This marks our 1,500th post at Wandering in Disney! I’m a big sap so I like to do things a little out of the ordinary on posts like this. You’d think eventually that the big round numbers would mean less to me but, as I saw 1,500 approaching, a random dining review felt wrong for the occasion. Thanks to all that helped the site get to this point, including you, the reader. We deeply appreciate it!

For this post, I decided to write about my favorite moments at each of the Disney theme parks we’ve been to. This was a little more collaborative than usual, as Melissa plays a big role in Wandering in Disney and had some opinions. In the end, most parks got two moments that we love – one big, one small. That didn’t apply to every single park but it was a loose rule.

Our definition of moment was a little loose too. This wouldn’t be a Wandering in Disney list without bending some rules here and there. Some things on this list are quite literally seconds while others are minutes long, bleeding into each other. We’re sorry if this is unsatisfactory to you, please take it up with the internet overlords. This is quite long so we’ll get right to it. The resorts are in order of how we’ve visited them and I generally put my favorite moment of the two at the top. Enjoy!

Disneyland

Sailing Into a Pirate Battle

Disneyland is full of great storytelling. The attractions in particular are focused on bringing different styles and stories to life. Nowhere is that more apparent than Pirates of the Caribbean. After dropping down two waterfalls, guests find themselves going back in time through caverns of pirate skeletons. It’s a little spooky and a peek into the grandeur that awaits. Those scenes winding through the cavern open up to a grand pirate fight and a scale that is hard to replicated in any other ride. Sailing into that battle scene is still jaw-dropping even if it’s been around for almost 60 years.

Closing Down Fantasyland

Disneyland boasts more rides than any other Disney theme park. There’s plenty of late night options to cap off a long, fun day! But something about Fantasyland always calls us back. The glimmer of the lights and the music loop play a large role in making this area so whimsical in the last hour of park opening. Whether it’s a quick lap on the carousel, spinning on the teacups or hearing the wind blow off the Matterhorn, a final moment in the park day is perfectly spent in Fantasyland.

California Adventure

Zooming Around the Cadillac Mountains

Radiator Springs Racers is a fantastic attraction, fitting a joy ride, dark ride and thrill ride all in one. The first two are beautiful and seamless, setting guests up for a race. Then those first two acts are paid off by a thrilling third where guests are shot off, racing around the desert. Anticipation plays a major role in making this moment great. Anyone who has rode Radiator Springs Racers knows what it’s like to eye the competition in the other car before the green light. That followed by the wind in your hair and banking around corners makes this our favorite, and also the most memorable, moment in California Adventure.

Sunset in Cars Land

I didn’t set out to have 2 moments from Cars Land on this list. In fact, my outline of this post had California Adventure’s second moment as something food related. As much as I love the food in the park, I kept thinking about when the sun sets in Cars Land, ‘Life Could Be a Dream (Sh-Boom)’ starts playing and the neon turns on. There aren’t many moments better than this anywhere. The land’s Cadillac Mountains are situated well to showcase the brilliant peak Californian sunsets. Neon and the soundtrack wrap you up in a warm embrace that makes life feel a little more colorful. Many people walk right past this moment, and I don’t blame them because there’s a lot to get to in a theme park day. But it’s a lovely ‘stop to smell the roses’ moment.

Magic Kingdom

Happily Ever After’s Finale

This list is full of moments that make the hair on my arms stand straight up. Happily Ever After’s last few minutes do that more than anything else. From the moment the late James Earl Jones (as Mufasa) says, “Remember who you are” through the end of the show, I’m completely swept away. Mixed in there is a stirring rendition of ‘I Can Go the Distance’, the titular song, and Tinkerbell taking flight.

When Happily Ever After debuted, we were watching alongside a few older couples. One of the guys told us about his disappointment in Wishes going away. His body language throughout Happily Ever After was interested but reluctant. When the show reaches a climax and Tinkerbell takes flight from the castle, the man threw both arms into the air and unabashedly cheered. I think of him, along with a myriad of other memories, every time I see those last few perfect minutes of Happily Ever After.

