Disneyland’s Finding Nemo Submarine Ride, left, with the Matterhorn in the background; Sleeping Beauty Castle; and Radiator Springs Racers in California Adventures’ Cars Land.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times; Christian Thompson / Disneyland Resort; Paul Hiffmeyer / Disneyland Resort)
Every ride at Disneyland, ranked
Disneyland since 1955 has stood as a beacon of optimism, a Southern California institution and rite of passage that has shifted with and reflected back our myths and pop culture sensibilities.
It is also the theme park I return to multiple times per month. Unlike any other park I’ve visited, Disneyland has a sense of history; it’s a park that has grown and evolved with American pop culture. In this sense every attraction, I believe, is special in some way, even the ones I rarely visit.
But my editor had a challenge for me: Rank them.
It wasn’t easy. Globally, Disneyland, the great American theme park, has become one of the mightiest exports of the United States.
Craft an epic visit to Disneyland and California Adventure with our comprehensive guide.
It’s full of expert tips and fresh perspectives.
That makes any ranking of its top attractions a deeply personal challenge. How, for instance, does one weigh nostalgia, an individualistic trait, versus public popularity? And what takes greater precedence, historic value or the bleeding edge? How do the newer attractions at California Adventure fit within the broader context of the Disneyland Resort?
Disneyland is a capitalist theme park, but it has become something akin to a national park. Disneyland’s relationship to Southern Californians isn’t all that different from that of other monuments — Griffith Park, Dodger Stadium, the Santa Monica Pier — a destination that collects shared experiences. The façades of Main Street, U.S.A., may have a backlot feel, and Sleeping Beauty Castle may lack the full majesty of its German inspiration, but they aren’t “fake” — they’re very real landmarks. Disneyland tells a story of not just Southern California but America as a whole.
A disclaimer: I would never call an attraction at Disneyland “bad,” per se, so think of this as a list from the best to not the best Disneyland has to offer. Some of the rides I ranked lowest tend to be ones I visit regularly, sometimes simply because the lines are shorter.
The best way to visit Disneyland? Solo. Longtime “single rider” Todd Martens offers tips for visiting the park as a party of one.
I took a broad view to what an attraction can be, including, for instance, some game-like experiences. But I left off daily entertainment such as parades, nighttime shows and theatrical presentations.
Also left off: Splash Mountain, as the ride is being rethemed to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, modeled after the movie “The Princess and the Frog.” While I am a fan of the change, it’s only fair to wait to see the remodeled attraction rather than place something that would be disappearing on this list.
I tend to view Disneyland as equal parts pop culture museum and theme park, which means I often weighted historical importance to the park more heavily than the flashy and the new.
In a ranking of all the major attractions at Disneyland, Times critic Todd Martens declared It’s a Small World the best, arguing that the Disneyland original is the weirdest, most unique attraction in the park. What are your thoughts?
I think of Disneyland as a living art gallery, which changes with each generation and aims to capture that era’s sensibilities. If one considers a theme park attraction a work of art, then it must stand some test of time and also say something about the medium it represents. Within that framework, I don’t think my top choice is controversial — but you’re welcome to disagree. Politely. We’re talking about the Happiest Place on Earth, after all.
Showing Places
(Paul Hiffmeyer / Disneyland)
1. It's a Small World
Anaheim Family ride, dark ride
Yes, really. Don’t stop reading yet. Hear me out.
The charm, the whimsy, the dolls, the unforgettable song — only Sleeping Beauty Castle more instantly says “Disneyland” than It’s a Small World. One of the park’s most recognizable and long-standing attractions remains among its most striking and visionary.
No other ride at Disneyland so directly represents the flair and artistic style of the people who created it, making It’s a Small World not just a gem of an attraction but an endangered species in an era of all movie-and-TV-inspired rides.
More than that, the ride, a symbol of the idealism of globalism, is filled with wonders that continue to reveal themselves after dozens of rides. Marvel at an off-kilter sun, smile at blue-tinged goats and star-filled kangaroos, and try and fail to count the creatures, the musicians, the hot air balloons, the squawking ducks or any of the other countless objects of weirdness.
Each time I ride — and I’ve probably ridden more than 100 times — I’m still able to see characters and creatures as if discovering them for the first time. Was that always there, you’ll often wonder, and the answer is most assuredly yes, but It’s a Small World is so filled with toy-like details that you’ll never be quite sure.
The innocent dolls and abundance of playfulness were all designed in the style of Mary Blair, so much so that it can feel like a constantly moving art museum dedicated to her color-heavy, whimsical methodology.
Rolly Crump conceived the ride’s oversized toy façade — a clock that comes alive, perpetually locked with a determined smile — as a way to welcome guests into a world of colorfully silly vignettes.
There was no stylebook that accompanied this attraction when it was created. Though there are other renditions at various Disney parks, this is the original, and there’s no other ride quite like it in the world.
The charm, the whimsy, the dolls, the unforgettable song — only Sleeping Beauty Castle more instantly says “Disneyland” than It’s a Small World. One of the park’s most recognizable and long-standing attractions remains among its most striking and visionary.
No other ride at Disneyland so directly represents the flair and artistic style of the people who created it, making It’s a Small World not just a gem of an attraction but an endangered species in an era of all movie-and-TV-inspired rides.
More than that, the ride, a symbol of the idealism of globalism, is filled with wonders that continue to reveal themselves after dozens of rides. Marvel at an off-kilter sun, smile at blue-tinged goats and star-filled kangaroos, and try and fail to count the creatures, the musicians, the hot air balloons, the squawking ducks or any of the other countless objects of weirdness.
Each time I ride — and I’ve probably ridden more than 100 times — I’m still able to see characters and creatures as if discovering them for the first time. Was that always there, you’ll often wonder, and the answer is most assuredly yes, but It’s a Small World is so filled with toy-like details that you’ll never be quite sure.
The innocent dolls and abundance of playfulness were all designed in the style of Mary Blair, so much so that it can feel like a constantly moving art museum dedicated to her color-heavy, whimsical methodology.
Rolly Crump conceived the ride’s oversized toy façade — a clock that comes alive, perpetually locked with a determined smile — as a way to welcome guests into a world of colorfully silly vignettes.
There was no stylebook that accompanied this attraction when it was created. Though there are other renditions at various Disney parks, this is the original, and there’s no other ride quite like it in the world.
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Route Details
(George Savvas / Disneyland Resort)
2. Pirates of the Caribbean
Anaheim Family ride, dark ride
Walt Disney once famously said guests will experience Pirates of the Caribbean like a dinner party, hearing snippets of conversations here and there and getting just a piece of the story as they move through it. In turn, Pirates of the Caribbean, which opened in 1967, has become the template for nearly every theme park attraction that has come after it.
A collection of scenes rather than a hardened narrative, Pirates of the Caribbean allows guests to put together the pieces, to wonder about the haunting voices in the cavern, the countless rum-swigging pirates and the sieges and auctions that dot the 15-minute-plus ride.
But what brings us back are the characters, many capturing Marc Davis’ exaggerated but approachable style. Davis had a knack for excitable caricatures that feel realistic, and in turn make the spacious ride feel intimate. The pirates’ cherry-colored cheeks are more inviting than frightening, and figures like the auctioneer command our attention time and time again.
There’s an underlying thesis, a warning about humanity’s vices, greed and gluttony, but Davis’ designs make it all look like a joyous affair. Most important, by focusing on themes rather than plot, the ride remains endlessly repeatable. This isn’t a story we experience; this is a story we imagine, and everyone’s reading will differ some. It’s a lesson that also would be used to great effect in 1969’s Haunted Mansion.
A collection of scenes rather than a hardened narrative, Pirates of the Caribbean allows guests to put together the pieces, to wonder about the haunting voices in the cavern, the countless rum-swigging pirates and the sieges and auctions that dot the 15-minute-plus ride.
But what brings us back are the characters, many capturing Marc Davis’ exaggerated but approachable style. Davis had a knack for excitable caricatures that feel realistic, and in turn make the spacious ride feel intimate. The pirates’ cherry-colored cheeks are more inviting than frightening, and figures like the auctioneer command our attention time and time again.
There’s an underlying thesis, a warning about humanity’s vices, greed and gluttony, but Davis’ designs make it all look like a joyous affair. Most important, by focusing on themes rather than plot, the ride remains endlessly repeatable. This isn’t a story we experience; this is a story we imagine, and everyone’s reading will differ some. It’s a lesson that also would be used to great effect in 1969’s Haunted Mansion.
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Route Details
(Joshua Sudock / Disneyland Resort)
3. Haunted Mansion
Anaheim Family ride, dark ride
It’s the haunted house at its most humorous and mystical, where singing busts serenade rather than scare, floating instruments chime around us and paintings stretch to reveal a man in his underpants. Additions over the years — the famed “Hatbox Ghost,” whose head is one moment in its proper place and seconds later disembodied at his side — have only served to heighten the mystery.
