First, I decided to look beyond roller coasters, and instead offer the most overrated attraction at each of the parks I've visited in the past year or so. If I've not listed a park, it's either because I haven't visited it recently, or I didn't feel like slapping the "overrated" label on anything there.
Now, to me, to be "overrated" a ride must be highly rated by many in the first place. There's no point I see in declaring reviled coasters such as "Son of Beast" overrated, as Arthur does. They're hated, as they should be. "Worst" attractions would be a different list. These are simply the attractions I consider not as good as many people say. Some of them are fine rides, otherwise.
Disney's Animal Kingdom: Dinosaur
Sorry, but every time I've ridden this it's been too dark for me to see much of anything, making it a far less exciting show than it should be.
Disney's Hollywood Studios: Rock n' Roller Coaster
Nice launch, but then this ride coasts through a faux LA that reminds me of DCA's un-missed Superstar Limo.
Disney's California Adventure: Soarin' Over California
The conceit of the ride traps the camera in the air, robbing it of connecting with detail on the ground. A forgettable soundtrack doesn't help.
Disneyland: Indiana Jones Adventure
Once great, now so poorly maintained that many effects are missing and you notice your headache more than the narrative on the ride.
Dollywood: Mystery Mine
Whatever you do, don't actually keep your head back against the rest on this often slow and awkward ride. Ouch.
Kings Island: The Beast
Ditto what Arthur said. The most overrated coaster in America.
Knott's Berry Farm: Montezooma's Revenge
Another one-trick pony, undeserving of its high rating. All I can say is that it's better than its neighbor, the useless Jaguar.
SeaWorld Orlando: Journey to Atlantis
Loved it when it first opened, but it isn't holding up. Please, Blackstone, pay for the rehab this attraction desperately needs.
SeaWorld San Diego: Journey to Atlantis
At least Orlando still has the dark ride element in its version of the ride.
Six Flags Magic Mountain: Scream
Nice when it first opened, but the unforgiving and aesthetically oppressive parking lot setting has rendered this the roughest B&M coaster I've ridden.
Universal Studios Hollywood: Revenge of the Mummy
Such an abridged version of the Florida 'Mummy,' you can't ride this one without coming away disappointed, if you've ridden the east coast version.
Universal's Islands of Adventure: Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls
Themeing gaps within the mountain claim the title for what's probably the best ride on this list, otherwise.
Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom: Pirates of the Caribbean
Again, another abridged version of an audience favorite. This time, it's the east coast fans who suffer.
* Update: If I'm listing overrated attractions today, you can pretty much guess what I'll be listing tomorrow, right? :-)
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Also, Journey to Atlantis is by far the best of the log flume rides in Florida (much better than Splash Mountain, Jurassic River thingy, and the one at Busch Gardens Tampa). Multiple drops and nice theming. I was just there and I don't think that it was on the top of many people's must do lists (i.e. wasn't getting as much hype as some of the other rides....certainly not Manta).
How bout the Simpsons ride? I like the Simpsons and loved the theming, but the ride was beyond ordinary. Certainly nowhere near the quality level of Spiderman.
The most overrated ride at Kings Island? Firehawk. Flying coasters are novel rides, however this one leaves me sort of uninspired. I was uninspired when it was X Flight at Geauga Lake, and I'm pretty unmoved by it now. The line is always too long, partially because they only use one of the stations and it takes several minutes to load a train. I want it to be a better ride...I really do, but it's just not. I'm glad for Kings Island that it's found new life and is popular at their park, but unless the line is really short, I walk past without a thought.
Firehawk is, indeed, a bit overrated.
Firehawk's too popular for what it delivers, but I suspect that the lines will diminish over time, and people will pretty much forget about it within a year or two. So I didn't feel it rated high enough to be overrated, if that makes sense.
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin is also overrated. The hard to shoot fixed guns and cheap painted plywood sets make it vastly inferior to MIB.
I agree with Rock and Roller Coaster. It looks so cheap, and the ride itself isn't that much fun. The preshow is painful to watch.
