Wondering what the best Disneyland rides are at Disneyland resort? Well, the answer depends on various things, such as your idea of fun. Whether or not you enjoy thrill rides, or maybe you have kids and need a ride that accommodates the whole family? Whatever the case is, we made sure to include the best rides at Disneyland that everyone loves! Okay, almost everyone ?.
Keep on reading to learn about the best Disneyland rides and why you should make these rides your priority when you visit Disney parks!
Best Disneyland Resort Rides: Disneyland’s Best Rides & Disney California Adventure Park Rides!
How many rides are there in Disneyland and Disney California Adventure?
In total, there are almost 100 rides, shows, exhibits, and attractions at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure parks when combined. However, 100 attractions is a bit overwhelming, so we put together a list of the top 13 rides between both parks that you must not miss!
What are all the rides in Disneyland?
- Alice in Wonderland
- Astro Orbitor
- Autopia
- Big Thunder Mountain
- Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
- Casey Jr. Circus Train
- Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes
- Disneyland Monorail
- Disneyland Railroad
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant
- Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
- Fortune Tellers
- Frontierland Shootin’ Exposition
- Haunted Mansion
- Indiana Jones Adventure
- It’s a small world
- Junge Cruise
- King Arthur Carrousel
- Mad Tea Party
- Main Street Cinema
- Main Street Vehicles
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Mark Twain Riverboat
- Matterhorn Bobsleds
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
- Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- Pinocchio’s Daring Journey
- Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough
- Sailing Ship Colombia
- Snow White’s Enchanted Wish
- Space Mountain
- Splash Mountain
- Star Tours- The Adventures Continue
- Star Wars: Datapad (Play on Disney Parks Mobile App)
- Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
- Star Wars Launch Bay
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
- Storybook Land Canal Boats
- Tarzan’s Treehouse
- Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room
Is Disneyland worth it for one day?
Disneyland Typically requires more than one day due to the enormous size of the park, the number of rides, and the food stalls. With one day, you will probably get to ride only a handful of rides due to the long lines and not experience all of the wonderful shows, snacks, drinks, rides, and exhibits the park offers.
If you do still plan on only visiting for a day, we think you should make it a goal to visit during rope drop and make sure you have a good road drop strategy as we did.
Then, make sure you consider whether or not to purchase additional add-ons, such as Disney park hopper, which allows you to jump between both parks. Also, consider Genie Plus, Disney’s new fast pass system but at a cost.
Also, don’t forget to try the cute Disneyland Railroad, read our guide on riding the Disneyland railroad, so you are prepared with the best tips!
Are there any rollercoasters at Disneyland?
There are some small rollercoaster rides that feature bumps, speed, and thrills. Some of these rides, for example, are…
- Space Mountain
- Splash Mountain
- Matterhorn Bobsleds
- Big Thunder Mountain
- Indiana Jones Adventure
Between you and me, Universal studios also have some amazing thrill rides!
What is the most popular Disneyland ride in 2023?
The most popular ride has to be Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. This ride almost always has over a 70-minute long wait time in the queue. Meanwhile, most other rides at Disneyland average about 20-40 minute long lines at the most.
This is a very thrilling interactive ride with amazing graphics that really immerses you into the world of Star Wars. You’re basically a prisoner that escapes only to get chased by Kylo Ren and get caught in an intergalactic firefight between the Resistance and the First Order.
What should I not miss at Disneyland?
The rides to not miss as Disneyland definitely have to be…
- Rise of the Resistance
- Space Mountain
- Splash Mountain
- Haunted Mansion
- Matterhorn
- Millenium Falcon
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Indiana Jones Adventure
- Toy Story Midnight Mania
- Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout
- Incredicoaster
- Web Slingers
- Radiator Springs
These are definitely Disneyland and. Disney California Adventure’s top rides. Beware, as the most popular rides will have long lines as a result. Most of these rides will have over an hour-long wait time during peak travel seasons. During non-peak seasons you can still expect to wait in line for 30-50 minutes for these rides.
The best times to ride these rides are very early in the morning, during lunchtime or very late at night to avoid those long wait times. Sometimes when certain popular rides like Rise of the Resistance or Radiator Springs Racers shut down, people will leave the line because they don’t want to wait. So, if you keep a watchful eye on the re-opening time of the ride, you can run over and get in line.
What is Disneyland’s scariest ride?
Most of Disney’s rides are family-friendly thus, meaning they aren’t going to be very thrilling or scary. The Incredicoaster is definitely one of their “scariest” rides as it is one of the largest roller coasters in the world and is also the fastest ride at the Disney parks, reaching speeds of up to 55mph. The ride consists of spins, loops, fast turns, and even being upside down at one point.
One of their “scarier” rides has to be Space Mountain because its pitch black during the entire ride. The ride consists of a high speed roller coaster in pure darkness with drops, twists and sharp turns. The scary aspect about this ride is that you never know whats coming next since you can’t see anything.
