Epic Universe vs Magic Kingdom

[DisneyAndUniversalFan]

Let's say that you have one single day in the Orlando area, and you can only go to one of these two parks. Which would you pick?
Both parks have many excellent rides, themed lands and a lot of great shows and attractions. Which is the better park, the newest (EU, 2025) main Disney/Universal park in Orlando, or the oldest (MK, 1971)?
Both parks have amazing rides and overall rely on a fun-filled theme park experience.

Rank the rides from both parks combined from best to worst.

Epic Universe:
Constellation Carousel
Curse of the Werewolf
Dragon Racer's Rally
Fyre Drill
Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry
Hiccup's Wing Gliders
Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge
Mine-Cart Madness
Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment
Stardust Racers
Yoshi's Adventure

Magic Kingdom:
Astro Orbitor
The Barnstormer
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Haunted Mansion
“it’s a small world”
Jungle Cruise
Mad Tea Party
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
Main Street Vehicles
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
PeopleMover
Peter Pan’s Flight
Pirates of the Caribbean
Prince Charming Regal Carousel
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Space Mountain
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
Tomorrowland Speedway
TRON Lightcycle / Run
Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid
Walt Disney World Railroad
Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress

Which park is superior, has better rides, more fun, etc? Which is the better park? Discuss.

 

[wdwfan4ver]

I know MK is on the decline, but its no contest with MK as the winner. MK has a lot more rides than Epic does.

I called MK on the decline because Magic Kingdom's atmosphere in Frontier land and Liberty Square is got hurt due to Rivers of America is gone.

Epic Universe is a typical brand new theme park with growing pains right now. Epic has a lot of Expansion plots. The only thing is Epic is never going to win over Magic Kingdom unless Disney does something stupid like tear down Haunted Mansion.

 

[JT3000]

This is... premature.

The only thing is Epic is never going to win over Magic Kingdom unless Disney does something stupid like tear down Haunted Mansion.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

The thread topic asks which is the better park, but your opening post asks a completely different question, where would we go if we only had one day in Orlando.

MK is currently in pretty sad shape with BTMRR and Buzz down, TSI gone, the train in B mode, and so much other construction/rehabs at WDW either happening now or soon to start. With so much closed/soon to close in AK, people are bound to hop to MK. Many MK rides that are open are in sad shape. Leadership has made some questionable choices.

On the other hand, Epic is still new, and rides have not yet reached full reliability. Remember when Test Track was new and had operational problems? The park is beautiful! I am confident the park will improve over time.

If I only had 1 day in Orlando, and could only choose between these 2 parks, I'd 100% choose Epic. If a friend asked me which they should visit - right now- Epic is the clear winner. MK is in very sad shape right now. Fall is an especially BAD time to visit MK due to all the stupid Halloween parties and pathetically short park hours.

There's also the difference between LL and EP.

After the dust settles? Hard to say. Epic has tremendous potential. MK used to be the best park, but it has been allowed to deteriorate. I would like to hope that 2027ish will be a better time to visit both.

 

[earlthesquirrellover23]

A park is more than just it's rides - I would much rather spend a day currently in Epic Universe than Magic Kingdom, honestly part of that is just for the level of food and general atmosphere at Epic vs Magic Kingdom alone. Also Magic Kingdom is really missing a modern high tech dark ride in my opinion. Nearly every other castle park has one and Epic has 3 of them.