The Best Rides Based on Movies Ever
From the very first day Disneyland opened its gates in 1955, attractions based on movies were among the park’s biggest draws. Rides like the Mad Tea Party and Peter Pan’s Flight dazzled visitors, immersing them in worlds they had only previously experienced staring up at a big screen in a darkened theater.Both of those rides continue to operate at Disneyland, and at Walt Disney World and other Disney parks around the globe. In the decades since, they’ve been joined by dozens of other movie-based attractions, not only at Disney’s parks but also at Universal’s — a company built on a 100+-year-old foundation of cinema.With their striking visuals and iconic characters, movies make the ideal foundation for theme park attractions. Maybe that’s why so many of the best rides ever created take inspiration from movies. Like the 25 attractions listed below. A couple date back 70 years; others are brand new, like the ones recently installed at Universal’s Epic Universe park. Each of my picks also includes a video of the ride for the vicarious thrill seekers out there.Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making MoviesThese days, Universal’s theme parks are almost exclusively devoted to rides and environments that let guests feel like they have stepped inside their favorite movies and shows. That’s a stark contrast to their parks’ initial concept as a place where tourists learned the secrets of film and TV production, with a couple bigger rides thrown in for extra oomph. One of the best examples of old-school Universal was Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies. After a 3D highlight package of Hitchcock films, guests were ushered into a soundstage where a “director” and his “crew” explained how Hitchcock shot Psycho’s shower scene. Then guests could wander an interactive area, and participate in demonstrations of the practical movie magic behind movies like Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, and Saboteur. It was like a cross between a thrill ride and a museum — and for a budding cinephile, it was a paradise. It closed in 2003 to make room forShrek 4-D.Alice in WonderlandAlthough the appropriately psychedelic Alice in Wonderland ride has existed in one form another for well over 50 years, it’s still surprisingly immersive. The current version of the attractionspeed runs through almost the film’s entire plot in about three minutes, and features an effective blend of animatronics and screens, and climaxes in a leisurely descent down the outside of the show building, with picturesque views of the Matternhorn and Fantasyland. As old school “kids rides,” go, this is about as good as it gets.Avatar: Flight of PassageThe centerpiece of Animal Kingdom’s land based on James Cameron’s Avatar, Flight of Passage takes the central premise of its inspiration — human beings using technology to step into the bodies of the giant blue-skinned aliens — and actually gives the riders the sensation of riding on a banshee through the skies of Pandora.The technology works surprisingly well, and the 10K ride footagelooks spectacular.READ MORE: Disney Announces New Theme ParkBack to the Future: The RideThe unforgettable Back to the Future: The Ride let visitors board a detailed copy of the franchise’s DeLorean time machine for an aerial chase through the centuries.With special effects by 2001: A Space Odyssey legend Douglas Trumbull, BTTF:TR lived up to the old Universal slogan that promised a vacation where you could “ride the movies.” Its closure was inevitable; the “future” of the Back to the Future franchise is set in 2015, i.e. our past. The two American versions of the attraction closed by the late 2000s, although Universal Studios Japan’s version managed to hang on until 2016 — one year after Marty and Doc went back to the future.Dumbo the Flying ElephantIs there any movie ride more iconic than Dumbo? Disney doesn’t seem to think so; Dumbo’s the only ride that they have built at all six of their main “castle” theme parks: Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland, and, in 2016, Shanghai Disneyland. You could call the ride simple; guests board a vehicle that looks like the floating pachyderm, each with a joystick that allows the rider to shift their Dumbo up and down. You could also call it elemental; it taps into little children’s desire to fly, and it empowers them to take control of their experience. As long as Disney continues to operate theme parks, Dumbo will keep on flying.Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: Breakout!Disneyland purists were skeptical when the company announced they were going to re-theme the California Adventure version of the beloved Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attraction into a ride based on the popular Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. But when the ride opened, most had to admit: It was pretty darn fun, and possibly better than the Tower of Terror. Instead of a haunted hotel’s elevator, guests now board “gantry lifts” that bounce up and down an elevator shaft, stopping at different floors to view the Guardians in battle with an alien monster while one of six songs from the eclectic soundtrack plays. It’s possibly the most effective re-use of an existing ride system in Disney history, and thanks to the different songsit holds up very well on multiple visits, which probably explains why it remains one of the most popular attractions at California Adventure many years after it first opened.Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike AdventureMovie rides often emphasize theming over adrenaline, but Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure at Universal’s Islands of Adventure nails both. There are beautiful animatronic monsters, including unicorns, centaurs, and Hagrid’s beloved dog Fluffy, all integrated into a roller coaster that races around the outskirts of the original Wizarding World of Harry Potter.The fact that riders are carried along on their own motorcycle or sidecar not only enhances the immersive quality, it increases the thrill. There’s nothing quite like blasting backwards at 50 miles per hour on a bike seat to get your blood pumping.Harry Potter and the Battle at the MinistryEpic Universe’s Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry levels up the concepts of earlier Universal dark rides like Spider-Man or Transformers. Guests board large seated elevators that appear to fly up, down, and around the Ministry of Magic from the Harry Potter films, where they help the franchise’s core trio of heroes as they fight the evil Dolores Umbridge. The attraction boasts some of Universal’s most seamless illusions ever, and its entrance — which transports you via “floo” from 1920s Paris to 1990s London to emerge into the Ministry of Magic’s grand hall — is a jaw-dropping spectacle. That reveal is a bigger “wow” than a lot of entire rides at other amusement parks.Harry Potter and the Forbidden JourneyThe first of Universal’s ever-expanding Wizarding World attractions, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey was like no other ride when it first opened at Islands of Adventure in 2010. Housed inside an impressive creations of the Hogwarts castle, Forbidden Journey lets riders board “enchanted benches” for a trip around, through, and under the magical school with Harry Potter and his friends. Some of the large-scale animatronics are starting to show their age; the seamless blend of screens, sets, and an advanced KUKA arm vehicle have been surpassed by other attractions in the last decade. Still, that central conceit of letting you feel like you are flying on your own Nimbus 2000 always works like magic.Hogwarts ExpressUniversal’s second Wizarding World was a financial inevitability after the first one proved so successful. Making the second area Diagon Alley — and then connecting the two lands via a functional Hogwarts Express train — was a masterstroke. Each of the respective areas houses its own distinctive station, and guests queue up for a ride on the iconic locomotive, where they sit in individual cabins and glimpse familiar faces from the Harry Potter franchises out their compartment window. Silhouettes and voices spied in the hallway enhance the immersion, and because the train runs in both directions, there are two totally distinct videos to enjoy.Indiana Jones AdventureRiding through it today, it’s hard to believe Indiana Jones Adventure is 30 years old. The combination of an old-fashioned dark ride with high-tech special effects holds up extremely well. The premise supposedly dumps tourists on a guided jeep tour into the “Temple of the Forbidden Eye” thatdoes not go to plan.In practice, it’s all an excuse to let guests experience Indiana Jones’ greatest hits: Rickety suspension bridges, plumes of fire, barrages of darts, thousands of bugs, and, of course, speeding away from an enormous rolling ball. Add in some of that classic John Williams Raiders of the Lost Ark music, and you have all the makings of a great movie ride.Jurassic World VelociCoasterDon’t ask me to explain the story of this one. They built a roller coaster inside the Jurassic World raptor enclosure? What’s next? A genetically engineered dinosaur that’s even stronger, faster, and smarter than a T.rex and can also camouflage itself?Whatever cockamamie story they cooked up to justify the concept, it was worth it; VelociCoaster is not just a great movie ride, it’s a great roller coaster period. With a top speed of 70 miles per hour, it’s also one of the fastest. It features multiple launches, inversions, and intricate dinosaur theming. Universal’s come a long way from