Worst Disney/Universal Orlando park?

[DisneyAndUniversalFan]

Which of the 6 Disney/Universal parks in Orlando is the worst? Based on overall quality of the park, rides, theme and lands, dining, overall fun, etc. Which park is the weakest? Discuss.

Animal Kingdom:

EPCOT:

Hollywood Studios:

Islands of Adventure:

Magic Kingdom:

Universal Studios Florida:

 

[SpectreJordan]

Universal Studios, easily. I think it has the worst visual theming of any of these options, outside of Diagon Alley which is by far the best thing in that park.

I'm also not a fan of any of its rides either, though I do know that Mummy & ET are beloved. So I'm in the minority there.

I never got to go during the days of Jaws & BTTF. I have a feeling I would've like that park a lot more back then.

 

[BlakeW39]

Universal Studios is such a bad park I really can't even picture a scenario under which I would want to go there. Mummy is very good, altho I have not been on E.T. and so for me it's the only decent ride in the park. Diagon Alley is very cool though. Overall, as much **** as I give Disney they definitely don't have a park as abjectly horrible as USF.

 

[crispy]

Universal Studios is such a bad park I really can't even picture a scenario under which I would want to go there. Mummy is very good, altho I have not been on E.T. and so for me it's the only decent ride in the park. Diagon Alley is very cool though. Overall, as much **** as I give Disney they definitely don't have a park as abjectly horrible as USF.

To each their own. I love Universal Studios and can easily spend a couple of days there.

 

[Eric Graham]

I really enjoyed the Transformers ride at Universal a lot!

 

[King Panda 77]

I vote Legoland.

 

[Eric Graham]

Can we vote for a non-park. Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum was the worst tourist trap ever I've been. Complete waste of money! It was raining the day that I went.

 

[BlakeW39]

whoever voted for DAK— you better sleep with your eyes open from now on.

 

[J4546]

Universal Studios is such a bad park I really can't even picture a scenario under which I would want to go there. Mummy is very good, altho I have not been on E.T. and so for me it's the only decent ride in the park. Diagon Alley is very cool though. Overall, as much **** as I give Disney they definitely don't have a park as abjectly horrible as USF.

i pretty much agree 100% Daigon Alley is also relly cool but the attraction is meh imo.

If not Universal Studios then Disney Studios.

 

[BlakeW39]

i pretty much agree 100% Daigon Alley is also relly cool but the attraction is meh imo.

If not Universal Studios then Disney Studios.

Yeah I agree. DHS is imo better than USF by a good margin, but it lacks the depth of the other Disney parks as well as the attraction roster of IoA. So I would agree that DHS is the second worst.

I think a much more provocative question would be, "which Orlando park is the best?" Because I think there's a case to be made for either DAK, MK, or IoA. IoA actually does have some underlying themes that unite the park into a singular thing, but it still lacks of the depth of a DAK or even an MK or EPCOT. And the food and themed lands are inferior to those of either outside of Hogsmeade. I personally think DAK is the best park in Orlando but before Splash closed I would have said MK was pretty close.

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

Epcot

 

[WondersOfLife]

Daaaang... Epcot and Hollywood Studios... Crazy...

...C'mon current-direction-Epcot-is-taking gang... Where are yall at? Lordy.

 

[WondersOfLife]

I'm also not a fan of any of its rides either, though I do know that Mummy & ET are beloved. So I'm in the minority there.

No love for Men in Black? Quite frankly, that's the best point-and-shoot ride I've ever ridden.

I never got to go during the days of Jaws & BTTF. I have a feeling I would've like that park a lot more back then.

I'm terribly sorry you had to miss out on those attractions... I agree with you there.

 

[SplashJacket]

For me, Universal Studios is easily the worst park, with Islands of Adventure easily being the best.

Diagon Alley is great, but has a weak/ineffective headlining attraction which dampers the land as a whole. Everything else is mediocre to good.

Except the Bourne Stuntacular, easily the best thing in that park (and the night show was surprisingly good when it runs, especially with the Olympic preview they had in the summer of 2022).

That said, I’d easily take a day at Sea World over Universal Studios Orlando, which creates an odd dynamic where one Universal park is the best and the other is the weakest.

 

[BlakeW39]

For me, Universal Studios is easily the worst park, with Islands of Adventure easily being the best.

