Best & Worst Disney Parks in the World
Beyond Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California, there are theme parks in Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. This list ranks all 12, with pros & cons, rides, shows, parades, fireworks, and more to determine the best & worst Disney parks worldwide. (Updated November 27, 2023.)
Each of the Disney resort complexes has a castle park, but not all of these parks are of the same quality, and their second gates (and beyond) are all very different. The list is our attempt at objectivity in ranking the parks, trying to the greatest extent possible to eliminate personal biases and pesky things like nostalgia.
Like the BCS and other power rankings, no one is bound to agree with these, despite them being very scientific and downright infallible. Joking aside, it’s entirely possible that you’ll appreciate various attractions, entertainment, or the themed lands more or less than us, in which case your list would differ. As with anything like this, your mileage may vary.
Our latest update to these rankings comes with some big openings and events this year, along with the restoration of much of what’s been missing in the last couple of years. The newest addition is the World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland, which is the first-ever Arendelle area in a Disney theme park, but not the last!
There’s actually been a lot to debut in the last year or so during park anniversaries and the Disney100 celebration. Other international parks have added new entertainment, including “Believe! Sea of Dreams” at Tokyo DisneySea and Harmony in Color at Tokyo Disneyland.
Closer to home, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway plus two new nighttime spectaculars debuted at Disneyland. TRON Lightcycle Run opened at Magic Kingdom this year. Over at EPCOT, a lot has been changing. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind opened last year, with Moana’s Journey of Water opening this year, and Luminous: The Symphony of Us slated to debut soon.
Prior to this year’s additions, there have been a number of notable new lands and attractions to debut within the last few years. The biggest of these is Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast, which is part of a blockbuster $750 million expansion of Tokyo Disneyland. There’s also Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure, Cars Road Trip at Walt Disney Studios Park, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure at EPCOT, and more.
There’s actually a lot coming in the first half of 2024 that could further disrupt the rankings. The completion of the EPCOT overhaul with CommuniCore Hall, Zootopia land at Shanghai Disney Resort, and Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea. The latter two are potential game-changers that could help those already stronger parks get better. EPCOT’s overhaul is mostly a matter of undoing damage and fixing what’s broken.
Between new entertainment and new attractions opening, 2024 should be another big year for changes and improvements at several parks on this list. For now, here are our current Disney Parks Power Rankings.
12. Walt Disney Studios Park
After improving thanks to the addition of the Ratatouille: the Adventure trackless dark ride a few years ago, Walt Disney Studios Park is once again a park in transition. The big recent addition was Avengers Campus, which brought a reskinned roller coaster, Spider-Man shooter game, and other additions similar to the Marvel land in DCA.
The good news is that even more is on the horizon, with a new Frozen land that will feature snow-capped mountains opposite a large lake, with a boat ride that will transport guests to Arendelle. The area will also include character encounters, a new restaurant, and a shop. Unfortunately, it will no longer open in time for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, and should arrive instead in 2025.
Walt Disney Studios Park has a promising future, but we’re still years away from it being a theme park truly worthy of the Disney name. For now, it’s far and away the worst entry on this list.
11. Disney California Adventure
Nearly a decade since Disney pulled back the curtain on DCA 2.0, the much-maligned second gate at Disneyland Resort continues to improve, albeit minus a cohesive “California” theme. This has been done slowly, with a two steps forward, one step backwards kind of approach.
The most recent addition is Avengers Campus, which includes the previously-reimagined Guardians of the Galaxy – MISSION: Breakout and newcomer Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure. Both are fun additions, as is the land itself, which is full of life thanks to the Marvel characters. There’s also San Fransokyo Square, I guess, but that’s really more a fresh coat of paint on the food court rather than anything new.
Nothing else is on the horizon as the company turns its focus back to Disneyland, Downtown Disney redevelopment, hotel expansion, and a zoning campaign. That’s disappointing, as Disney California Adventure still needs more to make it a good companion park to Disneyland.
10. Shanghai Disneyland
Although there’s the question of whether anyone reading this should want to visit mainland China, that’s more of a ‘procedural’ question and not germane to the question of where the parks rank. We have yet to return to Shanghai Disneyland since the border reopened earlier this year, and have no intentions of doing so anytime soon.
