When I took my kids to Disneyland for the first time earlier this year, they immediately understood why it’s known as The Happiest Place on Earth. We had a great day at the park — but what they loved and what I loved when I went there as a kid did not always sync up.
In fact, some of my childhood favorites elicited some of the biggest shrugs from my own children. (Don’t worry; I grounded both of them for the unforgivable sin of daring to disagree with me about the merits of various Disneyland rides.) Several iconic Disneyland attractions delighted them; they adored Pirates of the Caribbean and they still talk about how we loved Space Mountain so much we went on it twice. (Then we had Dole Whip at midnight, because I am incredible father.)
Meanwhile, other supposed Disneyland classics did nothingc for them, and it wasn’t until I saw those rides through their eyes that I could recognize just how dated some parts of Disneyland have become.
Keep in mind: Dated doesn’t necessarily mean bad. Part of the reason people (and by people I mean me) return to Disney’s parks is to revisit the attractions of their youth, and to get back in touch with the way those rides made them feel. A state-of-the-art technical marvel will never be able to do that.
So I can acknowledge that the rides and attractions listed below might be a bit past their sell-by date. But that doesn’t make me like them any less — and in some cases, it only makes me love them more. Nostalgia is funny like that sometimes. With that in mind, here are the 12 most dated Disneyland rides and attractions, listed in the order they opened at the park.
Jungle Cruise
Debuted: July 17, 1955
Our very first stop during that recent family trip to Disneyland was the Jungle Cruise. To me, it’s quintessential Disney: Elaborate theming, tons of animatronics, and non-stop Dad jokes provided by a quippy boat captain. Despite various refurbishments, the ride was basically as I remembered it, and I had a great time reliving my childhood Jungle Cruise memories. My kids, on the other hand, were mostly baffled. This is Disneyland? A slow-moving boat ride through an endless river sparsely populated by some unconvincing robotic critters? Why not real animals? Why not some thrills? To a kid who wasn’t raised on the Jungle Cruise (and who does not get the references to the 75-year-old movie The African Queen) it does look pretty old fashioned — and that’s despite the fact that Disney already removed the attraction’s dated cultural stereotypes.
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
Debuted: July 17, 1955
Likewise, I dragged my kids onto my favorite old school Disneyland attraction, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. As we waited in line, I explained its history and appeal: How it is one of the few remaining attractions from Disneyland’s opening day, how it contains a shockingly dark sense of humor for the family-friendly park, how it ends with you literally getting struck by an oncoming train and sent to Hell. The nodded politely, hopped aboard the ride, and walked away asking how any of what they had experienced qualified as “wild.” And even I have to admit: As amusingly bleak as its story remains, the ride itself — an animatronic-free tour through a bunch of painted flats — is not exactly cutting edge.
READ MORE: 15 Once-Beloved Disney Rides That No Longer Exist
Main Street Cinema
Debuted: July 17, 1955
A movie theater has been a fixture on Disneyland’s main thoroughfare since the day Disneyland opened its doors in 1955. Originally the theater played all sorts of silent films, but eventually it settled into the attraction that remains today: A large room with screens lining the walls that cycle through a selection of classic Disney cartoons. For the vast majority of visitors, a trip to Main Street Cinema is the lowest of priorities; I’m not sure anyone cares about these vintage animated shorts anymore, which is why I’m a little surprised Disney hasn’t closed the theater to make room for another store or restaurant. Still, the programming does help to create the nostalgic mood that Main Street is meant to evoke and if you need a few minutes to decompress, it’s a nice place to chill out.
Frontierland Shootin’ Exposition
Debuted: July 17, 1955
It’s hard to conceive of a more old-fashioned theme park attraction than a shooting gallery — and a little hard to believe that Disneyland still has one 70 years after the park opened. But while Walt Disney World’s version of the Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade shut down for good in 2024, Disneyland (and Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris) still maintain theirs. Although the guns now fire infra-red light instead of the lead pellets of yesteryear, the very idea of giving kiddies a big ol’ rifle and letting them blast away at a bunch of old timey Western targets would immediately get shot down today. (Every possible pun intended.)
Storybook Land Canal Boats
Debuted: July 17, 1955
Another leisurely boat ride from Disneyland’s earliest days, back when the big selling point for attraction could be something as benign as “What if we made something that was … extremely small?” The Storybook Land Canal Boats take around five minutes to glide past a series of iconic Disney locations in miniature like the palace from Aladdin and the dwarfs’ house from Snow White, all while a guide describes the pastoral scenes. The very idea that the attraction, like the Jungle Cruise, is hosted by a flesh-and-blood human and not an audio recording, feels like something lifted from a bygone era — because that’s exactly what it is. (Even the marketing copy on the official Disneyland website describes the ride as a “gentle” boat tour, a word it’s hard to imagine the company using as a selling point for a new attraction today.)
Casey Jr. Circus Train
Debuted: July 31, 1955
Actually, looking at a bunch of miniatures was a big enough selling point for two O.G. attractions. The Casey Jr. Circus Train tours the exact same Storybook Land area as the Canal Boats, albeit in about three or four minutes instead of five or six, and with its own soundtrack of music and effects from its cinematic inspiration, 1941’s Dumbo. The ride was already dated enough in the 1990s that when Disney transported it to Europe for the Fantasyland of Disneyland Paris, they turned the basic concept into a kid-friendly roller coaster. And that was 30 years ago.
Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes
Debuted: July 4, 1956
Davy Crockett was basically the Marvel Cinematic Universe of the 1950s. Disney’s Davy Crockett TV miniseries was so popular it sparked a merchandizing bonanza, including rabid sales of Crockett’s signature coonskin cap, and inspired multiple Disneyland attractions based on various episodes. While the Mike Fink Keel Boats closed up shop in the late ’90s, Disneyland guests today can still (seasonally) ride the Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes, which are not powered by electricity or gas but by guests’ arms, as a pair of guides order their riders to row their little guts out as they circle the Rivers of America (and dodge the lumbering Mark Twain Riverboat, which shares the same waterway).
Every single aspect of this attraction is hopelessly dated – from the lack of a track you have to follow, to the small but persistent threat of falling into the water, to the 70-year-old theming inspired by a man who lived 250 years ago, to the snarky guides who do more yelling at you than rowing. And I have to tell you: That is why I adore it. If you want to actually get a feel for what Disneyland was like 70 years ago, grab an oar and head out on an Explorer Canoe. It’s kind of an unforgettable experience.
Disneyland Monorail
Debuted: June 14, 1959
In the 1950s, Disneyland’s monorail seemed like a preview of a bright future of clean public transportation. Today, the monorail, with its sleek design and solid safety record, serves more as a reminder of how crappy (and dirty) that future turned out to be. While the Monorail at Walt Disney World and even Tokyo Disney Resort both play a vital transportation function, shuttling guests between the various parks and hotels, the one in Disneyland is largely ornamental, circling between a station inside the park and one in the Downtown Disney shopping district. Even the endless track loop feel like a dated but very fitting summation of where all that hopeful optimism of the past got us.
Adventureland Treehouse
Debuted: November 18, 1962
When I was a kid, this was known as the Swiss Family Treehouse, based on the central location from the 1960 Disney movie Swiss Family Robinson. It was literally a treehouse. That’s it.
In 1999, Disney rethemed the walkthrough attraction to their new Tarzan animated movie. A few decades later, Tarzan was just as musty as the Swiss Family Robinson so it was time for a new theme. But while the house now has a new name “Adventureland Treehouse — Inspired by Walt Disney’s Swiss Family Robinson” the idea remains the same as the original from 60+ years ago, and guests still just wander up and through the elaborate structure. Like Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes, the combination of old theme, old source material, and the sheer number of stairs (“You mean I have to walk? Like, with my own legs?!?”) all make the Treehouse seem like a charmingly quaint throwback.
Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln
Debuted: July 18, 1965
After dazzling audiences at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, Walt Disney packed up his Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln attraction — and its cutting-edge (for 1964) audio-animatronic of Abraham Lincoln that could stand from a seated position — and brought it out to Disneyland. It’s remained there, off and on, since 1965 in various shows and formats.
When I saw it a few years ago, the whole Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln performance was as creaky as a 60-year-old robot. Me and a handful of guests who wandered into the Main Street Opera House were subjected to a lengthy history lesson about Lincoln and the United States, followed by an appearance from an updated Lincoln Audio-Animatronic, who still stood from his chair to deliver a rousing speech about freedom and patriotism. While Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln is currently closed to make room for the debut of the new Walt Disney — A Magical Life show (featuring an Audio-Animatronic Walt Disney, which doesn’t look all that much more convincing than the Lincoln one), the old show is expected to return “on a rotating basis” in the Main Street Opera House at some point in the future.
Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin
Debuted: January 26, 1994
Who Framed Roger Rabbit became a true pop cultural phenomenon in the late 1980s, and its blend of live-action and animation still looks magnificent almost 40 years later. But the movie itself never became a full-blown franchise; Disney produced no sequels and only made this one theme park attraction based on the film. That alone makes Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin feel like a little bit of a relic. The actual ride itself doesn’t help in this area either, as it’s a basic Disney dark ride with the added twist that starting midway through the attraction, guests can spin their ride vehicle.
It’s a fabulous idea, but the execution is really underwhelming. If the cars ever spun properly, they don’t anymore. Every time I ride Car Toon Spin, I practically break my arms off trying to turn that big wheel and make my Benny the Cab spin. (Watch the video below and you’ll see the riders struggling yourself.) Take a decades-old property and a ride mechanic that never seems to do what it’s supposed to, and you’ve got a Disneyland attraction whose best days appear to be behind it.
The Bakery Tour
Debuted: February 8, 2001
When it opened in 2001, Disney California Adventure was heavily themed around the various regions and sights of California. The Bakery Tour was part of an area called “Pacific Wharf” which was inspired by San Francisco — and where an attraction about sourdough bread made a little sense. But a few years ago, the Pacific Wharf area was redesigned to make it look like a location from Disney’s sci-fi animated movie Big Hero 6.
It’s been a little while since I’ve seen Big Hero 6; is there a scene where Baymax gives a monologue about how much he loves gluten? Regardless, the Bakery Tour isn’t even much of a tour. Guests walk past a couple windows and peek into one of Disney’s kitchens. At the end of the brief stroll, a cast member hands out free samples of sourdough. Baymax would be thrilled.
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