10. Kong
Debut: Skull Island: Reign of Kong (2016)
Location: Universal’s Islands of Adventure
Video: “This cannot be good…”
For decades, King Kong terrorized guests at both Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Florida, albeit in different ways. In Hollywood, the towering great ape was merely a small (but starring) part of the hour-long, world-famous behind-the-scenes Studio Tram Tour, ravaging a New York set and rattling the passing tram. The wild animatronic – 30 feet tall and full of fury – was easily one of the most stunning figures on Earth when he debuted in 1986. When Universal Studios Florida opened in 1990, the creature encounters of Hollywood’s Studio Tour were split into standalone attractions, yielding the Lost Legend: Kongfrontation. After barely a decade in action, Kongfrontation folded to Universal’s rapid growth, and Revenge of the Mummy took its spot.
In a sort of mea culpa, Universal heralded the return of the king with 2016’s Skull Island: Reign of Kong. Whereas Kongfrontation set the ape lose in our world, Reign of Kong flipped the script, trapping us among the unearthly horrors of Skull Island – much more fitting for the fantasy and literature-inspired Islands of Adventure park it inhabits.
After far too long dabbling in entirely screen-based rides, Reign of Kong turned out to be… well… only mostly screens. After a 360-degree projection tunnel experience wherein Kong turns out to be our savior from Skull Island’s horrors, the ride’s grand finale is a much-needed face-to-face encounter with the ape – albeit, as an exhausted, heaving protector that lacks the gravitas of Kongfrontation’s meeting with the raging, wild, angry ape. Still, the Kong figure is technically brilliant and absolutely mesmerizing. It just also happens to be undeniable evidence that the red-eyed, maddened beast of old is simply the preferred way to see him.
9. Frozen figures
Debut: Frozen Ever After (2016)
Location: EPCOT and Hong Kong Disneyland
Video: “I’m free!“
When the Modern Marvel: Frozen Ever After debuted at EPCOT in 2016, it represented a whole lot of firsts. It was the first ride dedicated to the surprise hit 2013 film Frozen, and the the first major injection of Disney characters into the once sacrosanct World Showcase. It was also a first in terms of its animatronic technology. Representing a major leap forward from Disney’s “A-100” generation to the all-electric “A-1000” figures, the ride brings the characters to stunning, three-dimensional life in ultra-fluid, precise figures.
The signature moment of Frozen Ever After – a face-to-face encounter with Elsa as she reprises “Let It Go” – embodies the models’ capabilities beautifully. Elsa gestures effortlessly, her arms twisting as her fingers twitch, generating “magic” on the walls of her ice palace surrounding. The figure’s motion is downright hypnotic, and a real showstopper.
There’s just one downside. The Frozen Ever After animatronics at EPCOT aren’t technically part of Disney’s A-1000 lineup because they’re missing a key feature: faces. All of Frozen Ever After’s human figures (Anna, Kristoff, and Elsa) use Disney’s rear-projected face system (the same used on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train). In some ways, the projected faces make the characters look plucked right from the screen. On the other, they’re inherently awkward – digital and coolly glowing from otherwise warmly-lit, physical figures. It works, except when it doesn’t. The sometimes-startling results of the faces falling out of sync with audio or turning off altogether are well-documented on the Internet.
When Hong Kong Disneyland opened the first of an eventual two copies of the EPCOT original in 2023, it was with a major plus: full, A-1000 figures with articulating faces. The Frozen Ever After animatronics were already impressive, but it’s the Hong Kong version (with full-faced figures like the one pictured above) that both make EPCOT fans green with envy and elevate Elsa to the top 10 of our list – a position the projected face versions wouldn’t have inhabited.
8. Hondo Ohnaka
Attraction: Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run (2019)
Location: Disneyland Park and Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Video: Making of…
Chances are, you could rattle off a list of a dozen or more Star Wars characters without even having seen the films. Would Hondo Ohnaka make the list? Probably not… But of course, the Star Wars universe is populated by hundreds upon hundreds of characters supported by in-depth backstories of their own, and Weequay space pirate Hondo Ohnaka is no different. To date, the character’s only “canon” appearances have been in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels – each an animated series. But in 2019, Hondo was pulled into the larger mythos in a big way…
Given that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is (controversially) set in the timeline of Disney’s “sequel” trilogy, beloved, timeless heroes like Han Solo are no where to be found. His fabled ship, however, is one of the land’s centerpieces, and one of the land’s two mega-attractions – Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run – needs a host. Enter Hondo, who’s happy to enlist us for a smuggling mission across the galaxy to gather containers of coaxium behind the Falcon’s controls. The space pirate (voiced by legendary voice actor Jim Cummings) acts as the attraction’s pre-show and on-board narrator.
