In 1955 walt disney realized his dream of creating
a theme park for families to come together. Fast forward 65 years and that dream has expanded
to 12 disney theme parks all across the globe in america, europe and asia. Today we're
taking a look at these parks and ranking them. Hi guys, Gio here from Independent Guides and
today we're taking a look at all the disney theme parks across the world and in my opinion
how they stack up against each other. So, this is all personal opinion of course and everything
is subjective. I have visited all of these parks myself and also I've worked as a cast member
at both Walt Disney World at Magic Kingdom and at Disneyland Paris at Disneyland Park so bear that
in mind as it might influence my rankings a bit/ Also, these rankings are based on the parks
today at the end of 2020 and not on any future expansions which are coming. For me to
rank all of these I've taken into account the attractions, the theming, the customer service and
the magic, and the food when rating these. Plus, just my overall feel for the atmosphere of the
park. I'm also super curious to hear your opinions as well, so please let me know your thoughts in the
comments. We'll start off from the bottom then. The worst disney theme park in the world at number 12
is Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris. So, this won't come as a surprise to most disney
fans as it's widely agreed that the studios park is well rubbish. Walt Disney Studios was
built in a rush when it opened in 2002 and disney opened it as a half day park.
So, the studios didn't need to wow guests it just needed to get them to spend money on a
hotel. It opened with only a handful of attractions and despite lots of expansions over the years
somehow this is still a half day park. as far as attractions are concerned, the standout rides here
are Crush's Coaster, Ratatouille, Tower of Terror and maybe RC Racer and the Toy Soldier Parachutes. There
are some other minor attractions and shows but the park relies too much on standard flat rides with
things like Aladdin's Flying Carpet, Slinky Dog, the Cars spinner ride. The other thing it also has
is Mickey and the Magician which is an excellent show. Sadly, the park lacks unique attractions only
Crush's Coaster is really that unique so the result is that you can do all the major rides in
extra magic hours and then do another few minor attractions in the first few hours of park opening,
watch Mickey and the Magician and be done by lunch time. Theming-wise the park is dire. The Front Lot area as
you come into the park doesn't look too bad but then you have to go to Studio One you walk through
this massive show building to the other side. I'd much rather they just built a Main Street
style entrance here or something like Buena Vista Street and knock down the building. I don't think
that the studios theme has ever really worked it's just a cheap way of saying: we don't need to
build that, we can keep it basic, let's make things flat instead of 3d because that's how studios
are. There are a few nice bits of theming i like the Ratatouille area, I like the Toy Story Playland
area and the Tower of Terror and there's this little section in front of it it's also quite
nice but there is no flow, the areas need to be linked together. It just it doesn't work. The park
also needs more kinetic elements it needs some water, it needs some fountains, it needs moving
attractions, it needs things for you to look at, it needs more atmosphere, it needs more live music,
it needs a parade, it needs characters outside and not just indoors and yes this is all meant to
happen, there's going to be a new lake, there's going to be new lands, there's going to be a brand
new walkway, there's going to be new attractions but it's not there in 2020. As far as a feeling
of magic, there is none. Full stop. The park is ugly nothing about this park transports you into a
different world and the customer service at the park is the same as it is across Disneyland Paris,
which is.... indifferent. The cast members, they're not rude but for the most part they're not going to
go out of their way to help you either. There are a lot of fantastic cast members but unfortunately
it's not the case for the majority. For most of the people working there this is just a job and
you're constantly reminded of that as a guest. For foreign travelers, a positive of the park is
that everyone's level of english is certainly good enough or excellent - you won't have any issues
if you don't speak french. And finally for the park - the food - it's very much your standard theme
park fare everywhere. It's burgers and chips. If you're a snack person there's basically nothing.
There's also very few places to eat at the moment - you have one quite big quick service in Studio One
as you come in and then you have the table service restaurant, Bistrot Chez Remy in the Ratatouille
area where the theming is great but the food is... is just fine. It's not particularly good value for
money. I think it's actually quite expensive, the menu is very limited and it's just disappointing
as france in general is excellent for their food usually at very fair prices so there is the
potential to make these things better. Next up at number 11, Hong Kong Disneyland. So, this actually
pains me to put a Magic Kingdom-style park this low down the list but it has to go somewhere and
unfortunately there just isn't much of a reason to go to this park in the first place, let alone
go back to it after you've been to it for a day. It is better than Walt Disney Studios in Paris -
much better - and it's sad because this is one of disney's newest parks. iI opened in 2005 but it was
built like Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris at a time where disney built things that were just 'good
enough' and they didn't try to exceed their guest expectations. The park tried to clone the original
Disneyland in Anaheim as much as possible down to the castle although this is being changed at the
moment. Thankfully today there are some original rides but there's very few you have Mystic Manor,
you have Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars, which are both excellent and you have Ant-Man and
the Wasp: Nano Battle but this is very similar to Buzz Lightyear, and you have Iron Man Experience
but this is essentially a re-themed Star Tours. So, really if you take away the fact that those
last two are re-themes - they are elaborate re-themes but they are re-themes - you have two
original attractions and they're both great but for most people going to do a roller coaster
and one dark ride doesn't warrant making a special trip and going out of your way to visit this park.