Is there a proper plot to explain the murderous bride in the attic, the lively ballroom and its dancing apparitions, or the kings, opera singers and cats cavorting in a cemetery? Or is the Mansion simply a place to delight, to reassure us that what awaits us on the other side is but a swinging wake?
The answer remains elusive, making the Haunted Mansion one of Disneyland’s greatest puzzles. It’s also evidence that old-fashioned theater tricks can still charm, and a Pepper’s ghost illusion is sometimes all you need to wow an audience. Its clash of styles — those colorful Marc Davis characters mesh with the expansive, eerie backdrops of Claude Coats — result in an environment that tempers each frightening image with silliness, making it truly unlike any other haunted experience.
Its narrative — or lack of one — still inspires debate today. I won’t attempt to tell you what it all means. Anyone who claims they know likely isn’t to be trusted. But I do believe the ride leaves us with a message when a ghost follows us home: The stressors we face on this mortal plane someday won’t matter, so live it up.
Is there a proper plot to explain the murderous bride in the attic, the lively ballroom and its dancing apparitions, or the kings, opera singers and cats cavorting in a cemetery? Or is the Mansion simply a place to delight, to reassure us that what awaits us on the other side is but a swinging wake?
The answer remains elusive, making the Haunted Mansion one of Disneyland’s greatest puzzles. It’s also evidence that old-fashioned theater tricks can still charm, and a Pepper’s ghost illusion is sometimes all you need to wow an audience. Its clash of styles — those colorful Marc Davis characters mesh with the expansive, eerie backdrops of Claude Coats — result in an environment that tempers each frightening image with silliness, making it truly unlike any other haunted experience.
Its narrative — or lack of one — still inspires debate today. I won’t attempt to tell you what it all means. Anyone who claims they know likely isn’t to be trusted. But I do believe the ride leaves us with a message when a ghost follows us home: The stressors we face on this mortal plane someday won’t matter, so live it up.
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Route Details
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
4. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Anaheim Dark ride, thrill ride
If It’s a Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion represent Disneyland’s foundational attractions, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance represents its future.
This is one ride where the time outside of the ride vehicle is as impressive as the time spent inside it, as we traverse caverns, meet the BB-8 droid and Daisy Ridley’s Rey, and then board a transport ship to take us to space, where we’re imprisoned and then rescued. That such a gigantic and technically impressive theme park attraction can manage to feel personal is truly a feat.
The nearly 20-minute experience is a mashup of some of the best of what theme parks have to offer. The ride feels as if it was crafted to respond to us. Its extended opening scenes marry bits of immersive theater with theme park illusion.The ride vehicle moves in an unpredictable fashion, at least until Kylo Ren pulls us toward him by using the Force, a particularly effective scene that helps the ride feel alive.
There are light thrills — an elevator drop in the finale continues to surprise — but mostly old-school, dark-ride lessons, like tricks of the light and a clever use of mirrors. In short, it is theme park theater at its most ambitious — but it is definitely theater.
This is one ride where the time outside of the ride vehicle is as impressive as the time spent inside it, as we traverse caverns, meet the BB-8 droid and Daisy Ridley’s Rey, and then board a transport ship to take us to space, where we’re imprisoned and then rescued. That such a gigantic and technically impressive theme park attraction can manage to feel personal is truly a feat.
The nearly 20-minute experience is a mashup of some of the best of what theme parks have to offer. The ride feels as if it was crafted to respond to us. Its extended opening scenes marry bits of immersive theater with theme park illusion.The ride vehicle moves in an unpredictable fashion, at least until Kylo Ren pulls us toward him by using the Force, a particularly effective scene that helps the ride feel alive.
There are light thrills — an elevator drop in the finale continues to surprise — but mostly old-school, dark-ride lessons, like tricks of the light and a clever use of mirrors. In short, it is theme park theater at its most ambitious — but it is definitely theater.
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Route Details
(Paul Hiffmeyer / Disneyland)
5. Radiator Springs Racers
Anaheim Dark ride, thrill ride
The best thrill ride at the Disneyland Resort is one that masquerades as a dark ride. Radiator Springs Racers puts guests three to a row in individual cars, allowing us first to take in the scenes. And as far as theme park rides go, those scenes can be pretty breathtaking, especially the close-up look at the magnificently large Southwest-inspired mountains. The music swells as our car turns a bend and fixates on a bridge and a waterfall, transporting us to a makeshift national park off of Route 66.
The pace picks up as we venture into Radiator Springs, the town of the “Cars” films, and get spruced up before a race. We don’t have time to linger, but you’ll wish you could jump out and hang with the likes of Lightning McQueen.
When it’s time to race, Radiator Springs Racers doesn’t skimp, as the curve-focused track has us feeling like we’re moving faster and more dramatically than we actually are. If it wasn’t for an early fart joke, it’d be perfect, but Radiator Springs Racers still represents the best of Disney, delivering thrills with a side of narrative.
The pace picks up as we venture into Radiator Springs, the town of the “Cars” films, and get spruced up before a race. We don’t have time to linger, but you’ll wish you could jump out and hang with the likes of Lightning McQueen.
When it’s time to race, Radiator Springs Racers doesn’t skimp, as the curve-focused track has us feeling like we’re moving faster and more dramatically than we actually are. If it wasn’t for an early fart joke, it’d be perfect, but Radiator Springs Racers still represents the best of Disney, delivering thrills with a side of narrative.
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(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
6. Disneyland Railroad
Anaheim Family Ride
This is no simple mode of transportation. And to judge the Disneyland Railroad as just a place to catch your breath between “real” rides is to overlook it.
The transformative experience of visiting Disneyland begins not with a clear view of Sleeping Beauty Castle but instead with the journey through the Main Street Railroad Station. It’s a symbol that where we are entering will be taking us to places unknown.
For Disneyland in particular, the railroad is a reminder of the park’s close connection to its founder, Walt Disney, whose love of trains led him to build his backyard miniature train, the Carolwood Pacific. On it, an S-curve tunnel kept parts of the path hidden to heighten the small-scale theatricality. It was the beginning of Disney’s approach to theme park design.
The train has undergone various modifications over the decades but today remains a leisurely way to get acquainted with Disneyland and its wonders.
It’s also a reminder that the best way to enjoy Disneyland is with a little patience, and to bask in the details. Make sure to stop and say hello to the conductors and train operators in the Main Street Station. They’re full of historic tidbits.
The transformative experience of visiting Disneyland begins not with a clear view of Sleeping Beauty Castle but instead with the journey through the Main Street Railroad Station. It’s a symbol that where we are entering will be taking us to places unknown.
For Disneyland in particular, the railroad is a reminder of the park’s close connection to its founder, Walt Disney, whose love of trains led him to build his backyard miniature train, the Carolwood Pacific. On it, an S-curve tunnel kept parts of the path hidden to heighten the small-scale theatricality. It was the beginning of Disney’s approach to theme park design.
The train has undergone various modifications over the decades but today remains a leisurely way to get acquainted with Disneyland and its wonders.
It’s also a reminder that the best way to enjoy Disneyland is with a little patience, and to bask in the details. Make sure to stop and say hello to the conductors and train operators in the Main Street Station. They’re full of historic tidbits.
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Route Details
(Joshua Sudock / Disneyland Resort)
7. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Anaheim Thrill ride, family ride
Whether it’s a wayward goat with a stick of dynamite or the remains of a prehistoric creature, Big Thunder Mountain keeps heads turning as we barrel forward. It remains a masterpiece, and proof that high-speed thrills don’t have to skimp on storytelling.
Frontierland has always been a part of Disneyland with lots of movement and life, going back to the park’s opening years when pack mules and Western characters populated the area. That Old West spirit is still there today, with bits of theater in the Golden Horseshoe, the vessels of the Rivers of America and, of course, the not-quite-runaway train that is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Since 1979, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has given Frontierland a slice of Bryce Canyon National Park, where landscapes rise and dip and keep guests guessing on the flow of the track. Parts of the ride, like the ghost town of Rainbow Ridge and the glowing traps of water on the first major lift, nod to Frontierland’s pre-thrill-ride past. But its rockwork, animals and explosions are all indicative of the type of world-building that sets the best Disney coasters apart from its competitors.
Frontierland has always been a part of Disneyland with lots of movement and life, going back to the park’s opening years when pack mules and Western characters populated the area. That Old West spirit is still there today, with bits of theater in the Golden Horseshoe, the vessels of the Rivers of America and, of course, the not-quite-runaway train that is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Since 1979, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has given Frontierland a slice of Bryce Canyon National Park, where landscapes rise and dip and keep guests guessing on the flow of the track. Parts of the ride, like the ghost town of Rainbow Ridge and the glowing traps of water on the first major lift, nod to Frontierland’s pre-thrill-ride past. But its rockwork, animals and explosions are all indicative of the type of world-building that sets the best Disney coasters apart from its competitors.
