And Now For Something A Little Different — Re-Rideable Disneyland Attractions

Those of us in the Disney community love to ride and re-ride our favorite attractions over and over again. But let’s face it, there are some attractions where once you’ve done it, you’ve kinda done it, and there’s not a ton of reason to do it again. On the other hand, certain Disneyland attractions are specifically designed with the goal of providing a new and different experience over multiple rides. Read on for more about these unique attractions that encourage you to do them and then get right back in the queue!

Smuggler’s Run

When boarding Millinneum Falcon: Smuggler’s Run, you’ll be assigned a role — Pilot, Gunner, or Engineer. Different roles have different responsibilities during the experience (with Pilot seeming to be the consensus preferred role). Regardless of which role you end up with, having a different role is going to change your experience, and the collective performance of your crew is also going to have an impact upon how the ride goes. Between all of the potential for variation, there’s plenty of reason to want to ride Smuggler’s Run again, to try a different role, improve your team performance, or both.

Star Tours

Star Tours: The Adventures Continue is one of the most well-known attractions that is designed to be different each time you ride it, as it has long been a part of its marketing message. As you travel through the galaxy, there are dozens of unique ride segments that are randomized, such that there are literally hundreds of different combinations of scenes you could experience. This makes it likely that you’ll experience something new each time you ride, and extremely unlikely that you’ll experience the exact same ride twice over the course of a trip or, frankly, ever.

Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: BREAKOUT!

While Guardians is a “drop ride” in the mold of Tower of Terror, it is the scenes that really make it unique, and there are 6 different “shows” that you might experience any time you ride. Each grouping of scenes comes with its own music, storyline, and drop sequence. Also, they are all enjoyable in their own way, and if you’re a fan of this style of attraction, it’s definitely worth multiple rides to see them all.

Matterhorn Bobsleds

The iconic Matterhorn doesn’t have the same level of randomization that some of the listed attractions have, but it does have two completely different tracks. As I noted in a previous article, my experience is that the left track is the faster of the two, while the right track has more twists and turns. Make sure you try out both of them for the full experience!

Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters

Luigi’s is a trackless ride involving adorable Italian roadsters that glide around in concert to music.  While the core experience doesn’t change much — you’re still “dancing” around in these cars — there are five different songs used by Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters, and the choreography is different for each one. I’ve actually found that I enjoy just sitting and watching the ride while I take a break almost as much as riding, so that can be an easier way to “experience” the variations without standing in the queue over and over.

Turtle Talk With Crush

Turtle Talk is a fully interactive experience, with guests, usually children, asking questions of Crush the Turtle, who answers in real time. The questions and answers are different every time, and it’s the one attraction where you are absolutely guaranteed a unique experience every single time you do it.

And now, a few honorable mentions for rides that aren’t dramatically different, but contain some elements that change…

Grizzly River Run

The ride experience on Grizzly River Run is a known commodity and is what you would expect every time: get into a circular raft, and then get tossed about by the rapids for a few minutes. Lather, rinse (emphasis on rinse), repeat. What CAN change, is how wet you get, and that can vary wildly depending upon where you are in the raft, and just the luck of the draw. Sometimes, I get splashed, sometimes I get absolutely, soaked-to-the-bone drenched. There’s really no way to predict or plan for it, too, and that uncertainty adds a lot of fun to the ride!

Jungle Cruise

There is probably no attraction that can vary so much based upon the person guiding the experience as the world famous Jungle Cruise. While the core ride remains the same — as do the jokes — the delivery makes a huge difference. A skilled Skipper can make you laugh at jokes you’ve heard dozens of times, and all of the Skippers have their own style. It’s the best example I can think of of the concept of “the same, but different.”

Radiator Springs Racers

Radiator Springs Racers concludes with your roadster competing with another car–one of those cars is going to win, and one is going to lose. It’s a silly thing and it doesn’t dramatically change the ride experience, but there is something nice about being in the winning car.

Indiana Jones Adventure

The ride experience on Indiana Jones Adventure is going to be exactly the same every time, but there are some differences in the script and the effects at the beginning of the ride that rotate between 3 different versions. Also, Indy’s parting words as you’re leaving are randomized to one of several different phrases. The differences aren’t such that you should ride the attraction over and over to see them all, but it does add a little fun variation to the experience.

What is your favorite attraction to experience over and over again? Did we forget any of your favorites?  Let us know in the comments!