Many masterpieces of Imagineering age like superb wines, getting higher and changing into much more iconic over time. Nonetheless, there are rides at Walt Disney World which have change into more and more outdated and even out of date. This listing covers the sights–massive and small–which can be in want of overhauls or outright replacements. (Up to date December 8, 2024.)
There are a selection of causes that some sights at Walt Disney World age higher than others. A trio of Magic Kingdom classics–Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Jungle Cruise–all exemplify rides bettering with every passing yr, changing into beloved by an entire new era of followers.
It might be simple to attribute that to 1 commonality, that every one have acquired film variations to maintain curiosity excessive. Whereas that’s actually true of the Johnny Depp and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson helmed franchises, it’s not truthful to say the identical applies to Haunted Mansion (the primary one…but additionally most likely the second). It didn’t enter the cultural zeitgeist due to a film adaptation nobody noticed that scored 14% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Getting older poorly isn’t essentially indicative of an attraction’s high quality. On the contrary, many rides on this listing as soon as have been nice, and nonetheless are despite that datedness. The commonality isn’t that they’re unhealthy, however reasonably, that time has handed them by. This normally means know-how has made them out of date. There are many examples of older sights receiving redos that inject then-current know-how, and incongruity seems between the unique and up to date parts over time.
In different circumstances, sights take a very up to date strategy to know-how that merely doesn’t maintain up years later. We would name this “The Mummy Returns Impact.” That 2001 movie leaned very a lot into bleeding edge (on the time) CGI, and the result’s Dwayne Johnson’s Scorpion King now trying prefer it was rendered by a Sega Dreamcast. In the meantime, older movies like Jaws, E.T., Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and different previous movies nonetheless maintain up as a result of they didn’t get carried away.
It’s an analogous story with a number of the sights on this listing. However let’s not get forward of ourselves. As a substitute, we’ll dig into the listing of 10 sights at Walt Disney World which have aged poorly and are urgently overdue for an overhaul or no less than some updates…
Mission: Area — As Dinosaur counts all the way down to extinction in 2026, we’re granting it a reprieve from this listing in equal components as a result of it’s getting up to date (effectively, reimagined to Indiana Jones Journey) and since the attraction primarily based on the awesomest animal deserves a criticism-free farewell tour. To that finish, Mission: Area is the most recent entry on this listing.
Mission: Area is definitely lots like Dinosaur within the sense that we need to like each. They’re primarily based on undeniably cool ideas which can be universally beloved by kids…and the grownup scripting this. The thought of an outer area pavilion at EPCOT that gives pleasure and training feels like the right marriage of the park’s unique mission.
Sadly, the execution leaves a lot to be desired. The story isn’t compelling, the interactivity is phoned in and fails to have interaction, and the visuals are outdated and underwhelming. Misson: Area is principally what you get should you took a Sega arcade sport from the early 2000s, put it in demo mode, and positioned it on the again of a flatbed truck pushed on I-4 by a typical Central Florida vacationer. And one way or the other this was Walt Disney World’s most costly attraction ever when it opened?!
Mission: Area is a usually disagreeable attraction that’s missing in payoff. The fun trip is discomforting as a substitute of exhilarating, a distinction that’s into stark aid by Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, a trip that does nearly all the pieces higher than Mission: Area. Each time we trip the 2 sights back-to-back, Mission: Area feels extra antiquated, due not only for a band-aid replace, however outright alternative. To not be a kind of loopy, unrealistic EPCOT Heart followers, however…convey again (a modernized) Horizons!
Spaceship Earth — This slow-moving darkish trip by way of Audio Animatronics-heavy scenes showcasing the development of communication feels prefer it’s caught prior to now. Spaceship Earth was scheduled for a reimagining roughly 5 years in the past, which was desperately wanted. The monitor is in tough form and the descent offers off deserted mall vibes, with random black mild triangles (rad!) and a sea of curtains cordoning off unused areas.