The version of the park we last visited before the world went sideways was good, but not great. There’s a strong possibility that Zootopia will push it to greatness. Some fans have proclaimed that it’s already there–that Shanghai Disneyland is superior to all other parks. Conversely, critics have derided it as franchise-driven and tacky. We disagree with both polarized stances, finding Shanghai Disneyland to be the most ‘complete’ castle park during its early years relative to debuts in the post Euro Disney era of half-day parks. It’s still pretty far behind the decades-established castle parks, though.
Among its “home runs” are Treasure Cove (especially its revolutionary Pirates of the Caribbean – Battle for the Sunken Treasure attraction), Camp Discovery, Tron Lightcycle Power Run, and Peter Pan’s Flight. We also give it points for Enchanted Storybook Castle, which is more impressive in person than its divisive design looks in concept art and photos. Zootopia Land is the next big addition–hopefully that’s a home run.
9. EPCOT
I have a soft spot for Epcot, but even I cannot deny that it’s still a bit of a mess right now, even after the debut of the blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. World Showcase is largely looking good, and the debut of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure helped that area become more well-rounded, even if it’s a bit underwhelming.
The front half of the park is where the problems lie. The area formerly known as Future World is a veritable maze of construction walls and will be to varying degrees into 2024. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind already moved the needle significantly, and Moana’s Journey of Water helped round out the lineup.
Even then, more substantive additions and upgrades are needed in the former Future World pavilions. Play Pavilion has been abandoned, Spaceship Earth’s overdue reimagining was shelved, and a much-needed redo of Journey into Imagination has been rumored for the last decade. CommuniCore Hall will help in 2024, but it’s mostly a lateral change from what was there in 2019. Epcot really needs more additions and actual improvements at the front of the park.
With that said, Epcot still has a lot to offer. World Showcase is still gorgeous and offers some of Disney’s best ambiance, anywhere. Spaceship Earth remains an awe-inspiring icon and pretty good attraction. Some Future World pavilions remain solid. It’s just unfortunate that half of the “overhaul” didn’t end up materializing or changing much.
8. Animal Kingdom
A strong argument can be made that Disney’s Animal Kingdom is the best theme park in Florida. When you emphasize the theme in theme park, we’d rank it #1 of Walt Disney World’s parks. That’s high praise, and sentiment that seems shared by the general park-going public given Animal Kingdom’s soaring attendance.
The problem for us, and one not resolved by the lovely Pandora: World of Avatar, is that there’s a lot of style, but still not enough substance. Sure, the park is beautiful and the purest example of unblemished (or close to it) theme at Walt Disney World. Nevertheless, people visit theme parks expecting rides, not just themed design. This is true for us, too. While we love Animal Kingdom, we’ve found that we love the idea of it more than the park itself, and actually visit it less than any other park at Walt Disney World.
While the zoological exhibits, walk-throughs, and even entertainment are wonderful, Animal Kingdom could use more on the ‘traditional attraction’ end of the spectrum. Expedition Everest was a start and Pandora furthered this, but that’s still only 3 high profile rides since the park opened. Animal Kingdom could still use a family-friendly dark ride (or two…or three).
The recently-announced Tropical Americas at Animal Kingdom will help, especially if it actually adds a new Encanto ride and doesn’t just reimagine Dinosaur into Indiana Jones Adventure. The reality is that Animal Kingdom is the park at Walt Disney World the furthest removed from its last big additions, and it’s been overdue for more new rides for the last several years. It’s slow descent down these rankings reflects that.
7. Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland had languished for a few years following its huge expansion consisting of Toy Story Land, Grizzly Gulch, and Mystic Point. That expansion included Mystic Manor and Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars, which are two of the top 10 or 15 attractions in the world.
That has changed again, as Hong Kong Disneyland now emerges from another mostly-finished expansion cycle. The two new Marvel rides have also proven to be a pleasant surprise, even if the E-Ticket is still years away. The new Arendelle: the World of Frozen land is now open, and offers a much-needed extension of Fantasyland (in spirit), which was arguably the weakest area of the park.