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Route Details
(Joshua Sudock / Disneyland Resort)
8. Indiana Jones Adventure
Anaheim Dark ride, thrill ride
Indiana Jones Adventure represented a change in theme park design. “On Pirates of the Caribbean, for instance, the pirates are doing their thing and you just eavesdrop on them,” now retired Imagineer Tony Baxter told The Times in 1995. “Here, everything is happening because of you.”
At least that’s the illusion, as all the havoc that’s wreaked is designed to be in response to guests’ actions. Once we look into the eyes of the deity Mara, Indiana Jones Adventure becomes all controlled chaos.
Even the ride vehicles seem to respond to our emotions, inching forward at one point and hitting the accelerator the next. The cars feel curious and fearful, but Indiana Jones Adventure mainly aims to excite, and its giant, multitiered showroom is filled with rickety bridges, lava pools, snakes, bugs and, of course, a giant rock ball that threatens to flatten us. The latter is an especially noteworthy piece of theme park trickery that we won’t spoil, but Indiana Jones Adventure is filled floor to ceiling with effects designed to make us wonder how they did it.
At least that’s the illusion, as all the havoc that’s wreaked is designed to be in response to guests’ actions. Once we look into the eyes of the deity Mara, Indiana Jones Adventure becomes all controlled chaos.
Even the ride vehicles seem to respond to our emotions, inching forward at one point and hitting the accelerator the next. The cars feel curious and fearful, but Indiana Jones Adventure mainly aims to excite, and its giant, multitiered showroom is filled with rickety bridges, lava pools, snakes, bugs and, of course, a giant rock ball that threatens to flatten us. The latter is an especially noteworthy piece of theme park trickery that we won’t spoil, but Indiana Jones Adventure is filled floor to ceiling with effects designed to make us wonder how they did it.
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Route Details
(Jan Wagner)
9. Disneyland Monorail
Anaheim Family Ride
Yes, I think the Monorail is one of the best attractions at Disneyland. Try to imagine Disneyland without it. Think of driving or walking down Harbor Boulevard and not seeing the Monorail glide above us, signaling that Disneyland is a place out of the ordinary.
When the Disneyland Monorail debuted in 1959 it was the first transportation system of its kind in America. Today it’s used primarily by guests staying at the Disneyland Hotel who want a quick escape back to Downtown Disney, but it’s much more than a simple transit system.
The Monorail is key to Disneyland’s long-standing majesty.
Whether one glimpses it soaring over Harbor Boulevard or gliding around the Matterhorn, the Monorail, today with a retro-futuristic look, is a statement piece — a reminder that we are someplace where normal rules, and typical modes of transportation, don’t apply.
Ride it from Downtown Disney, and get a rare view down Main Street and of Fantasyland. And take some time to catch it moving around the Matterhorn and Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. Or just walk around Fantasyland and Tomorrowland and look up. Part of what keeps us moving around Disneyland is all the activity that surrounds us.
When the Disneyland Monorail debuted in 1959 it was the first transportation system of its kind in America. Today it’s used primarily by guests staying at the Disneyland Hotel who want a quick escape back to Downtown Disney, but it’s much more than a simple transit system.
The Monorail is key to Disneyland’s long-standing majesty.
Whether one glimpses it soaring over Harbor Boulevard or gliding around the Matterhorn, the Monorail, today with a retro-futuristic look, is a statement piece — a reminder that we are someplace where normal rules, and typical modes of transportation, don’t apply.
Ride it from Downtown Disney, and get a rare view down Main Street and of Fantasyland. And take some time to catch it moving around the Matterhorn and Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. Or just walk around Fantasyland and Tomorrowland and look up. Part of what keeps us moving around Disneyland is all the activity that surrounds us.
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Route Details
(Christian Thom / Disneyland Resort)
10. Snow White’s Enchanted Wish
Anaheim Family ride, dark ride
The reimagining of this Disneyland attraction — formerly known as Snow White’s Scary Adventures — has made it my favorite place in Fantasyland.
Enchanted Wish wraps its arms around feelings of adoration, endearment, friendship and the hope that, through love, we don’t become rescued so much as better versions of ourselves. It also puts more effort into using technology to freshen up 1950s-era craftsmanship rather than going full modern, resulting in a work that feels nostalgic but also of-the-moment.
Fun fact: When the ride opened, it didn’t feature Snow White, as Disney’s Imagineers hoped guests would see themselves as the main character. That didn’t work, and the ride has adapted and grown with our understanding of themed entertainment. Today it’s more mystical than scary. Clever touches, such as a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it animated crystal ball, abound.
Enchanted Wish wraps its arms around feelings of adoration, endearment, friendship and the hope that, through love, we don’t become rescued so much as better versions of ourselves. It also puts more effort into using technology to freshen up 1950s-era craftsmanship rather than going full modern, resulting in a work that feels nostalgic but also of-the-moment.
Fun fact: When the ride opened, it didn’t feature Snow White, as Disney’s Imagineers hoped guests would see themselves as the main character. That didn’t work, and the ride has adapted and grown with our understanding of themed entertainment. Today it’s more mystical than scary. Clever touches, such as a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it animated crystal ball, abound.
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Route Details
(Paul Hiffmeyer / Disneyland Resort)
11. Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
Anaheim Family attraction
A historic first, as Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room marked the introduction of audio-animatronic figures to the park in 1963. This tropical serenade, where island gods, singing plants and an assortment of musical island birds welcome us into their home for a festive gathering, was initially envisioned as a dinner show.
Capacity concerns were a large factor in nixing that idea, but the Enchanted Tiki Room still stands today as an electronic-enhanced revue, where gradually the entire room comes alive in light and sound.
This is a place to absorb the details. Check the tiki drummers. These mystical creatures look a bit like monkeys, and they attack their instruments with a ferocious intensity. The choirs of plants and flowers are a constant surprise, as once-static decorations spring into action when called upon.
All eyes, of course, are on José, the lead macaw who directs the Polynesian-inspired orchestra. Sing along — you know the words of the main Sherman Brothers tune — but don’t get too loud. You wouldn’t want to anger the gods.
Capacity concerns were a large factor in nixing that idea, but the Enchanted Tiki Room still stands today as an electronic-enhanced revue, where gradually the entire room comes alive in light and sound.
This is a place to absorb the details. Check the tiki drummers. These mystical creatures look a bit like monkeys, and they attack their instruments with a ferocious intensity. The choirs of plants and flowers are a constant surprise, as once-static decorations spring into action when called upon.
All eyes, of course, are on José, the lead macaw who directs the Polynesian-inspired orchestra. Sing along — you know the words of the main Sherman Brothers tune — but don’t get too loud. You wouldn’t want to anger the gods.
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Route Details
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
12. Jungle Cruise
Anaheim Family Ride
Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise has set sail in the park’s Adventureland area since 1955, and it stands today as one of the remaining opening-day attractions overseen by Walt Disney himself. It’s a ride that has grown with the park. Animals in 1955 were scarce — just seven animatronic hippos and eight crocodiles were present in the water — and the vast vegetation had not yet grown to mask nearby buildings. Many of the ride’s most beloved scenes, such as the elaborate elephant bathing pool, were dreamed up by animator-turned-Imagineer Marc Davis and added in the 1960s.
The ride has continued to undergo transformations, and more recently was updated to remove unsavory tribal depictions.
But there’s a reason it has remained in the park since 1955, and it’s not just the up-roar-ious puns. The Jungle Cruise is akin to an early animated film sprung to life, with cartoonish depictions of animals going nuts on holiday decorations or chasing jungle explorers up a pole.
It’s lighthearted screwball comedy, on a boat.
The ride has continued to undergo transformations, and more recently was updated to remove unsavory tribal depictions.
But there’s a reason it has remained in the park since 1955, and it’s not just the up-roar-ious puns. The Jungle Cruise is akin to an early animated film sprung to life, with cartoonish depictions of animals going nuts on holiday decorations or chasing jungle explorers up a pole.
It’s lighthearted screwball comedy, on a boat.
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Route Details
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
13. Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Anaheim Family ride, dark ride
Part old-school theme park attraction, part love letter to animation and part modern showcase of projection technology, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is the latest addition to Disneyland’s Toontown, its second but most fitting home. The Walt Disney World import is a nostalgia-fueled charmer.
There are plenty of nods to modern theme park flourishes in the trackless attraction — characters look at us, talk to us, direct us, dance with us and give the illusion of responding to us — but the ride is a standout in the Anaheim park’s portfolio for its they-don’t-make-’em-like-they-used-to ethos.
