Ah, Disneyland. The original Magic Kingdom. Probably the most iconic theme park in the history of theme parks. Its impact on popular culture over the last 70 years cannot be understated. It’s also the only Disney theme park that Walt Disney personally oversaw, and that alone makes it incredibly special. Its myriad of iconic attractions, some of which have been operating since the park opened, have become household names. Even its rides that no longer exist still have a cult following.

Opened in 1955, Walt Disney dedicated Disneyland to the “ideals, dreams, and the hard facts that have created America”. That spirit permeates every corner of the park today, with different areas or lands dedicated to the spirits of Adventure, Tomorrow, and Fantasy. During its lifetime, Disneyland has seen different rides and attractions come and go. These changes have morphed the park many times over the decades, leading it to become what it is today: a theme park with a diverse and eclectic collection of rides. I would even argue it has the best collection of rides of any Disney park. 

Being in Disneyland makes my heart swell. I truly believe that it’s the happiest place on earth. Magic lives in every pocket of that place. There’s something about thousands of people all congregating together to experience joy that makes me want to go back and experience that joy again and again and again (you could say I’m hooked).

And I’ve been hooked for a very long time. If this is the first time you’re reading a post from my blog, let me introduce myself. My name is Stephen and I’ve been a diehard Disney fan since I walked into Hong Kong Disneyland, my first Disney park, for the first time in 2006 when I was 9 years old. Since then, I’ve visited every Disney theme park in the world and have even been a passholder for 3 of the 6 resorts.

Disneyland in particular is very special to me. Ever since I moved to LA in 2021, I’ve visited Disneyland a grand total of 70 times in 4 years. I’ve been a Magic Keyholder since the program started in 2021, and I’ve made some of my best memories over the last four years in the parks. So when I tasked myself with making a Disneyland ride ranking, I knew it wouldn’t be easy. 

Disneyland, in my opinion, is the second best Disney park in the world, only after Tokyo DisneySea. And it gets that distinction mostly because of the amount of incredible rides that can be found here. From small, intimate dark rides to grand, over the top experiences, Disneyland earns the distinction of being the Disney park with the most rides located within its berm. Fantasyland alone has more rides than both Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World. 

But for the sake of helping you plan your next trip to Disneyland, I’ve decided to undertake this gargantuan task for your benefit (you’re welcome). But before we begin the ranking, I have a couple of things I wanted to talk about first.

Rankings like this are always difficult, because it’s hard to quantify how one ride is better than another. Sure, Rise of the Resistance is better than the Main Street Vehicles in terms of storytelling and narrative immersion, but the Main Street Vehicles are successful in providing kinetic energy to Main Street and making the land it’s in feel more alive, something Rise of the Resistance doesn’t do. 

Every attraction has its own strengths and weaknesses, and my job before we begin this post is to come up with criteria for judging these rides. If you’ve read my other ranking posts, you’ll know that I’m basing my ranking of these rides on the following criteria: how much they add to the identity of Disneyland, how they are viewed by the public, how much they contribute to the story and theme of the land they’re in, how well they execute their story and theme, how groundbreaking (or not) they are, how they act operationally, and my own personal preference with regards to their quality.

At the end of the day, even if I try to make this ranking as objective as it can be, it will always be tainted by my subjectivity. Everything is a matter of taste. I can’t promise that you’ll agree with my rankings, but please don’t come after me if you don’t. Just remember that all of this is the opinion of a guy on the internet. Ergo, it’s not that deep.   

Also, because Disneyland has over 35 rides, I’m going to break this ranking up into three parts. We’ll cover the bottom 13 rides in this post, with the upper 24 rides coming in subsequent posts. 

If you’d like to see my post ranking the rides at California Adventure, head over here. 

So now, without further ado, let the Disneyland ride ranking commence! 

Klook.com

37. Rafts to Tom Sawyer Island 

This ride is here more so on a technicality. For the purposes of this Disneyland ride ranking, I’m defining rides as having a vehicle that moves you through a space that you would otherwise not be able to move through without it. This technically qualifies as that, so I have to include it.

