What attractions do you think are Underrated/Overrated?

[Simba's Mom]

What attractions at Disneyland does everyone think are underrated-the guidebooks didn't think they were all that great, maybe, but you came away, thinking "Wow! I'm glad I didn't miss that!" And what attractions were supposedly "don't miss" ones that you thought afterwards "What was all the hype about"?

 

[pjlla]

Well.... I know this isn't DL, but I found Mission: Space at Epcot to be very overrated. What a yawn! Once that first minute of the g-forces is over, the rest of the ride is boring. I personally won't waste a minute of my next trip to WDW on this ride. .............P

 

[Buckimion]

Most Underrated: Alice in Wonderland. Peter Pan, Snow White, Toad, Pinnocchio dark rides get all the hype. I've rarely seen much of a line for this and I think its every bit as good. A close second on my list of underrated would be the Canal boats. Have yet to see a line.

Most Overrated: Monorail. Oh boy, a ride OUT of the park...and you better have that return ticket handy! Not even very good for resort guests anymore since now it stops at DD instead of the Disneyland Hotel. They ought to add a stop at DCA to make it worthwhile. Dishonerable mention: Teacups, Dumbo, Autopia.

 

[denyd]

Most underratted: Peter Pan & Small World. My DW was impressed by the great effects on PP, a kiddie ride and SW is the only indoor ride by 3yo DS will ride which must say something.

I was disappointed by Hemilich's train and am unhappy that Tom Sawyer island has closed the fort. The train ride was a 20 minute wait for a 20 second ride and the fort was one of my childhood "best things about the island" memory. I also think that both the prior occupants of the Carousel building (America Sings & Carousel) were superior to the current resident (Innoventions).

 

[JIMINOCCHIO]

The Disneyland Monorail station never moved, all the buildings around it changed. It's exactly as convenient for DLH & PP Hotel Guests as it was before DD.

 

[All Aboard]

I'll probably get flamed for this one, but... After many years of hype, I really expected to get completely blown away by Indiana Jones. Granted, it is a fabulous attraction - truely great. But, I didn't have that "holy cow" moment that I expected. Perhaps because my expectations were set so incredibly high over the years. Again, don't get me wrong, it is a great attraction.

I heard so much about how great the queue was, but I've experienced an equal (perhaps even better) queue in Dueling Dragons. Also, I think the ride system amazes many first time riders, but having experienced the ride system many times on CtX, that didn't add to the experience. The effects were great, but you get bits and pieces of that in attractions such as Revenge of the Mummy (which does pale in comparison, overall, to Indy - of course).

I guess I expected it to be the best theme park attraction in the world (by a long shot). But it wasn't. I recall my initial reaction to Spider-man being stronger.

So, concluding, I think had I experienced Indy without ever having been on Dueling Dragons (to see such a queue), Spider-man, Revenge of the Mummy nor Countdown to Extinction - I would have been totally blown away by the attraction.

There are plenty of attractions that, while perhaps not underrated, really wow-ed me unexpectedly. First is the Storybook Land Canal Boats. What an amazing level of detail in the miniatures and the landscaping. It is a nice, long ride and very well narrated. And, we happened to ride on the "goldenized" boat, which added to the experience.

Second is the Casey Jr. Circus Train. Similar scenes, but from a different perspective. The train ride is nice and long and the soundtrack (including the "i think i can" portion) adds a lot. I was very glad we experienced it.

Third is Alice in Wonderland. A full three minutes in length, it is about 50% longer than peer attractions such as those of Mr. Toad, Snow White and Peter Pan. The Playing Cards scene was a real surpise, and the outdoor slide down the leaf was something we'd never get down here in Florida because of the weather.

Fourth is the Enchanted Tiki Room. It had been so long since I had seen the first version that played at WDW, it was a real treat to see Walt's original.

 

[DonnettaR]

Most Overrated: Monorail. Oh boy, a ride OUT of the park...and you better have that return ticket handy! Not even very good for resort guests anymore since now it stops at DD instead of the Disneyland Hotel.

Where did the monorail stop at DLH? Ooops! I guess I should have read the entire thread first, not just one post.

 

[disneyfan67]

The Disneyland Monorail station never moved, all the buildings around it changed. It's exactly as convenient for DLH & PP Hotel Guests as it was before DD.