Relatively slow-moving, family-friendly and full of tiny, blacklighted details, the attraction serves as a fully realized animated short sprung to life. Ultimately, it manages to tonally feel like a wild 1930s short, with a train springing apart and taking riders into tropical hideaways, down waterfalls and into a dance lesson with Daisy Duck. It isn’t deep, but it is silly, and it blissfully follows a Disney-paved formula of theme park design where vignettes take precedence over a definitive plot.
There are plenty of nods to modern theme park flourishes in the trackless attraction — characters look at us, talk to us, direct us, dance with us and give the illusion of responding to us — but the ride is a standout in the Anaheim park’s portfolio for its they-don’t-make-’em-like-they-used-to ethos.
Relatively slow-moving, family-friendly and full of tiny, blacklighted details, the attraction serves as a fully realized animated short sprung to life. Ultimately, it manages to tonally feel like a wild 1930s short, with a train springing apart and taking riders into tropical hideaways, down waterfalls and into a dance lesson with Daisy Duck. It isn’t deep, but it is silly, and it blissfully follows a Disney-paved formula of theme park design where vignettes take precedence over a definitive plot.
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Route Details
(Paul Hiffmeyer / Disneyland Resort)
14. Peter Pan’s Flight
Anaheim Family ride, dark ride
Peter Pan’s Flight is an opening-day attraction that still feels among Disneyland’s most distinctive. That’s thanks largely to its ride system, in which we board mini pirate ships and are lifted into the air like Wendy, John, and Michael, out of a bedroom and into the sky above London.
And what a magnificent London it is! Landmarks are outlined in blacklighted colors; tiny streets and handcrafted houses gradually diminish in size as the ride effectively creates the illusion of us gliding higher and higher. Despite utilizing age-old theater tricks, it remains one of the most successful vignettes at the resort, allowing us to not only imagine but experience the effects of a little pixie dust.
The twinkling lights and sparkling windows are as vibrant as they are in the animated film. We only wish we had more time to take it all in. Soon, however, we are whisked into scenes that follow the film’s storyline, and we’ll meet the likes of Peter, Captain Hook, Smee and Tick-Tock the Crocodile as we drift from Skull Rock to duels at sea.
It’s a ride full of whimsy and wonder. Though it dates to Disneyland’s beginnings, it still feels ambitious, wanting to bring us into Neverland rather than simply presenting it before us. That’s not to say aspects aren’t a bit dated — its depiction of Native Americans is in need of an update. Here’s hoping a refresh isn’t too far off in the future.
And what a magnificent London it is! Landmarks are outlined in blacklighted colors; tiny streets and handcrafted houses gradually diminish in size as the ride effectively creates the illusion of us gliding higher and higher. Despite utilizing age-old theater tricks, it remains one of the most successful vignettes at the resort, allowing us to not only imagine but experience the effects of a little pixie dust.
The twinkling lights and sparkling windows are as vibrant as they are in the animated film. We only wish we had more time to take it all in. Soon, however, we are whisked into scenes that follow the film’s storyline, and we’ll meet the likes of Peter, Captain Hook, Smee and Tick-Tock the Crocodile as we drift from Skull Rock to duels at sea.
It’s a ride full of whimsy and wonder. Though it dates to Disneyland’s beginnings, it still feels ambitious, wanting to bring us into Neverland rather than simply presenting it before us. That’s not to say aspects aren’t a bit dated — its depiction of Native Americans is in need of an update. Here’s hoping a refresh isn’t too far off in the future.
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(Christian Thom / Disneyland Resort)
15. Soarin’ Over California
Anaheim Family Ride
The original Soarin’, and one that’s significantly superior to its more global update, Soarin’ Around the World.
Unfortunately, this Disney California Adventure exclusive is available for only a few weeks of the year, usually returning with the park’s Food & Wine Festival. Try not to miss it, as it’s a transportive joy, a love letter to our state that’s a celebration of California’s wildly diverse landscapes. Despite being a screen-based attraction, the hang-glider-like ride system and enveloping 80-foot projection dome still manage to conjure a sense of grandeur.
We launch among the clouds, which part and place us above the magnificence of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. We’ll eventually make our way to downtown Los Angeles and Disneyland, but not before venturing into Yosemite National Park, Malibu, Palm Springs and more.
We’ll get glimpses of sport — golf, skiing — and industry, with a blast of orange-scented spray transporting us to more serene locales (or the orange groves that once sat on the land that would become Disneyland). It all works so well because of the music, the triumphantly optimistic score coming courtesy of composer Jerry Goldsmith (“Alien,” “L.A. Confidential”). We only wish it was available year-round.
Unfortunately, this Disney California Adventure exclusive is available for only a few weeks of the year, usually returning with the park’s Food & Wine Festival. Try not to miss it, as it’s a transportive joy, a love letter to our state that’s a celebration of California’s wildly diverse landscapes. Despite being a screen-based attraction, the hang-glider-like ride system and enveloping 80-foot projection dome still manage to conjure a sense of grandeur.
We launch among the clouds, which part and place us above the magnificence of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. We’ll eventually make our way to downtown Los Angeles and Disneyland, but not before venturing into Yosemite National Park, Malibu, Palm Springs and more.
We’ll get glimpses of sport — golf, skiing — and industry, with a blast of orange-scented spray transporting us to more serene locales (or the orange groves that once sat on the land that would become Disneyland). It all works so well because of the music, the triumphantly optimistic score coming courtesy of composer Jerry Goldsmith (“Alien,” “L.A. Confidential”). We only wish it was available year-round.
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(Christian Thompson / Disneyland Resort)
16. Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin
Anaheim Family ride, dark ride
When Disney announced that Toontown would close in 2022 for a yearlong makeover, a segment of the fandom held its breath that Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin would survive the refresh. Blissfully, it would, and Toontown — and Disneyland — is all the better for it.
The landmark 1988 film “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” remains a standout for its oddness in the Walt Disney Co. canon, and Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin is a masterful dark-ride homage to it, one that’s full of charm while capturing the film’s weirdness.
Consider it the closest thing to a cult-favorite attraction that there is, as Car Toon Spin falls somewhere between the Disneyland classics and today’s more recognizable brands. Hop in a cab and start spinning the wheel, and feel yourself slipping and sliding along greased-up paths.
Jessica Rabbit, as a detective in hero noir mode, is here, as are the film’s weasel villains and plenty of disconnected Roger Rabbit-inspired frivolity. One second we’re in a warehouse, the next we’re falling out of a skyscraper. Don’t miss the queue, as the stroll through a claustrophobic Toontown is one of the park’s best. It can be a tight fit, but it’s worth it.
The landmark 1988 film “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” remains a standout for its oddness in the Walt Disney Co. canon, and Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin is a masterful dark-ride homage to it, one that’s full of charm while capturing the film’s weirdness.
Consider it the closest thing to a cult-favorite attraction that there is, as Car Toon Spin falls somewhere between the Disneyland classics and today’s more recognizable brands. Hop in a cab and start spinning the wheel, and feel yourself slipping and sliding along greased-up paths.
Jessica Rabbit, as a detective in hero noir mode, is here, as are the film’s weasel villains and plenty of disconnected Roger Rabbit-inspired frivolity. One second we’re in a warehouse, the next we’re falling out of a skyscraper. Don’t miss the queue, as the stroll through a claustrophobic Toontown is one of the park’s best. It can be a tight fit, but it’s worth it.
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(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)
17. Storybook Land Canal Boats
Anaheim Family Ride
Walt Disney is said to have loved miniatures, and this opening-day attraction contains some of the most exquisitely crafted fairy tale miniatures in the park. Tucked away in Fantasyland, the calming boat ride is more robust than it looks from the outside: Once our tour begins, we can relax for about six minutes as we leisurely glide past scenes from “Three Little Pigs,” “Pinocchio,” “Frozen” and more.
All are attention-grabbing — the quaint English village and water mill from “Alice in Wonderland,” the glistening palace of Agrabah from “Aladdin” and the multilevel “Cinderella” village with its majestic castle at the top.
But what truly makes the ride a can’t-miss is the live tour guides who accompany us on each boat, dropping details about the figurines and reminding us of the plots of Disney’s best-known works. Such a personal touch is a Disneyland original.
All are attention-grabbing — the quaint English village and water mill from “Alice in Wonderland,” the glistening palace of Agrabah from “Aladdin” and the multilevel “Cinderella” village with its majestic castle at the top.
But what truly makes the ride a can’t-miss is the live tour guides who accompany us on each boat, dropping details about the figurines and reminding us of the plots of Disney’s best-known works. Such a personal touch is a Disneyland original.
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(Disneyland Resort)
18. Space Mountain
Anaheim Thrill Ride
Though it didn’t open until 1977, Space Mountain dates to the Walt era — in the mid-1960s, he challenged designers to create a ride to complement the Matterhorn.The space race was on, and the thrill of exploration via rocket ship was a tantalizing concept. Early incarnations of the ride had one boarding the rockets outside and circling the mountain before jumping into the darkness of space. The idea of a space ride would come in and out of favor over the years, but thanks to a sponsorship, the concept achieved liftoff in the 1970s.
