This list was hard, y'all.
It began by assembling a barely-organized list of every attraction I had some reasonable experience with in the Walt Disney World's history. That list was probably over 100 attractions.
Those attractions got organized roughly in order of how much happiness they personally brought me to experience, and I started cutting out attractions that were clearly not going to make it above the 50 line. I also included attractions I didn't personally enjoy, but that had some sort of importance; for instance, I don't like The Barnstormer myself, but its status as a lot of young guests' first rollercoaster did have it in consideration. That left me with over 80 attractions.
After that, I went through comparing each attraction two-at-a-time against one another. Starting with 1 vs. 2 and moving down the list, I considered not only personal enjoyment, but historical significance, and popularity with fans, to figure out which attraction I was more comfortable having higher, then repeated; over and over again, until I had a list.
Then, the bottom of that was painful. Through the various permutations of this list, probably around 10 attractions that didn't make the final cut were at some point in the top 50, all the way up to the publish of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which only got in at the last moment. Another dozen or so attractions, at the very least, I stared at long and hard considering whether or not they should be there.
So, while this list had to be cut off at 50, there were several attractions that could well make that 50 if I started over from scratch, and I wanted to acknowledge those that I considered very close.
Body Wars
One of a couple attractions here that was actually on the list until the very last second, until I decided something basically doing the same thing as another attraction -- Star Tours -- without being meaningfully different didn't belong. This was actually the impetus for the Honorable Mentions post, because I wanted to acknowledge that Body Wars was great, but why it didn't quite make the cut. It was a very creative use of the simulator design. Like Cranium Command, I was lucky enough to ride Body War its last night of operation.
Country Bear Jamboree
Possibly the perfect distillation of Marc Davis’s approach to entertainment. Like the Enchanted Tiki Room, taxidermed animals come to life and put on a musical show that defies expectations, with sight gags galore. One of the few opening day Magic Kingdom attractions original to the East Coast.
Delta Dreamflight
This is more personal than anything -- sort of the opposite of another omnimover on this list. Dreamflight, with its short lines, casual pace, and detailed show scenes was my favorite ride as a child. We rode it constantly. I also remember it well enough to know it objectively does not stand up to anything else in this Honorable Mentions post, let alone the actual list. Still, I wanted to include it here, just for my own nostalgic happiness.
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Probably the most iconic attraction left off the list, though iconic more for its part as a foundational attraction in Disneyland. Dumbo in the Magic Kingdom has taken a step forward since then with doubled ride capacity, and really gorgeous fountain work that looks amazing at night. This one was so close to making the list I had even started writing a post about it at one point.
El Rio del Tiempo
Atmospheric boat ride. Obviously it was close. Slowly drifting past people eating in a restaurant on one side, with a detailed, black-lit pyramid and volcano on the other is one of the best opening moments of any attraction anywhere, almost comparable to the Pirates/Blue Bayou situation in Disneyland. The final very-80s painting of Mexico City is also pretty spectacular, as is the Mary Blair Dia de los Muertos scene. I never got as far as writing a rough draft for El Rio, but as late as the low-40s I was still looking at kicking something else out so I could include it. I prefer the original where the screen in the various show scenes made a little more sense, but I'm also pretty happy with Gran Fiesta Tour, especially the finale. Animatronic Three Caballeros are absolutely a plus.
Enchanted Tales with Belle
Just a quick shout out for the mirror transition, which is one of the coolest effects in any attraction.
Flights of Wonder
A very amazing bird show that made its name in showing off birds performing natural behaviors, rather than just doing fun pet tricks, with a great conversation message. Not much to say, watching birds is just fun.
The Hall of Presidents
It may be full of presidents, but the Hall is one of the biggest technological achievements in the park, with 45 individual animatronics (and counting) on stage with their own routines, and a jaw-dropping 180 degree projection screen. People constantly believe they are seeing actors on stage the effect is so convincing here, and having speeches from a couple of them is awfully cool. Each animatronic has clothing either donated by the estate, or authentic to clothes owned by the president at the time. The rotunda is also a great part of the experience, a nice, comfortable room full of some very interesting -- and ever-changing -- artifacts of past presidents.
Impressions de France
It doesn't do anything more than be a theater show. It doesn't have a radical screen, or neat effects, or anything else. But, that simple theater show is beautiful. An absolutely masterful marriage of scenery and music, making it a breathtaking watch whether you have a connection to France or not.
