The Best Disneyland Rides, Ranked | 2023

It can be challenging to rank the Disneyland rides because they all vary so greatly in what they are trying to do. In this list, however, were’ going to attempt to rank the best Disneyland rides overall.

7. Jungle Cruise

This one sort of feels like your really rich excentric dad thought it would be cool to build a jungle cruise simulation in your back yard and narrate the whole thing – complete with dad jokes and all. And guess what? It totally works. No matter how many times we go on Jungle Cruise, it somehow always manages to entertain.

6. Peter Pan

I don’t know whether or not Peter Pan is the greatest of Disney’s movies, but it’s certainly among the greatest of his rides. There’s nothing like taking off from a normal nursery in a pint sized pirate ship and soaring over London before exploring one of the most magical worlds of all – Neverland.

It’s no wonder this line is always packed, no matter the time of day.

5. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Indiana Jones, it seems, was meant to be turned into a ride. And who wouldn’t want to experience one of the most iconic movies of all up close and personal. Our favorite part (and there are many good parts) is when you’re traveling through the room with the blow darts and you can actually feel the breath of the air as they (pretend) shoot around you.

4. Rise of the Resistance

One of the best things about competition is that it often brings the best work out of people. Universal Studios upped the ante with their part practical part digital effect Harry Potter rides, and Disney answered. What we got as a result was the tremendous Rise of the Resistance ride, arguably the best dark ride in existence currently, from a ride technology perspective. Perhaps the only downside of this ride that seeks to deliver the full experience is that the line is always super long.

3. Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad

Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad boasts the trackless system that has become the gold standard in ride technology today, and brings cutting-edge ride mechanics to the world of our most beloved character: Mickey Mouse.

I don’t want to spoil it for you, so I won’t. But from the moment I entered the staging area it was quite clear that this ride was going to be nothing like the dark rides you see in Fantasy Land.

Although you can certainly argue that Rise of the Resistance has it all, the only reason I rank Mickey and Minnie a little higher here is that it’s a ride that can be enjoyed by the whole family – something which undoubtedly adds to the appeal.

2. Pirates of the Caribbean

Pirates of the Caribbean is something of a gold standard in dark rides. It tells an incredible story as it takes you along the quiet dark back waters of the bayou before dropping you deep into the depths of pirate myth and lore. While down there, you will look for buried treasure, experience a battle between ships, pass by the debauchery of pirate-age Tortuga, before reemerging once again into the much more tame world of Disneyland.

As the last and final ride supervised by Walt himself, there’s no wonder such a touch of magic exists in the wax figures that technology gives life to. And while it may not be as impressive as today’s rides, we can’t forget it for the legacy it has left, and the impact it has had.

1. Haunted Mansion/ Nightmare Before Christmas

The Haunted Mansion boasts a que area that is an experience in and of itself, and an intricate world of magic, ghouls and creepiness that is hard to believe fits into whatever the space you travel through is. From the outside, however, it looks like you are just entering a haunted mansion. And while there are certainly plenty of spectacular visuals to behold here, our favorite is the eerie twilight that you meet before mounting your doom buggy into another world.

During the Halloween and Holiday season, the Haunted Mansion gets overlayed with The Nightmare Before Christmas, making it feel like an entirely different ride. It’s the only ride on this list that gets such a dramatic overlay, and getting to experience both versions is definitely a draw of coming to Disneyland more than once per year. For us, it’s also one of the things that gives it an added advantage over Pirates of the Carribean to land it the top spot on our list of the best rides at Disneyland.

But hey, this list is just our opinion. So share your list of the best rides at Disneyland in the comments below!