3. Carousel of Progress -> Horizons

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Originally debuting at the 1964 – 65 New York World’s Fair as a showcase of General Electric’s household appliances, Carousel of Progress has since been located at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. The unique revolving theater show traces the changing daily lives of one American family as innovation promises (and delivers) a great, big, beautiful tomorrow.

Image: Disney

Steeped in both nostalgia and futurism, the ride is a celebration of optimism, Americana, and the electrical age. Walt Disney himself proclaimed the Carousel of Progress as his favorite attraction and decreed that it should never cease operation – and aside from a few switches to seasonal operation during Disney's more desperate years, it hasn't. In fact, it's humorously (but truthfully) said to have the most performances of any stage show in the history of American theater!

Twenty years after the Carousel’s debut, a ride called Horizons opened at EPCOT Center, also sponsored by General Electric. While each of EPCOT’s pavilions was dedicated to a single topic of science and industry (transportation, oceans, agriculture, communication, innovation, energy, and the human body), Horizons intentionally incorporated them all, making the Omnimover-led dark ride a sort of “thesis statement” for the whole of the park’s Future World. It’s also why an entire generation of Disney Parks fans know Horizons as the best of EPCOT Center’s already-revered dark rides.

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If Carousel of Progress looked back at one American family’s life in the 20th century, Horizons was imagined as a literal sequel, looking ahead to imagine the same family’s life in the 21st century! In their futuristic urban dwelling in Nova Cite above, do you recognize the husband and wife? What about their dog?

We explored the making of both attractions and the cross-century relationship between them in standalone, in-depth features for each – Modern Marvels: Carousel of Progress and Lost Legends: Horizons... absolute must-reads for Disney Parks fans.

4. Storybookland Canal Boats -> Voyage to the Crystal Grotto

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A Disneyland original, the Storybook Land Canal Boats is an unassuming, leisurely cruise tucked away in Fantasyland wherein guests board canal boats and sail along a narrated cruise. Along the meticulously-landscaped banks of the gentle waterway, riders pass miniature sets representing stories like The Three Little Pigs, Peter Pan, The Seven Dwarfs, The Wind in the Willows (a reference to a ride still zooming around at Disneyland but a Magic Kingdom Lost Legend: Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride) and of course Pinocchio as they sail through the iconic mouth of Monstro.

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Truly a throwback to Walt’s time, the attraction has been gently updated over the years with miniatures from Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and (you guessed it) Frozen but remains, at its core, a tranquil reminder of an era before E-Ticket. Plus, it's hard not to be impressed by the care and detail given to the tiny sets, the finely manicured miniature landscaping, and the secrets dotted throughout.

Fans were curious when the reinvented, totally rearranged new take on the Disneyland concept – Shanghai Disneyland – was announced to feature a never-before-seen ride called Voyage to the Crystal Grotto. Ostensibly, the new ride sends guests on a quest to discover the namesake grotto locked away beneath the park’s Enchanted Storybook Castle – the wellspring from which Disney’s stories flow. 

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In practice, the ride is best understood as what would happen if Jungle Cruise were relocated to Fantasyland. Guests sail past full-sized – but highly stylized – vignettes from Disney’s animated films, which come to life through music and water as the boats sail past. (It's a great introduction, you might note, for the park's Chinese clientele who've been cut off from American pop culture and film releases for decades by the country's highly censored media.)

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Frankly, Voyage to the Crystal Grotto ended up being the least noteworthy of the much-anticipated Shanghai originals (as we explored in our walkthrough, In-Depth: Shanghai Disneyland) but the ride still stands as a unique “spiritual evolution” of the Canal Boats that date back to Walt’s day – a new take on an old idea.

5. Temple of the Forbidden Eye -> Temple of the Crystal Skull

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In 1995, Disneyland changed forever with the opening of Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye. An absolute pinnacle of storytelling, special effects, theming, and technology, the explosive attraction is easily among Disney’s best ever, with a scope so vast, the rest of the park’s Adventureland absorbed its time period, setting, and atmosphere into one overarching continuity – a lost river delta in the 1930s, with us as nouveau riche Europeans drawn by the promise of fortune.

The newly-uncovered Temple of the Forbidden Eye was an ancient altar to the lost god Mara who promised any pilgrims who came to his temple one of three gifts: eternal youth, early riches, or vision of the future. But, one glance into the double-dealing deity’s eyes and you’d take a detour to doom!

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Of course, what follows is a wild, off-roading journey through the booby-trapped temple to escape the wrath of Mara. With four-story sets, unthinkable special effects, and unsettling appearances by cobras, rats, insects, the corroded Mara, and – of course – a menacing rolling boulder, the Temple of the Forbidden Eye is absolutely, positively amazing. Uncharacteristically dark, deeply exciting, and wildly fun, the E-Ticket ride also marked the introduction of Disney’s EMV or Enhanced Motion Vehicle.

Famously, Disney World did receive its own EMV ride (it made our must-read list of Disney Clone Pairs You May Not Recognize), but the installation in Florida is a world (and about 65 miles years) away from Indiana Jones.

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Instead, true to Indiana’s typical continent-hopping sequels, the next installment of Indiana Jones Adventure opened at Tokyo DisneySea in 2001. There, Temple of the Crystal Skull (unrelated to the film, which debuted in 2008) sends guests on a race through a brand new temple with a handful of completely original sights, sounds, and scenes that expand upon the Disneyland original. The ride here is set in the South American land, Lost River Delta, and the imposingly silent Crystal Skull guards the legendary Fountain of Youth. As such, the ride is filled with dripping caverns, ancient stone traps, and a three-story tornado.

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Given that nineteen years elapsed between Indy’s third and fourth films, we may still see third unique entry in the Indiana Jones Adventure series one day, too… Especially given that a third version was planned but never built at Disneyland Paris...