I think Spider-man is over-rated. It is a great ride, but it is often at the top of greatest attraction lists.. and it isn't timeless enough for that honour. It also doesn't have a lot of re-ride value for me.
My vote for one of the most overrated attractions? Millennium Force. Blah. I enjoy the first drop and the speed is nice, but aside from that, meh. I feel like the ride lacks excitement & completely lacks airtime. I'll ride when lines are short, but otherwise I'll stick with Magnum.
The trouble with suspended coasters is that the sightline is impaired. The trouble with this coaster is the decision to make two of them left the designers with less space (property) to work with thus reducing the length of the ride.
And shame on you Mr. Niles for putting Rock n Rollercoaster on that list. The launch and first inversions are fantastic.
Looking at the top 10 North American parks on the right of the web page, I would add a few of my own:
MK/DL:
Jungle Cruise (a dilapidated, out of date yawner), Mad Tea Party (a common carnival spinner), Cinderella's/King Arthur's Carousel (a couple of merry-go-rounds), and Autopia (a midway cars-on-a-rail ride) all have 7/10 or 8/10 ratings. A 4/10 or 5/10 would be more fitting in every case.
Epcot:
Reflections of China and Impressions de France get an 8 and 9 rating respectively. Sure they are nice shows, but come on... 7/10, maybe.
DHS:
The American Idol Experience gets a 7/10... I refuse to accept that a "Gong Show" copycat gets a "Commendable" rating. Chuck Barris should be collecting royalties from this ripoff.
DAK:
Primeval Whirl and the entire Dino-Rama/Chester & Hester area should get a big fat 0/10. That section of this great park just blows!
USF:
As someone else said, an 8/10 for Jaws is too high, as is an 8/10 for ET. And, I am sorry to say, MIB is way overrated at a 9/10. I like all three attractions, but two 6's and an 7 would be more appropriate.
SWO:
Both Journey to Atlantis and Wild Arctic are a bit overrated, and should be dropped a couple points each.
DCA:
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is not nearly as good at DCA as it is at DHS. Should be a 7/10. Maliboomer and King Triton's Carousel each getting a 7/10 is blasphemy. The former should be removed from the park completely and the latter should be dropped to a 4.
IOA:
A 7/10 rating is too high for Doctor Doom's Fearfall (5/10, maybe), and Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges, while very good, is not a 9/10.
USH:
Haven't been in so long, it would be unfair for me to rate anything!
And two local parks:
Worlds of Fun: Bamboozler (a round-up) and the Sea Dragon (a Chance Morgan pendulum ride) are both way overrated and deserve no more than a 4/10.
SFSTL: Mr. Freeze getting a 9/10 and Superman: Tower of Power getting an 8/10 make a mockery of this prestigious website. Freeze is fun (7/10), but Superman is weak (3/10).
There you have it. Can't wait for the underrated list tomorrow!
ET is a beautiful (in a weird way) dark ride, and has one of the best themed queue areas of any ride. I'd say that it is under-rated in its class of rides.
MK: Peter Pan's Flight (not worth the wait)
EPCOT: Rio del Tempo (worse with Donald)/ France (I know you love it Robert, but its so BORING)
DHS: Lights, Motors, Action
AK: Conservation Station (though I love Disney's Conservation stuff)
IOA: Dudley Do Right Ripsaw Falls/Jurassic Park
USO: The Mummy (yes)
SWO: Atlantis
SFGA: Iron Wolf/Dark Knight
For water slides at Splish splash Li the Dr vandarks tunnel of terror it is realy not worth it you twist once and drop into a enclosed funnel and the drop is not even big!!!
However...can I say that Expedition Everest is a little overrated? Especially if the Yeti is in B-show. Now it's a good ride, don't get me wrong, but I would have liked to see the ride a little longer.
Soarin is overrated for the wait that it always has, but I will def. get a fast pass for it every time.
