Ever since I was a little kid, dark rides have always been my favorite theme park attractions. Rollercoasters are great, don’t get me wrong, and I won’t say no to a log flume voyage, but dark rides always trumped the rest with their use of immersive storytelling. You were taken out of your regular world and plunged, if just for a few minutes, into another one entirely. Dark rides always sparked my imagination, and I’ve never been able to get enough of them.

Above all of the dark rides I’ve gone on and liked, Disney’s Haunted Mansion is head and shoulders above them all. I love this ride dearly — as my poor family can attest when I start quoting the script — and haven’t gotten bored of going on it even after countless trips as a teen and as an adult.

For me, the Haunted Mansion is the perfect encapsulation of the part of Halloween I like. I don’t really care for true scares or gory sights, but there’s something about the cheery macabre spirit that is actually uplifting to me. I suppose it’s because it all feels like it’s a different world entirely, one that changes the rules of reality and really gets the mind ticking. That’s the Haunted Mansion for me. It’s never been a place that’s trying to freak me out, just one that delights in its ghoulish attitude and high-spirited inhabitants.

It helps that the whole experience of the ride works in such perfect concert with each other. The queue (here I’m talking of the Florida version, which I’ve gone to the most) offers great sights and interactive elements, serving to transition the guest’s mind from the larger park experience to this specific mood. On the surface, you’d think it’s all about death because of the gravestones and cheery black humor, but I like to think it’s more about life after this one. A life where nobody’s actually scared or hurting any more, but are actually having a pretty good time with things even if we don’t understand their world.

From the queue, guests head into the building and go through the walking portion of the attraction. This includes the foyer with the Ghost Host’s initial narration, the infamous stretching room (which may be the only part with an actual jump scare), and the walk up to the ride. I actually like the walking part because it further helps to distance me from the park and give me a little agency in exploring (if in a limited way) this special mansion.

And then we’re off on the ride itself, with the “Doombuggies” moving this way and that to show off the various sights and activities of the mansion. There’s a progression here, with the earlier parts only suggesting ghosts and the latter half outright showing them, and plenty of rooms to ogle. Once, the ride broke down at I was above the grand ballroom, and that ended up being a great visit because I was finally able to look over every single detail of the packed room below with its Pepper’s Ghost illusion. Even the cooler breeze and the slight smells that flow through the attraction further enhance the mood.

During these few minutes of ride time, I feel fully couched in the Halloween spirit. Nothing here is out to get me, just to invite me to join in on the fun. I mean, consider how different it is to see a graveyard full of partying spooks instead of ones that are trying to get a scare out of viewers. It’s a huge tonal difference, and it contrasts well with the afterlife theming.

I don’t have any deeply touching story to share about why this ride is my favorite, other than to say that it simply is. I was glad to get to visit Disneyworld a couple of years ago to check out the original Haunted Mansion — which was good, don’t get me wrong, but I think I’ll always prefer Disney World’s version.