It remains a high-speed joy, one that captures the optimism and excitement of venturing into outer space. We begin on a lift through a solar field and eventually hit a speed of about 32 mph as gravity powers us around tight banking curves. Today’s score, by Michael Giacchino (“Up”), adds the necessary mystery to all the darkened cosmos that we strain and struggle to see. Flashing lights and a photo op bring us back to earth, but for a few minutes we felt like we were somewhere else, thanks to the unexpected turns of the vehicles and illusions of weightlessness.
Space Mountain typically has some of the longest waits in the park, and more thrill-based riders probably would rank it in their top 10, but I tend to crave more scenic charm when at Disneyland.
It remains a high-speed joy, one that captures the optimism and excitement of venturing into outer space. We begin on a lift through a solar field and eventually hit a speed of about 32 mph as gravity powers us around tight banking curves. Today’s score, by Michael Giacchino (“Up”), adds the necessary mystery to all the darkened cosmos that we strain and struggle to see. Flashing lights and a photo op bring us back to earth, but for a few minutes we felt like we were somewhere else, thanks to the unexpected turns of the vehicles and illusions of weightlessness.
Space Mountain typically has some of the longest waits in the park, and more thrill-based riders probably would rank it in their top 10, but I tend to crave more scenic charm when at Disneyland.
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(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)
19. Main Street Vehicles
Anaheim Family Ride
The best way to start a day at Disneyland is not to rush to your favorite ride. It is to sit in a horse-drawn streetcar and imagine a time when SoCal mass transit not only works but is leisurely and stress-free. What a pure, only-in-Disneyland delight it is to board at the tip of Main Street near the entrance to the park and watch Sleeping Beauty Castle materialize from behind the mane of a horse.
Not your style? Try the Jitney, an early convertible. Or the Omnibus, a two-story bus that offers perfect views of the Main Street windows that honor those who helped bring Disneyland to life. Disneyland doesn’t need to be all hustle, all hurry-up and wait. In fact, it’s best when it isn’t and you can take time to appreciate the details.
Not your style? Try the Jitney, an early convertible. Or the Omnibus, a two-story bus that offers perfect views of the Main Street windows that honor those who helped bring Disneyland to life. Disneyland doesn’t need to be all hustle, all hurry-up and wait. In fact, it’s best when it isn’t and you can take time to appreciate the details.
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(Disney / Lucasfilm Ltd)
20. Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
Anaheim Thrill Ride
All rides are products of their time, some more than others. A screen-based motion simulator, no matter how well updated and maintained, screams, “This was made in the ’80s.” But Star Tours: The Adventures Continue continues to thrill by offering guests a simple, straightforward story and variety, both in theme park tricks — the ride and its queue contain audio-animatronics — and in its multitude of vistas that essentially ensure no two trips will be the same, at least when the attraction isn’t locked to a series of scenes in promotion of a particular property.
Having been updated over the years to contain 3-D as well as scenes from the new “Star Wars” films, Star Tours mixes the humor of the franchise with its action and pays no heed to continuity. We board our “Starspeeders” in the hopes of a calming tour of the galaxy, but this is a theme park thrill ride so we know our plans will be laid to waste. Star Tours still manages to surprise, especially when the Starspeeders whip out their windshield wipers.
Having been updated over the years to contain 3-D as well as scenes from the new “Star Wars” films, Star Tours mixes the humor of the franchise with its action and pays no heed to continuity. We board our “Starspeeders” in the hopes of a calming tour of the galaxy, but this is a theme park thrill ride so we know our plans will be laid to waste. Star Tours still manages to surprise, especially when the Starspeeders whip out their windshield wipers.
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21. Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: Breakout!
Anaheim Thrill Ride
While some, including me, still lament the loss of the terrific Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, a ride that built tension with mystery, we will admit that we are powerless to resist the zany action of Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: Breakout! The ride plays like a wacky comedy, focusing on the humor of the “Guardians” films and wasting no time to use its elevator ride system. We’ll experience weightlessness as we soar to the top — and experience it again and again as we drop and rise and rinse and repeat.
The attraction relies heavily on filmed scenes with a very recognizable actor, which makes me worry about its ability to maintain a sense of timelessness. But Mission: Breakout! makes up for that by having one of the most impressive audio-animatronics in the park. Rocket Raccoon anchors a wonderful scene in which he appears to fall out of an air vent, walk around the top shelves of an office and hit his head on a pipe.
It’s pure how-did-they-do-that Disney magic.
The attraction relies heavily on filmed scenes with a very recognizable actor, which makes me worry about its ability to maintain a sense of timelessness. But Mission: Breakout! makes up for that by having one of the most impressive audio-animatronics in the park. Rocket Raccoon anchors a wonderful scene in which he appears to fall out of an air vent, walk around the top shelves of an office and hit his head on a pipe.
It’s pure how-did-they-do-that Disney magic.
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(Todd Martens/Los Angeles Times)
22. Matterhorn Bobsleds
Anaheim Thrill Ride
A historic classic — America’s first tube-steel roller coaster — was also forever park-altering for Disneyland. Prior to the Matterhorn opening in 1959, roller coasters and thrill rides weren’t a match for the heavily themed atmosphere of the park. That changed when Walt Disney started spending significant time in Switzerland, particularly during the filming of “Third Man on the Mountain,” and, according to Disney legend, sent a postcard of the iconic Swiss peak to his designers with the words “Build this!”
Build it they did, and the dual-track Matterhorn Bobsleds remains a magnificent sight at Disneyland, all snowy peaks and cascading waterfalls. Modern coaster audiences may find the ride a tad rough — OK, fine, yes, it is rough — but that’s part of its appeal.
I like to imagine I’m on actual bobsleds when I ride, so I appreciate the sharp, body-yanking turns. A late-’70s addition brought the arrival of what we deemed “mysterious lurking snow monsters,” and today those abominable snowman-like figures have been updated to appear more menacing, making the Matterhorn as much of a wonder inside as it is out. If it weren’t for some potential pain-inducing side effects, I’d ride it every visit.
Build it they did, and the dual-track Matterhorn Bobsleds remains a magnificent sight at Disneyland, all snowy peaks and cascading waterfalls. Modern coaster audiences may find the ride a tad rough — OK, fine, yes, it is rough — but that’s part of its appeal.
I like to imagine I’m on actual bobsleds when I ride, so I appreciate the sharp, body-yanking turns. A late-’70s addition brought the arrival of what we deemed “mysterious lurking snow monsters,” and today those abominable snowman-like figures have been updated to appear more menacing, making the Matterhorn as much of a wonder inside as it is out. If it weren’t for some potential pain-inducing side effects, I’d ride it every visit.
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(Paul Hiffmeyer / Disneyland Resort)
23. Mark Twain Riverboat & Sailing Ship Columbia
Anaheim Family Ride
The 105-foot-long Mark Twain Riverboat and the 110-foot-long Sailing Ship Columbia are faithful and working replicas of historic vessels, the Mark Twain recalling the steam-powered craft that traversed the Mississippi River and the Columbia echoing the first American ship to sail the globe. At Disneyland, both take about a 14-minute cruise around the Rivers of America, offering riders unique glimpses of Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island, New Orleans Square and the Disneyland Railroad.
Don’t overlook this journey, as each ship offers some of the most picturesque views of the park, especially since the shores around the river were remodeled to accommodate the 2019 arrival of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. I tend to prefer the more ornate Mark Twain, which also typically runs more regularly, but both have their charms.
That river refurbishment brought the addition of a number of mini waterfalls set against a lush, forest-like backdrop. If you’re lucky enough to be on Mark Twain when the Disneyland Railroad comes by, you’ll want to take a moment to stop and reflect on early American transportation. Disneyland can be busy, but on the Mark Twain it’s relaxing. You’ll be amazed at just how much green space still exists in the park. Don’t miss, of course, the so-called “murder beaver” chomping away at one of the train trestles.
Don’t overlook this journey, as each ship offers some of the most picturesque views of the park, especially since the shores around the river were remodeled to accommodate the 2019 arrival of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. I tend to prefer the more ornate Mark Twain, which also typically runs more regularly, but both have their charms.
That river refurbishment brought the addition of a number of mini waterfalls set against a lush, forest-like backdrop. If you’re lucky enough to be on Mark Twain when the Disneyland Railroad comes by, you’ll want to take a moment to stop and reflect on early American transportation. Disneyland can be busy, but on the Mark Twain it’s relaxing. You’ll be amazed at just how much green space still exists in the park. Don’t miss, of course, the so-called “murder beaver” chomping away at one of the train trestles.
