Top 5 Disney Park Rides I Wish To Ride

    Hello everyone and welcome back to yet another countdown list. This list is going to countdown the top 5 rides I wish I could ride. The restrictions for this blog is that the ride has to be one that I have never ridden.The good and really complicated news is that every ride that is not located at Walt Disney World is eligible. This list can include rides that are similar to those at Walt Disney World such as Peter Pan's Flight or Haunted Mansion since they exist in multiple parks. Nearly all rides in Walt Disney World are ruled out. In fact only Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway and Rise of the Resistance are eligible for this list. Interestingly enough both of these rides are at Disney's Hollywood Studios, but will either of them make the list? Read on to find out.

5.) Indiana Jones Adventure (Disneyland California)

    While the ride system is pretty much the same as Dinosaur in Disney's Animal Kingdom, the ride looks so much different that it's easy to forget the two use the same system. Indiana Jones Adventure is one of the most popular attractions in Disneyland and it is easy to see why. The ride appears to be full of danger and suspense. Traps appear everywhere, the ride seems to be kind of intense, and does an incredible job of making the rider feel like they are in an Indiana Jones movie. While I personally cannot see myself going on this ride and wishing it would replace Dinosaur, I sure to want to give this ride a shot someday! 

4.) Journey to the Center of the Earth (Disney TokyoSea)

    Boasting incredible visuals and a soundtrack worthy of the aesthetic, Journey to the Center of the Earth is the ride I want to get on more than any other in either Tokyo Disney Park. With effects ranging from simple lighting effects to water, to fire, to even a massive animatronic, there is just so much I want to see. It also helps that the ride is situated inside of Mount Prometheus giving it the perfect facade. I'm sure the feeling of entering the volcano has to be similar to that I would get as I approach Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden MountainPi (or Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to a lesser extent). What is that feeling you ask? It's that feeling of mystery about the mountain. It's that sense of adventure that you are going to encounter something incredible whether it be the Yeti or whatever may be lurking in the center of the Earth. Someday I hope to experience this ride in real life since I am positive the videos do it no justice.

3.) Rise of the Resistance (Disney's Hollywood Studios)

    If you didn't know already, I am a huge Star Wars fan. I mean look how many Star Wars related blogs are here on this site. You'd think that this ride being eligible would give something away right? Well here it is, the major attraction of Galaxy's Edge that was not open when I went. All I have heard is how incredible this ride is and how it is an absolute must do for any Star Wars fan. The biggest difference between this ride and all the others on this list is that I haven't spoiled anything about it for myself. No watching of videos, no listening to of soundtracks, and anytime I have watched a vlog I skip over anything involving the ride. I am that hyped to ride it without even seeing or hearing anything about the inner workings of it.

*** For a video of this ride visit Youtube and simply search for it.***

2.) Phantom Manor (Disneyland Paris)

    Phantom Manor is a ride that has always been a dream for me to ride. The fact that there is an actual backstory to it and the way it connects to Big Thunder Mountain always reminds me of those ghost stories that you'd tell while sitting around the campfire. Heck, Big Thunder Mountain can even be seen within Phantom Manor. Where Haunted Mansion is a fun trip through a ghostly mansion with a grand finale consisting of spirits doing all kinds of fun things, Phantom Manor is a much much darker ride in it's story and that is what fascinates me so much about it. There are plenty of references to Haunted Mansion within Phantom Manor and plenty more theories such as the Hatbox Ghost being a ticket taker. Another thing I really love about this ride is it's soundtrack. The English portion of the soundtrack features Vincent Price (Ratigan in The Great Mouse Detective) as the narrator/guide and oh man is he good at what he does. I really hope to one day experience this truly creepy Disney attraction for myself.

    Well only one remains on this little list. That said I do want to give a few honorable mentions to rides that just missed the cut. The first is Disneyland's version of Pirates of the Caribbean. The Disney World version is good, but from what I see the original out in California blows it out of the water. From what I hear that is a sentiment shared by many as well. Mystic Manor over at Hong Kong Disneyland I hear is an incredibly unique experience from any of the other Haunted Mansion attractions. Though I do love the fan theories that link it to Haunted Mansion. What can I say, I'm a sucker for spooky type rides! Peter Pan's Flight in Shanghai Disneyland is the other ride I want to call out here. It's a remake of the classic attraction, but the added bits of pixie dust sprinkled in breathe new life into the ride and it's something I'd really love to see someday. Well with that said... Onto number 1!

1.) Pirates of the Caribbean Battle for Sunken Treasure (Shanghai Disneyland)

    Okay. I have not rode this ride, but I am going to gush about it here a bit anyway. From what I can tell, Pirates of the Caribbean Battle for Sunken Treasure is nothing short of incredible. The Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise is one of my favorite movie franchises of all time and this ride looks like and I'm sure feels like you are being thrown directly into one of these movies. The way the ride starts off seeing scenes the look like the classic Disneyland attraction after years of neglect and decay is incredible. Seriously you even pass by the cage at the end of the classic ride where the dog is holding the keys just outside of the prisoner's reach. Oh they're all still right where they were, but they long since died and are now just skeletons. They still manage to do that classic whistle though. It's such an amazing way to start off the ride and send a clear message that you are in for something very very different than any pirates ride you have been on before. The classic bit ends with lightning striking a skeleton at the wheel of a ship, transforming it into Captain Jack Sparrow. 

    I know in the past I have complained about rides containing too many screens or not using screens to their potential (looking at you again Frozen Ever After). This ride gets it so right in that it looks so immersive that it makes you feel like you are going underwater. Right after you leave Jack you are immersed into a massive underwater scene on the screens. It's not a long scene and it culminates in awaking the kraken. Here is where the screen is done right. The ride continues as you enter a ship, but the kraken is still out there, and you can see it on the screen behind the ship, but it all looks so real that you are underwater that it's got to be easy to forget it's a screen back there. The screens are used throughout the ride like this. Eventually you see a big ship battle on screens, but you become surrounded by actual ships pretty quick. It looks incredible online, I can only imagine how amazing it must be in person.

    With references to the classic attraction, and pretty much every movie besides the fifth being represented, the ride looks just perfect for me. The fact that the main villain in the ride is Davy Jones makes it all the better for me as he is easily my favorite villain in the series, though Barbossa is an incredible character throughout, but that's a story for another time. There are rides on this list that I really really want to get on at some point, and this is the one that absolutely tops them all and there is so much more to the ride that I didn't even mention in my mini gush session.

    Well there you have it. The top 5 rides I wish to ride in the Disney Parks around the world. It is by coincidence only that it wound up being one ride from five different parks. Will I get ride all of these rides? Who knows! What I do know though is that I and many others, yourself included, are lucky to live in an age where videos like the ones in this blog are able to exist. Imagine years ago that a ride like Na'vi River Journey with it's incredible animatronic, or  Pirates of the Caribbean Battle for Sunken Treasure with so much more than I described came out. All we would have is word of mouth to try and describe the wonders that we saw. Now people around the world are able to share that magic and while it's not the real physical thing, it is a look into something amazing and that technology now just keeps growing with virtual reality and 360 degree video. 

    I went off on a bit of a ramble there, but the point is, while I may never get to experience these rides first hand I am so happy and grateful that I was able to view them in some capacity. I hope you enjoy watching them as much as I have and if you need to pick up your jaw after watching Pirates of the Caribbean Battle for Sunken Treasure, it's okay I still have to anytime I watch it. As always thank you for reading and stay tuned for the next blog coming real soon!