FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

Experience the Disney Parks attractions in chronological order

Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln

Image: Loren Javier, Flickr (license)

Want a DIY tour of Imagineering magic? Try riding through each park’s attractions in the order they debuted to the public. Keep an eye out for technological advancements and plussed features like Audio-Animatronics, Omnimover ride vehicles, “Pepper’s ghost” effects, 360-degree CircleVision screens, and the neck-jolting, scream-inducing Enhanced Motion Vehicle system, and you’ll get an idea of how Disney has advanced their ride systems, technology, and storytelling abilities throughout the years. (Best of all, you won’t need to shell out extra bucks for an exclusive event, though you will have to wait in a lot of lines.)

Take Disneyland, for example. Should you attempt to sample nearly every attraction in chronological order, you might run through this list: Main Street Vehicles, Main Street Cinema, Jungle Cruise, Mark Twain Riverboat, King Arthur Carrousel, Mad Hatter’s Mad Tea Party, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Peter Pan’s Flight, Snow White’s Scary Adventures, Autopia, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Storybook Land Canal Boats, Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough, Alice in Wonderland, Sailing Ship Columbia, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Monorail, Enchanted Tiki Room, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, “it’s a small world,” Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, Splash Mountain, Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, Indiana Jones Adventure, Astro Orbitor, Tarzan’s Treehouse, Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, Star Tours: The Adventures Continue.

Of course, most rides have undergone a few refurbishments since they opened to the public, so you might see more advanced technology featured on older rides as well. Take note of the changes you see and ask yourself (or your fellow park guests) why Imagineers implemented changes to a particular ride or show. What experience were they hoping to enrich for guests? Do the changes add to the overall enjoyment of the attraction or detract from it? What advancements can still be made to plus the show?

Read up on Disney history before you visit the parks

Disney Parks booksImage: Sam Howzit, Flickr (license)

There’s no easier way to experience a Disney park like an Imagineer than by reading up on all of the ways they helped develop and enhance the park’s features. Curious about the reasons behind Disney’s decision to convert Pirates of the Caribbean from a walkthrough museum exhibit into a captivating boat ride? Delve into the world of the infamous rioting pirates in our Behind the Ride series. Can’t figure out why the marble statue heads seem to track your every movement in the Haunted Mansion? Grab a copy of Jeff Baham’s The Unauthorized Story of Walt Disney’s Haunted Mansion, which details the painstaking process it took to furnish Disney’s first haunted house—with all of the scares and spooky elements that went into it. Or, for a peek into the brain of one of Disney’s more well-known engineers, check out Marty Sklar’s Dream It! Do It!: My Half-Century Creating Disney’s Magic Kingdoms as he shares the ups and downs of theme park creation and describes how Imagineers kept the creative spark alive following Walt’s death in 1966.

What tips and tricks do you use to experience the Disney Parks like an Imagineer?

 
FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

Add new comment

About Theme Park Tourist

Theme Park Tourist is one of the web’s leading sources of essential information and entertaining articles about theme parks in Orlando and beyond.

We are one of the world’s largest theme park guide sites, hosting detailed guides to more than 80 theme parks around the globe.

Find Out More About Us...

Plan Your Trip

Our theme park guides contain reviews and ratings of rides, restaurants and hotels at more than 80 theme parks worldwide.

You can even print them.

Start Planning Now...