By: Joseph M Cioppa
In this top five breakdown, I will showcase my personal list of the best theme park attractions as of 2025! I have been on all of these attractions, besides the one at number five which is located in Shanghai Disneyland. I am an avid Disney and Universal enjoyer, and have made many trips to other top theme parks such as Cedar Point in Ohio. With that said I hope you enjoy my list!
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure – Shanghai Disneyland
At number five, I picked Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure, located in Treasure Cove at Shanghai Disneyland. This ride opened on June 16th, 2016, opening along with the rest of Shanghai Disneyland!
This attraction is a magnetic powered dark ride that places guests inside of a boat as you acend on the journey to recover the sunken tresure. This ride is estimated to have cost Disney Imagineering around $450 million to make.
While I never have personally been on this ride, it is on the top of my list for attractions to visit! What really draws me in, is the rides aesthetic. For a water based dark ride there is not much thrill to be experinced, but the visuals and story telling far make up for it.
The lush detailed scenes in combination with the long list of effects such as sound, lighting, and even the use of the water, make this ride so immersive. It’s unlike the other Pirates rides you find at Disney’s other parks around the globe. The other pirates themed rides are just old, not updated, and filled with static scenes. But on this version, you feel like you’re part of the adventure. This can be attributed to the cutting edge technology Disney Imagineering used. This modern take on Pirates holds up very well almost 10 years later!
Ride POV DocumentDisney:
4. Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure – Universal Studios, Orlando, FL
At number four, I chose to place Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, located at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Orlando, FL. I had the pleasure of experiencing this ride during my trip to Orlando in 2022 and it was easily one of the highlights of the entire park!
This attraction is still relatively new, it opened in June 2019 which at the time I am writing this makes it just six years old. The ride is estimated to have cost Universal nearly $300 million to make.
On this thrilling coaster, guests get the experience of riding either on Hagrid’s iconic motorbike or in the sidecar as they race through the Forbidden Forest and encounter magical creatures from the Harry Potter franchise such as Fluffy the three headed dog, a centuar, cornish pixies, and even a unicorn!
Offical ride POV:
3. Monsters Unchained – Universal Studios, Orlando, FL
At number three, I chose Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment located in the Dark Universe land of Universal’s Epic Universe, Orlando, FL.
This ride opened on May 22nd, 2025, when the park debuted. This attraction is a dark ride that uses a robotic arm, ride vehicle. This means you sit on a ride car that extends off of a robotic arm. This is a thrill ride, as it throws you into a chaotic experiment gone wrong.
The theme and plot of this ride is centerd around Dr. Victoria Frankenstein as she attempts to control monsters that spill out of the manor. Charcters like Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Swamp Creature, The Mummy, and of course Frankenstien are all featured. The attraction features 14 unique animatronic figures which is quite the step up for Universal, given how heaivley they rely on screen based elements in a bulk of their attractions.
What I really appreciate about Monsters Unchained is how the ride builds tension from the moment you enter the queue. You are immediatley introduced to Victoria Frankenstien’s assitant Igor – let’s just say he doesn’t make you confident that you will make it out alive. Overall, this ride is the gold standard for what modern attractions should be!
Offical Ride Tour:
2. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – Disney World, Orlando, FL
At number two, I chose Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance located in Star Wars, Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Orlando, FL.
This attraction opened on December 5th, 2019 at Walt Disney World. This is one of Disney’s most ambitious rides they ever built! The special thing about Rise is that it was made with a floorless track, this is one of the first attractions to impleement this technique and it’s one of a kind in my books! The combinination of the trackless style blends so well with the enviorment. The vheicles motion is also so smooth.
My favorite part is where you get boarded into an elevator where the ride does a drop sequence just as if you were on The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror! Since this ride’s que long is actually apart of the attraction the full ride is about 18 minutes start to finish. Disney has not hinted at how much this ride cost to make but it’s easily in the hundreds of millions.
What stands out to me about this attraction is you don’t feel like your on a ride, you feel like you become part of the story. The theming, pacing, effects, and scale are amazing. This ride is full of surprises so you’re always interested in what happens next. I’d say this is the best ride Disney has to offer, overall 10/10!
Ride POV from Attractions 360°:
1. VelociCoaster – Universal Studios, Orlando, FL
At number one, I chose Jurassic World VelociCoaster, located at Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios Orlando, FL.
This coaster opened on June 10th, 2021 and even in 2025 this coaster is absoultley amazing! I don’t go to Orlando that frequently, but when I do go, I make sure to get tickets to Universal just to ride the VelociCoaster. This attraction launches guests at up to 70+ mph.
This ride is themed around the iconic Veloci Raptors. They are pulled straight out of the Jurassic World franchise. It features raptors such as Blue, Delta, and Echo!
My personal favorite charcter from this ride isn’t even shown in the show area, it’s in the que line! Mr.DNA is the fun DNA strand based charcter that guides you and prepares you for the adventure your about to embark on!
The best part for me about this ride is that at the very top of the coaster you can see the entire park! This includes an amazing view of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry located in the Harry Potter section of Islands of Adventure. My family may not like this ride, but that’s what they made single rider for. Easily one of my all time favorite attractions, making it number one for this list!
Offical Ride POV:
Summary:
I really hope you enjoyed my top five list! I realize a bulk of the attractions are from Universal and Disney World located in Orlando. As I travel more often I’m looking to discover the crazy world of theme park attractions!