The Ultimate Disney Parks Attraction Bracket -- Round Seven, Day One

I'll see you all a little later...

I honestly cannot believe we’ve made it this far, everyone. We started with 256 seeds in the Ultimate Disney Parks Attraction bracket, and we’re finally down to our Final Four. Now, it’s easy with hindsight to look back on the entirety of the bracket and see that some unsurprising favorites have made it very far. (And then there are continued head-scratchers, like the fact that the Kilimanjaro Safaris made it to the Elite Eight. I still don’t get it! And I love that attraction!)

The one fascinating thing that I didn’t point out at the start of the last round — when it was equally true! — is that we have just one remaining attraction unique to the Disneyland Resort. I’ve said as much throughout the entirety of the bracket, but in many cases, while both the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts may boast a certain thrill ride, those rides do have unique aspects. The Haunted Mansion in Orlando is not the same as the one in Anaheim, Big Thunder Mountain has specific aspects at each park, etc.

And, of course, the only remaining ride from Disneyland isn’t unique to Disneyland, even if it’s much different in Anaheim than it is in Orlando. I guess I expected more Disneyland rides (or Disneyland versions of rides) to make it farther. Ah well. Let’s decide on a classic ride going to the Big Finale, huh?

(1) Pirates of the Caribbean (DL) vs. (10) The Haunted Mansion (WDW): I may have given away the ghost (get it? Do you…do you get it? The ghost? Because, you see, one of the attractions here is about ghosts) up above, but I would vote for Pirates of the Caribbean here over the Haunted Mansion. Location, as they say in real estate, matters heavily here to me. If it was the Orlando version of Pirates, I’d vote for the Haunted Mansion.

But we’re voting on the Anaheim version of Pirates, which is almost twice as long as its Florida counterpart, and boasts some of the most remarkable atmosphere and theming, along with iconic thrills. Even the presence of Johnny Depp cannot dampen my enjoyment of Pirates of the Caribbean, a sentence that would have blown my mind to think or type 20 years ago.

It’s not up to me, though. Here, you have two stone-cold classics going up against each other. Only one wins. How do you vote?

Pirates of the Caribbean (DL)

The Haunted Mansion (WDW)