Just like my ranking for Tarzan’s Treehouse in HKDL, if this were being ranked together with Tom Sawyer Island, I would have ranked it a couple of places higher. Tom Sawyer is the one attraction at Disneyland that was personally designed by Walt Disney himself. Exploring the island is also fun as it has many inlets and bays that were crafted for guests to discover. However, Tom Sawyer Island (as is probably obvious to any of you who have been to Disneyland) is not a ride. And as such the rafts must stand on their own merit. 

I do appreciate the theming of the rafts themselves which makes them look like they’re made out of wood. That adds another layer of storytelling and theming to the attraction as a whole. But at the end of the day, this is just another form of transportation that is obviously not one of the best Disneyland rides in existence, which is also why it ranks last in this Disneyland ride ranking. 

36. Main Street Vehicles

Another mode of transportation, the Main Street Vehicles are a series of old cars and trolleys that go up and down Main Street USA. They’re one of only 2 rides that can be found on Main Street, the other being the Disneyland railroad. 

There are 4 vehicles to choose from at Disneyland: the horse-drawn street car which, as the name suggests, is pulled by a horse, along with the jitney, which is a car without a roof. There’s also a fire engine, and an omnibus, which is a two-storey open-air vehicle. The vehicles have two stops on opposite ends of Main Street. One is in Town Square by City Hall, and the other is by Sleeping Beauty Castle. The horse-drawn street car is the only vehicle that is on a track. 

Like I said in the introduction of this post, the Main Street Vehicles are by no means among the best Disneyland rides. They don’t have that high a capacity and to be honest, walking to the castle is probably faster than taking any of these transportation options. Sure, they’re cool to ride, especially the Omnibus, but their value isn’t in being the most exciting ride, but in the fact that they add so much theming, storytelling, and energy to Main Street.

Main Street is supposed to feel like a turn of the century small town in the middle of America. After all, it’s modeled after Walt Disney’s own childhood home of Marceline, Missouri. The facades and interiors of the Main Street buildings contribute to immersing you in the world of this small town. But it’s the vehicles that make Main Street feel lived in. By having real vehicles traverse the length of Main Street, it gives the area a certain level of authenticity and believability. Not to mention the kinetic energy that comes from seeing them in action.

Kinetic energy is something very important in theme park design as it makes spaces feel alive and invigorating. Something about seeing the vehicles on Main Street just transports you to that time period, and the kinetic energy they bring has a lot to do with this. 

Like every Disneyland attraction, the Main Street Vehicles serve their purpose of enriching Main Street USA. However, at the end of the day, there’s nothing exciting or groundbreaking about them. They’re good for a relaxing ride, and good to look at, but not much else. It’s for that reason that I rank it so low in this Disneyland ride ranking. 

35. King Arthur Carousel 

One of the original rides that’s been at Disneyland since its opening in 1955, and our first actual ride on this list, King Arthur Carousel is Disneyland Park’s one and only carousel. Located smack in the middle of Fantasyland, King Arthur Carousel is named after King Arthur, Aurora’s father in Sleeping Beauty. He is not to be confused with Arthur from the Sword in the Stone. 

Carousel’s play a huge part in Disney history. The story goes that Walt was watching his daughters from a bench in Griffith Park as they rode the Griffith Park carousel when he got the idea for what would eventually become Disneyland. This ride is also historic in that the carousel itself is over 90 years old. It was built by the Dentzel Carousel Company in Philadelphia and eventually landed in Sunnyside Beach Park in Toronto in 1922. It was from this park that Walt Disney acquired the carousel. 

The carousel initially had animals other than horses, but Walt wanted every guest to be able to ride a horse like King Arthur. And so vintage horses were tracked down and added to the ride, which now consists of 68 horses. 

Riding King Arthur Carousel is pretty straightforward. First you enter the queue from the back of the Carousel facing Dumbo. While boarding, take some time to notice the Sleeping Beauty vignettes that adorn the inner part of the carousel. They showcase some iconic scenes from the movie and really make this carousel feel like a work of art.

