Which is the Best Disney World Park? 2024 Parks Ranked

Vacation time at Walt Disney World Resort often causes guests not to want to waste a minute. So, which is the best Disney World theme park for your group to visit with your valuable vacation time?

Since “time is money,” as the saying goes, Walt Disney World Resort becomes an excellent place to test out that idea. If your time is limited at Walt Disney World, which theme park is best for you to visit?

To aid in that query, this resource covers some ways to determine the best Disney World theme park for your group, help with deciding about the Walt Disney World waterparks, and provide some guidance about the two main shopping and entertainment areas of Walt Disney World.

Another way of thinking about this concept would be to ask: If you only had a two-day ticket to Walt Disney World without the ability to park hop, which parks would you visit? You may be down for a convention with only one or two days to see the four Walt Disney World theme parks. What do you choose? Though it is not far, what is the best Disney theme park at Walt Disney World?

The Four Walt Disney World Theme Parks

Walt Disney World contains four very different theme parks. Those theme parks are:

• Magic Kingdom
• EPCOT
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Each of these theme parks possesses strengths and weaknesses. Determining the best Disney theme park varies from group to group. Still, some common factors influence the decisions.

Of course, each Walt Disney World theme park has attractions, shows, restaurants, and extras that make it worth the visit. Also, many Disney fans have strong feelings about which of these four Disney theme parks ranks as the best.

Magic Kingdom wins the best Disney World Park contest based on attendance patterns. In fact, Magic Kingdom hosts the most visitors of any theme park. For many people, Magic Kingdom brings everything they want from a Disney World Park in terms of nostalgia. However, the decision for your group should involve more variables than just attendance and nostalgia.

This resource strives to break down the positives of each Disney World theme park. Also, no Disney World theme park rates as perfect. Thus, the negatives will be covered as well. So, let us begin…

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Best Disney World Park? Magic Kingdom?

Magic Kingdom started the Disney theme park empire in central Florida. When most people think of Walt Disney World, they think of the Magic Kingdom due to the iconic castle and best Magic Kingdom rides. This Disney World opened over 50 years ago. With that comes plenty of nostalgia.

In addition, Magic Kingdom provides guests with incredible nighttime fireworks spectaculars every evening. This theme park also features parades and cavalcades that draw large crowds waiting and watching as they go by.

Magic Kingdom contains the most attractions of any Walt Disney World theme park. Magic Kingdom may be a must-choice for the best Walt Disney World theme park for families with young children. For example, the Fantasyland area contains many attractions for guests of all ages and heights.

Layout of Magic Kingdom

The layout of Magic Kingdom fits a traditional theme park hub and spoke design. At Magic Kingdom, guests enter through the main entrance from the transportation areas. After entering, they walk down Main Street U.S.A., passing shops and dining options.  Once through that area, guests reach the main hub and see the castle. At this point, guests will have options of pathways to choose from. Those choices take guests to:

• Adventureland- where attractions like Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean can be found.
• Frontierland- where guests can Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Liberty Square- the home of the Haunted Mansion
• Fantasyland- This serves as the main area for families with young children. It contains plenty of character interaction possibilities and attraction for the whole family
• Tomorrowland- This area contains the two main thrilling roller coasters, Tron Lightcycle/ Run and Space Mountain.

One of the world's most highly respected theme park attractions resides at the Magic Kingdom. The Haunted Mansion continues to amaze guests after so many decades.

Roller coaster fans will enjoy Magic Kingdom. The coasters range from the Tron Lightcycle / Run launch coaster to a kiddie coaster. Sure, major coaster thrill junkies might be looking for a higher thrill coaster. Yet, the Walt Disney World-themed coasters fulfill the need for speed at Magic Kingdom.

Magic Kingdom offers a great theme park experience for all demographics. This serves as one of the best reasons that Magic Kingdom consistently draws large crowds of all ages.

Magic Kingdom Transportation

Nevertheless, the negatives of Magic Kingdom revolve around the crowd levels and the challenge of even getting to Magic Kingdom and back to your hotel. This weakness of Magic Kingdom does not slow down people’s love of Magic Kingdom.

Regarding crowd level, a slow day at Magic Kingdom can seem very busy to most people. Still, Magic Kingdom offers plenty of areas to spread out. You are planning a visit to Walt Disney World, so you probably expect crowds.