If you're a disney fan, yes of course, go for it. The park also has some good shows to help fill the day
but you really have to take things at slow pace to fill a whole day here or you have to prepare to do
absolutely everything. the other thing is that the park is very, very quiet compared to other disney
parks. Even on extremely busy days the maximum wait time is an hour - most days everything's under 15
minutes - even the big headliner attractions. If you look at the visitor figures for this park they're
tiny. iIdo like the fact that fastpass basically doesn't exist in this park except for on a couple
of rides - that makes things just much easier, keeps the queues down and it's definitely a park that
you can just turn up and do whatever you want at a relaxed pace, you don't need to get there for park
opening and so I am going to give it plus points for that. Strangely though the lack of crowds does
make the park feel a bit lacking an atmosphere. I never thought I'd say I wanted more people in
a theme park, but I kind of do for Hong Kong Disneyland. In terms of theming, it's very similar
to the original Disneyland - I'm personally not a fan of tomorrowland in the american parks or here
or at Tokyo. I much prefer Shanghai's and Paris's so I do wish that they'd changed that now but
I can see why they won't - they've got Shanghai not too far away. Customer service everywhere
was great and for foreign tourists of course it gets plus points for the level of english
which is not a barrier here unlike in Shanghai or Tokyo. You'll get on completely fine with
english just as you do at Disneyland Paris and the other thing is the feeling of magic there
is a little bit of a feeling of magic in the park it is a castle-style park which I think always
helps and the cast members they do try really hard much more so than Studios in Paris. Lastly, the
food - I think there was a good variety here. Hong Kong Disneyland has a tough job because it gets
visitors from all over the world it's not just locals, so it really tries to give a mix
of cuisines. There are a couple of table service places but it is mainly quick service and
snacks. I was really impressed by the food actually and the quality and the portion sizes both at
Explorers Club Restaurant and Royal Banquet Hall especially if you want to try something a little
bit different from the standard theme park fare. Honestly, I'm not very adventurous with food and I
got to try some really nice asian food here. There is potential to turn it around - Paris has been
a really good example of that. It took 25 years but the resort has started to turn a profit again
after a lot of investment. At number 10 is Epcot. The first time I visited Epcot, I was blown away
it was unlike any other disney park i'd ever seen, but as the years have gone on the park seems to not have moved with the times, not have adapted, and it's starting to feel quite stale and old I
think. As far as attractions go, there are certainly a lot of original attractions. You have Journey to
Imagination, Spaceship Earth, The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Mission Space, Living with the Land, Frozen
Ever After. Soarin' is great but it can be seen in California, in Tokyo and Shanghai so it's hardly
unique and Test Track is excellent but the other parks that use this ride system with Radiator
Springs Racers and Journey to the Center of the Earth, both of these are better rides. Mission Space
I think is excellent. It's very intense so I can't personally do it more than once or twice on the
trip. World Showcase as a concept and execution is excellent - I'll give it 10 out of 10 for
that. Frozen Ever After is fantastic. The Mexican boat ride is fine but it's not incredible and
none of the other shows that the other pavilions are mind blowing. They're cute distractions but
nothing is incredible. Ratatouille is going to help the france pavilion but again it's not open
yet so that doesn't count, also it's not an amazing ride, to be honest, and of course Illuminations the
nighttime show is now gone. Theming-wise I think Future Worlds feels very dated throughout and
the park does have a lot of very, very poor queues, things like Soarin', The Seas with Nemo and Friends,
Living with the Land - they're just empty corridors and switchbacks which honestly is shambolic. I
think World Showcase is fantastic theming- wise though in comparison. Customer service-wise, I
think this is pretty standard across the board at Walt Disney World - it's good, it's not incredible,
but i do find that at Epcot, the World Showcase representatives are fantastic across the board. In
terms of a feeling of magic, it's tough, it's not on a par with Magic Kingdom. I don't even think
it's on a part with Hong Kong Disneyland but I think that the park doesn't aim to be magical
so I can't really criticize it for that and then finally for food, this is for me hands down the
best disney park in the world for food overall. All i need to say is World Showcase, food and wine
festival, flower and garden festival. I think for me the japan pavilion, france, italy and canada
are especially good for food at this park. At number nine is Disney's Hollywood Studios. So,
I surprise myself with this one to be honest but Disney's Hollywood Studios was always
my least favorite park at Walt Disney World but the park's been through a lot and so much of a
transformation in the last three years. Attractions wise it might now have the strongest lineup of
all of florida's parks along with Magic Kingdom. You've got Rock 'N' Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror,
