On Queue: The Top 22 Queues in the American Disney Parks

I have spent hours upon hours standing in countless lines at theme parks, especially at the Disneyland and Walt Disney World resorts, where I have been surrounded by a multitude of details engineered by the geniuses at WED or Walt Disney Imagineering. I have judged these queues on a variety of factors, including thematic design, architectural layout, crowd control, scenic detailing/interior design, and of course, the queue's relationship to the narrative/nature of the attraction (the immersion factor).



1. The Pirates of the Caribbean (Walt Disney World, 1973)

This is arguably the most immersive queue for a Disney attraction. In fact, it was the first immersion queue ever designed by WED. Of course, there were several queues that were sprinkled with details before the Pirates opened in Florida. The Haunted Mansion at both parks were opened before the Pirates was even planned. However, the Imagineers designed the queue for the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction as the first immersion-based queue. Certainly, the architectural design and visual motifs of Caribbean Plaza set up the narrative for the attraction, but the queue bridges the outside world with the attraction inside in a way that builds off of the exterior and employs the perceived location as something real and a part of the narrative of the attraction itself. For example, Castillo del Morro (the official name of the fortress guests enter) was designed in a Spanish motif as well as the rest of the Caribbean Plaza complex, according to official Disney publications at the time, and guests are convinced that they are in a Caribbean village square about to enter a colonial fortress under attack.

The interior of the Castillo is brilliant because it is a part of the attraction since the guests entering the queue become actors in the narrative of the attraction and it builds on the sounds of cannons outside (the cannon effect hasn't been really used since 2006). However, there are two queues you were able to choose from. The left side is nicknamed the Soldier's side due to the hospitable nature of the rooms: the dining room with a quaint fireplace, the arsenal with cannonballs stowed neatly, and the courtyard with the stairs climbing up into a darkened alcove and a trickling fountain. That stuccoed chamber is calm, serene, and quiet, save for the sound of a Spanish guitar playing, presumably from an unseen position upstairs. This adds to the mood and atmosphere of this side of the Castillo, but upon turning right and descending the ramp into the loading area, the mood of escape and fear begins and the feelings of safety are left at the dock as guests spot a lone galleon in the bay "outside" of the fortress. The right side is more based on fear where back in the older days, the sounds of pirates singing and soldiers assembling would echo through the dank corridors. The right side was the Pirate's side and the "subterranean" dungeon is occupied by two imprisoned pirates engaged in a game of chess. Actually, this is a gag designed by Marc Davis later on in 1977 and the humor contradicts the more serious undertones of the scene while still keeping the atmosphere consistent through the queue. Also, the Spanish guitar music appears in this scene as well, presumably played by another hidden figure. Guests pass a cannon nest overlooking the loading area and they reach the docks while a nearby cave is lit by lanterns and the sounds of pirates digging for buried treasure is heard. The threatening galleon (mentioned previously) is closer to the guests and this tops off the queue's atmosphere of fear.

Of course, I have to admit that the psychology of this architecture has been documented by other writers and to a greater extent. However, that does not discredit my observations and my impressions of the queue. Overall, I can see myself wandering that queue for hours and not feeling bored. Though, I may have to leave for a bathroom break and a bottle of Coke. Other than that, there are several parts of that queue that go beyond the expectations of a typical immersion queue. In fact, I'd argue that even with the changes and alterations that have crippled the narrative and nature of the overall attraction, the queue itself is the best work Disney has ever done and it has been a hallmark of Imagineering since 1973.



2. The Haunted Mansion (Disneyland, 1969)

Of course, I believe that the original Haunted Mansion is one of the best attractions in Disney history. It has been a classic since its opening in August 1969, but the actual Mansion has stood immaculately in place since 1962. In fact, the mystique of the Mansion had spurred rumors of people dying and even being the residence of Walt Disney himself. Needless to say, he didn't live in the Mansion, but the queue of the Mansion was mostly built during his lifetime. While the actual show building was under construction in 1968, the Mansion allegedly had the two major elevators installed in the facade as early as 1962 and a 1962/3 elevation plan included the foyer and its interior. The rest of the queue is considered part of the attraction, largely due to the fact that the Haunted Mansion originated as a walk-thru attraction.