Before choosing which horse to ride, I have to mention the one horse that Disneyland insiders all gun for when riding this ride: Jingles. Jingles is the lead horse of the ride and she got that distinction after Walt’s wife Lillian proclaimed it as her favorite horse. She also was the one who named her Jingles, and during the 50th anniversary, it was also the horse that was painted gold for the celebration. 

Jingles also has ties to Disney Legend Julie Andrews as she was dedicated to the famous actress in 2008 as an homage to the scene in Mary Poppins where they ride carousel horses. You can spot Jingles because of the bells that adorn her, and by the number “50” and the words “Honorary Ambassador” located on her front. 

Once you’re on a horse, the ride begins and you start to spin counter clockwise. Instrumental Disney music plays on the ride and honestly the whole experience is pretty magical. It’s one of the simpler attractions in the park, but what it lacks in thrills or storytelling it makes up for in charm. 

However, its charm isn’t enough to catapult it above the other rides on this Disneyland ride ranking. At the end of the day, it’s a standard carousel, and because of that it doesn’t rank highly and is not one of the best Disneyland rides. But if the line is short (which it normally is) I would encourage you to ride it! If anything so that you can say you rode on Jingles. 

34. Mad Tea Party

Another ride that’s been around since opening day, the Mad Tea Party is an Alice in Wonderland themed attraction that was Disneyland’s original thrill ride. Originally located in the center of Fantasyland behind King Arthur Carousel, the ride was moved to its current spot after the refurbishment of Fantasyland in 1983, creating an Alice in Wonderland mini-land with the Alice in Wonderland dark ride. 

The ride features about 18 teacups, all affixed to one of three turntables. Once the music starts, which in Alice in Wonderland fashion is very zany and eccentric tunes that you can hear in the Alice movie, the turntables begin to spin and you can also spin your teacup. The faster you spin the center wheel, the faster your teacup spins. It used to spin a lot faster, but after an incident of someone getting flung from the ride, they’ve toned down the speed.

The ride goes on for about a minute and a half before it stops and lets new riders in. It’s kind of funny seeing riders exit the ride as they stumble off-balance making their way to the exit. This isn’t a ride I do often, mostly because I don’t like rides that spin. It’s also a fairly simple ride, but I can see why it was the original thrill ride of the park because those things are FAST.

I think the biggest strength of the ride is its setting. The Disneyland version of the ride is the only version that doesn’t have a roof. Instead, the lanterns are suspended from plants that traverse above the attraction. This gives it a very unique look compared to the 4 other Mad Tea Partys in the world (only Shanghai Disneyland doesn’t have a Mad Tea Party, instead having a Hunny Pot Spin themed to Winnie the Pooh). The area looks especially pretty at night with all the lights lit up. 

However, as aesthetically pleasing as the ride is, it just lacks the depth and breadth that other attractions have. And that’s not its fault. Some attractions were meant to be simple experiences. A theme park isn’t complete without these kinds of experiences. So while it isn’t the most exciting ride, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t accomplish what it sets out to do. It’s goal is to be a small flat ride that guests go on when they’re looking for something light and fun, and there’s no shame in that. 

But that being said, because of that, I can’t rank it any higher on this Disneyland ride ranking. I think it’s better than the carousel mostly because its theming is better and its decoration is really pretty. But is it one of the best Disneyland rides? I would say no, but again, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad ride. Just one that’s simple.

33. Astro Orbiter

I think you can begin to see a theme here. The spinner or flat rides are all towards the bottom of this list. This is mostly because none of them have the complexity or story layers that a more advanced ride like Rise of the Resistance has. Just like I said in the Mad Tea Party section, that doesn’t mean they’re bad rides. It just means that they’re a lot simpler, and I like more complex rides with stories built into them, which to be honest is Disney’s bread and butter. 

Astro Orbiter is another spinner, but this time it can be found at the entrance to Tomorrowland. Its earliest iterations were an opening day attraction, and it used to be called different names like Astro Jets and the Tomorrowland Jets. 

