Menu

Disney Parks Rides and Virtual Tour Guide

Author: Ian C. Langtree - Writer/Editor for Disabled World (DW)
Published: 2010/07/22 - Updated: 2025/12/23
Publication Type: Informative
Category Topic: America - Related Publications

Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates

Synopsis: This information provides comprehensive descriptions of major attractions across Disney theme parks worldwide, covering classic rides and newer additions with technical and historical details. Written by the founder of Disabled World, a leading disability resource organization, the content serves people planning visits by explaining ride mechanics, themes, and experiences. The material is particularly useful for visitors with disabilities seeking accessibility insights and for anyone wanting to understand what attractions entail before experiencing them, since actual video content is no longer publicly available through Disney's web-cams. The descriptive approach allows potential guests to make informed decisions about which attractions suit their interests and physical capabilities - Disabled World (DW).

Introduction

View a selection of videos and web-cams of rides and scenes from Disneyland and Disney Parks from around the world including Splash Mountain, Kali River Rapids, Expedition Everest, Big Thunder Mountain, and the Liberty Belle Riverboat Cruise.

Years ago Disney thought of including live web-cams in their parks and had some installed at Walt Disney World. One web-cam showed the view looking down Main Street at Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom. Using the web-cams a potential visitor could see what the weather was like, or how busy the park was, via the live cams. However viewing Disneyland via live web-cam is no longer available to the public.

Main Content

Rides and attractions at Disneyland Include

(Video Clips No Longer Available)

Kali River Rapids

Stay dry as you watch visitors on web-cam from Disney's Animal Kingdom Park raft down the turbulent waters of the Kali River Rapids and the Kali River Rapids Landing Area on Chakranadi River aboard a raft that travels through an Asian rain forest, and down a rushing waterfall.

The ride is based on how the destruction of a rainforest by an logging company threatens the ecological balance of the area. This ride is fun and and well planned out, but it would be great if they added some animals along the river side to go with the recorded sounds of animals and birds.

Splash Mountain at The Magic Kingdom

One of the Magic Kingdom's major attractions is Splash Mountain, a log flume attraction at three Walt Disney Parks, which is based on the 1946 Walt Disney film, "Song of the South", the ride features Brer Fox and Brer Bear's attempts to catch the wily Brer Rabbit as he looks for his laughing place. Each Splash Mountain begins with a peaceful outdoor float-through that leads to indoor dark ride segments, with a climactic steep drop into a "briar patch" followed by an indoor finale. Passengers ride board seven-seater logs with five single-file, individual seats and a back seat that can accommodate two riders. At the time it was built, Splash Mountain was one of the most expensive projects created by Walt Disney Imagineering ($75 million).

Liberty Belle Riverboat Cruise

The Liberty Belle is Disney's authentic replica of an old paddle wheel riverboat. Take an historic ride through American past as this paddle wheeler circles Tom Sawyer's Island in Liberty Square. This steam-powered riverboat was originally named the Richard F. Irvine Riverboat and is the second riverboat on the Rivers of America ride, entering into service, as the Irvine, on May 20, 1973. It was completely refurbished and returned to service in 1996 as the Liberty Belle Riverboat.

In September 2005 The Liberty Belle Riverboat underwent an extensive rehabilitation then returned to the Rivers of America in September 2006.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at the Magic Kingdom

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (also Big Thunder Mountain) is a relatively mild indoor/outdoor mine train roller coaster common in Magic Kingdom style Disney theme parks worldwide. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was designed by Imagineer Tony Baxter and ride design engineer Bill Watkins. Sound effects of typical locomotive operation are piped into the surrounding scenery to add realism to guests viewing the ride from observation platforms.

The attraction first opened at Disneyland in 1979, with the Magic Kingdom's larger version opening in 1980. At Disneyland, a scaled-down western town sits adjacent to the queuing lines and tracks returning to station. A saloon, hotel, assayer's office and mercantile appear among the buildings.

Expedition Everest Video

Legend of the Forbidden Mountain is an elaborately themed roller coaster at Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park in the Walt Disney World Resort and is Disney's most thrilling roller coaster ride.

Expedition Everest is unique for having its trains travel forward and backward as a result of the yeti's interference with the journey. Expedition Everest is the tallest of the artificial mountains at Walt Disney World Resort at 320 feet (98 m) above sea level, joining Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Mount Gushmore, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and Mount Mayday on the list of Disney-built peaks.

In 2005, Disney, Discovery Networks and Conservation International conducted real-life expeditions to China and Nepal as part of the promotion for Expedition Everest.

Haunted Mansion Ride at Disneyland California Anaheim

The Haunted Mansion is a ride attraction located at Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Park in Paris - Phantom Manor. The attraction opened at the Magic Kingdom in 1971, Tokyo Disneyland in 1983, Disneyland Paris as Phantom Manor in 1992. For each of these parks, the Haunted Mansion is an original attraction.

Each incarnation of the attraction features a tour of a haunted house in Omnimover vehicles called Doom Buggies. In one of the Haunted Mansion's early drafts, Walt Disney himself recorded the narration for the attraction. It was eventually scrapped for today's Ghost Host version.

Since 2001, the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland is transformed into Haunted Mansion Holiday during Christmas, based on Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Video Pirates of the Caribbean

Pirates of the Caribbean is a dark ride at the Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris theme parks. This is the last attraction in which Walt Disney participated in the design, but never experienced, since it opened three months after his death. It is located within the New Orleans Square portion of Disneyland.

