Fans Claim Disney is Changing Dark Rides, "It's Seriously Sad"

Some Disney fans discussed their worry that Disney attractions have been changing in a very interesting way recently.

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The Disney Parks are filled with some truly indescribable experiences, all of which are held together by Disney’s dedication to immersion and world-class theming. Rides like Flight of Passage in Pandora – The World of Avatar or Rise of the Resistance in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge shows how advanced and immersive Disney attractions can be along with the brand-new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in EPCOT.

However, all of the in-ride effects rely on very specific angles, trickery, illusions, and lighting, with the latter being possibly the most important aspect for attractions, at least when it comes to dark rides like Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean.

In a post shared on Reddit, one Guest discussed their trouble with Disney rides. See the full post below:

I got home from our week long Disney trip on Monday, overall I had a very good time although I do have some gripes.

One of the strangest ones is, have the dark rides gotten…darker?

My last trip was in August 2018, I went on pretty much the same rides this time as last time. It seemed on average the rides were like 10-30% dimmer. With Haunted Mansion being the absolute worst.

I know it’s supposed to be a dark ride, but no word of a lie, there were many times were I just plain couldn’t see a thing It was so dark. I remember my 2018 experience pretty well and it was lit so much better.

Anyone else have a similar experience?

Turn a light on would ya! from WaltDisneyWorld

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The gripe the Guest had was with the lightning in certain Disney attractions. The main attraction mentioned in the post is the Haunted Mansion and in the comments, a lot of users agreed, saying that they also noticed how dark other attractions are now.

One user said, “I rode Dinosaur more times than healthy in 2019 and then you could see all of the animatronics, dinos, scenery, asteroids, etc. This time you could hardly see the Carnotaurus. It was basically a bumpy ride with vague dino shapes. No one in my car was reacting because…you couldnt see anything. Seriously sad”.

A lot mentioned the mammoth scene on Spaceship Earth in EPCOT, saying that the scene is hardly noticeable. While there is no concrete evidence to suggest that these rides are actually getting darker, plenty of Guests seems to think they are.

Another user brought Splash Mountain into the discussion, claiming that the on-ride photos are insanely dark too.

Of course, some of the rides mentioned are dated, especially Spaceship Earth so it’s possible things aren’t always running at the full capacity they could be. DINOSAUR went through an extended refurbishment a few years ago which added a lot of improvements to the attraction. We can’t confirm whether or not Disney rides are actually getting darker but it is an interesting observation that many fans are having.

Have you noticed Disney rides getting darker?

Let the expert team at Academy Travel help you plan your next magical vacation to Disneyland Resort, including Disneyland Park, Disney California Adventure, and the Downtown Disney District. Or what about Walt Disney World Resort’s four theme parks — Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios — and the Disney Springs shopping and dining district!