Rank Orlando's parks

[Matpez]

I am quite grateful for some of the honesty being allowed in this thread.

1. Epcot. Have gone here just to relax, no rides or shops, just to sit and enjoy. It is a great hybrid.

2. Animal Kingdom. The ability to get lost in the themeing, the walkways around the tree of life, plus some great rides and shows.

3. Magic Kingdom. The only reason MK beats IoA has to be nostalgia. I can't come up with any other real reason. (TTA maybe )

4. Tie. Uni/Ioa are both amazing places. Anyone who tries to put them in a category with 6 flags has never been to one or the other. IoA is just amazing. I am in Jurassic Park. Popeye is by far the best water raft type ride I have ever been on. Ripsaw is more fun than Splash. Hogsmead village and Hogwarts castle will be stunning. And at the Studios, the rides are fun. Places like MiB, Amity, NY and Beverly Hills are very realistic. Special events that are included with admission like Mardi Gras really help make these places great.

6. DHS. I love Tower, it may even win out as my favorite ride in Orlando, but it alone can not get me to go to DHS.

7. Sea World. I haven't been in over 15 years. I recently considered going and realized after looking at the map that Manta alone was not worth the admission price.

 

[xdan0920]

1. Epcot
2. Magic Kingdom
3. Animal Kingdom
4. Disney Water Parks
5. IOA
6. Hollywood Studios
7. Universal Studios
8. Seaworld

At christmas the top 3 change, MK becomes #1, Hollywood #2, Epcot #3

 

[Thrill Seeker]

1. Islands of Adventure: In terms of overall theming and the quality of the attractions, Islands stands above all others as the best theme park in Orlando, especially once Harry Potter opens next year.

2. Epcot: The nostalgic value puts Epcot as my favorite Disney park. Test Track, Mission Space, Spaceship Earth, Maelstrom and Soarin' are all very enjoyable attractions. The rest could use some work, but overall I love the atmosphere of the two distinct sections of Epcot and hope that it will improve as time progresses.

3. Magic Kingdom: It's a classic, so the world's #1 visited theme park has to have a high place on the countdown. So many fantastic attractions (Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain, Philharmagic...) combined with a little Disney magic gives MK an edge over the next park.

4. Universal Studios Orlando: Universal Studios use to not be so great, but with the additions of Revenge of the Mummy and the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, it has become one of the premiere parks in Orlando. Throw in great classics such as MIB and Jaws and you have a winner.

5. Animal Kingdom: I'm giving AK a very slight edge over my #6 pick because of how well themed it is. There isn't as much to do at AK as there is at DHS, but pretty much everything that is there is very good, especially the five rides (Everest, Dinosaur, Kilimanjaro, Kali and Primeval Whirl) and Finding Nemo the Musical.

6. Disney's Hollywood Studios: You'd think a park with rides such as the Tower of Terror, Rockin' Roller Coaster and Toy Story Midway Mania would be higher on the list right? The only reason why it's not is because it's the park that still needs the most work. DHS is finally coming together with the additions of Toy Story and American Idol, but still needs the removal of some old and rundown attractions (Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, Backlot Tour) and updated revivals of some classic attractions (Great Movie Ride, Muppet Vision 3-D, Star Tours) to bring it back to greatness. It's definitely getting better, but not there just yet.

7. Sea World Orlando: Sea World just can't compete with the rest of the Orlando theme parks. Sure, it does have three very good thrill rides in Kraken, Manta and Journey to Atlantis as well as some very good animal shows, but it also has some not so good animal shows (Blue Horizons) and an attraction badly in need of a revival (Wild Arctic). Maybe someday it can compete with the big boys, but right now it is just out of their league.

If we also count Central Florida area theme parks, my Last Place Larry would be...

8. Busch Gardens Tampa: Ok, so there are a lot of coasters, but besides that what do we have here? Well there's a dumbed down version of Kilimanjaro Safaris (Rino Rally), three unthemed water rides (Stanley Falls, Tital Wave, Congo River Rapids) and some random carnival rides (Phoenix, Cheetah Chase, Sandstorm, Bumper Cars). Nothing really spectacular. Now the shows at BG are actually pretty good, but other than that and coasters, there really isn't much at BGT to get excited about.

