Just what is the most popular ride at Walt Disney World? Ask 10 people that question, and you’re liable to get 10 different responses. There’s really no way to come up with a truly definitive answer, but a recent survey came to the conclusion that the most popular attraction at Disney World is one you can’t even ride anymore, Splash Mountain. And the second most popular ride is one that used to exist at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, but can now only be found in Florida, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
The travel planners at MagicGuides recently conducted a survey to determine the best ride at Walt Disney World, and that's how it was concluded that Splash Mountain is the most popular. It may be somewhat surprising to hear that a ride that’s been closed at Disney World since January is the best, but the fact is that the way “best” was determined here likely had everything to do with why the attraction came out on top.
The three metrics used were Google search volume, Instagram hashtags, and Trip Advisor ratings. It's worth mentioning that two of those three were likely largely influenced by the fact that Splash Mountain has been known to be closing for two years before it happened. To be sure, the numbers released show that the search volume for now-closed ride dwarfs that of any other ride in the top 15. Only two attractions, Splash and Space Mountain, had an average monthly search volume of six figures. Interestingly, Splash still saw an average search volume well above that of Space, which came in third in the ranking.
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That search volume was likely largely because people were looking for information about the ride closing or perhaps looking for conversations to be had about the ride closing. Social media activity around the ride absolutely exploded once it was confirmed to be closing, so it’s not surprising there were a lot of Instagram hashtags about it.
The rest of the list is a bit easier to get behind. Although, it is interesting to see the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror as number two on the list. While the drop ride has always been popular, this level of popularity perhaps does show just why people are still upset the ride was rethemed at Disneyland Resort. The version of Tower of Terror at Disney California Adventure was transformed into Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout. So while a drop attraction still exists there, it’s very different, and not everybody appreciates the change.
Space Mountain comes in at number three, which isn’t that much of a shock as the ride is a classic. Other notable entries include Rise of the Resistance at number five, and the classic Haunted Mansion at number seven. The Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, which has been rumored for a retheme, comes in at number 11, and the resort’s newest attraction, Tron: Lightcycle Run, comes in at number 13. That latter figure is impressive considering the ride has only been around for a couple of months, so it hasn’t had long to built those metrics. We can guess that ride will be moving up any future list.
You can't help but see the incredible irony in these rankings, considering the fates of Splash Mountain and Disneyland's Tower of Terror. Regardless of the data and elements that led to their positions though, the buzz is a testament to just how popular both attractions were.
