Which park is laid out the best and the worst?

[Figment632]

Is it even a question? Best is Epcot, worst is DHS. No contest. Epcot just feels comfortable. It has wide open spaces and a symmetry to it. DHS is one mess of a park, and a mess that's crammed into too small of a space.

Which is a shame because if the land isn't protected there is massive amount of land for expansion.

 

[cblodg]

Which is a shame because if the land isn't protected there is massive amount of land for expansion.

As I said in a different post (there were maps there), about the only room for them to expand would be to either wrap around the cast parking, OR move the cast parking and expand over it and down a little.

They can't go any farther out by where LMA is as the park is bounded on one edge by the highway.

 

[BigRedDad]

MK is the best. It is relatively easy to navigate and go from one area to the next by going to the hub.

AK has its problem because it is primarily a giant loop. No way to go from one area to another unless it is next to where you are.

DHS is OK except for the route to ToT and RnRC. This is simply a dead end road.

Epcot is pretty well laid out. WS is a giant loop, but boats are provided for transportation.

 

[Figment632]

As I said in a different post (there were maps there), about the only room for them to expand would be to either wrap around the cast parking, OR move the cast parking and expand over it and down a little.

They can't go any farther out by where LMA is as the park is bounded on one edge by the highway.

The highway is no where near the plot I am talking about the only thing stopping them would be if the land has bee set aside for staying in its natural state.

 

[RAXIP]

MK is the best. It is relatively easy to navigate and go from one area to the next by going to the hub.

AK has its problem because it is primarily a giant loop. No way to go from one area to another unless it is next to where you are.

DHS is OK except for the route to ToT and RnRC. This is simply a dead end road.

Epcot is pretty well laid out. WS is a giant loop, but boats are provided for transportation.

Like Frontierland? (Besides where else could you put a haunted hotel but on a dead end?)

 

[WishIwasThere]

In order of easiest to hardest...

Epcot- In Future World everything is open and easy to find. Large walk ways and informative signage point you in the right direction. World Showcase can be a challenge if it is crowded, but most times it is fine.

Magic Kingdom- It has the best overall plan (hub and spoke) but for me it loses points because the walkways aren't large enough. The park could benefit from some side walk widening and better traffic flow management.

Hollywood Studios- The walkways are large enough, but there isn't a very logical way to work this park. It is full of dead ends and roads that don't connect effectively. It is very easy to get lost in this park. The amount of back tracking one must do to get from place to place is tiring.

Animal Kingdom- Even though this park is based on the hub and spoke idea it lacks everything else needed to make it effective. The walkways are jagged, narrow, overly bumpy, and full of unnecessary inclines. There are few open areas and there is no way to get from one land to the next without walking all the way back to the center of the park. Even when the park is only minimally busy it still feels like chaos because people are running all over the place. I feel like in the case of this park they got carried away with the themeing and it overtook any sense of organization and efficiency there might have been.

Agree with you on Epcot.

The problem with MK is that they stick things in the middle of what should be a walk way...Flying carpets...busy vendor carts...DVC kiosks...to name a few.

DHS is a product of its rapid development...i.e. Eisner wanted it open before Uni. Therefore there was probably little thought of future development. So they add a street...that has no way of looping around to other parts of the park and is a dead end with two E ticket rides and the night time show at the end of it. Remeber that there used to be no foot traffic beyond Star Tours or beyond TSMM...

I like how AK is so big. You can't and shouldn't see Harambe from Asia, and you shouldn't see EE from the Killamanjaro safari. Part of the problem with AK is that the vegetation has gotten so big and dense, you can't easily see the tree of life from most places inside the park. Not that it in itself is bad, but having that central icon to orient you direction does help.

 

[RiversideBunny]

Wasn't there a computer game called Theme Park Designer, or something like that?
You had to be sure to lay it our logically and not forget things- like if you forgot to put in restrooms then all the guests got angry.

 

[ChrisFL]

Wasn't there a computer game called Theme Park Designer, or something like that?
You had to be sure to lay it our logically and not forget things- like if you forgot to put in restrooms then all the guests got angry.

There's been several games like that, starting with a game called "Theme Park" many years ago...then the RollerCoaster Tycoon series enhanced that...

I still play RCT games frequently

 

[_Scar]

MK is the best. It is relatively easy to navigate and go from one area to the next by going to the hub.

AK has its problem because it is primarily a giant loop. No way to go from one area to another unless it is next to where you are.

DHS is OK except for the route to ToT and RnRC. This is simply a dead end road.

Epcot is pretty well laid out. WS is a giant loop, but boats are provided for transportation.

Not really. Each land besides RFP connects to Discovery Island which connects to each land. :lol: Confusing, but it's not one giant loop- it's just a very large hub/spoke.

