[Fun] Best ride with worst atmosphere & worst ride with best atmosphere...

[Starcade]

My friend and I were talking about this and wondered what others thought. Some attractions have a great "ride" but the atmosphere is left wanting due to poor theming or forced IP we ride those regardless of the theme. Then there are attractions where the physical ride itself is nothing special but the theming and atmosphere makes it exceptional, the visuals make waiting in line worth it for these. I am curious to hear everyone else's opinion on this topic so please pick three rides with a great ride but bad atmosphere and then three rides with a great ride but bad atmosphere. I am curious to see what others think.

I wanted to clarify when I say bad ride I mean the physical motion of the attraction bad ride does not mean the attraction is bad at all. HM is a classic and a favorite of mine but the ride aspect is nothing better than the Little Mermaid.

Good physical ride w/ bad atmosphere ( we'd ride these even if there was zero IP or theming ):
- Incredicoaster
- Goofy's Skyschool
- Mater's Junkyard Jamboree

Bad physical ride with good atmosphere ( we wait inline for the view not the ride ):
- It's a Small World
- Haunted Mansion
- Monster Inc.

Note* Meet Mr. Lincoln, Tiki Room etc. are not rides.

[DisneySpaceAce]

I'm waiting for the riot with Haunted Mansion and Small World getting lumped in with Monsters Inc as a bad ride.

[Eagleman]

Good ride w/ bad atmosphere (we'd ride these even if there was zero IP or theming):
- Incredicoaster
- Goofy's Skyschool
- Mater's Junkyard Jamboree

For now....I agree
I only like Goofy's Skyschool for it is a Mouse coater, which I enjoy...... The theme is ugly

[Zorro]

I'm not so sure that I like how the two categories are described. The first one is more about what happens to you physically. A rollercoaster would fall into this category as theming is not always a significant feature of the attraction. The track layout is what draws one to ride it. For the latter category, what happens to you physically is not so important. You're simply going from point A to point B. What you're observing is the draw. Judging an attraction from the first category for not having characteristics of the second category - or vice versa - is faulty from the get-go. Of course there are cross-over attractions where elements of both categories are to be found. However to say that the Haunted Mansion is a bad attraction because it doesn't have a good ride element or to say that Incredicoaster has bad atmosphere because it lacks theming is like failing an apple for not being a banana.

[Spongeocto4]

Good Ride, Bad Atmosphere:
-Fun Wheel/Pal O Round- Yeah it's just a Ferris Wheel, but I don't care!
-Grizzly River Run: It just needs "character" in the ride. Or a better theming.
-Incredicoaster/Screaming. I haven't actually rode the revamped version (Blame the shutdown). But it's clear they could of done a better job with the new theme.

Bad Ride, Good Atmosphere:
-Gadgets Go Coaster-Way too Short, despite being nicely themed.
-Davy Crocket Canoe- Never gone on, but seriously why would you paddle in a canoe? The ROA has the Disneyland Railroad, the Mark Twain, AND the Columbia. None of them requires you to break a sweat.
-Autopia- After 20 years, the current cars are past their prime. Loud and surprisely jerky when turning.

[Kahuna]

Good Ride, Bad Atmosphere

• Goofy's Flight School
• Incredicoaster

Bad Ride, Good Atmosphere

• Matterhorn

[mickdaddy]

Good theme bad ride for me is the tea cups. Love the look just doesn't work with the motion sickness.

[Co Foo]

I'm going to interpret the intent of this question as saying the ride implies the ride system itself and the motion that you go through. Thinking about this implies removing any of the themeing and only having that ride vehicle with nothing else to look at. Like imagining Space Mountain with the lights on.

Given that, my top three good rides are:

Incredicoaster
Midway Mania
Guardians of the Galaxy

Roller coasters are fun and Incredicoaster is the best pure roller coaster at the resort. Video games are fun, so Midway Mania would be fun even if you didn't have Toy Story characters there. Being jerked up and down is thrilling so that would be a good time.

