Weekly Top 10: The Best Theme Park Rides in Asia

April 20, 2015, 9:40 AM · With the dollar strong and airfare cheaper than in years, now's a great time for American theme park fans to take that dream trip to Asia's top theme parks. To inspire you to make that trip, or to provide more flamebait for readers who think that the parks in the United States ought to be building more, we offer Theme Park Insider readers' collective picks for the Top 10 theme park rides in Asia. For this list, we're including only those attractions that do not have exact duplicates elsewhere. Let's get to your picks!

10. Back to the Future: The Ride
Universal Studios Japan

Travel to the future in one of Doc Brown's modified DeLorean time machines, which runs on the tears of American theme park fans who wish they could visit Japan to ride this favorite one more time.

9. Jaws: The Ride
Universal Studios Japan

If you thought we were trolling you hard with the first ride on this list....

8. Sesame Street: Spaghetti Space Chase
Universal Studios Singapore

Enjoy a fanciful romp through space with Elmo and other Muppets from Sesame Street in this family dark ride.

7. Hollywood Dream: The Ride
Universal Studios Japan

This Bolliger & Mabillard coaster with an on-board soundtrack is the ride that Universal Studios Florida probably should have installed instead of its Maurer Sohne Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit.

6. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Tokyo DisneySea

This isn't the Magic Kingdom submarine ride of your youth. An innovative dark ride adventure, Tokyo's 20K shares the Jules Verne-themed Mysterious Island with one other attraction on our list. (Keep reading!)

5. Tower Of Terror
Tokyo DisneySea

Okay, we're fudging a but here. Sure, it's the same drop ride as in Disney California Adventure and Walt Disney Studios Paris, but Tokyo's tower loses the Twilight Zone theme in favor of what might be the world's best pre-show, which tells the story of the Shiriki Utundo, Harrison Hightower, and the Society of Explorers and Adventures. (We'll visit another SEA-themed attraction in a couple of spots.)

4. Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars
Hong Kong Disneyland

Hong Kong's runaway mine cars offers a mash-up of an Expedition Everest ride experience with a Thunder Mountain-style setting.

3. Pooh's Hunny Hunt
Tokyo Disneyland

The first major trackless dark ride, Tokyo's Pooh surpasses its American siblings in every way.

2. Mystic Manor
Hong Kong Disneyland

Hong Kong's Mystic Manor surpasses Pooh's trackless ride experience and throws in a delightful effects-driven story that returns us to the world of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers.

1. Journey to the Center of the Earth
Tokyo DisneySea

Occupying the iconic Mount Prometheus in Tokyo DisneySea, 20K's neighbor in Mysterious Island won last year's Theme Park Insider Award for the Best Themed Attraction in the world.

Replies (13)

David Matecki

April 20, 2015 at 9:50 AM · You might be stretching your parameters of no duplicate ride elsewhere but nonetheless I am ready to go! Lol

Travis McReynolds

April 20, 2015 at 10:54 AM · I did USJ in 2013 and I'm headed to Tokyo this September to do Disneyland and DisneySEA. Thinking about dropping in on Sanrio Puroland just for the photo ops, as well. Can't wait.

Manny Barron

April 20, 2015 at 11:26 AM · Haha yes Back to the Future indeed operates on the tears of fans who cant enjoy it stateside. That was funny...and true! All of these sound great and on my to see list when I visit Asia, especially Back to the Future!

Christopher Sturniolo

April 20, 2015 at 11:51 AM · I would have switched Sesame Street with TDS' Sindbad

70.126.135.117

April 20, 2015 at 12:37 PM · I will hop on over to Asia in a heartbeat!!! Except of course I have such a busy life....and my travel budget is somewhat limited....and my family has an entirely different vacation preference....

Gabriel Schroll

April 20, 2015 at 9:21 PM · Argh. I'm so close, yet so far away! I've done HKDL, but simply due to geography (Guangzhou, at present), I'm most likely to hit Universal Studios Singapore next.

Hey, that aint a bad landing spot!

220.255.1.119

April 20, 2015 at 10:12 PM · Space Fantasy The Ride from USJ and Atlants Adventure Roller Coaster in Lotte World.

220.255.1.58

April 21, 2015 at 5:33 AM · I think Formula Rossa should be in the list.

220.255.1.32

April 21, 2015 at 5:38 AM · If only the Battlestar Galactica roller coaster is operational, it would have taken the place of its sister attraction Seasame Street Spaghetti Space Chase.

Sylvain Comeau

April 21, 2015 at 12:00 PM · Tokyo Disney is the number one item on my bucket list. I could probably squeeze in HKDL in the same trip.

216.106.111.124

April 21, 2015 at 8:45 PM · Far better coasters than Hollywood Dream in Asia (not that it is bad, just that you need to look outside of only Disney/Universal).

Monster's Inc Ride and Go Seek, Sinbad, Space Fantasy should have bumped away the bottom of the list as well.

Nostalgia is all well and good, but there is a reason neither of those attractions exist in the states anymore.

67.78.246.190

April 22, 2015 at 6:08 AM · Space Fantasy the Ride at USJ should be on this list!

Json Son

April 22, 2015 at 7:44 AM · Agree with Space Fantasy. I say this every year. My one gripe about this site is that it over looks a lot of quality attractions and rehashes the same old material.

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Weekly Top 10: The Best Theme Park Rides in Asia

Replies (13)

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