What makes Disney Parks different? While our list of answers may go on for days, one of the key elements we always return to is that unlike carnivals, boardwalks, and amusement parks that predated Disneyland (and unlike the Six Flags and Cedar Fair parks of today), Disneyland and its successors were built by filmmakers and artists.
And like any good film, almost every successful Disney ride has at least one moment where sets, sounds, lighting, and music crescendo to create an epic, emotional reveal that leaves audiences breathless. Here, we’ve collected 10 of the most awe-inspiring, breath-taking, gasp-worthy, jaw-dropping, tear-jerking, goosebumps-inducing scenic reveals in Disney Parks; moments that are so cinematic in their reveal, it could only be filmmakers that imagined, storyboarded, and constructed them.
Image: Disney
These are the moments you never forget; the big scenes that leave a lasting impression; the moments that make Disney Parks and their cinematic origins clear. And for those of us who’ve visited more times than we can count, these are the moments we can’t wait to see a first-timers reaction to.
Which of these big reveals do you remember most? Which others deserve a spot on this list?
1. Soaring over London
Attraction: Peter Pan’s Flight
Peter Pan’s Flight – an opening day original at Disneyland – remains one of the most cherished classic dark rides Imagineers have ever designed. Why does its queue stretch each day while other Fantasyland favorites don’t? One reason has to be its unique, suspended ride system that seats guests aboard pirate galleons that sail through the clouds over sets below. And that sets us up for one of the most charmingly simple scenic reveals in all of Disney Parks…
“C’mon everybody…! Here we gooo!” And with that, the galleon swings out of the Darling children’s nursury and soars onward through the neighborhood, which gradually shrinks away as guests “rise” until the glowing city of London is ahead. To the instrumental tune of “You Can Fly! You Can Fly! You Can Fly!”, the pirate ships glide above a miniature set of London below, watching traffic in the streets, the River Thames lapping at its banks, and the iconic Big Ben poking up through the clouds.
Image: Disney
It’s a sentimental, nostalgic, and surprisingly simple effect that still gives guests that moment of shock and awe that Disney can do so well.
2. Being airborne
Attraction: Soarin’
“Soarin’ to tower… We are ready for takeoff.” In that fleeting moment before you’re swept away, first-time riders may wonder what exactly Soarin’ has in store. But as a subtle score begins to play and your feet are swept away from terra firma, it all comes together. Even frequent riders may feel a sense of weightless wonder when clouds appear, pulling back around you, so close you feel you could kick them.
Image: Disney
With all due respect to the natural and manmade wonders that follow and the legendary musical score (which we explored in our in-depth Lost Legends: Soarin’ feature), the biggest reveal on Soarin’ might just be the very idea that you’re soaring at all; proving once more than simple may be best when it comes to inspiring gasps of surprise at Disney Parks.
3. Overlooking the ballroom
Attraction: Haunted Mansion
The Haunted Mansion is an absolute classic that has no right to be that way. The first attraction designed without any explicit direction from Walt, the ride somehow expertly fused the styles of two Imagineers: background painter and scenic designer Claude Coats, and comical character-whiz Marc Davis, who more or less own the first and second half of the attraction, respectively. That’s why the Mansion begins with spooky, inexplicable, eerie sights and sounds before transforming into a sing-a-long of memorable “ghost” characters by the finale.
And right in between them stands a pivotal scene: the Ballroom. After Madame Leota’s seance conjures the manor’s spirits, they finally “materialize” in a form you and I can see in a “swinging wake” in the mansion’s elegant, opulent ballroom.
Image: Brian Rechenmacher, Flickr (license)
The surprising simplicity of the ballroom’s most memorable effect is well-known among fans by now, but this scene still remains one of the ride’s most glorious. It’s the first time the Mansion “opens up” both by taking us out of the claustrophobic, dark wood hallways and our first view of ghosts – a sort of emotional high point for the ride.
4. Facing Mara head-on
Attraction: Indiana Jones Adventure
While our first three big scenic reveals may have had simplicity on their side, subtlety isn’t exactly the strong suit of Disneyland’s Modern Marvel: Indiana Jones Adventure. The wild, off-roading thrill ride through the collapsing ruins of the Temple of the Forbidden Eye is powered by Disney’s EMV (Enhanced Motion Vehicle), which provided something no ride before could match. On Indiana Jones Adventure, you’re not just passively watching scenes unfold; they’re happening to you. In this case, someone in our Jeep looked into the dark eyes of the temple god, forfeiting the supernatural gifts we were promised and instead cursing us toward the Gates of Doom!
