How much has Disney changed over the years? More importantly, how much has Imagineering evolved and improved since then? I’m starting a new series that will explore these ideas by encapsulating rides from each decade. It’s only fitting that we start at the beginning. Here are Disneyland’s best 11 rides of the 1950s based on their historical significance to theme park tourism and Disney itself.
11. Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes
Image: DisneyWhen we talk about the humble origins of theme park attractions, we should start with Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes. It’s literally a canoe ride, meaning that you have a theme park ride available at your nearest lake.
Why does Explorer Canoes merit mention given the lazy nature of the attraction? Walt Disney added this ride due to the massive popularity of Davy Crockett during the 1950s. From the very start, money talked at Disneyland. This attraction is a precursor to Frozen Ever After and any other attraction anyone has ever dubbed a shameless cash grab. Disney’s running a business. The only thing that’s changed since the 1950s is that the undeniably commercial rides have gotten better.
10. Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Image: DisneyFor its era, Dumbo the Flying Elephant was quite smart. It solved a couple of essential problems regarding theme park tourism. The spinning aerial carousel required a small park footprint, freeing up space for other attractions. It had a reliable amount of hourly throughput as well and required little maintenance relative to some of the more complex attractions. Finally, it demonstrated the value of theming. The technology of the ride wasn’t on a par with other attractions, but people wanted to ride anyway because…DUMBO!!! Even then, Disney branding mattered.
9. Alice in Wonderland
Image: DisneyThis dark ride didn’t come until after the others on this list. With extra time to debate its story, Imagineers leaned toward the experimental. They attempted to create the illusion that guests shrunk down in size. Imagineer Claude Coats and his team were only partially successful with the attempt. They did set an important standard, though. Their dark ride featured scary elements, showing that Disney wouldn’t be chased off by criticism, which ties into…
8. Snow White’s Scary Adventures
Image: DisneyOut of all the original attractions at the Happiest Place on Earth, Snow White’s Scary Adventures missed the mark the most. It confused guests due to the absence of Snow White. Simultaneously, kids found the Evil Queen and her apple far too frightening. While most attractions were instantly beloved, this one required a lot of tinkering over the years. It became one of the first examples of the value of plussing, Walt Disney’s belief that every ride is capable of betterment. But it gets docked for being kind of a mess during those early years.
7. Autopia
Image: DisneyYou may question the significance of Autopia today. It’s a reasonable conclusion in a world where cars are ubiquitous. Back in the 1950s, however, automobile fever was still sweeping the country. Small kids loved the idea of driving like a grown-up. Disney couldn’t satisfy the demand for Autopia with a single attraction. They operated three different ones, all of which I’m slotting under the Autopia umbrella. Thus, the impact of Autopia is immeasurable. The simple driving simulator proved that parents will do whatever their kids demand at Disneyland. And for the first quarter-century or so, the mystique of driving mattered a great deal to the original batch of Mouseketeers in training.
6. Mad Tea Party
Image: DisneyWhenever anyone in the world jokes about a ride causing them to vomit, a Mad Tea Party reference inevitably follows. That level of name recognition means something in our industry. The mechanic of the attraction is remarkable, too. In its earliest form, it lacked brakes or a clutch or anything that would give riders any sort of control. People could and did flail about as wildly as they wanted. I’m sure it was pure chaos before park officials chose to add some form of structure. Still, what impresses me the most about Mad Tea Party is the elegance of its simplicity. You merely spin in place as fast as you like. That’s it. The best ideas are oftentimes the purest.
5. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
Image: DisneyNot all dark rides are created equal. I’ve discussed a few already, but the next two somehow tower above them in terms of staying power. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride is one of the greatest themed attractions ever. The depth of the story is such that you honestly believe you’re in Mr. Toad’s car, you’re out of control, and you’re on your way to jail or Hell or both. The lavish sets are paper-thin, almost literally, yet they immerse you in the story of a narcissist with a fatal character flaw. Out of all of the opening day attractions at Disneyland, this one was the most fully formed.
4. Peter Pan’s Flight
Image: DisneyEvery person sometimes shuts their eyes and imagines that they can fly. It’s a defining characteristic of our hopelessly grounded species. The glory of Walt Disney is that he takes the impossible and somehow brings it to life. Peter Pan’s Flight is among the most historically significant attractions ever because it ably simulates the sensation of flight.
Over the years, Imagineers have built better versions of the same premise such as Soarin’ and Avatar Flight of Passage. Their improvements are evolutionary rather than revolutionary, though. Peter Pan’s Flight was the first and most important of all flight simulators. It’s an unheralded titan in the field of theme park design.
3. Jungle Cruise
Image: DisneyThe importance of Jungle Cruise in theme park history is sadly understated. It was once a straightforward celebration of nature, but even Disney Imagineers couldn’t craft realistic sets during the 1950s. Cast members started to crack wise about the ludicrous nature of some imagery. Park officials took notice and encouraged their employees to lean into the silliness. In this way, Jungle Cruise became proof positive that humor elevates any theme park attraction.
From a historical perspective, Jungle Cruise matters a great deal more than its “he’ll get the point in the end” gags. It’s also arguably the oldest true boat ride still in existence…or at least tied with a couple of other opening day Disneyland attractions. Every theme park boat ride that you’ve ridden exists in part because of Jungle Cruise. And then there’s the Disney’s Animal Kingdom element.
Walt Disney aspired to keep live animals on the set of this attraction. Imagineers convinced him it wasn’t feasible at the time, but his loyal employees never forgot his greatest wish. The construction of Animal Kingdom hearkens back to that one seemingly impossible request from Uncle Walt. How much credit does Jungle Cruise receive for something it never had? I’ll leave it up to you to decide.
2. Matterhorn Bobsleds
Image: DisneyDo you love steel roller coasters? Anyone who answered no is reading the wrong site. And all of us who are passionate about the most thrilling rides in the world have the Matterhorn Bobsleds to thank for their existence. It was the first continuous track steel coaster ever built, and it stands side by side with Space Mountain as the most important coaster of the modern era for this reason. It’s also stood the test of time and remains a total joy to ride.
1. Monorail
Image: DisneyTo some people, choosing this ride will feel like a cheat. To others, leaving it off the list would have been an abomination. In simplest terms, no ride is more closely associated with Disneyland than the monorail. Even iconic attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean and Space Mountain fall a level below the monorail in terms of industry significant.
When Walt Disney planned the world’s first theme park, he knew that he would need a hook. He settled on the monorail as the selling point that would entice theme park tourists to see the future of transportation.
During the early days, the monorail was a paying ride, too. It required an E-ticket, a first for Disneyland. Over the years, it’s switched to a free form of transportation, one that’s indelibly linked to all things Disney. When guests see a monorail sliding down the track, they know that they’ve reached the Happiest Place on Earth. It is unquestionably the best of all Disney rides created during the 1950s.
