The most overrated Disney theme park attraction

[Alan]

I really enjoyed Space Mountain.

I think that Buzz lightyear thing is terribly overrated at the Magic Kingdom. Long lines, and its kind of lame: Shooting things with lazer guns, I mean not exciting at all!

[pinkrenata]

When I went to EPCOT during the 80s (granted I was 5 and 7 at the time), the Future World attractions seemed so much cooler. Besides my age, I think this is partly due to the grooving 80s soundtracks that accompanied most of these rides. I have the recordings on a cassette tape somewhere. I can understand that they needed to update the rides, but I really miss those songs. I remember <i>loving</i> Kitchen Kabaret at The Land, which I'm sure was much better than its "cooler" Food Rocks! counterpart.

I really like Ellen's Energy Adventure. Probably one of the best updates of a ride they've done at EPCOT. I never saw the first revision of Journey Into Imagination, or the new one. I am still in the opinion that the original ride was perfect as is.

[AwallaceUNC]

I never got to do original versions of Journey into the Imagination, Horizons, or Universe of Energy. For all the times I went to Disney as a kid, I seemed to have not done very much. That's partly because my parents didn't know a lot of what was there and also partly because they had their hands full (looking back on home videos, I was running all over the place and never shut up... of course I'm like that when I go there now too).

Journey into Your Imagination with Figment (the current version and the only one I know) is fun enough as far as I'm concerned. It's not outstanding or anything, but I enjoyed the one time I've gotten to do it. I've never talked to anyone who said that the original wasn't the best, though.

-Aaron

[pinkrenata]

For all the times I went to Disney as a kid, I seemed to have not done very much. That's partly because my parents didn't know a lot of what was there and also partly because they had their hands full (looking back on home videos, I was running all over the place and never shut up... of course I'm like that when I go there now too).

Ha ha. I become crazy at a Disney park. I suddenly gain enormous amounts of energy and run back and forth like some sort of idiot. I also get very bossy and make sure we get through all the attractions, no matter how long the line is. I've already warned someone quite a few times about my Disney park behavior.

[danamichelle]

That's Funny. When I go, I turn into a kid. My husband just lets me pull him all over the place. He has gotten use to taking pictures with all of the characters and having to wait in line for every single ride.

[AwallaceUNC]

Same here!! I'm up at 5 am every morning and pace around in the dark until everyone else wakes up at 6:30 sharp, when I have the alarms set. We're out the door by 7:30 and in the parks till close like troopers. I have a minute-by-minute schedule set up (literally) for hitting the rides at the right time, and I get SUPER hyper (to an embarassing point, really) and like you said, fairly bossy too. I do my best to keep my guiding us on a schedule to myself and make it seem like the natural way of doing things for everyone else. Oh, and I talk a LOT when I'm in the parks. I mean I normally talk a lot anyways, but I really can't be shut up in the parks (even to strangers). ...Kind of like how I'm babbling all over the place in these theme park threads.

-Aaron

[indianajdp]

None of the attractions that I've experienced jump out at me as overrated, either. Underrated? Definitely.

-Aaron

Sums up my feelings as well.

I cannot think of one ride or attraction that is hyped, rehyped and overhyped. In my mind that would be a qualifier for being overrated; that everyone is constantly talking about it and saying it's the best ever.

Underrated? Plenty

[pinkrenata]

Oh, and I talk a LOT when I'm in the parks. I mean I normally talk a lot anyways, but I really can't be shut up in the parks (even to strangers)

I've almost lost my voice on a few occasions because of my excessive chattering. In fact, I think I did completely lose it the first time I went. I got so excited at It's A Small World, pointing out everything I had remembered from my book and tape set. Trying to shout over all the singing dolls finally did me in.

[Disney-Fan]

Buzz Lightyear is cheap and overrated piece of junk and pales when compared to neighbour's attraction; Men in Black: Alien Attack!

[Fidget1234]

Thought of another one, that was really hyped but I wasnt very impressed with & that is Honey I Shrunk the Audience.

Dont get me wrong, i loved the movie...but the attraction, i mean it had its good parts-but not as good as some of the other 3d shows.

[AwallaceUNC]

I cannot think of one ride or attraction that is hyped, rehyped and overhyped.

This is true... some guests hype Body Wars, but I don't think it's necessarily a "big deal," and Disney definitely doesn't hype it. Not anymore, anyways.

