Last time, I discussed Disneyland rides ranking from #11-21. Now it’s time to get to the good stuff, the Duck’s top 10 Disneyland rides! Let’s just get on with it!
10: Jungle Cruise – The Jungle Cruise is probably infamous for its overused and downright corny jokes. Though the jokes can get a bit old after a while, I guess it just wouldn’t be the Jungle Cruise without them, eh? Seriously, though, this ride can be good or dull depending on which Cast Member you have, though I find it to be immensely relaxing and immersive and night, when you can only imagine that you truly are cruising down a river in the middle of a tropical jungle.
9: Alice in Wonderland – Another Fantasyland dark ride, but this one features the weirdness that is, well, Alice in Wonderland, which is enough reason to put it higher on the list. I also like the fact that it goes outside for a small portion of the ride.
8: Snow White’s Scary Adventures – A classic dark ride of a classic film, where you repeatedly get stalked by the Evil Queen. The only thing worse than a wicked old woman offering you a poison apple is the fact that the Cast Members working here yelled at me the last two years we visited the park. I’m not letting that affect this ride’s ranking, but why are they so grumpy here! Wait, Grumpy…hmm…
7: Indiana Jones Adventure – Indiana Jones is one of those rides that I think is really cool, but I would never ride it again. I personally found it to be far too loud, while Mother Duck thought it was way too rough to be much fun. If you don’t mind such a rough dark ride, you’ll probably really enjoy it. As for me, I’ll just settle for experiencing it on YouTube.
6: Splash Mountain – Yet another ride I will settle for watching on YouTube. Splash Mountain is generally a lot of fun, and I do so enjoy all those lovely animatronics. The problem is, Mother Duck and I really hate the 52.5 foot, 40 mph drop at the end, which ruins the entire ride for us. If you’re brave enough to ride this one, just know that you will get wet and to breathe out when you go over the drop. It supposedly helps when plummeting over 50 feet to your doom.
5: Big Thunder Mountain – Wow, look at all the cool rides I’ll never try again. Ahem, Big Thunder Mountain does, quite literally, feel like a runaway train. Last time we rode this mine train-themed roller coaster, it broke down right at the part with the dynamite. This time, we got to complete the entire thing, during which I realized that I just don’t enjoy such wild experiences. Mother Duck hated all the dips, while I hated the sheer speed. At 36 mph, it is the fastest ride in Disneyland (if you don’t count the aforementioned drop at the end of Splash Mountain). Though I repeated to myself the entire time that we were not going to die, it didn’t help me to feel any less terrified.
Ironic, really, as I would highly recommend this one if you’re a roller coaster fan. It’s just not for me.
4: Star Tours – Star Tours is the roughest ride at Disneyland that I would ride again and again. I just love this one. It’s so much fun, and there are lots of variations, which means you could ride again and again and get different experiences. Keep in mind that this ride can be more or less rough depending on what’s happening during this particular ride-through. Definitely check this one out if you haven’t already!
3: Peter Pan’s Flight – This ride always has a long-ish wait time and no Fast Pass, so be ready to wait 30 minutes regardless of the time of day (even immediately after the park opens). But it is absolutely worth it, as it is the best Fantasyland dark ride for sure. Unlike other dark rides, this one actually features a pirate ship that moves along a rail above you to make it feel like you’re flying over London and Neverland.
2: Pirates of the Caribbean – I don’t see the second spot ever being occupied by anything else but the fabulous Pirates of the Caribbean. My absolute favorite part of the ride is the beginning in the bayou and the caves because it’s just so darn atmospheric. The drop at the beginning is also the max that I can handle, making it fun without being scary. Just don’t look too closely at the Jack Sparrow animatronic at the end. I swear, there’s something off about him these days…. Probably all the rum.
1: Haunted Mansion – The greatest attraction there ever was, is, or will be, nothing can quite compete with the Haunted Mansion. It’s spooky, it’s morbidly funny, and sometimes just a bit cheesy (“hot and cold running chills”, puh-lease), from the stretching room to the ghosts in the graveyard partying to the tune of Grim Grinning Ghosts, the Haunted Mansion harkens back to an era when Disney was the creative powerhouse that made it so widely loved today. Say what you will about modern-day Disney, they made the Haunted Mansion, and for that, I will be eternally grateful.
That top spot was certainly a shocker, wasn’t it? (Hope no one’s allergic to high quantities of sarcasm.) If you’re curious to read my thoughts from past years (I elaborated more on certain rides in earlier posts), you can find 2017’s part 1 and part 2 here and 2018’s part 1, part 2, and part 3 here. And if you’d like to share your favorite Disney rides, feel free to do so in the comments below!
The Duck of Indeed 