Rewind Awards: The One, Single, Best Theme Park Attraction From Each Decade (So Far)

The era begins in earnest with the arrival of a competitor, expanding our view: Universal’s entrance into the theme park wars.

When Universal Studios Florida opened in 1990, it debuted some true contenders likeKONGFRONTATION, JAWS, and BACK TO THE FUTURE – THE RIDE. Meanwhile, Universal’s original Hollywood property welcomed JURASSIC PARK: THE RIDE to its Lower Lot, beginning its evolution from movie studio to modern theme park. Honestly, any of the four Universal “creature feature” attraction might’ve actually been a top-tier finalist in the ‘80s… they’d just face much tougher competition in the ’90s.

For example, the view expands yet again with the 1992 opening of Disneyland Paris, equipped with its own brilliant reinventions of classics, like PHANTOM MANORand SPACE MOUNTAIN – DE LA TERRE Á LUNE. Those clever new-age classics are still celebrated as risky-but-rewarding creative exercises perfectly encapsulating the scale (and budget) of the early ’90s.

But to take a real look at the 1990s is to examine the height of that “Ride the Movies” era Eisner started and its shining accomplishments before the ill-fated Disney Decade brought it all crashing down into a series of cop-outs, cancellations, and closures.

Born of the same groundbreaking (and controversial) partnership with George Lucas that spawned Star Tours, Eisner’s no-holds-barred pop-culture push of the ’90s created one of the greatest modern dark rides on Earth – INDIANA JONES ADVENTURE: TEMPLE OF THE FORBIDDEN EYE. This unimaginably-scaled attraction continued the infusion of popular characters from outside Disney’s catalogue of classics, while introducing unthinkable dark ride technology and some of the most sensational storytelling Imagineering has ever accomplished.

Likewise, George Lucas’s name was incorporated into the sci-fi inspired New Tomorrowland that squeaked by in Magic Kingdom, anchored by cult classic EXTRATERRORESTRIAL ALIEN ENCOUNTER, one of Imagineering’s most unique experimental attractions from the era. A Monorail ride south, the cutting edge TEST TRACK did for Epcot was Star Tours had done for Disney Parks as a whole – rewriting the foundations of Future World and setting the stage for the semi-scientific thrill rides that would follow.

Despite the divisive “Pixarification” of Tomorrowland and Future World that followed and the ‘90s’ signature invasion of characters into Disney Parks, it ended with a bang thanks to Animal Kingdom, which produced KILIMANJARO SAFARIS; a “reinvention” of Disney Imagineering as out-of-the-box as Horizons had been in the ‘80s. If you can’t tell, the ‘90s altogether created many of the world’s most ambitious and cinematic attractions, making this decade difficult to award… but we know what we have to do.

THE BEST ATTRACTION OF THE 1990s: Despite Indiana Jones Adventure being a true contender and the race being neck-and-neck, the overall icon of the ‘90s and the best example of the “Ride the Movies” era is THE TWILIGHT ZONE TOWER OF TERROR. Using most every trick developed in the decades before, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror represents the absolute pinnacle of the ’90s; a cinematic thrill ride packed with more detail and storytelling than a single ride-through can uncover. 

In the U.S., the early 2000s was an era of extremes. Still reeling from the financial failures of Disneyland Paris (and the decade-long wave of cop-outs, cancellations, and closures it caused, including the abandonment of the Possibilityland: WESTCOT) Disney’s moves in the decade are more remembered for what didn’t work than what did. In fact, many of our in-depth Declassified Disaster entries revolve around short-term solutions like underbuilt parks, abandoned concepts, and short-sighted character overlays.

To that end, three of the most significant projects to debut in this decade are the last three theme parks rush-ordered by Eisner’s regime before he left Disney – Disney California Adventure, Walt Disney Studios, and Hong Kong Disneyland – which, between them, offered just one attraction noteworthy enough to be in the running: SOARIN’ OVER CALIFORNIA. As a revolutionary rewrite of what a “simulator” could be, this hang-gliding tour of the Golden State stands among the decade’s most prolific.

Other standouts from the decade in Disney Parks include EXPEDITION EVEREST – which remains one of the most spectacular Disney experiences out there (and, funny enough, is the most recent IP-free major attraction added to Walt Disney World…) – and TOY STORY MIDWAY MANIA, an interactive midway game ride-through that’s proven unexpectedly evergreen at Disney California Adventure, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Tokyo DisneySea. 

Outside of those limited U.S. hits, several of the best rides of the 2000s undoubtedly come from Tokyo Disney Resort – wholly owned and operated by the Oriental Land Company (and thus, not subject to the strangling budget cuts of the Walt Disney Company). At Tokyo Disneyland, POOH’S HUNNY HUNT premiered the trackless dark ride technology fans know and love today; its sister park, Tokyo DisneySea, opened in 2001, bringing with it JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH – a ride renowned the world over, and certainly a top condender for the decade’s defining attraction.

While Journey may be its magnum opus, DisneySea also features a few other candidates, including its own INDIANA JONES ADVENTURE: TEMPLE OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL, a new-age, practically-perfect 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, and the one-of-a-kind, Twilight Zone-free, S.E.A.-flavored TOWER OF TERROR – each among the decade’s best rides.

Back stateside, Universal Studios Florida was well underway replacing those contenders for best-ride-of-the-’90s with hotter, more current intellectual properties for the 2000s. The “flavor of the week” chase has since become a distinctly-Universal strategy (and has arguably been picked up by Disney, too) but it at least yielded a decade-defining ride for the resort: REVENGE OF THE MUMMY.

