My 10 Favorite Disney World Attractions
American Adventure
In discussing this attraction’s greatness in the previous post, I remarked on its technical impressiveness and quality as a stage show. Now, I’ll turn my attention to its timeless message and importance to Americans. (Seriously.) While I’ve always enjoyed its patriotic tone, and the way it made me feel invigorated by the end, my appreciation of American Adventure has evolved over time.
Recently, I’ve come to appreciate its ability to unite us as citizens while touching upon moments in history that are both bright and dark. Given its status as a theme park attraction, it never delves into these too deeply, but just that they are there, and that people from all walks of life can find common ground, is something.
The final lines of the American Adventure, most notably, “the golden age never was the present age…” seem especially poignant, as if they could have been written in anticipation of today. Yet, people have likely always found those lines to be prescient, and that’s the point. To that end, another line from the attraction sticks in my mind: “this great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive, and will prosper.”
Impressions de France
Putting the France pavilion’s attraction above American Adventure might make me distinctly patriotic, but the reality is that they’re both must dos for us. Recently, we’ve probably watched Impressions de France more for the sake of research and motivation, to be perfectly honest.
I’ve said it before, but I think Impressions de France is the best film in all of Epcot. That does not just include the World Showcase films, but also Soarin’. I know very few people are inclined to agree with me, but I find Impressions de France to be more immersive despite not having the same engrossing ‘ride’ experience.
What Impressions de France lacks in immersive elements, it makes up for with a lack of contrived transitions, over the top CGI, and distracting distortions. Beyond that, Impressions de France has a beautiful, chills-inducing score, timeless visuals (aside from a few dated outfits), and an expansive, breathtaking showcase of scenery.
All of this combines to make it the most compelling travelogue I’ve ever watched. Thus far, we’ve visited just over half of the filming locations in Impressions de France, with the locations around Cannes and the French Alps being the remaining major spots on our list.
Carousel of Progress
Carousel of Progress is adored by many a Disney fan for its rich history. The fact that a famous NFL star and his brother wrote its song. The fact that the second scene was originally Walt Disney’s apartment when he used to visit Magic Kingdom. The fact that it used to be sponsored by a popcorn tycoon who made contractual demands that he appear (twice) in the attraction. The fact that it contains the only laser disc player in the United States still in use. (Note: above facts may be of the alternative variety.)
In fact, Carousel of Progress does have a rich history, and although that’s part of its place as an undeniable classic, that only plays a small part in why I love it so much. First of all, there’s personal nostalgia. I remember frequent visits here as a child. Thanks to that, the Carousel of Progress family feels like actual family.
That feeling also exists, and even endures, because the Carousel of Progress characters have so much character. This is something I’ll get into more with the next attraction, but I’m really drawn to attractions that develop their characters, and give them personality. Probably more than any other attraction at Walt Disney World, the ‘Progress’ family has this, and it’s always enjoyable to grow old with them, so to speak.
For me, this overcomes the problems that nag at Carousel of Progress, and prevent it from being an objectively great (or perhaps even objectively good?) attraction. It really bothers me that Walt Disney World refuses to invest even a few thousand dollars to clean up the blatantly-dated aspects of the final scene, much less won’t give the finale the full-scale update it so desperately needs…and has needed for well over a decade (I’d argue reverting it to its original Worlds’ Fair form and framing it as retro-futuristic is the best course).
Country Bear Jamboree
For so many people I’ve encountered, enjoyment of Country Bear Jamboree hinges upon whether they enjoy folk or country music. If they don’t, all of the bears in the world cannot save this attraction for them.
Personally, Bob Dylan’s forays into them aside, these musical genres are not my jam. The thing is, Country Bear Jamboree is not a simple country music concert performed by robotic bears. Instead, it’s simultaneously a love-letter to the genre, and a send-up of stereotypical Southern life. It borders on social satire, and in the process contains some of the best witty and irreverent humor ever showcased in a Disney theme park.
Most importantly, its irreverent humor is delivered in a playful and fun manner. Even as Country Bear Jamboree spoofs hillbilly culture, it does so in way that’s unlikely to offend. I grew up in rural Michigan and lived in Indiana for years, and rather than finding this humor offensive because it hits too close to home, I laugh at its astuteness.
Perhaps I just enjoy self-deprecating humor, but I think Country Bear Jamboree is a hoot, and one that makes me nod silently while laughing. When Big Al first appears, I think we all can relate. Who among us has not sat on our porch shirtless and shoeless, with jugs of empty moonshine scattered around our couch while watching the cars pass? (No? Just me. Okay then.)
Beyond Country Bear Jamboree’s catchy music and irreverent humor, the characters are excellent. Even though the runtime is fairly short (and shorter now than it used to be!), the character development is strong. By the end of the show, you have a good sense of each bear’s personality and their quirks.
