Magic Kingdom ranks as 2nd most favorite amusement park in the U.S. !

raymusiccity

raymusiccity

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
https://www.usatoday.com/story/trav...ravelers-choice-awards-theme-parks/828781002/

TripAdvisor, the travel planning and booking site, recently announced its 2018 Travelers’ Choice Award winners for amusement parks across the country. Winners were selected based on quantity and quality of user reviews gathered over a 12-month period.


Here are the top 10 reviewer-chosen amusement parks in the U.S.

1. UNIVERSAL ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE - ORLANDO, FLORIDA
islands-of-adventure-today-inline-180601_05d532b8b97b2964b09d31f77d465d90.fit-760w.jpg
Getty Images
Universal Islands of Adventure ranked as traveler's favorite amusement park for 2018! The park features rides and attractions across several themed islands ranging from "Jurassic Park" to "Harry Potter."
(Universal theme parks are part of NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News.)
One-day admission: Adult – $115, Child (3-9) – $110
2. MAGIC KINGDOM - ORLANDO, FLORIDA
308623479_magic-kingdom_842ef066b0bef52b34dcfcfaa01ce044.fit-760w.jpg
Magic Kingdom at Disney WorldTripAdvisor
Magic Kingdom comes in at No. 2 with classic attractions like Space Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean. The 46-year-old Orlando staple offers entertainment the whole family can enjoy.

One-day admission: Adult – $119, Child (3-9) – $113
3. UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD - LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
 
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A

Awakening

Well-Known Member
AJH219 said:
Just another example of why the opinions and tastes of the general public aren't to be taken seriously :hilarious:
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I've been a huge Disney supporter for years, I wouldn't consider myself part of the "general public" when it comes to being a theme park fan, and I can say with complete honesty that on my most recent trip this year, where I spent a day at Universal and a day at the Magic Kingdom, Universal was the more enjoyable experience.
 
esskay

esskay

Well-Known Member
Universal has certainly upped their game. I get that some people here wont hear that its possible for a non-disney park to be considered the best but its down to what you like. If you're a big Harry Potter fan then without a doubt Universal has the better set of parks for you right now. The theming over there on their newer sections is fantastic. They still have the issue of over half the parks being very dated but its getting better.
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
AJH219 said:
I find that hard to believe, but to each their own.
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Believe it... it is so much less stressful then Disney and that is coming from a 35 year fan of WDW with 45 trips to the place. Just as something to think about... it has been a long time since I have added to that 45 and it will be awhile before I do, if ever. My evaluation isn't just IOA because I wouldn't go there for just that, but, combined with Universal Studio's it is a very pleasant experience. P.S. I don't do what I consider thrill rides although even many of what I consider not thrill rides are, well, thrilling and very well done.

I have never read a Harry Potter book nor have I seen a HP movie, still not a dedicated fan, but the land(s) are mind boggling.
 
GlacierGlacier

GlacierGlacier

Well-Known Member
The biggest advantage IoA/Universal has over Magic Kingdom is crowds. When I'm at MK, I'm constantly struggling against the flow of people, or standing in lines that are terribly long for rides that shouldn't ever have a long wait. It's such a stressful experience to be there, I pretty much skip it every time I drive to WDW.

IoA doesn't really have that issue. Sure, there's some crowds in peak areas (HP), and the big headliner attractions can get up there in wait, but it always seems to be a more relaxed experience crowd wise. Too bad their themeing is lacking in consistent quality.
 
ABQ

ABQ

Well-Known Member
Haven't been to IoA, but I can say during my WDW trips, I do try to spend as little time as possible in the MK these days. The overcrowded, claustrophobic feeling can't be denied. I'll hit up the HM, the CoP and the Tiki Room and escape back to the resort pool. so, that being said, I can see why the MK wasn't #1 on this list.
 
T

Touchdown

Well-Known Member
I find it so hard to rate each park at these resorts as I rarely ever visit just one of them in a day thanks to hopping. I don’t think I’ve ever visited IOA without going to the studios and visa versa. I have spent entire days at MK, DL, USH, Epcot and DHS though, and of that list DL is is definitely the top park, but if I was to rank it by theme park resort it would go:

1. Walt Disney World (by a landslide)
2. Universal Orlando
3. Disneyland Resort (2 and 3 are very close and change positions frequently)
4. Williamsburg VA (BGW, Water Country USA and Colonial Williamsburg) I park hop here and do week long trips just like the others so I think it’s a fair comparison.
5. Cedar Point Resort (there is a large gap between 4 and 5)
6. Schliterbahn New Braunfels
7. Hersheypark Resort
8. Knotts Berry Farm, and finally leading up the rear,
9. Universal Hollywood

