Inside Universal Forums

Welcome to the Inside Universal Forums! Register a free account today to become a member. Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members and unlock our forums features!

  • Signing up for a Premium Membership is a donation to help Inside Universal maintain costs and offers an ad-free experience on the forum. Learn more about it here.

Top Ten Dark Rides

#1 - Harry Potter And The Forbidden Journey
#2 - The Amazing Adventures Of Spider-Man
#3 - Tower Of Terror
#4 - E.T. Adventure (love the forest!)
#5 - The Haunted Mansion (WDW)
#6 - Snow White's Scary Adventures (DLR)
#7 - Indiana Jones Adventure
#8 - Transformers - The Ride
#9 - Men In Black
#10 - Curse Of DarKastle
 
Some strange definitions of dark rides. BTTF? So Pandora counts? I can’t in good faith argue either of those. Even Splash or ToT I feel weird putting in there as they are a flume ride and drop tower. But to stay consistent with the others, I’ll include them. If I didn’t, I’d add Haunted Mansion and SSE as 9 and 10.

The fact Gringotts or MiB or Mummy or ET or Indy or TT or Monsters Inc Seek or even small world japan aren’t on my list just goes to show how many amazing dark rides are out there. And if I went to Shanghai and after Rise opens, I’d likely have to remove another two rides in the top 10.

Note that I only did current rides to make it easier.

10) Sinbad - I don’t know what the song was or what was being said, but I love that little tiger.

9) Reign of Kong - Good queue, good music, great AA. Sue me, I love it

8) Poohs Honey Hunt - The trackless vehicles and “dance” scene make this. It’s a flipping Pooh character that I couldn’t care less about yet I’d ride this over and over and over if I was able.

7) Mystic Manor - Haunted mansion on steroids.

6) DL Pirates (haven’t done Shanghai) - Long and detailed.

5) Forbidden Journey

4) Tower of Terror - Drop towers were just big ugly towers that went up and down before ToT. No drop tower can compare still to this day.

3) Journey to the Center of the Earth - I never saw a POV of this and I said “this ride is awesome” at the climax. Great, surprising ride with insane queue and detail.

2) Amazing Spider-Man - The OG Hybrid. Still beats all new rides and it’s 20 years old.

1) Splash Mountain - my favorite ride of all time. The music, the length, and the fact it revolutionized flume rides; it just can’t be beat for me.
 
Last edited:
It’s tough to really narrow down exactly what a “dark ride” is, so I guess for these purposes I’m counting anything that isn’t explicitly/purely a coaster, a simulator, or a predominantly outdoor ride (water or otherwise).

And I’m limiting it to rides I’ve actually been on.

And I feel bad about leaving out too many favorites from a Top 10, so I’m deliberately capping it at my Top 5 so that all the faves I leave off are in good company!

5. Splash Mountain
4. Tower of Terror
3. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
2. Haunted Mansion
1. The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man

Those are probably my 5 favorite attractions, period, regardless of classification.
 
Some strange definitions of dark rides. BTTF? So Pandora counts? I can’t in good faith argue either of those. Even Splash or ToT I feel weird putting in there as they are a flume ride and drop tower. But to stay consistent with the others, I’ll include them. If I didn’t, I’d add Haunted Mansion and SSE as 9 and 10. The fact Gringotts or MiB or Mummy aren’t on my list just goes to show how many amazing dark rides are out there. And if I went to Shanghai and after Rise opens, I’d likely have to remove another ride in the top 10.

Note that I only did current rides to make it easier.

10) Sindbad - I don’t know what the song was or what was being said, but I love that little tiger.

9) Reign of Kong - Good queue, good music, great AA. Sue me, I love it

8) Poohs Honey Hunt - The trackless vehicles and “dance” scene make this. It’s a flipping Pooh character that I couldn’t care less about yet I’d ride this over and over and over if I was able.

7) Mystic Manor - Haunted mansion on steroids.

6) DL Pirates (haven’t done Shanghai) - Long and detailed.

5) Forbidden Journey

4) Tower of Terror - Drop towers were just big ugly towers that went up and down before ToT. No drop tower can compare still to this day.

3) Journey to the Center of the Earth - I never saw a POV of this and I said “this ride is awesome” at the climax. Great, surprising ride with insane queue and detail.

2) Amazing Spider-Man - The OG Hybrid. Still beats all new rides and it’s 20 years old.

1) Splash Mountain - my favorite ride of all time. The music, the length, and the fact it revolutionized flume rides; it just can’t be beat for me.
Me too on Splash Mountain. It's my 'favorite' attraction....and always puts a constant smile on my face.
 
Can only go off of what I have been on, so here goes nothing:

10. Men In Black Alien Attack
9. Peter Pan's Flight
8. Haunted Mansion
7. Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts
6. ET's Adventure
5. Harry Potter and The Forbidden Journey
4. Tower of Terror
3. Splash Mountain
2. The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman
1. Revenge of The Mummy


Not sure if Mummy is still considered a dark ride but, based on my name, its ranking shall come of no surprise.
 
I can’t remember much of my experience at WDW since I was 5 when I last visited, so I’ll exclude their rides from my list.