that old Jurassic Park River Adventure.KongfrontationKing Kong has been a mainstay in Universal’s various theme parks since the mid-1980s, when a giant Kong animatronic was added to the Studio Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood. That was expanded to a full-blown attraction at Universal Studios Florida called Kongfrontation, where guests evacuated from Manhattan on the Roosevelt Island Tramway after Kong runs amok. Naturally, the evacuation did not go smoothly and Kong grabbed the tram before a last-second getaway. It was a surprisingly intense experience with fun touches — like the fact that the Kong animatronic’s “breath” smelled like bananas. Kong was put out to pasture in 2002 to make way for a roller coaster inspired by The Mummy franchise. The great ape has since found a new home at nearby Islands of Adventure, where an attraction called Skull Island: Reign of Kong opened in 2016.Millennium Falcon: Smugglers RunI know this is a polarizing ride; some visitors don’t care for its video game vibes, or the fact that it contains no Han Solo and only fleeting glimpses of Chewbacca. Personally, after almost a dozen rides, I love it. I love the life-size Falcon replica outside the entrance and the incredibly detailed recreation of the Falcon interior, complete with holochess table. Then the ride itself is a blast; certainly at its most fun when you get to pilot the ship, but also very enjoyable as a gunner or an engineer.It’s awesome with a group of friends working together and it’s incredible when you ride with kids, who get to feel like they made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein ExperimentThere are lots of dark rides; Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment is areally dark ride. Years of experience with their Halloween Horror Nights gave Universal the confidence to make a genuinely scaryattraction, one with monsters and jump scares galore. Guests enter an eerie recreation of Frankenstein Manor, then wind their way through its atmosphere-soaked rooms, past glowing equipment and crates filled with organs and lab rats. They emerge in the laboratory of Victoria Frankenstein, who wants to restore her family’s good name by capturing Dracula. Say it with me this time: Nothing ever goes according to plan on a theme park ride. Frankenstein’s latest experiment goes horribly wrong in the most pulse-quickening ways, and leads to appearancesfrom all of the classic Universal Monsters. The ride, as well as the surrounding castle and queue, are so detailed. It’s like a vintage horror fan just stepped into a dream come true — or the best nightmare ever.Peter Pan’s FlightMaybe the definitive Disney dark ride, Peter Pan’s Flight is a true classic; some 70 years old at this point, and still magical.Guests board “flying” pirate ships for a trip to Never Land with Peter Pan and the Darlings. Where a lot of the old school Disney dark rides are surprisingly scary, Peter Pan’s Flight is all about giving young kidsa taste of what it might feel like to fly high above London in the ride’s famous centerpiece sequence.Radiator Springs RacersThe Cars franchise has never been among Pixar’s most critically acclaimed efforts. The series’ big ride at California Adventure, though, is a true blockbuster, combining state-of-the-art animatronic cars and a thrilling race component, where s pair of vehicles carrying two sets of riders zoom around an impressive recreation of Radiator Springs. It’s not too intense for Cars’ core fanbase, and just exciting enough for everyone to feel like it’s worth the ride’s perpetually long wait times. Plus now we know where the cars from Cars come from; at some unknown point in the future, the animatronic full sized Lightning McQueen and Mater from Radiator Springs Racers will gain sentience and turn against their human masters. It’s only a matter of time.Splash MountainWhatever you think of The Song of the South and its depiction of life in the late 19th century, the ride Disney inexplicably chose to theme to itwas a lot of fun. A log flume enhanced with animatronic cartoon characters and one of Disney’s most famous songs, it combined Disney’s flair for storytelling with family-friendly thrills. The fact Disney never released The Song of the South on home video meant it was only a matter of time before Splash Mountain got tossed into the briar patch itself. The ride lives on in a new form, though; the mountain and flume are now the subject of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. If you’re desperate to ride Splash Mountain again, you’ll need to take a trip to Japan; it’s still operating at Tokyo Disneyland.Star ToursThanks to constant updates, the original Star Wars ride at Disneyland still holds up well more than 35years after its first introduction. The original version had a single film that played