A Guide to the 7 Disney Movies Based On Rides

Ride Release Year: 1967

Movie Release Year: 2003

Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean Ride first opened on March 18th, 1967, and is considered to be one of Disney’s Most Immersive Rides in history. The ride itself includes plunging down waterfalls into the Pirates Grotto, navigating cannon fire between a fort and 12-gun galleon, dealing with drunk buccaneers, and engaging in sing-a-longs while also being on the lookout for Captain Jack Sparrow. The ride can currently be found at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Disneyland Paris, and Shanghai Disney.

As for the movies, all of the Pirates of the Caribbean’s are subsequently based on this ride beginning with The Curse of the Black Pearl in 2003, Dead Man’s Chest in 2006, At World’s End in 2007, On Stranger Tides in 2011, and Dead Men Tell No Tales in 2017. All five of these films have been led by Johnny Depp, and there is reportedly a reboot in development that is going to star Margot Robbie, which is something to look forward to in the future.

Ride Release Year: 1971

Movie Release Year: 2002

“Tear Down Country Bear Hall?!” We can’t be the only ones that remember The Country Bears from 2002 (who could ever forget “Straight to the Heart of Love”), but in turns that the attraction was actually around before the movie. Up and running since 1971, the Country Bear Jamboree was originally planned for Disney’s never-built ski resort, instead being moved to Florida. Okay, so the Jamboree technically isn’t a ride, but it is an experience with 18 Audio-Animatronics playing and singing all the classic jams during a 16-minute medley. 

Now as far as the movie goes, The Country Bears was released in 2002, and starred Christopher Walken, Daryl Mitchell, Diedrich Bader, Alex Rocco, and Haley Joel Osment in a film that centered around the disbanded Country Bears who unexpectedly have to come together again when their former concert hall is threatened with destruction. The film has since become one of those movies that is more appreciated with time as opposed to the era that it came out in.

Ride Release Year: 1955

Movie Release Year: 2000

Making our way over to EPCOT, next Mission: SPACE, the inspiration behind Disney’s 2000 film Mission to Mars. Now there’s been quite a few iterations of the Mission ride over the decades. The attraction originally opened as Rocket to the Moon at Disneyland in 1955, and as Flight to the Moon at Walt Disney World on Christmas Eve 1971. The Mars version of the ride was introduced in 1975 due to the fact that humans had already achieved going to the moon (hello Neil Armstrong).

Now simply called Mission: SPACE, the ride has mostly remained the same sans a few tweaks since, with riders being given the choice to either enjoy a thrilling simulated NASA-style mission to Mars, or a more gentle ride through space.

Mission to Mars the movie was a science fiction adventure movie starring Tim Robbins, Don Cheadle, Connie Nielsen, Jerry O’Connell, and Kim Delaney centering around the first manned mission to Mars that seemingly ends in disaster when a couple of members of the crew are supposedly killed. What happens next? Well, you have to watch to find out.

Ride Release Year: 1994

Movie Release Year: 1997

The Tower of Terror’s origin story dates back to 1994, when the original version of the attracton opened at what was then known as Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney Hollywood Studios) at Walt Disney World, with the ride being based on the television series that aired from 1959 to 1964. Roughly ten years later, Disney began putting the Tower of Terror ride at Disneyland Resort in California (which has since been changed to Avengers Campus as of 2021), Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan, and Disneyland Paris. The ride itself is a drop tower ride, with the Tower of Terror buildings being amongst the tallest at all Disney locations.

The movie, was a supernatural horror film starring Steve Guttenberg, Kirsten Dunst, and Nia Peeples as a journalist (Guttenberg) and his respective helpers (Dunst and Peeples) tasked with investigating a spooky hotel elevator at the center of a 1939 investigation in which five people mysteriously disappeared after getting on. At the moment, Tower of Terror can not be found on any streaming platforms, so unfortunately that means having to settle for the “old school” way of watching. Hopefully one day that will change!

Ride Release Year: 1969

Movie Release Year: 2003

If spooky Halloween rides are your thing, then The Haunted Mansion is right up your alley. The attraction takes you through for a grave journey through the labyrinth of haunted chambers that features the slightly creepy Ghost Host gliding you through a realm of a haunted estate, and through ghost, ghouls, and supernatural surprises. Seance rooms and graveyards are also a part of the haunted journey, making The Haunted Mansion quite possibly Disney’s scariest attraction. The ride can currently be found at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland.

The Haunted Mansion film was released in November 2003, and starred Eddie Murphy as a workaholic real estate agent guilted into taking his two children on a vacation after being called out by his wife for not spending enough time with them. While on the road, the family makes a stop at an eerie mansion that Jim is trying to sell, only to discover that the mansion is indeed haunted.

What follows is a ghostly adventure worth checking out if you haven’t already seen the movie. A new version of The Haunted Mansion featuring an A-List cast consisting of Rosario Dawson, LaKeith Stanfield, Owen Wilson, Jared Leto, and Wynona Ryder amongst others, is set to be released August 11th, 2023.

Ride Release Year: 1971

Movie Release Year: 2015

The Tomorrowland Speedway opened on October 1st 1971 as part of the “New Tomorrowland,” which included a complete rebuild of the land and its respective scenery altogether. The ride is a fun one as guests put the pedal to the metal in a gas-powered car that accelerates around sharp bends and iconic attractions making it super fun and nostalgic. 

Now the Tomorrowland movie, which stars George Clooney and Britt Robertson, is actually focused more on Tomorrowland as a whole, as the main character Casey Newton (Robertson) finds herself instantly transported to the city of Tomorrowland whenever she touches a lapel pin with the letter T on it. She later goes on to recruit a scientist with previous visits to Tomorrowland (Clooney), and the two embark on a journey through the magical city.

Ride Release Year: 1955

Movie Release Year: 2021

Jungle Cruise is another ride that debuted in the 1955 crew The first installation of the ride was introduced at Disneyland in 1955, drawing inspiration from a 1955 documentary called The African Lion, and the 1951 film The African Queen starring Katharine Hepburn. The ride can be found at various different Disney Parks including Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, and Hong Kong Disneyland as a part of the Adventureland section, as guests embark on a scenic and comedic boat tour of exotic rivers across Asia, Africa, and South America. 

2021’s Jungle Cruise is the latest film adaptation based on a Disney ride, releasing domestically on July 30th, 2021. The movie stars Emily Blunt and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as a Doctor (Blunt) and a sarcastic wisecracking skipper (Johnson) who explore the Amazon in search of an ancient tree. The film was a success, and a sequel is currently in development.