However, many first-time guests find themselves surprised by the parking and transportation methods needed to reach Magic Kingdom. On-site guests will use Walt Disney World transportation directly to Magic Kingdom. Nonetheless, guests staying elsewhere will take a more indirect route to Magic Kingdom. Guest driving their vehicle or being dropped off via shuttle bus or ride share will arrive at the Transportation and Ticket Center. This transportation hub at Walt Disney World provides ferry boats and the Disney Monorail to navigate guests from the Transportation and Ticket Center to the Magic Kingdom. This process can stress some guests out before and after a day at Magic Kingdom.

Despite that, Magic Kingdom rules as the most popular theme park around. If you only have one day at Walt Disney World, most people will select the Magic Kingdom.

Best Disney World Park? EPCOT?

The EPCOT theme park serves as the punchline for many jokes about the never-ending construction walls. This Walt Disney theme park has experienced some significant changes over the years. EPCOT, a concept devised by Walt Disney himself, was initially intended to be an ever-developing community of tomorrow. In fact, EPCOT originally stood for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.

This theme park creates an experience not found anywhere else. Many experienced Walt Disney World visitors claim this theme park is their favorite.

The current version of Epcot looks different than the original theme park in many ways. Several original attractions, like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, have replaced modern ones. In fact, the video of Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) in that attraction’s queue makes fun of how many Epcot attractions have changed from the old days.

The latest EPCOT attraction, Moana's Journey of Water, opened for all guests on October 16. This walkthrough experience is a trail through interactive water elements, rock sculptures, and greenery. As you might expect, the musical score of Moana plays within this attraction. The experience immerses guests in an environment focusing on the global cycle of water, which will be brought to life. Guests can interact and play with water as it travels from our skies to our oceans and back again. This experience is designed for all ages.

In the present day, EPCOT is divided into four distinct neighborhoods. They are World Celebration, World Nature, World Discovery, and the World Showcase. The first three worlds used to be known as Future World.

EPCOT World Showcase

The World Showcase consists of 11 pavilions based on different countries. Each of these “countries” features merchandise locations, dining experiences, and often cultural representatives from the specific country. This enhances the theme park experience. The countries featured in the World Showcase area are:

• Mexico
• Norway
• China
• Germany
• Italy
• The American Adventure
• Japan
• Morocco
• France
• United Kingdom
• Canada

A journey around the World Showcase area of EPCOT allows guests to enjoy so many aspects of different cultures. For a complete guide to World Showcase, please consult this resource.

EPCOT Festivals

However, for good or bad, EPCOT evolved into a festival theme park. If you love food and drink, EPCOT makes an excellent theme park for you. Most of the year involves a food festival happening at EPCOT. The current four festivals are:

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

These festivals make an excellent opportunity for adults to drink their way around the “worlds” of EPCOT. This gives EPCOT a reputation as being a theme park for adults. Common criticisms of EPCOT involve the theme park being tailored for adults with fewer kid options. Though this holds some truth, EPCOT offers plenty to do for kids but not to the level of Magic Kingdom.

EPCOT ends the evening with a nighttime spectacular on the lagoon in the World Showcase. The current nighttime lagoon show, EPCOT Forever, happens nightly. This will be replaced with a more permanent nighttime show in the near future.

EPCOT offers far fewer rides than Magic Kingdom. In addition, the rides at EPCOT offer far fewer thrills. Except for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Test Track, and Mission: Space, EPCOT contains little that passed as a thrill ride.

However, a day at EPCOT focuses on the overall experience. The unique nature of EPCOT shows how deciding the best Disney World theme park presents becomes a debatable issue.

Best Disney World Park? Hollywood Studios?

Disney's Hollywood Studios is the third oldest theme park at Walt Disney World. This theme park had faced construction woes and even a significant name change from MGM Studios.

This theme park opened in 1989 in a race between Disney and Universal to open a “movie studio” based park in Central Florida first. For the record, Universal Studios Florida opened in 1990.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios has gone from being a theme park with a working movie and television studio to a place to celebrate films and television. This theme features Toy Story Land, the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge area, and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Attraction.

This theme park transitioned from being a place to celebrate all aspects of movies and entertainment to a theme park with significant intellectual properties, creating the basis of some of the most popular rides at any theme park. With the groundbreaking Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance attraction, Disney’s Hollywood Studios drew far larger crowds than before. This park became known for its popular attractions.