However, as our Jeep floats helplessly toward the swirling green and blue steam beyond the carved stone gates, Indy himself appears, pushing them closed and pointing us up ahead: “You had to look, didn’t you? Be careful,” he warns, “There’s big steps up there!” As the triumphant trumpets of the “Raiders March” play, the Jeep slams back onto solid ground, revs, and races up a hill in the darkness. Turning the corner, the haunting chorus of “The Miracle of the Ark” score kicks in as the vehicle gazes at a massive chamber lit by boiling lava and bursts of fire: ahead, another Jeep teeters across a wooden suspension bridge, and a massive stone relief of Mara – flame in one eye, half of the face decomposed to reveal skeletal rock beneath – overlooks the perilous pit.
Image: Disney
This is truly one of the most hyponotic and paralyzing moments in Disney Parks. As guests look on, jaws dropped, the vehicle slams down a set of stairs leading into the chamber proper, and a bolt of green energy shoots from Mara’s eye and strikes the path ahead to emit burning steam. It’s enough to pull guests out of their trance just as the Jeep tilts over the crumbling roadway toward the lava beneath. The Jeep regains its traction just as you do, accelerating off into caverns carved throughout this massive room for a bulk of the ride’s time…
5. Seeing the queen herself
Attraction: Frozen Ever After
While the Modern Marvel: Frozen Ever After may always frustrate Disney Parks fans for its location (the otherwise-grounded World Showcase at Epcot) and what it replaced (the Lost Legend: Maelstrom), there’s a lot to admire about the boat ride through Disney’s highest grossing animated film. Not only did Imagineers smartly steer away from doing a “book report” ride and instead created an original story for this attraction; they also stocked it with some of the best Audio-Animatronics on Earth.
Regardless of how you feel about the attraction, there’s one moment almost certain to hypnotize you: the climactic encounter with the Queen of Arendelle herself, Elsa. As expected, Elsa reprises her hit anthem, “Let It Go,” standing on a crystal balcony in her ice palace. And thanks to incredible technologies used to animate the figure, it truly looks as if Elsa has jumped right off the screen.
Image: Disney
So even if “Let It Go” is the last thing you want to hear, looking face-to-face with Elsa is truly one of the most awe-inspiring moments at Disney Parks, sure to give you chills separate from the frigid temperatures. (And between you and me, these figures tend to freeze themselves… but that’s a sight to behold, as well.)
6. Sailing through a pirate battle
Attraction: Pirates of the Caribbean
Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean is often considered Walt Disney’s magnum opus – the absolute pinnacle of his career, and perhaps the best classic dark ride on Earth, period. The epic, 17-minute journey is filled with spectacular sights on such a grand scale, only Disney’s original team of designers could’ve brought it to life. The ride begins with guests slowly drifting through the still waters of a firefly-lit bayou under starry skies with real diners participating in a jazzy plantation party along the water.
But then, riders make a supernatural plunge into subterranean caverns carved by waterfalls, littered with the remains and loot of long-forgotten pirates. After drifting through increasingly fantastical scenes in these claustrophobic, rocky corridors, something unusual happens… As if by magic, the boats drift out of the caves and into the midst of a seige on a Caribbean port town.
Image: Disney
It’s no surprise that Pirates of the Caribbean resides in the single largest showbuilding Disney’s ever built. This single, massively-scaled scene alone is astounding, but it’s only the beginning of the pirates invasion of the town, which continues through unbelievably large scenes including the burning village.
7. Heading right for a train
Attraction: Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
Though we explored Magic Kingdom’s beloved-and-lost version of the ride in Lost Legends: Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Disneyland’s quaint and charming 1955 original is still around, motoring guests through a madcap drive through London’s streets en route to “nowhere in particular.” Truly an outlier even among Fantasyland dark rides, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride is a zany experience, accelerating through towns, rumbling over wharfs, blasting through warehouses, honking into pubs, and – ultimately – being sentenced by a judge to prison.
But en route to prison, riders find themselves inadvertently rumbling over railroad tracks… directly toward an oncoming train. The simple dark ride gag has been in use for a century, combining a clever lighting trick with sound effects to make riders feel that a train truly is barreling right toward them right up to the point of “impact.” While no such impact ultimately takes place, this simple, classic trick does lead to another surprising reveal no other Disney Parks attraction can claim…
Image: Disney
… Riders end up in Hell.