Slinky Dog Dash, Star Tours, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, Toy Story Mania, Millennium Falcon:
Smuggler's Run and Rise of the Resistance. It's an incredibly impressive lineup, plus you have the
shows on top of that and the nighttime spectacular fantasmic which i think is Walt Disney's World's
second best nighttime show after Happily ever After at Magic Kingdom. It is worth pointing out
that the star wars attractions can all be done at Disneyland now and also that Fantasmic and Toy
Story Mania are there as well. That still leaves quite a few original attractions. I really like the
street entertainment in the park, the characters are fantastic. Theming-wise this is a studios park
but it is a big step up from Paris's studios park. It has sunset boulevard, hollywood boulevard, the
chinese theater and galaxy's edge of course. Toy story land is also good. I would say that there
are still a few odd spots like the echo lake area is just weird with Indiana Jones there then
Star Tours next door. The abc commissary area is a bit lacking and the part near Walt Disney Presents
gives me some flashbacks from Walt Disney Studios in Paris. As far as the feeling of magic - I think
it's better here than Epcot, maybe because there are the extra characters and there's a bit of
hollywood glitz and glamour and there are more shows with characters as well and there's galaxy's edge
and Tower of Terror those are just so in theme that they're kind of their own little magic and then
Fantasmic which is just the most magical show. Lastly food, so this is nowhere near the level of
Epcot. It's fairly normal theme park fare for the most part. Some of it is just downright terrible
like pizzarizzo which is still the worst pizza i've ever tasted. I do like the concepts of the
different restaurants though, things like 50 primetime cafe, oga's cantina, the sci-fi dine-in
theatre, and there are a few good dishes things like the ronto wrap at ronto roasters. The park
also has a really good mix of the number of quick service, table service and snack places too. In
eighth place, we have Disney California Adventure. So this was another park that was a victim of the
"build it cheaply and the guests are still going to pay and come anyway" era with Hong Kong Disneyland
and Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris, but the park has certainly come a long way. It has a good solid
lineup of attractions and a good mix of popular attractions that can be found at other resorts,
but it also has quite a few original attractions. So, it has all of the cars land attractions,
Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout, Monster's Inc, The Incredicoaster, Grizzly River
Run, Goofy's Sky School. There's also Frozen: Live at the Hyperion. As well as that, the park has
a great daytime parade. It sometimes has had the nighttime parade here as well, and the nighttime
show World of Color is one of my favorites. So, for that alone this park is worth visiting for
most people. You can definitely fill a day here just with the original stuff and this definitely
isn't a half day park. The service and the magic is fantastic. I think that generally across the
board both of these things are better here in California than a Walt Disney World but California [Adventure]
isn't on par with Disneyland for this, I think/ The theming is mixed - Buena Vista Street is fantastic,
hollywoodland is good, grizzly peak is fine but I can't really get over the theme of pixar pier. I
don't think that you need to have a seaside themed area when you've got a beach down the road. Finally,
as far as food is concerned - it's generally across the board, good. It has some good snack options,
there's a good variety of cultural food and Cathay Circle is a great sit-down restaurant. All
in all, the park is really quite solid overall but if i had to choose between spending a day
here and at any of the other disney parks higher up on the list, I would choose the other parks, so
that's why it's at number eight. Up until here this list was fairly easy for me to draw up but for
the top seven parks I really, really had trouble putting them into order. I've spent hours moving
these around and honestly I'm still not sure. So, at number seven, is Shanghai Disneyland. I'd
actually initially ranked this park as number two and if you're gonna go by pure facts and numbers
about theming and rides, then this is gonna be one of the top parks but I just can't bring myself
to say that it's better than the other six parks that are above it. So, essentially with Shanghai
Disneyland the deal is this - if you want to go to Magic Kingdom-style park but you want the latest
and the greatest, you don't want any nostalgia then Shanghai Disneyland is your park. We have a full
video on Shanghai Disneyland's unique attractions which you can check out in the description but
essentially this is a disney park with disney characters but without a lot of classic disney
rides. So there's no "it's a small world", there's no Big Thunder Mountain, there's no Splash Mountain,
there's no Space Mountain, there's no Frontierland, there's no Pinocchio ride, no Snow White's
Adventures, and there's not even a proper Main Street USA. Instead we have a park filled with
unique attractions so Pirates of the Caribbean is a boat ride mixed with simulator screens and really
cool animatronics. The castle walkthrough is high tech, Space Mountain is not here but we have Tron
instead. The castle has a boat ride in the moat, Seven Dwarves Mine Train is the park's second main
coaster, and all of the lands look very different to how they do in other Magic Kingdom parks.
