Did you know…? The OmniMover style of attraction was invented in 1968 by two legendary Disney Imagineers, Roger Broggie and Bert Brundage. Since then, this incredibly efficient ride system has been used at Disney Parks all over the world!
Omnimover attractions are the style of attraction where you have to stand on a moving conveyor belt before boarding your car. This makes the attractions very efficient, as they do not have to stop to load and unload.
But which of the current Walt Disney World OmniMovers is the best OmniMover? We break down the rankings here.
7. The Seas with Nemo and Friends
Sorry Nemo, we mean no offense. Honestly, we love this attraction and the Sea life exhibits at the end. But this list contains a lot of highly beloved classics and, well, someone had to come in last. And it’s you.
6. Under the Sea – Journey of the Little MermaidÂ
This attraction is very good — the animatronics are wonderful and the music is a delight. But it hasn’t been around very long, so it doesn’t hold the nostalgia vote that others do. Also, the giant Ursula is truly terrifying, thus why it lands in second loser place.
Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid
5. Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover
This one hurt me, but when looking at the lineup… we just had to.
The PeopleMover’s original version for the 1964-65 New York’s World Fair, called the Ford Magic Skyway, is actually the predecessor for the OmniMover as we know it today.
But because the PeopleMover isn’t quite as exciting or popular as the others on our list, it sits at 5. This is a VERY tight race.
4. Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
Calling all Space Rangers! This family fun attraction slides into the top 4 for a key reason — it’s fun and different every time you ride! Any attraction that features a competition aspect where you “play your way through” is a winner in our book.
We love that you can challenge your friends and family, and that your outcome depends on how well you play (or how fast you grab the joystick).
Ahhh, the attraction inside the big golf ball. Spaceship Earth is a MUST-DO for Epcot fanatics. It’s basically the only opening-day attraction in Future World remaining, so the “throw back” factor is high here.
Spaceship Earth takes you on a journey through the history of Communication, so on premise alone it sounds boring. But of course, Disney is going to kick it up a notch! There are lots of Easter eggs in the attraction, not to mention the smell of Rome burning (which is one of my top three favorite Disney smells). The story and sentimentality bring it to the medal platform.
I mean, you fly over Neverland in a pixie-dusted pirate ship — it hardly gets any better than that. Peter Pan’s Flight was an opening-day attraction and still remains one of the most popular and longest lines in Walt Disney World.
It was a real toss but between the top two… but after long deliberation, we had to give the lead to the place where hinges creak in doorless chambers.
Peter Pan's Flight
What else would be #1? The Haunted Mansion is one of the most — scratch that, THE most — favorite cult classics in Walt Disney World. It has a HUGE following — which is why there are Ears, clothing, and special events all themed around the Haunted Mansion.
But we totally get why! The attraction is basically perfect with its 999 happy haunts — though there is room for 1000. Any volunteers?
What do you think of our OmniMover rankings? Would yours be different? Let’s discuss in the comments!
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I go to give it to BUZZ for the best. I’ve achieved the Galactic Hero rank more times than I can count!
You’re right about the order. But one thing about the WEDWay PeopleMover (AKA Tomorrowland Transit Authority) is that you can ride it as many times as you want. Just tell the cast member you want to go around again, and they’ll wave you on. This is one of our favorite park breaks!
The People Mover at Magic Kingdom is in desperate need of a refurbishment. It never seems to be running at capacity now. They shut down the line and you watch as multiple empty cars leave the station. I don’t know if there are just a lot of broken vehicles or the system can’t handle the full load anymore. Either way, Disney should resolve it.
I’d hate to see it go away because it’s a nice break and it’s fun going through Space Mountain especially when it’s not running and they the lights up so you can see the track. But I’m tired of lines for an attraction that really shouldn’t have one.
Good job Bryan! I feel like I should get 3 college credits for this class. Off to a toga party now.
I made a mistake in my previous posting. Magic Skyway also introduced the concept of continuously moving vehicles. Peter Pans’ Flight at Disneyland dit NOT introduce this concept because the pirate ships come to a complete stop for loading and unloading. The Florida attraction added the moving sidewalk and never-stopping ships.
The first deployment of Omnimover technology for moving guests efficiently through an attraction was in the Monsanto-sponsored attraction “Adventure Thru Innerspace”, which premiered in Disneyland’s Tomorrowland in 1967. The prefix “Omni” refers to the ability of the show designer to swivel the cabin to direct the guest’s attention to any part of the show. The ride vehicles advance continuously along the track, thus ensuring constant rides-per-hour guest capacity. Continuous load and unload is accomplished by means of a moving platform which matches the speed of the ride vehicles. The platforms were either circular, as in Adventure Thru Innerspace and Spaceship Earth, or linear as in the Haunted Mansion, If You Had Wings/Dreamflight/Buzz Lightyear, World of Motion, The Seas with Nemo and Friends and Little Mermaid attractions. In the case of all these attractions the continuous chain of vehicles move at a constant speed.
Journey Into Imagination may also be considered an Omnimover-style attraction, in that each car could pivot around a moving axle. But, instead of being linked in a continuously moving chain of vehicles, each car was attached into a train of four vehicles. These trains, like those of the PeopleMover could progress at varying speeds. In the load area they moved so slowy that moving platform was not required. The method of propulsion is also different from typical omnimovers in that instead of moving the vehicle by mechanical means, propulsion is accomplished by means of linear induction, like The Magic Kindom’s Tomorrowland Transit Authority/PeopleMover.
Peter Pan’s Flight may be considered a predecessor to the OmniMover only in that it never stopped moving, but it does not pivot. Also, unlike any of the other attactions mentioned here, it has an onboard motor to propel the system. Ford’s Magic Skyway introduced the concept of the propulsion being embedded in the track instead of onboard. This meant that the system could not break down in the event of a failure of one or more motors. Both PeopleMovers and Journey share this feature. But like the PeopleMovers and Peter Pan, Magic Skyway is not an OmniMover attraction because the cars maintain an oriention fixed in the direction of momentum.