Disney Fans Reportedly Consider This “Horrific Hidden Gem” the Best Disney Ride of All Time

Disney’s Animal Kingdom sports some incredibly popular attractions, such as Avatar Flight of Passage and Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain. But according to these fans, the best Animal Kingdom attraction is none other than DINOSAUR.

Tucked away in a muted compound in DinoLand, USA, stands the Dino Institute—a fictional paleontological research group behind one of Disney’s best pre-shows.

The queue is an attraction in its own right, with real fossils on display. Once you make it through the queue and learn about your mission—to transport a 3.5-ton Iguanodon back to the present—the ride DINOSAUR begins.

For over 25 years, DINOSAUR has been whipping around Disney’s Animal Kingdom guests through a jungle of frightening dinosaurs, meteor showers, and an extinction event that’s truly larger than life.It’s a dark ride filled with bumpy, jerky turns and a heart-rate-pumping voice-over while you embark on your mission.

While some compare DINOSAUR to Disneyland’s Indiana Jones Adventure, most would say it’s a different animal entirely.

In a popular post on Reddit, Disney fans shared hilarious accounts of their prehistoric expeditions.

DINOSAUR☄️this ride still manages to scare me every trip!
byu/TheRoaringFork indisneyparks

This comment from u/Impossible_Bowler153 summed up the Disney World ride’s unsuspecting terror:

To be honest, I have been a terrible person a couple times on this ride. Most people I go with don’t think that it’s going to be that bad, but inevitably they will ask me “is this ride going to be scary?” To which I say, “It’s a Disney ride, how bad do you think it will be?”

Let’s just say, even though I find their reactions amusing, people do not trust me after this ride.

Another Redditor, u/callmesnackmaster shared how the ride has seeped into daily life:

Whenever I need to relieve some stress I just yell “WE’RE NOT GONNA MAKE IT!!!” at my family. It’s always good for a laugh.

Beyond the thrilling elements of the Animal Kingdom attraction, Redditors like u/Autoganz commiserated about the fear-stricken photos they couldn’t help but buy at the end of the ride:

​​I’ve been on four trips to WDW, and I’ve probably ridden it 8 times. I still haven’t managed to get a photo where I don’t look like I’m about to die.

Despite its name, this attraction isn’t reserved for your family’s dinosaur lover. It’s become a Disney Park staple for Guests of all ages, and just about every one of them can’t leave without purchasing their hilarious ride photo.

Not only is DINOSAUR a “horrific hidden gem,” as told by u/TheRoaringFork, but it’s also an unlikely fan-favorite. With the crowds flocking to Pandoara – The World of Avatar, you can ride DINOSAUR at least once—or twice, if you dare.

So, in short, what do you get when you take an impossible mission, an unhinged Jeep, and a dicey race through the late Cretaceous period littered with desperate calls screaming: “WE’RE NOT GONNA MAKE IT!”? Disney’s most terrifying ride—and arguably fans’ favorite of all time.

Have you had a chance to ride the DINOSAUR attraction in Animal Kingdom? Tell us about your experience in the comments below for a chance to be featured in a Disney Fanatic article!