in a simulator; guests’ pleasure cruise to Endor would go slightly out of control — nothing ever goes to plan on a theme park ride — and then wander into a battle with the Death Star. The current version, which makes zero sense in Star Wars continuity, sends Star Tourists to famous locations from the nine Star Wars movies and various Disney+ shows, and includes cameos from numerous characters. Disney has continually added new segments to the ride, and the modern CGI looks superb. Plus, because each ride contains a random handful from the 20 different possible segments, Star Tours always full of surprises.Star Wars: Rise of the ResistanceThere are several really good Star Wars attractions on this list, but Rise of the Resistance is the best of the bunch — or maybe the best movie-based theme park ride period. It’s long, full of surprises, and contains multiple ride vehicles and sequences. It’s almost a greatest hits of Disney Imagineering; there are screens, advanced animatronics, human performers, “holograms,” movie star cameos, trackless ride vehicles, full-size space ships and AT-AT walkers, and a giant hanger filled with Stormtroopers. It really feels like you’ve wandered into an increasingly perilous Star Wars adventure, and the theming and thrills are off the charts. I’m sure that some day some ride will top Rise of the Resistance. For now, it’s the irresistible #1.Studio Backlot TourFor some 60 years, trams have taken Universal visitors through the studio’s famous backlot. While the ride has evolved with the times, it also maintains a lot of the tram tour’s original flavor, taking guests through Hill Valley from Back to the Future and past the Psycho house from the famous horror franchise. Guides share behind-the-scenes secrets and hacky jokes, and videos that run on screens in the tram as it makes its way from stop to stop provide context and history. For old-school movie lovers, it’s still a thrill to take a trip into Hollywood history, and the ride’s unusual length — almost an hour! — makes it a welcome break from walking all day.Toy Story Mania!Toy Story Mania! took the basic concept from Disney’s existing Buzz Lightyear shooting gallery rides and gave it a computerized facelift befitting the first computer animated feature in history. Instead of aiming at animatronic targets, paired riders compete in a series of digital shooting games. They toss eggs and rings, throw darts, and break plates; each target gets assigned a different score, so strategy becomes very important. The interactivity works seamlessly, and the Toy Story theming is on point. The unique pull-string mechanism on the gun you use can be quite a workout on the forearms, though, so make sure you warm up before you ride.Transformers: The RideHere’s a hot take for you: The Transformers ride at Universal Studios Florida and Hollywood is better than any of the Michael Bay Transformers movies it’s based on. It’s short and sweet, with impressive 3D effects, and it immerses you inside a wild — but, unlike the Bay Transformers films, surprisingly coherent — adventure to protect the Allspark from the evil Decepticons. Up to 12 guests board a ride vehiclewhich then blasts, zooms, and flies through a dark ride that blends animatronic effects with 3D screen technology. My job required me to sit through all those dreadful live-action Transformers movies. If that was the price I paid for this terrific ride, it was worth it.Turtle Talk With CrushFor my money, there may not be a better example of the so-called “Disney magic” than at Turtle Talk With Crush, which first debuted in Epcot’s The Seas pavilion and has since been duplicated in numerous parks around the world. In it, guests get to interact with Crush, the surfer dude turtle from Finding Nemo. And they truly interact; advanced animation/puppetry tech allows an unseen Disney animator to perform the role of Crush as he tells stories, answers questions from the audience, and cracks jokes. The illusion is seamless; I’ve rarely seen my daughter as dazzled as the time she got to ask Crush a question and he gave her a brilliantly silly and very personalized answer.WaterworldLook, I already wrote a whole piece about the magic of the Waterworld stunt show for absolutely no reason other than I genuinely love it. Go read that, go visit Waterworld, and make sure this amazing show is still running until the rest of the polar ice caps melt and dry land is but a myth. It’s incredible.Honorable Mention: Earthquake: The Big One, Frozen Ever After, The Great Movie Ride, King Kong: 360 3-D, Mad Tea Party, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Mr Toad’s Wild Ride, Revenge of the Mummy, Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, Tron Lightcycle Run.Amazing Theme Park Rides Based on Movies That Were Never Built
#best #rides #based #movies #everThe Best Rides Based on Movies Ever
