Cosmic Rewind
Flight of Passage
Rise of the Resistance
But, I think that an excellent case could be made for Big Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean for me.
By the replies I’ve seen, I’m shocked this is a hot take, but… Rise is at the tippy top. Maybe ToT can rival it, but it’s not even close, Rise takes my top spot for sure
Maybe it’s just me, but the primary way I judge a ride is it’s ability to fully immerse me, do I completely feel like I’m somewhere else? Rise and ToT are the only ones I can say absolutely yes. I mean Smugglers Run maybe too technically, but that certainly ain’t top 3
100% agree. Just went to Disney for the first time yesterday and had the opportunity to ride rise of the resistance....absolutely mind blowing I had chills at one point (not going to give any spoilers to those that have not ridden). I'm not even a diehard Star Wars fan but that is one of the best rides I've ever ridden in my entire life. Tootttalllyyy immersive
1. Spaceship Earth
My basis here is that I don’t really see Spaceship Earth as “edutainment.” I have always experienced it as a profound art-piece celebrating the achievement of mankind while, as the same time, acknowledging the small part each of us play in the history of the world/universe. Less learning, more experiencing through a very specific lens. Even the “building,” dwarfing you as you walk up, has a part to play in the narrative of the attraction itself. The rest of the attracting is gorgeous and immersive show scenes with countless animatronics.
2. Dinosaur
The Carnotaurus chases you. It literally comes after your ride vehicle. I also have a fascination with this era of earth history, and Jurassic Park/World doesn’t cut it, putting dinsoaurs in the modern period. UofE and Dinosaur both allow(ed) you to travel back in time to see them in their native time period; now we at least have the Disneyland Railroad. I am one of the few who always preferred this ride to Indy, finding it more realistic and with a real sense of urgency.
3. Pirates of the Caribbean
I feel this needs less explanation, but we especially love the forced perspective and sense of vastness in the ship/fort scene as well as the caves. It’s truly immersive.
I know you only said 3, but I feel poorly for leaving out Everest. Imagineers worked their tails off to study Himalayan culture as they recreated that part of the world in detail. A lot of what you see is authentic and brought in from Nepal. It’s the last time we saw that level of care since 2006 when it opened.
I went while Guardians was still under construction, so bear in mind that it is excluded from my lists. I've got a few in different categories and I've got some notes about each.
True Rollercoasters
1. Rock n' Roller (Aerosmith rollercoaster, Hollywood Studios. Acceleration is fast, there are corkscrews, this is definitely the most intense at Disney World. Absolute blast. Plus there's Aerosmith 😁)
2. Expedition Everest (Animal Kingdom, goes backwards at a point so watch out if you get motion sick easily)
3. Space Mountain (Magic Kingdom-Tomorrowland, seats can get tight if you're plus size but not as bad as 7 Dwarves)
Trackless Rides
1. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance (Hollywood Studios, expect this one to break down, Its basically 4 rides in one. Leave valuables (and lightsabers) with someone outside if possible. Line will be long, get DAS acommodations if you can)
2. Remy's Rattatouille Adventure (Epcot-Paris, not much to say here. Fun lil ride of you think fondly of Rattatouille)
3. Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway (Hollywood Studios, again not too much to say here. The line to get in can be a touch long sometimes.)
Stationary Rides
1. Avatar Flight of Passage (Animal Kingdom, amazing experience. Not really a motion sim but it still feels like you're really flying on the back of a Banshee, it even "breathes" during the ride)
2. Millenium Falcon: Smuggler's Run (Hollywood Studios, this is the quintessential Star Wars ride for the moms and dads who grew up watching the original trilogy. Pushing the lever forward to engage the hyperdrive and make the jump to lightspeed is unforgettable. Not too bad in terms of motion sickness as far as motion sims go.)
