Your ratings have determined 15 of the best dark rides on Earth! How’d you do?
For a few years, Theme Park Tourist has proudly featured park guides, free to download, for many of the world’s greatest parks. Using reviews and ratings from our readers like you, our park guides altogether contain over 3,500 individual attractions that our readers have rated over 22,000 times! The results are some of the most comprehensive and user-driven ride rankings available today.
Our live-updating TPT100 tracks the top 100 rides and attractions in the world. So here, we’re proud to count down the top 15 dark rides on Earth according to your votes and ratings! Just a few things worth noting for this countdown:
- If your favorite attraction is missing, it may be that it doesn’t have enough votes. Rides have a set minimum number of ratings needed before they can appear on the TPT100 (and thus, this list).
- We’ve eliminated extraneous duplicates. For our purposes, there is no reason to list separately each Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Instead, we’ll feature the highest-ranking, and note any sister rides therein. If each got its own entry, the top 15 would be almost entirely Towers of Terror, Haunted Mansions, and Pirates.
- Any dark ride / roller coaster hybrid won’t appear in this list… We included dark ride / coasters into our list of the Top 15 Coasters – As Voted By YOU and there’s no reason for the same rides to monopolize both lists!
Disagree with a ride’s standing? Just click the ride’s name to visit its attraction page, where a single click will assign your own rating that may shift the ride’s place on the TPT100 in real time! New ratings won’t live-update a ride’s position in this feature, but we feel this is a pretty nice list of dark ride rankings as of the publication date! (In contrast, view a similar countdown from November 2013 by clicking here.) What do you think? Tell us by rating your favorites. Just make sure you’re rating the ride at the correct park!
15. Transformers: The Ride 3D
Location: Universal Studios Hollywood (2012)
Position in TPT100: 32
Other: Universal Studios Singapore, Universal Studios Florida (TPT#91)
Taking motion-simulators to a new level, Transformers: The Ride actually opened at Universal Studios Singapore first, but it was its Hollywood, California clone that drew the attention of American riders and made our list. The attraction places guests into a Transformer named EVAC as they race out of the concrete-guarded N.E.S.T. facility with the powerful AllSpark in hand, escaping from a Decepticon attack. The ride sends the motion-simulator base EVAC through a two-story showbuilding where physical sets blend into 3D screens without a seam in sight. As EVAC synchronizes perfectly to the motion on screen, he also moves through the physical building, turning, twisting, racing, spinning, and backing-up in one of the most mile-a-minute, explosion-filled rides anywhere on Earth.
14. Pooh’s Hunny Hunt
© Disney
Location: Tokyo Disneyland (2001)
Position in TPT100: 31
Leaving behind the cart-driven classic dark ride style of the Winnie the Pooh rides in Florida, California, and Hong Kong, Pooh’s Hunny Hunt at Tokyo Disneyland is an E-ticket. No, we’re not kidding. For the ride, Disney invented trackless, LPS-guided technology to send four “hunny pots” at a time into the attraction. With no track, the pots can spin, back up, dance, and even bounce through scenes. The pots can line up, separate, circle around each other, and take unique paths through the ride. With full animatronics, towering scenes, and an incredible ride technology, Pooh’s Hunny Hunt leaves its overseas companions way behind and acts as one of the main attractions at Tokyo Disneyland.
13. Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
Image: Disney
Location: Disneyland (2011)
Position in TPT100: 29
Other: Disney’s Hollywood Studios (TPT#80), Tokyo Disneyland (TPT#95)
Star Tours has been a Disney classic since it opened in 1987 as the starring attraction in Disneyland’s sleek white Tomorrowland. It was soon followed by sisters in Tokyo, Florida, and France. Born of the same partnership between Disney and George Lucas that spawned Captain EO and Indiana Jones Adventure, the riveting interstellar simulator thrilled guests for more than twenty years. In summer 2010, though, the ride closed for a year to reopen as Star Tours: The Adventures Continue.
Now in ultra-HD and seamless Dolby 3D, the refreshed attraction (technically a prequel, set before the original Star Tours) keeps the galactic misadventures of the original with added 3D, new sound, new animatronics, and – most impressively – a randomized assortment of locales and characters to visit. With 54 unique combinations, each ride on Star Tours is now different. And expect limited-edition updates as Episode VII and beyond premier, making what was once a dated 80s simulator into an absolute must-ride… over and over again!
