Favorite Dark Ride

[Rollercoaster Rider]

Coaster

- Mummy in Orlando

 

Interactive Dark Ride

- Justice League at SFGAm (Although the SFMM sounds good with Harley)

 

Non Interactive Dark Ride

- Pirates in California

 

Funhouse

- Jenkinson's Fun House with the Fart Room

 

Defunct Dark Ride that I wish I could've ridden

- Professor Burps at Chessington

HM- Toyland Tours at Alton Towers

 

WORST I've ridden

- Peter Pan in California (Thought it was dumb and not worth the wait)

- Toy Story Mania (Exhausting and not worth the wait)

[DoinItForTheFame]

^ I like your way of listing them. So, here goes mine:

 

Roller Coaster

- Revenge of the Mummy USO

 

Interactive Dark Ride

- Justice League at SFOT

 

Non Interactive Dark Ride

- Curse of DarKastle at BGW

- Tower Of Terror WDW

[gerstlaueringvar]

Can’t pick a favorite so here’s my top 5:

Pirates of the Caribbean Shanghai

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Indiana Jones Adventure

Spider-Man

Mystic Manor

[hydra]

Where is all the love for Haunted Mansion and Black Diamond at Knoebels?

And Fire in the Hole at SDC? Blazing Fury anyone?

[Rollercoaster Rider]

Where is all the love for Haunted Mansion and Black Diamond at Knoebels?

And Fire in the Hole at SDC? Blazing Fury anyone?

 

I do love blue light pee

[Dombot]

Might as well make a top 5, because I'm bored.

 

1. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at DHS: Pure brilliance. Every drop is absolutely bonkers, you're out of your seat at least 75% of the time. Put that element along with seatbelt-only restraints, an awesome storyline (huge Twilight Zone fan here), and a very photogenic facade, and you've got yourself the best theme park attraction ever made.

 

2. DINOSAUR at DAK: I am fully aware this ride sucks, don't worry, but it was my first "thrill" dark-ride, so I kinda have a soft spot for it. It's still kinda fun, the ride motions are pretty wild (in a good way), the animatronics are actually really cool, but Jesus, that story. It's like Jurassic Park but you're on Dennis Nedry's side.

 

3. Curse of DarKastle at BGW: Love love love it. Insanely immersive, theming is on point (in pure Busch Gardens Europe fashion of course), and the ride is just a laugh-fest from start to finish. Praise be to Ludwig.

 

EDIT: ...aw man.

 

4. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at IOA: I get that everyone hates Universal at this point (#JusticeForTheDragons), but I'm more than willing to give credit where credit is due. As an avid Potterhead, this ride is a wet dream come true. The ride system is bonkers, the screens blend in so well with the physical sets, and just... evertyhing is perfect about this ride. Never change it. Please.

 

5. Transformers The Ride at USO: Because I'm not a 10-year-old a severely small attention span, the Transformers series isn't exactly my cup of tea. That being said, this ride is awesome. Easily the most intense dark ride I've been on. So damn fun. For once Michael Bay did something right with his career.

Edited April 9, 2018 by Dombot

[average.coaster.fan]

It's gotta be Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom. My oh my, this is such an incredible simulator with some stunning visual effects, great thrills, and an all-in-all wonderful adventure.

[Dombot]

It's gotta be Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom. My oh my, this is such an incredible simulator with some stunning visual effects, great thrills, and an all-in-all wonderful adventure.

That would probably be my number one pick, but isn't that more of a simulator than a dark ride? My two cents, at least.

[bert425]

I'd say Curse of DarkCastle at BGW.

 

tho close, CLOSE behind it?

 

Peter Pan's Journey (MagicKingdom). . . just the way those ride vehicles suspend from the ceiling. . gets me every time

&

Knobel's Haunted House -- spectacular old school ride

 

 

(runners up are the usual suspects from Disney too: Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Space Mountain. .etc)

[thrillseeker4552]

I’m not a big dark ride person, but Justice League at SFMM really exceeded my expectations. It’s an excellent (and much needed) ride for the park.

[BlahBlahson]

Some of my Favorites, by Category:

 

Universal:

 

Forbidden Journey and Spiderman. One of these is an incredible, immersive, technological masterwork for fans of the movie and books and the other has never been equaled in its category in almost 20 years now.

 

Disney

 

Paris version of Pirates-While I haven't done the Shanghai version, the Animatronics and length of this ride absolutely blew me away this year, and overtook Splash Mountain as my all-time favorite Disney ride.