From the very first day Disneyland opened its gates in 1955, attractions based on movies were among the park’s biggest draws. Rides like the Mad Tea Party and Peter Pan’s Flight dazzled visitors, immersing them in worlds they had only previously experienced staring up at a big screen in a darkened theater.Both of those rides continue to operate at Disneyland, and at Walt Disney World and other Disney parks around the globe. In the decades since, they’ve been joined by dozens of other movie-based attractions, not only at Disney’s parks but also at Universal’s — a company built on a 100+-year-old foundation of cinema.With their striking visuals and iconic characters, movies make the ideal foundation for theme park attractions. Maybe that’s why so many of the best rides ever created take inspiration from movies. Like the 25 attractions listed below. A couple date back 70 years; others are brand new, like the ones recently installed at Universal’s Epic Universe park. Each of my picks also includes a video of the ride for the vicarious thrill seekers out there.Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making MoviesThese days, Universal’s theme parks are almost exclusively devoted to rides and environments that let guests feel like they have stepped inside their favorite movies and shows. That’s a stark contrast to their parks’ initial concept as a place where tourists learned the secrets of film and TV production, with a couple bigger rides thrown in for extra oomph. One of the best examples of old-school Universal was Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies. After a 3D highlight package of Hitchcock films, guests were ushered into a soundstage where a “director” and his “crew” explained how Hitchcock shot Psycho’s shower scene. Then guests could wander an interactive area, and participate in demonstrations of the practical movie magic behind movies like Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, and Saboteur. It was like a cross between a thrill ride and a museum — and for a budding cinephile, it was a paradise. It closed in 2003 to make room forShrek 4-D.Alice in WonderlandAlthough the appropriately psychedelic Alice in Wonderland ride has existed in one form another for well over 50 years, it’s still surprisingly immersive. The current version of the attractionspeed runs through almost the film’s entire plot in about three minutes, and features an effective blend of animatronics and screens, and climaxes in a leisurely descent down the outside of the show building, with picturesque views of the Matternhorn and Fantasyland. As old school “kids rides,” go, this is about as good as it gets.Avatar: Flight of PassageThe centerpiece of Animal Kingdom’s land based on James Cameron’s Avatar, Flight of Passage takes the central premise of its inspiration — human beings using technology to step into the bodies of the giant blue-skinned aliens — and actually gives the riders the sensation of riding on a banshee through the skies of Pandora.The technology works surprisingly well, and the 10K ride footagelooks spectacular.READ MORE: Disney Announces New Theme ParkBack to the Future: The RideThe unforgettable Back to the Future: The Ride let visitors board a detailed copy of the franchise’s DeLorean time machine for an aerial chase through the centuries.With special effects by 2001: A Space Odyssey legend Douglas Trumbull, BTTF:TR lived up to the old Universal slogan that promised a vacation where you could “ride the movies.” Its closure was inevitable; the “future” of the Back to the Future franchise is set in 2015, i.e. our past. The two American versions of the attraction closed by the late 2000s, although Universal Studios Japan’s version managed to hang on until 2016 — one year after Marty and Doc went back to the future.Dumbo the Flying ElephantIs there any movie ride more iconic than Dumbo? Disney doesn’t seem to think so; Dumbo’s the only ride that they have built at all six of their main “castle” theme parks: Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland, and, in 2016, Shanghai Disneyland. You could call the ride simple; guests board a vehicle that looks like the floating pachyderm, each with a joystick that allows the rider to shift their Dumbo up and down. You could also call it elemental; it taps into little children’s desire to fly, and it empowers them to take control of their experience. As long as Disney continues to operate theme parks, Dumbo will keep on flying.Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: Breakout!Disneyland purists were skeptical when the company announced they were going to re-theme the California Adventure version of the beloved Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attraction into a ride based on the popular Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. But when the ride opened, most had to admit: It was pretty darn fun, and possibly better than the Tower of Terror. Instead of a haunted hotel’s elevator, guests now board “gantry lifts” that bounce up and down an elevator shaft, stopping at different floors to view the Guardians in battle with an alien monster while one of six songs from the eclectic soundtrack plays. It’s possibly the most effective re-use of an existing ride system in Disney history, and thanks to the different songsit holds up very well on multiple visits, which probably explains why it remains one of the most popular attractions at California Adventure many years after it first opened.Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike AdventureMovie rides often emphasize theming over adrenaline, but Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure at Universal’s Islands of Adventure nails both. There are beautiful animatronic monsters, including unicorns, centaurs, and Hagrid’s beloved dog Fluffy, all integrated into a roller coaster that races around the outskirts of the original Wizarding World of Harry Potter.The fact that riders are carried along on their own motorcycle or sidecar not only enhances the immersive quality, it increases the thrill. There’s nothing quite like blasting backwards at 50 miles per hour on a bike seat to get your blood pumping.Harry Potter and the Battle at the MinistryEpic Universe’s Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry levels up the concepts of earlier Universal dark rides like Spider-Man or Transformers. Guests board large seated elevators that appear to fly up, down, and around the Ministry of Magic from the Harry Potter films, where they help the franchise’s core trio of heroes as they fight the evil Dolores Umbridge. The attraction boasts some of Universal’s most seamless illusions ever, and its entrance — which transports you via “floo” from 1920s Paris to 1990s London to emerge into the Ministry of Magic’s grand hall — is a jaw-dropping spectacle. That reveal is a bigger “wow” than a lot of entire rides at other amusement parks.Harry Potter and the Forbidden JourneyThe first of Universal’s ever-expanding Wizarding World attractions, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey was like no other ride when it first opened at Islands of Adventure in 2010. Housed inside an impressive creations of the Hogwarts castle, Forbidden Journey lets riders board “enchanted benches” for a trip around, through, and under the magical school with Harry Potter and his friends. Some of the large-scale animatronics are starting to show their age; the seamless blend of screens, sets, and an advanced KUKA arm vehicle have been surpassed by other attractions in the last decade. Still, that central conceit of letting you feel like you are flying on your own Nimbus 2000 always works like magic.Hogwarts ExpressUniversal’s second Wizarding World was a financial inevitability after the first one proved so successful. Making the second area Diagon Alley — and then connecting the two lands via a functional Hogwarts Express train — was a masterstroke. Each of the respective areas houses its own distinctive station, and guests queue up for a ride on the iconic locomotive, where they sit in individual cabins and glimpse familiar faces from the Harry Potter franchises out their compartment window. Silhouettes and voices spied in the hallway enhance the immersion, and because the train runs in both directions, there are two totally distinct videos to enjoy.Indiana Jones AdventureRiding through it today, it’s hard to believe Indiana Jones Adventure is 30 years old. The combination of an old-fashioned dark ride with high-tech special effects holds up extremely well. The premise supposedly dumps tourists on a guided jeep tour into the “Temple of the Forbidden Eye” thatdoes not go to plan.In practice, it’s all an excuse to let guests experience Indiana Jones’ greatest hits: Rickety suspension bridges, plumes of fire, barrages of darts, thousands of bugs, and, of course, speeding away from an enormous rolling ball. Add in some of that classic John Williams Raiders of the Lost Ark music, and you have all the makings of a great movie ride.Jurassic World VelociCoasterDon’t ask me to explain the story of this one. They built a roller coaster inside the Jurassic World raptor enclosure? What’s next? A genetically engineered dinosaur that’s even stronger, faster, and smarter than a T.rex and can also camouflage itself?Whatever cockamamie story they cooked up to justify the concept, it was worth it; VelociCoaster is not just a great movie ride, it’s a great roller coaster period. With a top speed of 70 miles per hour, it’s also one of the fastest. It features multiple launches, inversions, and intricate dinosaur theming. Universal’s come a long way from that old