The castle has also grown in size and scale, which was a controversial change but one that clearly establishes Hong Kong Disneyland as a park with its own identity, and not just a lesser-Disneyland clone. Smaller, less splashy additions have been made over the last few years, but Hong Kong Disneyland still is a few rides away from being a strong castle park outside of its unique attractions.
6. Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Disney Hollywood Studios has seen its stock soar in the last few years, going from #11 on this list to #6. Its latest gains come from Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway and the reimagined Fantasmic. The higher ranking also reflects other improvements in the last couple of years, including the opening of Toy Story Land, Grand Avenue, and Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy.
The most important addition remains Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and its mega E-Ticket Rise of the Resistance, which lives up to every bit of the hype and is tied for the #1 attraction (out of 91!) at Walt Disney World. Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is also a strong addition, but not nearly that good.
However, as a whole DHS is easily Walt Disney World’s most frustrating park. The top-heavy lineup coupled with a surplus of shows makes crowds and wait times unbearable at times. This park could really use another dark ride or two–or at least reimagined versions of its long-running stage shows that would be more popular with guests.
5. Magic Kingdom
Again, nostalgia comes into play. My opinion of Magic Kingdom will most likely always be colored by memories of my youth–this remains my “home” castle park. Sitting here evaluating the park online, I can look at it with a critical eye, but in person all of that melts away as I feel like a kid again when walking down Main Street.
It’s also been a good year for Magic Kingdom. Happily Ever After made its triumphant return and TRON Lightcycle Run finally debuted. More reimaginings are on the horizon for 2024, but the park could really use more new offerings and, ideally, the Beyond Big Thunder land expansion.
New Fantasyland is not-so-new, Tomorrowland is ironically the most dated and tired land, and the park is without a nighttime parade. Still, Magic Kingdom has the most well-rounded attraction lineup of any park at Walt Disney World. It’s also home to plenty of fan-favorites like Country Bear Jamboree, Hall of Presidents, Carousel of Progress, and the Peoplemover.
Additionally, Magic Kingdom has a certain beauty, grandiosity, and sentimentality. This sense of escape and suspension of disbelief makes it really appealing. Go from Adventureland to Frontierland to Fantasyland, and you remain immersed in each of these environments. Still, as the crown jewel park at Disney’s largest and most popular resort complex in the world, Magic Kingdom deserves better. Plan your visit with our comprehensive Walt Disney World Vacation Planning Guide.
4. Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris looks to ride the momentum of its recently-completed 30th Anniversary, which was fantastic. The park has perfected drone shows over the castle, refurbishments have rides and Sleeping Beauty Castle looking splendid, and Disneyland Paris has brought back fan-favorite classic shows and parades, “Disney Stars on Parade” and “Disney Illuminations.”
Even before this, Disneyland Paris was getting back on track with major refurbishments to key attractions. This has included extensive reimaginings of Pirates of the Caribbean and Phantom Manor, the latter of which is France’s unique take on Haunted Mansion. Disneyland Paris still has room for improvement (much of it on the operational front), but Disneyland Paris looks better than we’ve ever seen it.
This is coupled with the always-exceptional design work at Disneyland Paris make it one of the top parks in the world. This is particularly true for those who favor parks as themed spaces, rather than collections of attractions. On the ride front, Disneyland Paris is still a step or two behind the other castle parks, but it compensates for this with so many amazing spaces and intricate details. Oh, and it has the best Disney castle in the world. It can be a frustrating place to visit, but also incredibly enchanting. Plan your visit with our comprehensive Disneyland Paris Vacation Planning Guide.
3. Disneyland
Disneyland takes the #3 slot, and comes within striking distance of #2. It arguably received the best additions of the year, with Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway and Wondrous Journeys, plus the return of entertainment and best-of-class seasonal events. However, it also lost Fantasmic for most of the year (and the first few months of 2024), which was a big blow.
Then there’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and the debut of its flagship attraction, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Both the land and the ride are among the very best in the world. Galaxy’s Edge is beautifully-done, immersive, transportive, and represents the evolution of themed lands. Disneyland doesn’t score quite as many points here as perhaps it should, as the new Star Wars Land feels isolated and removed for the rest of the park–also like a park within the park–rather than a coherent space that congeals with the greater whole.
