Rank the 10 American Disney/Universal Parks

[DisneyAndUniversalFan]

Animal Kingdom:

California Adventure:

Disneyland:

EPCOT:

Epic Universe:

Hollywood Studios:

Islands of Adventure:

Magic Kingdom:

Universal Studios Florida:

Universal Studios Hollywood:

Rank the 10 Disney/Universal parks in the United States from best park to weakest park. Which park is the overall best? Based on theming, immersion, feel, most fun rides, and overall best time.

 

[Misted Compass]

1. DL (Has the most attractions plus the richest history of any park)
2. Epcot (Despite recent changes, the park is still very enjoyable and has a lot of depth)
3. IoA (Good rides, but entertainment is very lacking and a lot of the park shows its age)
4. Epic (Great theming, great lands, great rides, great food, but even greater capacity issues)
5. MK (The past 3 years have not been kind to this park at all. If it was 2023 MK it would probably be 2 or 3)
6. AK (Theming is good but there's just not enough to do, especially in its current state)
7. DCA (The best of the worst, primarily due to its "nature" themed lands which the other parks lack)
8. DHS (It has Rise, ToT, a few other good bits)
9. USH (The studio tour and unique location put it barely above its counterpart)
10. USF (The other two parks have pretty much snatched up every improvement this park could have had)

 

[DavidDL]

Tried to come up with a full list but there's just way too much to consider. In all my attempts, though, Disneyland came in first and California Adventure came in last. Other top parks repeatedly were Epcot, Islands of Adventure and Magic Kingdom while Animal Kingdom joins California Adventure at the bottom. Everything else is somewhere in-between.

 

[waltography]

Ranking only the parks I've visited (so USF and IoA are ineligible for me):

1. Disneyland
2. EPCOT
3. Disney's Animal Kingdom
4. Epic Universe
5. Disney California Adventure
6. Magic Kingdom
7. Universal Studios Hollywood
8. Disney's Hollywood Studios

 

[mickEblu]

love these rankings! They re always so fun for me...

1. Disneyland
2. DCA
3. USH

 

[mickEblu]

Ranking only the parks I've visited (so USF and IoA are ineligible for me):

1. Disneyland
2. EPCOT
3. Disney's Animal Kingdom
4. Epic Universe
5. Disney California Adventure
6. Magic Kingdom
7. Universal Studios Hollywood
8. Disney's Hollywood Studios

Do you think its possible for a West Coast Disneylander to view MK objectively?

 

[Rich T]

Do you think its possible for a West Coast Disneylander to view MK objectively?

Yes. MK has far fewer things to do.

 

[Rich T]

This Californian-in-Florida’s view of how DL and DCA compare to every FL park:

1) Disneyland
2) Epic Universe
3) Animal Kingdom
4) Islands of Adventure
5) Epcot
6) Universal Studios FL
7) Disney California Adventure
8) Disney Hollywood Studios
9) Gatorland
10) Magic Kingdom
11) Legoland FL
12) Seaworld
13) Busch Gardens

 

[mickEblu]

This Californian-in-Florida’s view of how DL and DCA compare to every FL park:

2) Epic Universe

You have some splaining to do.

 

[coffeefan]

Do you think its possible for a West Coast Disneylander to view MK objectively?

I think it depends on whether we evaluate parks in a vacuum or if we discount for clones/non-optimal versions. It's just human nature to do the latter because when we visit, we need to prioritize activities, and that's even more the case in Orlando, where there's so much between UOR and WDW.

 

[mickEblu]

I think it depends on whether we evaluate parks in a vacuum or if we discount for clones/non-optimal versions. It's just human nature to do the latter because when we visit, we need to prioritize activities, and that's even more the case in Orlando, where there's so much between UOR and WDW.

Right I guess my question is if one had never been to Disneyland would MK still rank behind Epcot and AK? For some maybe, for others no. I’m sure it depends on many factors and who’s evaluating.

 

[mickEblu]

I’m not sure if this is a hot take but Epic Universe doesn’t even seem/ look better than DCA

 

[Rich T]

You have some splaining to do.

I might post some detailed ‘splaining soon.

But I have been to Epic 27 times during its first year, and—in a nutshell…

The park is gorgeous. The music is wonderful. The rides are great (5 of them are among my top favorites anywhere). The two shows and the restaurants (most of them) are top tier.

And, personally, I love EVERY land in the park. A day there is basically nonstop-things-I-love.

And after 27 visits, I’ve gotten good at navigating the capacity issues.

 

[Rich T]

I’m not sure if this is a hot take but Epic Universe doesn’t even seem/ look better than DCA

Wait till you see it in person. The place is cohesive and charming and jaw-droppingly beautiful at night. There’s no dead space—Everything works together.

It’s certainly got capacity issues right now. But on my visit a couple of weeks ago, the park was crowded, downtime issues occurred, and I still was able to ride everything, see both shows and eat where I wanted despite it all. And I can’t wait to go a 28th time.

 

[mickEblu]

Wait till you see it in person. The place is cohesive and charming and jaw-droppingly beautiful at night. There’s no dead space—Everything works together.

It’s certainly got capacity issues right now. But on my visit a couple of weeks ago, the park was crowded, downtime issues occurred, and I still was able to ride everything, see both shows and eat where I wanted despite it all. And I can’t wait to go a 28th time.