Speaking of Universal, there’s a dark horse to consider in our look at the best attractions from the 2000s: Universal’s Islands of Adventure. Though this theme park opened in summer 1999, most industry fans agree that it’s a product of 21st century design and technology; a first step into the New Millennium, and a taste-maker for everything that’s come since. To that end, should its Opening Day “Originals” fall into the running? 

THE BEST ATTRACTION OF THE 2000s:  Controversially, we’d argue that the best representation of the 2000s might actually be 1999’s THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF SPIDER-MAN. A definitive shaper of most every Disney or Universal E-Ticket that’s come since, Spider-Man represented the fusion of a dark ride and a simulator, building off of Indy’s legacy. But the inclusion of screens made Spider-Man something very entirely different. Both Disney and Universal recognized Spider-Man as the new “one to beat,” and spent the 2000s building up their responses to the comic book escapade… Which brings us to… 

If Spider-Man challenged Orlando’s parks to innovate and prepare for a renewed war between Disney and Universal, the products of that war began to emerge right away. Just five months into the decade, Universal debuted the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Fast-forward to Disney’s first rebuttal (Cars Land featuring RADIATOR SPRINGS RACERS), ellicting Universal’s response (Diagon Alley, with HARRY POTTER AND THE ESCAPE FROM GRINGOTTS), earning Disney’s counter strike (Pandora – The World of Avatar offering AVATAR FLIGHT OF PASSAGE), plus the declaration of IP war that is the Avengers Campus (anchored in 2017 by Disney’s best impression of a Universal ride, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY – MISSION: BREAKOUT!).

Catching on yet? Yes, the 2010s were marked not just by rides, but by lands. An intentional push to create IP-based worlds with expanded mythologies (and “in-universe” dining) has become the de facto product of Imagineering, and increasingly it seems unlike any U.S. attraction will ever again open without a pre-existing, big-budget blockbuster brand behind it (and a healthy merchandising connection). 

Overseas, the 2010s also saw the opening of Shanghai Disneyland, offering at least two stand-out originals: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: BATTLE FOR SUNKEN TREASURE (a larger-than-life, complete reimagining of a Pirates ride, based on the Johnny Depp film series) and TRON LIGHTCYCLE POWER RUN.

Meanwhile, billions were spent retroactively rebuilding those three disastrous low-budget parks from the early 2000s. While Disney California Adventure received the exceptional Cars Land, Hong Kong Disneyland debuted the sensational, S.E.A.-infused MYSTIC MANOR (one of the decade’s few IP-free attractions); and Walt Disney Studios in Paris kicked off its long-needed expansion with REMY’S RATATOUILLE ADVENTURE.

The decade closed out in a most apt way: a battle between HAGRID’S MAGICAL CREATURES MOTORBIKE ADVENTURE and MILLENNIUM FALCON: SMUGGLERS RUN – a biblical showdown between Universal and Disney’s respective elite tier IPs in a race to win fans’ hearts… and dollars. The 2010s started with two titans in a stalemate… and seemingly ended that way, as well, albeit with some unprecedented investment in the years between.

THE BEST ATTRACTION OF THE 2010s: Here’s where things get tricky. The “best” attraction of the 2010s is largely a matter of taste. Depending on your preferred ride style (and brand allegiance), the anchor attractions of Harry Potter, Cars, AVATAR, or even TRON Lightcycle Power Run, Mission: Breakout! or Smugglers Run might be your own personal pick. If you’re more of an Imagineering afficiando, you might hand the award to Mystic Manor. 

In keeping with our attempt to select the best attraction to represent the decade’s direction, we have to give Universal its second win with HARRY POTTER AND THE FORBIDDEN JOURNEY. Using a still-exclusive ride technology that even exiting guests describe as inexplicable, it thrusts guests into the Wizarding World in a heart-pounding, mile-a-minute extravaganza. Though it’s a storytelling mess, the ride became a must-see Mecca for fans across the globe and literally created this era’s unprecedented style.

Though we’re merely a few months into this new decade, we may already have a winner. Even though Florida’s STAR WARS: RISE OF THE RESISTANCE opened with three weeks to spare in 2019, it’s only right to do what we did with Spider-Man and to draw that ride into the 2020 sphere; the definitive start of a new decade of attractions as much as it’s the capstone of the last.

To that end, Rise of the Resistance feels unbeatable; a generation-defining dark ride on par with Indiana Jones Adventure, Tower of Terror, and Journey to the Center of the Earth, and then some. That said, neither the IP-focused era nor Disney and Universal’s blockbuster back-and-forth battle show any signs of slowing… As we look ahead, monumental original E-Tickets themed to Frozen, Tangled, Mario, Peter Pan, Donkey Kong, and Marvel’s The Avengers are confirmed, and by the end of the decade, we’ll no doubt have plenty more, too.

So will STAR WARS: RISE OF THE RESISTANCE keep its crown? In 2030, when we look back on this decade of Imagineering, will we see that no ride stood a chance against Rise? Or will it be remembered as merely the start of a decade of record-breaking attractions, ushering in a new era? Does MICKEY & MINNIE’S RUNAWAY RAILWAY give this generation-defining attraction a run for its money? Will a promised Avengers attraction at Disney California Adventure match its scope and scale? A ride in Universal’s Super Nintendo World or Epic Universe? Is a yet-unannounced project in Florida, California, or somewhere else entirely capable of overshadowing Rise by the decade’s end?

We hope to see you back here in ten years to find out…