I don’t begrudge west coast fans from loving USH, but other then the Studio Tour (which I did a VIP tour which was amazing) and Waterworld every single attraction was a clone of what was in Uni Orlando or very close to a clone, and USH has only half the number of attractions found in Florida. Sure this is changing with Kung Fu Panda and Jurassic World, but I ran out of stuff to do mid afternoon there, resorts 1-3 I can do multiple weekly trips a year without getting board, and the other resorts I can do shorter multi day trips or at the very least an entire day. I have no idea how USH can be ranked so high, that’s the only out there ranking on this list. If I was nitpicking, DL should be higher then MK and USO should be higher then IOA (which is better themed but holds far less attractions then the studios and those attractions are not nearly as rerideable as the studios rides)
 
higgipoker

higgipoker

Well-Known Member
It took a lot of persuasion (read: bribery) to get my better half to go to Universal this year, after being distinctly underwhelmed last year. She will not be back again.

The problem with Universal, from a Disney goer's point of view, is that we typically take one day out of our Disney time for both Universal parks. It's just too expensive to do otherwise. Not only due to the high ticket prices but we are also losing out on the Dining Plan meal credits for that day.

This year we wasted about 3 hours in the morning waiting in line for absolutely nothing. First Spiderman broke down after waiting about 40 mins and we had to leave without riding. We walked directly from there to Forbidden Journey which we didn't get to ride for the same reason after an hour and a half waiting. From there, on the way for some food, we went to that People-Mover-esque ride because it was only a 10 min wait. Guess what, it broke down too and we left the line without riding after about 40 mins.

Around the same time period, a bunch of other rides like the Hulk were closed due to weather. There wasn't a cloud in the sky!

I know these things can happen, even at Disney. It's a big difference when we only have one day at the park though. The price just does not justify the risk for future visits. The fast-passes at Universal are insanely expensive too. It may be our bias showing through, but we just feel the whole atmosphere at Universal is one of money-grabbing first, guest experience second.

Disney is expensive too, yes, but heck do they not half put their visitors first!
 
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Sirwalterraleigh

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
AJH219 said:
Why? Because the general public have no taste in anything from music to art, the list goes on and on for me. Also, can we get some better insults around here? Calling someone a pixie dust addict is so stale
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...and yet so accurate. Besides...as we see in our news - ignoring what’s evil leads to acceptance and robs the public 😎
 
Sirwalterraleigh

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
higgipoker said:
It took a lot of persuasion (read: bribery) to get my better half to go to Universal this year, after being distinctly underwhelmed last year. She will not be back again.

The problem with Universal, from a Disney goer's point of view, is that we typically take one day out of our Disney time for both Universal parks. It's just too expensive to do otherwise. Not only due to the high ticket prices but we are also losing out on the Dining Plan meal credits for that day.

This year we wasted about 3 hours in the morning waiting in line for absolutely nothing. First Spiderman broke down after waiting about 40 mins and we had to leave without riding. We walked directly from there to Forbidden Journey which we didn't get to ride for the same reason after an hour and a half waiting. From there, on the way for some food, we went to that People-Mover-esque ride because it was only a 10 min wait. Guess what, it broke down too and we left the line without riding after about 40 mins.

Around the same time period, a bunch of other rides like the Hulk were closed due to weather. There wasn't a cloud in the sky!

I know these things can happen, even at Disney. It's a big difference when we only have one day at the park though. The price just does not justify the risk for future visits. The fast-passes at Universal are insanely expensive too. It may be our bias showing through, but we just feel the whole atmosphere at Universal is one of money-grabbing first, guest experience second.

Disney is expensive too, yes, but heck do they not half put their visitors first!
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You know you’re paying retail for dining credits now, right?

So what really does that matter?

The rest I can agree with
 
Tinkwings

Tinkwings

Pfizered Fairy
Premium Member
In the Parks
No
Sirwalterraleigh said:
...and yet so accurate. Besides...as we see in our news - ignoring what’s evil leads to acceptance and robs the public 😎
Click to expand...

Well this fairy for one can still inhale the said dust but solidly recognizes the evil outside the bubble to be what it is....solidly NOT accepted, ignorance is NOT bliss....but escape temporarily with a whiff of pixie dust sometimes helps keep one flying level. :angelic:
 

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