Disneyland fans have spent the last 54 days discussing which are the best rides at the park — and a nostalgic and iconic ride has taken the top spot. Disneyland, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary, has become a landmark for the theme park industry and enthusiasts, and has revolutionized theme park culture worldwide. When it first opened, it was unlike any other theme park and set the bar high for the industry.
Its influence actually goes well beyond the theme park industry, and it has also become an important aspect of American culture and how it is perceived worldwide. During the course of the decades, the park itself went through many changes as Disney built a real theme park empire.
Disneyland Season of the Force and Star Wars Nite 2025 Review
Season of the Force and Star Wars Nite return for 2025, bringing new food, merch, and experiences to Disneyland Resort.
While many changes have taken place, there are actually a few attractions that have been operating since the park opened its doors in 1955, like Autopia, Peter Pan's Flight, and Snow White's Scary Adventures. In honor of the Disneyland anniversary, fans would certainly end up discussing what the crème de la crème of the park is.
The Fan-Favorite Attraction of Redditors
Classics Make Their Way to the Top
Each of the 54 days, Redditors on the r/Disneyland subreddit would vote to eliminate a ride by upvoting comments in the thread. In the end, Pirates of the Caribbean was the winner of this "competition," followed by the Haunted Mansion. The top ten ended up as follows:
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Haunted Mansion
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
- Space Mountain
- Indiana Jones Adventure
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
- Radiator Springs Racers
- Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout
- Matterhorn Bobsleds
While there are many classic rides, newer attractions have also made their way into the top 10 list, including Rise of the Resistance, Runaway Railway, and Mission Breakout. It's actually impressive that Runaway Railway is one of the most popular rides, since it only opened at Disneyland two years ago. Regardless of the results, fans had fun picking their favorite rides, as one user commented:
This was an oddly contentious game. You'd suggest a ride and get downvoted like crazy only for that same ride to be eliminated the next day. I'd wager every single one of us disagrees with at least one ranking, but it's fascinating to see the aggregate assessment. Still, it was a fun idea, and the end of an era!
The winner, Pirates of the Caribbean, is a classic that has been in operation since 1967 — it served as the inspiration for the movie series. In 1973, this ride also opened at the Magic Kingdom (it is currently closed there, but not permanently). Of course, the ride has undergone many changes over the years; for example, the bride auction scene was recently removed from the attraction. Fans have also noticed that the ride is not currently offered in the Lightning Lane service on the Disneyland app, although Disney has not officially addressed this issue.
The Haunted Mansion, which took second place, is also a classic one, having opened in 1969, two years after Pirates of the Caribbean. The ride inspired two movies of the same name (one released in 2003 and the other in 2023). Such long-standing rides would be hard to beat, but the fact that so many newer attractions are in the top 10 proves that Disney knows how to innovate and create new attractions that will appeal to everyone who visits the parks.
- Release Date
- July 9, 2003
- Runtime
- 143 Minutes
- Director
- Gore Verbinski
- Writers
- Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Stuart Beattie, Jay Wolpert
- Sequel(s)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Cast
-
Johnny Depp -
Geoffrey Rush -
Orlando Bloom -
Keira Knightley
WHERE TO WATCH
- Franchise(s)
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Budget
- $140 Million
- Studio(s)
- Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Disney
- Distributor(s)
- Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