The ride begins amid glimmering fireflies during an evening with the croaking of a bullfrog in a Louisiana Bayou. Adventurers board their boats at Laffite's Landing, and are at once afloat in the heart of bayou country. On one side is an actual working restaurant, The Blue Bayou, made to look like the backyard dinner party of a southern plantation.

Disneyland Monorail

The Disneyland Monorail System is an attraction and transportation system at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, USA. The Disneyland-ALWEG Monorail System opened on June 14, 1959 as a sightseeing attraction in Tomorrowland in Disneyland.

The Disneyland Monorail has two stations: one in Tomorrowland, and another in the Downtown Disney district. The original Monorail was a round trip ride with no stops. In 2006, the Tomorrowland Station was remodeled due to the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage construction.

All passengers board at a single platform. Leaving Tomorrowland station, the monorail crosses the Disneyland Railroad and continues along Harbor Blvd. on the eastern edge of the park. Turning to enter Disney's California Adventure, it passes Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

Sleeping Beauty Castle

Sleeping Beauty's Castle is the fairy tale structure at the center of Disneyland Park and Hong Kong Disneyland Park, the castle is the oldest of all the Disney castles. The walk-through experience was discontinued in 2001, however on July 17, 2008 it was announced that the Sleeping Beauty Castle walk-thru will reopen later in the year in time for the Holiday season at Disneyland.

Sleeping Beauty Castle is a Disney icon, and has become the basis for the logo of Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Television, Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group, Buena Vista Music Group and Buena Vista International. It is also heavily featured in advertisements for the Wonderful World of Disney.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

More commonly known as Tower of Terror, is a simulated free-fall thrill ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, at Disney's California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California, and at Walt Disney Studios Park, Disneyland Resort Paris. At 199 feet, it is the second tallest attraction at the Walt Disney World Resort, shorter only than Expedition Everest's 199.5 feet.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is based on the same designs as the version at Disney's California Adventure. However, it was originally "Imagineered" for the Paris park at the same time as Tokyo's tower and planned to open just 2 years after the opening of the park itself.

Grizzly River Rapids Ride

Grizzly River Run is a river rafting ride at Disney's California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It is similar to the Shipwreck Rapids ride in SeaWorld.

The raft trip around Grizzly Peak begins with the rafts being lifted up a wooden conveyor that runs under leaking pipes that spray water on the riders. Upon reaching the top of the conveyor, the rafts are dropped into the water to descend the peak, passing through a cave and bumping against a log jam. The climax of the ride drops the rafts down into a geyser field. A similar ride at the now-defunct park in Nashville, Tennessee was called the Grizzly River Rampage.

Ride the Matterhorn at Disneyland

The Matterhorn Bobsleds or the Matterhorn is an attraction made up of two intertwining steel roller coasters at Disneyland in Anaheim, California located on the border between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland.

The ride consists of two separate tracks that run somewhat parallel to each other for much of the ride, intertwining and eventually deviating from each other at the loading areas, the Fantasyland track and Tomorrowland track.

Insights, Analysis, and Developments

Editorial Note: What once seemed like the future - live web-cams into Disney parks - has become a casualty of security concerns and changing technology. Yet this guide's detailed descriptions of rides and attractions fill that void effectively, offering armchair travelers and accessibility-conscious visitors the next best thing to being there. For people with disabilities deciding whether a park visit is feasible, or for families planning which attractions to prioritize, these substantive accounts provide essential context that no sanitized marketing material could deliver. In an era when theme parks have largely retreated from public-facing transparency, resources like this become even more valuable as independent sources of honest, practical information about what guests can actually expect - Disabled World (DW).

Ian C. Langtree Author Credentials: Ian is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, a leading resource for news and information on disability issues. With a global perspective shaped by years of travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed proponent of the Social Model of Disability-a transformative framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that emphasizes dismantling societal barriers rather than focusing solely on individual impairments. His work reflects a deep commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his .

Related Publications

: Overview of Crystal River, Florida, featuring manatees, accessible parks, archaeology, wildlife refuges, and a rich blend of natural and cultural history.

: Accessible museums and historic sites across the US preserve African American history from slavery through civil rights for all visitors.

: Discover unique U.S. parks featuring fossilized forests, gypsum dunes, volcanic landscapes, outdoor art galleries, and vintage neon displays with accessibility.

Share Page
APA: Disabled World. (2010, July 22 - Last revised: 2025, December 23). Disney Parks Rides and Virtual Tour Guide. Disabled World (DW). Retrieved January 30, 2026 from www.disabled-world.com/travel/usa/disney-cams.php
MLA: Disabled World. "Disney Parks Rides and Virtual Tour Guide." Disabled World (DW), 22 Jul. 2010, revised 23 Dec. 2025. Web. 30 Jan. 2026. <www.disabled-world.com/travel/usa/disney-cams.php>.
Chicago: Disabled World. "Disney Parks Rides and Virtual Tour Guide." Disabled World (DW). Last modified December 23, 2025. www.disabled-world.com/travel/usa/disney-cams.php.

While we strive to provide accurate, up-to-date information, our content is for general informational purposes only. Please consult qualified professionals for advice specific to your situation.