Jungle Cruise is highly dependent on the skipper you get. That goes for the Great Movie Ride too. it's a small world, and Big Thunder Mountain (although classics) can be a little overrated too
Now dont' get me wrong i love all these rides, but yes they can be overrated at some points in time.
MK - Peter Pan's Flight (Every time I walk by i want to scream at the ppl waiting in a 2 hour line that i hope they enjoy the 2 min ride)
Epcot - Maelstrom (As being part Norwegian/Swedish I find this very boring and not very Maelstromy. I think there was one Viking)
DHS - Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular (If you've seen it once you never have to see it again...like most stunt shows)
DAK - Expedition Everest (Shock, I know. Don't get me wrong the themeing is ace. It is just a travesty how Disney has just let this thing go. I haven't been there in a while and I haven't heard anything on the effects being fixed or if the Yeti is up and running. I would gladly change my selection to It's Tough to be a Bug if everything has been fixed. But until then its just a roller coaster through some dark tunnels.)
IOA - The water ones. You know what im talking about.
USF - T-2 3d (So aged and outdated it's almost laughable)
BGW - Kind of a toughy but I would say Escape from Pompeii.
Kings Dominion - Flight of Fear (because Rebel Yell conquers all it sees)
But its just opinions folks. I know that Robert loves Impressions du France, a movie that usually puts my family to sleep (that could be the tasty champaigne though). I also know he is not a big fan of the Soarin music, something I like.
I happen to like O Canada which I do not think anybody really likes.
Its an a good discussion and nobody is saying that the said attractions stink. Using my picks, I think Peter Pan's Flight is highly overrated, but a fine ride to go on. The line just kills me and makes me wonder what the draw is to make people wait hours to ride this attraction.
So everybody should relax and put down their thoughts. Underrated will be interesting.
I think Soarin' is a good ride, but it is overrated. You have to try to enjoy it for what it is, rather than get caught up in the hype and the mania. Also, I hear that the front row is by far the most fun; I was toward the middle-back, so I don't think I fully appreciated the experience.
POTC at WDW isn't overrated; it's not that highly rated in the first place. It does suffer in comparison to the magnificent Disneyland version, but at least it recreates all the major set pieces. For an abridged version, it's not a bad one at all.
Indiana Jones Adventure may be somewhat overrated, only because the ride has been placed on such a lofty pedestal. Yes, some of the effects work sporadically or not at all; there is talk of a major refurbishment in 2010. I do think that Robert underrates Indy; he said in his Disneyland trip report that he never much liked the ride. C'mon, this is a great ride, even if it's seen better days.
Finally, Robert says that Rock n' Roller "coasts" through a faux L.A. It only coasts at the end of the ride, when it's slowing down. It is a great, fast and thrilling coaster until then. I agree that the launch is the best part, though. What's not to like about 0-60 in 3 seconds?
IOA -- Jurassic Park, just way too short, I feel that a great concept was valued engineered into mediocrity
USF -- Rip Ride Rockit, too many maneuvers in the first third and not nearly enough in the last two thirds. They got too gimmicky with this one.
USH -- Mummy, pretty terrible, what's with the awkward turntable section at the end? What a wasted opportunity
SeaWorld Orlando -- Atlantis, I'm with you Robert, the epic lack of maintenance on this one render the story incomprehensible
Disneyland -- Blue Bayou, OK its a restaurant, but the time needed for reservations combined with no wine with dinner and just mediocre food... I'm over it
DCA -- Soarin Over California, I love everything about the ride except what I feel was someone's sightline mistake-- the ride is only immersive from the top row
DHS -- RnR, but for different reasons that Robert mentioned, some of the cars are horribly jerky
Epcot -- Test Track, not only the ride itself but also the downtime makes this an easy choice
AK -- Finding Nemo the Musical, beautiful puppets and a couple catch-y songs aren't not to save the dreadful lighting and projections, and so-so scenic design (not to mention the bland exterior architecture)
WDW Resort -- Downtown Disney, still seems relatively popular but with a vacant center, the place feels really hollow. It's blow away by CityWalk at USO.
