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

[cheezbat]

Of course I’m going to trust TripAdvisor as far as I can throw it...

That being said, IOA is definitely ranked higher right now on my list much in part due to what many of you have claimed: the chaotic crowds. It takes out so much of the fun.

Of course no park in the USA is better than Disneyland right now, but when I think about my best park experiences, IOA, Dollywood, Silver Dollar City, and Disneyland all clearly rank higher for me than Magic Kingdom. Even with how crazy my past Disneyland experience was, it was MUCH easier to do everything.

(Busch Gardens Williamsburg would’ve been on that list too...back when Darkastle was still there. I don’t care for some of the changes they’ve made at that park recently.)

 

[rescue_ranger]

I'm just echoing what a lot of others have already said but I love Disney just as much as the rest (that's why we're all here after all) but during our last trip, we decided to break in the middle of the week and visit Universal. Hands down, we enjoyed ourselves that day more than any other day of our trip. Disney is still the very heart of me and our reason for our Orlando vacations but Universal was not nearly as busy and the staff (not sure what they're called at Universal) were honestly what I used to expect of Disney. We had some of the nicest and most helpful people that day.

I know others have differing opinions and that's fine. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the variables on the day you visit (crowds, ride breakdowns, etc) and I still wouldn't rank Universal or IOA as my favorite park but they have definitely given Disney a good run for their money and if Disney doesn't make some big changes, they may end up losing that battle one day. Just my humble opinion.

 

[BlakeW39]

Did you submit your review? Well there you go then!

Care to elaborate?

 

[Skibum1970]

Of course I’m going to trust TripAdvisor as far as I can throw it...

That being said, IOA is definitely ranked higher right now on my list much in part due to what many of you have claimed: the chaotic crowds. It takes out so much of the fun.

Of course no park in the USA is better than Disneyland right now, but when I think about my best park experiences, IOA, Dollywood, Silver Dollar City, and Disneyland all clearly rank higher for me than Magic Kingdom. Even with how crazy my past Disneyland experience was, it was MUCH easier to do everything.

(Busch Gardens Williamsburg would’ve been on that list too...back when Darkastle was still there. I don’t care for some of the changes they’ve made at that park recently.)

It's funny but I have a hard time determining a favorite park. Cedar Point is my favorite coaster park. Dollywood was very enjoyable. For a Disney park, Disneyland had more to do in one park and was really enjoyable. I prefer WDW's location though because a) it is a two hour flight and not a four hour flight and b) you're surrounded by nature and a buffer as opposed to downtown Anaheim and the surrounding LA area. BG Williamsburg is a beautiful park with great rides. Holiday World is a great little park with free parking, free soda, and friendly ride operations.

Still, I just like the less crowded IOA. Great theming and lines that allow me to cover the park in one day. Heck, we did UNI/IOA in one day although we missed a couple rides. Still, it was a February and our longest line was 20 minutes. The next day, we went to the MK at WDW and our shortest line might have been 20 minutes. I didn't even bother waiting on 7DMT due to its 90 minute wait.

 

[21stamps]

It's funny but I have a hard time determining a favorite park. Cedar Point is my favorite coaster park. Dollywood was very enjoyable. For a Disney park, Disneyland had more to do in one park and was really enjoyable. I prefer WDW's location though because a) it is a two hour flight and not a four hour flight and b) you're surrounded by nature and a buffer as opposed to downtown Anaheim and the surrounding LA area. BG Williamsburg is a beautiful park with great rides. Holiday World is a great little park with free parking, free soda, and friendly ride operations.

Still, I just like the less crowded IOA. Great theming and lines that allow me to cover the park in one day. Heck, we did UNI/IOA in one day although we missed a couple rides. Still, it was a February and our longest line was 20 minutes. The next day, we went to the MK at WDW and our shortest line might have been 20 minutes. I didn't even bother waiting on 7DMT due to its 90 minute wait.

This is what I always say.. I have favorite parks for my goal at that time..

I can have just as much fun at Kings Island or Cedar Point as I do at Disney.. I haven’t been to Uni in 9 years, but I always loved IoA as well. I love wherever I’m at during that moment of time, and for different reasons.
Never understood the need to compare and declare a winner.. the better competition would be in specific areas of each park.. not overall.

 

[Skibum1970]

This is what I always say.. I have favorite parks for my goal at that time..

I can have just as much fun at Kings Island or Cedar Point as I do at Disney.. I haven’t been to Uni in 9 years, but I always loved IoA as well. I love wherever I’m at during that moment of time, and for different reasons.
Never understood the need to compare and declare a winner.. the better competition would be in specific areas of each park.. not overall.

Exactly. I have a season pass to Kings Island because it is 20 minutes away and I thoroughly enjoy going there weekly.

 

[LSLS]

Attendance is measurable. Anything like "best theme park" or "most fun XYZ" is subjective without any solid statistics backing it up. If an attraction has a high wait time always and a high ridership count, we can assume it's popular. But saying a ride is popular because they like it is subjective. Same goes with parks.

Trip Advisor does backup their methods. Sure they aren't an exact science in the least, but it's not like some random guy at Trip Advisor just said "These are what I think, so this is what we will tell everyone." They are trying to show a metric of people's favorite. Attendance would not factor into that. Again, a much better metric if you really want to put in attendance would be the increase in attendance, not the total.

 

[Model3 McQueen]

Trip Advisor does backup their methods. Sure they aren't an exact science in the least, but it's not like some random guy at Trip Advisor just said "These are what I think, so this is what we will tell everyone." They are trying to show a metric of people's favorite. Attendance would not factor into that. Again, a much better metric if you really want to put in attendance would be the increase in attendance, not the total.

