About This Quiz
Disneyland opened to the public on July 17, 1955, and the Disney franchise hasn't looked back since. That first park was built under the direction of Walt Disney himself. Is follow up, Walt Disney World, was started under his direction, but he died before it was finished. Disneyland has proven to be one of the most popular theme parks in the history of the world. More than 725 million people have gone through its gates since it first opened; in a typical year, it welcomes around 18 million visitors. And that's just one park! Remember, Disney also has parks in Orlando, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Shangai. That's more Disney than you can shake a stick at.
People want to see their favorite characters when they hit up a Disney park, but the real draw more - than anything else - is those rides. People love rides, and Disney is constantly innovating new rides while keeping the classics that have made the parks what they are since they opened. So, you get a great mix of things like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and the most recently introduced Star Wars rides at both Disneyland and Magic Kingdom Park.
If you think you're a hardcore Disney fan, then let's see how many of these rides you can identify!
Slinky Dog Dash is named after cartoon favorite Slinky Dog. The ride, which opened in June 2018, is in Toy Story Land at Disney's Hollywood Studios. It also includes singing provided by Wheezy the Penguin because ... why not?
Five Disney parks have an "It's a Small World" ride, and all of them are essentially the same thing. Hundreds of animatronic children representing the various cultures of the world sing the song, "It's a Small World," as you sail down a river.
The Haunted Mansion dates back to 1969 and has proven to be one of the most beloved rides at any Disney park. The 2003 movie starring Eddie Murphy, however, was much less popular and has a dismal 13% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Advertisement
Splash Mountain is one of Disney's most famous water-themed rides and is infamous for its photographic component. At the end of the ride, participants are dropped down a water slide and an action photo is taken. People routinely stage goofy photos in unusual poses.
The Mad Tea Party is a ride in which you sit in a giant teacup and go for a literal spin. The ride is fairly well-known for the fact that the relentless spinning tends to cause motion sickness in many people.
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin can be found in Adventureland at Disney World, but there are also versions of the ride in Paris and Tokyo. For the most part, it's very similar to the Dumbo ride, but it has been updated to feature an "Aladdin" theme.
Advertisement
As part of Disney's "Star Wars"-themed rides, Millenium Falcon Smuggler's Run lets riders take on one of six crew roles on Han Solo's universally famous Millennium Falcon for a smuggler's run. The story you're part of takes place between "The Last Jedi" and "The Rise of Skywalker."
The Kali River Rapids ride is part of Disney's Animal Kingdom and is meant to simulate a ride down the Chakranadi River. The theme relates to a river ride through an Asian forest that is suffering from some habitat destruction and illegal logging.
The TriceraTop Spin functions exactly the same as the Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride, which is a spinning, aerial carousel ride in which users have a joystick that lets them move up and down as the ride spins. The difference here? It's dinosaurs, not elephants.
Advertisement
The Jungle Cruise is a riverboat ride that is one of the oldest in the history of Disney theme parks. It was up and running on July 17, 1955, when Disneyland first opened. Hong Kong Disneyland opened its Jungle Cruise ride in 2005.
Space Mountain can be found at five of the six Disney theme parks in the world, with only Shanghai opting to not send anyone up the mountain. This was another of the rides that was optioned for a film, like "Pirates of the Carribean," but it didn't come to pass.
The little Barnstormer rollercoaster is officially called The Great Goofini's Barnstormer as of 2011 when it replaced the Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm which had been around since 1996.
Advertisement
The Astro Orbiter is at five different Disney parks around the world, though they don't all use the same name. In Hong Kong, they call it the Orbitron, and in Shanghai, it goes by Jet Packs.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, sometimes called Big Thunder Mountain, has a backstory about the tragic ending to a railroad that went through a cursed mountain range. What tragedy? At the Tokyo park it's a tsunami, in Paris it's an earthquake, and in Florida, it's a flood.
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin is a dark ride, meaning you have to go indoors to experience it. It basically combines a roller coaster with a shooting gallery that lets you shoot at the minions of the evil Emperor Zurg.
Advertisement
The Alice in Wonderland ride didn't get a very clever name. it's just called Alice in Wonderland and involves taking a caterpillar-coaster down a rabbit hole into the world of Wonderland. It has been in operation since 1958.
Peter Pan's Flight is a suspended ride that you can find at several Disney parks around the world and was originally conceived to try to let participants experience the thrill of flying like Peter Pan. It has been at Disneyland since 1955 and is still one of the most popular rides in the park.