For the life of me I can't understand why they don't make a stop at the GCH? It goes under the hotel anyway and would be a big plus, transportation wise for the guests who stay at the GCH.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I'm glad to see several from Fantasyland. That's whee I'm most interested in going. Did someone say there's usually not much line for the Canal Boats? Do you mean the Storybook Canal Boats? From what I read, I thought those would have a long line, so I was thinking of doing them second, after Matterhorn. Also, I read that if you do Storybook Canal Boats, there's no sense doing Casey's Circus Train. Also, that it's a tight squeeze for an adult on the Circus Train. I'm middle-aged, with a little spread to go along with it, so for this reason (and since I'm planning on doing Canal Boats), I wasn't going to do the Circus Train. But I'd consider it if it wouldn't be a waste of time (or embarrassing to get into).

 

[All Aboard]

Simba's Mom,

My only experience at Disneyland was this past weekend. (But, have spent more than 200 days in WDW's Magic Kingdom). It was a holiday and within the first three weeks of the 50th Celebration, so undoubtedly crowds were bigger than normal. But, the lines at almost all of the Fantasyland attractions remained long throughout the middle of the day. The Canal Boats had an especially long wait, since only 10-12 people load each time, and the boats take a while to load and unload. Peter Pan had perhaps the most massive line.

The greatest thing for us was taking advantage of the 7:00am early entry on Saturday. After 4 trips through the Matterhorn, we still were able to ride each Fantasyland attraction before the lines grew. The strategy is exactly the same as WDW Early Entry (but with a different attraction mix) - ride the more popular (Dumbo, Alice, Pan, Canal Boats) first and then save the less popular (Toad, Snow White, Pinocchio, Carousel) for the end of the morning. Casey Junior's line moves slowly as well, so ride it early. Save It's a Small World for last, since it's not located in the heart of Fantasyland, and it makes it a little longer into the day without big lines.

Given both the locations and popularity, I think this might be the ideal order:

Matterhorn
Alice
Canal Boats
Mad Tea Party
Dumbo
Peter Pan
Casey Jr.
Pinocchio
Snow White
Mr. Toad
Carousel
It's a Small World

 

[All Aboard]

Oh, and one more thing. You mentioned fitting into Casey Jr. I'm a 6'1" 240 lb. guy who had no trouble with Casey. Just don't try to climb into one of the cages. The regular seats are plenty, plenty big.

 

[Buckimion]

The Canal Boats had an especially long wait

I admit my experience is very limited and somewhat offseason to boot, but we've never had a wait for SCB.

I also realize the mororail station did not move, but they can't really claim it runs to the DLH anymore. Instead, it dumps you off in their own little shopping center. (Ok, not quite as blatant as Citywalk, especially at USO, but its still a gimmick to relieve you of any spare money.)

 

[All Aboard]

I admit my experience is very limited

Indeed, mine is as well. Just a single trip, and on a very crowded weekend. So, it may be more the norm for the boats to have a small line. But, this past weekend, it extended out beyond its queue on most occaisions.

By the middle of the day, transversing Fantasyland (especially the heart of the land) became nearly impossible. Those who have only experienced WDW's Fantasyland cannot relate, not even during our heaviest times of the year. I don't know if that's normal crowding, or unusually heavy crowding.

 

[hookedup]

I'm glad to see several from Fantasyland. That's whee I'm most interested in going. Did someone say there's usually not much line for the Canal Boats? Do you mean the Storybook Canal Boats? From what I read, I thought those would have a long line, so I was thinking of doing them second, after Matterhorn. Also, I read that if you do Storybook Canal Boats, there's no sense doing Casey's Circus Train. Also, that it's a tight squeeze for an adult on the Circus Train. I'm middle-aged, with a little spread to go along with it, so for this reason (and since I'm planning on doing Canal Boats), I wasn't going to do the Circus Train. But I'd consider it if it wouldn't be a waste of time (or embarrassing to get into).

IMO the Storybook Canal ride is wonderful and very under-rated. The lines are VERY LONG wait - if it doesn't look like a long line it can still take forever standing in the sun.
Go early for a shorter wait. Or go after the parade when they open it back up (it closes one hour before the parade and reopens right after).

My other favorite time to ride Story Canal is after dark - it is a totally different experience than during the day. All of the little minatures are all lighted up. So magical!! One of my DL favorites for sure!!!!!

 

[HaleyB]

Mr Toad is one of my all time favorites. I get to go to hell and back in 120 seconds, how cool is that?

Small World is one I can skip. I love to look at the outside, but the inside I can take or leave. I feel the same way about the Teacups, but DH and kids love them.

I love all the Fantasyland rides, maybe more than my kids do. Love the Storybook Canal and PP and SW too. I also liked the castle walk through (but not sure if it is still open).