The ride used to be located on top of the old PeopleMover loading building. In fact, part of the old skeletal structure of the ride can still be seen above the PeopleMover building, now called the Observatron sculpture. When the ride was redone as the Astro Orbiter, the mechanism and rockets were too heavy for the PeopleMover building. As such, they decided to stick it in the front of Tomorrowland, where it remains to this day. 

The ride is fairly simple. You load onto a rocket and then ascend upwards. When you get to the highest point of the ride, you then begin to tilt towards the central axis. This can be kind of terrifying. Ok, I lied: it’s incredibly terrifying. I’ve only ridden this ride once and the spinning coupled with the tilt had me mortified. I will admit that it’s still a cool experience, even if the rockets spin too fast for my taste. 

The main reason why this is ranked at number 33 is because of its location. Unlike other rides on this list, this is the one ride in the entire park that feels shoehorned into a location where it doesn’t fit. It’s so tall that it dwarfs the buildings beside it, and it makes the whole thing feel a little out of place. They should really find a way to relocate it back to the top of the PeopleMover building, but I’ve resigned myself to the fact that that’s not going to happen. 

For the thrill you get while riding it and for its cool, futuristic design, I put it above the other spinner and flat rides on this list. But I can’t rank it above any of the other rides that follow it on this Disneyland ride ranking just because its location makes it stick out like a sore thumb. I hope when they eventually re-do Tomorrowland (because they should) that they put it back on the top of the PeopleMover building where it belongs (and while they’re at it, bring back the PeopleMover too). 

32. Dumbo the Flying Elephant

The last of the spinner and flat rides in this Disneyland ride ranking, this one is without a doubt the best spinner of them all. I will admit a big reason why I ranked this above the other spinners is not only because of my nostalgia for this ride, but because I also think that this ride is one of the most beautiful spinner rides in the entire resort (probably tied with Silly Symphony Swings for the top spot).

When it debuted a month after Disneyland’s opening in 1955, Dumbo was an instant Disney classic ride from the moment guests experienced it. Something about flying so high up in the sky and seeing all of Fantasyland from above just makes me, and a lot of other guests, smile ear to ear. Interestingly enough, the ride almost didn’t include Dumbo himself. It was originally going to be themed around the pink elephants from the movie. 

The original Dumbo looked quite different from the current one that now sits in Fantasyland. It used to only have ten Dumbos until it was updated in 1990 to include 16 of them. At one point, they were constructed to have their ears move, but this was ultimately shelved due to mechanical issues. Dumbo was also supposed to be included in a Dumbo miniland called “Dumbo Circusland” but this was ultimately shelved by Disney. 

 

Dumbo is located towards the back of Fantasyland. Its setting is actually pretty lovely. The central hub is a gorgeous contraption that also doubles as a fountain. The queue is also one of the few queues for an outdoor ride that is in the shade. While the area pales in comparison to Magic Kingdom’s Dumbo, it’s still a quaint little area of the park. 

After queuing up, you’re then assigned a number and are told to stand on your number in the waiting area. Each Dumbo is numbered so it’s pretty easy to find your specific Dumbo. After everyone enters the ride area and is strapped in, the Dumbos begin to fly. There’s a joystick located in the Dumbo so that you can control how high or low you want it to go. The ride ends with every Dumbo rising to the top of the ride, and then slowly making their way down. 

This is without a doubt the prettiest spinner at the park. Its central hub, as mentioned, is gorgeous, and the views you get of Fantasyland from up there are striking and beautiful. It doesn’t really have a story to it, but the little details of the ride like the Timothy Mouse standing on top of the middle of the ride are all pretty cute. But more than the details, this ride is special because of how iconic it is to Disney Parks as a whole. It’s the only ride located in all Disney parks, and going on it has become a rite of passage for every kid that visits Disneyland. 

Like I said, it’s not groundbreaking by any means. But it is a Disneyland classic, and deserves its spot in this Disneyland ride ranking above the other spinners because of its reputation and design. Again, is it among the best Disneyland rides? Of course not, but it does what it has to do well, which still has merit to it. 