Cedar Point -- HalloWeekends, huge lines for weak mazes and just a disappointing experience
Kennywood -- Ghostwood Estate, I'll take the line as a popularity rating, and there's just no climax or ending here
I don't agree with a number of the rides mentioned on Robert's original list. I think that it's normal to become a little tired of an attraction if you've experienced it a number of times. That doesn't necessarily mean it's become hyped or overrated. It's just that you know every twist and turn and may be so familiar with it that it's become old hat to you. For the virgin rider it may still have the qualities you once recognised.For them it may still have the WOW factor that you've now ,sadly, lost.
Also, a couple have been mentioned that I want to second...
Expedition Everest with a broken Yeti is a huge choke (and yes, the Yeti is still in Dance Club/Show mode). While the attraction's star is inoperable, the coaster can only be considered overrated.
And I totally agree on Escape From Pompeii at BGW. What a waste of theming. At least IOA's shoot-the-chutes ride (Jurassic Park) has an extended opening and some compelling animatronics (when they work). Pompeii does nothing for me, and yet the decorative touches are brilliant. Just not enough was done to the ride itself to make it more than the sum of its woefully average parts.
Magic Kingdom: Buzz Lightyear- Always a long wait, but to me, it just can't compete with Men in Black
EPCOT: Test Track- Just really don't see what the big deal is...
Hollywood Studios: Star Tours- Not sure it's really overrated, but definitely outdated.
Animal Kingdom: Not sure anything is rated too high there. I disagree with those who say "Dinosaur", I love that ride.
USF: The Simpsons Ride- Maybe its just becuase I'm a huge Back to the Future fan, but I was not impressed with the Simpsons Ride at all.
IOA: Jurrasic Park- Its a fun ride and all, but way too short...I just feel like it could have been so much more.
I'll agree that IOA's Jurassic Park is a bit short, but I loved it when I rode it last May (the AAs were working!). And that awesome T-Rex at the end gets 10/10 from me.
I can not deny the beauty of the themeing and detail put into the attraction-- and I admit as an overall experience Everest is less than bland. However when I think of the COASTER section it's self.... it just plain and simply sucks. It is nothing but a constant build up with no real pay off. A true thrill machine leaves your adrenaline up and heart pumping. On Everest at the end I just see mindless drones cheering at a coaster that they gaze upon with rose tinted glasses.
(Your comment about it being rusted to the ground was hilarious, btw...and probably true!)
And no, scramblers and Cedar Fair food flat out suck. Sadly. ;)
As for Everest, Anonymous Poster 76.26.184.25, don't misunderstand: if the Yeti were operating in A-mode, I would give the coaster highest praise. I absolutely love the thing. But until the attraction is brought back to the level of quality it was when I first rode it back in 2007, my Yeti protest must continue!
Y-E-T-I!
Mr. Rao I was simply agreeing with you that the ride is overrated- you clearly stated that if the Yeti worked the ride would be great in your eyes. I on the other hand don't care if it ever moves again-- that will not change the layout and track of the coaster. The Yeti will add to the experience (which as a whole I already admitted is 'less than bland')- but I refer to the actual coaster... which is blah!
Does anyone else remember that silly bird on a stick that used to appear a the top of lift hill #3 (where the fake track is broken)? What was that thing?! At first I thought Disney had wised up and removed it. Now with this yeti being broken for years issue, I wonder if that bird is just broken too- and maybe someday they will fix it!
Cedar Point: The Mantis. Oh yeah, I'm gonna get speared on a pike for this one. It's fun, no doubt. But I spend more time fighting off black-out and trying to keep my shoulders from cramping from the way the g-forces play at you than I do fully enjoying the ride. The +G-forces at several moments are just a notch too high. Fun ride and I always hit it up, but it's not as great as it is made out to be.
