• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

Rank the Disney theme parks

Matt N

Matt N

TS Member
Favourite Ride
Shambhala (PortAventura Park)
Hi guys. Disney are presently the world's largest theme park operator in terms of guest figures; their parks are among the most visited in the world. Many enthusiasts also have somewhat of an attachment to Disney, and I know that many on this forum have now been to quite a number of Disney theme parks worldwide, so I'd be intrigued to know; how would you rank the ones you've been to?

I've only been to the 4 WDW parks, but I'll get the ball rolling with my ranking anyway:
  1. Disney's Animal Kingdom - The sheer scale of Animal Kingdom is quite something! The park is absolutely wonderful to look at; the detail and authenticity of the park's themed environments is stunning, in my opinion! Animal Kingdom also has some excellent attractions, in my opinion; even though it may not be the most ride-abundant park in the world, the quality is certainly there in most of the attractions they have!
  2. Epcot - This park was probably one of the biggest surprises of my April 2019 Florida trip! I hadn't heard much praise for Epcot before visiting, but I absolutely loved the park! Admittedly the park probably wouldn't sit as high if it only consisted of Future World, as I admit that that section feels a little dated in portions, but I found World Showcase such a fantastic area! I loved exploring each of the different countries on offer; each one has fantastic theming, and I genuinely found the whole park to have a really nice, relaxing atmosphere! Despite what I may have said about Future World above, I did find it to have some very good attractions, a nice atmosphere and a very positive message on the whole; Test Track was a particular standout attraction for me! So overall, Epcot was a hugely positive surprise; a very underrated park, in my opinion!
  3. Disney's Magic Kingdom - I can sense that this one might be a little controversial. When I went to Magic Kingdom for the first time in April 2019, I really liked the park. The theming is brilliant, and it has such a nice atmosphere, as well as quite an abundance of things to do. But I must admit that I was a tad underwhelmed by the park after all the hype. Don't get me wrong, I really liked many of Magic Kingdom's attractions, but I kind of felt as though it lacked a true standout attraction (this may well change with Tron, however!). However, I felt like I was somewhat above Magic Kingdom's target demographic when I was there, and I'm not entirely sure if it's the sort of park I really love in general, so that probably plays into why I think that a little. Still, Magic Kingdom is a lovely, lovely park; I very much liked it, and I'd certainly recommend a visit!
  4. Disney's Hollywood Studios - Now, I must admit I'm not entirely sure if I can give Hollywood Studios a fair ranking, as when I visited in April 2019, a large amount of the park was either a construction site or undergoing some sort of refurbishment. However, when I went to the park, I must admit that I didn't feel that the attraction selection or the theming & presentation were quite as strong as in Disney's other 3 Florida theme parks. Still, Hollywood Studios has some nice theming in places and it does hold some of my favourite Disney attractions; Tower of Terror is just outstanding, I find Rock'n'Rollercoaster to be very underrated and Slinky Dog Dash is also a very fun, underrated family coaster! Star Tours is also good fun! I'm also sure that I will enjoy the park much more when I revisit once all the construction's complete!
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed all 4 Disney parks I've been to, but I controversially prefer the two Universal Orlando parks to any theme park in WDW.

But how would you rank your visited Disney theme parks?
 
1. Disneyland Parc (Paris)
2. Animal Kingdom (Florida)
3. Magic Kingdom (Florida)
4. Hollywood Studios (Florida)
5. Typhoon Lagoon (Waterpark - Florida)
6. Epcot (Florida)
7. Blizzard Beach (Waterpark - Florida)

A mountain of turd

8. Studios Park (Paris)
 
1. Disneyland Park (Paris)
2. Epcot (Florida)
3. Hollywood Studios (Florida)
4. Magic Kingdom (Florida)
5. Animal Kingdom (Florida)
6. Walt Disney Studios (Paris)
 
1. Disneyland Paris - Superior versions of BTM, Pirates and Phantom Manor. Plus a dragon under the castle.

2. Animal Kingdom - I'm a huge fan of Expedition Everest, could ride that all day. Dinosaur is one of the best rides in Orlando and of course Pandora.