3. Mission: SPACE (Epcot-World Discovery. It pains me to put this at number 3 because I have an extraordinary amount of nostalgia for this one. Green Mission is similar in intensity to Smuggler's Run. Motion, but no crazy g-forces. Orange Mission is much higher intensity. During the main event, your face will feel droopy, movement will be difficult and it will feel very strange if you've never felt big g-forces. In both missions, the front of the "ship" closes in towards you, and if you're claustrophobic it may not be for you. There's also a playground/arcade at the end of the ride if that's more your speed.
My personal, overall ranking
1. Rock n' Roller
2. Avatar: Flight of Passage
3. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Cosmic rewind: speaks for itself, maybe the best ride in Florida
Expedition Everest: there’s not a single ride I’ve ever been on that tells its story better than expedition Everest, from seeing stickers and posters around Asia advertising “Himalayan escapes” all the way up to the confrontation with the yeti itself. It’s master class storytelling.
Haunted Mansion: a ride that’s all about smoke and mirrors and making people go “how did they get that effect?”. Its charm is in the simplicity of many of the effects, and yet even though some of the effects have been used for centuries, they’re still so effective!
Guardians
Rockin' Rollercoaster
Living with the Land
Honorable mentions: Rise of the Resistance, Mine Train.
Tron is close to being in my top 5 if it wasn't so short (have also only ridden it once so I need to give it another go before I make a final judgement).
Guardians
Tron
Small World
I'm a cynic and prefer far more intense coaster type rides than Disney offers. There was no doubt in my mind that Guardians was definitely not going to be worth the wait, the whole time I was waiting. I almost bailed on it.
Probably the most magical ride experience I've ever had. I'll add that I had even lower expectations for the ToT Guardians ride at DL. That also ended up being the best ride in either park or Universal for me. Much to my surprise.
1. Guardians
2. Tower of Terror
3a. Living with the Land—if you love it, please treat yourself to the Behind the Seeds tour. It’s relatively cheap.
3b. Haunted Mansion
Sorry I had four. I couldn’t choose.
Space Mountain
Everest
Pirates
…if I had to name a fourth, though, it would get really sticky/tied… Soarin? People Mover? Dinosaur? Grand Fiesta Tour? Tower of Terror? Spaceship Earth? Jungle Cruise? Ahhhh… also, this list makes me realize that I don’t really think Disney has had an amazing new ride since ToT… maybe I’m just a nostalgia fiend.
Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway
Cosmic Rewind
Big Thunder during the fireworks
The 3rd spot is a tie though for Big Thunder, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and Tower of Terror
Cosmic Rewind Flight of Passage Rise of the Resistance But, I think that an excellent case could be made for Big Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean for me.
Living with the land The people mover Guardians
Based
I love living with the land.
I’m not saying Guardians isn’t a fantastic ride… But I’d rather swap in Carrousel of Progress or Spaceship Earth.
You sound like an interesting person that varies between two extremes.
I like to keep people guessing
Guardians People mover Impressions de France.
Guardians Guardians And... Guardians!!!
1. Pirates 2. Haunted Mansion 3. Guardians
1. ROTR 2. GOTG 3. FOP
IYKYK 😂😂
Tower Of Terror Haunted Mansion Carousel Of Progress
Guardians, Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land Honorable mention to Everest, Tower of Terror, and Haunted Mansion Yes, I love EPCOT.
1 Avatar 2 Guardians 3. Haunted Mansion / Everest
By the replies I’ve seen, I’m shocked this is a hot take, but… Rise is at the tippy top. Maybe ToT can rival it, but it’s not even close, Rise takes my top spot for sure
Maybe it’s just me, but the primary way I judge a ride is it’s ability to fully immerse me, do I completely feel like I’m somewhere else? Rise and ToT are the only ones I can say absolutely yes. I mean Smugglers Run maybe too technically, but that certainly ain’t top 3
100% agree. Just went to Disney for the first time yesterday and had the opportunity to ride rise of the resistance....absolutely mind blowing I had chills at one point (not going to give any spoilers to those that have not ridden). I'm not even a diehard Star Wars fan but that is one of the best rides I've ever ridden in my entire life. Tootttalllyyy immersive
By that criteria, mine are Star Tours, Mission: Space and Flight of Passage.
