Disney rides are popular worldwide, with many classics to be found across the twelve total parks in six worldwide locations. Between old rides closing and new rides opening, there have consistently been around 50 operating rides the past few years at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
Some of those rides have been there for decades. Magic Kingdom is Disney World's oldest park, opening on October 1st, 1971. It's nearing its 50th anniversary, and there are still attractions there that you could've experienced on opening day.
This article will focus specifically on the rides that have been there since opening day, not the shows or other attractions. While there are 10 rides still operating that were open on the first day of the park, there are technically 11 rides that have been standing since then.
However, The Liberty Square Riverboat was not accessible to guests until the day after the park opened, despite being on-site on opening day. So as far as what guests could ride on October 1st, 1971 and can still ride today, let's look at the 10 rides that have been at Magic Kingdom since opening day.
Dumbo The Flying Elephant
Dumbo is an aerial-carousel ride, and it's the only ride still at all six Disney Parks locations around the world. Magic Kingdom's Dumbo first opened with one set of ten elephants, but eventually, it became sixteen elephants. While Dumbo did technically close for many months in 2012, this was just to move it during the Fantasyland expansion. When Dumbo reopened, it was with two separate sets of sixteen elephants.
When Dumbo opened, it originally sat near the Prince Charming Regal Carrousel behind Cinderella Castle. During the Fantasyland expansion, a new sub-land called Storybook Circus was created, and this is where Dumbo is now located.
The Haunted Mansion
The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride located in five Disney Parks, counting Phantom Manor in Paris and Mystic Manor in Hong Kong. Haunted Mansion's pre-show is perhaps as famous as the ride itself, placing guests in a stretching room. Once they're through the line, guests ride in a "Doom Buggy" through the Mansion, seeing many of the 999 happy haunts that live there ("but there's room for a thousand, any volunteers?").
The ride features some of the defining effects of Walt Disney Imagineering. One highlight is the ballroom scene, where cleverly placed animatronics and reflective glass give the appearance of ghosts appearing and disappearing while the buggies move past. With so many fun things hidden in the ride, particularly in the graveyard scene, it's no wonder there's so much value in riding it repeatedly.
It's A Small World
Whether someone finds it annoying or catchy, everyone knows the song. It gets stuck in your head after hearing a few seconds of it. Small World is a boat ride featuring over 300 animatronics, and it celebrates various cultures from around the world. In recent years, Disney characters have been added to scenes, with these new animatronics matching the design of the original characters by artist Mary Blair.
The theme song was composed by famous Disney songwriters Richard and Robert Sherman. Considering the ride is in five Disney Parks, and the song plays continuously throughout the ride all day long, it's assumed to be the most played song in the world.
Jungle Cruise
Jungle Cruise is the classic boat ride where visitors encounter many animatronics animals while hearing some of the cheesiest jokes from their skipper. In short, it's an absolute delight. Guests ride down many famous rivers of the world, finding one charming scene after another. The skippers are just as important, entertaining guests with narration that goes with each scene. A couple of the classics are "if you don't believe me, you're in da Nile," or "it's the backside of water!"
One of the most interesting bits of Imagineering is when guests see the back half of a plane. This was a real plane that Disney purchased and cut in half for the ride. The front half of the plane could be seen for years in the Casablanca scene of The Great Movie Ride at Hollywood Studios.
Mad Tea Party
Also referred to by parkgoers as the "Teacups," this is a spinning ride inspired by Alice in Wonderland. The Magic Kingdom version opened without a roof, but due to Florida weather, it got one just two years after opening.
The ride allows guests to spin themselves faster when they turn the wheel in the middle. Naturally, the ride is known for making people dizzy if they spin their teacups fast enough. While the other teacups blur by the guests, they might also take notice of a large teapot in the center, where the Dormouse occasionally pops up.
Main Street Vehicles
Main Street Vehicles may be the least-known and least-ridden ride in all of Magic Kingdom, and yet it has been operating since opening day. The main reason for this is that the ride only runs earlier in the day before Main Street fills up too much. Main Street Vehicles encompasses a few forms of transportation that guests can take up Main Street in the morning hours.
There is a fire engine, a horseless carriage, and an omnibus, all of which are driven by cast members. There's also a horse-drawn trolley car, which is also used for the Main Street Trolley Show in the mornings.
Peter Pan's Flight
Another Disney Park staple with five versions of the ride worldwide, Peter Pan's Flight is a true Disney classic. It's a dark ride that places guests in a mini pirate ship, and the lap bars lower after a cast member sprinkles "Pixie Dust" on them. The ships soon fly over London and then Neverland. Throughout the ride, animatronics and sets recreate famous moments from the movie. This includes a 48-foot pirate ship where we see Peter Pan and Captain Hook dueling.
A 2014 update gave the ride a new indoor interactive queue that goes through the Darling family nursery. Consistent lines show that Peter Pan remains one of the most popular rides in all of Magic Kingdom.
Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
The carousel itself is the second oldest ride in the entire park, after the Roy O. Disney train. It was built as the Liberty Carousel in Pennsylvania in 1917 and was then moved to a park in Detroit. The Prince Charming Regal Carrousel eventually came to a park in New Jersey in 1929, and in 1967, Disney purchased it. It was refurbished to be used at Disney World and was known as the Cinderella Golden Carrousel until 2010.
There are 90 horses on the ride, no two being identical. The carousel features 18 hand-painted scenes from Cinderella on the ride's canopy. Between those images, there are carvings of the Liberty Maidens that have been there since the ride was first built over a hundred years ago.
Tomorrowland Speedway
This is a racecar track ride, known as Autopia in the original Disneyland version. It started as Grand Prix Raceway when it opened with the Magic Kingdom. It was also known for a time as Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, during which it had details recreated from Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
While the ride has been around since 1971, it's been shortened for other construction. Most recently some of the track had to be reworked because of the construction of Tron Lightcycle Run, but the ride reopened after just a few months.
Walt Disney World Railroad
The Walt Disney World Railroad circles around all of Magic Kingdom, stopping at three stations throughout the park. Since 1971, it has remained a quick and scenic way to get across the park. Four trains run at the Magic Kingdom, all of them led by restored historic locomotives.
The oldest was built in 1916 and is named the Roy O. Disney. The others are named the Walter E. Disney, the Lilly Belle for Walt's wife Lillian, and the Roger E. Broggie for the man who oversaw the development of Disneyland and Magic Kingdom's railroads.
The railroad is currently shut down due to the construction of the Tron Lightcycle Run. However, a train is parked in the Main Street Station for pictures. The railroad will be back up and running for Magic Kingdom's 50th anniversary.