King's Dominion: Rebel Yell. Yeah I'm gonna get speared on a pike for this, too, but the Rebel Yell is, again, fun as hell, but not THAT great. C'mon, you mean to tell me it's more fun than the Grizzly? PLEASE. The airtime on the Rebel Yell and the turns and length of the ride overall doesn't compare to the Grizzly. It's got good historical and time value but...
It's Kingda Ka.
It's, at best, the fifth or sixth best ride in the park.
The record holder, over-rated? In my eyes, yes. KK gives you a great adrenaline rush, I'll grant that. And I'd never turn down a chance to ride it if the line is a half-hour or less..especially at night. But when I get off KK, I simply don't feel like I've had much of a "RIDE." Give me El Toro or Nitro any day.
Mike
Some horror/thriller movies capitalize too heavily on darkness to the point where you cannot understand what's going on. In a real-life environment, however, I find the dark element adds to it. If the dinosaurs were in brighter lighting, they might lose their effect (like Jurassic Park River Adventure at Islands of Adventure). The immobile pterodactyl is an embarrassment, but I consider it one of the most genuinely thrilling rides out there.
Disney's Hollywood Studios: Rock n' Roller Coaster
AGREE
Could be Disney's most overrated attraction. It's a one-trick pony. Once the launch is over, it loses all momentum.
Disney's California Adventure: Soarin' Over California
DISAGREE
I've never understood your disdain for this attraction, Robert. It especially hits home since it's my mother's favorite theme park attraction, one of the few "thrilling" rides she can withstand. Sure, the soundtrack is forgettable, but how many of them are memorable? Maybe the classics from X. Atencio and the Sherman brothers, but really, is theme park music ever that great? It's a mellow yet thrilling ride with beautiful visuals (and scents). What's not to like?
Frankly, California Screamin' is far more overrated, in my books. Even my easily-thrilled father (age 59) thought this was a yawn.
Disneyland: Indiana Jones Adventure
AGREE
Never understood the hype for this one. Tosses you around a lot, but the visuals are pretty dull.
SeaWorld Orlando: Journey to Atlantis
AGREE
Wow, that's a poor ride. Weak thrills, weak theme, and, for some inexplicable reason, Danny Elfman's Beetlejuice score plays throughout the climax. Still, at least it's not Wild Arctic.
Universal Studios Hollywood: Revenge of the Mummy
DISAGREE
Call me crazy, but I enjoyed the Hollywood version more than the Orlando one. I'd give this to Jurassic Park, which badly needs a refurbishment. The Mummy in Orlando is highly overrated - some great effects, but they're ruined by some tacky strobe light/glow paint props.
Universal's Islands of Adventure: Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls
AGREE
Talk about dilapidated. All the puns in the world couldn't save this attraction. At least the drop is genuinely thrilling.
Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom: Pirates of the Caribbean
DISAGREE
Abridged? Sure. Overrated? Hardly. Give this to Big Blunder Mountain Failroad. That third lift hill should, typically, prepare someone for the ultimate climax. Nay-nay. The drop is so puny that you barely get any momentum. If riding in the front seat, you reach the bottom of the hill before the back of the train has ascended the previous one.
I could give this to many Magic Kingdom rides, though. Peter Pan (the damn sails on your flying ship block the view). Dumbo (come on, kids, really?).
One more I gotta throw on there...
Epcot: Test Track.
As overrated as GM cars once were. 60 mph? The I-4 travels faster (and is more exciting).
When compared to its rival rides in Orlando the majority of riders would rank JTA below both Splash and Dudley. And within SWF JTA would easily be ranked below Manta and Kraken. So it seems to me to be rated exactly where it should be.
Sure SeaWorld did not (and could not) spend 100 mil on a single attraction like Disney. However they still produced a fun, and unique ride (how many other true water coasters are there in the US anyway?)!
If you're at Disney for Cedar Point-esque thrills, I think you've missed the point.
Disney is a family park, not a thrill park. If you want the maximum thrills, I'll get you a map to beautiful Sandusky, Ohio.
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