Disney Theme Parks Ranked by Effort

When you’re on vacation, you want to take it easy.

Alas, a theme park visit requires you to burn a bit more energy.

Mickey Mouse and Families – Walt Disney World

Even Walt Disney World theme parks, which are the gold standard in terms of layout, can wear you out.

Sometimes, you’d like to take it easy. So, how would I rank Walt Disney World’s theme parks in terms of effort? Let’s discuss.

4) Disney’s Hollywood Studios

First, let me clarify the ranking system here. By listing Hollywood Studios here, I’m saying you’ll expend the most effort here.

Some of the intensity comes from traversing the park to find the next attraction. However, most stress stems from mental fatigue.

Photo: ScreenCrush

At Hollywood Studios, you face the pressure of accomplishing as much as possible during your visit.

The glorious part of this park is that it’s E-ticket attraction overload.

Toy Story Mania

You could spend half your visit at Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and have the time of your life.

The problem is that everyone knows this, which causes overcrowding in some (but thankfully not all) parts of these areas.

Photo: TheCoasterKings.com

Also, everyone else wants to experience the same attractions that you do, which leads to heightened demand.

I know people who have visited Toy Story Land ten times and still haven’t snagged a Lightning Lane/FastPass for Slinky Dog Dash.

Photo: Disney

When friends tell me stories like this, I wonder how much research they’re doing at the parks. But that’s the thing.

Not everyone is as smart as you. They don’t read MickeyBlog or participate in other Disney communities.

Photo: Disney

So, they don’t realize what they’re up against until they arrive at the parks, and those people often face frustration at Hollywood Studios.

This park requires some planning and a lot of strategy, which makes it a high effort, at least by Disney vacation standards.

You’ll crisscross the park repeatedly in your attempt to do everything there.

A more methodical approach of experiencing everything in each area assures that you’re in line during most of your visit.

Photo: Disney

Finally, while Lightning Lane Multipass is often your salvation here, you’ll be studying your phone a lot.

3) Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Tree of Life

A visit to this park requires a different kind of stress, and it’s doubled by the fact that you may be a parent with small children.

So, you’re keeping your child entertained while you’re visiting Animal Kingdom, and that’s not easy.

I say this because Animal Kingdom is objectively Disney World’s biggest theme park.

That’s not the only consideration here, either. Animal Kingdom is also the hottest Disney park, which is a necessity.

Disney Cast Members work diligently to protect the natural habitats of the animals who live at the park.

Since many of these creatures prefer warmer weather, 1) they’re perfectly suited for Florida and 2) Disney takes great care of them.

We all want that for the safety of the animals, but it does lead to higher temperatures.

In combination with all the walking – Animal Kingdom covers more than 500 acres – it can be a bit overwhelming.

Landscape around Pandora

The advantage here over the smaller Hollywood Studios is that few of the attractions require a prolonged wait.

Really, the only place where you’ll spend a long time standing in line is Pandora – The World of Avatar.

Donald’s Dino-Bash

Also, due to the sheer size of the park, it feels much less crowded, alleviating any concerns about claustrophobia.

Analytically, the two parks receive roughly the same amount of daily traffic.

Since Animal Kingdom is five times as big, that’s how much better the distribution is…but you do have to walk a lot.

2) Magic Kingdom

I debated flip-flopping two and three due to the reason I just mentioned.

Animal Kingdom is four times as big as Magic Kingdom and has much lower attendance.

Cinderella Castle

So, you won’t be fighting the crowds as much as Animal Kingdom. Still, I consider Magic Kingdom a lower-effort park.

I feel this way because of the brilliant layout, which remains the gold standard at Disney theme parks.

Magic Kingdom

Imagineers adopted the hub-and-spoke approach from Disneyland but elevated it thanks to having more experience.

The Happiest Place on Earth was already a decade old when Magic Kingdom’s planning began.

Not coincidentally, you can rotate clockwise or counter-clockwise at Magic Kingdom and experience virtually everything.

Even better, you’ll discover plenty of show-based and slower attractions along the way.

Even though you’re attending the world’s most popular theme park, it’s manageable every step of the way.

In fact, in my experience, Magic Kingdom is where I have many of my best memories but none of my worst.

Credit: Disney

I can truthfully state that I have few negative memories at Disney anyway, and all of them involve either Tusker House or the pandemic.

Conversely, even in my childhood, the memories that fill me with warmth have happened at or near Main Street, U.S.A.

Photo: Disney

I’ll acknowledge that you can spend a lot of time waiting in line at Magic Kingdom, but MickeyBlog offers plenty of pro tips for that.

1)    EPCOT

Finally, we have the most tranquil theme park at Disney World.

For many years, Disney officials clung to the longstanding belief that theme park guests should be led around.

Soarin’ 

At EPCOT, Disney went against what tourists clearly wanted by trying to direct them toward the next attraction.

Then, Imagineers split Future World into three parts. In the process, Disney abandoned the old ways.

Photo: Disney Parks Blog

Now, sitting areas at EPCOT encourage guests simply to hang out and enjoy themselves.

In that regard, the former Future World now mirrors the best parts of the World Showcase, thereby doubling your options.

(Disney)

You can take it just as slow and easy as you like at EPCOT, which positions it in stark contrast to Disney World’s other parks.

THIS is the place to go when you just want to kick back and relax.

You’ll find ample restaurants and lounges here, coinciding with the many festival booths.

So, there’s always something new to try, and you won’t need to rush to do it.

Photo:visitorlando.com

When you want to visit the parks but also feel like taking it easy, EPCOT is the clear choice. It requires minimal effort.

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Feature Photo: DIsney