They've even got an adventures rope course in the park. Mickey Avenue replaces Main Street USA,
the hub is enormous, treasure cove is completely original, the carousel and dumbo have moved from
fantasyland into the hub in front of the castle, fantasyland just looks completely different and
it's the same thing with tomorrowland which looks really, really clean and futuristic and the park
basically takes the best rides from each of the Magic Kingdoms and upgrades them. So, Peter
Pan's Flight here is the best that there is - it's even better than Disneyland Paris's, Buzz
here is better than all the other parks as well and on top of that it has all of those original
rides. It even has rides that you typically wouldn't expect in a castle-style park, so you've
got Soaring for example and you've also got the rapids ride. It also feels very modern and up to
date and it does make the other parks feel dated. This is a park that is struggling with capacity
though and it urgently needs more rides. The problem is that the park is so large that it has
a high physical capacity so it can get big crowds and big crowds plus a low number of rides means
very long waits. As far as theming is concerned disney has cut no corners here. Everything is super
sized. The only thing I really didn't care for in this park is the castle. It's really impressive
from the front but when you look at it from the side, it's just too wide, it's too deep. It's not
tall enough for how wide it is, so it looks a bit squat and out of proportion but theming wise
that's my only complaint honestly. Take a look at Soaring for example here versus the american parks.
As far as magic and service, the service from the cast members i thought was excellent. The level of
english is not good - it's similar to Tokyo. Most cast members speak very little or no english
but they did all know "have a magical day", which I thought was super cute and 'Hello' and 'Goodbye'
but that was kind of it. The level of service was generally speaking exceptional. The cast members
were smiley, they wave like they do in japan and whenever i needed help in english, they
went and found someone that could help me. One of my really good guest experiences was when
I asked at the bakery if they had mickey waffles and the cast member actually escorted me all the
way to the other side around the hub and then came back later to check that that was actually what I
wanted and I've never ever had that happen any of the other disney parks. I'm gonna say as a side
note, we did have one extremely poor experience at guest relations. That is unforgivable, it was
a one-off but honestly that did sour my trip. The magic, I don't think is there though, the park
feels like a really well-themed theme park but not necessarily a disney park despite all the
disney ips everywhere. I don't know what it is. i think the park could do with more characters
and more street entertainment to help with the atmosphere. Then lastly, we have the food
which is very much chinese-focused, i get that - it's in china. They did have some western options
they had waffles, they had turkey legs, there's also a good variety of snacks - not huge - but there are
some snacks. If you're looking for table service, you're out of luck, there's only one and it's
the character experience so it's quite pricey. Tomorrowland had western options but the burger
I had there was terrible. It just didn't resemble anything like the taste of a western burger. It's
probably the worst burger I've ever had. Personally, I'm a big ride and theming person much more so
than characters and food, so that's why this park is where it is. The downfalls though, there were
quite a few things throughout my visit but they were enough to mean that this park doesn't rank
higher. So, I've told you about the poor customer service experience at guest relations, the fastpass
allocations were really weird - they just seem to disappear too quickly. I don't like that they sell
Fastpasses and they call them disney premier access, I don't like how they manage the fireworks
situation - we turned up at least 45 minutes before and the whole hub was closed - you couldn't get
into the hub. It wasn't full, there was space but it had been roped off, and then there's the guest
behavior - the guests here do not have any concept of personal space, they get way too close to you
in the queues, during the parade the crowd was just rude - there were selfie sticks into the parade
and there was just a lot of pushing. Throughout the whole parade all I could feel was pushing back
and forth, left and right, and I've never, ever experienced that at any other disney park.
If you've ever seen these switchbacks that you have to go through to get to the main
entrance and then again to get through security and then to get into the park, that's enough to put
almost anyone off. Luckily we stayed at the hotels so that wasn't an issue. I think essentially
the feeling I got was that the park management don't trust you as a guest, so they need
to put all these extra rules in place but not for your benefit as a guest. It's so that
you don't cheat the system, so you don't cheat out the park but maybe they're right judging by
the way that people acted during the parade. And really, overall, for me it doesn't matter how
beautiful the park is, how great the rides are, if the guests then sour the whole experience.
