What is the best Disney World Park? Walt Disney World Parks ranked – updated for 2024

Looking for the best Disney World park to visit during your trip to Orlando? Whether you’re planning on visiting one park, or all of them, here are the best Disney World parks updated for 2024. 

Magic Kingdom

When most people think of Disney parks, they picture the castle that appears in Magic Kingdom. The Disney castle design varies throughout different Disney parks across the world, but the Disney World Florida park remains one of the most iconic Disney castles.

Magic Kingdom was the first park created at Disney World and remains the most popular park to date, bringing in the most visitors.  

Magic Kingdom has something for everyone regardless of age and interest. Perfect for families, couples, friend groups, or solo visitors – there’s plenty for a full day of fun at Magic Kingdom.

Outside of the rides, there is plenty of entertainment at Magic Kingdom. Offering what I call the ‘classic Disney experience’, with incredible nighttime firework shows over the castle every evening, as well as the massive parades – which bring in many viewers across the park!

Magic Kingdom has the most overall rides, with over 50 to choose from! So, if you only have a chance to visit one Disney Park while in Florida, then Magic Kingdom will probably be the park for you!

What is the layout of Disney’s Magic Kingdom?

Main Street, USA: Where you enter and exit Magic Kingdom. Main Street is a Disney version of a 20th-century classic street from your typical American small town. When you enter Magic Kingdom and walk down Main Street, you will see the Castle on the horizon. Although there are no rides in this area, Main Street creates a magical first impression for your visit to Magic Kingdom.

Adventureland: As the name says, you’ll find a lot of ‘adventure’ themed attractions here, with rides such as Jungle Cruise, Aladdin’s Magic Carpets, and Pirates of the Caribbean!

Frontierland: You’ll find Frontierland next to Adventureland. The ‘American West’ theme land is home to some of the most popular rides in the park, Big Thunder Mountain, and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (formally Splash Mountain). There’s also a variety of table service and quick service foot spots!

Liberty Square: Liberty Square is an American-Revolution-themed area, home to the Haunted Mansion and the Liberty Square Riverboat, which departs every 30 minutes. Although there are not many attractions, you’re spoilt for choice with food as there’s a wide range of food stalls, markets, table-service restaurants, and quick-service diners to choose from.

Fantasyland: Fantasyland serves as the main area for families with young children. It contains plenty of character meet-and-greets and shows, as well as lots of family-friendly attractions. Some rides include: Dumbo Flying Elephant, Mad Tea Party Spinning Cups, Peter Pan’s Flight, and one of my favourites – It’s a Small World.

Tomorrowland: Tomorrowland serves as both the present-day modern world combined with a futuristic-themed area of Disney’s Magic Kingdom. Tomorrowland is home to rides such as the Astro Orbiter, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, Tomorrowland Speedway, and of course two of the most famous Magic Kingdom rides – Space Mountain and TRON Lightcyle / Run.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

I’ll admit, the first time I ever visited Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2007 left me feeling underwhelmed in comparison to some of the other parks that Disney World has to offer.

However, I was wrong. I’ll admit my previous mistakes as my most recent trip to Walt Disney World made me realise that my old opinions are no longer valid.  I was so impressed with how incredibly well the park has developed over the years!

Many accuse Disney’s Animal Kingdom of being a half-day theme park. This usually comes from the viewpoint that there are not enough rides at the park. While yes there are fewer rides here compared to Magic Kingdom, despite it being the largest Walt Disney World Park… there’s still plenty to see and do!

From character experiences, to the 1,500+ animals that they have, and of course, no trip to Animal Kingdom is complete without the Kilimanjaro Safari experience.  

One major plus to Disney’s Animal Kingdom is that it opens earlier than the other Walt Disney World theme parks. This makes it an ideal theme park to start your day if you’re more of a morning person and can give you a great opportunity to make use of quieter hours with shorter queue times for rides!

However, the downside is that it also closes earlier than the other Disney World theme parks. This means that there is no nighttime show at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. In the past, some nighttime shows have occurred, but none have been overly successful in comparison to the nighttime shows at other parks.

Of course, as the name suggests, Animals are at the forefront of the theme for this park – and it’s safe to say the theme has been executed really well! This hasn’t always been the case, but Animal Kingdom has only gotten better and better over the years! 

What is the layout of Disney’s Animal Kingdom?

The Oasis: The Oasis is the Animal Kingdom equivalent to Magic Kingdom’s Mainstreet USA – this is where you’ll enter and exit the park, with the aim to set the scene right from the start for the Animal Kingdom Park.

Discovery Island: The ‘hub’ of Animal Kingdom, Discovery Island connects up to the other lands by bridges.  This is where you’ll find the famous Animal Kingdom landmark, The Tree of Life – which is almost like the Animal Kingdom version of the Castle at Magic Kingdom. Discovery Island features a variety of character meet-and-greets, shows, as well as shops and restaurant diners.  

