Disneyland's Best Rides

Best Rides at Disneyland California

Inspired by "Song of the South," Splash Mountain is a half-mile ride with five drops ending in a final, 52-foot, 45-degree, 40-mile-per-hour plunge.

The ride follows Brer Rabbit, who leaves his Briar Patch to find his laughing place. Pursued by Brer Fox and Brer Bear, he outsmarts them for a while but is caught and put in Brer Fox's cave atop 87-foot-tall Chickapin Hill. From there, a sharp drop ends the ride and the Splash Mountain story.

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"It's all about the mouse," Disney employees are rumored to say, and in Toontown, it's all about visiting that famous rodent's house. The decor is cute, but the real draw is the character greeting at the end.

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This ride has been at Disneyland since the early days, when Imagineers combed the desert for parts of old machinery to decorate the surroundings. Thunder Mountain simulates a runaway train careening through an abandoned mine complex and through scenery reminiscent of Bryce Canyon and the desert southwest. It include three climbs. It's fun and packs more into the apparently small footprint than you might expect.

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Our readers voted Peter Pan's Flight best Disneyland ride for kids. The vehicles are suspended from above, giving more of a feeling of flying, and they look like small sailing ships.

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This ride is almost as popular as the films that it's based on, and it has one of the best-themed entrance queues, with plenty to keep you entertained while you're waiting. Riders play 1935 tourists en route to visit the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. Its "jungle transport" vehicles resemble military Hummers, but are moving motion-simulators with onboard sound. The vehicle bounces, stutters, stops, and starts, and variations make every Indiana Jones Adventure ride unique: you could potentially ride it 160,000 times and never experience the same thing twice.

It's no wonder our readers also voted Indiana Jones the best thrill ride in Disneyland.

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She may not be quite as popular as her boyfriend Mickey, but Minnie's house is so cute we always hate to leave.

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If you've seen the film, you know Roger already, and this ride is just as wild and wacky as he is. In this ride, you control the "spin" - of your ride vehicle, at least.

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The Pirates of the Caribbean Ride was first conceived 1948 but opened in 1969. A quiet bayou boat ride suddenly ends up in the middle of a pirate raid, complete with cannons blasting and fires blazing. It was refurbished in 2006, with new characters, sound, original movie props and a new "Treasure Cache," with more than 400,000 gold coins and set pieces.

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Based on the George Lucas Film Star Wars, this 1980s-vintage ride hasn't lost its appeal yet. Riders booked their trip to the forest Moon of Endor with the Star Tours travel agency, but they didn't expect such an adventure. An inexperienced pilot bumbles through a series of mishaps and into a battle zone, where the spacecraft ends up in the path of the dreaded Death Star.

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It took 15 years to plan this quintessential Disneyland ride, which features 999 ghosts in residence in a haunted "retirement home."

Disney Haunted Mansion gets gussied up for the holidays every year, its decor inspired by Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas." Disney Haunted Mansion is exclusive to Disneyland in California. During this time of year, we'd bump it to the #1 spot on this list.

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This roller coaster pulls you up eight stories high before sending you flying down to earth past mountains scenes and the elusive Abominable Snowman.

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