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The Best Dark Ride?

_dezaster_

_dezaster_

Roller Poster
Note: I'm aware that there have been multiple threads that are similar or completely identical to this but I really want to revamp the conversation

When I was editing my very uninformative coaster force profile I noticed you were able to state your favorite dark ride. After deep contemplation (and procrastinating on homework) I realized that I don't feel strongly towards any of the dark rides I've ridden.

It's not like I haven't ridden any either, I've gotten all the dark ride credits at Disney World (except for Peter Pans flight which was a 2 1/2 hour long wait :confused:)
Here are some thoughts
Curse of Darkastle BGW- Was certainly interesting but the story that they shoved your throat would be spontaneously interrupted by many random jumpscares. The ride itself was starting to age a little bit, hence I wasn't surprised when it closed.
Pirates of the Caribbean- I heard that the one at Disney Land was a lot better?
It's a Small World- Terrifies me. My grandma was an immigrant from the Philippines who is incredibly passionate about this ride (She believes the ride represents the american dream which is very wholesome) However, we rode this ride about 20 times and the more I rode it the more I felt off ease about the whole experience.
Winnie The Pooh Ride- Was too short, had no idea what was going on. Nothing was Cohesive. Mr Toad's Wild Ride appears to be a lot better.
Journey Into Imagination- What Happened?!!?! (I don't think I need to explain)

Another Note: I haven't ridden any dark rides in the UK or any Universal Studios, so I'm probably missing out.

What are your guy's opinions? What is the best Dark Ride? and what makes the best Dark Ride?
 
Definitely none of the mentioned above.
This has to be Indiana Jones at TDS or DL. Maybe Journey to the Center of the Earth or Pirates (Shanghai)?

Forbidden Journey would be a good contender if it wasn't for the jarring transitions. Spiderman, on the other hand, still feels fresh after so many years!
 
In no real order, but the standouts that I've done:

Indiana Jones
Pirates Shanghai
Mystic Manor
Journey to the Centre of the Earth
Forbidden Journey
Spiderman
Jinshan Temple Showdown/White Snake Maiden's Fury/Hero of Malacca
Legend of Nuwa

The new Star Wars thing - not that I give a s**t about Star Wars - looks like it could kick everything else's arse though, and I reckon Tokyo's new Beauty and the Beast ride will be a personal favourite.
 
After riding it for the first time a few months ago, Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland is definitely the best dark ride I have done. Just the sheer scale of the sets and the fact it is entirely practical effects is very impressive. Apparently it was even better in its heyday too.
 
Pirates in Shanghai. There isn't anything else I can think of that even comes close.

After a huge gap to the above, other notable ones have been: Forbidden Journey (USH), Wizard Academy (Fantawild Wuhu), Spiderman (IoA), Avengers (IMG) and Hex? They're the ones that spring to mind.
 
Love Forbidden Journey. Probably my favorite throughout Universal Orlando.


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My faves are:

Spiderman
Forbidden Journey
Tower of Terror (Florida)
Knight Flight
Justice League Warworld Attacks
Dragon Gliders
Pirates of the Caribbean (Paris)

Pretty standard list, the really big budget ones rarely fail to disappoint.
 
Indie is the best, no doubt. It gets 100+ points off the bat for not being screen based, making it winner by default.
In seriousness though, the thing I absolutely love about Indie is the vast open rooms. I can't think of dark ride other than Indie that doesn't purposefully confine your view to a very specific set. Indie bravely shows you a gigantic open space basically off the bat and it's such an incredible feat.

In complete contradiction - if we're gonna count Flight of Passage as a dark ride and not just a simulator - that's my second favourite. It is the only screen-heavy ride that is in any way convincing. It does feel like you're in that film. The creature movements are incredible - especially the way it lands. I think it gells together very well and is breathtaking and beautiful and moving and just... Speaks to me. It is somehow right up my alley despite being so critical of it before I rode it. Ha.

Forbidden Journey is great but the screen parts are so bad they drag it down like lead weights... They don't work. The movements of it are also non exciting but janky and awkward. The queue, physical set pieces and overall experience is so good it makes up for the faults.

Mission Breakout. I mean, it's ToT but better, what do I have to say? In seriousness though, it's more "exciting" than ToT, not necessarily "better"... Depends what you want out of a ride.

Spiderman is great. Works so well. So much better than Transformers because Transformers is a big grey blur. Spiderman has stylistic art direction and so works a lot better. Both are great rides, though. They are just violent and exciting enough whilst having just enough set pieces and most importantly, breathtakingly choreographed and synced screen technology that when you actually THINK about what it has to achieve in terms of perspective based on where the damn vehicle is, is utterly mind-boggling.
 
