The Definitive (kind of, not really) DLR Fantasyland Dark Ride Rankings

[Phroobar]

Personally I hate Peter Pan's Flight because of the huge line for it and just when it starts to get going it over. I can go on Toad five times in the amount of time it takes to get finished with Pan and be better satisfied.

 

[jsurbs]

1. Alice in Wonderland
2. Peter Pans Flight
3. Roger Rabbits Cartoon Spin
4. The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh
5. Monsters, Inc.
6. Pinocchios Daring Journey
7. Snow Whites Scary Adventures
8. The Little Mermaid
9. Mr. Toads Wild Ride

I used to like Peter Pans Flight more, but after Alice got its makeover and upgrades -- the ride technology is simply magic!
I'd rank The Little Mermaid higher, but it doesn't have that same charm as the other dark rides in Fantasyland... in my opinion.

 

[mickEblu]

Personally I hate Peter Pan's Flight because of the huge line for it and just when it starts to get going it over. I can go on Toad five times in the amount of time it takes to get finished with Pan and be better satisfied.

I agree but I think 3.5 times On Toad would be more accurate.

I never ride Pan because Of the long lines so when I do ride it, it's a very rare treat which I'm sure does inflate my opinion.

 

[Practical Pig]

I said that I put Pan at #3 for the ride system, but I think it also has a lot to do with my childhood nostalgia for the ride. The novelty of the flying ships soaring over London and Neverland was some memorable magic for me back then.

But we usually skip it now because of the line as well. Just imagine the mess it will be when Fastpass is added.

 

[Figments Friend]

I really get a fun kick riding 'Pinocchio's Daring Journey'.
Getting to go to Pleasure Island and seeing the aftermath afterwards is a hoot.
I love that first room scene for the Island...lots of wacky details ( donkey boy shaped gingerbread cookies! ) and Lampwick's 'transformation' scene.

The Blue Fairy turning into a pile of fiber optic dust is also a nice touch.

I like 'Snow White's Advenures' too...but it ends so quickly.
Always preferred Walt Disney Worlds' more fleshed out version...but it is enjoyable as is.

'Peter Pan's Flight' is always fun.
I will probably always remember my first ride on the Disneyland version after years of being overly familiar with WDWs version.
The fiber optic starfield effect I remember in 2007 blew me away a little as for about 10 seconds I really felt like I was flying 'into' and 'through' the clouds.
I don't get that sensation when a ride today...makes me think this was changed during the last major refurbishment.


'Alice' however is a treat. Wacky fun.
I like the update, but very much miss the previous upper level experience.
The widening and 'barring' of the outside track ruined the sensation of feeling like your catipillar was about to fall off over the edge of that path of 'leaves'
That was great!
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[indianajack]

Funnily enough, the "village" scene is one of my biggest complaints about that ride. There's nothing at all going on in that room and it feels like wasted space to me.

Without the village scene, it would be a hasty and harsh transition from Monstro to Blue Fairy. The ride (like the movie) is relentless in its theme of throwing Pinocchio into one horrible calamity after another. The serene village scene with the background music and twinkling star serves as a transition to the big emotional finale of the Blue Fairy turning Pinocchio into a "real boy."
The coda of the cuckoo clocks room is a nice final touch of sweet reassurance. With the amount of space the Imagineers had to work with, Pinocchio is about as perfect a ride as I can think of at Disneyland.

Of course, YMMV

 

[Professortango1]

1. Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin
2. Alice in Wonderland
3. Pinocchio's Daring Journey
4. Mr. Road's Wild Ride
5. Snow White's Scary Adventures
6. Peter Pan's Flight
7. The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
8. The Voyage of the Little Mermaid
9. Monster's Inc: Mike and Sully to the Rescue

Roger takes it hands down for me. Best queue, giant scenes, original storyline that fits in the world, great AAs, great effects, fun ride system.

Alice's updates really helped the attraction pull forward. I've always liked the two-story aspect of it, but the redesigned scenes just keep it feeling fresh.

Mr Toad is a favorite of mine, but the ride sorely does need an update. The frantic pace could benefit from some projection effects and modern magic. Pinocchio holds up better due to the ride's simpler pace and nice ending effect.

Pan ranks low because 2/3 of it is great, but just a warm up. Then the ride doesn't build into anything but a rushed mess. I do love the new Shanghai version.

 

[Disney Analyst]

1) Alice
2) Toad
3) Monsters Inc
4) Snow White
5) Roger Rabbit
6) Pinnochio
7) Peter Pan
8) Little Mermaid
9) Pooh

 

[Phroobar]

I'm surprised how often people rank Pooh fairly high. The ride has Disney store figures with no animation. It's also very short and doesn't compare at all with the Tokyo version or even the MK version. When it was built people hated it and wished the CBJ was back.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

I'm surprised how often people rank Pooh fairly high. The ride has Disney store figures with no animation. It's also very short and doesn't compare at all with the Tokyo version or even the MK version. When it was built people hated it and wished the CBJ was back.