On that note, on number six we have Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris. So, this is a really tough one
for me to rank. I worked there for a year and a half, it does have a real special place in
my heart, it's where all my friends work, so I could honestly have put this at number one
but i'm trying to be reasonable. So, when disney was designing this park for europe, they knew that the
local audience was really discerning and the park needed to be the highest quality park they'd
ever built - and they achieved it. Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris is for me - far and away -
the most beautiful Magic Kingdom-style park anywhere in the world. Yes, much more so even than
Shanghai Disneyland. The imagineers took everything they'd learned from Tokyo Disneyland as well as
the US parks and they brought it to this park but this wasn't going to be a clone of the
american parks. Everything that was going to be built was going to be plussed, so this is how Space
Mountain ended up being the best Space Mountain by a long shot, the park has the best Big Thunder
Mountain, the Haunted Mansion is Phantom Manor - it's familiar but it's completely original. There's the
traditional but very unique and the best Pirates of the Caribbean and I think what is still the
most beautiful and most elegant disney castle. I was watching a video and someone said the lands at
Disneyland Paris are the perfect version of those lands - and it's true. Main Street in Paris is the
perfect Main Street, Tomorrowland is the perfect Tomorrowland and i'm not talking about the actual
rides in these places, I'm talking about the design. Frontierland - it is the most beautiful and the most
elaborate that disney's ever built. Adventureland - it's really something special; it's stunning. The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse in the middle is almost like this land's very own Tree
of Life, and the caves and the walkthrough areas are just super elaborate here. And then finally
there is Fantasyland which is just beautiful. And the thing about this park is it's a park
that feels familiar to american visitors and to visitors from japan, but unlike tokyo and hong kong,
this isn't a clone. The actual lands are extremely different in theming, the transitions between
the lands I think are better done here than in any other park. It does lack in completely unique
attractions - there are none, but the attractions that are here are pretty much the best versions
of them in the world, except a few from Shanghai now. The attention to detail is just stunning
like the dragon under the castle that they put there and a lot of these things most people
on a day trip are never going to find or see. There is a lot of space for expansion though and
there's definitely some room for some original attractions but sadly there's not even anything in
the pipeline at the moment after almost 30 years. As far as magic goes, the park is magical. I think
it's more magical than Shanghai and I think it shines especially around christmas. Christmas at
Disneyland Paris is magical; also the summer when it's hot and the park is actually quite crowded
it has a really nice atmosphere but unfortunately customer service-wise, again, this is the french
customer service. It is poor in comparison with all the other resorts. Like I said with Walt
Disney Studios, it's not that the cast members are rude but they're more indifferent than any other parks.
Also, I talked about the bad guests at Shanghai Disneyland - the guests here are not as bad but they
do break a few rules. The main one is smoking - this has become much better in recent years but smoking
everywhere, it just ruins your experience but on the other hand the crowds certainly
aren't pushing during parades, the park doesn't need to be implementing these long switchback
queueing systems everywhere like Shanghai either. Food-wise, snacks are basically non-existent, so
don't go there for those. All the table service restaurants I've tried there are fine, but they're
not exceptional - and I've done pretty much all of them by now. They are very pricey again for what
you get. The quick service options, they're mainly standard theme park fare and it's not anywhere
near as original as it could be, and again france it can do much better. It's known for fantastic
food. And disney does do much better because at the Disneyland Hotel by the park entrance you have
Inventions which is one of the best buffets ever. California Grill has fantastic dining as well. I just
don't know why that doesn't extend into the park. So, many people would probably rank this park lower
but remember I worked there for a year and a half, it's the first disney park I ever visited, so it does
have a special place in my heart. Next, at number five we have Tokyo Disneyland. This was disney's
first park outside of the US. It was opened in 1983 and at this point disney almost had 30 years
experience of running theme parks - and it shows. The crowdflow, the management here is much better than
at Magic Kingdom and Disneyland. They built really wide walkways, the hub is huge and this is pretty
much a clone of Magic Kingdom and Disneyland mixed together as far as the attractions are concerned.