I'm not really sure if bad ride system/great atmosphere is an interesting question. What really drives Disney attractions is the atmosphere and themeing anyway. Probably 80% of attractions at Disneyland are some variant of a slow moving ride with interesting visuals. Pirates is my favorite ride, but without the atmosphere it's just a boring boat ride to nowhere.

[Jesser-pie]

I would argue Space Mountain for Geat physical ride with Bad Atmosphere. It’s clever theming but at the end of the day, it’s a roller coaster with the lights off. Big Thunder has both thrill and theme/atmosphere as a way of comparison.

HM is something I consider only a ride on technicality. Great (one of the best) attraction, but the OP is right in that omnimover in itself is not a thrilling ride. This is not to say I think HM should be a roller coaster or faster. The boring ride system with no thrills really is best suited (not that the OP was arguing otherwise; on the contrary it’s not something I have thought about and I love this thread made me think of attractions in a different way).

However, even without drops, I would put IASW above HM in terms of ride thrill. The boat is a little more fun.

[SkunkID]

VERY controversial hot take but... Haunted Mansion might actually fit in the later catagory in my mine. GRANTED with the catch that the CURRENT "high capacity" version fits.

As was pointed out by others, there's kind of a debate whether HM "starts" in doombuggies, the elevator, or even the cemetery facing queue. But if we only consider the doombuggies the ride, then I can understand why a person might feel alittle let down given how much, "faster" it's run since DL's 50th. Listening to the origin audio, the ride portion used to be 7+ minutes with lots of pauses and atmosphere, but these days, assuming the ride isn't paused for mobility transfers, I've clocked it at as little as 3 and a half minutes. People have pointed out, dialogue has been cut for time, and is otherwise played right after another so quick it feels like they're just trying to rush you through.

I won't go so far as to say HM is "ruined" but... I get absolutely sympathize with people who feel like they get more of an experience out of the queue, elevator, and portrait hallway given how fast they run the actual ride they you're rubber knecking to see stuff or full sequences for some figures.

[aquila]

Great atmosphere bad ride: Finding Nemo fits this perfectly....love the subs in the lagoon and it is cool going down into the subs but the ride is long, slow and fairly uninteresting.

Bad Atmosphere good ride: This one is tougher because Disney is all about atmosphere. Soarin’ could also fit the description but probably more so in Epcot than DCA although that long descending hallway leading to the ride where you are usually stuck the longest is very generic and boring.

[yensidtlaw1969]

VERY controversial hot take but... Haunted Mansion might actually fit in the later catagory in my mine. GRANTED with the catch that the CURRENT "high capacity" version fits.

As was pointed out by others, there's kind of a debate whether HM "starts" in doombuggies, the elevator, or even the cemetery facing queue. But if we only consider the doombuggies the ride, then I can understand why a person might feel alittle let down given how much, "faster" it's run since DL's 50th. Listening to the origin audio, the ride portion used to be 7+ minutes with lots of pauses and atmosphere, but these days, assuming the ride isn't paused for mobility transfers, I've clocked it at as little as 3 and a half minutes. People have pointed out, dialogue has been cut for time, and is otherwise played right after another so quick it feels like they're just trying to rush you through.

I won't go so far as to say HM is "ruined" but... I get absolutely sympathize with people who feel like they get more of an experience out of the queue, elevator, and portrait hallway given how fast they run the actual ride they you're rubber knecking to see stuff or full sequences for some figures.

3 and a half minutes from the time you got in a Doombuggy to the time you got out? Sorry, but that's impossible - at its average speed the Doombuggies take about 7 minutes to make the full loop, 6 and a half of which they have a guest. Creep mode has occasionally slowed things over the years, but the rumors of the ride being sped up are greatly overstated. And even if they were, the Doombuggies would have to be moving at cataclismic speed to make THAT kind of time - almost half the intended ride time. Guests could never safely or reliably board a Doombuggy moving that quickly and I doubt that the system could actually be turned up that high. Either you're exagerrating or your stopwatch needs replacing.