Higher Percentage of Thrilling Theme Park Attractions at Disney's Hollywood Studios

Disney's Hollywood Studios offers some of the best options if you are looking for well-done theme park attractions. The percentage of thrill rides is higher at Disney's Hollywood Studios than at the other three Walt Disney World theme parks. Since many of these well-done thrilling attractions have become extremely popular, the queues at Disney’s Hollywood Studios have become long no matter what time of year you visit. Disney’s Hollywood Studios feels like the busiest Walt Disney World theme park.

As a result, it requires more planning to enjoy many of the attractions. However, with the Rock ‘n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith and Star Tours – The Adventures Continue, in addition to the other rides previously mentioned, Disney’s Hollywood Studios provides the most theme park thrills at Walt Disney World.

That does not mean only thrill seekers should visit Disney's Hollywood Studios. This theme park offers some excellent shows like the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. Hollywood and Vine serves character meals with a focus on the entire family. 

Fantasmic!

Also, Disney’s Hollywood Studios offers a fantastic nighttime show. This show, “Fantasmic!”, happens in a large outdoor stadium at this theme park. This show features water effects, light displays, special effects, and, most of all, Mickey Mouse. The forces of good and evil engage in a classic battle inside Mickey Mouse’s dreams with many appearances from classic Disney villains. This show makes for a good experience. However, this will consume significant time waiting to enter the stadium towards the end of your theme park day.

However, in its current state, Disney’s Hollywood Studios makes an excellent choice for families with teens and young adults. Most of the attractions are ideal for teens and adults. From chatting with our theme park friends with younger children, they view Disney’s Hollywood Studios as a half-day park at best. They enjoy some of the Disney Jr. touches but fail to find enough to engage their children at Disney’s Hollywood Studios for the entire day

When you add in potential wait times reaching close to two hours during busy days for the top attractions, Disney’s Hollywood Studios displays some weaknesses. If you are looking for the most thrills at Walt Disney World, then Disney’s Hollywood Studios makes a great choice. However, if you want to avoid long lines or have younger members in your group, then Disney’s Hollywood Studios will not be the best Disney World theme park for your group.

Best Disney World Park? Disney’s Animal Kingdom?

Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened in 1998. This theme park recently celebrated its 25-year anniversary. This theme park functions as a zoo and theme park all at the same time.

The signature attractions at Disney’s Animal Kingdom include the magnificent Avatar Flight of Passage, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and the roller coaster Expedition Everest. Disney’s Animal Kingdom also contains some excellent shows like the “Festival of the Lion King” and “Finding Nemo: The Big Blue…and Beyond.“

In addition to the attractions, many Disney-level animal exhibits around this theme park create a wide variety of options for entertainment. Disney’s Animal Kingdom offers something for everyone.

However, Disney’s Animal Kingdom often gets accused of being a half-day theme park. This usually comes from people wanting more rides at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. This park offers plenty of musical entertainment and smaller shows for guests to enjoy as they traverse Disney's Animal Kingdom.

However, Disney’s Animal Kingdom makes a more relaxing theme park day at Walt Disney World. Many of the dining options at Disney’s Animal Kingdom increase the chance that you will have a slower-paced day at a Disney theme park. The quality dining encourages guests to slow down and enjoy the experience at this Walt Disney World theme park.

If you only have only a day or two at Walt Disney World, Disney’s Animal Kingdom might not be the best example of a Disney theme park experience. We love Disney’s Animal Kingdom. However, it does not fit many people’s idea of a theme park.

If you are deciding between visiting Animal Kingdom and EPCOT, see our full comparison of Animal Kingdom vs. EPCOT for everything you need to know. 

No Nighttime Show

In contrast to the other three Walt Disney World theme parks, Disney’s Animal Kingdom does not have a nighttime show. In the past, some nighttime shows have been conducted at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.  Yet, none have been overly successful.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom opens earlier than the other Walt Disney World theme parks. This makes it an ideal theme park to start your day if you are an early riser. However, it also closes earlier than the other Disney World theme parks.

If you only have a few days at Walt Disney World, Disney’s Animal Kingdom could be an excellent place to start your day if you plan to park-hop to another of the three Disney World theme parks. Of course, you will need an annual pass or a park hopper ticket to do this. Park Hopper tickets cost more than the standard day tickets, so bear that in mind as you plan.