Diagon Alley is great, but had a weak/ineffective headlining attraction which dampers the land as a whole. Everything else is mediocre to good.

Except the Bourne Stuntacular, easily the best thing in that park (and the night show was surprisingly good when it runs, especially with the Olympic preview they had in the summer of 2022.

Yeahhh see I considered IOA the best park too for a while there, but for me whether or not IOA is the best depends pretty strongly on how important you think rides are to the quality of a theme park. In that case, IOA is #1 and it's not even close. MK lost its best attraction and now all it has is HM, with its version of PotC being far worse than the one you can find on the west coast. DAK has Kilimanjaro Safaris and FOP, but EE and Dinosaur have both seen better days. The more I think about it, to be honest, the more I think I lean IOA. Only thing holding me up is the food quality and the fact that the park outside of the rides is not as well crafted as Disney's imo.

 

[SplashJacket]

Yeahhh see I considered IOA the best park too for a while there, but for me whether or not IOA is the best depends pretty strongly on how important you think rides are to the quality of a theme park. In that case, IOA is #1 and it's not even close. MK lost its best attraction and now all it has is HM, with its version of PotC being far worse than the one you can find on the west coast. DAK has Kilimanjaro Safaris and FOP, but EE and Dinosaur have both seen better days. The more I think about it, to be honest, the more I think I lean IOA. Only thing holding me up is the food quality and the fact that the park outside of the rides is not as well crafted as Disney's imo.

An Islands day, with a mid-day stop at Mythos, cannot be beaten. The rest of the food is poor, but regardless.

Really just hope with the success of Nintendo both in theaters and in the park, they begin work on their initial plans for converting Lost Continent to Zelda, because it would give the park just another world-class land.

Island's main issue is it lacks much depth beyond rides, especially with its two theaters sitting empty. That said, its ride line-up is unbeaten anywhere, except maybe Disneyland park in Anaheim.

Animal Kingdom is easily the highest-quality theme park in Orlando, it just severely lacks in quantity. Animal Kingdom could stand to double its ride count. Its show, walk-through, exhibit, and atmospheric sense are undefeated. Legit all it needs is rides. You could add five rides before adding another land, which is what they should do and would be far more economical.

To me, Magic Kingdom just falls so severely short of what it should be, given the crowds. It also lacks a headliner, which all other three WDW parks have, so really falls short.

Epcot earns massive points from me for both having great depth, and now with Guardians, a headlining attraction. Epcot is truly something unique at WDW. If it wasn't for Epcot (and Animal Kingdom) there would legitimately be zero reason to visit WDW over Disneyland. Both parks are very special and unique and provide something the others just don't.

Hollywood Studios just lacks across the board, atmosphere, ride count, shows, all of it. It only excels in ride quality, but Islands has both quality and quantity, in addition to its awesome atmosphere.

 

[Riviera Rita]

I would rather say the park I like least is Universal Studios because I like them all to some degree. MiB is the best point and shoot and I like the attractions, but, the food is not good apart from the Baked Potato stand, something the Disney parks could really do with.
I'm quite easily pleased really.

 

[SpectreJordan]

Yeah I agree. DHS is imo better than USF by a good margin, but it lacks the depth of the other Disney parks as well as the attraction roster of IoA. So I would agree that DHS is the second worst.

I think a much more provocative question would be, "which Orlando park is the best?" Because I think there's a case to be made for either DAK, MK, or IoA. IoA actually does have some underlying themes that unite the park into a singular thing, but it still lacks of the depth of a DAK or even an MK or EPCOT. And the food and themed lands are inferior to those of either outside of Hogsmeade. I personally think DAK is the best park in Orlando but before Splash closed I would have said MK was pretty close.

I think the Jurassic Park land is very good. It's not up to the level of the Potter lands or Galaxy's Edge, but the theming feels like JP to me & it has two of the best rides in Orlando. One of my favorite theme park memories is the first time I walked into that land as the JP theme song was playing. It was a magical moment.

No love for Men in Black? Quite frankly, that's the best point-and-shoot ride I've ever ridden.

I'm terribly sorry you had to miss out on those attractions... I agree with you there.

Men in Black is probably the ride I like most at Studios. The sets are pretty fun & impressive. But on a pure fun side, I like Toy Story Mania more just because I get real competitive with my friends on it. But I absolutely understand thinking MiB is the best since it's real sets & animatronics vs a bunch of screens.

