How I Would Rank Disney’s Six American Parks
Lately, I’ve spent a lot of chasing down rumors and legal documents for a potential fifth theme park at Walt Disney World.
Bob Iger recently hinted that one is coming soon. Of course, soon could mean 2030, and we’d still be happy.
Photo:visitorlando.com
For the next five years, we’ll enjoy the same Disney theme parks in North America. But which one is best?
Here’s how I would rank Disney’s six American theme parks.
6) Disney California Adventure
I’ll say something essential about Disney California Adventure. If anyone had created this list before Cars Land opened, it wouldn’t have required any thought.
Every sane Disney fan on the planet would have listed Disney California Adventure (DCA) as Disney’s worst park.
Photo: DIsneyland
Then, Radiator Springs Racers arrived and made things a little better. Now, more than a decade after its debut, it remains the park’s most popular ride.
Since then, Disney has refreshed the former Paradise Pier and other parts of the park.
Imagineers have transitioned DCA from a mediocre experience into a dazzling one.
The Pixar neighborhoods and the debut of Avengers Campus forced me to consider DCA for fifth place.
Photo: Disney
Alas, I still believe this park has some work to do before it catches up to everything else on this list.
The gap has become virtually non-existent, though. And that’s to Disney’s credit.
(Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort)
Any time a Disney park has appeared lackluster, Imagineers have imbibed it with new life.
At DCA, this tactic involves the retrofitting of old attractions into new experiences like the Incredicoaster and Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!
Photo: WDW-magazine
Also, two new themed lands in a decade helped crowds fall in love with DCA anew. Cars Land put DCA on the map, while Avengers Campus has turned it into a must-visit Disney destination.
5) Disney’s Animal Kingdom
What you should recognize right now is that all Disney theme parks are spectacular.
If something as unprecedented as Animal Kingdom finishes second-to-last, everything we’re discussing is spectacular.
In truth, I recognize this ranking will prove divisive. For some Disney fans, Animal Kingdom embodies everything iconic about the parks.
Imagineers performed a bit of wish fulfillment here in adding animals at a Disney theme park. Whose wish did they fulfill? Walt Disney’s!
In the run-up to Disneyland’s opening, Uncle Walt had pleaded with Imagineers to use real animals at Jungle Cruise.
These loyal workers talked their boss down from his untenable position, as it simply wasn’t feasible in 1955. A lot can change in 40 years, though.
Photo: Disney
When Animal Kingdom opened on Earth Day 1998, it signified the culmination of Walt Disney’s grandest ambitions for family theme park visits.
Alas, the place still comes with flaws you won’t find at the other parks. Even in the wake of Pandora – The World of Avatar, it’s still lacking in E-ticket attractions.
Also, the sheer size of Animal Kingdom undoes some of its enjoyment. You’ll spend too much time walking and not enough of your visit interacting with animals.
A quarter-century later, Animal Kingdom remains a work-in-progress…but also a stunning triumph of Imagineering and Disney excellence!
4) EPCOT
Photo: Disney
Anyone who knows me well is acutely aware of the fact that I love EPCOT the best.
I fell in love with the place the year that it opened, and I’ve maintained my loyalty for decades.
Epcot Entrance
Unless you were there, you will never understand how profound an experience EPCOT was in the early 1980s.
Still, as we’ve established, I’m not ranking this list based on my favorites.
Instead, I’m weighing options like the quality of attractions and overall park entertainment.
That’s why I give EPCOT the nod over Animal Kingdom. The recent addition of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure puts it over the top.
Even before then, EPCOT earned praise for its inimitable shopping and dining options.
When you simply want to hang out and be a happy tourist at Walt Disney World, EPCOT is the place to go.
3) Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Five years ago at this time, Hollywood Studios would have been closer to the bottom than the top.
Theme park enthusiasts deride some places as “half-day parks,” which indicates that the entertainment options are lacking.
Photo: Josh Hallett
In 2017, a cynic could honestly describe Hollywood Studios as a quarter-day park because it was so lacking in attractions.
Once Disney closed The Great Movie Ride, Hollywood Studios felt like a ghost town. And I kinda loved it that way.
Cast Members in front of Roundup Rodeo BBQ
Most Disney fans left the park by 2 p.m., leaving the rest of us to relish having the run of the place.
Alas, Hollywood Studios has since transitioned into the home of Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Photo: Disney
Those two themed lands have redefined the park in rare and profound ways. Now, Hollywood Studios has fundamentally changed into THE hottest park.
People want to ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Slinky Dog Dash, and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. And they’ll wait seemingly any amount of time to do so.
Photo: TheCoasterKings.com
Theme park attendance calculations grew fuzzy during the pandemic. Before then, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios were in a dead heat.
Those two parks were the least attended at Walt Disney World. Over the past 18 months, Hollywood Studios is now second at Walt Disney World and third overall in North America.
Hollywood Studios is now the place to be for Disney fans!
2) Disneyland Park
Photo: Travel and Leisure
In evaluating what should win, two parks jumped off the page, and you know which ones they are.
Disneyland started it all. This was the first internationally renowned theme park and the place where Walt Disney proved that anything was possible.
Photo: CNtraveler.com
In fact, Disney himself famously said, “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”
The creator spoke from experience. Disneyland turned 160 acres of orange groves into the Happiest Place on Earth.
Photo: Disney
Since 1955, this park has become a West Coast institution, a place where Southern Californians spend a staggering percentage of their lives.
In its own way, Disneyland Park is absolutely perfect in that it came first and only got better over the years.
(Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort)
This park offers more attractions than anywhere else except for (arguably) the park I rank ahead of it.
1) Magic Kingdom
New 100th Decor
So, if Disneyland is perfect, what could possibly beat it?
The answer is straightforward. The only thing better than Disneyland is a larger-scale version that came from better planning.
Disney officials spent years strategizing on how to design Magic Kingdom. Walt Disney purchased the land nearly a decade before the park opened.
After Uncle Walt’s death, his older brother, Roy, and his loyal Imagineers weren’t about to open something unworthy of the Disney name.
Instead, they built the deluxe version of Disneyland, upgrading the Happiest Place on Earth into the Most Magical Place on Earth.
The results speak for themselves.
For many consecutive years, Magic Kingdom has towered above the competition as THE most trafficked theme park in the world.
Some would argue it’s the most popular paid tourist destination on the planet.
Remarkably, the next-closest competitor is…Disneyland.
Photo: Disney
The theme park industry is a monopoly, and anybody who tries to tell you differently doesn’t understand math.
As dominant as Disney is in its area of expertise, only one park can stake a claim over the rest. And the public has spoken clearly on this subject.
Photo: Disney
Magic Kingdom, with all its remarkable attractions, embodies the best of Disney theme parks.
Do you disagree with some/most of my rankings? That’s totally fine! In fact, it’s expected!
Fortunately, I’m not the only one at MickeyBlog with such opinions. Here’s Whitney Littlejohn’s ranking of every park!
Also, here is Rebekah Sedwick ranking Magic Kingdom’s themed lands.
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Feature Photo: Disney