When I think of the best theme park characters from Walt Disney World, Figment, Dreamfinder, Sonny Eclipse, and about 8 of the Country Bears come to mind. Talk about a strong ensemble! Country Bear Jamboree is like the Wet Hot American Summer of theme park attraction casts.
At the end of the day, none of this should really be necessary to persuade you that Country Bear Jamboree is among the best attractions at Walt Disney World. If you’re against singing, robotic bears, you are against America. It’s as simple as that.
TTA Peoplemover
This is the attraction we do more than any other at Walt Disney World. On the one hand, I love the Peoplemover for the laid back experience that it does offer. On the other hand, I feel like there are so many opportunities for easy, significant improvements to be made to the show scenes, narration, and atmosphere that would really improvement the experience. The failure of Disney to make these “little fixes” irritates me, because the attraction really deserves better.
While its unrealized potential really bothers me, what I appreciate about the Peoplemover is that it forces us to slow down, decompress, and converse. It’s the ultimate change of pace attraction, and for us, it presents the perfect opportunity to embrace why we visit Walt Disney World in the first place: to have fun together. So many other attractions engage you, individually, with the show scenes and ride experience, itself.
Because the show scenes are weak to non-existent, the Peoplemover does this to a far lesser degree than most other attractions. Largely, the TTA is pretty much whatever you want it to be. If you want a place to enjoy the nighttime ambiance of Tomorrowland, it’s that. If you want an attraction for socializing, it can be that. If you want to get off your feet and feel a nice breeze, it’s that. Heck, if you want a leisurely place to catch up on work emails, it can be that.
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So there you have them, my top 10 favorite attractions at Walt Disney World. Oh, and props to anyone who noticed another reason I chose not to number them–because I actually snuck 11 attractions onto the list. Hope you don’t mind! 😉
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YOUR THOUGHTS…
What are your 10 favorite Walt Disney World attractions? Which ones are your personal favorites that would not make your ‘best of’ list? To what degree does nostalgia fuel your choices? Where there overlaps between my list and yours, is the reasoning similar? Do you think I’ve made a bunch of awful choices…to the point that you now question my judgment on every other post on this blog? 😉 Any other thoughts to add or questions? Hearing your perspective is part of the fun, so please share in the comments—even if it’s just a top 10 list with no explanation, it’d be nice to read!
I can’t be the only one who wouldn’t mind seeing Tom sitting shirtless on his porch!! :-X
Since we live closer to Disneyland and we visit there frequently, this list gets me excited to take our family to Florida soon!
To determine my top 10 I not only consider what I like but also gave thought to how bummed out I would be to learn an attraction was closed during my stay. It happened to be that on our trip in 2015 the PoC was closed the entire time. I realized just how much I really liked it by not having it there. My whole family was bummed out walking by the closed entrance to PoC for that week. Here is mine, the order changes based on crowds and the weather. For instance, On a colder day in December, Splash Mountain falls some notches:
1) Splash Mountain
2) Haunted Mansion
3) Pirates of the Caribbean
4) jungle Cruise (beautiful jungle)
5) 7 Dwarves Mine Train ( I love the ride at night and think the cue is really done well. I wish the “dark ride” part was longer and miss the old Snow Whites Scary Adventure).
6) Peter Pans Flight (I like the music, the little cars of London, the mermaids, and the whole flying over the scenes idea. I think they speeded it up though as it has a low ride capacity and now it seems to speed through just a bit too fast).
7) Living with the Land (I really enjoy the “dark ride” part and find the greenhouse interesting).
8) TTA People Mover (Everything Tom said. It was closed in 2014 and again, I was so bummed out. “Now paging Mr. Tom Morrow” lol).
9) The Enchanted Tiki Room ( I like the feeling I get here, the colorful waterfall, the windows with the clouds and volcanoes in the distance. It’s cool when the sky that turns orange and then rains. Pretend for a few minutes to be on an exotic island and it can really work. Plus it’s nice getting out of the heat and sun. This is to me what the Country Bears are to Tom I think as a lot of people probably think this is kind of silly and a waste of park time).
10) Big Thunder RR ( especially at night).
Honorable mention goes to It’s a Small World (I like the Polynesian room), The little Mermaid (love the waterfalls and caverns. Too bad the ride itself is mediocre) and Dumbo. My wife and I make a point to ride Dumbo at night at least once during our trip and we always get a selfie together in front of the pretty colorful fountains that surround the ride. It’s become kind of a tradition and makes that dressed up carnival ride important to us.
My top 10 are in no particular order stitch, journey into imagination, the energy ride, the lands lion king movie, Aladdin, triceratops spin, primeval whirl, tram ride, Epcot’s 3d movies, Tomorrowland speedway
I steadfastly support as many guests as possible attempting to replicate Mike’s touring plans.