DinoLand USA: DinoLand has something for all the family, from the children’s play area, to a nature trail,  the 1.5k capacity amphitheater, and DINOSAUR – one of the major Animal Kingdom thrill rides. DinoLand USA is great for families with the TriceraTop Spin ride as well as the ‘Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond’ show!

Africa: Africa is the largest of all Animal Kingdom lands, inspired by a town called Lamu, located on an island off the east coast of Kenya. In Africa, you’ll find the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail as well as the iconic Kilimanjaro Safaris – a must-do for your visit to Animal Kingdom! You’ll also find the part-stage show/ part-parade performance here, The Festival of the Lion King! There’s plenty of food options in Africa, with table service restaurants, quick-service diners, and food stalls to choose from!

Asia: Asia features architecture inspired by India, Thailand, Indonesia, and Nepal. Two of Animal Kingdom’s major attractions feature here, Kali River Rapids, and Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain. Here you’ll also find The Maharajah Jungle Trek – an Asian animal-based walk that includes Komodo dragons, fruit bats, Bengal tigers, and more! 

Pandora: The World of Avatar: Disney brought the Avatar film franchise to life at Animal Kingdom back in 2017. Since opening, Pandora has become one of the most popular areas of the park. This is typically the area of the park where you’ll find the most crowds – but no trip to Animal Kingdom can be done without a visit to Pandora. Home to the Avatar Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey! The main reason Pandora is so popular is due to the incredible landscaping and theming of this land – you can’t miss the Valley of Mo-ara while you’re there!    

Rafiki’s Planet Watch:  Rafiki’s Planet Watch is a small area in Animal Kingdom, it’s home to a variety of animal experiences, such as petting zoos and environmental exhibits.

Epcot

EPCOT, a concept devised by Walt Disney himself, was initially intended to be an ever-developing community of tomorrow.

Over the recent years, it has been on what seems like constant construction, continuously changing for better or worse.

While the theming of Epcot hasn’t always been clear, over time, EPCOT has evolved into a festival theme park, with festivals running for over 50% of the year.

Each festival has a theme:

• Festival of the Arts
• Flower and Garden Festival
• Food and Wine Festival
• Festival of the Holidays

During these festivals, the park will be transformed with decorations, activities, entertainment, and food/ drinks to match each festival theme.

You don’t have to pay extra for tickets to enter the festivals, the events occur across the park during regular park hours. I personally wouldn’t plan a trip specifically for the festivals, but given the fact they’re on more often than they’re not – there’s a good chance you’ll end up being present for one anyways.

If you love food and drink and want a more ‘adult feel’ to the typical Disney Park, then EPCOT makes an excellent choice for you!

To be honest, Epcot can be a bit like Marmite, you love it, or you hate it – and I’ve spoken to people on both sides of the argument!

Personally, I really enjoy Epcot and would never skip it when I’m visiting Disney World, however, it has become my least favourite park over the years.

If you’re in Disney for an extended period, it’s worth a day trip, or at least a half-day trip here so you can say you’ve seen it – but you might want to focus on spending more days at the other parks.

What is the layout of EPCOT?

EPCOT is divided into four distinct neighbourhoods. They are:

World Celebration: This neighbourhood is near the main entrance, at World Celebration you will find EPCOT’s signature landmark, Spaceship Earth! While it’s great to snap a picture outside of it, don’t forget to ride it too! World Celebration is also home to the Journey Into Imagination with Figment ride, as well as ‘Club Cool’ – not a ride, but a really interesting Disney experience where they have free unlimited samples of soft drinks from around the world, try the Italian ‘Beverly’ drink, or perhaps a ‘VIVA’ from Moldova.

World Discovery: World Discovery is EPCOT’s neighbourhood of science and technology. This neighbourhood is home to the Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind, The Test Track, and the Mission Space rides. There are also plenty of food and drink choices here, from quick-service diners, bars, and lounges, as well as plenty of food stands!

World Nature: As the name suggests, World Nature is EPCOT’s neighbourhood that revolves around the natural world. This is where you’ll find a variety of Finding Nemo and Finding Dory rides and shows, as well as Moana’s Journey of Water. In terms of the theming of attractions, this is probably one of my favourite areas of EPCOT!  

World Showcase: World Showcase is one of EPCOT’s main events, this neighbourhood is split into different sections, which all represent a different country and culture.

The countries include: Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, The American Adventure, Japan, Morocco, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

In the World Showcase, there are plenty of pavilions and gardens to explore, however, one popular activity here tends to be ‘drinking your way around the world’ – so if you’re a family with young children, be aware that this is potentially a boozier, more adult area of EPCOT. With that in mind, I’ve been visiting EPCOT, including World Showcase since I was 7 years old – and have always had a lot of fun!  

If you’re looking for table-service restaurants, this is the place to go – but be prepared to have to wait for a table!

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Formally known as MGM Studios back in the day, this theme park opened in 1989 in a race between Disney and Universal to open a “movie studio” based park in Central Florida first.

As much as I really enjoy visiting Hollywood Studios, you can tell it most definitely was a ‘race’ between Disney and Universal, as the different ‘lands’ and attractions within them often feel a bit all over the place.