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(Christian Th / Disneyland Resort)
24. Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough
Anaheim Family attraction
Somewhat hidden on the backside of Sleeping Beauty Castle, don’t miss this walkthrough diversion that stands as a celebration of Disney’s animation prowess and artistry. The castle walkthrough, best experienced with patience in mind, is largely inspired by the artwork of Eyvind Earle. Earle’s artwork, after all, is designed to transport us, to place us in lush, fairy tale-like environments that contain an ever-so-slightly foreboding atmosphere.
Think of this as a mini art gallery where illuminated dioramas spring to life and transform before us. Come for the art, stay for the moment when the shape-shifting Maleficent turns into a wicked, fire-breathing dragon.
Think of this as a mini art gallery where illuminated dioramas spring to life and transform before us. Come for the art, stay for the moment when the shape-shifting Maleficent turns into a wicked, fire-breathing dragon.
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(Bing Guan /Bloomberg via Getty Images)
25. Alice in Wonderland
Anaheim Family ride, dark ride
A Disneyland exclusive, this 1958 attraction takes us inside and outside — winding down vines — to place us in the wild, topsy-turvy world of Disney’s take on “Alice in Wonderland.” Cutesy-but-grumpy caterpillar vehicles take us through the world, where we’ll encounter the Cheshire Cat, the Queen of Hearts and more in slightly psychedelic panoramas.
Updates in 2014 added new lighting and digital effects, but the ride maintains its late-’50s charm. A talking door puts riders on a quest to follow the White Rabbit. Along the way, gardens will spring to life, flowers will enchant us with song and a croquet game gone wrong will lead the Queen of Hearts to demand our heads.
We’ll make it out unscathed, of course, as the only thing mind-altering here is the imagery, which seeks to show us that our nightmares are really just dreams.
Updates in 2014 added new lighting and digital effects, but the ride maintains its late-’50s charm. A talking door puts riders on a quest to follow the White Rabbit. Along the way, gardens will spring to life, flowers will enchant us with song and a croquet game gone wrong will lead the Queen of Hearts to demand our heads.
We’ll make it out unscathed, of course, as the only thing mind-altering here is the imagery, which seeks to show us that our nightmares are really just dreams.
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(Joshua Sudock/Joshua Sudock/Disney Parks)
26 Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Anaheim Thrill ride, family ride
Disneyland has long had games in its parks, from a shooting range in Frontierland to what is essentially a collection of mini video games in Disney California Adventure’s Toy Story Midway Mania. But not until Smugglers Run had a Disneyland attraction been a large-scale, walk-in and user-malleable arcade game. The ride promises a dream for “Star Wars” fans: to pilot the “hunk of junk” that is the Falcon.
While only two of the six guests in each cockpit will get to pilot the ship — not all roles are created equal — I still appreciate the lighthearted simulation that the attraction provides. Its backstory can appear more convoluted than it needs to be, but just know that you essentially have to capture and transport some space materials for a smuggler.
For pilots, also know that the levers are sensitive — a slight push can send the ship careening into asteroids. Balancing controls and the views can be a challenge, so repeat visits probably are necessary to appreciate the interactivity. As impressive an achievement as it all is, it’s a bummer that anyone who isn’t in a pilot seat is relegated to pushing flashing buttons.
While only two of the six guests in each cockpit will get to pilot the ship — not all roles are created equal — I still appreciate the lighthearted simulation that the attraction provides. Its backstory can appear more convoluted than it needs to be, but just know that you essentially have to capture and transport some space materials for a smuggler.
For pilots, also know that the levers are sensitive — a slight push can send the ship careening into asteroids. Balancing controls and the views can be a challenge, so repeat visits probably are necessary to appreciate the interactivity. As impressive an achievement as it all is, it’s a bummer that anyone who isn’t in a pilot seat is relegated to pushing flashing buttons.
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(Gene Duncan / Disneyland Resort)
27. Toy Story Midway Mania!
Anaheim Family ride, dark ride
While not the first video game-inspired ride, Toy Story Midway Mania! was quite possibly the first successful implementation of one. The ride works well with what is now known as Pixar Pier, a land full of carnival rides and games. It still holds up thanks to its simplicity. Of course, a unique ride vehicle — a carnival car with a spring-action launcher — doesn’t hurt.
Key to the ride’s success is the fact that we still feel like we’re in a place rather than simply spinning in front of digital screens. The carnival games and “Toy Story” characters are all treated as real rather than belonging to a video game. There’s egg-flinging, ring-tossing and old-fashioned shooting galleries among an assortment of cleverly animated scenes. Anyone can quickly pick up how to play, making it the rare game-focused theme park attraction that doesn’t feel built solely for a generation weaned on games.
Key to the ride’s success is the fact that we still feel like we’re in a place rather than simply spinning in front of digital screens. The carnival games and “Toy Story” characters are all treated as real rather than belonging to a video game. There’s egg-flinging, ring-tossing and old-fashioned shooting galleries among an assortment of cleverly animated scenes. Anyone can quickly pick up how to play, making it the rare game-focused theme park attraction that doesn’t feel built solely for a generation weaned on games.
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(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)
28. Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes
Anaheim Family Ride
This is what interactive rides used to be. Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes is the sort of only-at-Disneyland attraction whose very existence feels surprising. You might find yourself wondering why you came all the way to a theme park just to put in hard time with a paddle. Here’s an insider tip: You don’t have to paddle at all. The guides can handle the journey themselves. But we don’t recommend simply sitting back. Use a little elbow grease and marvel at being in a free-flowing boat with no hidden track, resulting in each ride being a fully unique experience.
Then there’s the view. Though it’s the same general path as the Mark Twain, we’re closer to the water, allowing for a greater sense of intimacy. Plus, when everyone is working together, everyone is playing together, and the Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes give guests an opportunity to meet and chat with their theme park neighbors. Here, we truly feel a part of a community.
Then there’s the view. Though it’s the same general path as the Mark Twain, we’re closer to the water, allowing for a greater sense of intimacy. Plus, when everyone is working together, everyone is playing together, and the Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes give guests an opportunity to meet and chat with their theme park neighbors. Here, we truly feel a part of a community.
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(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)
29. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
Anaheim Family ride, dark ride
So many unique experiences can happen on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. Sitting in our two-seater buggy, we’ll nearly destroy a library, careen through a mansion, terrorize some sheep, get hammered at a bar, drive straight into a train and end up in Hell. Consider it a little slice of the darker side of life, an attraction in which humanity’s recklessness — namely our inability to control our impulses — sends us to the worst place imaginable. Only at Disneyland that place is rather cute, as those little red devils in the final scene are adorable critters.
Disneyland’s Fantasyland rides come with lessons, and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride throws us deep into our vices in a statement of our own agency. Left to our own lawless impulses, the ride seems to say, we’d be on a fast track to you-know-where.
It’s a reminder that fairy tales, even when represented as just a few minutes in a darkened showroom, serve up twisted tales related to our own moralities, fears and hopes. We escape back into the warmness of Fantasyland, a statement that good, if we will it, will prevail.
Disneyland’s Fantasyland rides come with lessons, and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride throws us deep into our vices in a statement of our own agency. Left to our own lawless impulses, the ride seems to say, we’d be on a fast track to you-know-where.
It’s a reminder that fairy tales, even when represented as just a few minutes in a darkened showroom, serve up twisted tales related to our own moralities, fears and hopes. We escape back into the warmness of Fantasyland, a statement that good, if we will it, will prevail.
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(Christian Thompson / Disneyland Resort)
30. Adventureland Treehouse inspired by Walt Disney’s Swiss Family Robinson
Anaheim Family attraction
A rare walkthrough attraction — and one that dates to 1962 — the Adventureland Treehouse Inspired by Walt Disney’s Swiss Family Robinson is a slice of Disneyland history that feels modernized, thanks largely to a 2023 update. The latter removed some dated and static figures associated with “Tarzan” and allowed Walt Disney Imagineers to inject a much-needed sense of life into the treehouse. Abstract, environmental storytelling, and some cleverly designed mechanical animals — you’ll want to spend some time watching Jane the Ostrich — resulted in a fresh-yet-retro makeover.
But there’s more.
A journey up the stairwell takes guests through multiple rooms, one with self-playing instruments and another with celestial trappings, each with details built for lingering. See, for instance, the music room, where a brass-looking, water-spewing elephant trunk fuels the instruments. Keep moving, and spy a monkey attempting to manipulate the timer of an animal feeder. Humor and wonder abound.
But there’s more.
A journey up the stairwell takes guests through multiple rooms, one with self-playing instruments and another with celestial trappings, each with details built for lingering. See, for instance, the music room, where a brass-looking, water-spewing elephant trunk fuels the instruments. Keep moving, and spy a monkey attempting to manipulate the timer of an animal feeder. Humor and wonder abound.