Prince Charming's Regal Carrousel started life as the Liberty Carousel in Belle Isle Park in Detroit, Michigan, in 1917. From there, it went to Irvington, New Jersey, and then, in 1967, the Walt Disney Company purchased it.
Advertisement
In 1967, Disney opened its first Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland, its Anaheim, California theme park. This was the last attraction at a Disney park that was overseen by Walt Disney himself. Disney died just months before the ride opened to the public.
The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train might seem like it was one of Disney's older rides, but in fact, it didn't show up until 2014. It's a roller coaster designed for families, which means it isn't too intense and also has that tilting aspect that all cartoon mine carts seem to have.
Autopia goes back to 1955, and though it has changed a little over the years, it's still essentially a go-kart race. When it was first developed, the cars didn't have bumpers and were quickly destroyed by the drivers.
Advertisement
Set in the "Avatar" universe, Avatar Flight of Passage is a flight simulator ride that lets you take flight, not in a plane like so many flight simulators do, but on a mountain banshee, one of the big, flying dragon-like beasts from the film.
They call Dinosaur an "enhanced motion vehicle" ride that takes you on a trip through the age of dinosaurs and is associated with the movie, "Dinosaur."In 2005 a park visitor died after exiting the ride, which caused some bad press, but his death was determined to have had nothing to do with the ride specifically.
Dumbo the Flying Elephant is kind of like a next-level carousel ride when you think about it, taking place in the air instead of fixed on the ground. When you're on the ride, you can use a joystick to make your personal Dumbo fly up or down.
Advertisement
Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain is a roller coaster ride based around the idea of a Yeti protecting Everest. It took six years to plan and build the ride at a cost of $100 million. That's one big roller coaster!
Mission: Space is a ride modeled after the way real astronauts are trained to handle G-force pressure on take off. Essentially the ride is a giant centrifuge that spins everyone until they're pressed flat. Think of the spin cycle in your washing machine.
The Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith is featured at Disney's Hollywood Studios. There was also one at the Paris location, but they closed it down in September of 2019 to replace it with a Marvel Cinematic Universe-themed roller coaster.
Advertisement
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is one of the tallest rides at any Disney park and also one of the most intense. While it's wrapped up in a bit of a "Twilight Zone" storyline, the ride is just you being dropped in an elevator with others who are just as scared!
Star Wars Rise of the Resistance is part of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disney and has an official launch date of December 5, 2019. The gist of the ride is that you're on a transport right in the middle of a battle between The First Order and the Resistance.
Primeval Whirl is part of DinoLand USA and is what they call a wild mouse roller coaster. Wild mouse coasters are defined by their small cars that seat no more than four people, rather than the kind that look more like trains.
Advertisement
The Indiana Jones Adventure followed on the heels of the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular and opened in 1995 in Anaheim. At that time it was known as the Temple of the Forbidden Eye, but then in 2001, a similar ride called Temple of the Crystal Skull opened in Tokyo.
The Disneyland Railroad used to be called the Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad and it circles pretty much the entire park in Disneyland. Despite its simplicity, it's listed as one of the most popular rides in the park, and around 6.6 million people ride it every year.
Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes is a canoe ride that probably wouldn't have played super well in other countries since Davy Crockett isn't known all that well around the world. In Tokyo, it bears the name Beaver Brother, and in Shanghai, it dropped any name and is just Explorer Canoes.
Advertisement
Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin is based on the movie, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," and was supposed to be part of a larger Roger-themed part of Disney until EuroDisney failed, and the plans were scaled back significantly.
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is arguably the best-named ride that Disney has ever come up with and is inspired in part by both "The Wind in the Willows" and "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad."
Pinocchio's Daring Journey started at Disneyland but is also available in Paris and Tokyo. It lets riders hop into what looks like a wooden cart and then travel from the Puppet Theater to an alley and then Pleasure Island.
Advertisement
The Matterhorn Bobsleds are a pair of roller coasters that work together on what is the first-ever tubular steel continuous track roller coaster. Back when Disney attractions were being adapted into feature films, this was one of the rides that was optioned.
The Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage may sound familiar to older fans of Disneyland since it began its life simply as Submarine Voyage, from 1959 until 1998. In 2007, it was resurrected with "Finding Nemo" as the theme that tied it all together.
The Casey Jr. Circus Train comes from the movie, "Dumbo," and is a very tiny train you can ride, or if you're at the park in Paris, a rollercoaster made to emulate a train. It dates back to the grand opening of Disneyland in 1955.
Advertisement
Toy Story's Midway Mania is currently at three different parks and combines a spinning ride with 3D glasses that creates a virtual midway environment for participants. In total there are about six different games you can play on the ride inspired by classic carnival midways.