5 Disney Movies I Can’t Believe DON’T Have Rides

Rides and attractions based on Disney films have been part of the theme park experience since the day Disneyland opened, and the park’s Fantasyland was headlined by soon-to-be-iconic dark rides based on films like Peter Pan.

As the years have gone on, for better or worse, Disney’s parks have become more and more dependent on Intellectual Property (IP) to the point that the company has essentially confirmed any new major attractions created for the parks going forward will have some kind of IP tie-in. While there are certainly… debatable elements to that approach, It does lead to some interesting questions. Specifically, why certain Disney (and Disney-owned films and IPs) haven’t been built in the parks despite arguably providing perfect potential theming, and/or fitting well in already built lands. These are five that stick out to me.

Aladdin

Okay, first to get this out of the way for the sticklers amongst us (and as a proud stickler for Disney facts, I use that term in the utmost complimentary fashion) yes, the Magic Carpets of Aladdin is located in the Magic Kingdom’s Adventureland. However, let’s be real, this off-the-shelf spinner ride is Aladdin-themed only in the most basic visual sense.

On the hand, I’m flabbergasted there has never been a full-fledged Aladdin dark ride, complete with say Magic Carpet ride vehicles and a chase through the Cave of Wonders, perhaps inside a massive Cave of Wonders facade. It’s especially surprising that there’s no Aladdin dark ride built in Tokyo DisneySea’s Arabian Coast since the land has a slight Aladdin theme. The closest there’s ever been was a very dated virtual reality attraction at DisneyQuest.

Wall-E

From the first time I saw Wall-E, I always thought the film would be perfect for a dark ride, particularly in EPCOT. Between the film’s early, post-apocalyptic Earth and its later exploration of the Axiom spacecraft (and its wonderful space ballet sequence with Wall-E and Eve), many scenes seem like they would make perfect set pieces for an attraction. As a bonus, the film’s ecological message would also be on-brand for EPCOT, a sometimes rarity for IP attractions that are added to the park.

Brave

Staying in the Pixar wheelhouse, it’s somewhat surprising that Brave has yet to see any attraction representation. The film ticks off many of the boxes Disney seems to look for in a film to adapt: a strong central character, landscapes that lend themselves to an attraction, and cute animals! Arguably it could fit in a number of locations, from Fantasyland in the U.S. parks to Fantasy Springs in Tokyo.

Lady & The Tramp

Moving back in time form the Pixar films, Lady & The Tramp is an interesting omission from many of Disney’s parks. Yes, there’s Tony’s Town Square Restaurant in the Magic Kingdom, but other than that the film isn’t all that represented, despite having premiered and becoming a massive hit the same year Disneyland opened. On top of that, its late-Victorian/turn of the 19th century setting lends itself to the Main Streets presented in the parks.

Mary Poppins

Wrapping, there’s perhaps the surprising. Mary Poppins is, arguably, the most critically acclaimed live-action film in Disney history, and certainly one of the most popular. There have been restaurants, character meet & greets, and a portion of the Great Movie Ride dedicated to the attraction. Legendary Imagineer Tony Baxter even designed a full Mary Poppins dark ride as a showpiece once. However, the closest the film has ever come a full-fledged ride of its own was one that was announced for EPCOT… then quietly canceled.

These are just five of the many, many films in the Disney library that don’t have any real ride/attraction representation in Disney’s parks. Stay tuned to AllEars for more thoughts on Disney’s theme parks.

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What Disney films don’t have rides that you would like to see in the parks? Let us know in the comments below.

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