When I first wrote about Walt Disney World and it's attractions, it was 2017 and it had been several years since I had last frequented the only place on earth you'll find me with a genuine smile on my face. I often daydream and envision myself there whenever I feel down as a coping mechanism with things that more often than not go horribly wrong in my lifetime. Some people have the beach, some have extravagant places like Bali, the Maldives or the Bahamas. My place was, is and will always be Disney World.
Since then, however, I'm pleased to say that I've gone back an additional two times and have another lengthy trip planned for 2027 for my mother's 60th birthday and...well, just because we want to go. We went last year in 2024 and had an absolute blast. We stayed for ten days at the Pop Century Resort and got to experience new things I hadn't done before, trying new meals, rides and shows as well as going back and revisiting our old friends. As for my 2019 trip, I'm convinced that trip saved me from spiraling back into my depression after several rough patches over the three years preceding it. My grandmother and I went and we had a shorter but also quite an intimate experience there. We both got to meet our favorite characters (Ariel for me and Chewbacca for her) and I continued to relish in things more than I did when I was a kid.
Which is a good thing, since Disney World has changed since 2011. It's changed a lot. Of the 10 Rides I had listed as my favorites back in 2017, half of the list has either been reimagined in some way or completely removed from sight in the never ending attempts by Disney to keep the parks new and vibrant for generations to see. While many old classics are still around, some have been retrofitted into newer experiences and some newer rides have definitely left a lasting impact on me.
I don't plan on changing my all time favorite rides, so instead, I figured I'd look through all of the new rides I've been on and rank them from 10 to 1 in terms of which of them were my favorites, based on my last two most recent trips. And if I'm not mistaken, there will be even more to experience when we go in 2027, as Disney has announced a massive overhaul of many areas of their parks in Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disney's Animal Kingdom and the Magic Kingdom. So, without further ado, let's take a look at the new rides I've seen and how I thought of them (there are some rides I didn't even know existed until these more recent trips)
Firstly, some honorable mentions:
"Na'Vi River Journey" - a Dark Ride at Disney's Animal Kingdom where you see an up close and personal look at the world of Pandora. It's tame and definitely something to use to escape the heat, but not something I would want to ride multiple times in a single trip, kinda like Peter Pan's Flight.
"Tom Sawyer's Island" - Believe it or not, my first ever trip to Tom Sawyer's Island was in 2024. Why hadn't we gone before? I don't know. Ask my past self. Since this area is no longer accessible, I will just say that it was once the perfect place to escape from crowds. The island was empty but 100% explorable. My only regret was that they didn't have the food stand open there and we were definitely parched after a day at Magic Kingdom. It's being changed into a Cars extension to Frontierland and the upcoming Villains Land, so I'm not too sad this one is gone.
"Journey into YOUR Imagination" - I don't understand the beef people have with this ride. I get the original was nostalgic and iconic to them, but this ride is cute and always a light line to venture through. As you'll see in my countdown, Epcot wasn't a park I used to frequent too much as a kid, but I have appreciated it more and more as I've gotten older. And this ride is another thing to admire. Figment, the Imaginary Dragon, takes you on a quest to find your imagination with the help of Eric Idle. And there's a fun play area there too. Again, what's the beef about?
"Alien Swirling Saucers" - Nothing too much to say about this one. Just a fun carnival style ride in the Toy Story area of Disney's Hollywood Studios (you have no idea how hard it is to type that since I default to MGM).
"Frozen Ever After" - I rode this one before. Back when it was called Maelstrom. It's fine now, but I definitely liked the historical look back for the Scandinavians. Still a fun ride, though.
"Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Coaster" - This one is only an Honorable Mention because we didn't get ot ride it. We had a Virtual Queue lined up for it at 515, but it got pushed back until we were eating dinner at Biergarten and thus had to pass on it. Our waitress said we could probably walk onto the line as it got later, but we decided to do a different ride instead. I've heard nothing but good things about this, though, so here's hoping for 2027.
"Tiana's Bayou Adventure" - I remember when this one was based on a movie Disney doesn't like to talk about...now it's, based on a movie Disney also doesn't acknowledge enough. This one wasn't open yet when we went last year, so hoping it's as memorable as Splash Mountain was, though since that was my favorite ride, I have my doubts.
"Castaway Creek" - Remember how I said there were things I hadn't done before? Well, we went to the Water Parks for the first time last year and fell in love with Typhoon Lagoon. In fact, we loved it so much we only did two rides. One is their lazy river which serves as a way to traverse the entire park as it winds around the entire water park. The other...well, we'll get to it eventually...
"Toy Story Mania" - This one came so close to cracking the Top 10. It's a 3D arcade style shooter where you and your fellow ride partner hit as many targets and score as many points as possible. I love this one so much, but alas, it just barely missed making the list.
"Under the Sea: Journey of The Little Mermaid" - A Dark Ride themed to one of my favorite movies?! Hell yeah! Honestly would have cracked the list if this was the only Ariel based thing in the area, but since the meet and greet is right next to it, sorry not sorry.
