All the movies based on Disney rides, from Jungle Cruise and Pirates to Haunted Mansion

Keep your hands, arms, feet, and legs secured in your movie chair.

Disney parks attractions — from the coasters of Disney World to the classic, original dark rides at Disneyland in California — are the heart and soul of some of the happiest places on Earth. So, when the studio wanted to replicate that magic on the big screen, it naturally turned to the stories behind some of its beloved in-person experiences to lay solid foundations for feature film adaptations.

Everett Collection (2); Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images Emily Blunt, Keira Knightley, and more actors in movies based on Disney attractions.

But, not all that's rife for a picture-perfect family vacation makes for a smooth ride through Hollywood. As the new Haunted Mansion movie debuts in theaters, take a look back at every movie based on Disney attractions below, from the Pirates of the Caribbean series to the regularly forgotten Mission to Mars film.

Movies based on Disney rides and attractions

Disney (2) Kirsten Dunst in 'Tower of Terror.'

Tower of Terror (1997)

Audience anticipation for the first-ever film based on a Disney ride followed a similar trajectory to the Hollywood Studios attraction itself, as the made-for-TV thriller Tower of Terror — starring Steve Guttenberg and Kirsten Dunst navigating the titular haunted hotel — quickly dropped off the face of the planet shortly after its 1997 debut on ABC.

Though it was partially filmed on location at the Disney World ride, the film erased the Twilight Zone connection anchoring the Florida project (which now operates several iterations in France, Japan, and California — before Disneyland's version was converted into a Guardians of the Galaxy ride), and was panned by viewers at the time. It's currently unavailable to watch online... not even on Disney+, which the studio even stuffed with something as silly as Perri, a 1957 family film that follows an actual squirrel for 75 minutes. So, like the Hollywood Tower Hotel guests who climbed aboard that fateful elevator, perhaps all involved should've taken the stairs to, uh, somewhere else.

Disney (2) Gary Sinise in Brian de Palma's 'Mission to Mars' movie.

Mission to Mars (2000)

Don't remember Mission to Mars the ride? How about the movie? Neither? Well, you're not alone! For its second-ever film based on one of its rides, Disney tapped legendary director Brian De Palma and actor Gary Sinise to front an exploration into the annals of space — and a decades-old ride that closed at Disneyland in 1992 and Disney World in 1993.

The studio adapted the attraction into a feature seven years after it last operated at Magic Kingdom, and the sci-fi film — about, uh, a mission to Mars — mostly fizzled with critics and audiences, but the ride itself has a much more interesting backstory. One of the marquee attractions of Tomorrowland — the last of Disneyland's original lands to open in 1955 — the in-the-round experience first opened as Rocket to the Moon, which simulated a voyage into space. It was later retooled in the 1970s with a more specific focus on a journey to Mars.

Disney World's version of Mission to Mars was ultimately replaced by one of the most controversial additions in Disney parks history: ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter, a horrifying theater show that locked guests in a room, deprived them of their visual senses by cutting most of the lights, and used binaural sound to make them believe a bloodthirsty alien was devouring guests and cast members around them. Sounds like prime movie material to us.

Disney (2) 'The Country Bears' movie and the Country Bear Jamboree Disney attraction.

The Country Bears (2002)

Disney's Country Bear Jamboree show, which first opened at Disney World's Magic Kingdom in 1971, has long been a polarizing attraction; some consider it to be a cozy place to catch a mid-afternoon nap, while others are genuinely invested in the campy, sing-along antics of the production's animatronic wildlife. One thing both groups agreed on: avoiding the musical experience of the critically loathed 2002 movie based on the show.

Following a bear who travels the country in hopes of reuniting a musical group made up of... other bears, the movie earned overwhelmingly negative reviews and grossed a mere $18 million on a budget nearly double that, but it did feature an impressive cast, including Christopher Walken in a live-action role, with Haley Joel Osment voicing one of the bears — plus A-list cameos from Queen Latifah, Elton John, and Willie Nelson, among others.

Everett Collection; Disney Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley in the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' film series.

Pirates of the Caribbean film series (2003-2017)

After several failed attempts at turning attractions into movies, Disney finally discovered that it had the map to cinematic treasure hidden within its Pirates of the Caribbean boat rides all along.

The blockbuster movie franchise first set sail in 2003, with Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, and Orlando Bloom all aboard for a swashbuckling, high-seas epic that earned rave critical reviews, massive global box office, and five total Oscar nominations — including one for Depp's leading performance.

Though the movie's story draws little from the plot of the attraction that inspired it, the films carved a unique lane for Disney to explore previously untapped territory to the tune of over $4.5 billion in worldwide ticket sales since the series' inception. And while little crossover existed initially, Disneyland and Disney World eventually added show scenes featuring Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow to the ride.

In 2016, Shanghai Disneyland became the first park to open an entire themed area modeled after the Pirates films, with its version of the ride — Battle for the Sunken Treasure — taking place entirely in the movies' universe.

