The Most Popular Disney World Ride Is Actually Shut Down Right Now
A new analysis shows which attractions are (or, uh, were) most loved by visitors to the park.
It goes without saying that Walt Disney World is a magical place. Its four parks entail 43 square miles of merriment, and that's plenty of opportunity to enjoy delicious food and drinks and take in all the sights and sounds of what is actually the world's largest theme park.
But let's face it—the true stars of the Disney World show (besides The Mouse himself) are the rides, and there are plenty of them. In fact, Disney World is home to over 50 rides, which means it's also home to over 50 almost certainly giant lines to ride said rides. Which ones are worth the wait?
Travel agency MagicGuides just released an analysis of all of Disney World's rides to help Disney World visitors plan their next trip and ranked the best ones based on three key metrics. The analysis was based on each ride’s number of Instagram hashtags, its Tripadvisor ratings, and its average monthly search volume.
The result? The most popular ride at Disney World is one that is actually shut down right now. That's right, Splash Mountain came out on top. Soon to be reimagined as a The Princess and the Frog-inspired ride called Tiana's Bayou Adventure, the attraction scored well across all three metrics. The closed ride's popularity shouldn't be all that surprising, considering people were buying "authentic" water from the ride's last day in operation on eBay earlier this year.
Rounding out the top three were two more perennial Disney World favorites: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Space Mountain.
Here is the full ranking of Disney World rides based on the MagicGuides analysis:
1. Splash Mountain
2. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
3. Space Mountain
4. It's a Small World
5. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
6. Expedition Everest
7. Haunted Mansion
8. Big Thunder Mountain
9. Star Tours
10. Jungle Cruise
11. Rock 'n' Roll Coaster Starring Aerosmith
12. Avatar Flight of Passage
13. TRON Lightcycle/Run
14. Toy Story Mania
15. Soarin' Around the World
The analysis also shared which attractions were most popular in each state, and Splash Mountain ranked first in 49 states. The lone hold-out was Florida, which preferred Epcot's new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind ride.
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