Henry Mystic
Author of "A Manor of Fact"
No contest on the theming front. It's in another realm due to the quantity and the way the lands transition, as it's not just bridges, they flow sort of like how Frontierland goes into Liberty Square, but taken 50 steps further. There isn't anything like it in the world.
That being said, AK does feel richer in a sense, more grounded, or pretentious like you put it for both the Africa and Asia lands.
That tonal difference is worth noting as Animal Kingdom has a more pointed mission statement with man's relationship to nature.
However...
While I love both parks, DisneySea as a park is sooo much more impressive that they aren't really comparable, to be honest. Anyone that can afford to go to Walt Disney World on a near-yearly basis should skip a year or two or three if necessary and go to Tokyo (besides the fact that Japan is one of the most beautiful countries in the world). It is a rite of passage for any theme park fan because it's not only the fact that the service, food, and maintenance, among other things, are all the best of the best, not to mention tickets start at $70 a day with food being inexpensive, but Tokyo DisneySea is a monumental achievement of which it has no rival.
It is one of the greatest pieces of modern art in existence.
There's just not actually much there in the way of quantity at Animal Kingdom unfortunately, which is due to its smaller budget it started out with at around a 4th of what DisneySea had around the same time. I know a lot of people say it's a half-day park, it's most definitely not, but it's also not a multi-day park unless you really like theme parks in my opinion.
They have both had large expansions since their openings with Animal Kingdom adding Kalli River Rapids, Expedition Everest, and Pandora, and Tokyo DisneySea adding Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania!, Soarin', and replacing StormRider with SeaRider with Fantasy Springs bringing in what is effectively 3 new lands next year.
There are a ton of trees and dead space at AK, which while on theme with the nature aspect, does come at the expense of richly themed areas like Asia and Africa because they didn't have the money to add more lands like those or make them larger back when it first opened.
American Waterfront alone feels far bigger than Africa and Pandora combined. It's definitely not in actual acreage, but that building out cost a crazy amount of money and means it's far more impressive because of it. I'd honestly say DisneySea feels about like 3 Animal Kingdoms given what's there.
If you add up Asia, Africa, and Pandora, to me, they equal about what American Waterfront and Mysterious Island do given their sizes. Then, DisneySea also has Mediterranean Harbor, Lost River Delta, and Arabian Coast, all being elite lands as well. Port Discovery is leagues better than Dinoland still, and once you toss in Mermaid Lagoon and the incoming Fantasy Springs, man, even factoring in Discovery Island and the Oasis, there is just no contest. DisneySea just has so much more, and what it has are all equal or better quality.
I'd honestly say out of the 5 best-themed lands in the world, at least 3 if not 4 of them are at Tokyo DisneySea.
If you focus on rides, AK has like what? 3 headliners with Flight of Passage, Expedition Everest, and Kilimanjaro Safaris, and 1 E-ticket with Dinosaur. The rides they have are so good just so few in quantity making Animal Kingdom in dire need of a couple more E-tickets more than anything on top of a couple C-tickets.
By comparison, DisneySea has two headliners in Indiana Jones and Journey to the Center of the Earth, and 4 E-tickets in Sinbad, Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania!, and Soaring, with the theming for all of them being exceptional. I will add that DisneySea has easily the best ride line-up for any Disney non-castle park, however, it isn't out of this world, but when Fantasy Springs opens, I expect it to be, as it's expected to add two headliners with Neverland and Arendelle on top of a couple C-tickets.
Now, thematically speaking is what this conversation is about, as DisneySea still can't compete with Disneyland Park on rides (or even Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Japan) so as a complete experience it's actually comparable to Disneyland Park for me, but the theming, the theming of DisneySea can't be understated.
Yes, Animal Kingdom's trails are excellent and unique to the park, but DisneySea's lands themselves have so much more sprawling depth to them that they're practically experiences like that in of themselves. Not to mention that Fortress Explorations and other walkthroughs do exist and shows like Big Band Beat (among others) easily make up for the Festival of the Lion King and AK's other entertainment offerings.
I'm glad both parks are on this planet as they feel entirely different and I love them both, but it's sort of like comparing Disneyland Park to Magic Kingdom in that there's no comparison if we're trying to gauge that. It is DisneySea way up here, Animal Kingdom 100 feet below, and every other park in the world 200 feet below that in terms of thematic consistency and theming itself.
The sheer magnitude of the lands, fully built out, is mindblowing in person. Mysterious Island is just so inspiring, and then by the time you wander through the caverns in the rockwork you are convinced it’s a real place. The entire experience builds up to Journey to the Center of the Earth, which to me, is one of the most realistic attractions at any theme park despite it being stunted by its relatively short length. And not to mention, every restaurant in the park has theming that is so unearthly impressive including the land's Vulcania. As good as Pandora or Diagon Alley or even Cars Land are, and Galaxy's Edge and Hogsmeade too, and toss in Africa and Asia for good measure, this land genuinely transports you in a way like no other.
Themed to the turn of the century New York, theming just the ground level wasn't enough in American Waterfront! They integrated the land with an elevated Electric Railway so ALL the buildings it faces have theming that goes up to it multiple stories higher than would otherwise be needed.
The area that reminds me of this is sitting at Harambe Market in Animal Kingdom with the Wildlife Express Train going by being surrounded with ridiculously impressive theming. Both are excellent places, but DisneySea takes it a massive step further.
Again, I think Animal Kingdom is the second-best theme park in the world, but it just cannot compare with the magnitude that DisneySea offers. But man, not only is this land gigantic, the little details like sewers spewing fake steam, or posters like Harambe has at AK telling of a place that's lived-in is crazy. It's absolutely on AK's level just so much larger than anything it has. Perhaps not as rich in terms of authenticity due to the steady hand of Joe Rhode (though I can't say that for sure), but the whole park is sort of a romanticized take on the world's ports of call, so they're tonally a bit different experiences. Though, the highlights are both equal in quality and dare I say better at DisneySea. There's just so much more at DisneySea.
It also happens to be my favorite land in the world.
And the park is just seemingly endless. There's always something to explore with what basically amounts to lands within lands. Plus, toss in all of the kinetic energy by having boats, the electric railway, and vehicles throughout the park!
The entry land, Mediterranean Harbor, has 3 sections that are different parts of Italy from Tuscany to of course Venice:
Here's the Tuscany section with Soarin' as its marquee attraction. This is about only half of that section.
I just love the way the park uses walkways at various heights. They add so much to the design of the park.
And the main part of the land with a breathtaking view of the harbor with Mysterious Island looming in the distance with Fortress Explorations and the best theme park restaurant in the world, Magellan's, in front of it! I assume this photo was taken from the in-park resort, Hotel MiraCosta.
I didn't even include photos of Lost River Delta, Port Discovery, Mermaid Lagoon, or the Cape Cod and the port areas of American Waterfront, but all of them are on AK's peak level outside of Mermaid Lagoon, which is still better than Dinoland.
And to top it all off, if that wasn't impressive enough, they were like "Why don't we integrate it with the ocean itself!"
So yeah, I think it's better.
Last edited:
