#10- Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain (Disney's Animal Kingdom - WDW)
2006 - Present
116 total points
Appeared on 7 of 16 Lists. Top vote: #1 (Elizabeth S.)
Expedition Everest — Legend of the Forbidden Mountain is a steel roller coaster at Disney's Animal Kingdom park themed around an excursion in the Himalayas concluding with an encounter with the legendary yeti.
Expedition Everest is listed in the 2011 book of Guinness World Records as the most expensive roller coaster in the world; including sets and extras, its total cost was reported to be US$100 million, following 6 years of planning and construction. At 199 feet, it is the tallest of the artificial mountains in Disney parks around the world.
The yeti is the largest and most complex audio-animatronic figure ever built by Walt Disney Imagineering. It is 22 feet tall and its movement is controlled by 19 actuators (when functioning in "A-mode", its full mode of operation). It can move 5 ft (1.5 m) horizontally and 2 ft (0.61 m) vertically when functioning in "A-mode".
The yeti has not been in full "A-mode" operation since a few months after the ride's opening,when its framing split, causing significant risk of catastrophic malfunction if it were operated. It currently only operates in the alternative "B-mode", which is limited to a strobe-light effect with wind being blown on the figure to give the appearance of movement, earning it the nickname "Disco Yeti". The problem was caused by damage to the yeti's concrete base structure, which is unlikely to be repaired until a major refurbishment in the distant future, because the design limits access to the yeti without major disassembly of the superstructure.
#9- Soarin' (Epcot, WDW) Soarin' Over California (Disney's California Adventure)
2001 (DCA) 2005 (Epcot) - Present
139 total points
Appeared on 10 of 16 Lists. Top vote: #2 (Elizabeth S.)
Soarin' Over California is a simulator attraction at Disney California Adventure and Walt Disney World's Epcot park. The ride employs a mechanical lift system for the seats, a film presentation on a large concave projection screen, and, at certain points, artificial scents to simulate flight via a hang glider ride over several California landmarks. The ride's soundtrack was written by Jerry Goldsmith.
The attraction, which lasts about four minutes and 51 seconds, takes 87 guests at a time on a simulated hang glider tour of California, flying over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Redwood Creek in Humboldt County, Napa Valley, Monterey, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park (including Yosemite Falls and Half Dome), the PGA West Palmer Course in La Quinta (credited in the queue video presentation as Palm Springs), Camarillo, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, San Diego, Malibu, Los Angeles, and Disneyland itself during the Christmas season. The last few scenes transition from daytime to dusk and then to night, culminating in Disneyland's Holiday fireworks surrounding the riders in the nighttime sky.
In addition to the state's various landscapes, the ride also highlights its diverse recreation, including snow skiing, river rafting, kayaking, golf, horseback riding, hot air ballooning and of course, hang gliding. The USAF Thunderbirds and aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) at Naval Base San Diego are also featured. An original score by film composer Jerry Goldsmith accompanies the imagery, and appropriate scents (citrus, pine, sagebrush, ocean mist) fill the air as the ride vehicles themselves move gently to simulate the sensations of flight.
Soarin' Over California was first conceptualized in 1996 as "Ultra Flight," a name which can still be seen on the tower consoles of the California Adventure attraction. It was to feature an OMNIMAX screen with an inverted track allowing guests to fly over California's landmarks. The attraction would have three load levels and the system would operate on a horizontal cable, much like a dry cleaner's rack. This plan was abandoned, however, when it was determined that the construction and labor costs for that design would be prohibitive. It seemed that Soarin' wouldn't become a reality until engineer Mark Sumner developed a different idea for the ride vehicles, using an Erector Set and string to create a working model. This design would allow Disney to efficiently load guests on one level instead of three, thus cutting construction and labor costs greatly.
#8 - Star Tours (Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios, WDW)
1987 (Disneyland) 1989 (WDW) - Present
157 total points
Appeared on 10 of 16 Lists. Top vote: #3 (TMBG12)
Star Tours is a motion simulator attraction themed around a shuttle transportation trip in the Star Wars universe. The ride is based on the successful Star Wars film series created by George Lucas. At its debut at Disneyland in 1987, it was the first Disney attraction based on a non-Disney produced film.