"The Seas with Nemo and Friends" - Like I said, we rarely touched Epcot back in the day. This one is more for the after show aquarium for me. The ride itself usually has no wait time and is cute enough with all the references to Finding Nemo. This is usually a one and done for us each trip, unlike a few other rides in the park which we'll get to...
"Living With the Land" = Okay, I get it. I didn't do much in Epcot for years. Look, when I thought of Disney, I thought of the other three parks. Sue me, lol. In all honesty, learning about how they cultivate the plants and fish needed to feed the people of Epcot is nothing short of interesting for me. Plus, the ride's wait times are usually short, so I'm not the only one skipping this gem...
I think that's all of them...now, onto the list itself...
#10: Slinky Dog Dash (Disney's Hollywood Studios)
Roller Coasters tend to be the big draws in Disney World. The lines are usually super long and waits are usually worth it. Slinky Dog Dash is no exception, though the wait does tend to grate on you after a while. The signature ride of Toy Story Land, Slinky Dog Dash is a tame yet fun roller coaster where we ride on Slinky through a track personally made by Andy himself. The ride is a fun way to stay out of the heat, but usually a difficult ask for people to want to wait over an hour for. If it's got a relatively short wait, I think this ride is a guaranteed hit for you and your family. It's in the same Toy Story spirit that the rest of the rides are. Again, just make sure you packed water and maybe some of those electrolyte packs to add in for those super hot days.
#9: Millenium Falcon: Smuggler's Run (Disney's Hollywood Studios)
I'm still trying to figure out how Hondo Ohnaka got a hold of the Millenium Falcon (or how he's still alive after all this time), but I digress. If you've ever wanted to be directly involved in a mission while piloting, gunning or protecting the Millenium Falcon, now is your chance. The roles are doled out at random and most of the critical people of this ride tend to end up as Engineers cleaning up the eff ups of the other two classes, but I've never personally minded, unless it's a dumb kid piloting it (lol jk). Having done the piloting job myself, it's not an easy task, but if you all work together well enough, you should be able to complete your mission for Hondo and keep the Millenium Falcon in tact. If not, well...you'll have to answer to one of the greediest yet funniest characters in the Star Wars Universe. Definitely a must ride at least once for me. Hoping to be a gunner, which is the only one I haven't done yet, for my next trip.
#8: Soarin' Around the World (Epcot)
Yes, I don't go to Epcot enough and it deserves more respect than I give it. Otherwise, I'd miss out on gems like this. It's a motion simulator ride that brings you up and gives you the sights, scents and sounds of exploring around the world with Kronk himself Patrick Warburton as your skipper. You'll see valleys, savannahs, Sydney Harbor, Paris and other sights along the way (ironically many places you could have gone on vacation instead of Disney, as many point out). When I first heard of this ride's development from the History Channel's Modern Marvels episode on Disney World, I was intrigued but not too excited. I have since ridden this three times and love it more every time I have ridden it. This is an absolute treasure of a ride, one I hope doesn't change anytime soon. The only downside is that if you're wearing loose shoes, there is a small chance you might lose it, so try to keep them on your feet as tightly as possible. Or wear sneakers, I don't know.
#7: Flight of Passage (Animal Kingdom)
I'm neither a big fan of motion simulators or the Avatar Franchise, as many of you know. I prefer actual rides over the simulations, hence why I have next to no interest in going to Universal to see their simulators, even if some of their actual rides look awesome. While I cannot say this ride makes me feel that much better about either Avatar or these kinds of attractions in general, I will say that this is easily one of the best motion simulators I've ever been on. After you're made into your own personal avatar in the pre-show, you are able to command one of the Banshees as your Na'Vi and fly it around Pandora, all while you're strapped into an oddly shaped vehicle that jerks and bounces around as needed. The sights are what catch me off guard every time I go on this one. The score is also something worth admiring. To put it bluntly, this is one of those rides worth the 60+ minute wait it usually is unless you rope drop. And since DinoLand USA is gone now, I guess we'll be rope dropping this again when we go back. Because it's that damn good.
#6: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (Magic Kingdom)
As I was a fan of the original Snow White themed attraction in Magic Kingdom, once they announced they were updating Fantasyland, I was curious to see what their new Snow White ride would be. When I heard it was a roller coaster, I was initially skeptical, as I was afraid it would be one of those carnival travel coasters with one drop or something. I shouldn't have doubted Disney Imagineering, as this is easily one of the most unique Roller Coasters in all of Disney's history. It serves as both a Dark Ride and a Coaster, as you have multiple scenes of watching the Dwarfs in their mine doing their work as well as a scene at the end of them dancing with Snow White in the cottage. It's not an intense coaster by any means and it's wait time can often put Slinky's to shame, but it is yet again another stellar ride by Disney Imagineering that gives me hope that they'll make more rides like this and less motion simulators in the future. This is probably the signature attraction of Fantasyland and usually a high priority for rope dropping the parks, though we still go to Tomorrowland first. Hee Hee.
