The Ultimate Disney Parks Attraction Bracket -- Round Three, Day Four
Pixie duuuuuuuuust!
Although we started this third round of the Ultimate Disney Parks Attraction bracket with 64 seeds, I feel like we’ve finally entered the part of the bracket with impossible choices, or at least choices that truly give me pause.
Well, it’s a good thing I don’t vote in these things! Have fun with today’s matchups, friends!
(2) Space Mountain (WDW) vs. (15) Peter Pan’s Flight (DL): This one’s an easy choice for me. Peter Pan’s Flight has the novelty of lifting you up to the ceiling, and Space Mountain has thet novelty of sending you through a darkened room. But the novelty of the latter attraction far exceeds that of the former, and…I mean, listen, Space Mountain is just so much goddamn fun. For all the Imagineering flourishes you can find on all sorts of attractions sometimes all it takes is turning off the lights.
What do you think?
Space Mountain (WDW)
Peter Pan’s Flight (DL)
(7) The Great Movie Ride vs. (10) The Haunted Mansion (WDW): Now, this one…this one’s a toughie. I am partial — as you can imagine — to a ride all about the power of the movies, even though I acknowledge that the Great Movie Ride would have benefited from a bit of TLC over the years, and not just counting the inclusion of Turner Classic Movies into the experience.
But The Haunted Mansion is — whether we’re talking about the one in Anaheim or the one in Orlando — such a full and rich experience. And the benefit to the Orlando one, if memory serves correctly, is that Jack Skellington and friends are not part of the ride at any time of year. The grim grinning ghosts win this one.
The Great Movie Ride
The Haunted Mansion (WDW)
(3) Living with the Land vs. (19) Star Tours: The Adventures Continue: Another easy one, I will admit, because as much fun as it can be to be selected as the Rebel spy, Living with the Land is one of the most charming and relaxing experiences you can have at any Disney theme park. It’s the land for me.
What do you think?
Living with the Land
Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
(6) Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (DL) vs. (11) Carousel of Progress: This one’s less tough than it is sad, because we’re saying goodbye today — at least, I presume we are — to the Carousel of Progress. It’s an attraction I love in theory, but in execution…well, in execution, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad eats its lunch, drinks its milkshake, and other food-related metaphors.
It’s the wildest ride in the wilderness. Right?
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (DL)
Carousel of Progress
I used to work at Disney and my friend worked at the Great Movie Ride. At the scene when the ride gets hijacked and he goes off stage for a bit, he ran into a door that was supposed to be open (it’s dark where they go offstage). He broke his nose. Blood everywhere.
So the scene where the host comes back and goes, “remember me?!” was very confusing to the riders because it was not him and was a woman.
Not only were the riders confused, but his family was visiting and happened to be on that ride. His four year old nephew starts hysterically crying because he thought Uncle Ricky was kidnapped.
Anyway, that’s my favorite movie ride story.
Living With the Land needs to be a slam dunk here friends.