Before the fun flick “Pirates of the Caribbean” became a billion-dollar franchise or “The Haunted Mansion” summoned its first ghostly laughs, these stories started as thrilling theme park rides.

Disney has a history of turning attractions into blockbuster films, bringing the magic of its parks to the big screen. Here are some films you may not have known were based on real-life rides!

Jungle Cruise

A classic Magic Kingdom ride that inspired a movie, the 2021 film is set during World War I in 1917 with British botanist Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt) in search of an ancient tree with petals that have amazing healing properties. She hires down-on-his-luck riverboat captain Frank Wolff (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), who is like the park “captains” who take tourists on jungle rides with groan-worthy jokes. The film pays homage to the attraction with familiar references, including Trader Sam, Jungle Navigation Company and the “backside of water” joke.

Tomorrowland

While Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom is a themed region of the park rather than an actual attraction, it sparked a 2015 sci-fi movie starring George Clooney as an inventor who travels with a girl (Britt Robertson) into an alternate universe. It was filmed on Florida’s Atlantic coast, from the Kennedy Space Center to New Smyrna Beach.

The Pirates Of The Caribbean

Disney’s most successful ride-based franchise has plundered more than $4.5 billion over five films. Not a bad haul for Johnny Depp’s infamous pirate Captain Jack Sparrow and a whole boatload of buccaneer costars. Turnabout is fair play too. In 2006, the ride was spruced up to include characters and references from the movies.

Mission To Mars

This Magic Kingdom ride opened in 1971 as Flight to the Moon but then switched missions to Mars. It closed in 1993 to make room for other attractions — seven years before the movie following a rescue mission to the red planet hit screens. The film stars Jerry O’Connell, Don Cheadle, Gary Sinise, Tim Robbins and Kim Delaney.

The Haunted Mansion

Riders of this longtime favorite travel slowly through a hilarious haunted mansion filled with singing spirits — the 2003 movie stars Eddie Murphy as a real estate agent who’s trapped with his family inside a haunted house and must find a way to escape. In 2023, the film was rebooted with LaKeith Stanfield, Owen Wilson, Rosario Dawson, Tiffany Haddish and Danny Devito.

Country Bear Jamoree

Long a fan favorite, the iconic show was closed down, revamped and reopened with updated songs. The 2002 live-action animated film based on the attraction is centered on Beary Barrington’s journey to get the Country Bears back together to save Country Bear Hall with a reunion concert. “The Country Bears” features the voices of Haley Joel Osment, Diedrich Bader, Brad Garrett and Stephen Root, along with Christopher Walken, Stephen Tobolowsky and Daryl Mitchell in the flesh.

Tower Of Terror

While the popular haunted elevator ride featuring a series of vertical plummets and rises at Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios was based on Rod Serling‘s dark fantasy early ’60s TV series “The Twilight Zone,” the 1997 film follows a similar storyline to the attraction, with Steve Guttenberg trying to find out what made the elevator collapse at a haunted hotel. The movie also stars Kirsten Dunst, Melora Hardin, Alastair Duncan, John Franklin and Nia Peeples.