For an attraction highlighting how human communications have developed, the way in which through which the trip communicates to friends–particularly within the finale–likewise feels antiquated. One may argue that features of the attraction, paradoxically sufficient, fail to attach with friends with storytelling that’s clunky and a conclusion that fails to encourage. Humanity’s shared story is a compelling one and the trip’s location inside EPCOT’s iconic geodesic sphere is basically cool, however Spaceship Earth squanders a lot of its potential.
Purists may cringe at these criticisms, themselves (understandably) not eager to rock the boat and lose the final of EPCOT’s Audio Animatronics-heavy sights. Nonetheless, the present state of the second-half of the attraction is embarrassing, the script is drained, and the tacky screen-based ending is atrocious.
Spaceship Earth deserves higher, and diehard followers shouldn’t must concern a refurbishment as a result of the top outcome may, one way or the other, be even worse. Right here’s hoping that Imagineers do a unbelievable job with the World of Movement-inspired Check Monitor 3.0 overhaul, reassuring followers that Spaceship Earth needs to be subsequent up for reimagining in late 2025 or 2026!
Buzz Lightyear’s Area Ranger Spin – We most likely may save an honest period of time and keystrokes with one entry for all of Tomorrowland. I wish to love Buzz Lightyear’s Area Ranger Spin. I really like the thought of it as a shooter trip that truly makes use of bodily present scenes to make it partaking for friends who wish to benefit from the attraction passively. A few of the staging, props, and Audio Animatronics are actually cool. The interactivity is enjoyable, and Walt Disney World may use extra sights like this.
With that stated, Buzz Lightyear’s Area Ranger Spin is basically proof of idea…that did show the idea. As different interactive shooters have adopted in its footsteps, this drained darkish trip hasn’t been modernized in over 20 years. It’s nonetheless a reimagined trip of one other reimagined trip (with some remnants of its predecessors, Delta Dreamflight and If You Had Wings, nonetheless in place).
The parks in Anaheim, Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong, and Shanghai have all since iterated upon and improved the Buzz Lightyear shooter trip, and it’s gone time for Magic Kingdom to comply with go well with. We’re particularly intrigued by the Wreck-It Ralph trip coming to Tokyo in 2026 or 2027 and ponder whether that could be cloned to Florida within the 2030s. On the very least, import the much-newer Buzz Lightyear props, blasters, and different stuff from Japan. That model of the trip nonetheless felt model new when it closed!
Tomorrowland Speedway – Loads of Walt Disney World followers will argue that Tomorrowland Speedway needs to be demolished and changed, because it takes up an excessive amount of prime actual property in Magic Kingdom. That perspective contends that the idea is outdated, and that the trip is noisy, smelly, and simplistic.
They’re proper and improper. Like Dumbo and Seven Dwarfs Mine Practice, Tomorrowland Speedway is a ceremony of passage attraction that’s deserving of its place in Magic Kingdom. For youths, sitting within the driver’s seat and steering by way of a automobile course is basically cool. Nonetheless, kids don’t creator blogs like this one (regardless of what the writing high quality, or lack thereof, may counsel) in order that perspective isn’t typically voiced.
Nonetheless, if Tomorrowland Speedway is deemed ‘culturally important’ (or no matter) and worthy of a lot area in Magic Kingdom, it must be differentiate itself from dime-a-dozen go-cart rides. Changing the fleet with fashionable autos having placing design kinds and present scenes with character can be a begin. Make the vehicles enjoyable for all ages, and the surroundings worthy of a Sunday drive.
We’re curious as to how a lot overlap there will likely be with the upcoming Automobiles E-Ticket Changing Rivers of America. Which may make Tomorrowland Speedway redundant and ripe for alternative or redevelopment…together with over half of Tomorrowland. Hmmm.
