2013 Theme Park Insider Tournament: Journey to the Center of the Earth vs. Haunted Mansion

March 14, 2013 at 10:44 AM · Haunted Mansion. Een thought JTTCOTE looks great, Haunted Mansion is a staple of WDI.

March 14, 2013 at 11:00 AM · Have to go with what I know. Haunted Mansion.

March 14, 2013 at 11:03 AM · I would never have thought I'd vote for Journey over The Mansion, but, having just returned from Tokyo and finally experiencing the ride, I must say Journey to the Center of the Earth IS the better experience!

March 14, 2013 at 11:48 AM · Haunted Mansion is one of the Disney classics, but we are sending a wrong message to Disney about building new rides; we are saying "we are happy with the old ones". No wonder Disney invest as little as possible in Orlando.

March 14, 2013 at 11:58 AM · How are we saying "We want more Omnimovers!"? The Little Mermaid is pretty low in the Magic Kingdom rankings and they know we don't want more Omnimovers.

March 14, 2013 at 12:15 PM · I voted for HM. I tried to watch POV of JTTCOTE and I am sure I am missing a lot by not actually being on the ride but it seems like the ride is really really short. Ride time was like 3 mins or something like that. Even Forbidden Journey has a 5 min ride time. I think if the ride time would have been a few mins longer I would have voted for JTTCOTE without riding it, but as it is I had to go with HM.

As far as this "Disney will not build any new rides in WDW if people on TPI don't vote for the Disney Sea rides" is just plain wrong. I am not saying some people at Disney don't look at this site every once in a while but I can just about promise you that none of them are deciding what ride to build or not build at WDW based on a fun tournament on TPI.

March 14, 2013 at 12:43 PM · The only reason I voted for Haunted Mansion in this round is that it feels like a more immersive attraction. From when you enter the stretch room until you leave the attraction, it feels like you are actually in an old haunted house and not just on a theme park ride. With Journey to the Center of the Earth, it seems like this feeling would be ruined when you blast out of the volcano and see all of Tokyo DisneySea spread out in front of you. Even if you know that an attraction is just a theme park ride, it is still better when you can suspend that for a few minutes and pretend you're actually somewhere else until an attendant asks you to exit the vehicle.

It also helps that Disneyland's Haunted Mansion holiday is my single favorite Disney attraction, even if the regular version only ranks somewhere in the middle of Disneyland's E-tickets for me.

March 14, 2013 at 1:14 PM · Two Incredibly immersive rides...my choice? Journey. If the themed quality on the rides are comparable (even though Journey's is probably better), then the ride that adds thrills, a far more impressive exterior, and in fact an entire themed land around it wins. I don't really see why people are voting for Haunted Mansion....

Also, When you blast out of the volcano, it's my understanding (I could be wrong) that you see Mysterious Island, keeping the theme better than Any mansion on this earth (May may change that...).

March 14, 2013 at 1:26 PM · I can confirm that on Journey, you don't see anything but Mt. Prometheus when you blast out of the mountain. And that videos don't come close to doing this attraction justice, which is why I haven't linked or embedded any.

March 14, 2013 at 2:08 PM · I am very surprised that Journey is losing. Partly because I thought it was better liked, but mostly because Robert couldn't be doing much more to rig the vote in favor of anything Tokyo.

March 14, 2013 at 2:27 PM · I voted Journey to the Center of the Earth. It's a thrilling ride built into a volcano that actually explodes with (apparently) Disney's most impressive animatronic. Combined with the fact that its built into its very own land, the special effects are top notch, and the queue looking absolutely stunning, it definitely seems like one of the world's best attractions.

Haunted Mansion is great, it really is, but I don't see how it's a better overall attraction than Journey to the Center of the Earth.

March 14, 2013 at 3:36 PM · I can only go from experience. So HM it is.

March 14, 2013 at 3:56 PM · I voted for Outlaw Run. A wooden coaster with inversions... beat that, Disney!

March 14, 2013 at 8:09 PM · I have to vote for what I believe to be Disney's greatest aceivment. The Haunted Mansion.