Can you pick just one?

How do you pick one favorite Disney attraction? John Frost of The Disney Blog posed this question to his readers and it has me stumped. I have had so many favorites over the years it is hard to narrow it down to just one.


When I first visited Disneyland in the early eighties I couldn't get enough of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. To this day it is my favorite dark ride. I knew it was on a track but I was five and I wanted to feel like I was driving. My two favorite parts of this were driving through the fireplace (I swear there used to be steam so it looked like you went through smoke) and visiting hell. I still make sure I ride this every trip.


During the early nineties I was very into Star Wars and this translated to riding Star Tours non stop. I would get off walk through the store and back around into the queue. For fifteen years I have been hoping for a new Star Tours movie so I hope the rumors of Star Tours 2.0 are true.


I waited in a three and a half hour line in 1995 to ride the Indiana Jones Adventure for the first time. We got in line in Frontierland, went out onto Main Street, down into Adventureland, all through the outside queue and finally to the temple. Little did we know that this was only the beginning. They made the wait fun with ancient writings on the temple walls and decoders so you could translate. When we finally rode for the first time this blew me away. I could not believe how impressive this attraction was. There was so much to see that I know I missed a lot that first ride. Thankfully I have been able to ride it many, many more times to take it all in.


In 1998 I visited Walt Disney World for the first time. I had never been on an attraction like Tower of Terror. I did not know many people that had been to Walt Disney World so I did not know what to expect. When the elevator left the shaft for the first time I was in awe. That was amazing then and it is amazing now. I very much wish that Tower of Terror in Disney's California Adventure was built the same way but I love it anyway.

During that first visit to Walt Disney World I was also able to experience the Carousel of Progress for the fist time. I hadn't been in a show like that since America Sings closed more than ten years earlier. I had forgotten how fun they were. This show was one that my dad remembered from his first visit to Disneyland so that made it a little more special to me.

If you put me on the spot now I would probably respond with the stock answer of Pirates of the Caribbean or the Haunted Mansion. They are both classic and make New Orleans Square my favorite "land" in Disneyland. I don't know that either of them are my absolute favorite though. I miss the Peoplemover and I would jump for joy if they brought it back, but I don't think that would be my favorite either. There are many shows and attractions that I love and yet I have to pick one favorite. Then it came to me.


At Disneyland I love that the monorail gives an aerial tour of Tomorrowland that you used to get on the Peoplemover then you wrap around the Matterhorn and take a peek at Fantasyland before you reach the station. When you are at Walt Disney World it may be viewed more as transportation than an attraction but it is still amazing. The Magic Kingdom monorail takes you around Seven Seas Lagoon and through three of the hotels. The Epcot line runs through the park and around Spaceship Earth before they drop you off giving a wonderful view of Future World and offering a small preview of the World Showcase. The trains themselves are sleek, beautiful works of art. Futuristic looking yet they are here today for your use. You are able to sit down and relax and enjoy the views. The monorail is my favorite Disney attraction.