Rank the 10 American Disney/Universal Parks

[mickEblu]

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.)

I suspect that as someone who’s been to DL 200 times I’ll probably rank Epcot and AK ahead of MK. But would I necessarily do that if I had no concept of what Disneyland was? It clearly has the best ride roster of the 4 WDW parks. Especially if you have kids.

 

[DL-fan]

I think Universal Florida is pretty dated with some lackluster rides which is why it’s at the bottom of the list while Disneyland of course belongs at the top for many reasons.


1. DL
2. Epcot
3. Epic Universe
4. Animal Kingdom
5. Magic Kingdom
6. Islands of Adventure
7. California Adventure
8. Hollywood Studios
9. Universal Hollywood
10. Universal Florida

 

[Centauri Space Station]

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!).

That’s what makes opinions so interesting. For me I prefer MKs Jungle Cruise, Haunted mansion, Pooh, Phillarmagic, Mermaid, the castle, Tomorrowland as a whole with Astro orbitor atop the peoplemover, COP, Tron and the upgraded buzz plus SDMT, HOP, CBJ are also unique at MK.

Anyways my list:

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

 

[Centauri Space Station]

I suspect that as someone who’s been to DL 200 times I’ll probably rank Epcot and AK ahead of MK. But would I necessarily do that if I had no concept of what Disneyland was? It clearly has the best ride roster of the 4 WDW parks. Especially if you have kids.

I visited MK several times before first visiting DL and loved it, but i was also a kid then

 

[waltography]

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.

What a niche! I felt a little bad ranking USH as low as I did because the Studio Tour alone is what keeps me coming back and it's an intangible asset to the experience as a whole.

Depending on your affinity for the representative properties, I think you're going to really like Epic. Get Express though.

 

[waltography]

That’s what makes opinions so interesting. For me I prefer MKs Jungle Cruise, Haunted mansion, Pooh, Phillarmagic, Mermaid, the castle, Tomorrowland as a whole with Astro orbitor atop the peoplemover, COP, Tron and the upgraded buzz plus SDMT, HOP, CBJ are also unique at MK.

Fair points! It comes down to the person for sure: for example, the temple finale in MK's Jungle Cruise is a miss for me because the boat's so loud in there, and I'm so opposed to Hatbox's placement there that I can't properly enjoy the attraction! I agree that Tomorrowland's stronger at MK (minus Space Mountain).

Every ride is someone's favorite ride and every park is someone's favorite park; we're just lucky to have the opportunity to experience them all.

 

[BigRed98]

Here's my list:

1. Disneyland
2. Animal Kingdom
3. Magic Kingdom
4. EPCOT
5. Epic Universe
6. Islands of Adventure
7. Hollywood Studios
8. California Adventure
9. Universal Studios Florida

Never been to Universal Studios Hollywood.

 

[Movielover]

What a niche! I felt a little bad ranking USH as low as I did because the Studio Tour alone is what keeps me coming back and it's an intangible asset to the experience as a whole.

Depending on your affinity for the representative properties, I think you're going to really like Epic. Get Express though.

Thanks! I hate this as it sounds like I hate the other Disney parks but I don't. I love all theme parks, but I'm such a big movie fan that the movie parks just speak right to me. I love them all!

 

[GordoInTheParks]

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

I went to high school in FL, and used to visit my grandparents, aunts, & uncles in FL my whole life. MK was some of my earliest memories ever. I hadn't even been to Disneyland until after my 40th. I now live between these parks, in CO. Disneyland is now my favorite park. I really had no idea how different it was. It just feels so genuine in a way that's hard to put into words. I think that maybe it was Walt's touch that is still there. It doesn't hurt that several of the legacy rides are just arguably better versions, as well. Then you have things like the Columbia, NO Square, and Walt's apartment over the Fire Station, etc.

Some of my fondest memories of Magic Kingdom as a child in the 70s and 80s were already gone by my teens and 20s, so there's not even as much nostalgia for me there as there should be. However, I feel like I should still be biased the other way, and I still think that DL is handedly better than MK, at least, in MK's current form. We'll see how that goes in a few years.

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

Can only rank the ones I’ve been to thusfar

1. Disneyland
2. EPCOT
3. Islands of Adventure
4. Disney’s Animal Kingdom
5. Magic Kingdom
6. Disney’s Hollywood Studios
7. DIsney California Adventure
8. Universal Studios Florida

Have not gotten to USH and Epic yet but on paper my guess is USH would be last and Epic would be between DAK and MK.

 

[GordoInTheParks]

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

This is my exact list order, as well! Maybe Tropical Americas will make me flip 2&3, and that will probably only be until [formerly named] Future World in Epcot gets a little bit more needed love.

 

[DLR92]

1. Disneyland

I haven’t been to any of the parks in Florida. But I have no interest to do so. I am only basing on aesthetic and interest of merit of my own feelings if I were to.

2. Universal Epic
3. Disney’s Animal Kingdom
4. Epcot
5. Disney California Adventure
6. Island of Adventure
7. Magic Kingdom
8. Universal Studios Hollywood
9. Seaworld
10. Knott’s Berry Farm

 

[GordoInTheParks]

1. Disneyland

I haven’t been to any of the parks in Florida. But I have no interest to do so. I am only basing on aesthetic and interest of merit of my own feelings if I were to.