The second scariest ride has to be Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout! This ride is going to be pretty scary if you’re scared of falling and scared of heights. This ride consists of an elevator type ride where you get strapped in and the elevator goes up and will drop at random moments. At one point the ride opens up to this window where you see outside and you realize in a quick instant that you’re very high up from the ground.
What is Disneyland’s biggest ride?
The biggest ride at the Disney parks in California has to be the Incredicoaster at the Disney California Adventure park. This ride is huge and is actually one of the largest roller coasters in the entire world. The thrilling ride consists of loops, turns and high speeds of up to 55mph.
What is the most popular ride in Disneyland 2023?
The most popular ride at the California Disney parks is definitely Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. This ride almost always has over an hour long wait and is one of those rides that people run to during opening time.
This ride is also one of those rides that gets shut down due to it breaking down randomly. Typically it will never be broken down for more than an hour so be on the look out for it being temporarily unavailable and then being available shortly after.
What is the funnest ride at Disneyland?
Guardians of the Galaxy has to take the prize for the funnest ride in my opinion. Something about going super high up and falling down at unknown moments is so thrilling for us. A super cool thing about the ride is that because of inertia and the momentum of your body going up in the elevator, when you drop down instantly, you feel yourself trying to float out of your seat.
This is why its super important to wear your seatbelt on this ride or you will literally fly out of your seat due to inertia.
The Incredicoaster, Space Mountain and Radiator Springs Racers are definitely pretty high up on the thrill-seeking list due to them being high speed rollercoasters with spins, turns and loops. If you’re looking to be immersed in a more interactive ride then you’ll want to try out Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Millenium Falcon Smugglers Run and Web Slingers.
Which rides have the longest wait times at Disneyland?
The rides with super long wait times between 40-80 minutes at Disneyland are…
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
- Space Mountain
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Haunted Mansion
- Indiana Jones Adventure
- Splash Mountain (during summer)
Just count your blessings because while we have huge wait times here in the states, Tokyo Disneyland and their sister park Tokyo DisneySea both have some of the longest wait times we’ve ever experienced!
Which rides have the longest wait times at Disney California Adventure?
There are a few rides at Disney California Adventure that have ridiculously long lines. These rides will typically have lines anywhere from 40-80 minutes. These rides are…
- Radiator Springs Racers
- Guardians of the Galaxy- Mission: BREAKOUT!
- Web Slingers
- Incredicoaster
- Toy Story Midnight Mania
What rides does California Adventure have?
- Animation Academy
- The Bakery Tour
- Games of Pixar Pier
- Goofy’s Sky School
- Grizzly River Run
- Guardians of the Galaxy- Mission: Breakout!
- Incredicoaster
- Jumpin’ Jellyfish
- The Little Mermaid- Ariel’s Undersea Adventure
- Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters
- Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree
- Mickey’s PhilharMagic
- Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!
- Pixar Pal-A-Round
- Radiator Springs Racers
- Red Car Trolley
- Redwood Creek Challenge Trail
- Silly Symphony Swings
- Soarin’ Around the World
- Sorcerer’s Workshop
- Toystory Midway Mania!
- Turtle Talk with Crush
- Web Slingers: A Spiderman Adventure
- Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar
Is California Adventure worth a whole day?
California Adventure, due to being such a cute, well-designed park with fun rides and long lines, definitely deserves more than one day. With the three most popular rides at the park having over 60-minute long wait times, it’s prudent that you have more than one day to visit this park. Between the rides, snacks, drinks, cool photo spots, and fun rides, you definitely need at least two days for this park.
The top 13 rides at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure: The perfect mix of Thrill & Interactive
Rise of the Resistance: Most Popular Ride at Disneyland
When Disney brought this ride to their parks, they definitely knew what they were doing. The ride is super immersive with its amazing graphics and cool storyline to go with the ride. Even the employees that work at this ride treat you like you’re a real Rise of the resistance prisoner which just adds to the detail and experience of the ride. Plus, it is set on planet Batuu! Well, okay, Galaxys edge, but that was the goal!
The coolest part about the ride, though, has to be when you enter the room in the first-order ship where there are about 30 stormtroopers suited up and just watching you. This is a longer ride that lasts for about 18 minutes, so enjoy!
Space Mountain: Best Disneyland Thrill Ride
This ride is a high-speed roller coaster basically set in outer space that lasts for about 3 minutes. The ride is pitch black, which makes it pretty thrilling yet kind of scary since you have no idea where you’re going or what is about to happen on the ride.
Splash Mountain: Best Outdoor Roller coaster at Disneyland
If you’re looking for a refreshing ride on a hot summer day, this is one to try. This ride is a roller coaster set in water, so you will get splashed and get a little wet.
