6) Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Currently, Disney’s Hollywood Studios has the most room to improve, but right now it is a construction zone. With Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land under construction, the park only has a handful of attractions. The classic Hollywood theming is great, and attractions like Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania, and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith continue to bring guests in the park, but there isn’t much left outside of that. Right now there isn’t enough in this park to fill up an entire day. You might even struggle to find new things to do in this park by lunch time. Again, in 5 or 6 years Disney’s Hollywood Studios will probably be a lot higher on this list then it is today, but for now due to the heavy construction it sits at the bottom of the list.
5) Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Okay, now we get into the controversial picks. Right now, Disney’s Animal Kingdom isn’t a full day park. Once Pandora – The World of Avatar is open and the Rivers of Light nighttime show is finished, this park might move up in the rankings. This park also doesn’t feel like a classic Disney park, and maybe that is the point. But when you pay Disney prices, you might feel disappointed to not get the full Disney experience. But to be fair, with some incredible theming, Disney does a great job of making Disney’s Animal Kingdom more than just a zoo.
4) Disney’s California Adventure
There is a lot to love about Disney’s California Adventure. The two stars of this park are Cars Land and the nighttime show, World of Color. There are a couple problems with this park though. Mainly Paradise Pier. Paradise Pier features many attractions that were bought by Disney off the shelf and completely lack the imagination usually seen on classic Disney rides. These are some fun rides, but they lack the Disney touch and are essentially what you’ll find at any Six Flags park.
3) Epcot
If you ask a 10-year-old what they think of Epcot, it’ll probably be a lot different answer than what someone 21-years or older will say. This is certainly a park that caters to adults, especially when it comes to the World Showcase. Much of this park is about experiencing the unique foods, wines, and other alcoholic beverages. Because it fails to cater to the whole family, Epcot is a little lower on this list, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a fantastic park. It still hosts two of Walt Disney World’s most popular attractions, Soarin’ Around the World and Frozen Ever After.
2) Magic Kingdom
Don’t hit me Walt Disney World fans, but coming in at number two is the Magic Kingdom. There are a lot of similarities between number one and two on the list. Beloved attractions like the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Splash Mountain are in both parks. So it really comes down to what is different about the parks. The Magic Kingdom does host the larger castle, but it suffers from a lack of refurbishments that make this park look and feel outdated when compared to the Disneyland Park. The Magic Kingdom also lacks decent quick service food options compared to Disneyland. Quick service food in general is something Disney really needs to work on for all of the Walt Disney World parks.
1) Disneyland Park
At the end of the day, Walt Disney’s original park still reigns as the king of the Disney parks. Not only does this park host the slew of classic attraction mention in the Magic Kingdom section above, but it also was the only park that Walt Disney ever walked in. It was the only park that has personal touches from Walt himself. Besides the mark that Walt left on this park there is something else about it that puts it at the top of this list. There is a charm in this park that none of the other five domestic Disney parks have. Another great part about Disneyland is that many of the characters roam freely around the park. This makes this park feel alive, almost as if the characters actually live there. The other Disney parks have characters set in certain locations at certain times, and it can feel mass produced. If you’ve never been to Disneyland you should should considering booking it as your next Disney trip. But, not everything is sunshine and rainbows. Even the best Disney park has some problems. For example, Disneyland has completely abandoned their PeopleMover track, which was replaced with a short lived attraction called Rocket Rods. Having the abandoned track running right down the middle of Tomorrowland looks extremely sad. So, even the best Disney park can have its own shortcomings, but overall, I think Disneyland Park is the best domestic Disney park.
These are my thoughts and opinions on how I rank the Disney parks. I’d love to hear your opinions and how they differ from mine, so let me know in the comment section below or on Facebook.