Everett Collection; Disney Eddie Murphy in 'The Haunted Mansion' and Disney World's Haunted Mansion ride.

The Haunted Mansion (2003)

Eddie Murphy's heavily maligned movie adaptation of the classic Disney ride initially put the "grim" in "Grim Grinning Ghosts," earning scathing reviews from film journalists at its time of release. While critics might've felt like they were trapped in a horrific room with no windows (and no doors) during its runtime, The Haunted Mansion amassed a cult following in recent years, and is regularly shown on TV — particularly on Disney Channel and Freeform — at Halloween.

The film's story centered on a pair of real estate agents (Murphy, Marsha Thomason) who, in pursuit of a promising listing, bring their children to scope out the titular Gracey Manor, which they come to find is haunted by hundreds of haunts — some happier than others.

The movie and the ride share aesthetic crossover, including the crystallized head of Madame Leota (Jennifer Tilly), the iconic dining room table from the ride's ghostly wedding scene, and the horse-drawn ghost carriage that sits just outside the ride at Disneyland. The plot the family uncovers, though, involves a murderous butler, cover-ups, and years-old conspiracies, all with narrative inspiration from both the current iteration of the ride as well as elements from the original, unbuilt Disneyland version of the ride that would've seen guests walking through the entire experience versus traveling along in their Doom Buggies.

Everett Collection; Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images George Clooney in 'Tomorrowland' and the Space Mountain attraction.

Tomorrowland (2015)

As far as translating its attractions to the big screen, Disney mostly stuck to its Pirates series throughout the aughts and beyond, but that changed in 2015 with the release of the George Clooney-led Tomorrowland.

Based on a story by former EW staffer Jeff Jensen, the basis for Tomorrowland began in 1955, when Disneyland first opened the film's titular themed section, intended to be a showcase of where the world — and technology — was headed in the future. The film's plot was far less direct, following an eager teen (Britt Robertson) and a jaded inventor (Clooney), who team up to explore the fantasy world.

Still, the movie touched on nostalgic moments from Disney's own history, as the opening scene takes place at the 1964 New York World's Fair, where a younger version of Clooney's character boards the first version of the It's a Small World ride — which Walt Disney actually premiered at the same event nearly 60 years ago.

Everett Collection; Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt in 'Jungle Cruise' and the Jungle Cruise attraction.

Jungle Cruise (2021)

Anyone who says they don't like the idea of a Dwayne Johnson-Emily Blunt blockbuster centered around the Jungle Cruise boat ride is in... wait for it... denial! The A-list duo's chemistry was palpable throughout the big-budget adaptation of one of Disneyland's original rides, which runs on pure, campy fun as skippers comedically command various watercraft through a jungle populated by hungry beasts and playful primates — all while cracking hilarious jokes for their passengers. Johnson's introductory scene lifts certain jokes straight out of the classic ride's narrative, including its signature "backside of water" gag that's generated affectionate eye-rolling for decades.

Walter Leporati/Getty Images; Disney Disneyland's Haunted Mansion ride and Justin Simien's 'Haunted Mansion' movie.

Haunted Mansion (2023)

Twenty years after Murphy checked in to Gracey Manor, Disney is trying a different approach to the Haunted Mansion lore, with Dear White People's Justin Simien helming another movie based on the ride.

The film's first trailer — starring Rosario Dawson as a single mother who moves into the titular abode — teased a wealth of visuals lifted directly from the ride, including Jared Leto's iconic Hatbox Ghost and reigning Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis as Madame Leota, the crystal ball-bound medium riders encounter halfway through the attraction's course.

Haunted Mansion preview shots also confirmed that Simien modeled his manor after the Disneyland version of the ride, which was constructed with a mix of antebellum architectural styles to fit in with the park's New Orleans Square section.

"We got down to the point where we were obsessing over the angle you first see the mansion when you walk onto the ride in Disneyland, when we see it through the gates and we see the pillars," Simien exclusively told EW for our 2023 Summer Movie Preview of the film. "That angle has to hit. That's how specific we were. When you first glide through the dining hall and you see the waltzing dancers, that angle had to be right, because that's the one where you gasp on the ride."

Disney (2) Movies inspired by Figment and the Big Thunder Mountain roller coaster are in the works at Disney.

Future movies based on Disney attractions: Figment, Big Thunder Mountain, and more!

Disney is far from done using its imagination when it comes to adapting its attractions for the big screen. Seth Rogen is currently working on a feature film inspired by Epcot's Journey Into Imagination ride and its beloved purple critter, Figment, while Scarlett Johansson and Taika Waititi will reportedly re-team for the studio's second attempt at translating Tower of Terror into a major movie. Nearly a decade after Disney first ordered a Big Thunder Mountain TV adaptation, the roller coaster — billed at the parks as "the wildest ride in the wilderness" — is also getting the movie treatment.

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