The ride is super popular during the summertime and not so popular during the winter for obvious reasons. The duration of the ride is roughly 10 minutes though it feels like less, and be prepared to get super wet if you sit in the front of the vehicle.
Haunted Mansion: Best Decorated Ride at Disneyland
The best-decorated ride probably has to be the Haunted Mansion. This ride is such a cute fun themed ride to experience with Jack Skellington and his friends. A bonus is that the ride gets re-decorated for the holidays.
The ride is about 8 minutes long and isn’t very thrilling, but no one rides this ride for a thrill. Rather, they ride it to see the cute-themed decor and to experience the world of Jack Skellington, Zero, and Oogie Boogie.
Matterhorn, a popular Disneyland roller coaster
The Matterhorn ride is a thrilling ride that lasts about 2 minutes long. You’ll sit in a bobsled like a vehicle and travel up this mountain where the Matterhorn lives. This is a thrilling ride roller coaster ride that reaches speeds of up to 27mph.
Millenium Falcon: Best Interactive Disneyland Ride
This ride is super fun because you get to experience flying the one and only Millenium Falcon. The ride is exciting because you’re flying and fighting bad guys in the Star Wars universe.
The ride has three crucial roles of pilot, gunner and engineer and lasts about 5 minutes.
The pilot is by far the funnest role to be in on this ride as you get to fly the ship and you sit up front. The gunner role consists of shooting the bad guys down, and the engineer role consists of fixing the ship’s damage when the pilots inevitably crash.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Best Family Ride at Disneyland
This ride is by far one of the most famous Disneyland rides altogether. The ride is so immersive with music from the movie playing and unique smells.
For the almost 16-minute long duration of the ride you sit in a canoe that takes you along a ride in the water through your favorite scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean. The smells, sounds and visuals of this ride all together make you feel like you’re in the movie.
Indiana Jones Adventure: Best Dark Thrill Ride At Disneyland
This is a thrilling ride that lasts for about 3 minutes. You sit in a car, four people in a row, and set out on an adventure through the world of Indiana Jones. The ride is dark for the most part, and at one point, you even feel the warmth of the fire as a big ball of fire comes out of a statue a figure.
While the ride isn’t very fast, it definitely feels fast. Also, note that you should carry an umbrella or something because you will get pooped on by birds that are hidden in the trees above the ride queue.
Toy Story Midnight Mania: Best Kid Friendly Ride at Disneyland
This is a great ride for those of us that are competitive in nature. The ride is a shooter type of ride where you hop in a vehicle and shoot at targets for points. This ride always gets people into arguments because everyone wants to win at the end of the day.
The duration of this ride is roughly 6 minutes long, and you can surely expect you get a cramp in your hand from shooting at things.
Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout: Best Scary Ride At Disney California Adventure Park
Guardians of the Galaxy Ride is a 2-minute-long elevator-style drop ride where you sit down in an elevator type of vehicle. The elevator basically goes up and down repeatedly but at random, so you’re constantly unsure of what will happen next.
It’s such a fun ride, but if you don’t like heights or the feeling of falling, then this ride is definitely not for you.
A unique thing to know about the ride is that because of inertia and the momentum of your body going up in the elevator, once you drop down, you instantly feel yourself beginning to fly out of your seat. It’s super important to wear your seatbelt on this ride or you will fly out of your seat due to the inertia and momentum of the ride. This is a very popular ride so you can surely expect a long wait time for this ride.
Incredicoaster: Fastest Roller Coasters Ride At Disneyland
This Disneyland roller coaster Incredicoaster ride is a thrilling high-speed roller coaster ride. The ride is pretty popular, so you’ll have a decently long wait time, but besides that, the ride is definitely worth the wait. This roller coaster ride duration is roughly 1.5 minutes long and consists of high speeds up to 55mph, fast turns, loops, and even an inversion.
Radiator Springs Racers: Fan Favorite Ride at Disneyland
This is one of the most popular rides in Disney California Adventure, so you can surely expect a long wait time. But the ride is definitely worth it with speeds up to 40mph, and the duration of the ride is roughly 5-6 minutes long. The ride takes you on a race through the story of Cars, and then you actually get to race after traveling through Radiator Springs.
Web Slingers: Most Competitive Ride At Disneyland Resort
The Web Slingers ride is such a fun, and competitive ride as the point of the ride is to shoot at Spider bots that keep replicating in the world of Spiderman. You’ll wear special glasses and get into a vehicle with four riders per row. You’ll find this ride at the Avengers Campus, its located near Pym’s lab.
The more Spider bots you kill, the higher your score. Note that certain Spiders are different colors, and some colors will get you more points than other spiders. The duration of the ride is about 3 minutes long, and you will get cramps in your hand/forearm, so beware. Be prepared to argue with your party over who is the better Web-Slinger.
That wraps up our guide to the best rides at Disneyland! We hope you enjoyed it, and if you love Disney, then make sure to take a look at our other Disney content!