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(Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)
31. The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
Anaheim Family attraction
When Disneyland opened in 1955, its patriarch Walt Disney said the park was dedicated, in part, to the “hard facts that have created America.” Over the decades Disneyland has largely pivoted away from edu-tainment-focused attractions or exhibits that nod to American history, but Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln thankfully remains. Originally built for the 1964 World’s Fair, Great Moments has long served as a showcase for robotic technology and a belief that Disneyland is more than a place of mere escapism.
Theme parks, at their best, are spaces that mythologize cultural myths and stories, reflecting our history and our dreams back at us in an idealized form. This show, which presents highlights of Abraham Lincoln speeches, is not so much about the fight against slavery as it is a belief in better days and the hope that moral good will ultimately prevail. Some may overlook it as a history lesson, but it reflects Disneyland’s romanticized view of the world around us.
Theme parks, at their best, are spaces that mythologize cultural myths and stories, reflecting our history and our dreams back at us in an idealized form. This show, which presents highlights of Abraham Lincoln speeches, is not so much about the fight against slavery as it is a belief in better days and the hope that moral good will ultimately prevail. Some may overlook it as a history lesson, but it reflects Disneyland’s romanticized view of the world around us.
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(Winston Suk / Disneyland Resort)
32. Star Wars: Batuu Bounty Hunters
Anaheim Family attraction
OK, here’s what you need to know first about Star Wars: Batuu Bounty Hunters. There are hurdles, and they come at an added cost. To play, you’ll need the Play Disney Parks app for your smartphone, and you’ll need to purchase a Magic Band+, the park’s interactive wristband.
Once you have your supplies, head to Batuu and pretend to be Boba Fett or Din Djarin in a game that will encourage you to explore Galaxy’s Edge. That’s part of the game’s appeal, as the 14-acre land is one of Disney’s most detailed creations. Batuu Bounty Hunters extolls you to get close and personal with it.
The digital-meets-physical game is essentially a hide-and-seek attraction. Once you officially sign up and have a bounty, your Magic Band+ will change colors depending on whether you are nearing your target or getting further away. Capture and return, and you’ll be rewarded with a short animation as you level up your bounty hunter selves. It’s rather simple, once you get the hang of it, but it’s unique in that it further turns Galaxy’s Edge into a living game board.
Once you have your supplies, head to Batuu and pretend to be Boba Fett or Din Djarin in a game that will encourage you to explore Galaxy’s Edge. That’s part of the game’s appeal, as the 14-acre land is one of Disney’s most detailed creations. Batuu Bounty Hunters extolls you to get close and personal with it.
The digital-meets-physical game is essentially a hide-and-seek attraction. Once you officially sign up and have a bounty, your Magic Band+ will change colors depending on whether you are nearing your target or getting further away. Capture and return, and you’ll be rewarded with a short animation as you level up your bounty hunter selves. It’s rather simple, once you get the hang of it, but it’s unique in that it further turns Galaxy’s Edge into a living game board.
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(Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times)
33. The Incredicoaster
Anaheim Thrill Ride
As far as Disney roller coasters go, the Incredicoaster is a bit more straightforward. It’s not a fully themed environment like Big Thunder Mountain or Space Mountain. But it is still a sight to see. It takes up a large plot of real estate in California Adventure and has all the fixings of a modern coaster — an inversion, and a speed that is said to hit about 50 mph — but is designed in the style of an old-fashioned California coast attraction.
Some “Incredibles”-themed effects are not fully necessary (we can do without the static baby Jack-Jack figures) as the track is creative enough on its own, bringing guests high and low through Pixar Pier. Still, it’s the only roller coaster I know of that blasts cookie scents in the direction of riders. Mainly, I love it for its vintage design, and the sense of constant movement it brings to a large swath of California Adventure.
Some “Incredibles”-themed effects are not fully necessary (we can do without the static baby Jack-Jack figures) as the track is creative enough on its own, bringing guests high and low through Pixar Pier. Still, it’s the only roller coaster I know of that blasts cookie scents in the direction of riders. Mainly, I love it for its vintage design, and the sense of constant movement it brings to a large swath of California Adventure.
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(Todd Martens/Los Angeles Times)
34. Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island
Anaheim Family attraction
The trend in theme park attractions today is to make guests feel like active participants, so they are actors rather than watchers. You see this on rides like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, where the attraction is constantly speaking to us. There is an aspect of this approach that dates to Disneyland’s 1955 beginnings, most notably in the staged shootouts and pack mules that brought theatrics and activity to Frontierland, and Tom Sawyer Island, which joined the latter in 1956, allowing guests to run free amid caves, trails and a suspension bridge.
Now known as Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island, the attraction stands as the only one that was designed primarily by Walt Disney himself, who is said to have, days before construction was to begin, redesigned the space by imagining “the inlets, coves and atmosphere the island is known for today.” Take some time to explore it, especially the hidden backstories in the pirate lair known as Dead Man’s Grotto.
Now known as Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island, the attraction stands as the only one that was designed primarily by Walt Disney himself, who is said to have, days before construction was to begin, redesigned the space by imagining “the inlets, coves and atmosphere the island is known for today.” Take some time to explore it, especially the hidden backstories in the pirate lair known as Dead Man’s Grotto.
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(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)
35. Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure
Anaheim Family ride, dark ride
The building that houses Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure could live in downtown L.A.’s Arts District — its look a warehouse rehabbed to be trendy, which stands in contrast to the ornateness of Disney theme park designs. For as modern as the ride wants to be, Web Slingers is overall slight: It relies on screens rather than audio-animatronics, and it flashes player high scores as if we’re in a giant arcade.
So why did it make the list? Web Slingers is a celebration of absurdity.
Consider it a pleasing lark of a ride in which we wave our arms and flick our wrists to shoot imaginary webs at digital robots making a wreck of the Avengers Campus. Think of the Microsoft Kinect, except here our gestures are actually recognized, and we can help Spider-Man round up those robots or just make a mess of the subterranean theme park world.
More important than achieving a high score is the fact that Web Slingers naturally encourages you to communicate, not just with the ride but with your fellow riders. To have fun on it, you’re going to have to be silly, and play is powerful when it can break down social boundaries and encourage genuine interactions.
So why did it make the list? Web Slingers is a celebration of absurdity.
Consider it a pleasing lark of a ride in which we wave our arms and flick our wrists to shoot imaginary webs at digital robots making a wreck of the Avengers Campus. Think of the Microsoft Kinect, except here our gestures are actually recognized, and we can help Spider-Man round up those robots or just make a mess of the subterranean theme park world.
More important than achieving a high score is the fact that Web Slingers naturally encourages you to communicate, not just with the ride but with your fellow riders. To have fun on it, you’re going to have to be silly, and play is powerful when it can break down social boundaries and encourage genuine interactions.
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(Disneyland Resort)
36. Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Anaheim Family attraction
There’s an assortment of spin-based attractions at the Disneyland Resort — perhaps one too many — but the only two that truly matter are the teacups of Mad Tea Party (for a more grounded experience) and Dumbo the Flying Elephant. Dumbo remains my favorite of the lot, though, as it offers a bird’s-eye view of Fantasyland.
Though the land has changed a lot since its 1955 beginnings, it remains quintessential Disneyland, and the ability to take it all in from a height is powerful and worth waiting for. Tip: Ride at night, as the land glistens and glitters and looks gorgeous in the glow of the castle and King Arthur Carousel.
Though the land has changed a lot since its 1955 beginnings, it remains quintessential Disneyland, and the ability to take it all in from a height is powerful and worth waiting for. Tip: Ride at night, as the land glistens and glitters and looks gorgeous in the glow of the castle and King Arthur Carousel.
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(Paul Hiffmeyer / Disneyland Resort)
37. Grizzly River Run
Anaheim Thrill Ride
While the presence of just one audio-animatronic bear would send Grizzly River Run careening much higher up on this list, I appreciate its robust length – about seven minutes – and relatively varied ride experience. Some of us can admire from afar the idea of whitewater rafting but will never actually want to do it (hand raised), and Grizzly River Run seems perfect for that mindset. Things begin calmly enough as we drift and turn around an old mining town before the ride truly gets thrilling — and full of water. It reflects the whitewater experience at its most serene, and at its most daring, albeit in a safe theme park environment.
But what truly sets the ride apart is the overall design of Grizzly Peak at Disney California Adventure, which in a relatively confined space manages to re-create the feeling of being in a national park. Sure, it’s a lot of trees and rocks, says a naysayer, but it’s effective because Grizzly Peak is so realistically dense. A theme park needn’t be all brands and stimulation. Not when some well-groomed trees are so pacifying.
But what truly sets the ride apart is the overall design of Grizzly Peak at Disney California Adventure, which in a relatively confined space manages to re-create the feeling of being in a national park. Sure, it’s a lot of trees and rocks, says a naysayer, but it’s effective because Grizzly Peak is so realistically dense. A theme park needn’t be all brands and stimulation. Not when some well-groomed trees are so pacifying.