3. Expedition Everest (Walt Disney World, 2006)

On par with the Pirates of the Caribbean at Walt Disney World, the queue for Expedition Everest was always an immersion queue amplified by minuscule references to the real-life location represented by the architecture. As much as the name establishes our expedition as being located in the Himalayas, the design of the queue brings home the fact with the Oriental eaves, use of metal sheets, waterwheels, earth-borne masonry, and faded color schemes that transport guests to a Nepalese base camp.

In fact, Serka Zong is the fictitious village at the foothills of the Himalayas where we begin our journey. The queue comprises of a fictional travel agency that thrives off the mountain's legend, a nearby temple dedicated to the mysterious Yeti, a tea garden (based on the history of also being a tea plantation at one point), a room full of the gear necessary to make the trip, a museum also dedicated to the Yeti, and the loading station where guests embark on plantation trains bound to find out the truth of this Yeti.

My love of the queue is mostly based on the high attention to detail with regards to not only the architecture, but the props used in the sets in the queue. However, they are not exactly props because most things displayed in Serka Zong were actually compiled from Imagineer trips to Nepal, India, and even Tibet (China).


4. Tower of Terror (Walt Disney World, 1994)

The Hollywood Tower Hotel was based on the hotels sprouting up in Los Angeles during the 1920's and 1930's. However, the queue of this haunted hotel with an equally haunted elevator is, well, haunted. The gardens and patios of the ride are unkempt and frozen in a spirit of a lost past. The Hotel invites guests through its labyrinth of a garden and patio into the lobby before continuing on their little tour of one of Hollywood's lost relics.

To augment the haunted vibe of the place, the fleeting sounds of a jazz band can be heard at times along the queue, no different than the Spanish guitar in the Pirates. This contributes to the eerie feeling guests have by the time they get to seeing Rod Serling on the television inside.

Oddly, television does not exactly fit the 1930's atmosphere of the Hotel. In a way, television has a unique place in Hollywood's history at this point because the year the ride is set in is 1939 and 1939 was a monumental year for the television. On 30 April 1939, the first television broadcast came from the New York's World Fair (yes, there was a New York World's Fair before the 1960's).

At any rate, the Tower of Terror is a gem and the queue really prepares guests for the attraction.



5. Jungle Cruise (Disneyland, 1955)

Since 1955, the Jungle Cruise has been a staple of the Disney park landscape. With almost every new Magic Kingdom-style park opening, there has been a Jungle Cruise. The Jungle Cruise queue at Disneyland sets up the scene perfectly. Despite the queue being altered twice, the pretense was always the same: it was a narrated adventure down these exotic rivers. The Jungle Cruise boathouse that invited Disneyland guests to embark on the journey back in 1955 was removed in 1961 and was replaced with a Tiki-style boathouse that would be replaced once again with the 1994 boathouse we see today.

The boathouse that opened in 1994 coincided with the construction of the Indiana Jones queue next door and was designed to resemble the setting of the newest ride in Adventureland. The boathouse offered an upstairs extended queue with various rooms, such as an infirmary, an office for the skippers, and other quarters. As a kid, I thought this queue was the coolest at Disneyland for a time because of the exotic theming and the time period it clearly conveyed.


6. Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye (Disneyland, 1995)

The Indiana Jones attraction opened a couple of years before I was born, but luckily my parents went on the ride when it debuted in 1995 and it was a family favorite. So when I was about eight and my parents took me to Disneyland after two years of not going due to circumstances beyond my control, I was finally "big" enough to brave the Temple of the Forbidden Eye and it was the funnest ride I had went on at the time. It was marvelous, but the pre-show was what really got me in the spirit of adventure and exploring.