10. River Adventure

9. E.T. Adventure

8. MIB: Alien Attack

7. Curse of Darkastle (rip)

6. Transformers: The Ride

5. Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man

4. Reign of Kong

3. Escape from Gringotts

2. Revenge of the Mummy

1. Forbidden Journey
 
This is a bit tricky, because nowadays, the lines of what a "dark ride" is has really blurred thanks to so many attractions blending elements. So it's a very subjective thing as to what even qualifies as a dark ride anymore. For me personally, I don't count Tower of Terror/Guardians... that's a themed drop ride, IMO. Star Tours/Simpsons/BTTF/FOP/et al are motion simulator attractions, so I don't count any of those. Big Thunder is a themed roller coaster.

To me, a dark ride is generally a slower paced attraction (thereby eliminating all coasters/drop rides) where the emphasis is on the visual experience and physical sets (thereby eliminating screen based attractions).

I can't really rank them, but I'd have to put FJ as #1. Indy also qualifies.

And I'm totally shocked not a single person on this thread (that I saw as I scanned quickly) mentioned what is generally considered one of the greatest classic dark rides: Haunted Mansion at Knobels. Maybe not enough here have been on it? But it really isn't to be missed!

Disney's Haunted Mansion, Pirates, and all the Fantasyland rides are right up there. Strangely, I also love Spaceship Earth, and still have fond memories of Horizons, World of Motion, and Great Movie Ride.

While were at it, Adventure Thru Inner Space had a very lasting impact on me as well, and I haven't seen that mentioned much here.

And we can't forget Calico Mine Ride and Timber Mountain Log Ride!

On a maybe controversial note, I find Poseidon's Fury quite enjoyable, and would actually count it, despite it being more of a tour/show. But the physical sets (really, it's all about the water tunnel) are impressive, especially on a first viewing.

And while I haven't yet been to Elfting, most of those dark rides look superb.
 
How can a simulator be a dark ride? Dark rides require a certain level of show lighting and physical sets. So since this thread got bumped here's my unranked list based on what I've ridden so YMMV. These are also only for open attractions so no JII, Horizons, DarKastle, etc.

  • Radiator Springs Racers - DCA
  • Pirates of the Caribbean - DL
  • Alice in Wonderland - DL
  • Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye - DL
  • Rodger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin - DL
  • Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey - IOA
  • Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man - IOA
  • Men in Black Alien Attack - USF
  • Haunted Mansion - MK
  • Splash Mountain - MK
 
My updated Orlando Top 5:

5. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (potentially stretches dark ride classification, but I don't care!)
4. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
3. Rise of the Resistance
2. Haunted Mansion
1. The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
 
I want to preference with I have not been to Disneyland in Tokyo, ROTR or the Mystic Manor.

As of today my favorite Dark Rides are (no order just my top 5)

Splash Mountain
Pirates (Disneyland)
Haunted Mansion
harry potter and the forbidden journey
Indiana Jones temple of the Forbidden Eye

Also want to say Spiderman Pre HD update even would be my number 6
 
1) Spider-Man
2) Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull
3) Forbidden Journey
4) Rise of the Resistance
5) Haunted Mansion
6) Pirates (DL)
7) Sindbad' Storybook Adventure
8) Splash Mountain
9) Escape from Gringotts
10) Skull Island: Reign of Kong
 
1) Spider-Man
2) Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull
3) Forbidden Journey
4) Rise of the Resistance
5) Haunted Mansion
6) Pirates (DL)
7) Sindbad' Storybook Adventure
8) Splash Mountain
9) Escape from Gringotts
10) Skull Island: Reign of Kong

Based off your avatar, I have a gut feeling your number one might change in the not too distant future.

Next Sunday AD

*******************

Anyways, I have no idea how I would rank Disney ones in there, so I'm just going to post my top three at Universal: Spidey, Forbidden Journey, and Men in Black.
 
Based off your avatar, I have a gut feeling your number one might change in the not too distant future.

Next Sunday AD

*******************

Anyways, I have no idea how I would rank Disney ones in there, so I'm just going to post my top three at Universal: Spidey, Forbidden Journey, and Men in Black.
I sure hope it changes! Trying not to hype it up too much in my head though haha
 
1) Spider-Man
2) Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull
3) Forbidden Journey
4) Rise of the Resistance
5) Haunted Mansion
6) Pirates (DL)
7) Sindbad' Storybook Adventure
8) Splash Mountain
9) Escape from Gringotts
10) Skull Island: Reign of Kong
Do you go on Journey to the Center of the Earth?
 
Just to qualify my list, I don't count roller coasters as dark rides and there has to be some track or path so rides like Flight of Passage, Mummy or Hex at Alton Towers don't qualify as dark rides for me. However, Gringott's is the only exception for that rule as it's 80% dark ride and 20% coaster so that will count as a dark ride for me lol. I have also not been to any of the Asian Disney parks and have only been to the parks in UK, France, and Italy. Here is my top 10 list:

1) Rise of the Resistance
2) Indiana Jones Adventure
3) Amazing Adventures of Spider-man
4) Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
5) Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway
6) Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringott's
7) Radiator Springs Racers
8) Pirates of the Caribbean (DL)
9) Haunted Mansion (MK)
10) Transformers
 
Top