On Orlando United (theme park forum), I recently saw that a user posted a poll for peoples favorite Hollywood Studio’s attractions. This inspired me to do a breakdown of my Top 5 Favorite DHS attractions, why I like them, and how some of them can improve.
Honorable Mention.Star Tours: The update is wonderful and I still can’t wait to see all the planets, as I haven’t been able to ride it that much, but the motion simulation still is exceed by rides elsewhere.
5. Fantasmic: Classic theme park show. I’m a sucker for crossover/compilation shows and a lot of the effects are top notch, but if you haven’t seen the show yet, skip over this discussion if you don’t want it spoiled. There are a few things that could be updated though. A better dragon head for one, the streamer-like things coming off the neck are kind of corny but after seeing online images, I can see this may be temporary. Also the Pocahontas section seems out of place. I understand there compiling many of Disney’s most popular films but the fact that there is a long, live-action section devoted to the lowest rated of the Disney Renaissance Movies*. If they had live-action sections devoted to other Disney movies it would make more sense, but as it is it is, I think the show would improve without it. A dream I have for the show is absolutely unrealistic and would be ridiculously expensive for only a short section but would be to have a giant Chernabog animatronic come out of the mountain for Mickey to fight (wouldn’t be able to move much though given its size). Not feasible at all, I know, but seeing that would make me more excited than I could imagine.
-Fantasmic from interactivewdw
4. Toy Story Mania: True shooting rides aren’t horribly original, you have MIB at Universal which is really fun but Buzz Lightyear at the Magic Kingdom feels like a cheap carnival ride at parts and is badly dated all around. What makes this ride so amazing is that 3D effect are absolutely fantastic. It’s also really fun as a shooting game ride as well but the 3D is unparalleled (we will see how the new Spiderman does). It is the only attraction in which the things actually look like they are coming out of the screen, the whole point of 3D. The wait for this is truly atrocious though. Fastpasses run out before noon usually, even during down seasons, and the line is perpetually over an hour long. If you are to coming to DHS get your FP right away. You’ll still be probably waiting at least 20 minutes, so you can do what JN and I did. We got to the park when it opened and during the show they do immediately before the park opening in the entrance area, we shoved our way to the front of the crowd. Once they let us pass, the majority of the crowd rushed toward TSM, but we walk quickly past them all best we could (you get in trouble for running). JN loves to mention how, on the way through the park to the attraction, moms with strollers were trying to run us over and shove us out of the way but we prevailed. We ended up being the second group on the ride for the day. Moral of the story, if you don’t want to have to wait too long for a popular attraction you may have to shove a few soccer moms.
-Toy Story Mania oncept art from destination 360
3. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster: Not much to say about this. It is Disney’s only inversion roller coaster, and my first, two of the reason why I love it so. I have also always been a fan of classic rock so having Areosmith blaring for the ride is nice. A classic, must-do for coaster fans with a great launch.
-Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Entrance from coasterlove
2. Muppet*Vision 3D: Let me put this one in perspective for you. I really love the Muppets, probably more than I should, I even have my own Muppet from FAO Swartz, but JN does not like puppets and particularly HATES the Muppets. And he said this was the best 3D show he has ever seen. It’s a show from the early 90s that has aged extremely well in both visuals and story. The effects are still top-notch, the humor is classic Muppet meta-humor, worthy of the original show, even the pre-show has hilarious jokes. Most 3D shows are outdated, like Terminator, or are newer but already feel stale, like Shrek, but I could see Muppet*Vision 3D staying the same for the next decade and still aging well (I guess that depends on 3D technology development and the way it seems to be going, I’ll probably be dining on that last sentence in a few years).
-Sam wants you to see Muppet*Vision 3D from muppetwikia
1. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror: Part of the wonderfulness of this ride is its simplicity. A simple drop ride, randomized to make a truly unique experience each time. The queue, as JN mention a few posts ago, is phenomenal, and the intro video with the seamlessly included Rod Serling makes me feel like I’m watching an actual episode of the classic show. A thrill ride that never stops staying thrilling: I’ve ridden it many times, and I still get nervous anticipating the drops. Also I love watching my lanyard floating in zero gravity.
-Creepy Attendants unfortunately not included on ride from allthingsdisneyonline
JN or I may do another Top 5 of another park but for now I hope you enjoyed my rantings on Hollywood Studio’s best attractions.
-JS
Disney World Showcase 