The queue is in-between the dock for the Jungle Cruise and the entrance for both the Tarzan Tree House (at the time of opening, it was still the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House) and the Pirates of the Caribbean. The area is themed to archaeologist Indiana Jones' base camp set in the Indian River Delta of the 1930's and this is where the story starts. The narrative of the attraction is that the guests are seeking the treasures of this ancient temple in the jungles of India and they enter the queue, following Indiana's clever lead on the riches buried within. They follow the path Indy cleared and they reach the loading area to embark on their "most wonderous expedition." Before being able to reach the loading area, they get the opportunity to see the set-up of a temple being investigated as well as the press coverage of the event (the finding of the Temple) and are given safety reminders for their trip into the chambers beyond.

The brilliance of this queue lies with what it accomplished in a matter of a few hundred feet. It sets up the story and immerses guests in the labyrinth of the Temple. The queue is somewhat of a step up in terms of detail and immersion than, per se, the Castillo of the Pirates in Florida.


7. Haunted Mansion (Walt Disney World, 1971)

Much like the original Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, the Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World also has an interesting queue. I felt that the queue guests were used to from 1971-2011 was the best because it didn't rely on interactive displays and gadgetry. It relied on suspense pure and simple, but it was better for an attraction that is supposed to be haunted. However, the foyer is understandably larger given the fact that the foyer for this version of the attraction was designed and built around 1969 when the Disneyland version opened with a seven-year-old foyer. In fact, I distinctly remember turning around when I first entered the foyer at WDW and spotting a green EXIT sign glowing and if you know me, I could've told you that the Mansion in California didn't have a green exit sign over the front doors and it certainly wouldn't glow in the gloomy darkness. That's something I should address in a future comparison of the Magic Kingdoms at both American Disney resorts.

At any rate, the fireplace and portrait effect was the highlight of the queue as the guests filter into one of the two "stretching" chambers (keep in mind that the Stretching Rooms in Florida do not lower to a basement, but instead the ceiling rises) before getting jammed in the loading area. Certainly, crowd control in the loading area wasn't a strong suit for the Mansion here in Florida.


8. Jungle Cruise (Walt Disney World, 1971)

The Jungle Cruise that has highlighted a visit to Walt Disney World's Adventureland since October 1971 is arguably a step-up from the ride Disneyland guests knew in 1955. For beginners, it was designed after Disneyland's version got its comedy-laced refurbishment in 1962 and was to include not only the scenes that were added to Disneyland, but new scenes. Another improvement was the queue. While Disneyland's Jungle Cruise had a two-story boathouse from 1955 until 1961, the Magic Kingdom's two-story boathouse that has been there since 1970 and has only grew with refurbishments in early 1973 and the early 1990's.


9. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Walt Disney World, 1980)

The WDW version of Big Thunder Mountain is superb with its Monument Valley rockwork and its location on the edge of the Rivers of America, but its line is quirky. The queue is set in a mining depot for trains and the equipment found throughout the queue gives guests a story about the ride they are about to take, but the fact that it's primarily indoors is a step above Disneyland's version.


10. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Disneyland, 1979)

The greatest part of Disneyland's Big Thunder queue is based on a previous attraction. So in 1956, the Rainbow Caverns Mine Train ride opened at Disneyland and it included a miniature Old West town by the name of Rainbow Ridge. When the Mine Train closed down in 1977 to make room for Big Thunder, the Imagineers didn't want to destroy the remnants of the attraction, so they repurposed Rainbow Ridge as the gold-mining town built on Big Thunder Mountain's wealth and that improves the line because it gives guests not only something to look at while they're waiting, but it adds to the story of the attraction as well as preserving a vital part of Disney history. Also, the Imagineers went on a shopping spree across the Southwestern United States, buying old mining equipment from local auctions, and the theming of the line shows a certain degree of effort.


11. Peter Pan's Flight (Walt Disney World, 1971)

While the original queue for Peter Pan at WDW had been a primitive set of switchbacks like the other Fantasyland dark rides of the time, the 2014 refurbishment included the addition of an extended queue, which included a tour of the Darling residence, notably the infamous nursery where Peter Pan invites Wendy and her brothers to Neverland. My sense of nostalgia really clicked when I walked through this queue in 2017. It was something I really liked Disney doing. However, the closure of the restrooms to build this queue was no major loss, save for the fact that the nearest restrooms replaced the infamous Skyway Chalet that stood there. Other than that, I found myself admiring the nursery area the most, despite my understandable reluctance to embrace interactive technology in theme park queues.