8. Looking back at our Spaceship Earth
Since it opened in 1982, Epcot has changed quite a bit. Gone are the days of each of the scientific pavilions of Future World being anchored by epic, educational dark rides through the history and future of industry. Yet even as Guardians of the Galaxy, Finding Nemo, and Ratatouille move in, brainless thrills replace fan-favorite dark rides, and Disney debates how to keep Epcot nostalgic but futuristic, one thing has remained: Spaceship Earth.
Positioned as Epcot’s pavilion dedicated to communication, the eponymous dark ride inside remains an epic, 15 minute journey through the history of human communication from the stone age to the digital age and beyond. It’s not just a throwback to the way Disney used to do design Epcot’s rides (lofty, intellectual, and packed with Audio-Animatronics); it’s also a modern classic, regularly and lovingly updated to keep current with our rapidly changing world. Still, though, the emotional climax and the ride’s big reveal happen when the slow-moving Omnimover vehicles finally reach the height of their continuous ascent through Spaceship Earth.
At the top of the geodesic sphere, riders gaze at our own planet floating endlessly among the stars. It gives life to the attraction’s fabled narration that says, “Like a grand and miraculous spaceship, our planet has sailed through the universe of time, and for a brief moment we have been among its passengers.”
9. Racing toward broken tracks
Attraction: Expedition Everest
One of the most well-known Disney roller coasters on Earth, the Modern Marvel: Expedition Everest has elevated itself into the ranks of Big Thunder Mountain or Space Mountain – that is, it’s recognizable even to those who’ve never been to a Disney Park. Everest is perhaps the most imposing of the Disney Mountains thanks to its raw statistics and the surprises it holds in store, like a backwards portion that even thrillseekers admit packs a forceful punch.
But for fans of Imagineering, the real artistry is how well Everest melds its promise of thrills with masterful ambient storytelling and design. After a suspenseful build-up in the immensely detailed queue, the ride’s initial jaunt through the lowlands of the Himalayas leads to an ascent through an ancient city into the snowy valleys of the Forbidden Mountain… Then, as the train coasts through caverns and misty beds of snow…
Image: Disney
The track ahead has literally been torn from its ties, mangled and twisted in a sign of aggression by the fearsome guardian Yeti. After pausing at the foot of these broken tracks for a moment, the train is released, dropping backwards into the mountain’s dark caverns. It’s really almost too bad that the broken tracks are one of the most recognizable and iconic of Everest’s features… when the surprise is truly unknown to first-timers, it gains that powerful gut-punch moment of awe.
10. Making it back to “home sweet home”
Attraction: Splash Mountain
Appropriate for last on our list is the big finale of Splash Mountain. The ride’s story – though it may be nearly incomprehensible if you don’t know it beforehand – follows the critters who live in the prickly Briar Patch at the base of the mountain. There, the mischievious Br’er Rabbit packs a knapsack and decides he’s leaving the Briar Patch behind to seek out new adventures and the fabled “Laughin’ Place” where animals play all day without an ounce of work.
Sound too good to be a true? Of course it is! The wiley Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear have set a trap, cleverly capturing Br’er Rabbit, carrying him to their hideout at the top of the mountain, and threatening to cook him into rabbit stew. But Rabbit’s got a plan. “Mr. Fox, you can skin me or eat me alive, but whatever you do, please don’t throw me down into that there Briar Patch!” Br’er Rabbit reverse psychology works, with Fox throwing him (and you!) over the edge and down into the prickly briars… and right back to his home!
Image: Disney
While most flume rides might end with the big splash, Splash Mountain circles back around to the ride’s biggest scene yet: a welcome home party for Br’er Rabbit, featuring dancing and singing critters on a rocking riverboat just as the sun sets. “Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay! My, oh, my, what a wonderful day! Welcoming back Br’er Rabbit today; we always knew that he’d get away. He’s had enough of moving on now; it’s where you’re born and breded; the Briar Patch is where he’s headed! Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay! Wonderful feeling, wonderful day!”
But perhaps the ride’s prevailing moral is taught by Br’er Rabbit himself as he relaxes back in his burrow, imparting what he’s learned on riders. “Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay, home sweet home is the lesson today! Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay, I’m glad to be home now, ’cause I’m here to stay!” After the spectacle of the massive finale packed with dancing figures, the moment with Br’er Rabbit is a charming goodbye from a larger-than-life ride.