Journey into Creativeness with Figment — For those who’re visiting EPCOT for the primary time in the present day, it’s inconceivable to grasp how what seems to be a Spyro knock-off (he’s not) and his underwhelming attraction have such a fan following. You may simply chalk it as much as Disney Grownup idiosyncrasies, very similar to I assume persons are obsessive about Dunkin’ Donuts as a result of they’ve by no means had some other doughnuts or espresso. In each circumstances, there’s extra to it than meets the attention.
Figment is well-liked not for the present attraction in its present sorry state, however for the unique Journey into Creativeness. If something, the truth that the trip and its star character nonetheless have a robust maintain on adults of a sure age many years after they disappeared speaks volumes concerning the indelible impression they left on the youth of the Eighties and Nineties.
The unique Journey into Creativeness was mesmerizing. Above all else, it was imaginative, as cliche as that may sound. As a younger baby, I used to be spellbound by the unique, its characters, and the evocative scenes they inhabited. I keep in mind it in vivid element not as a result of my household rode it time and again (though we did!), however as a result of it was a timeless attraction that captivated friends, sparked their imaginations, and cast lifelong Walt Disney World followers.
The alternative, Journey into Creativeness with Figment, looks like it strives to bother reasonably than encourage. Satirically sufficient, it showcases the facility of creativeness…with the least imaginative and obnoxious attraction potential. What was as soon as an okay band-aid between the Figment-less Journey into Your Creativeness and a brand new attraction has now outlived the unique, and is trying actually worse for put on. All the things about it’s outdated, the the primary three-quarters of the ride-through looks like one thing is lacking. What’s lacking is creativeness. It’s time to reimagine Journey into Creativeness.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh — I’m going to say what everyone seems to be considering: Winnie the Pooh is a baller. No, you weren’t considering that? Properly, solely as a result of the Walt Disney Firm has completely squandered the potential of Winnie the Pooh, sidelining he and his posse’s potential for pranks and tomfoolery.
In a simply world, it will be Winnie the Pooh and never Paddington who’s beloved by generations. Give it some thought, what does Paddington possess that Winnie the Pooh doesn’t? Preserved jam sandwiches? Give me a break. Winnie the Pooh is a straight-up honey fiend, risking life and limb for a style of the candy stuff. Pooh is simply as laid again, chill, beneficiant, and deferential as Paddington. On high of that, Pooh rolls deep, with a crew extra pure of coronary heart than AFC Richmond.
However I digress. The purpose is to not disparage Paddington, himself a world treasure, however to query why Winnie the Pooh doesn’t obtain extra love amongst People? This trip, that’s the reason. It’s rudimentary and dated (regardless of not being that previous), failing to showcase the guts and allure of those beloved characters. An attraction primarily based on Winnie the Pooh needs to be timeless, crammed with childlike surprise, and extra well-liked than Peter Pan’s Flight. We all know a Pooh-centric attraction can attain these heights as a result of there’s an older one that’s precisely all of these items…however it’s at Tokyo Disneyland.
Peter Pan’s Flight – Talking of which, that is certain to be a controversial decide. That’s very true given the enduring reputation of Peter Pan’s Flight and the truth that it instructions a number of the longest wait occasions in all of Walt Disney World. Moderately, Peter Pan’s Flight makes the listing regardless of its reputation.
Pretty much as good because the attraction premise is and as particular as it’s to fly over the streets of London and Neverland, it nonetheless has unrealized potential. Plussing the trip to combine projection mapping or different lighting results–as has been achieved in Anaheim, Paris, Shanghai, and Tokyo–may very well be a gamechanger. Overhauling the trip system so the flight is much less jerky and extra clean would assist with suspension of disbelief.
Imagineering obtained it proper with Peter Pan’s Flight many years in the past, and it’s a really timeless attraction that will likely be loved by generations of friends to come back. That doesn’t imply that there aren’t little methods to reinforce the attraction to maintain the icon contemporary. Imagineering has achieved precisely that with Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean during the last a number of years.