31. Chip ‘n’ Dale’s GADGETcoaster

Based on the hit animated TV show Chip ‘n’ Dale Rescue Rangers, Chip ‘n’ Dale’s GADGETcoaster (I’ll be referring to it as Gadgetcoaster from now on) is a junior coaster found at the back of Toontown. The tamest of all the rollercoasters at the Disneyland resort, it’s also the only one that’s primarily geared to children. 

Opening with the rest of Mickey’s Toontown on January 24, 1993, this is the first Junior coaster built in any Disney theme park. A version of the ride also currently exists in Tokyo Disneyland in their version of Toontown. 

The theming of the attraction is where this ride shines. The story goes that Gadget, the cheeky inventor from the Chip n Dale series, created this contraption for the enjoyment of Toontown’s littlest visitors. You can see throughout the ride that she’s used various household objects to construct the coaster.

The ride experience starts in the queue that leads to Gadget’s garage where you can see some of her tools and inventions. You then hopped in a retrofitted acorn, which can usually fit either one adult or one adult and a small child. You then begin your ascent on the coaster, with Gadget showing you her plans as you go up the lift hill. After a couple of twists and turns, you end up back on solid ground and proceed back to the station. 

Like I said, this ride’s strength is its theming. The coaster does look like it’s made out of different objects and really helps create the illusion that you’ve shrunk down to the size of a chipmunk. I will say, however, that it is jarring seeing Mickey and Minnie’s houses beside the coaster at “normal size” while everything here is large. So while it’s good theming, it’s not consistent. 

The ride itself is a great little ride for youngsters. It doesn’t do anything crazy, which is what you expect from a Junior Coaster. It doesn’t rank that highly for me, however, because it’s not really that exciting or groundbreaking. It’s an inoffensive coaster that, while well themed, isn’t a headliner by any means, which is why it is where it is in this Disneyland ride ranking. Not the best Disneyland ride, but it does provide stunning views of Toontown, especially at night. 

30. Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes

I know, I know, some of you are shocked to see this ranked so high on this Disneyland ride ranking. This ride is infamous in the Disneyland community for being unbearable. No one goes to a theme park expecting a workout (although I’d argue that Toy Story Midway Mania and Web Slingers are as physically grueling as this ride). Also, how can I rank a ride that is barely operating most of the year so high on this ranking. Well, let me explain. 

The Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes opened on July 4th, 1956, a year after Disneyland opened, as part of an expansion of Frontierland. It was originally called the Indian War Canoes until it was renamed to promote the Davy Crockett Miniseries that was popular at the time. It is one of only two Disneyland attractions that has been in 3 different lands at Disneyland without being moved. 

In the ride, 20 guests and 2 guides get into a canoe. Everyone is given a paddle and smaller children are given life vests to wear. The attraction is known for being the only attraction at Disneyland that is completely powered by guests. It’s also the only Disney ride that isn’t on any sort of track, instead being steered by one of the guides at the back of the canoe (ok technically the trackless rides don’t have tracks, but those have rfid tags that they follow in the ground and I count that as a track).

Ok, now for the explanation. This ride doesn’t have any significant theming other than the canoes and paddles which, to be fair, look authentic. You see the same things on the Rivers of America as you would see on the Mark Twain or the Sailing Ship Columbia. So what actually merits it being above the other rides on this list. Well, it’s here for one simple reason: originality. 

Like I mentioned, this is the only ride in the park that is powered by guests. I know it can be tiring, but there’s a certain fun in being able to row your canoe with 19 other guests as you all struggle to circumnavigate the Rivers of America. Also, it being the only untracked ride in the whole park makes it very unique too. It makes you really feel like you’re on an adventure through the American wilderness. 

The perspective you get of the Rivers of America is also unmatched. Rowing past the Mark Twain and the Sailing Ship Columbia and the other encampments along the river really immerses you into the experience of cruising down this river. The canoes also add a lot of kinetic energy to the area and breathe life into all the lands they pass by. It’s for these reasons that it’s ranked where it is in this Disneyland ride ranking. 

29. Autopia

You can hear and smell this attraction from a mile away. Located in Tomorrowland, Autopia is a driving attraction where you get in a car and cruise along the highways of tomorrow, as the blurb says. It’s essentially an opportunity for kids to get behind the wheel of a car and drive around a big part of Tomorrowland. 

