Behind the Attraction on Disney+

Have you ever wanted to go behind-the-scenes of your favorite attraction – discover the stories behind the ghosts haunting a certain mansion, or explore what it takes to fly into space? Welcome to Disney+’s newest series: Behind the Attraction.

Behind the Attraction covers 10 different fan favorite rides. Only the first 5 have been released, with another 5 slated to arrive sometime later this year:

• Episode 1: Jungle Cruise
• Episode 2: Haunted Mansion
• Episode 3: Star Tours
• Episode 4: Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
• Episode 5: Space Mountain

Each episode dives into one specific attraction, from where it came from to the stories it conveys to riders. The episodes run roughly 40-50 minutes each, and span beyond Disneyland to cover different parks all over the world. Within each episode, you’ll hear directly from Imagineers and see footage from the attractions themselves.

MY REVIEW: ★★★☆☆

The Good

• Some of the ride footage is sincerely amazing. You’ll see closeups and cool angles that will give you a new appreciation for the rides – they’re angles you’ll never be able to see when riding. The series also includes some pretty remarkable archival footage I’d never seen before.
• Hearing directly from Imagineers is a huge plus. Hearing development stories paired with seeing concept art really helped you understand how these rides came to life.

The Not-So-Good

• I just said hearing from Imagineers is great – but I also got really aggravated by how this series treated their experts. They sometimes immediately poked fun at whatever an Imagineer just said, and often showed long or awkward pauses during the interviews. These attempts to add humor or a touch of teasing just came across as condescending after a while.
• This series is very superficial and really doesn’t go very far “behind the scenes”, despite what the title suggests. Even fairly casual Disney parks fans probably know 3/4 of the info shared within each episode.
• The style of this series feels like Disney is trying desperately to tap into a YouTube audience. It has a lot of quick cuts and a lighter/more upbeat tone than content like The Imagineering Story. There’s nothing wrong with mixing things up and going for a new experience; I just felt like the super quick cutting, extremely fast narration, and slapstick sound effects got old really quickly and took away from the subject matter.

Overall Impression

If you don’t mind the tone/style of this series, I do think it’s worth watching. Don’t go in expecting to leave with a wealth of knowledge about each attraction, but at the same time, don’t abandon ship because it’s not a thorough documentary. The footage of the park and attractions is truly exciting to watch, and each episode does contain a fair amount of information.

I would’ve liked this series a lot more if they titled it something more like “Meet the Attraction”, because I think the title sets expectations way too high for what this series is supposed to do. It’s really not about going behind the scenes – it’s a teaser of the park’s most beloved attractions.

But even so, I do think I’ll tune in to see the next 5 when they drop later this year – I just can’t get enough of ride footage, especially when I’m gearing up for my next park visit.