Top 25 BEST Disney And Universal ANIMATRONICS!

Added: 2026-05-24

[00:00:00]Welcome back to World of Immersion.

[00:00:01]Today, we have a very special video in that we are going to be ranking the top 25 best Disney and Universal animatronics. Now, over the years, as the theme park industry has grown, new and more impressive animatronics have been built, allowing for some of the most lifelike figures that we've ever seen before. With Disney and Universal having a great track record of making some of the most impressive animatronics, I thought it'd be fun to rank these lifelike figures and see which one comes out on top. With that being said, today's video was one of the hardest rankings I've ever had to make.

[00:00:31]So, comment down below if you disagree or agree, and how you would change this order, or if there's any animatronics that I've definitely missed. Make sure to like and subscribe, as it helps us create new content for you guys daily.

[00:00:41]And with that being said, let's get right into the ranking.

[00:00:45]>> [music] [music] [clears throat] >> Now, I do want to clarify before we start the ranking that there will be no repeat animatronics. For example, if there are two Elsa animatronics in the Frozen ride, I can only choose one of the animatronics to represent on the list. I will also only be choosing animatronics for my theme park show or theme park ride, which means no meet and greets, for example. But, starting off this list at number 25, we have Mr. Potato Head. Now, this is going to be our first Disney animatronic, and you can find it located in the queue for Toy Story Midway Mania. It's definitely a decent-size animatronic, and is pretty fluid with the arms and eyebrows moving a lot as he talks. He also has projected eyes that blink, but I think the most memorable moment from this animatronic is that I can interact with guests in the queue. He constantly engages guests by telling jokes, and is definitely one of the funnier animatronics on this list. I think the fact that his eyes are the only part of his body that are projection-mapped allows for the animatronic overall to look a lot more lifelike. I think a lot of people who go to Disney forget that this animatronic exists, including myself, and I do think it's a very underrated animatronic. But, coming in at number 24, we have the Wolfman animatronic over at Universal's Epic Universe. Now, out of all the animatronics on this list, I would say that this is the only one that actually jump scares you. You're in a Kuka arm style ride, and you kind of go forward before turning around, and suddenly a Wolfman animatronic swipes at you. And it's definitely one of the scarier moments I've had on a ride before. It definitely pays homage to Expedition Everest's Yeti animatronic, in my opinion, and it kind of does that same swiping motion. But, this ranks at 24 just because it's only for a brief moment, and you don't see it for very long. But, if you watch the behind-the-scenes video, it looks insanely realistic, and the amount of detail that went into making this animatronic definitely put it on this list. And coming in at number 23, we're staying at Epic Universe for the Toothless animatronic over at Hiccup's Wing Gliders. Definitely one of the most underrated rides in the park, in my opinion, and I think this Toothless animatronic is a big reason why I believe that. It's a very lifelike and life-size representation of Toothless.

[00:02:52]It's facial expressions are very accurate to Toothless in the movies. And it also moves a lot. I think it's amazing that they included this animatronic in the ride, as he actually has a pretty important role launching guests from that very first launch. And overall, just a very accurate representation of Toothless from the movies. And coming in at number 22, we're heading over to Tokyo DisneySea for the Rapunzel animatronic. This animatronic is located at Rapunzel's Lantern Festival in the newly opened Fantasy Springs Land. Now, like I said earlier in the video, I can only choose one Rapunzel animatronic to represent this list, and I'm going to choose that very last Rapunzel animatronic in that famous lantern scene room. Now, even though this figure doesn't move a whole lot, it's definitely one of the most realistic animatronics on this list. For starters, I know it's harder to recreate a human-like figure in an animatronic form, and I think that Rapunzel animatronic just looks fantastic and ultra-realistic. For this specific scene in the ride, you definitely have a lot of time to view that animatronic as you kind of surround the boat where it's placed. And overall, I think the highlight from I'm at this figure is seeing those facial expressions and how human-like they look. But, coming in at number 21, we're heading to Disney's California Adventure for the Rocket Raccoon animatronic. Now, you'll actually see this animatronic located in the pre-show for Guardians of the Galaxy Mission: Breakout. And this figure definitely has one of the longest audio cues on this list. Once he pops up at the top in the pre-show, you kind of see him for at least a minute or a minute and a half, which in my opinion is why he ranks higher in this list. Even though he's one of the smaller animatronics on this list, he's still very fluid as he kind of pops up and then eventually ducks back down. It's one of my favorite pre-shows of all time just because Rocket's one of my favorite Marvel characters and I definitely think he steals the show with this one. But, compared to a lot of the other animatronics on this list, it definitely is hard for it to rank higher just because of its size. And coming in at number 20, one of the largest animatronics on this list, and that is the Arromant animatronic over at Battle at the Ministry. Definitely one of the bigger animatronics on this list, maybe the biggest one. And if you've ever seen this thing in person, it is absolutely massive. It's also a very fluid animatronic and it moves its head towards the elevator holding Ron, Hermione, and Harry. And then it swings its head right back at you and then it hits you away into the next scene. And honestly, this is one of the highlights of the ride in my opinion just because I love the physical sets of this ride and I think that this animatronic is one of my favorite moments of any ride at Epic Universe. I think the sheer scale of this animatronic puts it above the rest that I've already ranked and it definitely deserves a spot on this list.