I guess the big one for me is there doesn’t appear to be a lot of natural beauty. It also doesn’t help that I don’t like Super Nintendo Land or Mario kart at USH very much at all. The Donkey Kong area looks better though even if the ride looks a tad underwhelming for the potential it had. The Potter land looks great and sounds like the ride is as well. The Monsters land looks… fine but the ride looks fantastic. HTTYD land looks cool.

I think DCA’s attraction roster is better, has more variety and the park is more beautiful. I’m also going to go out on a limb and say DCA probably has the better food? I get the sense that Epic Universe was sort of tailor made for you and that most people wouldn’t have Epic as their second Universal/ Disney park nationwide. Is that a fair assessment?

 

[Rich T]

… I get the sense that Epic Universe was sort of tailor made for you and that most people wouldn’t have Epic as their second Universal/ Disney park nationwide. Is that a fair assessment?

Well… I’ve been a Potter fan since the first book came came to the U.S. … I’ve been a Nintendo fan since the NES launched… I grew up watching Universal monster movies on TV… How to Train Your Dragon is my all-time favorite movie… And I love mythology, portals, constellations, carousels and fountains… Yeah, I have never before encountered a park where I completely love EVERY theme, character, architectural choice, music genre, etc.

Would most others rank it as highly as me? On every visit, I’m seeing and hearing a ton of very happy, excited families, couples and groups having a blast… and that’s in spite of the park’s current capacity/long lines issues. I’d say… it’s building its fan base. Give it time. It’s young.

Re: Your point about natural beauty… I see what you mean, in that Epic currently has nothing like DCA’s Grizzly Peak section. I hadn’t thought about it till now, but Epic is based entirely on fantasy themes and environments. The park is beautiful—particularly in the use of water in Berk and Celestial Park—but right now the only area I’d call naturally “woodsy” would be the werewolf area.

As for the Food—I haven’t eaten at DCA in several years, but I can say I find Epic’s food to be generally wonderful…For me, the best park food in Florida.

 

[waltography]

Do you think its possible for a West Coast Disneylander to view MK objectively?

Potentially, but don't ask me to do it. Hard for me to judge MK on its own merits when nearly everything MK does is done better at Disneyland (save for the fireworks, but even then WJ is neck and neck with HEA!). I could plan a WDW vacation today, only plan EPCOT and DAK (never touching MK or DHS) and I'd be very pleased with that trip.

At the same time, I'm also not sure if removing DLR would dramatically change my rankings all that much. EPCOT and DAK still appeal to me more with their core themes and experiences than MK or DHS, and I think that would be exacerbated if I were a passholder. I might bump MK up a place or two if it's the only castle park I ever knew.

I’m not sure if this is a hot take but Epic Universe doesn’t even seem/ look better than DCA

It's genuinely fantastic if you catch it on the right day (and pay for Express). I tacked it onto the end of my last WDW trip on a whim and fell in love with the park almost immediately. Ministry of Magic is one of the most stunning lands anywhere and I could spend a whole day in there (Le Cirque Arcanus is probably worth the price of admission alone), Dark Universe has a Top 5 attraction in Monsters Unchained, and Stardust Racers is a Top 5 coaster.

Again, I think this is where as a lifelong Disneylander I can't really view DCA objectively, but to have seen DCA 2.0's potential squandered bit by bit with Pixar Pier and Avengers Campus and comparing it to Epic's unified vision and philosophy for itself is a tough pill to swallow (even if I too find SNW ugly and hot!). I'm sure if I went to Epic more often I'd appreciate its flaws more, but I can't emphasize enough how perfect my one day was in influencing its ranking.

Food at Epic was great! About par with EPCOT. The Blue Dragon was a highlight.

Re: Your point about natural beauty… I see what you mean, in that Epic currently has nothing like DCA’s Grizzly Peak section. I hadn’t thought about it till now, but Epic is based entirely on fantasy themes and environments. The park is beautiful—particularly in the use of water in Berk and Celestial Park—but right now the only area I’d call naturally “woodsy” would be the werewolf area.

Epic has great bones to fill in for sure; as the trees start filling out Darkmoor and Berk I think this will go away (although I do wish there was more shade now! ). I think Celestial Park could do with way more trees (and mature ones at that).

 

[Movielover]

Not trying to be controversial, this is just based on me and what I like:

1. Disney's Hollywood Studios
2. Universal Studios Hollywood
3. Animal Kingdom
4. Universal Studios Florida
5. Disneyland
6. Islands Of Adventure
7. Epcot
8. Magic Kingdom
9. Disney California Adventure

*Have not been to Epic yet.

 

[britain]

Do you think its possible for a West Coast Disneylander to view MK objectively?

Certainly. While DL is my preferred park, MK shares the same overall concept, and has quite a few aspects that are really enjoyable (even if in sum total Disneyland remains superior).

When taking my kids to Florida for the first time, we originally were going to focus on things that are not available in California. But come on! We couldn’t pass up Big Thunder or Haunted Mansion. Because the size of our family, we actually aren’t able to get to any Disney parks that frequently. So we knew this would be the one chance for this particular set of children to experience a “castle park”. (We only had a couple of days in total, so we also hit DHS and DAK. We managed to grab dinner at Epcot, but not much else.)

 

[britain]

Not trying to be controversial, this is just based on me and what I like:

1. Disney's Hollywood Studios
2. Universal Studios Hollywood
3. Animal Kingdom
4. Universal Studios Florida
5. Disneyland
6. Islands Of Adventure
7. Epcot
8. Magic Kingdom
9. Disney California Adventure

*Have not been to Epic yet.

Apparently you are a movie lover.