Certainly another standout in the A-1000 model pioneered by Disney Imagineering (and their go-to manufacturing partner, Garner Holt Productions), Hondo isn’t quite as flowery as Elsa, but looks stunningly natural as he stands before the crowd.
7. Lava Monster
Debut: Journey to the Center of the Earth (2001)
Location: Tokyo DisneySea (exclusive)
Video: A subterranean attack…
Proving that film franchise tie-ins are hardly necessary for stellar rides, Journey to the Center of the Earth at Tokyo DisneySea is an unimaginable attraction from beginning to end. Riders board earth-moving carts with diamond-tipped drills on the front and begin a descent deep into the earth through scenes inspired by the Jules Verne novel of the same name. However, when an earthquake cuts off the intended route, the cars are forced to divert into a previously undiscovered molten chamber. We recounted the entire treacherous trip in its own feature, Modern Marvels: Journey to the Center of the Earth, but here’s the highlight…
The ride passes through the treacherous and hilly terrain of the Earth’s core where enormous basketball-sized eggs drip with goo… Whatever laid these eggs must be pretty big, right? Suddenly, a massive spider-like leg begins slamming on the cavern wall through a hazy membrane… We’ve invaded a nest. As fire bellows, the car turns the corner where a flaming molten pool awaits. And inside that pool is the most advanced Audio-Animatronic Disney has ever created – a molten millipede with spider fangs and glowing eyes with cooled, jagged rock forming an earthen crown on top of its head.
This Lava Monster – presumably the mother of the eggs we disturbed – turns 90 degrees. Upon seeing us, her eyes narrow in anger as it hisses. The creature rears back, its legs and fangs gnashing as it snarls and screeches. Then, it lunges forward at the car, triggering an acceleration that blasts riders through the darkness, then up and out of the park’s 190-foot-tall volcano icon. The encounter with the Lava Monster lasts only a few seconds, but the incredible range of motion and expression of this subterranean creature makes it easily among Disney’s most impressive, and the absolute highlight of one of the greatest rides at one of the world’s greatest parks. And to consider that it resets to perform the action again ever 10 seconds or so? Color us impressed.
6. Belle & The Prince
Debut: Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast (2020)
Location: Tokyo Disneyland (exclusive)
Video: “Tale as old as time…”
Though projects outside of the American parks tend to get less coverage and hype during their developments, Disney shared lots of behind-the-scenes footage from the work on Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast – a massive, original dark ride anchoring a New Fantasyland at Tokyo Disneyland. Footage of jaw-dropping animatronics – including a concerned Belle carrying a lantern and walking – took Distwitter by storm. When the ride finally opened in 2020… well…
We spent a whole Special Feature here examining how Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast is sort of an… odd attraction. Images of visiting Belle’s musical town, racing through dark forests, escaping wolves, and visiting enchanted libraries didn’t come to be. The lantern-carrying Belle is part of the ride’s pre-show. The ride itself is, for lack of a better term, a ride-through-singalong. It’s really only made of three major scenes, each of which is spent with trackless teacup vehicles dancing around for nearly the entire duration of one of the soundtrack songs. The first scene is “Be Our Guest,” then “Something There,” and – after a short allusion to the castle attack and transformation – “Beauty and the Beast.”
Even though it might not have been the kind of ride U.S. fans were picturing, it’s still built on a grand and impressive scale. And though the very good A-1000 animatronics are sprinkled throughout, there’s no question that the centerpiece is the finale, where Belle and a transformed Prince dance together in the ballroom while guests’ teacups twirl along. It’s an absolutely incredible set of figures, the internal supports and electrical packaging of which must be a masterclass in the field.
Ready for the top 5? Read on…