12. The Pirates of the Caribbean (Disneyland, 1967)

Compared to its East Coast counterpart, the original Pirates of the Caribbean opened with a fairly junior queue, but it's still one of my favorites. Ever since I began sailing with the tide in the late-1990's, I had a love-hate relationship with the Pirates, but that's a dead man's tale for a different day, I suppose.

So the reason why I listed this queue at number twelve was due to the exotic nature of the ride. Instead of Florida's Caribbean fortress, you enter a New Orleans manor house and within a few dozen feet, you end up on the wooden dock of Laffitte's Landing on the Blue Bayou. It's the theming that makes it special, but on a historical note, it's important because this was the last attraction Walt Disney worked on and the queue was originally designed and built while he was still alive. He actually ate at the Blue Bayou the day New Orleans Square opened to the public and he spent the last year of his life on two major projects: EPCOT in Florida and finishing up the Pirates ride. Unfortunately, he died three months before it was unveiled to the public in March 1967, but he still rode the flume at least once and had the attraction mostly finished by the time he passed away (like over eighty-five percent of the 1967 ride was finished by November 1966).


13. Tropical Serenade (Walt Disney World, 1971)

The waiting area for the Tropical Serenade (now known as the Enchanted Tiki Room of WDW) is actually slightly better than the one in California. There may not be that 1960's Tiki bar vibe like the original, but the show and the holding area are both truly exotic. The holding area may be three lines wrapping around a rock garden and a Balinese pagoda, but the show before the show keeps guests entertained and really transitions well into what is going on in that longhouse.


14. Enchanted Tiki Room (Disneyland, 1963)

The original Enchanted Tiki Room was one of Walt's greatest investments for Disneyland and even if the holding area is not an entertaining as the one in Florida, it bears the image that the very notion of Tiki conjures up. Granted, this area is not exactly accommodating to large crowds, but the size of the area is comparable to the waiting areas for most Tiki bars. After all, it was supposed to be a Polynesian restaurant and Disney didn't have enough room to build an elaborate theatre and holding area in that location. However, they really capitalized on the Tiki and the holding area is actually well themed in terms of what a Tiki bar or attraction should look like with the lava rock benches, Tiki idols, and the juice stand built of bamboo.


15. Splash Mountain (Disneyland, 1989)

The line for Splash Mountain is always long, even at night when the air gets cold at times, but the designers of this popular attraction knew it would be a hit, so they knew to build a long and immersive line.

Beginning in the rustic, wooded barn, guests wander past the homespun aesthetic of the queue as they really dive into the caves of the Mountain, eventually reaching the inviting loading dock where guests proceed onto the Laughing Place.


16. Space Mountain (Walt Disney World, 1975)

Even though Space Mountain was originally planned for Disneyland's 1967 Tomorrowland, it took eight years until guests were able to ride through space when Space Mountain became the Magic Kingdom's first major thrill ride (roller coaster) in January 1975. The original Space Mountain was initially sponsored by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and their sponsorship included a catchy-big band tune, "Here's to the Future," that played in various sections of the queue and the post-show. The post-show area, which was an exit ramp, dragged guests past scenes of what the future would hold for guests. Mind you, this queue was designed sometime in the early-1970's, so their view of the future was color televisions, intercoms, and other gadgetry that spawned out of a James Bond film.

The coolest thing about this queue was the way guests were able to see into "space" via these portals WED designed with stars, spaceships zooming by, and you guessed it, RCA satellites floating. The theremin instrumentation always makes me shed a tear. I suppose it's a cosmic, aural reminder of how precious life is in the grand scheme of things.


17. Country Bear Jamboree (Disneyland, 1972)

The second incarnation of the Bear Band show was brought back to California, but this time saw it materialize in its own land at Disneyland in California. Surprisingly, this area was planned before Walt Disney World even opened. In 1972, Bear Country opened and along came the anchor attraction with twin theaters to handle the expected capacity. This also meant a queue was needed to hold the crowds and the cutest queue ever was built at Disneyland. The queue was a hallway with various doors shaped like their bruin occupants and there is a photo of me standing in front of one. I faintly remember it, so it counts on a sentimental scale as the attraction closed in 2001 and was re-opened as the Winnie the Pooh dark ride.