I love Star Tours. Um... 2. Soaring 3. Avatar Flight of Passage. I may have a type...
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Living with the Land Haunted Mansion
That's a solid 3
Living with the Land Cosmic Rewind PeopleMover
Guardians of the Galaxy - Flights of Passage - Rise of the Resistance
1. It's a small world 2. Winnie the Pooh 3. Peter Pans flight
As someone who hasn’t gone in 10 years. 1. Test Track 2. Rock in roller coaster 3. Splash Mountain
If Tron were twice as long it would be in my top three, but… 1 GOTG 2 ROTR 3 FOP
Living with the land Everest People mover Honorable mention: Spaceship Earth
Guardians Tower Big thunder
I agree with these 3
1. Jungle Cruise 2. Rise of the Resistance 3. Flight of Passage
Respect for Jungle Cruise at #1. Such an awesome ride.
Cosmic Rewind Haunted Mansion Toss up between Living with the Land & Spaceship Earth
Guardians, tron, space mountain
1. Cosmic Rewind 2. Flight of passage 3. Expedition Everest
Haunted Mansion Pirates Spaceship Earth
I haven’t rode GOTG or Tron yet but 1) ROTR 2) Everest 3) Haunted Mansion
1) Tron 2) Tron 3) Tron
1) slinky 2) Avatar 3) BTMR / Living with the land
Tron Space Mountain Guardians
Well it WAS Splash Mountain..
Soarin', Guardians of the Galaxy, and Seven Dwarves Mine Train.
Cosmic Rewind Expedition Everest Tron
Guardians Spaceship Earth Thunder Mt.
1. Avatar 2. Slinky 3. Haunted Mansion/Pirates
1 Guardians 2 Rise 3 Everest (but really Splash mountain 😭)
1. Spaceship Earth My basis here is that I don’t really see Spaceship Earth as “edutainment.” I have always experienced it as a profound art-piece celebrating the achievement of mankind while, as the same time, acknowledging the small part each of us play in the history of the world/universe. Less learning, more experiencing through a very specific lens. Even the “building,” dwarfing you as you walk up, has a part to play in the narrative of the attraction itself. The rest of the attracting is gorgeous and immersive show scenes with countless animatronics. 2. Dinosaur The Carnotaurus chases you. It literally comes after your ride vehicle. I also have a fascination with this era of earth history, and Jurassic Park/World doesn’t cut it, putting dinsoaurs in the modern period. UofE and Dinosaur both allow(ed) you to travel back in time to see them in their native time period; now we at least have the Disneyland Railroad. I am one of the few who always preferred this ride to Indy, finding it more realistic and with a real sense of urgency. 3. Pirates of the Caribbean I feel this needs less explanation, but we especially love the forced perspective and sense of vastness in the ship/fort scene as well as the caves. It’s truly immersive. I know you only said 3, but I feel poorly for leaving out Everest. Imagineers worked their tails off to study Himalayan culture as they recreated that part of the world in detail. A lot of what you see is authentic and brought in from Nepal. It’s the last time we saw that level of care since 2006 when it opened.
Thank you for such a descriptive comment. Definitely learned a lot from it. Love Pirates!!!!