In fairness, I love Disney’s Animal Kingdom. I could spend days just walking around this theme park. However, I doubt most people will find the same enjoyment with a limited time to visit. For those with a short time to visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom, this theme park does not make the proper choice for the best Disney World theme park in those circumstances.

Animal Kingdom Dining

Some argue that Disney’s Animal Kingdom offers the best dining at a Walt Disney World theme park. Sure, The Nomad Lounge qualifies as one of the best-themed lounges on the property.  However, picky eaters will struggle at several of Disney’s Animal Kingdom restaurants.

Also, if you do not regularly visit Walt Disney World or it is your first visit, Disney’s Animal Kingdom does not win the battle of the best Disney World theme park. Despite that, the overall theme looks and feels magnificent at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. With the ability to take a short safari ride, guests enjoy experiences not found elsewhere.

Also, Disney’s Animal Kingdom covers about 500 acres of land. This makes it the largest Walt Disney World theme park. With over 1,500 animals, Disney’s Animal Kingdom should inspire us to be better stewards regarding wildlife and conservation.

What is the Best Disney World Theme Park?

Once again, this depends on your group. For example, for the writer of this article, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom provide the best Disney World theme park experience. Nevertheless, most groups will view Magic Kingdom as the best Disney World theme park.

In summary, the evaluation of the best Disney World theme park could look like this:

What About the Best Disney World Water Park?

Walt Disney World contains Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. Both water parks are built on a theme.

Blizzard Beach presents the idea of a freak snowstorm in the Orlando area. As ridiculous as that sounds, Disney World designed a water park based on the idea of converting a ski resort into a water park.

Typhoon Lagoon presents a more traditional water park idea. The Disney Imagineers revolved the theme here around the idea of a tropical resort town. However, the town was decimated by the typhoon leaving the water park today.

In recent years, only one of the two water parks at Walt Disney World has operated at a time. Water parks are commonly shut down for seasonal maintenance. Thus, having only one water park operating at Walt Disney World at a time should not be a surprise for certain times of the year, like the winter months.

However, Walt Disney World has not been operating more than one of the water parks at a time since reopening in 2020. We expect that at least by early spring 2024, both parks might be operational simultaneously. Either way, we expect Blizzard Beach to reopen during the holiday season, similarly to last year. Some speculation indicates that Walt Disney World might only operate each water park for six months yearly, allowing for more maintenance.

Based on the expectations of both Disney World water parks being open at the same time, soon, you may want to decide between the two water parks.

Disney World Water Park Similarities

These two Disney World water parks share many characteristics. They share these traits:

• Same price
• Similar in size, with Blizzard Beach being slightly larger
• The same number of attractions
• Each has a lazy river and large pools
• Theme park reservations are not required to visit the water parks.

Also, these water parks share being part of a Walt Disney World miracle for vacationers. Guests can park for free at both water parks. This may not sound like a big deal. However, guests pay for parking at other competing area water parks.

Disney World Water Park Differences

Besides the theming, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon offer some significant differences. Their wave pools operate differently. The Blizzard Beach one functions as a traditional wave pool. However, the Typhoon Lagoon pool varies from a constant bobbing style wave to a variable wave with a more intense wave about every 90 seconds. Also, the Typhoon Lagoon pool does not allow inner tubes and similar flotation devices. However, Blizzard Beach allows them.

Of course, the difference in theming between the two theme parks is noticeable. The winter theme makes a nice gimmick. This concept tends to appeal to families with young children more than the appeal of Typhoon Lagoon.

The addition of some “Frozen” theming involving characters from that movie adds to the appeal for children. Disney’s Blizzard Beach received a refurbishment in 2022. Some props based on “Frozen” were added to Blizzard Beach. For families with young children or big kids that love the “Frozen” movies, this difference could cause you to visit Blizzard Beach if given a choice.

Ski Patrol Training Camp at Blizzard Beach

Blizzard Beach offers a unique water park area. Ski Patrol Training Camp creates a play area for tweens. Both Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon provide quality kid play areas. Still, this area elevates the experience for tweens especially. Ski Patrol Training Camp contains two sets of slides, a small zip line, space for swimming, and a ropes course element where kids cross the water on moving “ice” pieces. This area makes Blizzard Beach more attractive to the younger demographics.

If your group contains some younger kids not quite ready for the big, thrilling water slides, Ski Patrol Training Camp serves an intermediate level of thrill for them. This one feature elevates Blizzard Beach for groups with that age group.