Indiana Jones was awesome when it was new. Time marches on, it isn't a new concept anymore. I still love the queue, but you need to poke and prod and touch everything and have a translation card to get the full effect of the queue. Again, it was the first of a kind in DL, so it got a lot of hype when it was new.

 

[LucyKate]

After just one 4-day visit to Disneyland (but decades of anticipation before hand) we offer the following:

Most underrated:
Peter Pan. Heard NOTHING of this before we arrived, but it was one of the best. Sensational.
Small World - expected to be bored, but it was very well done. A big surprise.
Haunted Mansion - expected it to be good, but it still blew us away - brilliant.
Pooh - again, heard nothing before we arrived and it was very well done.
California soarin - heard a little before we arrived but again, exceded all expectations - brilliant.
Grizzly River Run - looked fun, but again, was much better than expected.
Tower of Terror - ditto
3D rides - very well done, better than expected

Most Overrated:
Dumbo, tea cups etc. The all time Disney greats, and there's a good reason for keeping them for nostalgia, but compared to what else is on offer, not much of a thrill these days.
Pirates - looking very outdated these days, and not much of a thrill. Badly needs some sort of make over and added thrill factor

Most disappointing
It's hard to rate these as overated because they get no publicity, but all the Bug's life rides (and especially Heimlich) were very disappointing, along with most of Toon Town (apart from the Gadget Coaster).

Much of the DCA fun fair was also disappointing in that I was expecting Disney to do something secial, and apart from screamin, got some pretty standard fun fair rides.

And I'm sorry, but canal boats just seemed pointless to us. Very dull.

WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get)
Big Thunder was good - exactly what I expected
Splash - ditto
Indiana - perhaps a little disappointing - I was expecting more but it was still good fun.
Star Tours - ditto
Snow White/Alice/Toad/Pinocchio etc - Good fun, exactly what you expect.

Conflicting opinions
Autopia - for mum and dad the most boring ride in the park. For the kids the biggest thrill of the lot WE GOT TO DRIVE!!!

 

[Judy from Boise]

I agree that SCB is almost always a very long line !

I think my underrated would be:

The President Lincoln show, not a headliner but worth doing, and not on many people's radar.

The DLRR, so easy to picture Walt riding this, and the grand Canyon scene is a true sentimental classic.

Golden Dream in DCA, again not a headliner but it hits the best tradition of Disney as "Edutainment" and is ignored by a majority of people.


Over hyped:

Splash and GRR.....mainly because i hate rides that think you have to get wet to enjoy them.

Also Fantasmic. Although the DL version is superior, I have just never cared for either version. And, this is from a person who tries to see Illuminations 3 times a trip at WDW!

 

[swimrsal]

I'm going to have to chime in here and say that I was bummed about the Storybook Canal ride. It might be because our CM seemed that she hated her job. She talked so unenthusiastically about everything - it was sad. We found it pretty boring and not worth the 30 minute plus wait. Granted, we were with our toddler who was more interested in standing in the boat than sitting on our laps! Just thought I'd give my opinion of that one!

The rides we most enjoyed:
Indy
Soaring over California (it was simply thrilling!)
Playhouse Disney - (the toddlers are so cute to watch taking it all in!)
Peter Pan
Buzz (what a fun ride!)
Pooh
Bugs Life 3D show
Block Party Bash Parade (our son danced and danced)!

Best experience overall:
Watching my 21 month old son meet the characters - when he saw Pooh Bear he ran up and gave him the biggest hug. We also loved Goofy's kitchen - I wish we had gone back a second time!

-Sally
Disneyland May 9-13, 2005

 

[jlmarr]

Mr Toad is one of my all time favorites. I get to go to hell and back in 120 seconds, how cool is that?

Don't forget getting run over by a train!

 

[PamNC]

Underrated: Don't laugh - but we loved the Casey Jr. Circus Train. And, we don't have kids. It's so adorable and the little minatures are precious. You se the same thing on the Storyland Canal boats but we loved that little train. In fact, Fantasyland at DL is wonderful - much better than WDW. Loved Small World - the topiaries outside are amazing. And, we loved the big clock. Let me add to the list - Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland. We were blown away by Fantasyland. I think Walt's spirit lives in Fantasyland in Disneyland, CA. I really do.

Now, on another note...his spirit is quite troubled by the many "un-Disney" CMs we encountered on this trip. But I digress...

Overrated: Aside from California Adventure as a whole...I can't think of a single attraction that is overrated. We were very disappointed with CA Adventure...especially Paradise Pier. What a joke - carnival rides at a Disney theme park. I mean...I knew it was there but seeing it just blew my mind.

PamNC