I don't necessarily believe that a drunk intern said "you know what, I like dis park and stuff! im jus gonna puthis onn my list" lol

I did read this snip from the article: Winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of reviews and ratings for amusement parks and water parks worldwide, gathered over a 12-month period.

It's all for fun and to engage the readers on their site but I wouldn't take it for anything more than that. I don't need to go into specifics here as to why I don't believe this is a good method, right?

 

[Phil12]

They are trying to show a metric of people's favorite. Attendance would not factor into that. Again, a much better metric if you really want to put in attendance would be the increase in attendance, not the total.

Total attendance is the primary factor in determining a favorite.

 

[LSLS]

Total attendance is the primary factor in determining a favorite.

It is not. I attended two different hotels at Disney the last year. One I like, one ranks as one of the worst hotel experiences I have had at any hotel. That does not mean I like both equally, or even mostly equally. Attendance is not the factor, increased attendance would be a factor. Going somewhere once doesn't make it your favorite. Going multiple times, and telling everyone else how great it was, and bringing them as well, that is a favorite. And even that isn't an exact, there are plenty of other factors (new rides, for example). Point being there is no exact science to determining a favorite other than large polls, which aren't done (boy, that would be really interesting though).

 

[21stamps]

I googled.. and found these-

10 Best-
Cedar Point ranked #1 Magic Kingdom #7
https://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-amusement-park-2017/amp/



The Travel Channel-
Cedar Point ranked #1
https://www.travelchannel.com/interests/amusement-parks/articles/top-10-amusement-parks


CNN-
Disney #1 Cedar Point not on the list
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/world-most-popular-amusement-parks-2017/index.html



Time Magazine-
Disneyland #1 Magic Kingdom #2 Cedar Point #3.
http://amp.timeinc.net/time/money/5325493/best-amusement-parks-best-rides


ABC-
Cedar Point #1. IoA #6
https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Lifestyle/best-amusement-parks-families-2017/story?id=48132485



Synopsis- the best or favorite can change at any given time and depending on who is asked at that given time.

They’re all different, and they all have things to love about them.

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

Whatever. I'm certain that in the coming decades the general public will much prefer the Universal experience to the Disney experience. More and more of the public wants fast, loud and shiny - with alcohol poured over it. That ain't Disney's M.O. - not first anyway.

Disney really isn't wholesome, but it is still marketed that way. That turns a large part of the populace OFF. I don't think this will be a huge problem for Disney moving forward, but I do believe that they will eventually slip off their perch - because the tattoos and tank top crowd just likes Shrek and the Simpsons better than Snow White and Peter Pan.

 

[geekza]

I googled.. and found these-

10 Best-
Cedar Point ranked #1 Magic Kingdom #7
https://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-amusement-park-2017/amp/



The Travel Channel-
Cedar Point ranked #1
https://www.travelchannel.com/interests/amusement-parks/articles/top-10-amusement-parks


CNN-
Disney #1 Cedar Point not on the list
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/world-most-popular-amusement-parks-2017/index.html



Time Magazine-
Disneyland #1 Magic Kingdom #2 Cedar Point #3.
http://amp.timeinc.net/time/money/5325493/best-amusement-parks-best-rides


ABC-
Cedar Point #1. IoA #6
https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Lifestyle/best-amusement-parks-families-2017/story?id=48132485



Synopsis- the best or favorite can change at any given time and depending on who is asked at that given time.

They’re all different, and they all have things to love about them.

Top 10 Reasons Why Clickbait Articles Suck (Number 4 will blow your mind and make you rethink your life choices!)

 

[Tom Morrow]

A few pages back there was discussion and debate about which park is a better experience. Here's a perfect example of why you can't judge a park based on one visit or anecdotal reports. This past Sunday I took family to Universal and it was one of the best times I've ever had there, relatively light crowds, amazing guest service all around, etc. Then we went again on Tuesday and it was the polar opposite. Very crowded, loud and obnoxious crowds everywhere, sub-par to average guest service.

Same thing with Magic Kingdom (or any Disney park, but especially Magic Kingdom). Some days at Magic Kingdom are so great that they're euphoric, others are an absolute PITA and headache.

 

[Communicore]

I’m surprised Disneyland isn’t 1.

 

[Cesar R M]

I don't trust TripAdvisor reviews any more... not since the Mexican resort incident.

what Mexican resort incident?

 

[Cesar R M]

This right here. Any teen can do their clickity clicks on polls to force an agenda or whatever reason on mommy and daddy's computer. But when you look at attendance numbers the clear winner is exposed based on pure facts, not misguided internet polls. MK wins hands down with attendance. End of debate.

Except no. Because Disney is pretty much a "do it at least once in your lifetime" akin to a religious event.
Disney has a huge baggage of "nostalgia". And their packages makes you sure get at least MK and EPCOT clicking.

Attendance wouldnt be nearly as good a metric as percent change.

Agree.
Besides, there is another metric that needs to be taken into account. AVERAGE SCORE of the attending crowd.
Take an example of.. lets say... 20 millions went to WDW just because of Disney and had a "mediocre" day compared to UNI's 10 million with "Excellent" reviews..
Attendance is not everything.

Specially when you got entire companies dedicated to push Disney and put Universal in the second line.

 

[Brad Bishop]

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

If that's how you rate your parks then you should definitely check out Dollywood. I'd be surprised if you went to Dollywood and it didn't bump one of those on that list.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

More and more of the public wants fast, loud and shiny - with alcohol poured over it. That ain't Disney's M.O. - not first anyway.

Mickey: hold my beer!

 

[Goofyernmost]

Mickey: hold my beer!


View attachment 300035

Obviously Root Beer!