Jurassic Park River Adventure.KongfrontationKing Kong has been a mainstay in Universal’s various theme parks since the mid-1980s, when a giant Kong animatronic was added to the Studio Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood. That was expanded to a full-blown attraction at Universal Studios Florida called Kongfrontation, where guests evacuated from Manhattan on the Roosevelt Island Tramway after Kong runs amok. Naturally, the evacuation did not go smoothly and Kong grabbed the tram before a last-second getaway. It was a surprisingly intense experience with fun touches — like the fact that the Kong animatronic’s “breath” smelled like bananas. Kong was put out to pasture in 2002 to make way for a roller coaster inspired by The Mummy franchise. The great ape has since found a new home at nearby Islands of Adventure, where an attraction called Skull Island: Reign of Kong opened in 2016.Millennium Falcon: Smugglers RunI know this is a polarizing ride; some visitors don’t care for its video game vibes, or the fact that it contains no Han Solo and only fleeting glimpses of Chewbacca. Personally, after almost a dozen rides, I love it. I love the life-size Falcon replica outside the entrance and the incredibly detailed recreation of the Falcon interior, complete with holochess table. Then the ride itself is a blast; certainly at its most fun when you get to pilot the ship, but also very enjoyable as a gunner or an engineer.It’s awesome with a group of friends working together and it’s incredible when you ride with kids, who get to feel like they made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein ExperimentThere are lots of dark rides; Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment is areally dark ride. Years of experience with their Halloween Horror Nights gave Universal the confidence to make a genuinely scaryattraction, one with monsters and jump scares galore. Guests enter an eerie recreation of Frankenstein Manor, then wind their way through its atmosphere-soaked rooms, past glowing equipment and crates filled with organs and lab rats. They emerge in the laboratory of Victoria Frankenstein, who wants to restore her family’s good name by capturing Dracula. Say it with me this time: Nothing ever goes according to plan on a theme park ride. Frankenstein’s latest experiment goes horribly wrong in the most pulse-quickening ways, and leads to appearancesfrom all of the classic Universal Monsters. The ride, as well as the surrounding castle and queue, are so detailed. It’s like a vintage horror fan just stepped into a dream come true — or the best nightmare ever.Peter Pan’s FlightMaybe the definitive Disney dark ride, Peter Pan’s Flight is a true classic; some 70 years old at this point, and still magical.Guests board “flying” pirate ships for a trip to Never Land with Peter Pan and the Darlings. Where a lot of the old school Disney dark rides are surprisingly scary, Peter Pan’s Flight is all about giving young kidsa taste of what it might feel like to fly high above London in the ride’s famous centerpiece sequence.Radiator Springs RacersThe Cars franchise has never been among Pixar’s most critically acclaimed efforts. The series’ big ride at California Adventure, though, is a true blockbuster, combining state-of-the-art animatronic cars and a thrilling race component, where s pair of vehicles carrying two sets of riders zoom around an impressive recreation of Radiator Springs. It’s not too intense for Cars’ core fanbase, and just exciting enough for everyone to feel like it’s worth the ride’s perpetually long wait times. Plus now we know where the cars from Cars come from; at some unknown point in the future, the animatronic full sized Lightning McQueen and Mater from Radiator Springs Racers will gain sentience and turn against their human masters. It’s only a matter of time.Splash MountainWhatever you think of The Song of the South and its depiction of life in the late 19th century, the ride Disney inexplicably chose to theme to itwas a lot of fun. A log flume enhanced with animatronic cartoon characters and one of Disney’s most famous songs, it combined Disney’s flair for storytelling with family-friendly thrills. The fact Disney never released The Song of the South on home video meant it was only a matter of time before Splash Mountain got tossed into the briar patch itself. The ride lives on in a new form, though; the mountain and flume are now the subject of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. If you’re desperate to ride Splash Mountain again, you’ll need to take a trip to Japan; it’s still operating at Tokyo Disneyland.Star ToursThanks to constant updates, the original Star Wars ride at Disneyland still holds up well more than 35years after its first introduction. The original version had a single film that played in a