Herb LeibacherTouring Plans surveys thousands of Disney World visitors every year asking them everything from whether they rented a car to whether they used a touring book and what kind. Guests can report if they stayed in one of the Disney resort hotels and what their room number was, how the food court was, and how much they enjoyed the pool.
The survey is extensive, and they ask anything and everything you could possible think of.
Each attraction in Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon, and Disney’s Blizzard Beach is rated from one to five stars for each age group of preschool, grade school, teens, young adults, over 30, and seniors.
While there is a lot of great stuff to see all over Disney World, not everything can be the best. Here are the six lowest rated attractions in Disney World according to Touring Plan’s surveys.
6. Fossil Fun Games
Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama in Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s Dinoland USA is a kitschy land in which the back story has Chester and Hester taking advantage of the popularity of the nearby Dinosaur Institute (home of the Dinosaur attraction) by erecting a tacky carnival complete with carnival games and cheap prizes. Personally, I think the Dinoland backstory is rich and underappreciated.
Perhaps Dino-Rama is rated so low because visitors don’t understand the backstory.
These games are in an area called Fossil Fun Games. These games are one of the lowest rated attractions in Disney World with a 3.3/5 rating, which honestly doesn’t surprise me.
I think the problem here is that Disney doesn’t communicate the backstory well. If guests don’t understand the context of the area, it’s hard to understand the larger picture.
5. Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade
The Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade in Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland is an old west style “shooting” game. The inside is dark with lights as targets in an desert landscape. It’s surprising that this arcade survives because Disney removed any semblance of guns in 2015, but it does. However, with a rating of 3.2/5, it might not survive much longer.
Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade is a bit outdated and they don’t offer any prizes!
Perhaps one reason why the rating is so low is not because the game is really that bad but because there are no prizes and no way to win or lose the game.
4. Journey into Imagination with Figment
Visitors either love or hate Journey Into Imagination with Figment. The original version was a beloved attraction, and Figment became the unofficial official mascot of Epcot. Through a series of changes with Dreamfinder and Figment being removed, replaced, and re-added, hardcore fans remained, but new visitors are less than enthusiastic about the dated attraction.
Figment is certainly one of the most lovable purple dinosaurs I can think of, but you have to admit he’s a bit outdated.
The problem here, again, is that Disney didn’t do a good job of communicating the history of Figment. New guests don’t understand it. The attraction rated 3.2/5. With such a low rating and a dramatic makeover promised for Epcot’s Future World in particular, Figment could be on the chopping block again.
3. Circle of Life
Circle of Life is also in Epcot’s Future World in The Land Pavilion. The attraction uses The Lion King characters, Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa to tell “An Environmental Fable” about how humans are destroying the planet.
If that sounds harsh, it is. The video, which is over 20 years old, is low quality, and can be quite scary to impressionable young kids (and some adults). Perhaps that’s why the attraction was rated 3.2/5.
Circle of Life isn’t really relevant to today’s audience, and it can even be frightening for kids.
The show is in an air-conditioned theater, so if you need to escape the heat, it’s not a terrible choice. However, when Living with the Land is close by and has very little wait, it’s a better option. Guests also used to use Circle of Life as a time filler while they waited for their Soarin‘ FastPass return time, but digital FP+ and a third theater have made wait times over there more manageable too.
2. Innoventions East
Innoventions was built to be the home of next level technology, but it quickly became outdated. Today, Innoventions East holds one remaining attraction called Colortopia sponsored by Glidden. The attraction is relatively new and fine for what it is, but it’s hardly cutting-edge technology, which is probably why the building receives a 2.6/5 rating.
Colortopia is the only attraction left in Innoventions East, and Innoventions West is completely closed!
It’s worth mentioning that saying that there’s an Innoventions East implies the existence of Innoventions West. This building exists, but it is empty with the last attraction, Sum of All Thrills, closing in early 2015.
I really hope that Disney’s Imagineers do some amazing things with these two buildings during the reimagining of Epcot. They have so much potential with the right sponsors.
1. Stitch’s Great Escape
Stitch is a cute little alien who is both mischievous and loveable at the same time. He sells a ton of merchandise, but he is mostly a character for kids. However, Stitch’s Great Escape is a dark-theater attraction with unfriendly seating for families and a scary premise with lots of frightening stimuli. None of these things are appropriate for the target audience.
Stitch may sell a lot of merchandise but the attraction is the lowest rated in all of Disney World.
These things lead to it being the lowest rated attraction in all of Disney World at 2.1/5
The good new is that rumor has it that Stitch is on his way out. Right now, people are suspecting that Wreck it Ralph will be taking over. Disney hasn’t confirmed anything yet except that Tron will be joining the attraction lineup in Tomorrowland between Tomorrowland Speedway and Space Mountain.
Which Disney World attraction would you rate the lowest?