2. The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World Resort

Aladdin is a wonderful movie and surely warrants its own attraction. Jammed into what was a walkway through Adventureland, this uninspiring Dumbo knockoff is hardly a fitting tribute. It’s cute, and the kids love it, but where Walt Disney World has managed to salvage an underperformer like Dumbo, with an interactive queue and play area, they have relatively neglected The Magic Carpets, and there’s not much they can do anyway, given the scarcity of space.

Tarps, or carpets, rather, decorate the waiting area, and a camel that spits water on occasion, though neither does much for you on a traditionally hot day. And what is truly bizarre (see what we did there?), this tiny afterthought of an attraction is a FastPass+ option. Okay, pretty much every Magic Kingdom ride offers FastPass+, but could you imagine sacrificing one third of your FastPasses here? Well, there are those that do, and for everyone who does there is one less person in front of you on Space Mountain. This is not quite enough to justify Magic Carpet’s existence. And honestly on a hot day, who wouldn’t rather this was a rotating concession stand/patio that sold Dole Whips?

3. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Both Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World and Disneyland

With an excess of endearing characters, and how brilliantly A.A. Milne’s tales would lend themselves to a Disney-fashioned dark ride, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh could be, should be a park favorite. At Disneyland the wait rarely tops ten minutes, and at Walt Disney World it only garners slightly more traffic because of its prime location in Fantasyland.

The Disneyland version resembles a concept ride, where someone removed half the slides from the storyboard. You amble along for a while meeting Pooh and his friends, then suddenly the wind picks up and the remainder is all Heffalumps and Woozels.

The Walt Disney World attraction is essentially the same, though it has an interactive queue, for which the Magic Kingdom is becoming famous. The multifaceted distraction makes the line literally fly, and you’re almost sorry when you get through it. Once inside many wish they were back in line, or perhaps on a different ride. Most just wish they had Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride back.

4. The Little Mermaid - Ariel’s Undersea Adventures, Disney California Adventure, Disneyland Resort

This is rather a new attraction. Notwithstanding, it’s floundering. Pun intended. Even when it was brand new, it didn’t draw well. It’s a dark ride, is centrally located and terribly relaxing, yet even on a hot, crowded day, the line isn’t excessive. As with Nemo and Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, for all the it’s popularity, deserves better representation.

All your favorite characters make appearances, and there’s a massive “Under the Sea” scene, but the attraction itself feels both choppy and unfinished. Where the transitions on other dark rides, i.e., Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, are appropriate and seamless, here there are significant, noticeable breaks. Once you do start to immerse yourself in the story, wham! Ursula is suddenly expiring in a bubbling black cloud and Eric and Ariel are living happily ever after. As you try to come to terms with what just happened, the ride abruptly ends, and you’re being politely asked to exit.

The building that houses this particular attraction is about the same as size as those that contain Indiana Jones and Star Tours, individually. The moral, Disney can do, has done, and probably will do a lot better.