Stitch's Great Escape could be considered both overrated and underrated. It's overrated by Disney, who hypes it to be the best thing since Splash Mountain. It's underrated by most of the people who go into it- it's very poorly received and fans love to bash it. I think it's fun enough, and a good concept. It could have been executed better, and frankly they could probably use that space better, but it's not nearly bad as what most people make it out to be.

-Aaron

[Escapay]

It's very interesting hearing the different opinions about the overrated/underrated attractions in the park.

In my experience, I found the following to be...

Overrated at MK:
Cinderellabration - a lot of fluff, nothing but music and dancing and a couple princes and princesses. Would be better if the fab five were in it, and throw in a couple villains to crash the coronation.

Peter Pan's Flight - yes, this truly is a classic ride. But when you actually ride it and see those small figurines move around and the fake Captain Hook voice, and the fact that you only see Peter Pan like three times, it makes this ride terribly overrated. I've seen wait times go as high as 75 or 90 minutes. They truly need to refurb the ride, make the figurines more lifelike and less plastic-looking, and add a couple more Peter Pans (though it makes sense that you don't see Peter since it's his flight and I'm guessing that you're supposed to be Peter on his flight).

Stitch's Great Escape - I had the fortuosity of experiencing two versions of this attraction. There was the original version, where they had recorded children's dialogue basically quipping in a "Oh look there he is!" or "Where's Stitch?" or "Ahh!". Now, they got rid of it since the real kids do it. The original also didn't have any Stitch silhouettes during the whole "You can't catch me!" sequence. The new one has silhouettes, which help greatly, though the entire ride is a bit of a pain.

Dumbo - Flying Elephants. Wow.

Astro Orbiter - Dumbo in Space. Wow.

Magic Carpets of Aladdin - No, this isn't overrated. I just figured I'd mention it to complete the trifecta of flying attractions.

Overrated at Epcot:

Test Track - a nice ride and all, but the thrill is gone if you've gone on it twice already.

Imagination - I just hate this new version with Dr. Niles whatsit and the CGI Figment. As a kid I remember the original original one, with Dreamfinder and everything. This new one is just a "Experience the Five Senses!" crap.

Tapestry of Nations - I know they don't do this parade anymore but I found it to be rather boring. Good chanty music, some nice costumes, but I wouldn't want to sit through an entire parade of it.

Overrated at the Studios:

Indy Jones Stunt Show - Another thing where repetition ruins it. It gets to a point where the preshow is the only interesting segment.

Millionaire Play It - Though I have to admit I force everyone to do this game whenever we go to the Studios, it isn't exactly the greatest game to play.

Tower of Terror - Probably because of my fear of heights, but this gets way too much hype.

Overrated at Animal Kingdom:

I just find Animal Kingdom to be a boring place to be, save for the only good attractions: Dinosaur, It's Tough to be a Bug, and Tarzan Rocks. Of course, Expedition Everest should prove to be interesting.

Escapay

[AwallaceUNC]

Indy Jones Stunt Show - Another thing where repetition ruins it. It gets to a point where the preshow is the only interesting segment.

I might agree with you on this one (but that's the only one- sorry ), but only for repeat visitors. It's great the first couple of times. After nine trips, I find myself wanting to skip it but I go for others' sakes.

-Aaron

[chaychay102royal]

I've noticed there's a lot of talk about attractions at Disney World, but what about the other parks?

Anyway, a little change of topic. I think that the Matterhorn Bobsleds are terribly underrated. Because they're not in Disney World, it seems like they're never mentioned.

[pinkrenata]

Tapestry of Nations - I know they don't do this parade anymore but I found it to be rather boring. Good chanty music, some nice costumes, but I wouldn't want to sit through an entire parade of it.

I agree with you on that one. It wasn't a <i>bad</i> parade, a lot of people just made such a fuss about it. Definitely no SpectroMagic, in my opinion.

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

The problem I have with Kilimanjaro Safaris is that it's too short and you hardly see any animals and I went there first thing in the morning! If you ever go to California go to San Diego zoo. There Safari ride is very impressive and blows Animal Kingdom's out of the water.