The ride that became Star Tours first saw light as a proposal for an attraction based on the 1979 Disney live-action film The Black Hole. It would have been an interactive ride-simulator attraction where guests would have had the ability to choose the route. However, after preliminary planning the Black Hole attraction was shelved due to its enormous cost—approximately $50 million USD—as well as the unpopularity of the film itself.
Instead of completely dismissing the idea of a simulator, the company decided to make use of a partnership between Disney and George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, that began in 1986 with the opening of Captain EO (a 3-D musical film starring Michael Jackson) at the California park. Disney then approached Lucas with the idea for Star Tours. With Lucas' approval, Disney Imagineers purchased four military-grade flight simulators at a cost of $500,000 each and designed the ride structure.
The original budget for Star Tours was $32 million - approximately twice the amount that the entire Disneyland park cost to build in 1955.
In 2010, the ride was refurbished to include high definition displays, 3D technology, advanced Audio Animatronics and a new random ride sequence that allows for 54 unique ride experiences.
#7 - Toy Story: Midway Mania (Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios, WDW)
2008 - Present
157 total points
Appeared on 10 of 16 Lists. Top vote: #2 (Amanda G.)
Toy Story Midway Mania is an interactive 4-D theme park shooter attraction that shrinks riders down to the size of Andy's toys and sets them loose in a variety of 3-D carnival style games.
The attraction features five mini-games after a practice round, each of which includes at least one "Easter egg" that can trigger additional targets or gameplay changes. These games include:
- Pie Throw Practice Booth (pie toss target practice game, a no points introduction)
- Hamm & Eggs (egg throw game now featuring Buttercup from Toy Story 3)
- Rex and Trixie's Dino Darts (dart throw game; once Bo Peep's Baa-loon Pop)
- Green Army Men Shoot Camp (baseball throw / plate breaking game)
- Buzz Lightyear's Flying Tossers (ring toss game)
- Woody's Rootin' Tootin' Shootin' Gallery (suction cup shooting game)
The line at both parks features a large Mr. Potato Head Audio-Animatronics figure that interacts with guests through pre-recorded snippets of dialogue performed by comedian Don Rickles, who voiced the character in the Toy Story films. The sophisticated figure identifies people in the audience, sings and tells jokes.
#6 - Pirates of the Caribbean (Disneyland and WDW's Magic Kingdom)
1967 (Disneyland), 1973 (WDW) - Present
169 total points
Appeared on 12 of 16 Lists. Top vote: #2 (Wesley D.)
Pirates of the Caribbean is a dark ride at Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Park in Paris. The original version at Disneyland, which opened in 1967, was the last attraction whose construction was overseen by Walt Disney himself; he died three months before it opened. The ride, which originally told the story of a band of pirates including their troubles and their exploits, was replicated at the Magic Kingdom in 1973, at Tokyo Disneyland in 1983, and at Disneyland Paris in 1992. Each version of the ride has a different façade, but has a similar ride experience.
The ride is known for giving rise to the song "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" written by George Bruns and Xavier Atencio. It also became the basis for the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, which debuted in 2003. Since 2006, Disney has incrementally incorporated characters from the film series into the Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland versions of the rides.
The ride was originally envisioned to be a walk-through wax museum attraction. It is located within the New Orleans Square portion of Disneyland, its facade evoking antebellum era New Orleans, topped by a 31-star United States flag (which would indicate the 1850s). The second floor of the facade was originally designed to be a private Disney family apartment. The Blue Bayou Restaurant within the ride opened the same day as the attraction, and is considered one of the original theme restaurants.
The position of the pieces on the chess board in the attraction's pre-show is not random. Marc Davis carefully arranged the pieces so that any move will result in a stalemate; thus, the skeletons have been playing the same game since 1973. The pieces were accidentally moved during a minor refurbishment and were not returned to their proper positions until someone found Marc Davis's original sketches.
#5 - Splash Mountain (Disneyland and WDW's Magic Kingdom)
1989 (Disneyland), 1992 (WDW) - Present
169 total points
Appeared on 10 of 16 Lists. Top vote: #1 (Susan H.)