[00:05:16]But, coming in at number 19, we have the Phantom of the Opera animatronic over at Monsters Unchained. Now, this is easily one of my favorite characters over in the Monsters Unchained ride. The way your ride vehicle kind of points towards this animatronic and the way you approach it makes this even cooler. His back is turned while he's playing the piano and you're kind of surrounding him before he turns around and reaches out at you, which is honestly such a cool reveal to see how menacing this character looks. You also got those real live flames when he's playing the piano right above you and you can feel that heat. Just honestly one of my favorite presentations of any animatronic in the world. And if you haven't ridden this ride already, make sure you get out there because it's worth it just to see this animatronic alone. But coming in at number 18, we have Mama Odie over at Tiana's Bayou Adventure. Now, there are multiple Mama Odie animatronics in this ride, so I'm going to be choosing the one that's at the very finale of the ride, right before you get off your log.

[00:06:06]Now, this figure has multiple audio cues and different movements for each audio cue. And I think it looks very movie accurate to The Princess and the Frog films when you see Mama Odie. I think these new Disney A-1000 animatronics are insanely realistic. And honestly, every single animatronic you see in this ride is that fluid. But the reason why this one ranks lower than the rest of the animatronics in this ride is just because it's smaller in scale and definitely moves a lot less. But nonetheless, still a very impressive animatronic. And hopefully, Disney uses more of these animatronics in the future rather than those projected faces because these look amazing. And coming in at number 17, we have the Lava Monster over at Tokyo Disney Sea from Journey to the Center of the Earth. Now, this is one of the coolest designs out of any animatronic on this list, and it makes it that much scarier. In this specific ride, your experience has been kind of calm and tame so far, but then you turn the corner and you see this giant beast, and it rises up and yells before your car takes off, and then you launch into straight darkness. It's definitely a startling moment because let me tell you, this thing is massive.

[00:07:05]Disney Imagineers actually designed it to look like molten rock with these yellow glowing eyes, and it's so menacing. I think the pacing of this ride is absolutely amazing, and it kind of builds and builds up until this moment where you see the animatronic, and then your jaw drops when you see it towering over your ride vehicle.

[00:07:20]Surprisingly, this is not the highest ranked animatronic in Tokyo Disney Sea on this list, but I do think it is one of the more impressive ones. But coming in at number 16, we're heading back over to Monsters on Main for the Dracula animatronic. Now, for this ride, I'm actually choosing the second Dracula you see, not the first one where he breaks out of his chains and comes to life. And the reason I chose the second one is because cuz it's a lot more fluid, and the reveal is a lot better. You've got that giant screen right behind it, so it makes the scene way more visually pleasing and I like how Dracula kind of just rises up and moves his hand around and tells you to not fear the dark. And in that moment in the ride, I was definitely very impressed just because of how cool it looked and I can't believe they actually built a Dracula animatronic. And it's one of my favorite quotes from the ride just because I think it's very chilling and I love that horror theme of the ride. And also, I think the immersion is just a little bit better just because sometimes in that first animatronic, you can see the arm behind it that's holding up the figure, but in this one, you can never see it, so it looks a lot better and a way more immersive. But, that's just my opinion.