Ending the Night on the Boardwalk

Magic Kingdom’s boardwalk is still currently there so I can include it! I’ve written about this recently so I won’t belabor the point, but there is nothing better than ending the evening along the river in Magic Kingdom.

Epcot

When the Organ Hits in Impressions de France

Some of the smaller moments win out in this list and get top billing. For the ride enthusiasts, don’t worry. Epcot’s biggest moment is next. But whenever I have the pleasure of watching Impressions de France, I start swooning. The short film is perfect in every way. There’s a perfect marriage between the soundtrack and visuals. That is never more evident than in the conclusion of the film when Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 78 by Camille Saint-Saëns booms through the speakers. By the time the last organ note rips, I’m ready to leave the theatre belting “Do You Hear the People Sing” at the top of my lungs. Maybe this isn’t for everyone, but it is my Epcot.

The Cosmic Rewind Blast-Off

Obviously. The only quiet moment on Cosmic Rewind is the split second before riders are launched backwards into space, chasing down a cosmic generator stolen by Eson. Do any of those details really matter? Naw. You’re getting launched backwards at a high speed into an incredibly fun roller coaster track. It’s a perfect moment of anticipation and thrill.

Hollywood Studios

The Drops

Hollywood Studios only has one entry on this list because the entry includes two moments. Both are drops in the park’s best two rides. We’ll start with the oldest.

Tower of Terror remains a marvel and there is so much to love about it – an innovative ride system, the Twilight Zone tie-in, and number of weird visuals come to mind. But they’d be nothing without the drop ride actually dropping. It may still scare me to death even after dozens of rides but Melissa laughs all the way through. Whether that’s laughing at me or at the ride, I’ll never really know.

Over on the opposite corner of Hollywood Studios rests Rise of the Resistance. Everything I said about Tower of Terror’s attributes could be said about this Star Wars ride. Frankly, there’s a bunch of moments I could choose from here. There’s a frantic pace that Rise of the Resistance has that most attractions can’t keep up with. For a split second, the ride vehicle stops and guests can take a breath. Then, you’re dropped off into space in an escape pod. On first ride, that drop is shocking and so fun. That’s not the best moment in Rise of the Resistance, but it is a culmination that you can’t help but feel is a perfect way to cap off a stunning attraction.

Animal Kingdom

When the Nomad Lounge Iced Tea is Delivered

This is a Melissa special that I’ve also become partial to. Animal Kingdom is a hot park and there’s no better place to take a break than in Nomad Lounge. It’s a beautiful setting with some great drinks and small plates. They also happen to have Melissa’s favorite iced tea in the world – a passionfruit tea served with vanilla. She will sit in the lounge for an hour and down 5 or 6 of them, basically as many as the wait staff puts down in front of her. I can confirm that it’s a really good iced tea, especially refreshing after a hot day. While I can’t keep up with her pace, I do enjoy watching in amazement.

Dropping into the Savanna

Kilimanjaro Safaris is full of wow moments that aren’t predictable. Having live animals will do that! Maybe you get to hear a lion roar or a baby elephant dash to the watering hole. The one moment that can be consistently counted on in the attraction is driving down the hill into the savanna. There might be giraffes, Ankole cattle or zebras waiting for you. The unpredictability is part of the charm to that vast and grassy plain.

Tokyo DisneySea

The Mediterranean Harbor Entrance

There are several moments on this list that were best experienced the first time around. Not much beats the first time on Rise of the Resistance or Cosmic Rewind. Those remain our favorite moments in their respective parks but the wow factor is lessened after the first time around. Other moments on this list, make me feel just as much as they did the first time around. Walking into Tokyo DisneySea’s Mediterranean Harbor is a prime example.