3. Epcot - The rides aren't all that, but love the atmosphere and theming.

4. Magic Kingdom - It's a but too chaotic for me to fully appreciate the magic. Was surprised at how small it is.

5. Hollywood Studios - Just a bit... Boring? Tower of Terror the only highlight.

6. Blizzard Beach - love the theming.

7. Walt Disney Studios - Ratatouille and Tower of Terror are wasted in this dump.
 
1. Disneyland Park (Anaheim)
2. Disneyland Park (Paris). Loved the original Space Mountain from the earth to the moon.
3. California Adventure (Anaheim). Worth going just for Cars Land.
4. Animal Kingdom (Florida)
5. Magic Kingdom (Florida)
6. Epcot (Florida)
7. Hollywood Studios (Florida). Best version of Tower of Terror.
8. Studios Park (Paris)
 
I been to both Paris parks but that was once each in 2007 so it be unfair to include them on the list as been Disney World 4 times since.

1) Epcot I have always loved Epcot even from my 1st trip with my family in 1993.
Future World is now really outdated but it has changed a lot since my 1st visit its got a good mixture of rides for all ages. We always go on the 1st day and end up there on our last day. For food it’s the best theme park in the world and having the free dinning plan on our last 4 visits we now ate all around world Showcase. My favourite show the American adventure is the best show Disney has put together and I would love to see how it works behind the scenes. It’s also home to my favourite fireworks show that it’s ending on September 30th after 20 years.

2) Magic Kingdom the best entrance in the world so much is going on just down Main Street and love that the CM ask to take your picture in front of the castle which is linked free to the memory maker. The rides are as good as each other and as we stay on site we take advantage of the 60 FP so over the 14 days we got to enjoy everything. The only downfall is the choice of counter service restaurants is that there neither packed, poor menu selections or not that nice.

3) Animal Kingdom has gone up
By 1 since my previous visits. Pandora was getting built but looked good what I could see of it from the bus station. The rides there very limited choice but it makes up for it’s great line up of live shows and excellent choice of food l. The park opening after 5pm was a good choice and the safari is 100 times better in the evening. The tree of life looked so amazing with the projector show on it. My only downfall is after you visited the animals in 30+ heat they really just sleeping/resting during the day so really it’s just a day and a half max park and the Dino area minus Dinosaur looks like they run out of money so added the worst area in any area of Walt Disney World.

4) Hollywood Studios this is the worst park of them all. They really only got 1 good counter service restaurant the back lot express and I even got food poisoning from the burger area in the outside section by Tower of terror. When I went last they were still knocking down the backlot tour area so really all they had at the time on the left hand side of the park was Toy story mania and star tours. I love Tower of terror and Rock and roll coaster but really that’s all they was for rides. The shows are good also but you wouldn’t really watch it a 2nd time and the long waits for the meet and greets. The only plus side is the Star Wars entertainment during the day and the projector show on the former great movie ride building with the fireworks is now my favourite night time showing and the actors walking round interactive with guests is very good.

5) Both water Parks I love theses but as we been going as a couple we couldn’t stay long here as my wife is scared of water so doesn’t go in the water so just sunbathes so we end up not spending long here. The refillable mug deal is a excellent idea and not badly priced and the food is excellent. The wave pool is the best in the world and I could easily just float around the lazy river all day. The only downfall of both parks is the lack of shade in the queue lines for the rides.

6) Disney Springs OMG what have they done to the place. I use to love it here was nice just spending a few hours here having a bite to eat at the Earl of Sandwich or the wolf pack express then going into Disney Quest and playing the games but now it’s just a up market mall and there’s nothing wrong with that but I rarely go shopping here let alone while I’m on holiday. If the Earl of sandwich closed I doubt I would visit the area again.
 
1: Parc Disneyland (DLP): Undoubtedly for me the finest park Disney put together (that I have visited of yet.). The whole park was designed with the intention of resolving issues and challenges they learnt about from California and Florida, and that really shows. It has a number of amazing rides, and a really showed Disney rethinking the park.