However, this separation has one tremendous upside, and that’s the preservation of the charm and intimacy of Walt Disney’s original magic kingdom. The ‘traditional’ side of the park still oozes whimsy, beauty, and warm. Moreover, Disneyland has some of the best themed spaces in the world, with the Rivers of America, New Orleans Square, Frontierland, Adventureland, and Main Street all being incredibly inviting.
Equally as important, it has an incredible slate of attractions, ranging from intimate Fantasyland dark rides like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride and Alice in Wonderland to blockbuster E-Tickets like Indiana Jones Adventure and Hyperspace Mountain. Disneyland is incredibly attraction-dense, with great versions of the classics, plus a solid slate of entertainment. Plan your visit with our comprehensive Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide.
2. Tokyo Disneyland
Tokyo Disneyland’s $750 million expansion has debuted, and the new Fantasyland, Toontown, and Tomorrowland additions have brought a lot to the table. They transformed a lot of dead space into engaging themed areas, which has been a big initiative for Tokyo Disneyland.
Entertainment is slowly returning, venues are reopening, and cuts are being restored. It’s to the point where, outside of scaled-back seasonal events, Tokyo Disneyland feels pretty close to what it was like in 2019. It also helps that the park is currently celebrating its 30th Anniversary and has debuted a new daytime parade and more in honor of the occasion.
Tokyo Disneyland’s attraction roster still offers the greatest hits of the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland, with the best version of numerous iconic Disney rides. In addition to a formidable lineup of classics, Tokyo Disneyland also has multiple headliners of its own in Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, Monsters Inc. Ride and Go Seek, and Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast. On top of that, it no longer feels like a ‘clone park’ as so many of its existing lands have been overhauled.
However, it’s not the ride roster that puts Tokyo Disneyland near the top. The entertainment is amazing, with a regular lineup of great seasonal offerings, plus the new Harmony in Color daytime parade and Dreamlights, Disney’s best night parade. Beyond that, Tokyo Disneyland’s maintenance, attention to detail, show quality, dining, and Cast Members are all unsurpassed. Plan your visit with our comprehensive Tokyo Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide.
1. Tokyo DisneySea
For the first time, there’s legitimate debate about whether Tokyo DisneySea is deserving of the top spot. While “Believe! Sea of Dreams” is a very welcome new nighttime spectacular, a lot of other entertainment is still missing. We wouldn’t go as far as to say Tokyo DisneySea feels like a shadow of its former self, but it has been noticeably downgraded.
As compared to what it once was in 2019 or earlier, Tokyo DisneySea has lost a lot of its luster. However, it was the best Disney theme park by a wide margin before, and retains that status, albeit with a much narrower lead over its next door neighbor or even Disneyland in California. If we could only visit or recommend one theme park in the world, Tokyo DisneySea would be it.
I have already dedicated an entire article to the Top 10 Reasons Tokyo DisneySea is Disney’s Best Park, so I’ll just defer to that for what else makes this park so unbelievably special. Tokyo DisneySea is still Disney’s best theme park in the world, even the current version of the park. That’s the bottom line, and why it’d be disingenuous to let one of the Disneylands sneak into the top spot over it.
The very good news is that not only are things starting to get better, but more help is on the way. In June 2024, Fantasy Springs opens at Tokyo DisneySea. This over $2 billion addition consisting of Peter Pan, Frozen, and Tangled areas is the biggest budget expansion of any existing Disney theme park ever. It will certainly cement Tokyo DisneySea in the top spot, and we’re optimistic that the park will bring back other missing offerings between now and then to help with capacity.
Hope you enjoyed this new edition of the Disney Parks Power Rankings. Keep in mind that this list is all in good fun. Like sports fans, most Disney fans have strong allegiances towards their home park and take offense when they feel it’s slighted. Remember that this is one random dude’s opinion on the internet. At the end of the day, it doesn’t impact your enjoyment of your “favorite” park if I rank it at number 8, nor does my opinion matter (at all) in the grand scheme of things.
xxx
Your Thoughts
How would you rank the Disney Parks you’ve visited? It doesn’t matter how many parks you’ve been to, I’m still interested in knowing! Do you think I misranked any parks, or made any poor choices? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I would personally like to see a Bricker power ranking of dark rides at Disney parks. You have several articles highlighting some of them, but not a comprehensive treatment. I use your planning articles for practical purposes, but I especially enjoy reading your opinion pieces. I have only been to the Florida parks, but I would like to go to the others at some point. I think the Florida parks are in the right order. I love Animal Kingdom, but when we were there in October we finished all attractions except for Flight of Passage and the two larger shows by 11:30 am. So it still goes behind Epcot for me.
Just visited Disneyland Paris for the first time this year and here’s my objective list:
1) Tokyo DisneySea
2) Disneyland
3) Tokyo Disneyland
4) Disneyland Paris
5) the Magic Kingdom
6) Hong Kong Disneyland
7) Disney California Adventure
8) Epcot
9) Animal Kingdom
10) Hollywood Studios
11) Walt Disney Studios Paris
What’s your opinion of Searider? While I don’t think the Nemo franchise really fits with TDS (and is confusing because it also has CAPTAIN Nemo), it sort of sounded like an interesting attraction nonetheless.
SeaRider is fine. It’s not great, but not awful. The bigger issue is that no effort was made to fit it into Port Discovery, so now half of the port is the Marine Institute and half is this quasi-steampunk bronze style. The rest of the port could really use an aesthetic refresh now.
Hmm, I’ll post a list. I’m hoping to have gone to all the Disney parks by this time next year, but, for now, my list lacks Hong Kong (curse you typhoon!), Shanghai, and Paris.
1. Tokyo Disneysea (confounds me how anyone who has visited here could not put it at number one)
2. Disneyland (So much to do, so much theming, so much charm)
3. Animal Kingdom (While each DW park continues to look worse, this park has simply flourished. I think Pandora is the best land in America, and I’ve always loved the amazing theming and realism here)
4. Magic Kingdom (Nostalgia certainly plays a part here, and the park has the best versions of some rides as well as great “exclusive” rides. However, every single rider needs a refurbishment, and the park as a whole is just looking tired. Still, it is loaded with charm and is one of my favorite parks to explore out there)
5. Tokyo Disneyland (This does everything right that MK does wrong. The rides look fantastic and the park is insanely clean and good looking. However, it really is lacking any charm. It feel sterile. Nonetheless, the park has Pooh, Monsters Inc, and some fantastic iterations of classics, plus that amazing Adventureland)
6. Epcot (I love Epcot, I really do. However, it’s just looking so sad right now. Future World often feels like a waste of time to be in since all the rides have long lines and just aren’t as good as the E-Tickets at other parks (except Spaceship Earth). World Showcase saves it, but even that area is fantastically themed shopping center to an extent. This park needs rides, sure, but it honestly needs much more than that.)
7. California Adventure (DCA 2.0 in 2015 was magical, especially after having last seen it as DCA 1.0. However, the park is still lacking overall. Golden State and Cars Land are amazing, and I have a soft spot for Paradise Pier. Still, it’s just not enough to justify me spending much time here with Disneyland nearby)
8. Hollywood Studios (My usual plan for this park is: ride Tower of Terror, (maybe) single rider Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, take in Sunset Blvd and Hollywood Blvd, leave)
Gotta chime in here myself. Have now been to all except Shanghai and Paris.
My rankings:
9. Disney’s Hollywood Studios
8. Disney’s Animal Kingdom
7. Disney’s California Adventure
6. Hong Kong Disneyland
5. Epcot
4. Magic Kingdom
3. Disneyland
2. Tokyo Disneyland
1. Tokyo DisneySea
Hey Tom! Awesome post as always! I especially like you’re posts where you rank different things and this one was a joy to read! I’ve recently come back from a trip to HK and Tokyo so I’ve now been to all the Disney Parks save for Shanghai!! My rankings would be this:
11. Walt Disney Studios: not even a theme park
10. Hollywood Studios: a step up but needs some work!
9. California Adventure: some really cool rides but what’s the central theme? Doesn’t really seem to be California anymore sadly!
8. Animal Kingdom: awesome theming! Needs more E-Tickets
7. HK Disneyland: loved this park! The setting is amazing but also needs to expand
6. Epcot: I compare Epcot to George Lucas’s Special Editions of Star Wars..so many detrimental changes!
5. DL Paris: the most beautiful castle park! But could use more attractions and some refurbs
4. Magic Kingdom: the grandiose park! Plus so much awesome entertainment and surplus of great attractions
3. Tokyo Disneyland: I agree with you, it does all the little things right! Plus Poohs Hunny hunt!!!!!
2. Disneyland: the OG and easily the most nostalgic and intimate! It’s just a special place and so many great attractions!
1. Tokyo DisneySea: the best theme park ever built, just oozes detail and everything is so beautiful!
I am so with you at Magic Kingdom – carousel of progress, country bear jamboree and the people mover are my favourites too! Reading your reviews makes me wish I was heading to Tokyo for my next Disney holiday not Florida
We’re heading to Japan next week, planning on hitting the Tokyo parks for the last 4 – 4.5 days towards the end of October. I’ve pretty much agreed with every post and review here so am VERY excited to see if the Tokyo parks live up to my expectations. Which park would you suggest we do on our first day? Part of me says TDL for the nostalgia and familiarity of being ‘back in the Disney bubble’, but the other part of me is bursting at the seams to check out TDS. We’re also going to be there on two of the costume days, which I believe will be a totally crazy and unique experience.
I reference your opinion whenever I talk to anyone about Disney parks, and it’s these two blog posts about Tokyo Disney that makes me MADLY want to visit there. ranking the domestic parks, which is all I’ve visited it’s:
1. DL
2. MK
3. DCA (so many fond memories with my kiddos)
4. AK
5. DHS
6. Epcot
Thanks again Tom!
I love all the parks that I have been to so far, so it was a little difficult to rank them.
1. Tokyo Disneyland
2. Tokyo Disneysea
3. Epcot
4. Magic Kingdom
5. California Adventure
6. Animal Kingdom
7. Disneyland
8. Hollywood Studios
I’ve been to every park, except now Shanghai, and will say Tokyo Disney is my LEAST favorite castle park. It’s incredibly outdated with no charm. I cannot comprehend why so many like it.
1. Disneyland/Magic Kingdom (I go back and forth often)
2. Tokyo Disneysea
3. California Adventure (continues to surprise me with every visit)
4. Hong Kong Disneyland (new attractions are STELLAR and charming)
5. EPCOT
6. Animal Kingdom
All studios parks can be flushed.
Me too! Loved Disney Sea, thought Tokyo Disneyland was a huge disappointment, massive queues even at the quietest time of the year and no atmosphere. My list would go
1. Disneyland California
2. Disney Sea
3. Disney’s California Adventure
4. Disney’s Animal Kingdom
5. Disneyland Paris
6. Disneyland Hong Kong
7. Magic Kingdom
8. Hollywood Studios
9. Epcot
10. Tokyo Disneyland
I’ve not been to Shanghai yet or Studios in Paris
For me having been to the US parks and Hong Kong I would rank as follows:
1- Disneyland
2- Magic Kingdom
3- Animal Kingdom (This park is more beautiful than the Magic Kingdom to me but MK is also beautiful and wins due to ride quantity).
4 – California Adventure
5 – Hong Kong Disneyland
6 – Epcot
7 – Hollywood Studios
Your posts, and this blog overall, really motivate and inspire me to see these parks. As a very frequent WDW visitor, I would love to see all the parks!
Thank you for this unique coverage.
Just got back from Paris last week. I was very impressed with Disneyland Paris and very disappointed by disney studios. I loved crush and ratatouille rides but that was about it.
Did you do Cinemagique or Mickey and the Magician? Those are two of Disney’s finest shows anywhere, in my opinion.
Did Mickey and the Magician remind you of one of the shows from the cruise ships? It did for me. (And I say that in a good way.)
I agree with Crush that Ratatouille and Crush Coaster were great. The Paris verison of ToT was particularly disappointing to me.
Told myself I was going to and then we never ended up going to it. Regret that one. My list would be
1. Disneyland
2. Disneyland Paris
3. Magic Kingdom
4. Epcot
5. California Adventure
6. Hollywood Studios
7. Animal Kingdom
8. Disney Studios
I’d be really interested in an article which would cobble together your ideal Disney park from anything that has already been built (even if it is now gone). If a park had the best castle and the best Main Street and the best Haunted Mansion and the best themed lands and the best restaurants, etc etc it would be a fantastic experience indeed!
Second that!
I’ve visited the US parks plus the Paris parks, and I’ve rank them this way:
8. Disney Studios Paris (just terrible with a bad layout)
7. Disney Hollywood Studios
6. California Adventure (has a lot of promise, but needs more)
5. Animal Kingdom (has grown so much for me, almost better than Epcot!)
4. Epcot (used to be #1 for me)
3. Disneyland Paris (amazing attractions, but needs more TLC)
2. Magic Kingdom (a little too big, and missing some greats)
1. Disneyland (you can’t go wrong).
I suspect that DisneySea and Tokyo would be very close to the top. I’d love to visit both, but with young kids and huge costs, it would be tough.
I agree with Corene – I’d also put AK above Epcot (and it’s not close in my mind).
I’d also rate the Magic Kingdon above DLP – some of that is probably nostalgia, but more attractions, more entertainment, and more/better dining also make it the better park in my opinion. MK and DL are probably a tie for me.
Perhaps DLP is receiving a bit of a bump here because it’s the park I’ve visited most recently, and was really excited about the improvements they’ve made. When you compare the attraction rosters on paper, there’s little denying that MK has DLP beat–and pretty handily. There’s just something about the details and charm of DLP, but maybe I did get a little over-zealous with its ranking.
Oh my. How can HKDL possibly be #10?
I visited it after Shanghai, and it’s truly a brilliant and rather unique resort. Nightmare Experiment walk through house was unlike anything I’ve seen before at Disney, ever.
HKDL is at its best during Halloween, when its seasonal offerings are better than arguably any other Disney park in the world. On a regular day, though, I think you notice just how much of the park is cloned from Disneyland (minus the substantive attractions). That isn’t so much the case during Halloween, because the seasonal entertainment do a great job compensating.
Hi Tom,
I love reading your posts & usually agree with most of your positions, but I cannot believe that you put EPCOT ahead of Animal Kingdom! Made my first trip in 20 years to WDW this past April (didn’t really remember much about the 1st visit there at all), and I was thoroughly unimpressed with EPCOT. I didn’t think much of many of the attractions, and while the ambiance of World Showcase can be lovely, the entire thing feels more like a money grab – just an opportunity to shop & dine, lacked much to keep our interest. We actually preferred DHS, even in it’s current state with construction walls & closed attractions. Animal Kingdom, on the other hand, was spectacular (not perfect granted, but wonderful). We weren’t able to experience it after dark as the opening date of the evening spectacular (which was supposed to occur during our visit) was postponed, but we still loved the theming, atmosphere, many of the attractions, and vibe of the park. It was fantastic. In fact it tied with Magic Kingdom as my favourite WDW park. MK has more attractions than AK, and we loved it as we love so many of those classics (Pirates, Big Thunder, Splash, Haunted Mansion, etc), but AK was just so unique for a Disney Park that we felt it was really strong. EPCOT on the other hand, was a nice park to walk through after taking the Monorail from MK and heading back to our EPCOT area hotel, but it didn’t inspire us at all. We visited it much less than I expected, especially given that we stayed nearby. Thank goodness we went during home & garden festival, because all those topiaries made the park for me. Without them, it would have been even less attractive. Just thought I’d offer a different perspective.
Anyway, thanks for the post – this one & all the others. Love your blog & photos!
If it’s any consolation, it was a *really* close call between Epcot and Animal Kingdom. Perhaps nostalgia came into play there…
Based on the parks that I’ve been to:
6. California Adventure
5. Animal Kingdom
4. Hollywood Studios (though I haven’t been here since they closed 1/3rd of the park down, so this will probably go down in my rankings when I go there next month).
3. Epcot
2. Disneyland
1. Magic Kingdom