_dezaster_ said:
It's definitely not bad but I will always be plagued by the thought that I could have been riding the 1983 cool steampunk version.
Click to expand...
It's campy as hell and a cringefest.

Actual content to the thread...Jane's Cameron Wet Dream aka Avatar river journey was absolutely breathtaking. Flight of Passage was great as well, but I eiukdnt consider that really a dark ride, same with ToT/Mission Breakout.

I'd consider Toy Story Mania my favorite, but I tend to think of shooters as a different category as well.

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Pirates Shanghai and Mystic Manor look the best, but I haven't been on them so. Top dog for me is Journey to the Center of the Earth although it has a lot of flaws, but I think it's the most immersive ride I've done. Of course, Indy and Spidey, one for how open and practical it is and the other for how engrossing and well-timed the ride is. My personal favorite, behind Journey, is probably the Haunted Mansion at Disney World. I just love its vibe.
 
_dezaster_ said:
I'm going to challenge this.
In what ways is Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom underrated?
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Perhaps not underrated, but no one seems to talk about it. I'd genuinely never heard of it until my first visit a couple of years ago, so it was a very pleasant surprise.

And nowadays it's completely overshadowed by Flight of Passage.
 
Best ones in my head right now:

Pirates of the Carribbean - Shanghai Disneyland
Indiana Jones - Tokyo DisneySea
Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout - Disney California Adventure
Mystic Manor - Hong Kong Disneyland
Jinshan Temple Showdown - Various Fantawilds

Don't have a list for this stuff (dark ride spreadsheet... now there's a future project idea), so I'm probably forgetting some things.
 
The Disneyland POTC is much better, though I've heard Shanghai's is even more amazing (haven't actually done it, though.) I've also heard incredible things about Mystic Manor and all the dark rides at Elfting, but I haven't been on them either, so I can't rate them yet.

Let's also not forget Haunted Mansion (Disneyland or WDW)... so classic and iconic, we often forget.

And I do count Forbidden Journey as a dark ride, and the one in Hollywood is much better in all respects than it's counterparts. Probably my #1 choice.

IMO, Dinosaur is not a great dark ride. There's virtually no scenery whatsoever. Indy does a much better job.

But really, it's all about Haunted House at Knobels.
 
While it's probably not in a good state anymore, the dark ride at Terra Mitica is really intriguing. It's themed to the Minotaur and the Labyrinth from Greek Mythology and appears to be your average Sally shooting dark ride, however it seems to be broken up into stages. There are 3 stages that connect back to the loading zone and if you don't get enough points to proceed you're sent back to the beginning. While this concept obviously wouldn't work at a bigger park I think it's perfect for small parks as it encourages people to reride and get better. I really wish I could have tried this in its prime.

El-laberinto-del-Minotauro-floor-plan-Drawing-ss-Sally-Corp-Used-with-permission.png
 
If we are talking any kind of dark ride shooters, haunted houses, boat rides etc. My favorite has to Monster Mansion at SFOG. Everything about it is so cool and honestly just perfect in every way. Love all the different monster animatronics and the history. Also have to agree with Toy Story Mania being probably the best shooter I've been on. Shoutouts to ET Adventure and Dinosaur as well.
 
Has to be The Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom for me. Great effects, great visuals, and apparently it even has a story if you bother to look for it. The whole ride just has a brilliant atmosphere, it'd dark and spooky without being scary per se.

Second best I've ridden... going to put Transformers at USF here. With a disclaimer that I didn't get to ride Spiderman that day, of course.

And third place... sorry, Forbidden Journey, but I personally liked Flight of Passage better. I really loved that flying sensation and the diverse landscapes you're taken through, even though its story makes no sense. It has a sense of wonder to it that I feel Forbidden Journey lacks. FJ is nice, and the effects are good, but after the dragon scene it's just a non-stop torrent of all the grim, creepy stuff in Harry Potter shoved right in your face. Giant spiders, dementors, death eaters(?) the whomping willow, that basilisk for good measure, then everything caves in... as can be seen on its POVs, it's just an onslaught of noise and darkness, with no time to breathe and none of the series' famed whimsy. Just scary set piece after scary set piece, and the actors constantly yelling "Quick! Move on! Next set piece!". It's a great execution of a poor composition, if that makes sense.

Honorable mentions to The Simpsons Ride, Soarin', Pirates of the Caribbean (I know the Florida version is seriously watered down compared to the original, but it's still quite nice), Dinosaur and Toy Story Mania.
 
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