The Ultimate Disney Parks Attraction Bracket -- Round Two, Day Eleven
As they say, look *alive*.
Can you believe the day is here? You know which day I mean: it’s the day that “Barbenheimer” is finally available to the public! (Some of us grumps, sadly, are less than enthused at the prospect of Greta Gerwig directing a Barbie movie, even though we’ll see it eventually. It would’ve helped if the studio had allowed critics to see both of these movies in due course, as opposed to Warner Bros. waiting to schedule Barbie screenings the same day and time as Oppenheimer, but such is life.)
Anyway, you all enjoy Barbenheimer on your own time. It’s my time now…to get you to vote in the second round of the Ultimate Disney Parks Attraction bracket. Let’s go!
(2) The Haunted Mansion (DL) vs. (31) Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes: It’s nothing against Davy Crockett or his Explorer Canoes. I like the experience a lot, both because I so enjoy getting a grand circle tour (kind of) around the Rivers of America and because it’s kind of cool to actually do something aside from sitting at a Disneyland attraction.
But you know where that paragraph is leading, right? The Haunted Mansion is a two seed for a reason. It’s pretty close to perfect (though less so during the third of a year when it’s invaded by Jack Skellington and his friends, an overlay I have grown to dislike somewhat over time). No question here. The Haunted Mansion for the win.
The Haunted Mansion (DL)
Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes
(15) Soarin’ Around the World vs. (18) Seven Dwarfs Mine Train: I will give this one to Soarin’ Around the World, but only barely. As I believe I have noted in past newsletters, I don’t particularly love the very digital look and feel to this new film, and the transitions from one location to another are often enervating to experience. But the general sensation of soaring through these shots still is pretty impressive. (But if this moves onto the next round to face the Haunted Mansion, it’s going down.)
What do you think?
Soarin’ Around the World
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
(7) Matterhorn Bobsleds vs. (26) Paint the Night: On one hand, the Matterhorn Bobsleds can be hell on my knees, a sentence that I think has aged me by 10 years simply by typing it. On the other hand, the Matterhorn Bobsleds are a quintessentially Disney attraction, and I can’t say no to them just yet.
How do you vote?
Matterhorn Bobsleds
Paint The Night
(10) Dumbo the Flying Elephant (DL) vs. (23) Mad Tea Party (DL): I guess this may be difficult for some folks out there, but for me, it’s very easy. Dumbo the Flying Elephant is, again, a quintessentially Disney attraction (and while you could argue the same for the Mad Tea Party, that one makes me queasy and this one does not).
Weigh in — what should move forward?
Dumbo the Flying Elephant (DL)
Mad Tea Party (DL)
I chose Tea Party for purely sentimental reasons. My grandmother came with us on that first trip to Disney, and I have treasured memories of how she sent our teacup into a spin that turned two feisty little girls into screaming nervous wrecks. My grandma was awesome.
Soarin around the world is an abomination compared to the majesty of the original. And the fact that they don’t have the original in DCA and the new version in Epcot is ridiculous. Vote mine train!