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
Explosions! Humor! Ben Burtt punches! John Williams! If you're interested in how the stunts are done, Epic is a great, amusing way of seeing it, and obviously based around a great film.
Mad Tea Party
Simple, but the spinning teacups have become an icon of the theme park industry. It also never stops being fun, and the color and sound really adds a lot to the east side of Fantasyland.
Maelstrom
A solid dark ride in water, with some pretty show scenes and a drop. One of the coolest moments came when your boat almost seemed like it was going to plunge out a cave and into the outside world. Troll animatronics were especially creepy. One of the most quoted attractions ever built.
Monster Sound Show
A super funny display of how sound was created in Hollywood, with audience participation. It included a fun post-show area that included how your sense of sound could be manipulated.
One Man's Dream
This wasn't actually that close to making it, but it's here to make Pat happy. I do actually enjoy the artifacts and models, and will look at them any time I go to Hollywood Studios.
Pangani Forest
In full discloser, Pangani was actually on the list until after the first couple of posts published, when I realized I had missed an attraction that absolutely needed to be included. My solution was to only have one animal trail on, and bump this off. It otherwise would have slotted at spot 47. It lacks the incredible theming of Maharaja Jungle Trek, but still has plenty of cool animals, and the combination bird and cichlid enclosure is incredible.
Skyway
Getting from point A to point B via ride system is always pretty fun. The Skyway let you go from Tomorrowland to the far side of Fantasyland -- or the other way around -- while sitting down. The whole trip offered awesome birds-eye views of the park, and the buckets moving overhead -- especially through the Pan corridor -- added wonderful kinetics to the entire north and east sides of the Magic Kingdom.
Snow White's Scary Adventure
The only classically-styled Fantasyland dark ride not to make the list, not because it wasn't good. It had a lot of old school charm, good music, some creative sets, and great use of black light. Also, the Queen-to-Witch transition was one of the coolest dark ride elements ever made.
Studio Backlot Tour
You probably remember the Backlot Tour late in its life, but for a very brief moment in time early on, this attraction was massive. It not only had the awesome thrills of Catastrophe Canyon -- where your tram got trapped in an earthquake with explosions and floods -- but a walking tour showing how special effects are made in films, drive byes of working sets, and a ton of looks at how an actual studio operated. The park outgrew it almost immediately, but when it opened this attraction was the entire point of Disney-MGM Studios.
Swiss Family Treehouse
Prior to the Pangani Forest situation, this was the Last Attraction Out, closer to making the final list than anything else. A fabulous walk through of an isolated, detailed environment, with cool water mechanisms, and amazing views of the park. Like Dumbo, this got close enough that I was rough-drafting its blog post at one point. Also, Swisskapolka rocks.
Toy Story Mania!
This wasn't originally going to make the Honorable Mentions, but after talks with a few people, I figured it should have been closer than I originally gave it credit for. It does not do much as a ride, but it is incredibly valuable to its home park, serving as a big crowd pleaser in a location where not many attractions don't have height restrictions.
Universe of Energy
If only for the moment of the sun rising to reveal an awesomely detailed prehistoric environment with massive dinosaurs. Also for one of the great old Epcot songs.
World of Motion
In all honesty, probably my most questionable omission. For whatever reason, as a child who loved EPCOT Center, this was just not an attraction that ever struck me in a positive way like the others did (though I do have fond memories of watching the vehicles come out overhead through a winding, translucent track above the entrance). I never revisited when I was a bit older to see if my mind could be changed, then it was gone. I absolutely respect its status as a bygone favorite, though. Obviously, an omnimover traveling past fully detailed Marc Davis sight gag scenery had something going for it. In the end, this placement shouldn't be considered my opinion on World of Motion, but rather my lack of an opinion on it; I didn't feel I could rank an attraction I barely remembered personally. This is more of an "not applicable" than anything.
There may be more. . .
. . . but I had to cut this off somewhere. Astro Orbiter, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, Captain Eo, Discovery River Boats, It's Tough to Be a Bug, Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure, Magic Journeys, Mission: Space, Prince Charming Regal Carousel, and Reflections of China are all some of the other names I wrote down and at least thought about. This had to be 50 for obvious reasons, though, and that meant some painful cuts.
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