Hollywood Studios aims to celebrate all aspects of movies and entertainment and also has some of the best rides for thrill seekers, such as Tower of Terror and the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster!

Adding to the thrills, there’s a variety of shows aired across the park, including the famous Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular!

While Hollywood Studios tries to appeal to thrill seekers, there are still plenty of great attractions for families with young children, particularly since the addition of Toy Story Land in 2018.

With plenty of character experiences and interactions happening at Hollywood Studios, the sporadic appearances from the Storm Troopers have to be one of the best! Speaking of Storm Troopers, if you’re a Star Wars fan then Hollywood Studio’s is the park for you!

What is the layout of Hollywood Studios?

Hollywood Boulevard: Hollywood Boulevard is inspired by the traditional Los Angeles background used as settings in films. Here you’ll find a lot of film and movie-based attractions, such as Disney Movie Magic (the history of Disney movies), Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway cartoon showings, and the Wonderful World of Animation. 

Sunset Boulevard:One of the best areas for thrill-seekers, with the famous Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror proving to be some of the most popular attractions at Hollywood Studios. It’s not just thrill rides here, Sunset Boulevard is also home to Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy theatre show, the Fantasmic mixed-media show, and the Beauty and the Beast Live Stage show!

Commissary Lane: Commissary Lane isn’t really a major land as such, but more of a walk-through on the way to get elsewhere. The main thing happening here is the Mickey and Minnie meet-and-greet, which tends to be quite popular – particularly for families with young children!There are also some quick-service and table-service dining options here!

Echo Lake: Echo Lake is home to the miniature lake located near the middle of Hollywood Studios Park. This land features a variety of shows, including the ever-so-popular Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! The ‘Vacation Fun – An Original Animated Short with Mickey & Minnie’ Theatre show, as well as the Frozen Singalong, and Olaf meet-and-greet means that this area is great to keep children entertained! However, Echo Lake is great for all ages as this is where you’ll find Disney’s very first modern simulator ride, Star Tours: The Adventure Continues.

Grand Avenue: What was formally a Muppets Themed land known as Muppets Courtyard, before (for better, or for worse… in my opinion for worse), changing to Grand Avenue. Grand Avenue is inspired by the present-day downtown Los Angeles. Thankfully as a huge Muppets fan, Disney has kept the Muppet Vision 3D experience in, a sensory theatre experience that has always proven to be popular! Other than this, there isn’t a lot going on in terms of attractions, however there are plenty of dining options!

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge is a full land dedicated to the Star Wars Franchise. With some great rides such as Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, or Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Build your own miniature version of R2-D2 or BB-8 at the Droid Dept, or create your own lightsaber at Savi’s Workshop (note: this is extremely popular and you’ll want to book this at least two months in advance!)

Pixar Plaza: At the front of Toy Story Land, you’ll find Pixar Plaza – home to Pixar character meet-and-greets as well as a variety of Pixar-themed eateries. Pixar Plaza just tends to be a build-up to Tory Story Land (why they didn’t at least include Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy here, I don’t know!)  

Toy Story Land: As a huge Toy Story fan, the addition of Toy Story Land was very much welcomed! The idea around this land is that you’ve shrunk down to the size of a toy and placed in Andy’s Garden, where you get to meet and play with the other toys. Although Toy Story Land’s attractions are designed to appeal to younger children, they’re perfect for all ages – if it’s thrill rides you’re after, then this might not be the land for you, but the theming of this land is worth a visit nonetheless! Toy Story Land is home to the Alien Swirling Saucers, Slinky Dog Dash Coaster, and Toy Story Mania, as well as a variety of Toy Story-themed table service, food stands and quick-service diners! Make sure you don’t miss the Green Army Drum Corps running about!

Animation Courtyard: Animation Courtyard is home to two large theatres which are used for live shows. There’s also plenty of character-greeting locations in this land. Animation Courtyard is home to a variety of Star Wars-themed attractions – perfect for Star Wars super fans!

Overall

Each Disney Park is better for different things, depending on what you and your group are interested in. In my opinion, each park is best for the following things:

• Magic Kingdom– the best overall park, the overall best entertainment (fireworks, parades, character experiences), gives the most traditional and nostalgic Disney experience, and has something for everyone in your group.
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom – the best park for animal lovers, the park with the best overall theming – and the best park for unique experiences (safari, character meet-and-greet and dining experiences, etc.)
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios– the best park for thrill seekers, Star Wars fans, people who enjoy watching live stunt shows, and Toy Story fans!
• EPCOT – the best theme park for adults, and the best cultural experience.

This list also happens to be in order from my overall favourite park to least, with Magic Kingdom coming in at the number one spot, and Epcot is my least favourite (despite this, I still love it there!).

If your trip to Disney is long enough to do a day at each park, then I would say it’s worth doing, but if your trip is only a couple of days long, then I’d look to prioritise a full day at Magic Kingdom  and perhaps half days from a choice of Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios or EPCOT (although I think they’re worth full-day trips if you can fit it in!)