Subsonic Radio

I got bored one day and thought it might be fun to compile a top 50 list that would reflect upon the entire canon of Disney World rides & shows. It wound up being a rather difficult task but I managed to do it. I tried to be somewhat objective in my approach, although it's fairly obvious that I'm partial to the older attractions. You guys can debate the merit of this list and perhaps even submit your own list (not necessarily a top 50). Without further ado, here it is:

50. ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter (Magic Kingdom, 1995-2003)

49. Honey, I Shrunk the Audience (EPCOT, 1994-)

48. It's Tough to Be a Bug (Animal Kingdom, 1998-)

47. Kali River Rapids (Animal Kingdom, 1999-)

46. Maelstrom (EPCOT, 1988-)

45. The Walt Disney World Railroad (Magic Kingdom, 1971-)

44. Skyway (Magic Kingdom, 1971-1999)

43. Delta Dreamflight/Take Flight (Magic Kingdom, 1989-1998)

42. Mission: SPACE (EPCOT, 2003-)

41. Star Tours (Disney's Hollywood Studios, 1989-)

40. If You Had Wings (Magic Kingdom, 1972-1987)

39. Tropical Serenade/The Enchanted Tiki Room (Magic Kingdom, 1971-1998)

38. The Hall of Presidents (Magic Kingdom, 1971-)

37. Snow White's (Scary) Adventures (Magic Kingdom, 1994-)

36. Magic Journeys (EPCOT & Magic Kingdom, 1982-1986 & 1987-1993)

35. Cranium Command (EPCOT, 1989-2007)

34. Country Bear Jamboree (Magic Kingdom, 1971-)

33. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Magic Kingdom, 1999-)

32. Universe of Energy (EPCOT, 1982-1996)

31. The Timekeeper (Magic Kingdom, 1994-2006)

30. The WEDway PeopleMover/Tommorrowland Transit Authority (Magic Kingdom, 1975-)

29. Test Track (EPCOT, 1999-)

28. Countdown to Extinction/Dinosaur (Animal Kingdom, 1998-)

27. Jungle Cruise (Magic Kingdom, 1971-)

26. The Living Seas (EPCOT, 1986-2005)

25. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Magic Kingdom, 1971-1994)

24. Mickey’s PhilarMagic (Magic Kingdom, 2003-)

23. Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin (Magic Kingdom, 1998-)

22. Muppet Vision 3D (Disney’s Hollywood Studios, 1991-)

21. Soarin’ (EPCOT, 2005-)

20. Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster (Disney’s Hollywood Studios, 1999-)

19. Expedition Everest (Animal Kingdom, 2005-)

18. Listen to the Land/Living with the Land (EPCOT, 1982-)

17. Kilimanjaro Safaris (Animal Kingdom, 1998-)

16. The Great Movie Ride (Disney's Hollywood Studios, 1989-)

15. The American Adventure (EPCOT, 1982-)

14. Carousel of Progress (Magic Kingdom, 1974-)

13. It's a Small World (Magic Kingdom, 1971-)

12. Space Mountain (Magic Kingdom, 1975-)

11. Peter Pan's Flight (Magic Kingdom, 1971-)

10. Journey Into Imagination (EPCOT, 1983-1998)

09. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (Magic Kingdom, 1971-1998)

08. World of Motion (EPCOT, 1982-1996)

07. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Magic Kingdom, 1980-)

06. The Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror (Disney's Hollywood Studios, 1994-)

05. Horizons (EPCOT, 1983-1999)

04. Spaceship Earth (EPCOT, 1982-)

03. Splash Mountain (Magic Kingdom, 1992-)

02. Pirates of the Caribbean (Magic Kingdom, 1973-)

01. The Haunted Mansion (Magic Kingdom, 1971-)

47. Kali River Rapids (Animal Kingdom, 1999-)

Man, I thought your list made pretty good sense, except for this one. I thought this ride was much better than this. It was one of my favorites last year. I guess it's all opinion.

Captain Eo didn't make the list.....

Wow, what a list! You put in an amazing amount of work, and it's hard to debate any of your choices. For me, though, I would have to rank the top 5 like this:

5) Kilaminjaro Safari's
4) Soarin'
3) Haunted Mansion
2) Splash Mountain
1) Fantasmic!

OK, Fantasmic isn't a ride, but there's nothing quite like it on Earth. If I could only do five things at Disney World, it would be the 5 above.

