8. Universal Studios Florida
- E.T. Adventure
- Fast and Furious – Supercharged
- Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts
- Hogwarts Express
- MEN IN BLACK Alien Attack
- Revenge of the Mummy
- TRANSFORMERS: The Ride
Not yet counted: Illumination’s Villain Con: Minion Blast (2023)
Universal Studios Florida is often criticized for having too many screen-based rides, but omitting straight-up simulators from its dark ride lineup reveals a collection that’s actually pretty diverse and has some real standouts.
E.T. Adventure – the only Opening Day Original left at the park – is a classic, retro heart-warmer. Men in Black: Alien Attack is certainly the best “blaster” ride in Central Florida. TRANSFORMERS: The Ride is an action-packed (if redundant) headliner. And of course, we consider the Modern Marvel: Revenge of the Mummy one of our favorite rides, period – a great “pre-Screen Era” addition that makes you want to ride again and again.
BLACKLIGHT AWARD: Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts debuted in 2014 as the anchor attraction of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley. At the time, fans criticized the temperamental ride for a seeming lack of innovation and thrills, especially compared to the groundbreaking Forbidden Journey that had launched with Hogsmeade four years earlier. It’s true that Gringotts is “simpler” (though it’s still impressive – rotating cabs affixed to a coaster chassis, with unprecedented trick track elements). But Gringotts is also a very agreeably fun ride, with excellent pacing, great physical sets, and a real sense of place compared to the somewhat messy ride inside Hogwarts.
7. Universal’s Islands of Adventure
- The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
- The Cat in the Hat
- Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
- Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
- Hogwarts Express
- Jurassic Park River Adventure
- Skull Island: Reign of Kong
Islands of Adventure is just the kind of park industry observers never expected from Universal… one based not on movies, but on timeless characters and stories. It’s filled with incredible settings, secret spots, and hidden gems. And since its opening in 1999, what’s happened at Islands has directed the movement of the entire theme park industry.
2010’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter jump-started the era of “Living Lands” that are now industry standard. But it also introduced HARRY POTTER AND THE FORBIDDEN JOURNEY – a nearly inexplicable dark ride based off of a technology so astounding, most guests probably can’t explain what the ride is or how it works. In any other theme park, Forbidden Journey would win the Blacklight Award without blinking an eye… but Islands of Adventure also happens to have a ride that arguably altered the course of ride design as we know it…
Blacklight Award: There can be dark ride to better represent Islands of Adventure than THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF SPIDER-MAN. Often ranked among the best modern dark rides on Earth, Spider-Man introduced a whole new dimension of dark rides with its pioneering “SCOOP” ride system. Blending physical sets, practical effects, and projection screens into one mind-bending, action-packed experience, the ride features roving vehicles attached to a motion base, capable of dropping guests into the comic book streets of New York in a frenzied, fantastic adventure.
Arguably, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man reset the concept of dark rides just as the industry entered the 21st century. Many (even a few too many) of today’s rides feel like reduxes of the Spider-Man formula. But even with many, many imitators, this Opening Day Original remains the most iconic dark ride at Islands of Adventure, and one of the most amazing attractions on Earth.
6. Shanghai Disneyland
- Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Sunken Treasure
- Roaring Rapids
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- TRON Light Cycle Power Run
- Voyage to the Crystal Grotto
Not yet counted: Unnamed Zootopia attraction (2023/4)
Shanghai Disneyland opened in 2016 as the legacy-leaving landmark of Bob Iger’s tenure, finally bringing a permanent Disney installation to the highly-guarded mainland China and its rapidly-expanding middle class, ready to consume Disney stories and products. More importantly for fans of Imagineering, though, the Chinese government’s majority stake in the park allegedly added an interesting caveat to the park’s design… In addition to removing the Americana inherent in the “Disneyland” formula (i.e. no Main Street or Frontierland), the Shanghai park was reportedly required to feature only original anchor attractions, not copies of stateside classics.
The result is a Disneyland more untethered from Walt’s 1955 standards than we’ve ever seen before – one without a Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, “small world,” or any “Mountains.” The park’s three “classic” dark rides – BUZZ, POOH, and PAN – are all upgraded with new aesthetics and projection mapping, while new age thrills – like SEVEN DWARFS MINE TRAIN, ROARING RAPIDS, and TRON LIGHTCYCLE POWER RUN – integrate dark ride scenes into unique attractions.
The park’s oddest ride is probably VOYAGE TO THE CRYSTAL GROTTO – a sort of mix between a Jungle Cruise, World of Color, Mickey’s Philharmagic, and an outdoor dark ride (with an indoor finale that helps it qualify in our count).
Blacklight Award: Though TRON Lightcycle Power Run captured the attention of audiences immediately, there’s no doubt that the park’s coolest ride is PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: BATTLE FOR SUNKEN TREASURE. Based on the Pirates film series and little more than an homage to the classic theme park ride, this new age ride is pretty much a modern masterpiece. Battle for Sunken Treasure blends massive physical sets with totally-integrated, impossibly-scaled projection and stunning Audio-Animatronics.
5. EPCOT
- Frozen Ever After
- Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
- Journey into Imagination with Figment
- Living with the Land
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends
- Spaceship Earth
- TEST TRACK
Once upon a time, EPCOT was home to a collection of world class, interconnected dark rides that represent some of Imagineering’s best work ever. Each of its Future World pavilions was anchored by a lengthy, informative dark ride telling the story of its area of science and industry from the past into the future. Those Lost Legends: Universe of Energy, Body Wars, World of Motion, Journey into Imagination, The Living Seas and Horizons are still remembered by many fans as embodiments of EPCOT’s truest self.
As EPCOT’s somewhat random assortment of dark rides today shows, each has been replaced one-by-one by piecemeal solutions as part of the park’s various waves of reimagining. From character overlays to outright replacements with more thrilling, semi-scientific attractions, EPCOT today is defined by an odd mix of very diverse dark rid eexperiences. While the foundational redesign under way now seems poised to at least aesthetically reunite the remains of Future World, it isn’t science and industry that’ll dictate the park’s dark ride content; it’s Disney + Pixar + Marvel.
Blacklight Award: At EPCOT, there can be no dark ride more worthy of being labeled the park’s best than SPACESHIP EARTH. It’s just about the only remnant of the “original” EPCOT (albeit, updated several times; most recently in 2008, positioning Dame Judi Dench as its narrator). The ride inside EPCOT’s park icon is a thoughtful, reflective, 12-minute journey through the history of human communication from the Stone Age to the Internet Age. Like the best EPCOT classics, it’s educational and inspiring, maybe even making you feel small. After all, “Like a grand and miraculous spaceship, our planet has sailed through the universe of time; and for a brief moment we have been among it’s passengers.”
Also, it’s worth saying: enjoy it while you can. Though perhaps delayed or outright cancelled by pandemic cost-cutting, Disney had officially announced their intentions to give Spaceship Earth another facelift in 2020: one that would shift the ride’s focus from “communication” to “storytelling,” adding homages to (you guessed it) Disney and Pixar films.
Interestingly – but maybe not surprisingly – that leaves just five parks to round out the top of our Dark Ride Counts… and all five are “Castle Parks.” Anaheim, Orlando, Tokyo, Paris, and Shanghai… Which order do you think the “Castle Parks” come in when it comes to their dark ride collections?