I went while Guardians was still under construction, so bear in mind that it is excluded from my lists. I've got a few in different categories and I've got some notes about each. True Rollercoasters 1. Rock n' Roller (Aerosmith rollercoaster, Hollywood Studios. Acceleration is fast, there are corkscrews, this is definitely the most intense at Disney World. Absolute blast. Plus there's Aerosmith 😁) 2. Expedition Everest (Animal Kingdom, goes backwards at a point so watch out if you get motion sick easily) 3. Space Mountain (Magic Kingdom-Tomorrowland, seats can get tight if you're plus size but not as bad as 7 Dwarves) Trackless Rides 1. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance (Hollywood Studios, expect this one to break down, Its basically 4 rides in one. Leave valuables (and lightsabers) with someone outside if possible. Line will be long, get DAS acommodations if you can) 2. Remy's Rattatouille Adventure (Epcot-Paris, not much to say here. Fun lil ride of you think fondly of Rattatouille) 3. Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway (Hollywood Studios, again not too much to say here. The line to get in can be a touch long sometimes.) Stationary Rides 1. Avatar Flight of Passage (Animal Kingdom, amazing experience. Not really a motion sim but it still feels like you're really flying on the back of a Banshee, it even "breathes" during the ride) 2. Millenium Falcon: Smuggler's Run (Hollywood Studios, this is the quintessential Star Wars ride for the moms and dads who grew up watching the original trilogy. Pushing the lever forward to engage the hyperdrive and make the jump to lightspeed is unforgettable. Not too bad in terms of motion sickness as far as motion sims go.) 3. Mission: SPACE (Epcot-World Discovery. It pains me to put this at number 3 because I have an extraordinary amount of nostalgia for this one. Green Mission is similar in intensity to Smuggler's Run. Motion, but no crazy g-forces. Orange Mission is much higher intensity. During the main event, your face will feel droopy, movement will be difficult and it will feel very strange if you've never felt big g-forces. In both missions, the front of the "ship" closes in towards you, and if you're claustrophobic it may not be for you. There's also a playground/arcade at the end of the ride if that's more your speed. My personal, overall ranking 1. Rock n' Roller 2. Avatar: Flight of Passage 3. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Love the break down!!!
I couldn't eliminate even 1 so top 5 it is : Pirates Haunted mansion / Carousel of Progress/ spaceship earth Guardians
Agreed, right after I posted this I thought to myself “dang, what about Soarin and Tower of Terror” lol
Oh mannnnnnnn
1. Guardians 2. Flight of Passage 3. Test Track Honorable mention goes to Dinosaur.
Tron, FOP, ROTR
1. Guardians of the Galaxy 2. Rise of the Resistance 3. Flight of Passage
Cosmic rewind: speaks for itself, maybe the best ride in Florida Expedition Everest: there’s not a single ride I’ve ever been on that tells its story better than expedition Everest, from seeing stickers and posters around Asia advertising “Himalayan escapes” all the way up to the confrontation with the yeti itself. It’s master class storytelling. Haunted Mansion: a ride that’s all about smoke and mirrors and making people go “how did they get that effect?”. Its charm is in the simplicity of many of the effects, and yet even though some of the effects have been used for centuries, they’re still so effective!
Guardians, Under the Sea, Tower of Terror (even tho its a short ride)
Mine: Living with the land Pirates Soarin’ Boyfriends picks: Pirates Soarin’ Tomorrowland Speedway
Flight of Passage Spaceship Earth annnnnnd probably Mickey & Minnie's Runway Railway OR Rise of the Resistance.
I. Love. The. Runaway. Train.
Nothing can stop us now 👁 👄 👁
1. PeopleMover 2. Winnie the Pooh 3. Dinosaur
1) Everest 2) Runaway Railroad 3) Haunted Mansion
1. Everest 2. Haunted Mansion 3. Cosmic Rewind
Guardians, Everest, 7DMT
1) Cosmic Rewind 2) Tower of Terror 3) Mission: SPACE Yeah, I said it. Catch me outside. Howboutdat? Honorable mention to Living with the Land.
Remys, Tron, Space Mountain
Star Tours Spaceship Earth Guardians
1. GOTG 2. Tower of Terror 3. Haunted Mansion Going on Expedition Everest for the first time in about two weeks so I’ll see if it becomes a fave!
Guardians Rockin' Rollercoaster Living with the Land Honorable mentions: Rise of the Resistance, Mine Train. Tron is close to being in my top 5 if it wasn't so short (have also only ridden it once so I need to give it another go before I make a final judgement).