Oh wow! Mr Toad's Wild Ride beat Journey Into Imagination (EPCOT, 1983-1998)

Figment of Imagination wrote:Oh wow! Mr Toad's Wild Ride beat Journey Into Imagination (EPCOT, 1983-1998)

Initially I placed Imagination ahead of Toad, as it seems to be more popular and more extensive in scope and detail. But eventually I went with Toad for a number of reasons:

1) Just to be audacious and controversial
2) I feel it is more thematically related to World of Motion (a ride I think is a little bit better than Imagination).
3) It has some of Disney's best caricatures.
4) To initiate a re-evaluation of the ride, which has long been overlooked as little more than a carnival ride rather than a resourceful, abstract adventure into the subconscious.

As with most lists the rankings are fairly arbitrary. I could have easily just listed the rides in alphabetical order.

I think my list would be nearly the same as yours. There's a few swaps I would make like the already mentioned WoM and JII and I would also switch Horizons and SSE, but that's all nitty gritty. Mine would probably be nearly identical.

However, Test Track wouldn't even make my cut. I was surprised to see some of the attractions that Test Track beat on your list. It used to be one of my favorites, but the more I ride it the more I realize how boring it is and how it was just so disney could be cheap on the theming. Plywood pine trees .

metsofny wrote:47. Kali River Rapids (Animal Kingdom, 1999-)

Man, I thought your list made pretty good sense, except for this one. I thought this ride was much better than this. It was one of my favorites last year. I guess it's all opinion.

My apologies. I personally don't find Kali River Rapids as emotionally powerful or artistically inventive as most of the other rides on the list. But it isn't one that I have experienced many times so it might be better than what I remember. Perhaps I should reconsider its ranking.

Cheshire Cat wrote:However, Test Track wouldn't even make my cut. I was surprised to see some of the attractions that Test Track beat on your list. It used to be one of my favorites, but the more I ride it the more I realize how boring it is and how it was just so disney could be cheap on the theming. Plywood pine trees .

I have to agree, the only enjoyable thing about Test Track is the speed test at the end. The rest is just a really expensive GM advertisment

Cheshire Cat wrote:I think my list would be nearly the same as yours. There's a few swaps I would make like the already mentioned WoM and JII and I would also switch Horizons and SSE, but that's all nitty gritty. Mine would probably near identical.

As with Toad and Imagination, I almost put Horizons ahead of SSE. I think it's more ambitious and is a more unique concept than SSE. Furthermore, it is the synthesis of everything in EPCOT. Ultimately I went with SSE because I feel it is (or was) a more visually immersive experience than Horizons, and perhaps a more relevant ride. Also on a superficial level, Horizons' vision of a future where everybody wears jumpsuits does not hold up well in 2008. Nevertheless, both are amazing feats in theme park design.

Cheshire Cat wrote:However, Test Track wouldn't even make my cut. I was surprised to see some of the attractions that Test Track beat on your list. It used to be one of my favorites, but the more I ride it the more I realize how boring it is and how it was just so disney could be cheap on the theming. Plywood pine trees .

I'm not really a fan of Test Track either but I appreciate its technological innovations. I think the concept is good, but the actual ride itself is visually lackluster and not as insightful as one might expect. Nonetheless, I think it is a more substantial experience than Mission:SPACE and has the potential to be a better attraction.

I think my top 20 or so would be almost identical. Lower than that there's a lot of jockeying for placement. I couldn't put the original Universe of Energy that high up the list, for example. Unless I fell asleep riding it and it snuck up there.

This is a cool idea. I've never thought about ranking my top -50- attractions before. Might have to give that a whirl and see if I can do it without having a lot of ties. It sounds hard.

Good list! However, I'm more into the newer rides, but the classics are still among some of my faves.

Personally, here's my top 5:

5) Splash Mountain
4) Haunted Mansion
3) Kilamanjaro Safaris
2) Rock n' Rollercoaster
1) Soarin'

I can't believe two of my top 5 were left out of this:

5. Test Track
4. Buzz Lightyear
3. Tomorrowland Speedway
2. Mad Tea Party
1. Kilamanjaro Safari

Also, some that would be on my 50 that were left out are Dumbo the flying elephant and the Astro Orbiter.

That's a comprehensive list! Nice work! Not sure how the rest of you feel but I'd have included the monorail in there somewhere. I know it's not a "ride or show" and belongs to no particular park unless you consider it to belong to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, but there's something about the monorail. I usually stay at the Boardwalk. I go out of my way at least once or twice to take the monorail from Epcot to the TTC and then to the Magic Kingdom and vice versa. I remember as a kid it being the first "ride" you would go on. The anticipation of getting to the parks alone was worth the ride! Just one man's opinion....

kcarts, I have to agree with you on that. We actually planned our day so we could do the Epcot to MK route with the monorail. We also chose restaurants in the MK resort area for dinner that have the monorail service so we can enjoy doing the resort loop.

It's nice to see World of Motion, Journey into Imagination and Horizons in your top 10. I wonder why "the powers that be" couldn't see that.
I would have to put Soarin in my top 5. Maybe even top 3.