Japan wanted a very american-feeling park, as close to a clone as possible but with a few upgrades, a
few changes. So, World Bazaar replaces Main Street and it's a big covered area. I think that works
really well personally. Otherwise, it's very similar - Big Thunder Mountain here is better than
in the US parks, Jungle Cruise is excellent. They also have a few unique attractions: Monsters
Inc., which is good but not incredible, the standout big attraction is Pooh's Hunny Hunt, which if you're
a disney fan it basically justifies a visit on its own. Also now you have the brand new Beauty
and the Beast area that opened about a month ago - the area looks impressive, the ride I'm not too
keen on. Tiki Room is also completely different with stitch and I really enjoyed that and unfortunately
there is no New Fantasyland here. The entertainment is fantastic in this park - they have a nighttime
parade, they have daytime parade, there's all these shows going on during the day. I'm gonna mark the
park down though for the astronomical wait times. Everything basically has long queues all day
and also the shows because they have this weird lottery system you can very much end up going
there for four or five days and not seeing any of the shows because you never win the ticket to
see the show. Lastly, the park is starting to feel a little bit dated. In terms of service,
I said earlier that California had really good service - almost perfect - but the japanese service IS
perfect. The cast members do not fail, they will do anything to make sure that your trip is better if
it's within the rules. It is worth saying there is a language barrier at the park - you're not going to
be able to have chats with cast members about what it's like working there. It took quite a while for
the cast members to understand that i had lost my umbrella on Pirates of the Caribbean and not my
brother but despite that that doesn't lose any of the magic of the park. After having spoken badly
about the guests in the two previous parks, it's worth me saying the japanese guests here are the
best of any park. They're super happy to be there, they dress up, they're orderly. The park really
helps with this because it has rules in place that make everyone's experience better and these
are followed by everyone, but it's for everyone's benefit - it's not for the parks benefit like
Shanghai. It's just really nice being able to sit down - in fact you have to sit down if you're at
the front for parades, for shows, for the fireworks. It's really nice not to have people with cameras
out or above their heads, it's really nice not to have children on people's shoulders, it just
makes the park experience so much nicer. The food options are decent but some of the western options
are not great - I had a very odd tasting burger in tomorrowland, for example. You can see this is
a recurring theme - but the snack game is 100% on point. Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea - yes -
if you like snacks, this is the place to be. Why is it ranked better than Disneyland Paris? The variety
of rides is better, the customer service is better, the guests are great, the magic is more there and
the food is better. The theming is nowhere near as good, so that's why I haven't ranked this higher up
the list. At number four is Disney's Animal Kingdom. I surprise myself for ranking this park so highly.
For the longest time, Animal Kingdom for me was a half day park - and it still kind of is a three
quarters of a day park, but the reason that this park is so highly ranked is simple: it scores
highly in everything. It's beautiful, everything is unique, here and of any disney park in the world
this is the one that really transports you to a different place away from the real world. From the
moment you walk in, you see the Tree of Life [and] you can't help but be blown away in the same way when
you look down main street to the castle. Firstly, let me go through the attractions that this park
offers that you can do in other disney parks. Yes, nothing. Everything is original - even Festival
of the Lion King shares a show name with Hong Kong Disneyland, but the shows are completely different.
There also aren't really any filler rides. All the rides are big major attractions: Dinosaur,
Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Kali River Rapids, Flight of Passage, Navi River Journey -
and every ride is so different. None of these rides are anything like the others and then you add in
all the animal trails and the shows and really this park it can't be beat for originality. The
magic here is different to in the other parks -it's not about disney characters, it's not the disney
ips. It's about the animals, it's about nature and - everyone loves animals - and being able to see a
tiger one minute and then see a yeti the next minute - where else can you do that? It is magical
in a different way to Magic Kingdom but definitely more so than Disney's Hollywood Studios or
Epcot. Service is great across all of Walt Disney World, so this is on a par with the other parks.
Theming- wise this park gets solid 10 out of 10. There is nothing I could ask to improve. The
imagineers went to all these places around the world to make sure that they got it right
when they were building this park. They went to india, they went to africa, even the imaginary
pandora - they've got it right - it's perfect. There's nowhere here where you think 'oh disney
cheaped out'. In fact for so much of it you think ;how did they build that?', like Expedition Everest,
the Tree of Life and the floating mountains in pandora. Finally, food-wise, this park comes second
of the Walt Disney World parks only behind Epcot. It could do with more table service restaurants, but what is here is really varied and unique. So, Tiffins is excellent, Yak and Yeti is
excellent, Satu'li Canteen is excellent and there's some very interesting menu items everywhere. And
then you also have the more standard theme park fare at places like Restaurantasaurus. Overall, if I
ever wanted to do a day to escape the real world this would be the park I would head to. At number
three we have the Magic Kingdom. So, this is the top rated park at Walt Disney World. I think this is
the most iconic of all the disney parks. If you ask a normal person what Disneyland's castle looks like,
they wouldn't tell you it's sleeping beauty castle, they would say it's this one - Cinderella Castle.