2: EPCOT ~ Animal Kingdom: I seriously struggle to put one of these above the other, but they are both wonderful. The immersion of AK is second to none. It all feels so authentic and natural. It has some of my favourite Disney rides too, with Expedition Everest and Dinosaur. EPCOT however is fascinating. Before visiting I didn’t know if I would enjoy it or not. It really wasn’t what I expected at all. For me it’s a park I could easily spend a day at without actually riding anything (though it’s be tough to keep myself away from Eric Idle The Ride for the day). Also, it hosts the Food and Wine Festival, soooooo...

3: Blizzard Beach: I see a couple of others included the waterparks, and given the setup and level of theming in them I say they count. Again, it’s a tough call to decide between them. However, in this case I think Blizzard Beach just edges ahead. Typhoon Lagoon is a lovely park, but I think BB has a much better collection of slides (Hellooooooo Summit Plummet!).

4: Typhoon Lagoon: Reasons covered above really. Beautiful park and an epic wave pool. Perhaps with one or two new additions (Miss Adventure Falls is great but they still need some major thrill for me) it could creep up a place.

5: Disney’s Hollywood Studios (WDW): I know, I know, it’s above MK. Don’t hate me. My first visit was last September and I really have to say, for a park that gets so much criticism I was pleasantly surprised. I think undoubtedly what helped was the fact we had Toy Story Land, some of the redeveloped areas leading to the new Incredibles area, and clear indications of where the park was heading with Star Wars. It still has a long way to go, but in its current form I really felt like I could go to the park, enjoy some awesome rides (*cough*Star Tours*cough*) and then take time just to chill out and wander. Shoutout to BaseLine Tap House, fuelling my taste for bistro dining and wine. I loose track of how many hours we spent there (I blame @Craig).

6: The Magic Kingdom: Controversiaaaaaallllll! However, I do know from speaking to others that this is very much a Marmite Park. Yes, it has the history and nostalgia, which is great, and yes, it’s home to some fantastic attractions. However, for me as a DLP fanboy the park falls a bit short. Anything MK shares with Paris I truly felt Paris does better. The park also has inherent flaws I find difficult to see past. It simply can’t cope with crowds it attracts, with the area outside It’s a Small World being probably one of the worst examples of a pinch point I can think of. Also, maybe it was me not looking hard enough and being a noob, but the park didn’t feel like it had any of those nice little pockets you get at Paris where you can chill for a moment. In Paris I always feel like if somewhere is busy, there’s a quieter way to get from A to B. MK felt like you simple follow the one route (or double back across the castle plaza). Now let me be perfectly clear, this is not me saying I hate the park. I still think it’s a good attraction, and it’s probably upper-mid table out of all the parks I’ve visited. However, in comparison to the other Disney offerings I’ve experienced thus far, it doesn’t quite cut it.

7: The Transportation & Ticket Center: I mean, come on, it has Monorails.

8: The Utilitdoor: The other side of Magic Kingdom (When I went down there they were blasting Firestarter by The Prodigy over the loudspeakers, and Peter Pan was riding a bike)

9: All of the car parks, and service roads combined: Vast expanses of smooth, undamaged tarmac and concrete.

10: The waste vacuum processing facility behind Splash Mountain: It sucks.

11: Walt Disney Studios (Paris): The less said about this monumental mess of a park the better. Since Animagique departed the reasons to visit for me declined to a big fat zero. It even fails to achieve what items 7 to 10 all do well. That’s how much distain I have for this park. Roll on the expansion. Now if you could just bulldoze Studio 1 in the process, that’d be greeeeeaaaaatttttt.


Over the next couple of years I’m aiming to try and hit California, and hopefully follow up with Asia soon after.
 