Autopia is one of the few attractions in Disneyland that opened with the park in 1955. It was meant to be a look into the future of America’s multi-lane highway system, something that hadn’t been developed yet at the time. Disneyland’s Autopia had 4 different versions throughout its history, including Fantasyland Autopia and Junior Autopia. Tomorrowland Autopia, the only one that still exists to this day, is also the longest running version of the ride. 

Autopia is a fairly simple ride. You enter a car and are reminded that to brake you just need to take your foot off the gas and that you should not bump the car in front of you. For those of you who have never been on the attraction before, there’s a guardrail in the center of the road that the cars all drive over, which prevents the cars from crashing. After being reminded of the rules, you then begin driving through the landscapes of Tomorrowland. 

You pass through different installations, including multiple ones of a robot named ASIMO who is tied to the sponsor of the attraction, Honda. My favorite part of the attraction is when the road “ends” and you proceed to go off-road on the attraction. You then drive back to the station and disembark from the ride. 

I ranked this ride as low as I could possibly rank it in a way that makes sense. Obviously it’s a “better” ride than the spinners in that it’s more unique, but it honestly shouldn’t be in Disneyland anymore. It’s just not the best Disneyland ride in my opinion. I understand it used to represent the future of highways, but that future has now been around for decades. The attraction is just really dated and takes away from Tomorrowland, the one land that should NOT be dated. 

It also just takes up too much space. They could fill that space with a Tomorrowland expansion or even another land if they wanted to. Instead, Disneyland management chooses to keep it around. They’ve also committed to keeping it around by gradually converting all the gas powered cars into electric cars by Fall 2026. Which is a good thing, but I beg every Disney park that still has an Autopia to follow Hong Kong Disneyland and just get rid of it so that they can build something cooler on it. Unless you’re under the age of 7, you won’t find this ride particularly exciting. 

28. Disneyland Monorail

From this point onward, these are attractions that I go on regularly at Disneyland. Even some of the ones that are ranked relatively low on this ranking I still consider some of my favorites. Sure they may not be the best rides on paper, but I appreciate them for their history as well as their legacy. One of those attractions is the Disneyland Monorail. 

Originally envisioned by Walt as the future of American public transportation, fascination with automobiles and the explosion of automobile use sidelined monorails to only being found in Disney theme parks. The original monorail was designed by legendary imagineer Bob Gurr. The monorail opened on June 14, 1959 along with the Submarine Voyage, Matterhorn, an expanded Autopia, and the motor boat cruises. 

The monorail originally comprised just a single station. It would take a grand circle tour of Tomorrowland before returning to its one station. It, however, became a true transportation system in the 60s when it was expanded 2 ½ miles and added a stop near the Disneyland Hotel. Currently the Mark 7 monorails are the ones in use at the Disneyland resort. 

The Monorail starts either at Downtown Disney or at the Tomorrowland station. Once guests have filed in, the Monorail then makes its 2 ½ mile loop around the resort, passing California Adventure and the Grand Californian, as well as going around the Submarine Lagoon, Autopia, and the Matterhorn. When you arrive at the second stop you have a choice of whether or not to get off or ride the attraction in a full loop. 

I personally love this attraction, and it’s a testament to Disneyland’s strength as a theme park that I can love an attraction ranked so low on this list. It gets points for how innovative it was at the time and for how much kinetic energy it brings to the lands it inhabits. It also gets points for being the only Disneyland ride that takes you OUTSIDE the park for a tour of the entire Disneyland Resort. 

I couldn’t rank it higher than this, however, as it’s still basically just a transportation system that doesn’t have anything cool like the Grand Canyon and Dinosaur dioramas that can be found on the Disneyland Railroad. It’s simple to a fault, which isn’t a bad thing. But because of that, I think it should be ranked at this point in this Disneyland ride ranking.

27. Casey Jr. Circus Train 

The Casey Jr. Circus Train is a cute Fantasyland attraction based on the film Dumbo that takes you on a whimsical tour of Storybookland, a small sub-land of Fantasyland that features miniature versions of iconic Disney Animated movie locations. This is one of two rides that can be found in Storybookland, the other being the Storybookland Canal Boats.