[00:08:17]I think a lot of people like that first one better, which honestly, I could see that, too. But, moving on to number 15, we're staying in that same ride for that Victoria Frankenstein animatronic in the pre-show. This one ranks higher than a lot of the other animatronics because of how long that audio queue is and all the different movements they had to sync up for this animatronic. My only complaint with it though that keeps it from ranking higher is that projected face. I don't think it looks all too great, but overall, just the movement of it makes up for it a lot. She explains to guests and talks to them about Frankenstein and how there's nothing to fear and then displays her plans for the Dracula experiment, which is the premise of the ride. But, I think what impressed me most is angry she kind of threw her arms up in frustration staring right at him.

[00:08:57]So, just overall, a very fluid animatronic and definitely deserves a spot in the top 15. And coming in at number 14, we have the Louis animatronic over at Tiana's Bayou Adventure. Now, there's multiple Louis animatronics as you know if you've ridden this ride. So, I'll be choosing the very first one you see when you enter that bayou. But, when you first enter that indoor section of this ride, it's definitely one of the cooler reveals seeing that giant Louis animatronic. And I was surprised to see the amount of motion on this animatronic considering how large it was. But, I've only ridden the Disneyland version and you kind of pass by this animatronic sort of quickly and I just wish you got more time to see him. Even though there are more later, I think this one is definitely the most fluid. And when it's working, definitely one of the better highlights of this ride. and I appreciate it every time I see it. And coming in at number 13, we have the Kylo Ren animatronic in Rise of the Resistance. Now, you actually see this figure towards the end of the ride, and of course, the one I'm going to be talking about is the one you see where your vehicle turns around, and you suddenly see him using the Force to pull your ride vehicle towards him. And this Kylo Ren animatronic you see for the longest in this ride since that first one, he only turns around at you in a couple of seconds. I think this Kylo Ren animatronic has some similarities to that Victoria Frankenstein animatronic I talked about earlier and how he kind of uses his arms to express himself.

[00:10:10]Except, I think that he's a lot more fluid, and I think the coolest part about seeing this figure is how much movement he has when there's a big hole in the wall when a ship shoots it, and it actually looks like he's being sucked out into outer space. And it's so cool to see how fluid it looks. And I also think it's very impressive that every time I've rode this ride, this animatronic has worked, even though it's one of the more complex figures Disney has made, and I can always appreciate that. But, coming in at number 12, we have the Anna animatronic from Anna and Elsa's Frozen Journey. Now, there are also multiple Anna animatronics in this ride, but I'm going to be choosing that very last one with the super cool effect. Now, this is one of the best parts of this ride, which is one of my favorite rides of all time. It recreates that famous scene from the first movie where she's frozen, and then she melts away, and then she kind of glides right back down. And she even has a full conversation with Elsa right after, and she even looks like she holds her hands, which is insane. But, overall, a very fluid animatronic, another A-1000 like the ones from Tiana's Bayou Adventure.

[00:11:06]And this will not be the last animatronic from this ride on this list.

[00:11:09]Because coming in at number 11 is the Elsa animatronic from Anna and Elsa's Frozen Journey. And I'm going to be choosing the famous Let It Go scene Elsa where she's waving her hands and singing Let It Go. Just one of the most well-done and visually pleasing scenes in theme park history, in my opinion.

[00:11:24]The actual animatronic has no projected faces, and it's super fluid, insanely realistic, and the room feels a lot bigger than the room at Epcot's Frozen ride, and the lighting and color scheme of the entire room is just so much cooler, and it's one of my favorite scenes from this ride. But, this ride just has so many highlights, and this animatronic is definitely one of them.

[00:11:42]Just seeing how the ride system interacts with the animatronic singing as you do a switch track, then you fall backwards. It's just so well done, and honestly, one of the most fluid animatronics on this list. But, now we're heading into the top 10 animatronics from Disney and Universal.

[00:11:57]These are the animatronics that are the most memorable and make each ride they're in what it is. And kicking off the top 10, we have the Tiana animatronic from Tiana's Bayou Adventure. Now, for this ride, we're going to be choosing that very last Tiana animatronic at that party scene.

