Disney World Ride Makeovers Reassessed: Cosmic Rewind and Tiana Lead as Journey Into Imagination Lags

Fresh rankings spotlight Disney’s evolving identity through the tension between IP appeal and cultural storytelling.

Overview

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is repeatedly named the standout modernization, praised for marrying coaster technology with clear narrative and repeatable fun.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is characterized as a strong successor to Splash Mountain, keeping the flume-drop structure while adding new animatronics, music, and a film-faithful story.
Journey Into Imagination with Figment is widely deemed the poorest retheme, with fans viewing the current iteration as a diminished version of the original.
Test Track’s 1999 transformation from World of Motion is lauded in hindsight, and the ride is noted as being refreshed again after later updates drew mixed reactions.
Frozen Ever After remains popular despite shifting EPCOT’s Norway pavilion away from cultural focus, and Gran Fiesta Tour’s character-driven direction continues to fuel Coco retheme rumors.