. That is hilarious!
No particular order? If the tram ride isn’t #1, you’re doing it wrong.
LOL
My absolute favorite WDW ride: The original Journey Into Imagination.
Runner-ups: All the other EPCOT rides that I rode as a kid during the 80s/early 90s.
Runner-up: Seeing the animators work on Aladdin in the Animation pavilion at Disney-MGM Studios.
Wow, my WDW preferences are really rooted in nostalgia… I need to live more in the present, which means saving money so I can go back to TDS.
I’m so happy that so many people like Carousel of Progress….my kids grumble every time, but I have to go on CofP at least once whenever I’m in Disney. My top ten:
10. Tough to be a Bug
9. Under the Sea, Little Mermaid
8. Kilimanjaro Safari
7. It’s a Small World (first ride I ever went on in WDW)
6. Great Movie Ride (nostalgia)
5. Splash Mountain
4. Spaceship Earth
3. Carousel of Progress (nostalgia)
2. Haunted Mansion
1. Soarin’
Personal Top Ten
Toy story Mania
Spaceship Earth (aka “the giant golf ball” – my 8 year old LOVES it)
7 D Mine Train (also a fave of my 8 year old, who at age 6 would not even look at it).
Haunted Mansion
Turtle Talk with Crush
It’s Tough to be a Bug
Kilamanjaro Safaris
Buzz Lightyear’s Ranger Spin
Pirates of The Caribbean
Enchanted Tales with Belle
Granted, my list is skewed by going with my wife and daughter (currently 8 years old), so there are a number of rides and attractions I’ve missed due to size and/or fright factors. Having just made a disclaimer, the first 4 attractions I listed are must do, even for me, and I’m the only one to have done Haunted Mansion.
Amen to Impressions De France. It’s way up there on my list.
I get nauseous watching the CircaVision movie at Canada and got sick before watching I think it was “Around the World in 80 days” (many years ago, I don’t think it’s still there)……….is Impressions De France like either of those.
That was “Timekeeper” with Robin Williams voicing the robot guide to a time travel adventure that included meeting Jules Verne.
No, it is not, Lucy. It’s widescreen, but should not cause you problems like the Canada movie.
Oooh, I love the fact that you made this subjective. Sometimes you love what you love, right? My top 10, in no particular order:
Haunted Mansion – (except the lines. For an omnimover, why?)
Tower of Terror – (could have been a standard drop-ride, but the beginning makes it)
Pirates of the Caribbean – (Redhead controversy aside, still the best dark ride)
Expedition Everest – (a coaster with a Yeti, need I say more?)
Spaceship Earth – (for some reason I find the progression through time more affecting on this ride than on Carousel of Progress, which I find tedious.)
Journey Into the Imagination – (never saw the old version but we love Figment!)
Soarin’ – (haven’t ridden the new version yet, though)
Space Mountain – (like you, for nostalgia)
Tomorrowland People Mover – (because of the huge grin it put on my son’s face)
And saving the last spot for Flight of Passage even though we haven’t gone on it yet!
Next time you ride Soarin’ make sure they seat you in the middle section and not on the left or the right side. Views from the sides result in terrible visual distortions to the images on the screen. The Eiffel Tower droops over like a willow tree. From the middle section the new version is excellent.
This list is very similar to my own, except I’d probably add Spaceship Earth also. As you always say, nostalgia is big factor. My love of WDW grows from spending every summer there as a kid with my family, with my Dad being the biggest fan. As a kid, you want to do all the Mountains again and again, and now it’s funny how so many of the rides that I used to roll my eyes about as a kid and thought were “boring”, are now all of my favorites.
Oh, also, you forgot one major big one….THE MONORAIL! I bet tons of kids come back from vacation claiming that to be there favorite. haha
The TTA. So glad to continually hear it’s so many others’ favorite too — ensuring its longevity, hopefully. Now if they could just get the DL version back up and running…
There’s something about this ride/attraction’s appeal that’s almost indescribable, but the very fact that it exists at all I think transforms the park as a whole beyond that of a themed/amusement-type space.
Imagine the draw if this had been built as transport for the WDW Village, or throughout the perimeter lands of EPCOT — or out in the real world?
Anyway, your list in totality is spot on.
My top ten are:
1. Rockin rollercoaster
2. Expedition Everest
3. Mission Space
4. Dinosaur
5. Splash Mountain
6. Toy story Mania
7. Lion King live
8. Finding Nemo live
9. Star Tours
10. Tower of Terror
I take into account that I haven’t been since 2012, do I haven’t tried the new ones and Test track was closed. Hopefully next year!