I am visiting Disneyland Resort for the first time in a few weeks, but for now I rank them as follows:

1. Magic Kingdom (love it)
2. Tokyo DisneySea (not #1 because it gets very, very long queues and lacks attractions to cope)
3. Animal Kingdom (beautiful)
4. Tokyo Disneyland (loads to do)
5. Parc Disneyland (very pretty)
6. Hong Kong Disneyland (compact but a delight)
7. Shanghai Disneyland (impressive but lacks large attractions and had some issues with personal security)
8. Epcot (a mixed bag)
9. Hollywood Studios (just not somewhere I get that excited for)
10. Parc Walt Disney Studios (say no more)

The Paris park is not higher because, quite bluntly, it lacks attractions. I expect Disneyland to drop in at 1 or 2 and DCA to drop somewhere around 4-6. But we'll see!
 
1. Disneyland (Anaheim)
2. Animal Kingdom
3. California Adventure
4. Magic Kingdom
5. Epcot
6. Hollywood Studios
7. Disneyland Paris (only been once 20 years ago)

Looking forward to getting back to the west coast parks again later this year after the last few trips to America have been to Orlando.
 
Off to California in September but for now it is probably as follows:
  1. Magic Kingdom, Florida
  2. Disneyland Park, Paris
  3. Animal Kingdom, Florida
  4. Epcot, Florida
  5. Hollywood Studios, Florida
  6. Walt Disney Studios, Paris
I am fully expecting to rate Disneyland very highly.
 
1. Epcot. Incredible. Breath taking. Unique. Interesting. Amazing. Number 1.
2. Disneyland Parc. Smaller than the MK but for me far more enjoyable. Better versions of the big rides too.
3. Animal Kingdom. Potential to be higher than 3rd as it's a truly beautiful park but was lacking enough rides when I visited.
4. Magic Kingdom. Just too busy. You're a sadist if you enjoy this place these days. It's best days have gone.
5. Hollywood Studios. Wasn't a big fan of the place tbh. TOT aside it was a very forgettable visit (1996)
6. Studios Park Paris. A poorer version of number 5.
7. Blizzard Beach because I'm just not a big Water Park fan at all.
 
Off to Orlando for the first time in September but for now...

1. Disney California adventure
2. Disneyland (Anaheim)
3. Disneyland parc
4. Walt Disney studios
 
1. Disneyland Paris Theme Park
2. Disneyland Paris Studio

Disneyland Paris is the only Disney park that I've ever visited, so can't compare to the others :D
 
I find it hard to rank most of the Disney parks I've been to, apart from what would be the best and the worst. Tokyo DisneySea is easily the best of the bunch, whereas Walt Disney Studios is by far the weakest.

So that leaves ranking the Magic Kingdom-style parks.

Tokyo Disneyland is huge, and has many great touches that are exclusive to Tokyo Disney Resort, such as the merchandise and the food. But with the exception of Monsters Inc and Pooh's Hunny Hunt, it's essentially just a Japanese version of Magic Kingdom with little else to make it stand out (for the record I've yet to do Magic Kingdom). I'm thoroughly expecting Beauty and the Beast next year to change this.

Hong Kong Disneyland has the best cast members of any park I've visited. And it has enough unique attractions to make it stand out, especially Mystic Manor. It is, however, a bit on the small side.

Shanghai Disneyland is a park I feel is getting stronger each year, learning from the mistakes when it first opened. I heard horror stories before my first visit, but found it a thoroughly pleasant park to be in with a really good fastrack system. It also has what is easily the best ride Disney has ever made; Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure. Disneytown is also the best 'Downtown Disney-esque' area of any of the non-US Disney parks, miles better than the offerings in Paris and Tokyo.

Disneyland Paris Park has little in the way of truly unique attractions. And even on my last visit, there were areas that felt run-down compared to the other parks. But it's own iterations of classic Disney rides (Space Mountain, Phantom Manor and Big Thunder Mountain in particular) are the best versions of those rides out there. The castle is gorgeous. Disney just need to add to the park to make it a bit more special, as it appears to get less love than any other Disney park in existence. I should also note the food here is a huge disappointment compared to the Asian Disney parks.

So whilst the list would no doubt easily change in the future, I'd currently rank them as:

1) Tokyo DisneySea
2) Shanghai Disneyland
3) Hong Kong Disneyland
4) Tokyo Disneyland
5) Disneyland Paris
6) Walt Disney Studios
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top