 

[dznygirl64]

1.Magic Kingdom -Dont have to explain
2.Disney Studios-I love the rides and the park is very relaxing to me
3.EPCOT-After all there years its finally getting to be a fun park and now I enjoy it.
4.Animal Kingdom-Its ok love Everest thats all we ride now eat at Flaimetree and leave
5.Sea World havent been there since 1997 it was just as I remembered as a kid hate that fish smell
6.Never been to anything else almost 38 years going to WDW

 

[Matt and Kelly]

1. Magic Kingdom
2. Hollywood Studios
3. Island of Adventure
4. Animal Kingdom
5. EPCOT
6. Universal Studios
7. Seaworld (I've never been to Seaworld in Orlando, so I can't rank it anything other than 7th)

 

[Stunnerr22]

1. Animal Kingdom - This became my favorite park the last time I visited. I just can't get enough of the beauty and it features 4 of my favorite attractions (Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, It's Tough To Be A Bug!, Kilimanjaro Safaris).

2. Epcot - This was always my favorite going back as far as I can remember. Hopefully one day it will be back at number 1.

3. Magic Kingdom - It has the most attractions and is still a magical place. Even after working there for 5 months, I still love it.

4. Disney's Hollywood Studios - My least favorite of the Disney parks, but still has some great attractions. It seems to be missing a few attractions. Toy Story Midway Mania was a step in the right direction.

5. Islands Of Adventure - This is definitely a step up from Universal Studios in terms of look and rides. It still needs to have some more attractions added because I can fly through this park in a half day.

6. Universal Studios - This has some great attractions and I have yet to ride The Simpsons or the new roller coaster, so it may move up, but I doubt it.

7. Sea World - I am dying to ride Manta, but it still seems weird that there are rides at Sea World. I wish there was a little bit more to do here as well.

 

[Astro_Digital]

1. Magic Kingdom
2. Islands of Adventure
3&4(Tie) Universal Studios/EPCOT
5.Disney Hollywood Studios
6. Animal Kingdom
7. Sea World

hmmmm...that was hard.

I do like many aspects of Sea World...it's just not up to the same scale as the rest.

My list is based entirely upon emotion, and level of theming/detail as well as of variety of attractions

I do agree with this list 100%, I do not know why so many people say they like Animal Kingdom, No matter what the old commercials say it is just a "Zoo". A park I am always done with in a half a day, when I bother going at all.

 

[disney4life2008]

1. Magic Kingdom: As others have said - you have not vacationed until you have went here. I could spend a week alone in the MK just people watching and eating

2. EPCOT: I detest the Spaceship Earth rehab (but I do not like change). Yet, this ride still is one of my favorites. I do not understand the popularity to Soarin but I always enjoy running to the ride at rope drop. Test Track and Mission Space - both duds in my opinion. World Showcase is what makes EPCOT magical. The entertainment, food, and ambiance after 7pm is just breathtaking.

3. Animal Kingdom: This park lacks the ride value but the entertainment is top notch. Lion King and Nemo are supurb. And when night falls - AK is breathtaking. The safari is nice depending on the time of day.

4. Islands of Adventure: Roller coaster and water city.. I love it!!!

5. Universal Studios/Hollywood Studios: Both half day parks and not enough to keep me entertained. HS is quite boring to me and US lacks fun. I do enjoy ToT and RnRC - muppets will always be sacred. Universal - since Jaws is gone its lame to me. I do not want to stand in line for 2 hours for the simpsons.

6. Sea World: I hate to rank SW last but I am just not familiar enough with the park. I have went twice. I do love the Atlantis ride but that is about it. Shamu does nothing for me.

 

[Runmyhorse]

1.IOA
2.universal
3.mk
4.hs
5.seaworld
6.epcot
7.animal kingdom

 

[bethymouse]

1/ MK
2/EPCOT
3/ ak
4/ dhs
5/ sEA wORLD- Aquatica
6/ US
7/IOA

 

[The Empress Lilly]

1 MK. The mother of all theme parks. Shame TWDC seems determined to turn it into Kartoon Kingdom for undereducated, spoiled kids with lots of fashionable disorders. Still, they are only halfway there yet!

2 EPCOT. The mother of all none-theme park theme parks. Shame about the EPCOTalypse of the late 90s.

3 DHS. Such a lovely park! Great atmosphere, great attraction line-up. Yes, could do with some re-imagineering, but I fear the park will only get worse in the next decade, instead of better.

4 Sea World. One of the prettiest parks, quality all around. Manta is just awesome. I do have an uneasiness about keeping large intelligent sea mammals in captivity.