In fact that's how I feel about Animal Kingdom. It's half zoo and half theme park. But most people don't won't both at the same time but one of the other. And it doesn't have enough of either. My Mom wanted a zoo, I wanted a theme park and at the end we were bott disappointed. We finished the whole park in less then a day. I even think it takes a longer time to do MGM Studios than Animal Kingdom. In fact if it weren't for Dinosaur, Festivil of the Lion King and It's Tough to be a Big then the park would be an absolute bore! I even find the poorly themed California Adventure much more fun then Animal Kingdom!

As for Epcot I haven't been on the any of the original rides either. But I just went there for my first time in October and it's my favorite Theme Park. I think Living in The Seas is wonderful! I thought it had a great selection of sea animals! I though it was better than all of Animal Kingdom!

I'm not a huge fan of Ellen DeGeneres but I have to admit that the Wonders of Energy was hilarious! I was laughing throughout the whole ride!

The Imagination ride was pretty lame though! I wish they could bring back the original and see how the ride was like since this one was lame.

I have not been on Body Wars but would like to since I love Star Tours.

I think the land is fine. I think with Soarin it will only get better.(Too bad Disney is too lazy to replace the film with a Florida version! )

As for the fireworks show I hated it because all I could see was a big ball in the middle of the river and a few fireworks shooting out! Wishes is wonderful! Not only is the fireworks display muc better but has a story and great music with it! I just can't imagine any firework show better!

Indiana Jones Stunt show was great! I can see how one can get tired of it, but then again alot of shows can! I think this can be watched for a several more veiwings!

And ChayChay I actually thing the Matterhorn is the third most well know icon at Disneyland! (Just behind the Castle and Splash Mountain!)

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

Thought of another one, that was really hyped but I wasnt very impressed with & that is Honey I Shrunk the Audience.

Dont get me wrong, i loved the movie...but the attraction, i mean it had its good parts-but not as good as some of the other 3d shows.

I don't think that show is overrated. In fact it hasn't gotten huge crowds since 1999 at Disneyland. I got so tired of it I had to skip it when I went to Florida. I think every 3D show gets old if you watch it many times! I think they should replace this soon. Even though it's still a good show, it gets boring fast. The other 3 still have me entertained though!

[AwallaceUNC]

There's no doubt that Animal Kingdom doesn't have nearly enough. I just think that a lot of what they do have is really first-rate (I don't care for Chester & Hester's, though- good rides, terrible theming). They just need to add a LOT more... like Everest, which is coming. I'm hoping that plans for Beastly Kingdom and/or Narnia go through and are added there. Give AK time. The theming is wonderful there. That's an important part for me. I could go to Disney World and not ride a single ride and be content just walking around.

Glad to hear you liked Epcot so much - not many your age would. I think having California in Soarin' makes sense for the first 1.5 years, because it's a gift from Disneyland and part of the whole 50th celebration. After that, it should get a new video, and from what I understand, those are the plans right now. It could be Soarin' Over Florida, but I think Soarin' Over America or Soarin' Over the World would work as well, so long as they keep it related to Epcot/The Land/Future World.

I really like Honey I Shrunk The Audience, but will concede that it's starting to show its age, to no fault of Disney's. There are supposedly plans to replace it with a new 3-D movie within the next few years, but that could just be rumor.

-Aaron

[pinkrenata]

Thought of another one, that was really hyped but I wasnt very impressed with & that is Honey I Shrunk the Audience.

Dont get me wrong, i loved the movie...but the attraction, i mean it had its good parts-but not as good as some of the other 3d shows.

I don't think that show is overrated. In fact it hasn't gotten huge crowds since 1999 at Disneyland. I got so tired of it I had to skip it when I went to Florida. I think every 3D show gets old if you watch it many times! I think they should replace this soon. Even though it's still a good show, it gets boring fast. The other 3 still have me entertained though!

I have seen Honey, I Shrunk the Audience so many times that the surprises don't really get me so much anymore. Even so, I still find it a lot of fun and can't to see it this Summer with someone who's never been on it before!

[pinkrenata]

Bump.

(I don't care for Chester & Hester's, though- good rides, terrible theming).

I, for one, really liked Chester & Hester's. If you've ever been to one of those tacky roadside amusement parks in the middle of nowhere, I think you can really appreciate the theming. What's coming to my mind is any attraction around South Dakota, as well as a really really really tacky Flintstones "theme" park I went to once around the Grand Canyon area, filled with equally enormous and hideous dinosaur statues.