 

Old School

 

Haunted Mansion at Rehoboth Beach-DE. My favorite of the old Bill Bradley designs, even more so than Knoebels.

 

Disney Knock off

 

Europa Park's Pirate boat ride-Equal in quality to the DL version, this one has a really epic transition scene.

 

Favorite Cheesy Dark ride

 

Monster Mansion-SFOG. Please always and forever keep this ride Six Flags!

 

Most Awesome Non-Major Dark Ride

I totally loved Darren Brown's Ghost Ride-Great mix of real action and Virtual Reality. It was my favorite ride at Thorpe Park!

[Canobie Coaster]

My favorite is Disneyland's Indiana Jones Adventure. Raiders of the Lost Ark is my favorite movie, so seeing the absolutely insane theming combined with the wilder ride vehicle is the perfect combination for me.

 

Some of my other favorites include:

 

- Radiator Springs Racers

- Test Track

- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey

- Men in Black

- Derren Brown's Ghost Train

 

I'm not including drop towers or flumes, but if I did Splash Mountain and Tower of Terror would rocket to the top of that list.

[Sheep-O-Matic]

Disney makes the best dark rides, imo. I've only been to Disneyland in California, but here's my top 3 favorites:

1. Haunted Mansion

2. Alice in Wonderland

3. Roger Rabbit's CarToon Spin

[Airtime&Gravity]

My list:

 

Indiana Jones Adventure - Disneyland

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey - Universal Studios Hollywood

Pirates of the Caribbean - Disneyland

Haunted Mansion - Disneyland

 

Does Radiator Springs Racer count as a dark ride? If so, that might be my #1, but it'd be really close.

[Simon Baynham]

For anyone here interested in Ghost Trains, dark rides and their history... there's a great NEW book all about them. More details here at the Roller Coaster Media Library.

 

http://rollercoastermedialibrary.com/the-ghost-train/

 

Simon B.

[coasterbill]

I'm not as well traveled as some, but it seems like a fun topic so I'll chime in. We should be visiting Disney in a few weeks and riding a few new ones so it'll be interesting to see how this list changes.

 

Overall

1) Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts

2) Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey

3) Haunted Mansion (Magic Kingdom)

4) Pirates of the Caribbean (Magic Kingdom)

5) The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man (unless Splash Mountain counts)

 

Degree of Difficulty: Non Disney / Universal

1) The Curse of DarKastle (Rip?)

2) Justice League, Battle for Metropolis (this thing is actually REALLY good)

3) Haunted Mansion - Rehoboth Beach, DE (This thing is a hidden gem. I prefer it to the Knoebels ride but it gets far less attention)

4) Haunted Mansion - Knoebels

5) Ye Olde Mill (Rye Playland)

[boldikus]

^ Really curious to know where Pirates of Wildwood sits in your rankings.

[Canobie Coaster]

Does Radiator Springs Racer count as a dark ride? If so, that might be my #1, but it'd be really close.

 

I see Test Track often listed as a dark ride and Radiator Springs is set up pretty similarly with the indoor section before the high speed, outdoor finale.

 

To me it's a dark ride. But it depends who you ask. It's just like how Escape from Gringotts or Blazing Fury are coasters to some and dark rides to others.

[Jetstar2]

The dark rides I have the fondest memories of in the order in which I first rode them:

 

Dracula's Castle (Lagoon)

Adventure Thru Inner Space (DL)

Terroride (Lagoon)

Haunted Mansion (DL)

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (USJ)

Sinbad's Storybook Voyage (DS)

[ytterbiumanalyst]

I rode a lot of great coasters last year, but my dark ride list wasn't shaken up much.

 

Disney (Disneyland Anaheim unless otherwise noted):

1. Pirates of the Caribbean

2. Haunted Mansion

3. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

4. Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage

5. Toy Story Midway Mania (DCA)

 

Non-Disney:

1. Calico Mine Ride (Knott's Berry Farm)

2. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (USH)

3. Justice League: Battle for Metropolis (SFStL)

4. Haunted Mansion (Knoebels)

5. Transformers (USH)

[Hockeydad]

I have to go back to the dark ride I haven't ridden since 2006...and that would be Curse Of Darkastle @ Busch Gardens Williamsburg. I've ridden a lot of others in the past 11-12 years but this one has always stuck with me. I hope the rumors of it closing aren't true, but if they are, I'm glad I got to ride it.