12. Phantom Manor
Image: Disney
Location: Disneyland Paris (1992)
Position in TPT100: 28
When Disneyland Paris opened in 1992, it was easily Disney’s most ambitious and detailed project to date. The park was absolutely brimming with nooks and crannies to explore. Even where the park borrowed from its American cousins, it infused rides with new European stories and settings creating entirely new versions of Disney classics. Such is the case with the Parisian park’s take on the Haunted Mansion. Here part of Frontierland, the ride is infused into a story that encompasses the whole land.
As well, it’s given a romanticized Western story that explains the presence of the bride, the hanging man, and the ballroom – all present in the American versions, but with no strict story to tie them together. While the “haunted vignette” setup works wonders at the Haunted Mansion, the emotional and moving tale told by Phantom Manor is absolutely perfect for the park – a European twist that gives the ride a leg up even over the original.
11. Mystic Manor
© Disney
Location: Hong Kong Disneyland (2013)
Position in TPT100: 21
When Mystic Manor swung wide its gates in 2013, Disney fans the world over rejoiced. This is what Disney Imagineering is capable of. The unprecedented ride is placed in its own original land, Mystic Point, and located inside the eponymous hilltop mansion designed in the eclectic stylings of all cultures of the world combined. That’s how it’s supposed to look – the manor’s owner, Lord Henry Mystic, has spent his life collecting international oddities in a secret society before setting up camp in the ornate home with his pet monkey Albert. And with his newest Mystic Magneto Electric Carriage, you can tour his collection of international treasures.
The ride is stunning. Jaw-dropping. Just incredible. The trackless, LPS-guided sleighs descend into the home, four at a time, for an incredible tour that’s brought to life by inexplicable floating dust from an enchanted music box. Combining perhaps the best of Disney’s musical scoring, ride vehicles, settings, and effects, the attraction crescendos in a dizzying, swirling finale in a Chinese Parlor… It’s all too much to describe, and certainly set the bar high for Disney’s future attractions.
10. Peter Pan’s Flight
© Disney
Location: Disneyland Park (1955)
Position in TPT100: 16
Other: Magic Kingdom, Disneyland Paris, Tokyo Disneyland
An absolute classic among Disney’s dark rides, Peter Pan’s Flight remains perhaps the most well loved of the Fantasyland originals at each park is resides in. Unlike the rest of Fantasyland favorites in which guests board carts that pass through retellings of the film, Peter Pan’s Flight lets guests board flying pirate ships. These ships – suspended from an overhead track – fly out of the Darlings’ nursery room and over a miniature London in one of Disney’s most recognized attraction moments. After that, it’s a zip over Neverland and past Peter’s climactic battle with Hook before all it set right and the ships return to port.
9. Splash Mountain
Image: Disney
Location: Disneyland Park (1989)
Position in TPT100: 13
Other: Magic Kingdom (TPT#18), Tokyo Disneyland
Everybody’s got a Laughin’ Place to go. Splash Mountain is certainly one of the largest dark rides in the world with its cast of 100 Audio-Animatronics (many borrowed from Disneyland’s shuttered America Sings show in Tomorrowland’s Carousel Theater) who sing, dance, and populate the Briar Patch at the base of Chickapin Hill, where Br’er Rabbit and his friends live and work. But Br’er Rabbit gets tired of chores and hears talk of the Laughin’ Place, where you never have to work or worry at all. So he packs up and sets off, leaving the Briar Patch behind. Of course, what he doesn’t know is that the dastardly Br’er Fox and dimwitted Br’er Bear are close behind, hoping to have rabbit stew for dinner.
Splash Mountain was Disney’s attempt at a thrilling ride to draw in teens without sacrificing Disney storytelling. Duplicates were built in Florida and Japan in 1992, but Disneyland’s ranks highest on our list. No matter where you ride, Splash Mountain ends in a 50-foot climactic plunge into the soggy Briar Patch. Interestingly, the ride is based on Disney’s 1946 film Song of the South and its Uncle Remus stories. The film has never been released on home video (either as a VHS, DVD, or Blu-Ray) due to the film’s unclear time setting in terms of the American Civil War and the emancipation of the South’s slaves. That makes it undoubtedly one of the most elaborate rides in the world based on a film that very few people have seen!
8. Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye
Image: Disney
Location: Disneyland Park (1995)
Position in TPT100: 9
Just imagine it: three locked doors. One leads to timeless youth and beauty; the second, to unlimited earthly riches; the third to visions of the future! Any who endure the pilgrimage to the ancient temple of Mara would be granted one of these three gifts. But there’s a catch: any who look into the dark and corroded Eyes of Mara would forfeit his gift and be cursed to the Gates of Doom! Of course, the off-roading journey through the so-called Temple of the Forbidden Eye is harrowing, slamming through forgotten chambers, creeping across ancient suspension bridges, narrowly avoiding bubbling lava pits, and racing to escape the flame-spewing Eye on the 40-foot tall face of the lost god.