They’ve additionally achieved this with different variations of Peter Pan’s Flight world wide. That is one other one like Buzz Lightyear’s Area Ranger Spin, the place it looks like Imagineering has “forgotten” concerning the Magic Kingdom incarnation because the creatives have given numerous like to different variations and proven how even little plussings have given them new life. The Magic Kingdom did not too long ago get a prolonged refurbishment and scene alternative, however extra ought to’ve been achieved throughout that. It’s about time Peter Pan’s Flight left its datedness within the mud and obtained an opportunity to soar larger.
Magnificence and the Beast: Stay on Stage — This stage present retelling Magnificence and the Beast in condensed type is actually as previous because the animated film itself. It’s gratifying, doing an satisfactory job with choreography, performances, and dramatic styling. And in equity, not each theatrical manufacturing must be edgy or envelope-pushing to seize friends’ consideration. Typically simple-but-good is greater than sufficient.
These are truthful factors, however this simply feels previous. I can’t fairly articulate why or how, however just about all the pieces about it simply offers off Nineties vibes. In isolation, it’s troublesome to level to any particular component that provides the present away as being dated. It’s the totality of all of it, and the way it contrasts with newer variations of animated films that provides it away. So many extra fashionable productions have come and gone at Disneyland and Disney Cruise Line that may very well be plugged into DHS and can be a breath of contemporary air, comparatively talking.
Area Mountain — I’ve lengthy defended Magic Kingdom’s Area Mountain, which stays my favourite even in comparison with the newer variations at Disneyland and past. Though it lacks audio…and a clean trip…it makes up for that with extra character within the queue, post-show, and the trip itself. Nonetheless, I’m very cognizant of the truth that that is the nostalgic in me talking.
The datedness of this darkish curler coaster goes to be thrown into even starker aid as soon as TRON Lightcycle Run opens immediately subsequent door to it. I don’t know what the answer is, and I’d hate to lose Area Mountain and all of its historical past and iconic qualities, however having two in-the-dark curler coasters proper subsequent to 1 one other was at all times going to end in side-by-side visitor comparisons, and the circa-1975 Area Mountain is woefully outdated as in comparison with the circa-2016 TRON Lightcycle Run.
Soarin’ Across the World — One other decide that’ll undoubtedly be polarizing given the recognition of this hang-glider simulator trip. I’m not significantly averse to Soarin’ Across the World, however the CGI, tacky animals, and distortion has worn on me over time. With every passing yr, both it seems worse or I get grumpier. In all probability each, however stick to me right here.
You understand how somebody seems youthful proper after they’ve had a facelift (or no matter beauty surgical procedure is in style nowadays), however over time, their pores and skin begins trying faux and plastic-like? In the meantime, the one that embraced their giggle strains and crow’s ft seems to age gracefully? It’s the identical thought with Soarin.
I had the prospect to catch each variations days aside earlier this yr, and felt that Soarin’ Over California has aged much better. To make certain, it doesn’t look model new and there are little clues that it was shot within the late Nineties. Nonetheless, OG Soarin’ advantages from its footage being actual movie, whereas CGI Soarin’ already seems dated as in comparison with newer visible results. I’d even argue that there are variations of the FlyOver movies (non-Disney, however from the creator of Soarin’) which can be higher than each.
To Imagineering’s credit score, they did not too long ago refresh Soarin’ to switch the EPCOT finale to mirror the brand new World Celebration whereas additionally principally “unbending” the Eiffel Tower. It seems higher! I’d nonetheless wish to see a wholly new movie that’s really filmed as a substitute of created inside a pc. Talking of which, there are one other half-dozen movies at EPCOT which can be most likely worthy of inclusion on this listing. We cowl these individually in We Solely Skip One Experience at EPCOT, However We Keep away from A number of Reveals.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Do any sights at Walt Disney World strike you as significantly outdated or out of date? Assume there are any newer rides which have aged poorly by advantage of leaning too closely into evolving applied sciences? Something you assume our listing “snubbed” that belongs amongst WDW’s outdated rides? Do you agree or disagree with our listing? Any questions we may also help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even whenever you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!