2. Universal Epic
3. Disney’s Animal Kingdom
4. Epcot
5. Disney California Adventure
6. Island of Adventure
7. Magic Kingdom
8. Universal Studios Hollywood
9. Seaworld
10. Knott’s Berry Farm

No interest to see the parks in Florida? As much as I prefer Disneyland to just about all other parks, I still find this sad. I know that this thread is about the parks, specially... but, IMO, the best aspect of the Florida parks is taking all the forms of transportation and visiting all the areas in-between, including the resorts. That goes for both Disney and Universal. Both have boats to get to some of the resorts. Taking the WDW monorail to the Contemporary, the Polynesian, and the Grand Foridian is not to be missed, although the Poly Lobby is not what it was before 2015, sadly. I usually spend my first day in town wandering around those really cool nooks and crannies.

I have feelings about what's become of FL since the good old days, and the remnants of "Old Florida", but being in those park bubbles is pretty fantastic, as long as you're not planning on going the during summer heat.

Likewise, it seems like most of the people that I've met on the east coast have no interest in Disneyland, and also have no actual concept of how it's really any different than Magic Kingdom, other than it just being smaller. For this reason, I'm actually happy that MK is going through a metamorphosis, so that these parks can be even more different. Maybe this will encourage more travel between coasts, politics not withstanding.

I also personally love traveling, but I do know that not everyone has the means or desire to do so. My wife and I went to Paris last October, and started the trip off at DLP. I'm glad that we did that, even if that park wouldn't necessarily go between my top 3-5 parks in the US.

 

[Centauri Space Station]

Yeah not visiting the florida parks is a major disservice

 

[malice]

Disneyland
Epcot
MK
IOA
AK
DHS
Epic…I dislike the layout and am not particularly fond of Celestial Park’s basic mall vibe.
DCA
USF
USH

 

[GordoInTheParks]

Yeah not visiting the florida parks is a major disservice

I agree that it's a disservice to one's self if you do love these kinds of immersive theme parks, but I'm also keeping in mind that the reverse is probably way more prevalent, and I'm also not going to tell someone that their motivation is wrong.

The reason that I am propping up the entirety of the land by saying that the whole is still greater than the sum of its parks, is that each park kind of feels incomplete, right now. Yeah, Epcot no longer has a big hole, but it did not get the upgrade that it was meant to, and the other 3 DO have a sizable hole. However, when you step back, what has been achieved on the whole thus far, is still pretty darn amazing. Roy Disney may not have been able to do Walt's original EPCOT vision, but what he and his team did with The 7 Seas Lagoon, the resorts and monorail was really something HUGE, right out of the gate! In a few years (if things keep heading this way) the parks and infrastructure will finally live to what Roy was setting up, I do believe. Do I wish that the monorail consistency would have never stopped after Epcot? Of course, but I digress, and gondolas are a nice touch. There's just more work to do.

I could go on into Universal territory, because I absolutely LOVE Epic Universe, but I also think that Universal has WAY more work to do with fixing what doesn't work with their other 2 FL parks, and then somehow connecting Epic to the rest of it, seamlessly.

 

[co10064]

A few thoughts here…

Factors that would easily sway my ratings are crowd levels, whether I am able to use a skip the line system, and if I am having to pay for a single day ticket to the park (and at what price).

Epic Universe (to me anyway) ties Animal Kingdom and EPCOT in terms of theming and has 1 or 2 of the best rides in the country, but it has far too little ride capacity compared to the crowds it lets in and ride downtime is simply awful due to weather and its newness.

As a resident east coaster who has only visited the Disneyland Resort twice, the times I visited I was very aware of how small the parks are compared to anything in FL. Sure, there are more attractions in each park, but the only area that rivals the scale/mega-theming of FL is Galaxy’s Edge, and to me, that land was a bit of a miss anyway. There are truly no unique rides in DLR that make me say “I can’t experience this anywhere else,” but I get a lot of that in WDW, between attractions like Everest, Safari, FOP, Cosmic Rewind, etc.

 

[ToEarthandback]

Here’s mine:

1) Disneyland - the original, a lot packed in a small footprint , lots of charm and tops for nostalgia

2) Epcot - only park of its kind in the world. Great vibe park and unique attractions/dining. Spaceship earth and LwtL. Plenty of nostalgia

3) MK - also dripping with nostalgia for most of the country and a good part of the rest of the world. Despite having some slightly inferior duplicates, plenty of original and classic attractions and oppty to get even better over next 5 years

4) Animal Kingdom - another one of a kind park. Great atmospheric / vibes park, with oppty to get even better with planned expansion

Tie 5) H Studios - a poorly designed layout, hodgepodge of attractions. Good Eticket roster and 2 of the funnest themed table service spots in Prime Time and SciFi dine in. Monsters expansion can only make it better. Needs more all ages family rides

Tie 5) DCA - this is a tough one. One of the best themed unique lands with Cars, but little in the charm and vibes dept. Might improve slightly with Coco but I despise Marvel content and they are tripling down on that.

7) Islands of Adventure - a decent lineup of higher intensity attractions, but leaves me cold since I really don’t care about those or Harry Potter , decent water rides though

8) US Orlando - a piece of crap no matter how you want to measure it

Never been - Epic, USH

 

[Disney Analyst]

1)Disneyland
2)Animal Kingdom
3)Epcot
4)Magic Kingdom
5)Disney California Adventure
6)Islands of Adventure
7)Disney Hollywood Studios
8)Universal Studios Florida

 

[PiratesMansion]

1)Disneyland
2)Animal Kingdom
3)Epcot
4)Magic Kingdom
5)Disney California Adventure
6)Islands of Adventure
7)Disney Hollywood Studios
8)Universal Studios Florida

Haven't you been to USH before?

Or am I making that up?