 

[plaz10]

BEST - MK. easily. perhaps because the park is so much smaller than the others so it seems easier/faster to travel from one attraction to another.

WORST - AK. once again, perhaps because the park is so much larger than the others...but I feel like there are less paths (spokes) to get places.

Oh who am I kidding? I will trek across any and all parks through any and all spokes/hubs/paths/trails and while i'll complain about my feet hurting...its totally worth every step!!!

 

[Jimmy Thick]

AK is the worst park, its huge, rough on the feet, and on a hot day horrible.


Epcot is the best by far, you have the rides in the front and the party in the back, sort of like a theme park mullet.

 

[BrerFrog]

There's been several games like that, starting with a game called "Theme Park" many years ago...then the RollerCoaster Tycoon series enhanced that...

I still play RCT games frequently

I love the RCT games! They are fantastic and even though my parks never turn out to be what I have initially planned I keep coming back for more. :lol:

Back on topic. MK is by far the best one for obvious reasons, after you know to which direction each land is navigating through the park is as easy as it can get.

DHS is the worst by a landslide. I understand what they were going for there and I enjoy the fact that the park is set up in a different way than the others. Still, the western part of the park is a big mess. Pixar Place, Streets of America and other areas form a huge maze. I am ashamed to say that even after going to DHS more than a dozen times I would still get lost and not find what I wanted exactly.

 

[The MadHatter]

i understand the complaints of AK but i think the root of the complaints come from the fact that there are very far distances between the E-ticket attractions. I think that with this park, the designers wanted to break away from the other parks (the hub is still present but not as prominent). if you slow down and "meander" around i find this park pretty enjoyable. the introduction of the animal and nature element is supposed to take the place of having a ton of MK esq attractions. i originally disliked this park but if you change your expectations on how the park should work you would be pleasantly surprised

 

[GenerationX]

The best park layout, by far, is at the MK. Hub and spoke, multiple paths connecting the lands, WDW RR around the edges, large icon in the middle, dramatic entry into the park ... it works in every way. Navigating the MK is a pleasure.

The AK has several of the MK's elements (hint of hub and spoke, large icon in the middle, dramatic entry into the park) and is my second choice.

Epcot has one thing going for it - large walkways. Everything else leaves a lot to be desired. Future World is based on a bunch of dead ends, and World Showcase is an inefficient ring. To get to the American Adventure, for example, you have to walk through/past five other countries or wait for a boat and walk through/past two other countries. Epcot could use a whole bunch more connecting walkways - from pavilion to pavilion in Future World to tunnels under World Showcase Lagoon.

DHS is awful. A maze built for a mouse not a man. There's nothing logical or appealing about it. I can only imagine what non-Disney freaks think about it. It's frustrating.

 

[ChrisFL]

i understand the complaints of AK but i think the root of the complaints come from the fact that there are very far distances between the E-ticket attractions. I think that with this park, the designers wanted to break away from the other parks (the hub is still present but not as prominent). if you slow down and "meander" around i find this park pretty enjoyable. the introduction of the animal and nature element is supposed to take the place of having a ton of MK esq attractions. i originally disliked this park but if you change your expectations on how the park should work you would be pleasantly surprised

Nope. I can't agree.

The problem with the layout, and with other aspects of AK is that it's not built with the typical Disney tourist in mind. That is why there's stroller jams and miserable guests when it's a hot summer day. (Also there isn't enough of air conditioned areas, dark rides, etc. Even the original Lion King show was not entirely indoors/air conditioned at first.) I've heard this complaint time and time again.

There is no alternate transportation available. There is a train but it only goes to the conservation station and back. They had a boat ride (which I never got to see) but it was closed.

When it's busy there's only 2 real ways to get from one side of the park to the other, around the circle. It also has lots of dead ends. I know this quite well, because I was a contractor and it was my job to walk the parks. I was walking all the way across the park several times per day.

 

[Susan Savia]

AK - We always get turned around in that park.

 

[TxNewsies]

Magic Kingdom has the best layout in my opinion. Very easy to get around without a lot of walking or rewalking the same path to get somewhere else.

DHS probably does have the worst layout. But we find it easy to get around once you understand how it is mapped out.

Animal Kingdom has an alright layout except it is soooooooo big! It is exhausting to walk around. Everyone is so spread out and far away. It is our least favorite park to visit but has a couple of our favorite attractions.

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

IMO, Magic Kingdom has the best layout...everything is easy to find and figure out.

AK has always been confusing to me and STILL on this last trip, I could not figure out where things were for the life of me. To me, that's the worst payed out park.

 

[_Scar]

Why does it feel SO much hotter in DAK than any other park?

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Why does it feel SO much hotter in DAK than any other park?

Plants = Humidity