Indiana Jones Adventure was a departure from Disney’s normal. It brought a dark (and legitimately creepy) story and setting to the otherwise fantasy-oriented Disneyland. Most strikingly, the ride’s Enhanced Motion Vehicles (EMV) were able to simulate rough terrain, sudden drops, and intense turns, bringing guests into the adventure as more than just an observer. Even two decades later, Temple of the Forbidden Eye is perhaps a pinnacle of Imagineering design and storytelling – a larger-than-life adventure with incredible effects and an Indy-sized rolling boulder.
7. The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
© Marvel / Universal
Location: Universal’s Islands of Adventure (1999)
Position in TPT100: 8
Other: Universal Studios Japan
When Universal’s Islands of Adventure opened in 1999, it was distinctly of the 21st century. The park was proudly touted as “the most technologically advanced theme park on Earth,” and with Jurassic Park, Dueling Dragons, Poseidon’s Fury, and the Incredible Hulk coaster, few would disagree. However, it was almost entirely The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man that earned the park its title.
We still don’t have a succinct term for the ride type (though it’s time we get on it). Perhaps best described as a roving 3-D motion-simulator dark ride, the attraction places guests into SCOOP vehicles that physically move through a warehouse where practical effects and physical sets blend seamlessly into projected 3D screens that “squinch” in perspective with the moving audience. Bouncing, spinning, slamming, and darting around, the ride is thrilling from beginning to end. Its finale is a simulated 400-foot drop that achieves hyperrealism thanks to wind, lighting, practical sets, and a motion-base that actually moves the vehicle just a few inches. Spider-Man was duplicated at Universal Studios Japan, and the technology was re-used for Universal’s own Transformers: The Ride 3D and at Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s Curse of DarKastle. Still, Spider-Man takes the cake for its limit-pushing innovation and fun.
6. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
© Universal
Location: Universal’s Islands of Adventure (2010)
Position in TPT100: 6
Other: Universal Studios Japan, Universal Studios Hollywood
With a nearly perfect score keeping it out of the top 5 by microscopic measures, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey topped this list a year ago. As tends to happen, hype has diminished and a few nausea-induced negative reviews have leveled out its score to a respectable 4.85 / 5.00. Still, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is a masterful example of technology pushing forward.
It’s more or less impossible to explain the mechanics behind the ride, but we’ll try: Make a fist. Pretend the four fingers you can see are four people. Now twist and rotate your wrist and your elbow, imagining all the positions those “riders” could face. They can flip, spin, lie flat, and rotate. Then imagine that your arm is removed at the shoulder and placed on a track, traveling through a building and interacting with screens and props. If you’ve concocted the idea of an out-of-control ride that seems impossible, you’re right.
While Forbidden Journey is infamously a bit of a grab-bag in the story department (as you endure random attacks from almost every bad guy in the Harry Potter universe within a matter of minutes), it’s a technological marvel and most fans’ first time seeing the wonders of the Wizarding World up close and personal.
5. Pirates of the Caribbean
© Disney
Location: Disneyland Park (1967)
Position in TPT100: 5
Other: Magic Kingdom (TPT#86), Disneyland Paris (TPT#30), Tokyo Disneyland
Talk about a classic. Populated with 120 Audio-Animatronics (mostly human, with a few pigs, cats, and skeletons for good measure), Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland is often cited by enthusiasts as the best dark ride ever, period. Theme Park Tourist readers more or less agree, giving it a near-perfect score that puts it neck-and-neck with the other top 5. The attraction was duplicated in some form to resorts in Japan, France, and Paris, though only the Californian original is a whopping 16 minutes long (with Florida’s clocking in at about half of that). The ride was the jumping-off point for the wildly successful film franchise. The films then circled back and inspired the addition of Jack Sparrow animatronics in 2008.
4. Soarin’ Over California
© Disney
Location: Disney California Adventure (2001)
Position in TPT100: 4
Other: Epcot (TPT#99)
When Disney California Adventure opened in 2001, it was to abysmal reviews, microscopic attendance, and poor word of mouth. The park had only two major attractions. To be fair, both were unique. But Soarin’ Over California proved to be the park’s greatest success story. The unusual simulator ride sends guests hang-gliding over California’s vast and varied landscapes. From oceans to snowy peaks, Redwood forests to buzzing cities… The ride’s impossible-to-describe mechanics hoist visitors into a domed-screen where wind and smell effects absorb guests into an emotional and moving musical tour of the state.