The very first time I’d ever walked in there was a fulfillment of a 5+ year long dream. I started reading about Tokyo Disney Resort (and Japan) in 2013 and was awestruck when visiting for the first time in 2018. I’m not ashamed to admit I cried at the sweeping view DisneySea offered, with a castle hovering above the harbor and Mount Prometheus lurking in the background. The second time in 2023 meant just as much, after a worldwide pandemic slowed our return trip. Same could be said for 2024 and so on. There are certain views that are fulfilling no matter how many times you see them and walking into DisneySea is chief among them for the two of us.

Sinbad and the Giant Join in Song

Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage is full of delightful moments, it’s hard to pick just one. There’s the silly villains trying to axe the egg, our main character and Chandu sailing on top of a whale and hundreds of characters all more personal than the next. A few days might pass and I’ll think that I should have picked one of those. For now, nothing brings me as much joy as Sinbad unlocking the giant’s prison door before them singing together. In the original version of the attraction, giant (he has no name, apparently) was not on Sinbad’s team. After the revamp and Sinbad’s rescuing, we see this jolly green fella freed from entrapment and merrily playing the morin khuur. He’s a massive embodiment of the joyous dark ride.

Tokyo Disneyland

Dreamlights Opening Notes

Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlights is the best parade I’ve ever seen. I love it so much that it’s made me soften my stance on all other parades, understanding their importance within a theme park. Tokyo Disneyland has some incredible moments throughout but nothing beats the opening notes of the parade’s soundtrack kicking in and the first sight of the Blue Fairy.

Clapping Along to the Country Bears

Embracing the weird has kept theme parks fresh and fun for us over the years. I’m not sure it gets as off-beat (pun intended) as watching the original Country Bear Jamboree in Tokyo Disneyland. About half of it is in English while the other half is in Japanese, all while the bears sing country songs about blood on saddles, guys turning the Sun Bonnet Bears on before turning them down and mama not whipping Buford. It’s strange, relatively irreverent and one of my favorite things in any Disney theme park. I can’t pick the whole show so I’ll opt for anytime the crowd gets involved, which is surprisingly more often than not in Tokyo Disneyland.

Disneyland Paris

Encountering a Dragon and Cube Trees

Disneyland Paris is a beautiful park no matter where you are. My favorite moment that showcases the beauty is just to the left of the castle, where you can stare up the hill at Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant. In front of it rests perfectly manicured trees that are cube-shaped. In terms of the world’s outstanding trees, these are in the world’s top tier. If you somehow get tired of this wondrous view then you can go down below the castle to see La Tanière du Dragon. The animatronic dragon is fantastical and an animatronic feat. Nothing sums up Disneyland Paris quite like this little area, and no moment beats seeing them back-to-back.

Watching Main Street from Walt’s

Sitting on Main Street in Disneyland Paris is Walt’s, one of our favorite theme park restaurants in the world. The food is exquisite and the experience is fully realized. If I could count the full meal as a moment then I would. That would be stretching the rules a bit though so we’ll stick to sitting down, ordering a cocktail or a glass of wine and then watching the passersby on Main Street. All of the seating at Walt’s is upstairs, giving a great view for people watching. The moment is extremely charming and feels quaint in a way that most theme parks can’t replicate.

Walt Disney Studios Park

Shrinking into a Rat at Bistrot Chez Remy

Originally I had two moments for this Paris second gate, but it was just Tower of Terror again so that felt redundant. The moment that isn’t redundant here was stepping inside of Bistrot Chez Remy. Our hostess kindly informed us that once we stepped over a line in the restaurant we would become the size of rats. We wanted to eat so we did and we loved the experience. That moment may be a little kitschy but it’s executed well enough and done with a sense of humor, making it a great source of personality in a park that sorely needs it. The rest of the meal was great too but that moment set up the whole experience and made Bistrot Chez Remy memorable.

Those are our favorite moments in the Disney theme parks that we’ve been to! What are yours? Let us know in the comments, along with any questions you might have. Planning a Disney trip? Check out our Travel Guides to help get you there! Here’s a link to discount tickets at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. If you enjoy what you’re reading here on Wandering in Disney please subscribe to the blog via email or WordPress and like our social media pages. You can find all of those things on the right side of this page. Thank you very much for reading, we appreciate it!