Splash Mountain is a log flume-style dark ride at Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, and the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort, based on the characters, stories, and songs from the 1946 Disney film Song of the South. Although there are variations in the story and features between the three locations, each installation begins with a peaceful outdoor float-through that leads to indoor dark ride segments, with a climactic steep drop into a "briar patch" followed by an indoor finale. The drop is 53 feet.
The idea for Splash Mountain was originally conceived in the summer of 1983 by Imagineer Tony Baxter while stuck in rush hour traffic on his way to work. He wanted to attract guests to the often-empty Bear Country land and make use of the Audio-Animatronics from America Sings, which were also receiving poor attendance. It was Dick Nunis who insisted that the Imagineers create a log flume for Disneyland, but the Imagineers were initially unenthusiastic about it, insisting that log flumes were too ordinary a theme park attraction to include in a park like Disneyland. While trying to solve the problems of including a log flume, bringing people into Bear Country and reusing the America Sings characters, Baxter then thought of Song of the South.
At the time it was built, Splash Mountain was one of the most expensive projects created by Walt Disney Imagineering at a cost of $75 million. According to Alice Davis (wife of the late Marc Davis), when America Sings closed in April 1988, production of Disneyland's Splash Mountain had gone far over budget. The only way to recover was to close down America Sings and use the characters from that attraction.
Baxter and his team developed the concept of Zip-a-Dee River Run, which would incorporate scenes from Song of the South. The name was later changed to Splash Mountain after then-CEO Michael Eisner's mostly-ignored suggestion that the attraction be used to help market the film Splash. The characters from America Sings were used in many scenes, though all of the main characters were specifically designed for Splash Mountain.
#4 - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Disneyland and WDW's Magic Kingdom)
1980 (WDW), 1979 (DL) - Present
171 total points
Appeared on 11 of 16 Lists. Top vote: #1 (Emily W.)
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (often shortened to Big Thunder Mountain or Thunder Mountain) is an indoor/outdoor mine train roller coaster located in Frontierland at several Disneyland-style Disney Parks worldwide. The attraction tells the story of a railroad line through a cursed gold mine.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was designed by Imagineer Tony Baxter and ride design engineer Bill Watkins. The concept came from Baxter's work on fellow Imagineer Marc Davis's concept for the Western River Expedition, a western-themed pavilion at the Magic Kingdom, designed to look like an enormous plateau and contain many rides, including a runaway mine train roller coaster. However, because the pavilion as a whole, was deemed too expensive in light of the 1973 construction and opening of Pirates of the Caribbean, Baxter proposed severing the mine train and building it as a separate attraction.
The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad project was put on hold again in 1974 as resources and personnel were being diverted to work on constructing Space Mountain over in Tomorrowland, but this delay may have ultimately produced a smoother ride as the use of computers in attraction design was just beginning when the project was resumed. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was one of the first Disney rides to utilize computer-aided design.
#3 - Space Mountain (Disneyland and WDW's Magic Kingdom)
1980 (WDW), 1979 (DL) - Present
220 total points
Appeared on 13 of 16 Lists. Top vote: #1 (Kristen R.)
Space Mountain is a space-themed indoor roller coaster attraction located at all five Magic Kingdom-style Disney Parks across the world. Although all five versions of the attraction are different in nature, all have a similar domed exterior façade that is a landmark for the respective park. The first Space Mountain ride opened in 1975 at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, and similar attractions were then eventually built at the other Disney parks.
Space Mountain concept was a descendant of the first Disney "mountain" attraction, the Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland, which opened in 1959.The Matterhorn's success had convinced Walt Disney that thrilling rides did have a place in his park.
A new Matterhorn Bobsleds attraction was considered, but it wouldn't fit within Florida's Fantasyland. Ultimately, designers returned to designing Space Mountain. The Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland had the right amount of available land, and computing technology had improved significantly since the initial design phases. However, it was decided the mountain would be built outside the park, on the opposite side of the train tracks that act as the perimeter of the park.
The success of Walt Disney World's Space Mountain prompted designers to revisit their original plan to build one for Disneyland. The track layout was different from that in Florida because of space limitations in the California park, but the California version was the first to feature on-board music. The Florida version has since added "Starry-O-Phonic" sound, achieved by speakers placed throughout the ride building.
#2 - The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (Disney's California Adventure and Disney's Hollywood Studios (WDW)
1994 (WDW), 2004 (DL) - Present
224 total points
Appeared on 11 of 16 Lists. Top vote: #1 (Bill H., Ryan W. and Mike T.)