An Islands day, with a mid-day stop at Mythos, cannot be beaten. The rest of the food is poor, but regardless.

Really just hope with the success of Nintendo both in theaters and in the park, they begin work on their initial plans for converting Lost Continent to Zelda, because it would give the park just another world-class land.

Island's main issue is it lacks much depth beyond rides, especially with its two theaters sitting empty. That said, its ride line-up is unbeaten anywhere, except maybe Disneyland park in Anaheim.

Animal Kingdom is easily the highest-quality theme park in Orlando, it just severely lacks in quantity. Animal Kingdom could stand to double its ride count. Its show, walk-through, exhibit, and atmospheric sense are undefeated. Legit all it needs is rides. You could add five rides before adding another land, which is what they should do and would be far more economical.

To me, Magic Kingdom just falls so severely short of what it should be, given the crowds. It also lacks a headliner, which all other three WDW parks have, so really falls short.

Epcot earns massive points from me for both having great depth, and now with Guardians, a headlining attraction. Epcot is truly something unique at WDW. If it wasn't for Epcot (and Animal Kingdom) there would legitimately be zero reason to visit WDW over Disneyland. Both parks are very special and unique and provide something the others just don't.

Hollywood Studios just lacks across the board, atmosphere, ride count, shows, all of it. It only excels in ride quality, but Islands has both quality and quantity, in addition to its awesome atmosphere.

How much room does the Lost Continent have for a significant retheme? I wouldn't want Zelda to be shafted by room. That IP has a lot of potential for an awesome theme park experience.

I definitely agree that IOA could use more shows. It's sort of crazy that they don't have a Potter show with some magic tricks & fun monster puppets.

 

[BlakeW39]

iAn Islands day, with a mid-day stop at Mythos, cannot be beaten. The rest of the food is poor, but regardless.

Really just hope with the success of Nintendo both in theaters and in the park, they begin work on their initial plans for converting Lost Continent to Zelda, because it would give the park just another world-class land.

Island's main issue is it lacks much depth beyond rides, especially with its two theaters sitting empty. That said, its ride line-up is unbeaten anywhere, except maybe Disneyland park in Anaheim.

Animal Kingdom is easily the highest-quality theme park in Orlando, it just severely lacks in quantity. Animal Kingdom could stand to double its ride count. Its show, walk-through, exhibit, and atmospheric sense are undefeated. Legit all it needs is rides. You could add five rides before adding another land, which is what they should do and would be far more economical.

To me, Magic Kingdom just falls so severely short of what it should be, given the crowds. It also lacks a headliner, which all other three WDW parks have, so really falls short.

Epcot earns massive points from me for both having great depth, and now with Guardians, a headlining attraction. Epcot is truly something unique at WDW. If it wasn't for Epcot (and Animal Kingdom) there would legitimately be zero reason to visit WDW over Disneyland. Both parks are very special and unique and provide something the others just don't.

Hollywood Studios just lacks across the board, atmosphere, ride count, shows, all of it. It only excels in ride quality, but Islands has both quality and quantity, in addition to its awesome atmosphere.

Yeah, IOA has an attraction roster which greatly exceeds that of any WDW park. Particularly as far as ride quantity is concerned. MK is honestly the worst offender because, like you said, it truly has no attraction that WOWS me now. For the most popular theme park on earth, its attractions are just so....lackluster. And Disney does not give two *****.

And agreed in terms of DAK and DHS. DHS feels very shallow, it lacks any of the vision that the other parks possess. However it still exceeds USF in almost all metrics. Now DAK....fantastic park, just not enough of it. That and, Disney seems content letting a certain mythical primate just sit there broken, and they completely ruined DINOSAUR....which in the past was a good E-ticket in my opinion. Not headliner material, but a very good ride nonetheless.

 

[SaucyBoy]

In its current form, Epcot is the worst of the bunch. A few years ago, I'd never utter those words. I hope when they finally get all the work done and have a quality nighttime show again, it'll bump back up to number one. I used to hate DHS and while it's still far from the best, it has grown on me with it's recent additions (however flawed they are). I went to both Uni parks the last year I lived in Orlando and was blown away by my great experience. I did prefer IoA over Uni but they were both much better than I imagined.