It's bad to the point of being a bit embarrassing. The last time I was there I rode it because there was no line, forgetting how lame it is. They should upgrade it. More elaborate sets and a few animated figures would at least bring it up to Monsters quality.

 

[BasiltheBatLord]

Without the village scene, it would be a hasty and harsh transition from Monstro to Blue Fairy. The ride (like the movie) is relentless in its theme of throwing Pinocchio into one horrible calamity after another. The serene village scene with the background music and twinkling star serves as a transition to the big emotional finale of the Blue Fairy turning Pinocchio into a "real boy."
The coda of the cuckoo clocks room is a nice final touch of sweet reassurance. With the amount of space the Imagineers had to work with, Pinocchio is about as perfect a ride as I can think of at Disneyland.

Of course, YMMV

I agree that the village scene is needed as a transition, but I think its problem is that there's no focal point in that room, it's just kind of empty. (unless I'm remembering incorrectly, might need to go watch a ride-through again).

 

[Phroobar]

It's bad to the point of being a bit embarrassing. The last time I was there I rode it because there was no line, forgetting how lame it is. They should upgrade it. More elaborate sets and a few animated figures would at least bring it up to Monsters quality.

I kept hoping that one of the bulldozers working on SWL would damage the Pooh building enough to where they would need to fix the ride. Pooh is the worst ride on property and they will never upgrade it.

 

[Rich T]

1. Alice in Wonderland
2. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
3. Peter Pan's Flight
4. Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin
5. Snow White's Scary Adventures
6. Pinocchio's Daring Journey
7. The Four Brief Events of Winne the Pooh
8. Monsters Inc.
9. Little Mermaid: Ariel's Non-Adventure

 

[Rich T]

...serves as a transition to the big emotional finale of the Blue Fairy turning Pinocchio into a "real boy."

The thing is...even after all that adherence to the movie's plot...Pinocchio's still a wooden puppet when he wakes at the end of the ride. Blue Fairy FAIL! And what the heck did Jiminy get a medal for? The whole mission was a fiasco!

 

[mickEblu]

It's bad to the point of being a bit embarrassing. The last time I was there I rode it because there was no line, forgetting how lame it is. They should upgrade it. More elaborate sets and a few animated figures would at least bring it up to Monsters quality.

I'm one that thinks it's underrated. Granted I have not been on other versions so I have nothing to compare to. I also have the advantage of having rode it for the first time after reading how bad it was for years. My expectations were extremely low. My opinion is if you only compare it to the other DLR Fantasyland style dark rides, it lies at about the middle of the pack.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Pooh is so awful. So. So. Awful. Mermaid is at least air conditioned, an omnimover and has some fun AAs. Pooh is just the worst level of Pressler garbage.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Mermaid is not only my least favorite dark ride in the entire resort, but it's one of my least favorite rides ever. In saying that, I must give props to its excellent air conditioning. Also I really do love the queue.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

I would love to see what some you young Mermaid haters would have thought of Adventure Thru Inner Space lol.

 

[Practical Pig]

It hadn’t occurred to me when I posted my rankings, that my top five spots were all the DL Fantasyland rides. All of the newer, larger, higher-tech dark rides were lumped at the bottom.

I think that is both an influence of childhood nostalgia (though I was no child when Pinocchio opened), and a matter of scale and charm. The Fantasyland rides pack so much charm into such a tiny footprint, in a very compact experience. They harken back to vintage carnival dark rides, only fantastically enhanced with charm. Yeah, there’s a lot of story truncation, but I really don’t mind that, given that context.

This would have been my perspective when I first rode them. So for me, the classic, and classic style dark rides will probably always be greater than the newer, more flashy endeavors. The larger, longer, higher-tech rides seem somehow to have diminished the experience for me.

Of the newer ones, I think Roger has come the closest to the feel of the classics, but there is bloat that damages the pacing. There are a few elements of Mermaid, besides the air conditioning, that I don’t mind, and there is a little AA fun. I haven’t quite as low an opinion of Pooh as some others, but I’m am happy to drop the “H” from the name. Monsters = "meh."

Now, if we could only have the classic dark rides with the five minute or less lines of their carnival roots …

 

[BasiltheBatLord]

First time I have ever heard of the hate for Pooh. I don't really see what the problem is with it. The Heffalump scene seems kind of outdated I guess but aside from that I think it's fine. I guess everyone is just comparing to Hunny Hunt.