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is an accelerated drop tower thrill ride based upon the famous television show The Twilight Zone, taking place in a fictionalized version of an actual location, The Hollywood Tower Hotel.
The inspiration behind this theming is located in Hollywood, California. The Tokyo version, which features an original storyline not derived from The Twilight Zone (due to the TV show being relatively less recognized in Japan), takes place in the fictional Hotel Hightower. The three Twilight Zone-based versions and the unique Tokyo version all place riders in a vehicle themed old hotel elevator, and present riders with a fictional back story in which people mysteriously disappeared from a hotel elevator under the influence of some supernatural element many years prior.
The Tower of Terror buildings are among the tallest found at their respective Disney resorts. At 199 feet (60.7 m), the Florida version is the second tallest attraction building at the Walt Disney World Resort, shorter only than Expedition Everest's 199.5 feet (60.8 m). If the building had been 200 feet or higher, state law would have required lights at the top of the structure, so in an effort to keep the building authentic, the Imagineers stopped just short. At the Disneyland Resort, the 183-foot (55.8 m) structure is the tallest attraction at the resort, as well as one of the tallest buildings in Anaheim
The Florida version of the attraction features both a horizontal dark ride component, where the elevator leaves its original shaft and enters the drop shaft, and a random drop sequence, so that every ride is unique. In an effort to save money on construction, the entire California Adventure version takes place in one drop shaft.
#1 - The Haunted Mansion (Disneyland and WDW's Magic Kingdom)
1969 (DL), 1971(WDW) - Present
249 total points
Appeared on 15 of 16 Lists. Top vote: #1 (Mike W. and TMBG12)
The Haunted Mansion is a haunted house dark ride located at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom (Walt Disney World), and Tokyo Disneyland. Phantom Manor, a significantly re-imagined version of the Haunted Mansion, is located exclusively in Disneyland Paris. The newest rendition at Hong Kong Disneyland is called Mystic Manor.
The Haunted Mansion features a ride-through tour in Omnimover vehicles called "Doom Buggies," preceded by a walk-through show in the queue. The attraction utilizes a range of technology, from centuries-old theatrical effects to modern special effects and spectral Audio-Animatronics.
Marc Davis and Claude Coats, two of the mansion's main designers, disagreed whether the ride should be scary or funny. Claude, originally a background artist, wanted a scary adventure, and produced renditions of moody surroundings like endless hallways, corridors of doors and other characterless environments. Marc, an animator and character designer, proposed many zany spook characters and thought the ride should be silly and full of gags. In the end, both artists got their ways when X Atencio combined their approaches and ideas, creating an entertaining transition from dark foreboding to "spirited" fun.
The ghosts in the ballroom are commonly believed to be holograms. However, all the ghosts in the ballroom scene are created using a clever variation of Pepper's Ghost, an illusion invented in the mid-19th century. The version of the illusion in the Haunted Mansion works like this: a row of columns in front of the mezzanine are supporting gigantic panes of glass, which are nearly invisible to guests. The "ghosts" are merely the reflections in the glass of Audio-Animatronics figures, located in rooms above and below the mezzanine, where the walls are painted entirely black. The Audio-Animatronics figures of the ghosts that appear on or near the floor are located below the mezzanine, while those of the ghosts which appear near the ceiling are located above the mezzanine. None of the reflections are at the guests' eye level, since that would require the Audio-Animatronics figures to be located in a place visible to guests.
The foyer, stretching room, and ride narration was performed by Paul Frees in the role of the Ghost Host. Grim Grinning Ghosts was composed by Buddy Baker and the lyrics were written by X Atencio. It can be heard in nearly every area of the ride, with various instrumentations and tempos. Contrary to popular belief, "Grim Grinning Ghosts" is not performed by the Mellomen, but rather by a pickup group. The only member of the Mellomen heard is that of the deep bass voice of Thurl Ravenscroft (best known for voicing Tony the Tiger in television commercials and How the Grinch Stole Christmas), who sings as part of a quintet of singing busts in the graveyard scene. Ravenscroft's face is used as well, projected onto the bust. His face is often confused with that of Walt Disney himself.
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