Top 10 favorite rides PAST and present

[George]

1 Horizons. Everything you've read about it is true, this is the one, the dark ride GOAT.
2 SSE. Doubles as the most beautiful man made architectural object ever. I'm eternally mesmerised.
3 Thunder. So much fun & atmosphere
4 Space Mountain
5 Pirates
6 Mansion
7 Universe of Energy
8 Safari
9 Star Tours. Uniquely amongst this list, the current rather than a previous version.
9 LwtL
10 Jungle Cruise

Leaning heavily towards long, slow rides that transport you places.
I shall admit to a certain nostalgia. Then again, nostalgia is a core ingredient of anything truly great Disney. Hence why trendy Disney always fails and is anything but.

Concur on Horizons. The long, languid dark ride has gone the way of the dodo. I sometimes dream of a park that consists of defunct WDW rides and attractions. I’m not sure of the necessary budget. So far I have saved up $1,289.54 towards building a few things in my backyard. I do get deflated from time to time. I feel like I may need two or even three times as much money!

 

[John park hopper]

Does anyone remember I think was part of back lot they had the model naval boats in large water tanks and would blow them up --I vaguely remember them

 

[Goofyernmost]

Does anyone remember I think was part of back lot they had the model naval boats in large water tanks and would blow them up --I vaguely remember them

That was part of the 2 hour original Disney MGM backlot tour. It was also still around up until the whole idea was abandoned. It was just about the last thing remaining before the tram at the end. The boats didn't blow up but they did show how a navel battle might look. They used guests to do a couple parts, film it and then show it to the audience at one point I don't remember if they did that right up to the end.

 

[Tjaden]

Amazingly my top ride is one that I probably rode but only remember from videos after it closed

10.) Universe of Energy
9.) Living with the Land
8.) Tomorrowland Transit Authority
7.) Tower of Terror
6.) Great Movie Ride
5.) Space Mountain
4.) Carousel of Progress
3.) Haunted Mansion
2.) Spaceship Earth (Irons)
1.) Horizons

 

[ParadoxPortals]

Amazingly my top ride is one that I probably rode but only remember from videos after it closed

10.) Universe of Energy
9.) Living with the Land
8.) Tomorrowland Transit Authority
7.) Tower of Terror
6.) Great Movie Ride
5.) Space Mountain
4.) Carousel of Progress
3.) Haunted Mansion
2.) Spaceship Earth (Irons)
1.) Horizons

I appreciate the Universe of Energy love, I feel like it was absolutely unappreciated and often forgotten, even if I do believe that it had flaws. It's two classic songs "Universe of Energy" and "Energy, You Make the World Go Round", plus its instrumental version, are some of my favourite theme park songs of all time. Also the Carousel of Progress is a sleeper hit not on many lists either, even though its absolutely spectacular and an incredible concept

 

[Mireille]

I appreciate the Universe of Energy love, I feel like it was absolutely unappreciated and often forgotten, even if I do believe that it had flaws. It's two classic songs "Universe of Energy" and "Energy, You Make the World Go Round", plus its instrumental version, are some of my favourite theme park songs of all time. Also the Carousel of Progress is a sleeper hit not on many lists either, even though its absolutely spectacular and an incredible concept

What I loved about Universe of Energy was, after watching the intro on the kinetic mosaic when they were actually still kinetic, walking into a giant auditorium and taking a seat and watching the next movie was being absolutely stunned (the first time, anyway) when the large seating areas started moving!

I get that a lot of people enjoy the thrill rides... maybe MOST people... but man, give me a slow moving dark ride with a bunch of AAs and I'm in heaven. PotC, HM, Horizons, WoM, original JiI, GMR, SSE (always my first ride of any visit, assuming it's up), all stone cold classics in my eyes. Even FEA I enjoy; though I'm not a huge fan of the rear projection faces, I don't hate them. I love the idea of NRJ but it's so short with only 1 AA, as impressive as it is; it's just not enough. Shows like CoP and American Adventure are always a joy. HoP has become difficult for me to enjoy and I think AA covers the same beats without the focus on modern polarizing figures (save some brief appearances in the final montage.) And finally the "boring" slow rides without AAs like TTA and Living with (or Listen to) the Land are never-skips for me.

Yeah, I enjoy some of the thrill rides, I think GotG is a heck of a lot of fun despite its screen-based shortcomings. FoP and Soarin' are really enjoyable. SM, BTMR, EE are fine roller coasters that are great rides because they established IPs rather than incorporated IP. But I'm old and a lot of my favorites are probably my favorites because I rode them first as a child. Just like the original Star Wars trilogy is the only one I care for because I was a kid when they came out. People that saw the prequels when they were kids can enjoy them in a way I never could, because I was an adult when I saw them and could tell they were fine demos of the bleeding edge of cinematic CGI at the time, but were obviously and objectively terrible movies. (Just kidding! sort of...)

It's a real balancing act, getting older and trying to retain some measure of openness to new things and fending off the jadedness while also trying to maintain some objectivity without giving into Pollyannaism. Nuance is hard and doesn't generate the discussion on social media like hot takes do. Sorry for rambling and going off topic.