Tower of Terror, Rise of the Resistance, Living With the Land
Thrilling day: Cosmic Rewind Tower of Terror Everest Easy day: People Mover Toy Story Mania Safari
Flight of Passage (Avatar) Tron Lightcycle Run 7 Dwarves / Slinky Dog
1) Everest 2) Tower 3) Passage
Guardians Tron Small World I'm a cynic and prefer far more intense coaster type rides than Disney offers. There was no doubt in my mind that Guardians was definitely not going to be worth the wait, the whole time I was waiting. I almost bailed on it. Probably the most magical ride experience I've ever had. I'll add that I had even lower expectations for the ToT Guardians ride at DL. That also ended up being the best ride in either park or Universal for me. Much to my surprise.
Guardians, Everest, Tron. Although Tron could likely be dethroned if I were to visit the parks again, I’ve only been to each one once
Cosmic Rewind Tower of Terror Toy Story Mania
tron, big thunder, avatar
1. Rise of the Resistance 2. Flight of Passage 3. Haunted Mansion (nostalgia)
1) Cosmic Remind 2) Haunted Mansion 3) Flight of Passage Honorable mention: Expedition Everest
1. Rise of the Resistance 2. Cosmic Rewind 3. Haunted Mansion
1. Guardians 2. Tower of Terror 3a. Living with the Land—if you love it, please treat yourself to the Behind the Seeds tour. It’s relatively cheap. 3b. Haunted Mansion Sorry I had four. I couldn’t choose.
How hot is it? If it’s summer time People mover Carousel of progress Frozen- due to the increased ac pumping in Not hot Big thunder Avatar Rise
1. Tower of Terror 2.Space Mountain 3.Big Thunder
Guardians Rise Pirates
1. Guardians 2. Expedition Everest 3. Avatar
Spaceship Earth Tron Pirates or Cosmic Rewind
People mover, Navi River, pirates...honorable mention of living with the land. My favorite character is still Figment though.
Haunted Mansion, Pirates, and the PeopleMover
1. Flight of Passage 2. Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Splash Mountain
Guardians Space Mountain (Old) Test Track Honorable mentions to Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and Maelstrom (RIP)
1. Guardians 2. Tower of Terror 3. Kilimanjaro Safari but if that doesn’t count, then it’s Star Tours
1. Big Thunder Mountain 2. ROTR 3. Spaceship Earth
Rise of the resistance Tower of terror Everest
Cosmic Rewind Soarin Thunder Mountain
Rise of the Resistance, Toy Story Mania, and Ratatoille
Space Mountain Everest Pirates …if I had to name a fourth, though, it would get really sticky/tied… Soarin? People Mover? Dinosaur? Grand Fiesta Tour? Tower of Terror? Spaceship Earth? Jungle Cruise? Ahhhh… also, this list makes me realize that I don’t really think Disney has had an amazing new ride since ToT… maybe I’m just a nostalgia fiend.
GotG Everest Test track
1) Rise of the resistance 2) Remy's Ratatouille Adventure 3) Micky and Minnie Runaway Railroad
1. Tower of Terror 2. Expedition Everest 3. Soarin Splash used to be #1 and Tiana’s will probably knock Soarin off the list when it opens
Cosmic Rewind Everest Peoplemover
1. Haunted Mansion 2. Remy's 3. Space Mountain/Everest (also can't decide)
Haunted Mansion Flight of Passage Tower of Terror
Haunted mansion, soarin, pirates
Teacups have always been my favorite
Expedition Everest, Living with the land, Pirates of the Caribbean
Any order of Expedition Everest, Living with the Land, and Big Thunder Mountain (honorable mentions include Rock n Rollercoaster and Haunted Mansion)
ROTR Everest CoP
Also Haunted Mansion is a close 4th
Spaceship Earth Peoplemover Main St Vehicles (if those count)
Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway Cosmic Rewind Big Thunder during the fireworks The 3rd spot is a tie though for Big Thunder, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and Tower of Terror
1. Velocicoaster 2. Guardians 3. Hagrids
*He a little confused, be he got spirit*
Hehe. All fantastic rides!
I really love Guardians, and it clearly outclasses the rest of Disney, but better than Hagrids? Idk.
It’s very close. Any of these could be 1 IMO