This Is Disney’s Worst Ride Ever and It Needs To Go, ASAP

Disney’s magic is built on offering something for everyone—whether you’re a thrill-seeker or family-fun enthusiast, there’s always a ride to love. Yet, there’s one ride we’re fairly confident is pleasing nobody.

Plenty of decisions at Disney’s theme parks have received heavy criticism in recent years, particularly post-pandemic. As prices soar to record highs for everything from tickets to Mickey Mouse ears, guests are shelling out more for the magic than ever, which is what makes it so frustrating when new offerings aren’t quite up to scratch with Disney’s best.

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While plenty of recent (or recent-ish) additions to Disney’s theme parks – such as Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, and TRON Lightcycle / Run – have been praised by guests for their immersive details, others have been slightly less well received.

This includes Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (although plenty of this ride’s criticism stems from resentment over those who didn’t want Disney to close Splash Mountain), WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure, and, well, the majority of recent additions to Disneyland Paris.

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A sad reality for the latter is that while Disneyland Park hasn’t had any new additions in nearly 20 years (yes, really), Walt Disney Studios Park has received an influx of new attractions lately to try and revitalize the unpopular park, and few of them have been on par with Disney’s best.

For every Crush’s Coaster, the park has received a handful of lackluster additions, such as Avengers Assemble: Flight Force and Cars Quatre Roues Rallye. The very worst of the bunch – and, in our opinion, the worst ride Disney has put out maybe ever – is Cars Road Trip.

What’s Wrong With Cars Road Trip?

Opened as a part of the park’s World of Pixar, Cars Road Trip is an attraction that takes guests on a scenic “road trip” through the world of Cars, Pixar’s popular animated movie franchise.

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The ride replaced the Studio Tram Tour and, for the most part, follows the exact same beats as its predecessor (except, you know, it’s Cars-themed).

It invites guests to board a tram styled as a classic road trip vehicle, guided by Lightning McQueen’s buddy, Mater, and Sally Carrera. The journey weaves through iconic Cars-inspired landmarks, mixing humor with views of oversized attractions like the “Cars-tastrophe Canyon,” where geysers, rocks, and water effects simulate the drama of a canyon in chaos.

While it provides a relaxed experience aimed at younger guests and families, Cars Road Trip has received mixed reviews, with some guests finding it underwhelming compared to other Disney attractions. And those are the nice ones.

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The attraction feels and looks low-budget. Outside one key scene (which is a rehash of the Studio Tram Tour that came before it), the vast majority of the ride experience consists of passing by trees and the occasional Cars-inspired statue. We’re not exaggerating when we say that we’ve had more thrilling tram rides through the Disney’s Hollywood Studios parking lot.

We could forgive this slightly (emphasis on slightly) if Cars Road Trip was a real crowd-eater. However, in our experiences at the park, the attraction rarely, if ever, has a significant wait time, often standing emptier than most other park rides.

Serving a real purpose capacity-wise would justify its existence somewhat but, as it is, this ride occupies a substantial area in Walt Disney Studios Park with little payoff, serving neither as a crowd-pleaser nor as an effective use of space.

Guests have taken to the internet in droves to highlight the ride as one of the worst parts of Disneyland Paris. As one guest wrote on Reddit, “Cars Road Trip really makes me sad. I’m not even angry anymore … It feels so out of place and it saddens me to no end that this is the only remaining legacy of Studio Backlot Tour.”

Another wrote, “I had the slightest hope we might get a taste of Cars land in California when they announced this. But not even close. Such wasted potential. Sad to see the EU “second hand” Disney still hangs around.”

Does Cars Road Trip Belong in Walt Disney Studios Park?

The reality is that, as one Reddit user put it, “The ride is metaphor for the entire park on its current state.” Walt Disney Studios Park is nowhere near as disappointing a park as it was on its opening day, but it still lags far, far behind its sister parks across the globe – and the park next door.

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While a lot of money is going into refreshing Walt Disney Studios Park right now (which will eventually give it a whole new identity of Disney Adventure World), there’s no update on what part Cars Road Trip will play in this transformation.

Right now, Disney is in the process of building World of Frozen, which sits beyond the land occupied by Cars Road Trip. It also constructs a Tangled (2010) ride and a lake area that will host nighttime spectaculars.

However, there are also plans to build an area inspired by The Lion King (1994), complete with a Pride Rock attraction à la Splash Mountain. Where, exactly, this will be located remains to be seen, but if it did require demolishing Cars Road Trip to get the job done, you wouldn’t hear us complaining.

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Even with these new additions on the horizon, the question lingers: what exactly is Walt Disney Studios Park—or, soon, Disney Adventure World—meant to be? The upcoming rebranding shifts its theme from a focus on movie-making to an ambiguous notion of “adventures,” leaving its identity more unclear than ever.

If that’s the goal, a ride as uninspired and disjointed as Cars Road Trip kind of fits in. However, if Disney truly aims to elevate this park into the league of world-class destinations, holding onto Cars Road Trip for the long term does little to help the cause.

What are your thoughts on Cars Road Trip?