[00:12:11]Now, I think this animatronic stands out from the other Tiana animatronics on this list just because I think it has the longest audio queue, and it's always constantly moving and moving its arms, and it's singing the new song. You're actually looking at this Tiana animatronic for the longest time out of any part of the ride, so it has to have the longest audio queue, and you actually get super close to it can see the facial expressions and just how realistic it looks, and it's just such a well-done animatronic. I think what puts it above that Elsa animatronic is just how much more motion it has and how much longer you see it for. Just a very well-done part of the ride in general, and I think this animatronic is definitely the star of that scene. But, coming in at number nine, we're heading over to Tokyo Disneyland for the Belle animatronic in the Beauty and the Beast ride. Now, I'm actually going to choose the animatronic from the pre-show, and I think it's easily the most fluid out of all the Belle animatronics on this ride.

[00:12:59]She's holding a lantern out and walks forwards to the audience before actually eventually running away after being scared off by the Beast. And anytime an animatronic can walk forwards and backwards like that just highlights its complexity and how much effort actually went into putting this animatronic. They actually based the look of this character off the animated film instead of the live-action one, which I'm very proud of. And I remember when Disney released a short teaser of this animatronic, I was super excited for this ride, and it definitely didn't disappoint because this animatronic was incredibly fluid and lifelike. And similar to that Victoria Frankenstein animatronic, it has a very long audio queue since they're both in the pre-show. So, that just makes this animatronic rank a lot higher. It also does not have a projected face. It's another A-1000 animatronic and overall just a very well-done animatronic. And for number nine, we're staying at the same exact ride for the Beast animatronic. Now, I will be choosing the pre-show Beast animatronic also because it walks forwards and backwards. And I think I ranked this one spot higher just because it's huge. It's way bigger. So, it just makes the figure a lot more complex to make and it's just way more impressive when you see it in person.

[00:14:02]It's so intimidating. When he walks out, it's a scary reveal and he even roars, which is super intimidating. This pre-show overall is just super well-done. You got that Belle animatronic and the Beast animatronic interacting with each other, but this Beast animatronic being such a large-sized animatronic just puts it one spot higher. Now, coming in at number seven, we're heading to Islands of Adventure for the King Kong animatronic in Skull Island Reign of Kong. Now, this is one of those animatronics where when I first saw it, I was absolutely blown away. I can confidently say this is the biggest animatronic on this list and wow is it intimidating. In the ride, it's mostly screen-based, so it kind of catches you by surprise. You turn that corner and you slowly drive by the Kong animatronic and it's super lifelike.

[00:14:44]It's absolutely insane that this thing exists. His eyes and face track the ride vehicle as you're passing by him. And I remember everybody in my ride vehicle kind of just holding their breath very still. And I think the only reason that this doesn't rank higher is just because the animatronics above it have a lot more fluidity and move a lot more.

[00:15:01]Nonetheless, this animatronic is just absolutely insane and it makes me wish I saw the Confrontation animatronic in Universal Studios Florida because if this animatronic was big, I can't even imagine seeing that one. I am glad this one does still exist today and at least we have some sort of version of King Kong. But for number six, we're heading over to Universal Studios Hollywood for the Indominus Rex animatronic on Jurassic World. I could argue that this animatronic was even more breathtaking than seeing the King Kong animatronic for the first time. When you're in that room and you first see that Indominus Rex, the room is kind of quiet and all you can hear is the giant roars of the T-Rex just walking forward. This thing fully walks forward, roars, yells, and even bends its head down to yell at guests. It's so intimidating. I remember my friend sitting next to me when he rode this ride for the first time and he was just absolutely terrified. It really does look like there is a real Indominus Rex that is alive and walking towards you. And this is one of my favorite scenes in any ride in theme park history just because of the absolute scale of this animatronic and how cool it is. And I can confidently say this animatronic is the highlight of this ride for me and definitely deserving a spot in this top 10. But now we're heading to the top five. These are the five most advanced animatronics maybe in the world. But at number five we have the Hondo animatronic from Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. Now this animatronic is actually located in the pre-show of this ride because it is a simulator ride. And I will say I do ride this ride just so I can see this animatronic again because wow is it fluid. It honestly does look like a person is up there talking to you. And as a huge Star Wars fan I'm glad they executed this animatronic so well. And I do remember people saying when this ride first came out they thought this was a real person, a live actor, not an animatronic which is a testament to how good this animatronic actually is. Has a very long audio cue once again which definitely bumps its spot up a lot just because it has to explain a lot of stuff to the guests because it is part of the pre-show and definitely a highlight of getting on this ride. Now getting to these top four I think you can interchange any of these animatronics and say they are the best out of any Disney and Universal ride and I wouldn't disagree with you. But coming in at number four we have the Death Eater animatronic from the Battle at the Ministry over at Epic Universe. Like the Hondo animatronic a lot of people were saying that they thought this was a live actor and it's hard to blame them. This thing is absolutely one of the most fluid human-like figures on this list.