#5: Remy's Ratatouille Adventure (Epcot)
For years, I'd heard nothing but amazing rumors about trackless dark rides being in Tokyo Disneyland that got me to wondering why we hadn't been blessed with one yet in Orlando. Fortunately, we got three of them and they're all the next three rides we'll be talking about. We'll start with Remy's ride in the French Pavilion in Epcot. The reason this is low is because we rode this last after being at Epcot from Rope Drop to Closing. We were exhausted and waited nearly 75 minutes for this ride after getting spurned by Guardians of the Galaxy. But our grouchiness was immediately curbed when I got to witness one of the most fun and unique rides in Epcot. You take on the identity of a rat helping out in Gusteau's kitchen (I'm assuming during the events of the first movie). being chased by Skinner and trying to get food and help out with recipes for Remy and Linguini. Each ride is different from the last and there's so many different unique ways the ride system tricks you into thinking you'll go one way and then the next. Another masterpiece from Disney Imagineering.
#4. Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway (Disney's Hollywood Studios)
The theme song to this ride will never leave your head. No matter how much you try, and I've been trying for a year...when I first heard they'd be replacing "The Great Movie Ride" with a Mickey and Minnie themed ride with the art style from the 2010s Mickey Mouse Shorts, I was definitely put off. This ride hadn't opened yet when I was there in 2019, but I got to finally ride this in 2024. I wasn't a fan of the Mickey Mouse Shorts before 2024, but they've grown on me since I've come to look at them the same way I do The Looney Tunes Show in comparison to old Looney Tunes cartoons. It's not meant to be the Mickey shorts from my childhood or the old Disney Cartoons. It's chaotic energy that I absolutely love. And this ride captures all of that chaos. You're prepped by watching a cartoon of the "perfect picnic" between Mickey and Minnie, only for the cartoon to tear apart and prompt you to go inside and ride Goofy's train to try and figure out what happens in the cartoon. You take zigs and zags in multiple directions from encountering Pete, Donald and even joining Daisy's Dance Class, all in an attempt just to finish a single cartoon. This ride is a masterpiece. Probably the best thing that could have replaced The Great Movie Ride, save for a Muppets Parody.
#3: Star Wars: The Rise of the Resistance (Disney's Hollywood Studios)
The Crown Jewel of the Trackless Dark Rides in Disney World has to be Rise of the Resistance, however. There is just so much character in this ride, that it evokes both older rides in the park's lore with interactivity as well as some of the best and most interesting visuals in any ride Disney's done. You are recruited to join the Resistance and combat the First Order, but your first mission ends in colossal failure as you're captured by an army of Stormtroopers. Before you can be tortured for info, however, you manage to commandeer a ride vehicle that you try to use to escape the Star Destroyer you're held prisoner on, encounter AT-AT Walkers, stormtroopers and even Kylo Ren himself. You don't have to like the Sequel Trilogy or understand them to ride the ride and have fun, but it does add to the fun. This is easily one of the most fun and engaging rides in all of the Disney World resort. My only regret was that I only rode it once on my last trip. This is definitely a high priority ride for me on our next trip.
#2: Typhoon Lagoon Surf Pool (Typhoon Lagoon)
When it comes to Water Parks, I'm generally a Slide and Lazy River type of guy. I'm usually not one for the Wave Pool, as it's usually just swimming around with the occasional rush of light waves making swimming slightly more challenging. The Surf Pool in Typhoon Lagoon completely flips that concept on it's head. Instead of a few slightly larger waves than usual appearing every few minutes, every 90 seconds there is one massive wave that absolutely rips into anyone brave enough to swim out past four feet depth. These waves truly make you feel like you're at the beach trying to catch waves and surf. I spent north of 2 hours in the Wave Pool alone on our last trip, so much so that my mom had time to go to the bathroom and grab a beer for herself two separate times. With the new deal Disney is announcing regarding going to both water parks on your first day for free if you stay on property, this is easily a deal we shall exploit, just to come here. I don't even need to see Blizzard Beach at this rate. Typhoon Lagoon has won me. Easily the best thing about the park and I've yet to even do some of the more thrilling slides or even the water coaster.
#1: TRON Lightcycle Run (Magic Kingdom)
Not only is this ride based on a criminally underrated franchise that Disney is finally giving attention to again with a new film in the franchise, but this ride is hands down one of, if not the best roller coaster in all of Walt Disney World. Though I failed to snag a ride on Guardians in our 10 Day Stay at Disney last year, we did get to ride this gem, twice. Once on our third day and once on our ninth, thanks to the Virtual Queue, which is no longer needed to ride this treasure of a ride. You are brought onto the Game Grid and convinced to ride on behalf of users and against the evil programs of the Tron Universe. You sit yourself on a "lightcycle" and go down a short path before rocketing into the air at a lightning fast take off that filled me with so much adrenaline that I used that to coast through an entire rest of our stay in Magic Kingdom from rope drop to fireworks. While my Mom took a break midday, I stayed in the park and rode a bunch of rides on my own until she returned for our TRON ride. And we both adored this one. This is one of her favorites, though she claims she had her eyes shut on the first ride. This one may actually make it into my favorite all time Disney Rides soon. Though a short ride in comparison to Space Mountain or Thunder Mountain, this one absolutely deserves at least a peek if you're a fan of thrills, which this ride delivers in spades.