5 Universal Studios. Pretty, fun!

6 DAK. This parks frustrates me. It is so agonisingly close to being the greatest park ever, but falls short in every aspect.

7 IoA. Just not my thing. I adore many rides though: Spidey, Dueling Dragons, Ripsaw. Potter's great, but I don't need to see it every time.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

6 DAK. This parks frustrates me. It is so agonisingly close to being the greatest park ever, but falls short in every aspect.

Yup, sounds about right.

My list:

1. Magic Kingdom
2. Islands of Adventure
3. Universal Studios
4. Epcot
5. Disney's Hollywood Studios (my opinion on it isn't what it used to be)
6. Animal Kingdom

I haven't been to SeaWorld in 10 years so I won't rank it, but would likely place it above Disney's two half-day parks.

 

[rob45]

MK
EPCOT
AK
SW
IOA
US
DHS

 

[luv]

Sea World
AK
IoA
US
Epcot
MK
DHS - if it weren't for BatB, ToT, RnRc and TGMR, it wouldn't even make the list.

 

[Kitchandro]

1. Magic Kingdom
2. Animal Kingdom
3. EPCOT
4. Hollywood Studios
5. Universal
6. Islands of Adventure
7. Seaworld

 

[BryceM]

1. Universal's Islands of Adventure - Gorgeously themed, amazing attractions. Islands of Adventure has a special place in my heart... Wish I could live in Port of Entry, haha.

2. Magic Kingdom - It is timeless and beautiful. I love all of the classics that this park has that just makes Magic Kingdom the essence of Disney. I just don't like the direction it's been going in recently.

3. Universal Studios - Love this park to death. It has some amazing attractions and I love how it develops a sense of place (for the most part) rather a "studio". New York, Hollywood, and San Fransisco are the highlights of this park, with soon to be London and Springfield.

4. Epcot - It's massive, it's gorgeous, it's complete. I love Epcot and how it is original and so beautifully themed and designed. Though many rides in the park I have low interest in. I like Maelstrom, love Spaceship Earth and I haven't ridden the new Test Track yet. The other attractions in the park are just not draws for me and a lot of Future World feels depressing (Wonders of Life, Imagination).

5. Disney's Animal Kingdom - This park stays true to it's message, and that I like. Africa and Asia are two of the most impressively themed lands I've seen. They are just amazing. I love Everest, DINOSAUR, FOTLK and the Safaris. Everything else falls short for me. My interest for animal trails only goes so far, but I will admit that all exhibits are large, spacious, and pretty, making it the only "zoo" where I don't feel bad for the animals. I also despise Chester & Hesters beyond belief.

6. Disney's Hollywood Studios - I love half of this park. Hollywood Blvd. and Sunset Blvd. are two of my favorite themed lands anywhere. Tower of Terror is my favorite ride of all time and I adore Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. I also like GMR, but I will it admit it needs an update. The rest of the park falls short for me. While I like Star Tours and TSMM, the faux soundstages, messy layout and scattered theming is just not attractive.

7. SeaWorld - I love Kraken, Manta and Journey to Atlantis. The park is very pretty. Though, I can't help but feeling bad for everything I saw at the end of the day. The cheesy music and kids screaming as Shamu performs flips in a pool just depresses me. Feel the same way about the dolphins, sea lions, etc. I am very excited about Antartica though.

 

[Disvillain63]

1. MK
2. Epcot
3. DHS
4. SW
5. AK


6. Uni
7. IoA (never been)

 

[englanddg]

Without personal bias...(cause then nostalgic EPCOT would be first)...

1. MK
2. IoA
3. Uni
4. Epcot
5. HS
6. SW (haven't been in years, though)
7. AK
8. Legoland (haven't been yet, but it looks great!)

 

[GSP Guy]

1. Magic Kingdom
2. IOA
3. Epcot
4. Universal
5. DHS
6. Animal Kingdom
7. Seaworld

 

[MarkTwain]

I'm ranking this purely in terms of money's worth, where if I were forced to pay full price for a 1-day ticket, which park I would feel provided the best value for that day. If I were to rank them in terms of the park's actual sentimental meaning to me, they'd be ranked differently (Epcot and AK would be higher).

1. Magic Kingdom
2. Epcot
3. Islands of Adventure
4. SeaWorld Orlando
5. Disney's Hollywood Studios
6. Universal Studios
7. Animal Kingdom