[00:17:19]He's standing on this platform in front of you and he kind of bends down, swings his wand at you, and just does a lot of movements that seem so human-like. It's hard to explain. This is easily my favorite scene of the entire ride because of just how well done it is.

[00:17:31]There's a wand fight going in the back with Harry and Hermione and you have this Death Eater in animatronic form, which is super fluid. I'm also a huge Harry Potter fan and I'm just so happy to see how well executed this scene was and mostly this animatronic because just such a highlight of the ride. But in my opinion, it doesn't rank in the top three and I think these other ones are just a tiny bit better. And coming in at number three, we have the Walt Disney animatronic from the new Walt Disney show at Disneyland, California. Now, out of all the animatronics in this list that are human form, this is easily the most realistic out of all of them. It is very difficult to create an animatronic in human form that looks realistic because if it's even a little off, it could look unsettling or just not as good. And this animatronic did have a few complaints when it first came out, but when I went in person to watch it, absolutely the opposite. I was stunned by what I saw because it actually did look like Walt Disney was up there talking to the guests. He fully sits down, stands up to talk to you, and walks forward a little bit. And he has so many subtle human movements that make me realize how good of an animatronic this is. But once again, he also has a very long audio queue. He talks to guests for about like a minute and a half, which is insane. With it also being one of the newest animatronics on this list, it's just great to see the direction Disney's going in with these new animatronics and just how lifelike it looks. And if you haven't seen this show yet, just go to see this animatronic. It's absolutely breathtaking how lifelike it looks. But coming in at number two, we have our highest ranked Disney animatronic, which is the Na'vi animatronic in Na'vi River Journey. Now, this entire ride builds up to this one scene. There's zero animatronics up until this point and it's the very finale of the ride. You're floating towards it and then you see this very lifelike Avatar. She's singing a song and waving her hands around. And probably the most fluid animatronic on this list, just in terms of its movements, it never has a moment where it stops and kind of resets. It's always just flowing its arms around. It's absolutely insane to see. And this is the main reason why you ride this ride, to see this animatronic, which is also just a testament to how good it is. With the facial expressions, the arm movement, and just how much it moves.

[00:19:33]With the facial expressions and the arm movement, it just looks so realistic and it's hard to explain. You just have to go out and see this attraction for yourself. It apparently cost Disney around 23 million dollars to build this animatronic, which if you see this animatronic in person, it is understandable. But it does not take the number one spot, and that would be the Frankenstein animatronic over at Monsters Unchained at Epic Universe. And just to specify, we're talking about that Frankenstein animatronic in the pre-show of this ride. And the moment I saw this reveal, I knew that this was the best animatronic out of any Disney or Universal ride. This animatronic is 9 ft tall and apparently 800 lb, which is insane. And it probably has the coolest reveal out of any animatronic on this list, because you don't see it right away. And then eventually a spotlight shines on it, and every single time I've ridden this ride, I've at least heard one gasp out loud from seeing this animatronic. The detail and design of this creature is absolutely insane, and he even walks forward as well. And the soundscape when you're in the room is super intimidating because when he yells, everybody kind of just goes quiet and it's so intimidating. And when he gets revealed, you kind of just see everybody stare at him the rest of the pre-show. They don't really listen to anything else because it's just amazing at how advanced it looks. And I can't believe Universal pulled off an animatronic that's this tall, realistic, and fluid. I think my favorite part is not just the reveal, but when he sees Dracula and gets mad and swings his arm in rage. It's just super intimidating.

[00:20:53]And I haven't stayed in this room long enough for this, but if you're one of the last guests that leave, apparently the Frankenstein animatronic has such a long queue that he's kind of ushering guests out with his hands, and they never see the animatronic reset. And it's just super clever. And this just absolutely does justice to the Frankenstein creature. But what do you guys think? Tell me your thoughts down below in the comments if you agree or disagree. I know that even the top 10 of animatronics could be mixed around and I know people have different opinions. So let me know down below. Thank you so much for watching. We have a lot of new content coming out this coming week. So be sure to stay tuned and we'll see you next time.