18. Country Bear Jamboree (Walt Disney World, 1971)

The genius of WED when designing Walt Disney World between 1967-1971 had planted the only E-ticket show in Frontierland towards the Hub in terms of its placement. You might be asking why I thought it was a genius move and I'll explain.

Since Thunder Mesa and the Western River Expedition were slated to appear on the northwest parcel of Frontierland, the only logical placement of the Bear Band show was towards the transition between Liberty Square and Frontierland and this is logical because this served as a taste for the type of musical comedy that Marc Davis was working on for the Western River Expedition. However, the main focus of this article should say on why the queue was excellent. After all, the holding areas for the theater shows of 1971 Walt Disney World seemed fairly bland compared to future attractions, but the Country Bear Jamboree, housed in the northwood-paneled Grizzly Hall, was a small holding space that vastly underestimated the sheer popularity of the show, but its quaint placement in an unassuming location and the simplicity of that queue had really more of an impact upon the idea that a tight space would be seen as more cozy and it really drove home the "homespun" atmosphere of Grizzly Hall.


19. O'Canada (Walt Disney World, 1982)

The Canada Pavilion at Epcot is a wonderland of scenery. What it lacks in a solid "E-ticket" attraction, it makes up in an equally exhilarating queue experience. The walk down to the holding area of the O'Canada presentation was fairly scenic. It certainly evoked a trek through the Canadian wilderness with the gorgeous rock-work and the mist generated by the gushing waterfalls. Upon reaching the holding area, the scene is just perfect for a photo op. I recommend doing this during an overcast or cloudy day. Perhaps, you'll leave the theatre in the middle of a rainstorm like I recently did in June 2017 and be greeted with a sense of being tucked away in a Canadian cavern on a rainy day, only to realize that I'm in Florida in the Southeastern United States.


20. Great Movie Ride (Walt Disney World, 1989)

The Great Movie Ride was the very reason why Disney built an entire theme park about Hollywood, but that'll be a rant for a different time. So the queue of the ride has to be classic Hollywood. What enduring symbol of the film industry and the century that Hollywood dominated would be acceptable? Certainly, a movie theatre is emblematic of Hollywood's main product---film. However, there is a certain movie house in Hollywood that serves as a landmark of the industry and popular tourist trap that the whole metropolis Los Angeles is known as. Of course, I'm talking about Graumann's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. It's a lovely movie palace in real life. I've been there a few times, but I've visited the replica in the swamps of Florida several times. I like the Great Movie Ride and I made it a point to ride it every time I visited Walt Disney World. However, it closed down in 2017 and I was lucky enough to make one last trip through the Hills of Hollywood.

So the queue was certainly like the Movieland Wax Museum in California because it was stocked with the props and memorabilia of Hollywood's past. I really liked the attention to detail in the queue and later the ride itself. 


21. Grizzly River Rapids (Disneyland, 2001)

Ah, the Grizzly River Rapids at Disney's California Adventure. Such a wonderful and, dare I say, wet ride. The queue is the greatest part of the ride should you decline a certainly slippery rafting adventure. The queue is themed after the Eureka Rafting Company's base camp along the river and the Northern California setting is presumably a National Park of sorts and the rustic scenery and decor reminds me of a cross between the old Bear Country (now known as Critter Country) and the Jungle Cruise at nearby Disneyland.


22. Kilimanjaro Safari (Walt Disney World, 1998)

One of the flagship attractions of Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World is the Kilimanjaro Safari, which is themed as a real-life safari through an African animal reserve. Set in Harambe Village (also known as the African section of the park), the queue for Kilimanjaro Safari is authentically-reproduced, but the queue lacks the detail that I feel the other queues have built their narratives upon. I felt it was adventurous, but it was certainly not the best adventure-based immersion queue I've ever seen.