There are dozens of rides and attractions within the Disney parks that we have said goodbye to over the years. What if we could bring some of those beloved attractions back, but with modern technology and storytelling.
Would you want to see some of your old favorites back and modernized? Here are 5 retired Walt Disney World attractions that could be given a second life in the present day.
The Great Movie Ride
The Great Movie Ride opened in 1989 and ran until 2017 when it closed to make room for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. This dark ride featured dozens of audio animatronics, live actors, and replicated sets from some of the most iconic movies. Riders traveled through movies such as Wizard of Oz, Alien, Indiana Jones, and Casablanca.
What if they brought back The Great Movie Ride to Hollywood Studios today? What movies have been made since 1989 that could be featured in a modern version of the ride? Perhaps we could see the iconic scene of Jack and Rose at the bow of the Titanic. They could incorporate Avatar, Planet of the Apes, Die Hard, or even the Chronicles of Narnia (films that Disney now owns, by the way). Of course, they couldn’t pay homage to the movies without somehow incorporating the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Something that wasn’t featured much in the original ride was animated feature films. With technology like what is used in Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, we could see movies like Up, Brave, or Luca come to life. It would be a great way to represent other great Disney IPs that do not already have their own rides at the Disney parks. Not only that but incorporating animated films and films that are more recent would make the ride more enjoyable for a larger audience. Don’t get me wrong, they would have to keep Wizard of Oz and Mary Poppins, with updated audio-animatronics of course.
Body Wars
Body Wars was a simulator ride at EPCOT that operated from 1989 to 2007. In this simulator, riders were shrunken down and taken inside the human body. The ride system was very similar to Star Tours.
This brings me to my suggestion for a modernized version of this attraction. Just as Star Tours-The Adventure Continues has many different ride sequences, so would the new Body Wars. It wouldn’t be the same mission every time. This could range from studying how a virus affects the body and how the immune system responds to it to explaining kidney stones or blood clots. Truthfully, the possibilities are endless. The multiple storylines would make for a new ride almost every time riders return.
How about Horizons or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage, could they make a comeback?…
Horizons
Horizons was a classic ride at EPCOT that opened in 1983 and closed in 1999 to make way for Mission Space. Many Walt Disney World fans do not believe this was a fair trade. Horizons carried guests from FuturePort through visions of the future. It was the only ride where guests could actually choose which path they wanted to follow toward the end of their journey.
There are numerous ways to bring Horizons into the future while still maintaining the charm of the original. The ride could still begin with “Looking Back at Tomorrow” however, we could see visions for inventions that seemed impossible but are now a reality.
The internet, smartphones, and jet packs are just a few advancements that could be featured during this segment. As guests embark further on the journey through the future, we could see scenes of advanced space exploration and habitation, flying cars, the elimination of environmental waste, and incredible medical advancements. Finally, the ride would also include the same choice as the original. Guests would choose from the space station Brava Centauri, the farm of Mesa Verde, or the Sea Castle research base. All of these choices would be updated to meet current technology standards. Is this a ride you would be excited about?
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage
This is a ride that it seems people either loved or hated. This submarine ride was a classic Magic Kingdom attraction that ran from 1971 to 1994. The attraction took guests on—you guessed it—a journey on a submarine through a lagoon. The ride was expensive to maintain, and the effects were outdated by the time it closed in the early ’90s. A Finding Nemo themed version of this ride still operates at Disneyland.
Could there be redemption for this lost classic? Imagine moving the ride to Animal Kingdom instead of Magic Kingdom. The ride gets a larger ride vehicle that has more space and isn’t as enclosed. In addition, updated technology could improve maintenance costs. Instead of following a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea story though, this ride would coincide with the mission behind Kali River Rapids and touch on changes to the world’s reefs and how pollution affects aquatic life. It could be half live, and half simulation. It would be a great way to incorporate sea life into Animal Kingdom.
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Playground
If you visited Walt Disney World in the 1990s or early 2000s, you probably remember running around huge insects and mazes of plant roots. The Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: Movie Set Adventure was a playground. It is as simple as that. However, if you ever had the privilege of playing on this playground, it was unlike any playground you had ever played on before. Sadly, it closed in 2016 to make way for Toy Story Land.
The premise of the playground was making it seem like you had been shrunken down to a small size and were in a backyard filled with random toys and creatures. Didn’t they replace this attraction with a whole land that does that same thing? The updated version of this playground wouldn’t be based on Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Instead, it would be Toy Story based and fit perfecting within Toy Story Land. There could still be huge blades of grass and plant root mazes and slides, but it could also include some of the “Lost Toys” from Toy Story 4 like Bo Peep and Giggle McDimples. Let’s be honest, we could use some Forky in Toy Story Land as well.
Would you want to see any modernized versions of older rides or would you rather let them rest in pieces?