simulator; guests’ pleasure cruise to Endor would go slightly out of control — nothing ever goes to plan on a theme park ride — and then wander into a battle with the Death Star. The current version, which makes zero sense in Star Wars continuity, sends Star Tourists to famous locations from the nine Star Wars movies and various Disney+ shows, and includes cameos from numerous characters. Disney has continually added new segments to the ride, and the modern CGI looks superb. Plus, because each ride contains a random handful from the 20 different possible segments, Star Tours always full of surprises.Star Wars: Rise of the ResistanceThere are several really good Star Wars attractions on this list, but Rise of the Resistance is the best of the bunch — or maybe the best movie-based theme park ride period. It’s long, full of surprises, and contains multiple ride vehicles and sequences. It’s almost a greatest hits of Disney Imagineering; there are screens, advanced animatronics, human performers, “holograms,” movie star cameos, trackless ride vehicles, full-size space ships and AT-AT walkers, and a giant hanger filled with Stormtroopers. It really feels like you’ve wandered into an increasingly perilous Star Wars adventure, and the theming and thrills are off the charts. I’m sure that some day some ride will top Rise of the Resistance. For now, it’s the irresistible #1.Studio Backlot TourFor some 60 years, trams have taken Universal visitors through the studio’s famous backlot. While the ride has evolved with the times, it also maintains a lot of the tram tour’s original flavor, taking guests through Hill Valley from Back to the Future and past the Psycho house from the famous horror franchise. Guides share behind-the-scenes secrets and hacky jokes, and videos that run on screens in the tram as it makes its way from stop to stop provide context and history. For old-school movie lovers, it’s still a thrill to take a trip into Hollywood history, and the ride’s unusual length — almost an hour! — makes it a welcome break from walking all day.Toy Story Mania!Toy Story Mania! took the basic concept from Disney’s existing Buzz Lightyear shooting gallery rides and gave it a computerized facelift befitting the first computer animated feature in history. Instead of aiming at animatronic targets, paired riders compete in a series of digital shooting games. They toss eggs and rings, throw darts, and break plates; each target gets assigned a different score, so strategy becomes very important. The interactivity works seamlessly, and the Toy Story theming is on point. The unique pull-string mechanism on the gun you use can be quite a workout on the forearms, though, so make sure you warm up before you ride.Transformers: The RideHere’s a hot take for you: The Transformers ride at Universal Studios Florida and Hollywood is better than any of the Michael Bay Transformers movies it’s based on. It’s short and sweet, with impressive 3D effects, and it immerses you inside a wild — but, unlike the Bay Transformers films, surprisingly coherent — adventure to protect the Allspark from the evil Decepticons. Up to 12 guests board a ride vehiclewhich then blasts, zooms, and flies through a dark ride that blends animatronic effects with 3D screen technology. My job required me to sit through all those dreadful live-action Transformers movies. If that was the price I paid for this terrific ride, it was worth it.Turtle Talk With CrushFor my money, there may not be a better example of the so-called “Disney magic” than at Turtle Talk With Crush, which first debuted in Epcot’s The Seas pavilion and has since been duplicated in numerous parks around the world. In it, guests get to interact with Crush, the surfer dude turtle from Finding Nemo. And they truly interact; advanced animation/puppetry tech allows an unseen Disney animator to perform the role of Crush as he tells stories, answers questions from the audience, and cracks jokes. The illusion is seamless; I’ve rarely seen my daughter as dazzled as the time she got to ask Crush a question and he gave her a brilliantly silly and very personalized answer.WaterworldLook, I already wrote a whole piece about the magic of the Waterworld stunt show for absolutely no reason other than I genuinely love it. Go read that, go visit Waterworld, and make sure this amazing show is still running until the rest of the polar ice caps melt and dry land is but a myth. It’s incredible.Honorable Mention: Earthquake: The Big One, Frozen Ever After, The Great Movie Ride, King Kong: 360 3-D, Mad Tea Party, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Mr Toad’s Wild Ride, Revenge of the Mummy, Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, Tron Lightcycle Run.Amazing Theme Park Rides Based on Movies That Were Never Built
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