This ride opened with the park on July 17, 1955. It was closed for a bit the day after opening for safety reasons but was reopened 2 weeks later. There’s a counterpart version of this ride located in Disneyland Paris, but that ride is more like a rollercoaster. The Disneyland version is almost like a mini version of the Disneyland Railroad. 

The queue for the attraction is a simple switchback queue that can be found on the western side of Fantasyland near Red Rose Tavern. After lining up, you’ll get to choose where you want to sit on the ride. I wouldn’t recommend any of the cages, especially if you’re claustrophobic. The ride gives you an amazing view of Storybookland. Although you can’t really stop to admire the details of the miniatures, it’s fun to go around the mini-land. 

My favorite part of the ride is when the train recreates the scene in Dumbo when Casey Jr. tries to get up a steep hill and motivates himself by saying “I think I can” over and over again. It’s a fun little addition to the ride, and the ride even slows down a bit during this part. Another thing that makes the ride great is its music, which incorporates the Casey Jr song from Dumbo. After riding around for about a minute, you’re brought back to the station. 

This ride gets plus points for how the trains are designed, as they look as cute as they do in the actual movie. While the ride is fun and well-themed, and some of the train elements do a good job of immersing you in the world of Dumbo and Storybookland, it doesn’t really do anything exciting or special, aside from the little slowdown on the hill to mimic the movie. 

It also gets deducted points because you can’t really admire Storybookland while on the ride as it moves fast. The Storybookland Canal Boats do a better job of immersing you in the land and showing you the details of Storybookland than Casey Jr. Circus Train does. It’s still a fun ride, but definitely not the best Disneyland ride, nor even the best ride in Storybookland, which means it’s low on this Disneyland ride ranking. 

26. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Situated in the newly renamed Bayou Country, the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is the first dark ride on this list. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Winnie the Pooh. He’s my third favorite Disney character of all time after Mickey and Stitch, and the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is one of my all time favorite Disney movies.

But just like Autopia, I had to rank this here on this Disneyland ride ranking because it is objectively the worst dark ride in the park, and only outranks the other rides on this list because it at least tries to tell a story (focus on the word “tries”). But make no mistake, this is the worst Winnie the Pooh ride in the world.

Infamous for replacing the much beloved Country Bear Jamboree during the equally as infamous Paul Pressler era of Disneyland, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh starts outside the show building before it dips inside and brings us to the Hundred Acre Wood. 

The ride begins with a blustery day that then transitions into a flood scene. After that, we meet Tigger, who guides us to Pooh’s house where he dreams of heffalumps and woozles. We then enter a psychedelic heffalumps and woozles world. It’s revealed that Pooh was just dreaming of that world and, after waking up, the characters celebrate his birthday and the ride exits back outside to the loading station. 

This is the worst Winnie the Pooh ride mostly because of its story. The story, as you can tell from my description above, makes absolutely no sense. Why do we go from a blustery day all of a sudden to a flood then to Pooh’s house. There’s no overarching thread. It’s like it took the ride at Magic Kingdom and jumbled it all up in order to make it “different” but it ends up just being a mess. Say what you will about the Pooh attraction in Magic Kingdom, at least it still follows a clear narrative, has story structure, and even has a beginning, middle, and end. This has none of that. 

It also lacks the “bouncing” portion of the ride that is found in the other 4 Pooh rides around the world (most notably the Pooh ride in Tokyo does that extremely well). While I will admit that it has the second best Heffalumps and Woozles scene (only second to Tokyo), none of that matters when you have a clunky narrative. 

In addition, the scenes are poorly constructed. You can clearly see more than one Pooh at once in between the blustery day scene and the flood scene. Those scenes, the blustery day and flood scenes, also are just shortened versions of the ones found at Magic Kingdom, lacking any of the detail or placemaking that make the Magic Kingdom scenes great. This I think is partly because of how big the ride vehicle is that it eats up the scenes around it because it needs the space to move. Also, now that the land has been renamed Bayou Country, this ride feels out of place. 

