10 Best Rides in Disneyland


Fantasmic Dragon Breathing Fire Disneyland

Disneyland is the original Disney park and has more history than any other park around the world. It has dozens of classic attractions guests enjoy every day. It also benefits from a lack of space, meaning in order to survive in the park a ride has to be a nearly perfect or face removal. Here is my list for the 10 best rides in the park, in no particular order. If you have one day at the park, these are the rides you should go for.

Alice In Wonderland


Starting off let's look at a ride that can only be found at Disneyland. Alice in Wonderland is found in some form at every castle park, but only in Disneyland did it get the dark ride treatment. That seems crazy because this is the best of all the classic Fantasyland dark rides. From its indoor-outdoor layout to its multiple levels, and being recently given modern upgrades, this ride is much more immersive than its cousins throughout Fantasyland and serves as a great example of classic Disneyland charm.

Matterhorn Bobsleds

Matterhorn Mountain Disneyland

This ride was the first-ever roller coaster in the Disney Parks, and it still holds up today. Its dueling tracks and modern animatronics gives you a great experience that can only happen here. The ride also gives you some of the best views of the park you can get anywhere through the holes in the mountain.

Indiana Jones Adventure Temple of the Forbidden Eye


This ride may be twenty-five years old, but it feels like it was built yesterday. The levels of thrills and immersion this ride provides are unlike anything Disney has done before or since. It is the perfect cross between a thrill ride and a dark ride and recreates an authentic feeling Indiana Jones adventure that is both familiar and treads new ground.

Pirates of the Caribbean

Captain Redd Pirates of the Caribbean Disneyland

This is an all-time classic that holds up to this day. The scale of this ride is simply stunning, with two drops, dozens of animatronics, and massive sets that you float through on your pirate-themed voyage. It has also stayed current during its multiple decades at the park with additions from Captain Jack Sparrow to the reimagined pirate auction featuring Redd as the first-ever female pirate in the ride.

It's a Small World


This is one of the most instantly recognizable Disney rides in the world, and this is the original version, and still the best. This is the version Walt himself rode, the version that was introduced to the world at the 1964 World's Fair. Everything about this ride, from the Clock Parade outside to the Disney character dolls in classic Small World-style hidden inside just screams Disneyland.

Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin

Roger Rabbit Car Toon Spin Disneyland Entrance

It is a miracle that in 2019 we still have a Roger Rabbit ride in a Disney park. But it definitely deserves its place amongst the rest of the classic attractions in the park. From one of the best queue lines in any Disney ride, to its unique spinning twist on the classic dark ride, this ride remains popular even as its source material has faded almost entirely from pop culture. This ride is so good it holds together what could otherwise easily be considered the worst land in the park.

Splash Mountain


This ride is a Disney classic. It tells the story of Brer Rabbit through a unique ride system in some of the best scenery Disney has ever made for a ride. Now, this is not the best version of the ride, as it was the first version later copies fixed some problems with the ride, but it still remains as one of the best in the park. It also holds pieces of Disneyland history as many of the animatronics were reused from the former attraction America Sings. Just a warning, you might get wet.

Disneyland Railroad


The Disneyland Railroad was a part of the park directly inspired by Walt Disney's own love of trains. Since the opening day, it has grown to be so much more than a form of transportation. From the new Rivers of America, it passes over to the dioramas through the Grand Canyon and the Primeval World it passes through this stands as its own ride. Each leg of the Grand Circle Tour brings you through special areas you can only see on the railroad while also transporting you around the park.

Rise of the Resistance

This is the newest ride at the park and in its short run at the park prior to the coronavirus closure, it had proven it deserved its place alongside all of the other classic rides in the park. It created one of the most immersive complete experiences of any Disney ride. The scale is on a level different than the rest of the park and delivers everything you would expect from a Star Wars experience.

Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion New Orleans Square Disneyland

This ride is simply one of the best Disney has ever done. Every single line in this attraction has grown to iconic status and every minor character is beloved enough to have its own dedicated following, line of merchandise, and intricate official backstory.

This is all made better with its seasonal version that comes every Halloween through Christmas to give us a twist on one of the best rides of all time.

So what do you think? Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments below!

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