said:
The “big deal” for me when I was a kid was Soarin’... I was Food Rocks’ biggest (and only) fan. My dad loved the music and i loved animatronic shows. I can easily remember walking down into The Land pavilion seeing the construction walls with the bland “Soarin” posters. Dad said “Well, looks like it’s gone...” and we left. I was tearing up.

When we came back the year later, Soarin’ opened. We were going through the queue and dad jokingly says “I don’t remember Food Rocks being this big!” We rode it. But we all sort of agreed that it kinda sucked. Yes I realize Food Rocks wasn’t some ground breaking E-Ticket, but it held a special place in our hearts. Especially a bonding moment for me and dad.

I’ve hated Soarin ever since. And that was close to when Epcot moved from my favorite park to slowly becoming my least favorite. Because what followed that was the closure of Wonders of Life, the cool walk-through for Ice Station Cool, the slow closure of Innoventions (especially my family favorite, “Where’s the Fire?”), the bland Test Track overlay, the new sucky ending of Spaceship Earty, the closure of Maelstrom, and finally my last childhood favorite closure: Ellen’s Energy Adventure.

I hate you, Soarin. Wish I could just live in my childhood forever.
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I think you meant to post this in a different thread

Name one Disney attraction you miss so much it hurts

For me it’s Spectromagic, not only because of the awesome creative units and the music that shook the ground and went right thru you and could make a grown man choke up but. Spectromagic has been there thru every stage of my life and probably seen it with almost every family member and closest...
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