What is the best ride at the two parks and why?

[Otaku]

Title says it all. Would love to see what people think!

 

[Tinkaboo]

RSR for me! Webslingers close 2nd...

 

[hardcorestitch]

At DCA: Incredicoaster. That launch is so amazing!
At DL: Matterhorn. You get that nice breathtaking feeling of being on a bobsled but not shivering in the cold.

 

[Minnie1222]

DL: It's a small world.
DCA: Radiator Springs Racers.

 

[pennym]

Dis - Pirates of the Caribbean can't be beat!
DCA- Soarin' Over California (not world)

There are other close seconds/thirds, but these two are great for everyone!

 

[Brittney Cornwell]

DCA- Guardians of the Galaxy
DL: Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway

 

[bakofarmgirl]

DL: Space Mountain
DCA: Radiator Springs Racers

 

[goooof1]

Indiana Jones !!
RSR

 

[joseph821]

Disneyland: Haunted Mansion - great storyline, special effects, music and theming including the queue.
DCA: Radiator Springs Racers - fun storyline, music and the "race" finale.

 

[Staceycs]

DCA- Guardians!! Walk off it every time smiling and laughing together. Love the element of surprise with the song, and the feeling of free falling is always a winner.

Disneyland- Big Thunder. Classic Disneyland, it’s a long ride (compared to other coasters), and the details are fun. Followed closely by Pirates though!

 

[Otaku]

I'm impressed at the love for RSR, just shows how much they nailed it!!

 

[MillauFr]

Tow Mater and Primeval World

 

[maleficent55]

Dis - Pirates of the Caribbean can't be beat!
DCA- Soarin' Over California (not world)

There are other close seconds/thirds, but these two are great for everyone!

so close to being the same...

Disneyland: Pirates (my runner up is Peter Pan) both so so nostalgic for me
DCA: Soarin' (but I prefer world over California)

 

[Minnie1222]

I'm impressed at the love for RSR, just shows how much they nailed it!!

Hopefully we'll get a similar ride at Disney World.

 

[WITN-E]

DL: Haunted Mansion. No matter how many times I ride I can always find some new detail to appreciate!
DCA: Guardians -Monsters After Dark. I know its limited to spooky season but this overlay adds even more joy.

 

[NorthernCalMom]

DL: Space Mountain (the original, NOT the Hyperspace Miuntain overlay). The instant after having gone through the uphill tunnel with the space tune, when you’re just slowly cruising for a few moments and you know… wait for it… wait for it… you’re about to speed off surrounded by that goofy go-go type 1960s spy music… there nothing better than that. That is my happy place!

I also have a lot of love for Davy Crockett’s Canoes, probably because there are so many memories attached to it from so many family vacations with my kids being at various ages.

CA: Toy Story Midway Mania and Soaring.

 

[mdmost]

DLR: Haunted Mansion. The moment you step into the courtyard it makes you think you're in an old New Orleans area mansion. The storyline, narration, music, and whimsy is quintessential Disney.

CA: Radiator Springs Racers. You're already transported to a complete facsimile of Radiator Spring. I enjoy that you have to walk completely through the land to get to RSR. It probably more than any ride immerses you in an animated film. It's also really fun.

 

[StarlitNight05]

DL: Indiana Jones. It's such an immersive attraction and so well done. Love the exterior and queue too.

DCA: RSR. It's like it's straight from a movie. They nailed it. Easily the best atmosphere at DCA. Nothing like hanging out near Flo's, watching the cars race by!

 

[KimberMama]

DL: Space Mountain, maybe because it’s a great coaster, maybe because I was a kid in 1977 and got to go on Space Mountain with my teenaged siblings. Whatever the reason, if Disneyland is my happy place, Space Mountain is my happy place within my happy place.

DCA: Would be California Screamin’, if it still existed. Instead it has to be Incredicoaster, but I miss the music from CS and I don’t love the tunnels or the whole Incredibles theme, even though I enjoyed both Incredibles movies.

I love so many attractions for a variety of reasons, so I went with my must do attraction from each park.

We could break it down by land, at least in DL. If I were going to Disneyland after a long absence and could only do one attraction per land, this would be my itinerary.
Main Street: Disneyland Railroad
Adventureland: The Enchanted Tiki Room
Frontierland: Mark Twain Riverboat
New Orleans Square: Pirates of the Caribbean
Fantasyland: It’s a Small World
Tomorrowland: Space Mountain
Toontown: Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Bayou Country: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Galaxy’s Edge: Rise of the Resistance

 

[BriannaRuth]

Dis - Pirates of the Caribbean can't be beat!
DCA- Soarin' Over California (not world)

Me too! Pirates and Soarin' although I'll take Soarin' either way, prefer CA.

Pirates is the one ride that would keep me from going to DL at all if it was closed.

OP asked why -- Pirates is just so iconic. Total immersion in a world for a lengthy amount of time, not just a few minutes. Love the way it builds from the quiet bayou to the pirates' lair to the battle. Love the drops, love the music, even love the smell.

Soarin' just makes me happy. It's so -- uplifting!