The ride proved so popular, it was duplicated at Epcot in Florida where “Over California” was dropped from its name, despite the ride film being the same. It seems that California’s many ecosystems are so diverse, they can reasonably stand in for the entire country and no one notices! The under-construction Shanghai Disneyland is expected to open with a more global version of the attraction (called “Soarin’ Over the Horizon”), which will then be exported back to California and Florida. Meanwhile, the unique ride system is rumored to be the backbone of the starring attraction at Animal Kingdom’s new PANDORA – The World of Avatar.
3. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Location: Disney’s Hollywood Studios (1994)
Position in TPT100: 3
Other: Disney California Adventure (TPT#11), Walt Disney Studios (TPT#14), Tokyo DisneySea (TPT#66)
“Hollywood, 1939. Amid the glitz and the glitter of a bustling young movie town at the height of its Golden Age, the Hollywood Tower Hotel was a star in its own right. Now, something is about to happen that will change all that.” There’s something about the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney’s Hollywood Studios that simply can’t be beaten. Looming over Sunset Blvd. and perched high up on an overgrown hillside, the Hollywood Tower Hotel has seen better days. Of course, the thirteen-story building is really concealing one of the most innovative rides ever built.
Sure, what goes up must come down. But guests boarding Tower of Terror and expecting a single plunge would be wildly mistaken. The queue – which is as much part of the ride as the elevator itself – winds through the dusty hotel’s lobby, library, and boiler room. The ride itself retells the chilling events of Halloween Night in 1939. The elevator visits three separate floors of creepy and unexplainable effects, while the ride vehicle – which seems to be an average elevator – does distinctly un-average things. Ever seen and elevator move horizontally out of its shaft? The often-duplicated but never-matched ride has been reborn in three countries with three different styles (all three of which rank highly on the TPT100), but none have the pizzazz of the original.
2. Haunted Mansion
© Disney
Location: Disneyland (1969)
Position in TPT100: 2
Other: Magic Kingdom (TPT#24), Tokyo Disneyland
“Your cadaverous pallor betrays an aura of foreboding!” The ominous narration of the darkly humorous Ghost Host can only mean one thing: you’ve stepped into the dimly lit halls of Disney’s Haunted Mansion. The attraction – one of the last conceived by Walt, even if it changed drastically after his untimely passing – has always been a Disney classic, and is arguably present in some form at every Disney Resort on Earth. From the bleak séance to the swinging wake, most every scene from this Omnimover-based dark ride has a cult following… and for good reason.
Disneyland’s ranks highest on our TPT100, but that may simply be because it’s the original and for its festive Haunted Mansion Holiday from Halloween through Christmas, when Jack Skellington and the cast of Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas bring two fervent fan bases together. Even if it lack’s Jack’s touch during the holidays, Magic Kingdom’s has been upgraded through the years with new details and scenes that compliment Imagineers’ early illusions.
1. Radiator Springs Racers
© Disney
Location: Disney California Adventure (2012)
Position in TPT100: 1
Currently voted the number one attraction in the world (and certainly the number one dark ride) on the TPT100, Radiator Springs Racers opened at Disney California Adventure in 2012 as part of the park’s grand re-opening. It signaled a new start in many ways, re-igniting the park after a decade of distaste from fans while also showing that Disney has still ‘got it’ when it comes to designing outstanding dark rides.
The racing attraction (utilizing the same slot-car technology as Epcot’s Test Track) sends guests into the sleepy, dusty town of Radiator Springs for up-close encounters with some of the most incredible Audio-Animatronics ever built in preparation for Race Day! While it’s the side-by-side outdoor race around Ornament Valley that gets all the attention, the dark ride half of the experience is above and beyond what fans had come to expect from Disney, and it’s certainly a leading experience in the world.
Conclusion
There you have it! Fifteen of the top dark rides as determined by you. Did the community get it right? Or are there some big omissions on this list (keeping in mind the three caveats we began with)? And remember, while we ranked these attractions by your ratings, all of the top 15 scored between 4 and 5 stars – sometimes with just microscopic decimal-point differences, especially in the top 5! So this list is not set in stone…
And in fact, if you disagree with the way things ended up, then be sure to click over to the TPT100 page. Go down our list and rate each attraction you’ve been on (making sure you’re looking at the right park) with a single click! The list is live-updating, so re-freshing the page will readjust the rankings if your scores have made any differences. As it is, we think this list is a pretty fair and balanced look at the top dark rides as of July 2014, and it’ll be interesting to see how things change by next summer.
And don’t forget to check out our list of the Top 15 Coasters – As Voted By YOU!