It’s also unfortunate that it replaced a great attraction in the Country Bear Jamboree. I honestly think they should tear this one down and start over again. Winnie the Pooh is one of the most popular and iconic franchises that Disney has, and it’s a shame they were given such a mediocre ride at Disneyland. 

That being said, having a bad Pooh ride is better than having no Pooh ride at all, so I sometimes still ride this ride just to get immersed in the world of Winnie the Pooh. It’s ranked this high only because it at least attempts to tell a story and has a decent amount of sets and animatronics. It always leaves me wondering how much better the immersion would be if it just fixed its story and design problems. 

25. Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage

Our final entry for this portion of the Disneyland ride ranking is the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage! This over-hated and underrated attraction can be found in Tomorrowland right by the Matterhorn, with its loading area being underneath the Monorail’s Tomorrowland station. This attraction also has a lot of history behind it. 

Originally opening as the Submarine Voyage, the ride debuted with the Monorail and the Matterhorn as part of Disneyland’s first ever expansion. At the time, it was the 8th largest submarine fleet in the world. The submarines would run for almost 40 years before closing in 1998 to make way for a new theme to be added to the attraction. After multiple Disney movies were considered, they stuck with a Finding Nemo theme after that movie was a box office success. 

During the ride, you enter a yellow submarine and are seated in a row of benches in front of a porthole. The porthole lets you view the action that’s taking place in front of you. I will admit, the whole set-up is a little claustrophobia inducing, so if you can’t take being in tight spaces, you may want to skip this ride.

Once the ride starts, you then “dive” down via a bubble effect and end up looking out over the Great Barrier Reef. A new contraption is then turned on so you can actually hear fish talk, which is when you encounter the fish characters from Finding Nemo. In the story, Nemo is lost again as he and Squirt try to look for an underwater volcano. Along the way they encounter Anglerfish, explosive mines, and even a jellyfish or two. The whole thing culminates in the submarine getting swallowed by a whale. 

The story is a bit disjointed and hangs on very loose threads. In addition, the projections of Nemo and his friends could use an upgrade. But for what it is it’s a solid attraction. There’s also nothing quite like it anywhere else in the world. Even 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea at Tokyo DisneySea doesn’t quite capture the same experience that these submarines do. 

I appreciate the submarines for their uniqueness, but loathe them for how slow they go. The attraction also seems to go on for way too long, trapping you in that tight space for a while. I can therefore see why people hate it because you’re essentially trapped in a small enclosed space with 30 other people all breathing the same air. But the way people talk about this attraction you’d think it slapped them in the face. 

People like to point out its flaws but if you think about it, where else in the entire world can you actually board a working submarine. That’s an experience 99% of people will never experience in their lifetime, and it adds to the character and identity of Disneyland. 

I also have to mention the crazy gorgeous lagoon we get out of it (which looks even better at night). It may not be perfect, but it’s earned its place in Disneyland and should be appreciated for its rich history and one-of-a-kind ride experience. 

Disneyland Ride Ranking Part 1 Conclusion

And with that we’re done with the first 13 entries in our Disneyland ride ranking! Stick around for part two where we dive into more dark rides, including the famous Fantasyland dark rides!

If you enjoyed this Disneyland Ride Ranking, consider subscribing to my newsletter and bring the enchantment of Disney parks, resorts, and cruise lines straight to your inbox. Whether you’re planning your first magical trip or you’re a seasoned Disney pro, my newsletter is your ultimate guide to creating enchanting memories.

🌟 What You’ll Get:

• Expert tips for navigating Disney parks and skipping the lines.
• The latest updates on new attractions, events, and dining experiences.
• Insider secrets to make your visit extra magical (and budget-friendly!).
• Personalized itineraries, seasonal guides, and hidden Disney gems.

From Walt Disney World and Disneyland to Disney Cruise Line and the international parks, we’ll help you plan the trip of your dreams with less stress and more pixie dust!

👉 Subscribe below and let the magic begin! 🏰✨

Klook.com

SUGGESTED READING: