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!
Earlier this year, I spent a week at WDW and I really think that California Adventure is superior to any of the Florida parks. It’s walkable, it’s manageable, has fewer crowds than WDW, and better weather. It’s only 72 acres, and yet they managed to squeeze Mission Breakout, Soarin, Incredicoaster, Radiator Springs Racers, Grizzly River Run, Toy Story Midway Mania, Junkyard Jamboree, and Luigi’s Rollicking Roadsters into that 72 acres. For perspective: Hollywood Studios is 135 acres. Epcot is 300 acres. Animal Kingdom is 403 acres. Let’s talk about crowds and lines: California Adventure averaged 27,000 visitors daily in 2018. Disneyland had 51,000, Epcot had 34,000, Animal Kingdom had 37,000, and Magic Kingdom had 56,000. Shorter lines, less walking, better weather? Sign me up. I’m not even a fan of Cars, and yet the ambiance & theming of CarsLand is a masterpiece. It’s a great park!
Agreed re the management issue at Disney Paris. We’re going in October and trying to make reservations via their website is almost impossible unless one simply takes the narrow options available. No questions can be asked electronically. Rather, the instructions are simply that one needs to make an international call (in our case, from California) if the question is a simple one such as how do we get two beds instead of one. For example, the Newport Hotel shows pictures of two beds. However, the site gives one choice: a “large” double bed. Why is there no way to communicate with Disney Paris other than an international phone call – and with multiple hours of time difference in our case?
On another note: as promised in a previous comment, I saw Kim Irvine last weekend and thanked her for the beautiful work she did on the castle and for often struggling against the wind of politics to keep the spirit of Walt alive…
Shanghai Disneyland is the same way, but with less English knowledge and you can’t even cancel a hotel room without calling!
Get a Google voice number. If you have free data or are connected to WiFi, use the Hangouts app and you’ll have free calls to the U.S. anywhere in the world, and cheap international calls. DLP was $0.01/minute.
There’s a noticeable delay since it’s internet based and also international, but it’s cheap and works. It made it so that calling hotels, needing to make a call while abroad, or needing to call before leaving the U.S. was no big deal because it was so cheap.
Honestly, Magic Kingdom should be ranked lower. Now that I’ve been to Shanghai and I can say I’ve done all of the castle parks, I can say that Magic Kingdom, while probably not the worst objectively, is my least favorite. Why?
1) If you’re looking just at the US, Disneyland smokes Magic Kingdom in quality and quantity of rides, entertainment, atmosphere, food, everything. The only exceptions are walkway width and castle height. And when it comes to those rides, you’re putting in at least twice the effort to experience what are generally worse versions of the same rides.
2) Very little added over time.
3) More and more hours lost to normal guests in favor of upcharge parties, in addition to staffing cuts
4) No unique or standout attractions that can’t be experienced at any other park. Sure, it’s got some historical niceties that Disneyland got rid of that I love dearly, but there’s nothing that WOWs on a modern level that doesn’t exist elsewhere.
5) Poor maintenance despite cash pouring in from tourists and higher than ever ticket prices.
6) Lackluster food options (only Paris is worse)
7) Transportation to and from the park is a nightmare unless you spend more than you should to stay at a Disney hotel.
8) There is a heightened stress level at this Magic Kingdom vs the other castle parks, because of the pressure everyone feels to “do it all.” Even the other castle parks that match or exceed MK in crowd level don’t have that problem, even among tourists.
9) All of the above is compounded by the hideous FP+ system that has added FP to many rides that don’t need it or benefit from it, while limiting the number of FPs you can easily get in a day. As much as some people like the security of having things lined up in advance, the fact is that you can usually get more FPs if everyone is limited to day of-even at most of the other really busy Disney parks in the world!
10) Tokyo Disneyland draws heavily from Magic Kingdom, and is the most directly comparable park as a result. Other than a few areas of poor design that date to the park’s original construction or a few isolated scenarios (i.e. you cannot function in a theme park without eating burgers, pizza, or basic American foods; you are vegetarian or vegan), Tokyo wins easily, often by miles.
For all of those reasons, I’d put Magic Kingdom at the bottom of the list of Castle parks. Even if you don’t think it’s the worst Castle park (frankly, I don’t expect most people to agree with me), it’s definitely not on the top half of the list.
i have forever ranked disneyland above magic kingdom and had so many people who have only visited florida look at me like i have 5 heads. they don’t get it “it’s too small and crowded” “but florida has 4 parks, how can you rank the smaller one higher?”
Great ranking, Tom! Couldn’t agree more with Mystic Manor and Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars: so good! I find myself missing HKDL these days, and those 2 rides are definitely a major factor in my withdrawals 🙂 Also, anyone ranking any park above TDS just plain hates awesomeness? Clearly! How misguided could a person be??? I fully accept my fierce TDR fanaticism 😉
I’ve been to all 12! Here are my rankings, along with the most recent year visited.
1. Tokyo DisneySea (2016)
2. Tokyo Disneyland (2016)
3. Disneyland (2019)
4. Shanghai Disneyland (2018)
5. Disneyland Paris (2019)
6. Magic Kingdom (2017)
7. Epcot (2017)
8. Hong Kong Disneyland (2016)
9. Disney’s Animal Kingdom (2017)
10. Disney California Adventure (2019)
11. Disney’s Hollywood Studios (2017)
12. Walt Disney Studios Park (2019)
I have only been to Walt Disney World, and only a few times at that. But here’s my amateur list:
1. EPCOT: Home to some of my favorite rides, but the World Showcase is what really puts it in first place. The food and wine festival is divine! And you get to experience snapshots of so many countries, without leaving the comfort of Florida.
2. Magic Kingdom: A classic. This park has many amazing attractions. And has done whips!
3. Animal Kingdom: Not my favorite, but it’s home to one of my favorite rides; Kali River Rapids. Furthermore, it also has amazing animal attractions.
4. Hollywood Studios: I like the atmosphere of this park, and some of the restaurants. But, it’s small and you can’t really spend a whole day there.
If you like kali river rapids go to California you will find a ride called bear creek falls it is definitely kali on steroids my favorite water ride hands down all time and yes I’ve done both
Tom – I am waiting for your next update of this list, once the two Star Wars Lands are open (east and west coast). One of my dreams is to be able to visit DLP and DisneySea very soon. Love your blog. Keep Going !!
I’ve now been to all except Paris. Here’s how I would rank (with year of my most recent visit listed):
1. Tokyo DisneySea (2016)
2. Tokyo Disneyland (2016)
3. Disneyland (2018)
4. Shanghai Disneyland (2018)
5. Magic Kingdom (2017)
6. Epcot (2017)
7. Disney California Adventure (2018)
8. Hong Kong Disneyland (2016)
9. Disney’s Animal Kingdom (2017)
10. Disney’s Hollywood Studios (2017)
I am very lucky to have been able to visit all Disney parks.here is my ranking:
12:wdw Hollywood studios
11: dlp studios (despite crushes coaster which is wonderful)
10: Disneyland park Tokyo
9: Hong Kong dis
8: animal kingdom
7:shanghai disney
6: magic kingdom
5: epcot
4:California adventure
3:dl anaheim
2: Tokyo disneysea
1:dl paris
Hi Christine! I’m curious: what is it about Disneyland Paris that you feel pushes it ahead of Tokyo DisneySea? I’ve been to all parks and have my own opinion but I’d like to know yours 🙂
Here’s my Rankings:
12. WDS
11. DCA
10. HKDL
9. DHS
8. SDL
7. MK
6. AK
5.DLP
4. DL
3. TDL
2. EPCOT
1. TDS
I love the diversity in ranking via comments!! And, I loathed DLP. Both parks. And due the hype for both Haunted Mansion and BTMRR even those were hugely disappointing. I will say Tokyo gets my votes, as does my local castle park (DLR) and it’s easy-to-parkhop DCA. WDW is far too sprawling, but I understand the draw for both MK and Epcot. TOT in a different park and I’d be thrilled. Not a SW fan but will check it out locally, thank you very much Look forward to getting to AK and HKDL. Won’t go to Shanghai – but appreciate where it falls on most lists (especially due Pirates [and happy to wait for a Tron coaster you come to FL]). Thanks for the great reads! Happy Holidays!
My favourite is:
1. Disney Tokyo. The atmosphere brings it out on top.
2. Disneyland. The original. Always magical.
3. Epcot. It has Test Track, my all-time favourite ride.
4. TokyoSea. Great day time water show. Like the old Waterworld at Universal Studios. LA but so much better.
5. Magic Kingdom. Plenty to see and enjoy a theme m set and greet lunch.
6. Shanghai Disneyland. Visited October last year. Still bedding down. The shops outside , both food and clothes were very quiet and dear by all standards., Western and Asian. English spoken less than Tokyo. Still was fun communicating. Userpay fast pass for a couple of rides. Worth it in my opinion for a couple of rides I wouldn’t of got to ride.
7. Hong Kong Disney. Smallest. Nice touch of a Mickey Mouse train to take you the final kms. Similar to Tokyo but thought it was better.
8. Animal Kingdom with the Tree of Life.
9 California Adventure. Add on is how I see it.
10. Hollywood Studios
11. Walt Disney Studios Park
Hopefully in the next 12 months I can get to Paris.
I’ve heard very differents thoughts on DisneySea by the guys from the Dis Unplugged. basically that it feels more like a amusment park than a theme park because of the lack of theme coherence. It’s interesting to see other point of view.
Wow, I’m surprised… DisneySea is unlike any other ‘amusement park’ I’ve ever been to, I certainly wouldn’t have qualified it as such 🙂 DisneySea clearly has a port theme for me, with all lands being a coast, waterfront, river delta, harbour, and such. Does Magic Kingdom then also lack theme coherence? It’s composed of lands that don’t have much to do with each other. Maybe I should listen to that particular episode to better understand what they meant. As you said: interesting to see another point of view 🙂
Great list Tom! I love the way you factor in all types of things instead of just focusing on one aspect of the parks, such as theming, attraction roster, nostalgia, recent updates mix etc. Unfortunately I haven’t been to the Tokyo parks, but hopefully I can find time to do so at some point soon. My ranking of the parks I’ve been to would be
10. Walt Disney Studios Park
9. Disney’s California Adventure
8. Disney’s Hollywood Studios
7. Hong Kong Disneyland
6. EPCOT
5. Shanghai Disneyland
4. Disneyland Paris
3. Animal Kingdom
2. Disneyland Park
1. Magic Kingdom
As you can probably tell I’m a little bit biased towards my home resort in Florida. Anyways thanks for giving me a great read.
My personal ranking, including only the North American parks:
6. Hollywood Studios
5. Animal Kingdom
4. Epcot
3. California Adventure
2. Magic Kingdom
1. Disneyland
I really don’t understand all the hate that California Adventure gets amongst Disney park fans. Yes, it might lack an overall cohesive theme, but otherwise the theming itself is excellent. Cars Land is one of the best themed areas of any Disney Park, Grizzly Peak is beautiful and even it’s weakest area of Paradise Pier is getting a facelift this year. And It’s attraction line-up is half a greatest hits list of Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios (Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania, Soarin’, and a superior version of Kali River Rapids) plus it’s own collection of home-grown greats like Radiator Springs Racers and California Screamin’. While it pales in comparison to any castle park I would still rather spend a day there then at any of the other non-castle parks in North America.
Update:
I’ve been thinking about, and I realised that I was rating Animal Kingdom solely as a theme park, and not as a combination theme park/zoo. An excellent half-day theme park and an excellent half-day zoo combine to make a pretty decent full-day park. My updated rankings are as follow.
6. Hollywood Studios
5. Epcot
-large gap-
4. Animal Kingdom
3. California Adventure
-large gap-
2. Magic Kingdom
1. Disneyland
Just my two cents concerning the MK and DL toss up. I can’t ignore the impact that Maxpass vs. Fast Pass Plus has on my personal experience to each of those parks. In my opinion, the Maxpass program at CA and DL is significantly better than the fast pass Plus system at Florida. The Maxpass program just allows the day to go smoother with more attractions being enjoyed. For that reason I believe that Disneyland is far superior to the Magic Kingdom.
Ok, so I haven’t been to Walt Disney Studios Park, Hong Kong Disneyland, or Shanghai Disneyland so I will have to omit those 3.
9. Hollywood Studios
8. Animal Kingdom
7. California Adventure
6. Disneyland Paris
5. Epcot
4. Tokyo DisneySea
3. Magic Kingdom
2. Tokyo Disneyland
1. Disneyland
I agree with the AK comments. also, AK has the best food, and the Lion King Musical show with the Cirque De Soleil acrobatics is beyond. Personally I found MK tired. If you were there 20 years ago, It hasn’t changed much. HS is fun at night, with all the light shows.
Tom, what operational decisions do you think Disneyland needs to make to help alleviate crowding? Other than maybe outlawing strollers.
Eliminating most tiers of APs and monthly payment plans would be a huge step in the right direction.
Excited to give this a shot! As of last month, I’ve been to all parks except HKDL and SDL. Here are my rankings
10) Walt Disney Studios Park – no question, even if CineMagique were open.
9) Hollywood Studios – the front half is great. The rest, not so much.
8) California Adventure – it’s sad that this park was better 5 years ago, despite Mission Breakout being a fun attraction.
7) Disneyland Paris – my experience was hampered by overcast skies (except on day 1), smokers everywhere, and cast members who weren’t motivated to do anything about them. Frontierland is the strongest and all lands are beautiful, but there wasn’t enough substance to make up for the gloomy setting.
6) Epcot – my favorite park in 2000, Epcot and its message ring increasingly hollow (while its alcohol sales ring higher). Adding Guardians and Ratatouille won’t change that – I’ll wait and see what else is in store.
4b) Disneyland – I actually can’t choose #4. If focusing on rides, I’d pick DL, which has some serious highlights (Indiana Jones, the best Space Mountain, etc.) and plenty to do. That said, DL’s density is also a problem. The park is a pain to maneuver around despite being small, and its few areas capable of providing respite (Critter Country?) will only lose that quality come 2019.
4a) Magic Kingdom – my home park for 20 years, MK’s grandness and elegance trump DL’s ‘charm’ and quaintness for me. I’d rather be in WDW’s Magic Kingdom for atmosphere, and MK’s nighttime spectacular (Happily Ever After) is my current favorite.
3) Tokyo Disneyland – combining the ‘greatest hits’ of DL and MK as you described (with a touch of Typhoon Lagoon?), TDL worked better than expected for me. How fun it was experiencing MK’s Splash Mountain with working effects, DL’s Pirates, MK’s Haunted Mansion (with a holiday overlay!), and Pooh’s Hunny Hunt. The park has some weaknesses, mainly its hodgepodge approach to design, but for such a crowded place, it manages to generate a lot of happiness.
2) Tokyo DisneySea – the best combo of unique attractions and detailed settings, I can see why TDS deserves the #1 spot. That said, something about the placemaking still feels like concrete & fiberglass instead of ‘real’ to me. Bonus points for all those vistas where TDS and its waterways blend with Tokyo Bay in the background.
1) Animal Kingdom – no, its attraction lineup isn’t the best, but its headliners (Kilimanjaro Safaris, Expedition Everest, Flight of Passage) are in the running. I’m lucky enough to have gone on safari in South Africa, and while KS isn’t quite the same, it’s an admirable effort for a manmade park in Florida. DAK immerses me better than any other Disney park in a lush, organic world, and it’s the park I most enjoy being in.
Great list Donald. I cannot vouch for the international parks since I’ve only experienced the domestic parks. You and Tom both provide solid lists since you both factor in the atmosphere of the parks rather than just the quality of rides. I am tired of the superficial reviews of parks based on number of thrills rides rather than atmosphere of the park or quality non-thrill rides. My thoughts are similar about MK and DL being almost a tossup. Being a Disney history buff, the choice is even harder with DL’s rich history but similar to you, I chose MK because MK’s atmosphere of grandness and elegance trumps DL’s density issues. Although AK is not top of my list, you hit the nail on the head on your analysis of AK and the reasons why its ahead of Epcot on my list (by the way, you also hit the nail on the head with Epcot). My list — 1. MK, 2. DL, 3. AK, 4. Epcot, 5. DCA, 6. DHS
Thanks Bob! Amazing how difficult it was to put this ranking together (and mad props to Tom for providing commentary on all the parks). Can totally understand why you’d place MK and DL ahead of AK.
It’s all about how we individually process theme/immersion, attraction quality, ride count, and the cumulative in-park experience, which can change over time. It certainly has for me – I’d say *all* the domestic parks have been my favorite at one point or another. Animal Kingdom holds it for me right now, and it’s not because of Pandora – Harambe and Anandapur are my favorite lands in any park! Parts of World Showcase (the France-Morocco-Japan corridor) would also make this list for me.