 

[ParadoxPortals]

What I loved about Universe of Energy was, after watching the intro on the kinetic mosaic when they were actually still kinetic, walking into a giant auditorium and taking a seat and watching the next movie was being absolutely stunned (the first time, anyway) when the large seating areas started moving!

I get that a lot of people enjoy the thrill rides... maybe MOST people... but man, give me a slow moving dark ride with a bunch of AAs and I'm in heaven. PotC, HM, Horizons, WoM, original JiI, GMR, SSE (always my first ride of any visit, assuming it's up), all stone cold classics in my eyes. Even FEA I enjoy; though I'm not a huge fan of the rear projection faces, I don't hate them. I love the idea of NRJ but it's so short with only 1 AA, as impressive as it is; it's just not enough. Shows like CoP and American Adventure are always a joy. HoP has become difficult for me to enjoy and I think AA covers the same beats without the focus on modern polarizing figures (save some brief appearances in the final montage.) And finally the "boring" slow rides without AAs like TTA and Living with (or Listen to) the Land are never-skips for me.

Yeah, I enjoy some of the thrill rides, I think GotG is a heck of a lot of fun despite its screen-based shortcomings. FoP and Soarin' are really enjoyable. SM, BTMR, EE are fine roller coasters that are great rides because they established IPs rather than incorporated IP. But I'm old and a lot of my favorites are probably my favorites because I rode them first as a child. Just like the original Star Wars trilogy is the only one I care for because I was a kid when they came out. People that saw the prequels when they were kids can enjoy them in a way I never could, because I was an adult when I saw them and could tell they were fine demos of the bleeding edge of cinematic CGI at the time, but were obviously and objectively terrible movies. (Just kidding! sort of...)

It's a real balancing act, getting older and trying to retain some measure of openness to new things and fending off the jadedness while also trying to maintain some objectivity without giving into Pollyannaism. Nuance is hard and doesn't generate the discussion on social media like hot takes do. Sorry for rambling and going off topic.

I feel this so much. I think you've articulated a lot of my feelings about themed entertainment a lot better than I could. I fully agree that dark rides feel just so much more special to me than a rollercoaster, we have so many of those already and they can feel samey if they're not really well-themed or have some kind of new impressive track piece / gimmick of some kind.

The struggle with nuance is also super real to me, I'm still quite young all things considered but as a Parks fan since 2010 I've lived through such a turbulent and fluid era where so much has changed, good and bad, and its hard not to have a sort of pack mentality where you want to be loyal to what you're nostalgic for and are used to seeing, even though the entire beauty of the themed entertainment industry is how forward-facing it is as a hub of innovation and new creation. Constant change can be good, it's just hard to stay an optimist without the fear of the physical manifestation of your childhood (your beloved parks / rides you visited as a kid) going away. Also personal preference can get in the way of objective reality and common sense at times haha.

 

[Goofyernmost]

The problem with the original Universe of Energy was that once you cleared the pre-show, which was great and the Dino's it became one big infomercial for Exxon. Exxon had just had the Valdez incident and in spite of all the "we are great" sections, Exxon was far from the answer to all our problems. With the Ellen concept we lost the fantastic pre-show for a bit of a comedy interlude, then the Dino's and after more of an amusing education of how we arrive at this thing we call Energy. Corny in many places, but at least I didn't feel like we were being sold a specific product instead the telling of a story with increased knowledge as a side effect. Both had their merits but in my opinion the Ellen version was much more entertaining and enjoyable, even funny in its concept.

Also in either case the preshow waiting time was way too long and while they insisted that no one be sitting on the floor, they offered no other alternative. There was no relief for tired feet and old joints while waiting for everything to start. Not so Fun Fact: The old joints crowd had only the standing option because we knew that on the floor was were we would have stayed until help to stand arrived. Sorry, but that comes under it sucks to be old, but if we are lucky we get there.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Horizons
Osborne lights
Horizons
Osborne lights
Horizons
Osborne lights
Horizons
Osborne lights
Horizons
Osborne lights

 

[FutureCEO]

First of all - I don't really remember Horizons/Original Figment/World of Motion. I probably went on them once or twice before they closed.

1. Splash Mtn
2. Pirates (before Johnny)
3. Great Movie Ride
4. Everest
5. Haunted Mansion
6. Safari (I know it's not really a ride in the typical sense)
7. Maelstrom (I always thought the ride was kinda short)
8. Toy Story Mania
9. Jungle Cruise
10. Spaceship Earth

For shows.....definitely would be SpectroMagic, Illuminations and Osborne Lights

For food - Citrus Swirl

 

[jannerUK]

1. CoP
2. Test Track 1.0
3. Dinosaur
4. Star Tours (All)
5. Toy Story Mania
6. Haunted Mansion
7. Great Movie Ride
8. Soarin
9. Toy Story Mania
10. PotC

More older rides and remaining than newer editions.

 

[Brer Oswald]

1) Splash Mountain (to the surprise of nobody)
2) Pirates of the Caribbean
3) it’s a small world
4) Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
5) Spaceship Earth
6) The Great Movie Ride
7) Country Bear Jamboree (the original)
8) Space Mountain
9) The Peoplemover
10) Tower of Terror

If I had the chance to ride Horizons and the original Journey Into Imagination, I’m sure they’d be on my list.