This is disney's flagship destination - it is the most visited park in the world. The park is loosely
based around the original Disneyland but over the years, they've definitely managed to differentiate
themselves. So, starting off with the attractions, Magic Kingdom has a really solid lineup. I do
think you could spend two or three days at this park to do everything. It has all the disney
classics, so there's Pirates, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, "it's a small
world", Peter Pan, Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise and then it has things that the original park
doesn't have like Under the Sea, The Barnstormer, Seven Dwarves Mine Train, the People Mover. The
park has an abundance of attractions. There's lots of street entertainment and atmosphere they've
got all these daily parades and dance parties and it's probably the best nighttime show disney
has ever made with Happily ever After. If you want original attractions, there are actually very few
here that can't be found at another disney park around the world - really, it's limited to the People Mover, Carousel of Progress, Hall of Presidents, Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, and the Barnstormer. And
that's the thing about this park, it does feel out of date not as much as Tokyo Disneyland
probably because they've redone New Fantasyland and disney wants to keep the nostalgia there.
Adventureland is tiny - compare it with Paris's or what Shanghai has done with Treasure Cove and it
just doesn't compare. Plus, Magic Kingdom's Pirates, what's up with it? It has one drop. The park
also has the worst Big Thunder Mountain and then there's the old-timey shows things like Tiki
Room, Country Bear Jamboree, Hall of Presidents, Carousel of Progress - I don't think they cut it
with a modern audience. Disney fans love them, I think most of these are great but i would
rather they replaced a couple of these and built Indiana Jones Adventure, for example. So, there
is this feeling with Magic Kingdom that actually you could just go to Disneyland and experience 90%
of the same thing, but this park definitely feels bigger and grander than Disneyland. In terms of
magic and service, Magic Kingdom knocks it out the park - it's almost perfect. Theming-wise, I would
say this park actually comes third from the bottom after the two studios parks. I'm not a fan of
tomorrowland in the american parks like I said. It just doesn't feel futuristic. They cheaped
out fantasyland - the facades for Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, "it's a small world" - they're just
these cheap flat 2D things unlike what you'll find at Disneyland Paris or Disneyland.
Adventureland is an odd mix of styles - I don't think it works personally. Why is there
a long walkway back to the park after Pirates and a moving walkway on Haunted Mansion? It doesn't
work thematically. It's still a very well-themed park though compared to non-disney parks, but the
two parks above it are better themed in my opinion and theming is really, really high up there for
me. Also, it's worth mentioning I think Fastpass+ really works well at this park, in particular,
especially on the day itself. It's nice that you can book stuff in advance and know what you're
definitely going to do, but on the day itself I found that at Magic Kingdom if you refresh the
app enough times you're going to be able to get a Fastpass for pretty much any ride and that
means I've never had to wait in a long queue for anything ever at this park. And finally food-wise,
Magic Kingdom has a good variety of experiences, they've got the character dining in the castle,
they have Be Our Guest, lots of snack options, Columbia Harbour House with the home-style food I
think is good, and the standard theme park options are everywhere. And of course the table service
places, you can find pretty much anything you want here - none of it is really adventurous though
like you'll find at Animal Kingdom for example. Next, at number two is Disneyland - the original
park - the only one that Walt Disney actually saw built. I always really struggle between whether
I prefer this park or Magic Kingdom more. As far as attractions are concerned the lineup is very
similar to Magic Kingdom but as I said earlier you do get the additions here. So, you have Indiana
Jones Adventure, The Matterhorn, Star Wars Galaxy's Edge, Toontown, David Crockett's Explorer Canoes.
I also prefer Pirates here, Big Thunder Mountain here, although Space Mountain is better at Magic
Kingdom. Having said that, there are better versions of all of these in the other parks on the list, so
it's not like Disneyland has the best versions. I also like that there is so much entertainment:
all the shows, the daytime parade is better - it's usually on a couple of times as well every day,
the nighttime parade exists which is a start, and they have Fantasmic which just kind of pops
up out of nowhere, and then they also have the nighttime castle shows and fireworks shows but
these are just never as grand as a Magic Kingdom. And, I know that disney can't ever touch Sleeping
Beauty Castle but I do wish that they could and that they would and they built something like
Disneyland Paris's or what they've done in Hong Kong Disneyland too. It's cute, it's quaint,
Sleeping Beauty Castle has history, but it DOES look disappointing when you look down Main Street.
