3. Indiana Jones Adventure

Seven out of the nine best rides of the 1990s either started at Walt Disney World or are exclusive to that park. With all due respect to Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, the best Disneyland attraction at Disneyland isn’t a Disney property. Well, it wasn’t until the company purchased Lucasfilm in 2012.

Almost 20 years before then, park officials coveted an Indiana Jones attraction. Well, another one. The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! had anchored a section of Disney’s Hollywood Studios since 1989, opening only four months after the park. Disney knew that audiences wanted more, and so the company licensed the Indiana Jones brand for a ride.

Imagineers relished the ability to play in the Indiana Jones sandbox. They constructed a lavish set that spans a gigantic ride building, and they built a new kind of ride cart for the experience.

Think of it as a portable Star Tours theater, wherein the vehicle shakes with the action. It introduced an unprecedented level of immersion that has allowed guests to feel like they’ve entered a cursed temple alongside Indy. Audiences love it, and they’re not alone. Several Theme Park Tourist contributors have listed it as one of their favorite rides in the world.

2. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

In ranking these attractions throughout the series, the most significant challenge involves apples-to-oranges comparisons. Out of the nine rides listed here, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror exemplifies the brilliance of Imagineers. It's also my favorite attraction of the group. By all accounts, it deserves the top spot due to its undeniable quality.

I picked something else.

I’ll explain why in just a moment, but I want to state this unequivocally. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror might be the greatest triumph in the history of Imagineering. Its design challenges longstanding notions about how elevators should work.

In fact, Disney requested that an elevator manufacturer remove the standard safeguards for this mode of transportation. You can imagine what the company thought of Disney's request, but the finished product speaks for itself. The Tower of Terror bounces guests up and down at breakneck speed. Yet, everyone is safe and sound and totally euphoric throughout the ride. It's a masterpiece.

1. Kilimanjaro Safaris

I mentioned earlier that Eisner deserves a great deal of credit for Animal Kingdom. I cannot, in good conscience, separate the park and the ride that provides its backbone.

Without Kilimanjaro Safaris, guests couldn’t properly grasp the majesty of Animal Kingdom. Yes, several other attractions include interactions with various breeds of animals. However, they’re generally hosted in show spaces, spots where the creatures obviously don’t live.

With Kilimanjaro Safaris, park visitors travel through countless natural habitats. And when I say natural, I’m being slightly dishonest. Obviously, most of these creatures aren’t indigenous to Central Florida.

Disney hired some of the finest zoologists in the world. In fact, the company poached so many that American zoos faced a temporary staffing crisis during the late-90s. These experts moved to Orlando and developed living quarters that could sustain thousands of animals, some of which are naturally opposed in nature's food chain.

When you ride through the animal sanctuaries on Kilimanjaro Safaris, you’re bearing witness to the impossible. Disney has taken the Circle of Life premise and flipped it. Cast members provide the food, while the animals provide the entertainment. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is a better ride, but Kilimanjaro Safaris defies reality. That’s more impressive.

Finally, I offer an honorable mention to an extinct attraction. While Disney got cold feet and ditched ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter, it deserves a ton of credit for its daring and ambition. Imagineers tried to scare the stuffing out of theme park tourists, and they did. In actuality, they were too successful in the endeavor. So Disney had to shut down the ride, replacing it with the vastly inferior Stitch's Great Escape.