It's also worth noting that the Haunted Mansion ride system is not designed for any show-based pauses - any pause that has happened over its history has only ever been for loading a guest or a safety concern (or both). And the ride is actually known for pausing more in recent years than in past. But videos tracing back long before Disneyland's 50th show the ride operating at approximately 6:30 for a guest in a Doombuggy, as they do now barring the occassional stop or creep mode.

[Captain Andy]

Good Ride, Bad Atmosphere

• Goofy's Flight School
• Incredicoaster

Bad Ride, Good Atmosphere

• Matterhorn

I second the Matterhorn. 😖 I love the artistry, but the pain it gives always leaves me in a state of regret.

[JerrodDRagon]

Incredicoaster, love the coaster but they went so cheap on the redo

Also kinda Matterhorn because they just need to smooth the ride out, its too bumpy and refuse to make the seats nice

[DisneySpaceAce]

Bad ride with good atmosphere:
The Matterhorn. Ok, everything about the gimmick is awesome, in every version, but it's such a bumpy and uncomfortable ride that I feel banged up anytime I go on it.
Mad Tea Party: It's a fun theme, but I hate spinning rides. Just end up dizzy

Good ride with bad atmosphere:
California Screamin/Incredicoaster. Very fun coaster, but the theme was always lame, whether it be the original version with "We themed this rollercoaster as an OLD rollercoaster" or "Here's some plastic characters scattered around!"
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage: The whole "I'm in a submarine!" gimmick is still fun, but, eh... watching projections isn't all that great. At least there are still some actual physical models in there as well.

[Disnedude]

Bad ride with good atmosphere:
Matterhorn: This used to be one of my favourites until the new seats were installed. Now a ride on the Matterhorn is akin to taking a ride in the laundry dryer. A simple fix that Disney refuses to make for some reason.
Midway Mania: This is pretty much a video game that is carried by the amazing atmosphere.
Dumbo: A typical spinner ride that is only good because of the theme.

Good ride with bad atmosphere:
Increadicoaster: Disney tried to fix this but didn't go far enough. Perhaps it will eventually be improved one day.
Grizzly River Run: Has so much potential
I disagree with placing Sky School in here because it is a cookie cutter wild mouse ride that at best is "OK"

[jish5555]

I'm not a huge fan due to how they can use that space for more attractions, especially since the West Coast hotels are already so expensive as is, to where I've only stayed in an onsite hotel once, and that was the Grand Californian.

[Starcade]

I'm not so sure that I like how the two categories are described. The first one is more about what happens to you physically. A rollercoaster would fall into this category as theming is not always a significant feature of the attraction. The track layout is what draws one to ride it. For the latter category, what happens to you physically is not so important. You're simply going from point A to point B. What you're observing is the draw. Judging an attraction from the first category for not having characteristics of the second category - or vice versa - is faulty from the get-go. Of course there are cross-over attractions where elements of both categories are to be found. However to say that the Haunted Mansion is a bad attraction because it doesn't have a good ride element or to say that Incredicoaster has bad atmosphere because it lacks theming is like failing an apple for not being a banana.

I think you'er missing something. None of the attractions I listed are considered bad attractions they simply rely on one aspect of their merit to achieve a worthwhile ride. Haunted mansion is an awesome attraction and the favorite of many but the actual physical ride is nothing special if you removed the atmosphere it's not much different then the Little Mermaids ride. What this is about is seeing what others feel are rides that heavily rely on one aspect ( the physical or another the atmosphere ) to make the ride popular where as many rides provide both example: Thunder Mtn or Pirates etc.

[Starcade]

I'm waiting for the riot with Haunted Mansion and Small World getting lumped in with Monsters Inc as a bad ride.

Neither are bad rides they just have very little in the way of the physical aspect and rely heavily on atmosphere.

[Starcade]

I'm going to interpret the intent of this question as saying the ride implies the ride system itself and the motion that you go through. Thinking about this implies removing any of the themeing and only having that ride vehicle with nothing else to look at. Like imagining Space Mountain with the lights on.

Yes this is exactly what I meant. Thank You.