If you've been to other parks and are expecting to have this grand castle - especially with Magic
Kingdom - it is disappointing. Yes, feel free to flame in the comments. Service-wise, I've had amazing
magical moments on every visit to the park. The service I think is fantastic everywhere from
my experience and this is the original so no other park has the feeling of magic and the feeling of
history that this park has. I also really like how organic the character meetings are in this park;
there's no huge queues, the characters just roam around, they ride on the rides, and they interact
with people, and this really feels like it's where the characters live in a way that none of the
other parks can do. Theming-wise it's broadly very similar to Magic Kingdom but without all of the
caveats, so there's no weird travelators, there's no cheap flat facades, and it doesn't feel actually
like disney's cut any corners at this park - and all of this in a tiny, tiny footprint that almost
gets as many visitors as Magic Kingdom. Because of that, it's worth me saying the walkways do feel
crowded in this park more than any other because of its size. Food-wise, they've got table
service, they've got snacks, they've got counter service, I love the whole blue bayou concept in
Pirates of the Caribbean, it's great. But I will say the food is very american focused and a lot of the
food is actually fairly standard theme park fare. I get that though, that's their audience - it's
Disneyland, it's an all american theme park. And at number one - the best disney park in the world
in my opinion - is surprise, surprise Tokyo Disneysea. This park rates highly for everything: attractions,
customer service, theming, food. Attractions-wise, Disneysea is kind of a 'best of everything' park.
You've got Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror with a really cool original storyline, Soarin'
which is even more beautiful than Shanghai's somehow, it has Indiana Jones Adventure too, it has a clone
of Disneyland Paris's Temple of Peril called Raging Spirits but with much more comfortable
seats and better theming, and then the park has all the unique attractions like the Venetian
Gondolas, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Aquatopia, Nemo and Friends Searide, Sinbad's Storybook
Voyage, Magic Lamp Theater, 20 000 Leagues Under the Sea. And then there's all the unique shows that
the park has as well. The park doesn't have a traditional parade but it has lots of shows on the
lagoon and it usually has a nighttime show. I also like rides that act as transportation so I really
like the Steamer Lines and the Electric Railway. I thought the Steamer Lines, in particular, were
incredibly relaxing - I love them. So, we actually have a full video on unique attractions at
Tokyo Disney Resort, which I recommend you watch after this. It's linked in the description
below. Tokyo Disneysea is probably the park that has the most unique attractions and the park
is just beautiful to walk through. The theming is on par with the Animal Kingdom - it might even be
better somehow. There's an entire ship in the park, they have a beautiful Venice area that honestly
looks exactly like Venice, the New York section looks like New York. The actual ride queues are
universally fantastic - none of them are boring or empty-looking. The thing this park does best,
just like Animal Kingdom, is it takes you to another world and it's a park where you could come
for a day and just enjoy the surroundings, sit down, people watch, maybe see a few shows. You don't need
to go on rides to enjoy the park here and that's coming from someone who loves rides and that's
the main reason I go to the parks. If I do have a criticism, it's that the attraction wait times are
just way, way too high. I'm a disney parks veteran, I know how to do parks, I've written a whole book on
it and I barely waited for anything, but everyone else also knows the tricks. Service and magic - well,
what can I say? I said it all with Tokyo Disneyland, the japanese service is unrivaled, it's perfect.
Remember there IS that language barrier though. And, finally, food - it's excellent all around, lots
of variety, there's the beautiful Teddy Roosevelt Lounge, there's italian places to eat, there's
the SS Columbia Dining room where they basically built a luxury cruise ship dining room, there's
Magellan's which pretty much everyone agrees is the best disney theme park restaurant anywhere
in the world, and there's the snacks if you're a snack person. I've never snacked so much at any
other disney park as this one and there's the perfect balance between counter service and table service
as well. And if you said to me 'Gio, we're closing down every disney park in the world, you can save
one, which would it be?' It would be Tokyo Disneysea. It's the gold standard for theme parks - it's not
just the best disney park in the world, it's the best theme park in the world. And there we go:
every single disney theme park in the world ranked. I'm sure you have lots to sa,y so please
leave your opinions down below but be nice! I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thank you for
making it to the end of the video - this was by far the longest video I've ever made, so please
hit the like button - it's free and it really makes a huge difference in recommending this video to
other people, and subscribe as well for future disney theme park videos. I've got lots more I'm
working on at the moment. If you're planning a visit to any of the disney parks around the world,
do take a look at the travel guide books that we publish at independentguidebooks.com - there are
links in description to all of those and also to the videos for the top unique attractions at Tokyo
Disney Resort and Shanghai Disney Resort. There's also a link to another video which covers all
the new rides that disney is currently building around the world. I've been Gio - I hope you've
enjoyed and I'll see you in the next video.
