Disneyland Park is an American classic. Even people who have never been to the park can name at least one or two rides off the top of their heads! Most of the attractions at Disneyland are can’t miss attractions – Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride in particular is one of my favorites! Yet despite the fact that I could ride every ride at Disney multiple times and not get bored, I know that sometimes families have to pick and choose due to time constraints. Sometimes it just isn’t feasible to do it all in one trip. No worries! If you HAVE to skip any rides, the 4 I have listed here are very overhyped. As much as I love them, if someone told me they had never ridden them – let’s just say, you wouldn’t be missing much.
Here are the 4 most overhyped Disneyland attractions that you can skip!
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The Matterhorn
Of all the Disney “mountains” the Matterhorn is by far the oldest – and therefore the roughest – roller coaster in the parks. Despite multiple updates over the years and refurbishments, this ride still tends to throw me around far more than other coasters. As you zip around the track, new state of the art yeti animatronics have been added in recent years to update the ride, but other than that it remains a rather bland roller coaster. It makes sense in Expedition Everest in Animal Kingdom, but is Switzerland known for yetis? I didn’t think so.
Standing in line for this ride is probably one of the worst lines in Disney as well. There’s little to no shade, and despite being a roller coaster, it seems to always be rather slow loading. Unless you grab a Fastpass, or you’re trying super hard to ride every ride in the park, I’d recommend skipping this in favor of the other three mountains – Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain.
Mad Tea Party
Don’t get me wrong, I love all things Alice in Wonderland. I have a giant tattoo of Cheshire Cat after all! Still, Mad Tea Party is one of those rides I can always skip. I honestly don’t think I’ve ridden this ride since 2011, easily.
Why is it so high on my overhyped list? For one, it’s literally just spinning in circles. Some people like to claim their cups, claiming the go faster or slower than the other colors. Yet every time I’m standing in line watching the ride, I feel like it’s just a random draw combined with arm strength of whoever is riding at the time. Additionally if you get motion sick, this is NOT a ride you should be considering.
Add to that the fact that it’s a slow loading ride, and you must wait for each ride to finish before moving it, it’s just a waste of time. Stop by and take a picture or two in front of the adorable cups (I will admit, the aesthetic of the ride is GORGEOUS) and enjoy the music as you stand in line for the nearby Alice in Wonderland dark ride – an outdated, but much better option if you love Alice like I do.
Star Tours
Speaking of getting motion sick…
I love Star Wars. I am SO excited to finally experience Galaxy’s Edge in just a few weeks – but one attraction I skip every time I’m at the parks is Star Tours. The primary reason is that I get very motion sick on motion simulator rides, which is a real shame. I love the idea that you get a new combination of video each and every time you ride, but it’s just not worth it for me to sacrifice the rest of my day feeling woozy as I recover from the ride. The last time we went on it, we traveled deep into the waters of Naboo with Jar Jar Binks and were nearly eaten by a giant fish – we were thrown around so much, even my sister felt nauseous, and she hardy ever gets motion sick on rides!
Now that Galaxy’s Edge is open, Star Tours just seems out of place. With Smugglers Run now open, I feel the popularity of Star Tours is going to drop significantly. I have yet to experience it, but I’ve heard a flight on the Falcon is much smoother than Star Tours. If the ride is smoother, and more interactive with the roles of pilot, engineer, etc, I imagine most people will start ditching Star Tours for Smugglers Run before long.
Dumbo
Finally, Dumbo is another ride you can skip if you’re short on time. It’s one of the quintessential Fantasyland rides – who wouldn’t want to ride an elephant?? Little kids have fun picking the color of their elephant, and enjoy controlling Dumbo as he moves up and down in the air. Unfortunately, just like Mad Tea Party, it’s a very slow loading ride. Due to its tame nature, Dumbo is a must do for young babies and toddlers. Therefore, it almost always has a long line.
There are many other rides for young kids that move much faster. It’s a small world, Pinocchio, Snow White’s Scary Adventures, and even the Carousel often have shorter waits and are great for young kids (if they can handle Snow White, of course!) Unless your little one is insisting on it, or you’re looking for the perfect Instagram shot of yourself flying Dumbo, I recommend skipping it.
One of the reasons I love Disneyland is that I can actually do most rides – if not ALL attractions – in the park during one trip. However, if you have only a limited amount of time, these 4 attractions can be skipped without stealing away any magic from your trip. For more information on Disneyland you HAVE to check out the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland! This is my favorite Disney guide hands down. They go in-depth and review every attraction, show and dining option at Disneyland, making planning for your trip a breeze. They have a WDW version as well!
What are your thoughts on this? Which rides would you recommend skipping at Disneyland? Let me know in the comments below!
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