What are your favorite/must-do rides?

[geminimagk]

I'm trying to research the rides and figure out which ones to prioritize, but I'm learning that I don't know enough about them! So I would love some input and to find out which ones you guys think are the best. Thanks!

 

[Steven G]

Depends on your preferences.

These are rides I try not to miss in no particular order.

DL
Big thunder mountain railroad
Space mountain
Pirates of the Caribbean
Haunted mansion
Most/all of fantasyland
Buzz light year
Matterhorn
Star tours
Indiana jones

DCA
Radiator springs racers
Tower of terror or its replacement soon
Midway mania
Soarin
Screamin


And if you want rides where you get wet
Splash mountain. DL
Grizzly river run DCA

 

[22Tink]

Must do rides for us:

DLR
Big Thunder (Our top favourite ride in DLR!!)
Pirates
Peter Pan
Splash ( I don't like getting wet, but I still have to do this once per trip)
Space Mountain (I preferred the original to Hyperspace but it's still a must do)

DCA
California Screamin' (Our top favourite ride in DCA!)
Soarin' (I liked the original better, but still a must do)
ToT (We're excited to see the Guardians version!)
Radiator Springs
Grizzly River (I don't like getting drenched so I don't ride but the rest of my family loves it)

We enjoy lots of the other attractions as well but they aren't 'must do' for us.
You can always YouTube the rides if you're wanting to see them in action. We do that for fun when we're planning a trip!

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

It doesn't feel like a trip to Disneyland to me until I've ridden Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Space Mountain and the Disneyland Railroad. The closure of the train my last few visits has made me sad and I'm really looking forward to the re-opening later this summer!

 

[BriannaRuth]

The #1 thing I must do or it's just not DL is Pirates. After that, most of FL (PP, Alice, Toad, Snow White), Indy, Star Tours, Splash, Pooh, Jungle Cruise, Disneyland Railroad. My teens would add Space and BTMRR to this list.

For restaurants and entertainment -- we always do Blue Bayou for lunch and see Fantasmic (when it's there). Always get a Dole Whip and always eat at ... I can't remember the the name of the restaurant but it's the one by Pooh on the ROA where you can watch the Mark Twain go by (if you're there when the ROA is open).

In DCA, it's GRR, Soarin', Ariel, TSMM, ToT, RSR. And my teens would add Screamin' and GSS. We don't really have any "must-do" restaurants at DCA.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

One thing you can do is look up and watch ride videos (look for full ride throughs) on YouTube. Make sure you are looking at rides at DLR, CA (not the other Disney parks around the world). There are some great quality videos out there which can help you get a real feel for the rides and determine which ones will be a good fit for your family.

 

[stubby]

So, my family does every ride. With that said, we make sure we hit certain ones first thing in the morning because as the day goes longer so do the lines. One day we will go and do Star Tours and Space first and another we may do Indie. Some days we get to a certain ride and it won't be open yet. (Has happened with Splash, Nemo, Space). I will say if we skip Fantasyland we can do every ride in the park in one day with some rides multiple times. Then we will usually go back and do Fantasyland first thing in the morning one morning(because if you don't then you are going to wait a really long time). I guess I should say we have older kids now(youngest is 12) but have been going since she was 5 and back then we would probably do Fantasyland a couple times now we are good with once.

 

[danceanddisney2010]

For Disneyland... all of Fantasyland for sure! Also, space mountain... splash mountain.. big thunder mountain... pirates... jungle cruise..it's a small world... some of our faves we'd be sad to miss!

 

[AuntieMe3]

Since we have APs and are semi local we often take short trips(sometimes just an hour or two in the parks) but always make sure we ride Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and Big Thunder at DL. Depending on wait times and FP availability Space and Indiana Jones are added to our list. At CA, usually Radiator Springs Racers, Maters, and Soarin, although I'm not a fan of the new one so might be able to skip it now. :/ Tower of Terror used to be one of my must rides.

 

[kaitmaree]

I've only been once but Soarin' and Haunted Mansion were the absolute standouts to me. I'm sad PotC was closed while I was there!

 

[OneThree]

For me, Big Thunder. DW loves Indy. DS loves Soarin' (the new not the former sorry purists ) and DD loves Space Mountain!

 

[flyingjay]

Me:
DL-Indy
CA-Screamin

DW:
DL-Indy
CA-RSR and Soarin

DD6
DL-Go Coaster and Pooh
CA-RSR

DS4
DL-Astro Blasters
CA-TSMM

 

[Winnowill]

Me:
DCA - RSR
DL - Space (the original - I'm hoping it comes back after the Ghost Galaxy overlay is removed)

DH:
DCA - Soarin' (either version)
DL - Space (he likes the HSM overlay)

DD8:
DCA - Screamin'
DL - Splash

 

[WonkaKid]

Rides I always do (unless they're closed):
Peter Pan
Mr. Toad
Dumbo
Snow White
Matterhorn
Buzz
POTC

Rides I usually or often do:
Pinocchio
Alice
Hyperspace Mountain
Haunted Mansion
Indiana Jones
BTM
The Monorail
The Mark Twain Riverboat

Rides I do occasionally:
Winnie the Pooh
Finding Nemo
Splash
Storybook Land
Disneyland Railroad

Rides I've only done once or twice:
Casey Junior
Star Tours
Autopia
Toy Story Mania (I don't often cross the plaza to DCA -- maybe one trip out of ten)

Rides I've never done (and probably never will):
Mad Tea Party (spinning makes me dizzy)

 

[MinMou]

You have to decide what your priorities are, and take into account the age of the people riding, how scary a ride they can tolerate, and how much vertigo they can handle.
Other things to consider are what your favorite characters are, and which Disney stories/movies resonate with you.

I HAVE to ride It's a Small World, because I remember it from the 1964 Worlds Fair in NY. For the same reason, I made my family ride the train in DL between Tomorrowland and the Main Gate, because dinosaurs from the Worlds Fair are seen there.

Honestly, this is Disney. There are very few if any bad rides. If you miss a spectacular one, you will still be on one that is very special - just in a different way.

 

[dcfromva]

DL: Disneyland Railroad (especially the part that visits the grand canyon and Dinosaurs), peter pan, alice in wonderland, snow white, Pinocchio, Mr Toads Wild Ride, Buzz Lightyear

DCA: Toy Story, RSR, Drawing Class