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Route Details
(Todd Martens/Los Angeles Times)
38. Casey’s Jr. Circus Train
Anaheim Family Ride
Another view of the miniatures of the Storybook Land Canal Boats, but this one from the rails. Clever seating — this is a circus train, after all — has some riding in animal-like cages as Casey chugs his way up hills and gains some confidence. It’s another Disneyland original, and a ride that adds to the movement and energy of Fantasyland.
My preferred way to view the miniatures is still with the cast member-led canal boats, but Casey’s Jr. is all vintage delight.
My preferred way to view the miniatures is still with the cast member-led canal boats, but Casey’s Jr. is all vintage delight.
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(Todd Martens/Los Angeles Times)
39. Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!
Anaheim Family ride, dark ride
Tucked away in a corner of Disney California Adventure, Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! tends to get overlooked, and that’s a shame. This journey through Monstropolis, where a familiar child is on the loose, is swift and cute, with clever details throughout. Try to peek in city windows, or peruse what’s on the menu — now scattered among various tables — at an upscale sushi restaurant.
A bit of history: Monsters, Inc. replaced the short-lived and relatively embarrassing Superstar Limo, a less-than-great jab at L.A.’s celebrity culture. The ride reuses and repurposes a lot of set pieces and characters, making it a relatively thrifty makeover. But California Adventure is relatively short on dark rides compared with its neighbor, and I appreciate the old-school vibes.
A bit of history: Monsters, Inc. replaced the short-lived and relatively embarrassing Superstar Limo, a less-than-great jab at L.A.’s celebrity culture. The ride reuses and repurposes a lot of set pieces and characters, making it a relatively thrifty makeover. But California Adventure is relatively short on dark rides compared with its neighbor, and I appreciate the old-school vibes.
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(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
40. Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
Anaheim Family ride, dark ride
I love that this ride exists. But I almost never ride it. The submarine lagoon is an absolute stunner to look at, and I can spend a good portion of the afternoon watching the subs circle the water while the Monorail soars above.
The subs and their lagoon have been more or less a fixture in Tomorrowland since 1959, and I’d hate to imagine Tomorrowland without them. That being said, it’s not the most comfortable of experiences, as the tightly packed vessels are not recommended for those who may suffer from even a whiff of claustrophobia. Try to ride it before the park’s closing time, when you can usually spread out a little more. The colorful coral is still a sight to see.
The subs and their lagoon have been more or less a fixture in Tomorrowland since 1959, and I’d hate to imagine Tomorrowland without them. That being said, it’s not the most comfortable of experiences, as the tightly packed vessels are not recommended for those who may suffer from even a whiff of claustrophobia. Try to ride it before the park’s closing time, when you can usually spread out a little more. The colorful coral is still a sight to see.
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(Christian Thom / Disneyland Resort)
41. King Arthur Carousel
Anaheim Family Ride
A Fantasyland fixture. While it has been moved from its original 1955 location, it’s still a joy to catch a glimpse of the carousel through the castle gates. It’s also one of the oldest structures in the park, as the carousel was constructed in 1922 and first spun at an amusement park in Canada before making its way to Disneyland.
In its original form, the carousel featured an array of animals, but Walt Disney, inspired by the Griffith Park merry-go-round, wanted his King Arthur Carousel to feature only horses. The result is an ornate structure — each horse is a work of art, with a unique expression and decoration — that is full of turn-of-the-century romance.
In its original form, the carousel featured an array of animals, but Walt Disney, inspired by the Griffith Park merry-go-round, wanted his King Arthur Carousel to feature only horses. The result is an ornate structure — each horse is a work of art, with a unique expression and decoration — that is full of turn-of-the-century romance.
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(Joshua Sudock / Disneyland Resort)
42. Mad Tea Party
Anaheim Family Ride
Relatively short waits mean this is an easy way to get a bit dizzy and snap some social media-ready pics on the most beautiful spinning tea cups around.
Route Details
(Paul Hiffmeyer / Disneyland Resort)
43. Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters
Anaheim Family Ride
As far as spinning rides at Disneyland go, Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters is one that has the power to surprise. More a dance in rhythm than wild movements, it’s hard not to crack a smile as you twist to so-called traditional Italian dances such as the “Tire-antella.” It’s a relatively light way to break up your day with something brisk and low-key.
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(Todd Martens/Los Angeles Times)
44. Pinocchio’s Daring Journey
Anaheim Family ride, dark ride
Worth riding for the painted backdrops, puppetry and glimpses of Figaro the cat, but it doesn’t capture the demented nature of the film or its heart.That makes it the weakest of the Fantasyland dark rides, and yet its painterly feel is worth the occasional visit.
Route Details
(Todd Martens/Los Angeles Times)
45. Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Anaheim Family ride, dark ride
A trifle of a dark ride, with a couple of psychedelic-worthy scenes. When Splash Mountain reopens as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, this will be a fine way to dry off.
Route Details
(David Roark)
46. The Little Mermaid — Ariel’s Undersea Adventure
Anaheim Family ride, dark ride
Although it’s probably my least favorite dark ride at the Disneyland Resort, this is one I ride regularly, due to a lack of dark rides in California Adventure and its relatively short waits. But it lacks the grandeur of the blacklighted Fantasyland attractions, where painted backgrounds and hand-crafted figures create a greater sense of wonder. Here, everything just feels a bit plastic.
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(Todd Martens/Los Angeles Times)
45. Red Car Trolley
Anaheim Family Ride
Disney California Adventure’s Buena Vista Street is a triumph, and it’s nice to traverse it via an old-fashioned trolley to conjure a bit of vintage L.A. transportation romance. But if you have access to both parks, the journey down Disneyland’s Main Street, U.S.A., and up to the castle is a bit more majestic and where one’s time should be devoted.
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(Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
48. Chip ’n’ Dale’s GADGETcoaster
Anaheim Family Ride
The recent remodel of Toontown has livened up this coaster, which is great for little ones but is less for the Disney adults. That’s OK; it wasn’t made for us.
Route Details
(Todd Martens/Los Angeles Times)
49. Goofy’s Sky School
Anaheim Thrill ride, family ride
A one-and-done coaster, with some cutesy signs but more uncomfortable seats than the Matterhorn.
Route Details
(Paul Hiffmeyer / Disneyland Resort)
50. Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree
Anaheim Family Ride
There’s lots of kinetic movement that helps draw our attention toward Cars Land. But if you’re looking for a spinner ride in this part of the park, get in line for Luigi’s.
Route Details
(Maria Alejandra Cardona / Los Angeles Times)
51. Astro Orbitor
Anaheim Family Ride
A blast, especially for little ones, to lift off and ride in a spaceship, but its awkward placement at the entrance of Tomorrowland doesn’t do it any favors. The ride needs height, and a clear view of Space Mountain.
Route Details
(Todd Martens/Los Angeles Times)
52. Pixar Pal-A-Round
Anaheim Family Ride
No shame in cozying up on a giant Ferris wheel, especially one that offers a view of Disneyland. Just avoid the vomit-inducing sliding gondolas. A Ferris wheel may not be the reason we come to Disneyland, but it can be a perfectly nice time for those on a date.
Route Details
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
53. Golden Zephyr
Anaheim Family Ride
Glide over the lagoon in California Adventure for a nice view of Pixar Pier. That’s about it.
Route Details
(Joshua Sudock / Disneyland Resort)
54. Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind
Anaheim Family Ride
Flying around at the base of the Incredicoaster can be fun, but for all the color and inventiveness of the world of “Inside Out,” everything here feels a bit static.
Route Details
55. Jesse’s Critter Carousel
Anaheim Family Ride
The toy-like critter makeover is a downgrade from the carousel’s previous incarnation, which featured glorious sea creatures.
Route Details
(Todd Martens/Los Angeles Times)
56. Jumping Jellyfish
Anaheim Family Ride
There’s no shame in simple rides for little ones, but nothing here says “Disney.”
Route Details
(Todd Martens/Los Angeles Times)
57. Silly Symphony Swings
Anaheim Family Ride
Sure, you’ll get height. You’ll also probably get nauseated. A definite miss for the easily motion sick.
Route Details
(Christina House / For The Times)
58. Autopia
Anaheim Family Ride
Conceding that there’s still a sense of wonder for children to imagine they can drive, Autopia brings some value to Tomorrowland. Plus, it offers views of the Monorail. But the smell of gas and outdated cars ultimately send this one careening to the bottom of any ride ranking.
Route Details
(Todd Martens/Los Angeles Times)
59. Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Anaheim Family ride, dark ride
An early incarnation of a video game ride that is essentially a digital shooting range, without the uniqueness of the interactions in Frontierland’s iconic shooting range. The ride represents the danger of doubling down on new tech. Today most phone games offer more excitement than you can find here, rendering Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters the most outdated-feeling ride at the Disneyland Resort.
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