If Blizzard Beach Is Better for Kids and Tweens, Then Is Typhoon Lagoon Better for Adults?

To clarify, Typhoon Lagoon still makes a good water park for kids and tweens. We feel Blizzard Beach makes a slightly better choice. Still, logic dictates that Typhoon Lagoon offers a better experience for adults. That statement would be mostly true.

We say it is mostly true since the most thrilling attraction at either water park resides at Blizzard Beach. Summit Plummit provides the most thrills at a Walt Disney World water park. If the adults in your group want a thrilling water attraction, then declaring Typhoon Lagoon the best Disney World water park for adults would be presumptuous.

Despite that, Typhoon Lagoon offers several advantages for adults over Blizzard Beach. We think the theming overall works better for adults. We find Typhoon Lagoon more enjoyable to stroll around.

The main bar area, Hammerhead Fred’s, beats anything at Blizzard Beach. In fairness, this bar pales compared to options at Walt Disney World theme parks and hotels. Still, at the water parks, adults will prefer this option.

Most adults prefer the wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon. This preference revolves around most of the day the pool creates more robust waves regularly. This traditional wave pool effect adds to the adult fun. Younger kids might feel overwhelmed by the waves at Typhoon Lagoon.

Disney Springs Factor

Typhoon Lagoon is a short bus ride from Disney Springs. However, some may not see this as a positive. Disney bus transportation uses Disney Springs as a hub for Typhoon Lagoon. Our adult friends who frequent the Disney World water parks stated that the proximity to Disney Springs made Typhoon Lagoon more adult-friendly.

So, they stated that you can enjoy Typhoon Lagoon and then easily visit Disney Springs. Blizzard Beach’s location makes it a more challenging time to visit Disney Springs. Since Disney Springs serves as the signature dining, shopping, entertainment, and drinking spot at Walt Disney World, this makes sense for some adult groups. However, I voiced concern about wet clothes. Our friends express being able to change easily at Typhoon Lagoon. With Disney Springs also offering free parking, taking a car makes sense for this short drive.

Finally, on the adult side argument for Typhoon Lagoon, we should mention the H2O Glow Nights. On select evenings, a separate ticketed after-hours event happens at Typhoon Lagoon. This addition arguing for Typhoon Lagoon as a more adult water park might be unfair since it is a separately-ticketed event. However, families with younger children will not do as well staying up late at a water park.

Best Disney World Water Park?

Though you cannot go wrong with either Disney water park, Blizzard Beach is slightly better for groups with younger kids. Typhoon Lagoon looks to make a solid choice for adults. Of course, if both are open when you plan to visit Walt Disney World, you could visit both, right?

Best Disney World Park: Shopping, Entertainment, and Dining Areas

We will conclude the discussion of the best Disney World parks by looking at the shopping and dining areas. Walt Disney World offers two main shopping, dining, and entertainment complexes, Disney Springs and the Disney BoardWalk.

Disney Springs is an extensive shopping, dining, and entertainment complex. This complex is divided into four areas:

• The Marketplace
• The Landing
• Town Center
• West Side

Each of these areas offers shopping and dining options of varied levels. Disney Springs has large parking garages and surface-level parking. All this parking is free to anyone looking to visit Disney Springs.

Disney’s BoardWalk area builds on the theme of a boardwalk in a coastal town in the 1940s. This creates some nostalgia for some guests,

Disney’s BoardWalk is conveniently located between Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Guests can leave those two theme parks to visit Disney’s Boardwalk by walking or using the Disney free boat transportation. 

Disney’s BoardWalk hosts several charming shops, eateries, and nightlife venues. Dining options include quick service style casual boardwalk-style food stands to upscale dining at spots like the Flying Fish. The evening entertainment options range from Jellyrolls, a lively dueling piano bar, to AbracadaBar, a unique lounge filled with magic and fun.

Hotel accommodations are also available on the BoardWalk itself, with resorts designed to fit the seaside theme. These include Disney’s BoardWalk Inn and Disney’s BoardWalk Villas. Also, guests can stay across the water at Disney Beach Club and Disney’s Yacht Club.

Disney Springs or Disney’s BoardWalk?

This decision comes down to location. For most guests, Disney Springs is a better option. Disney Springs offers free parking and plenty of it. In contrast, Disney’s BoardWalk does not offer any free parking.

In fact, parking near Disney’s BoardWalk can be difficult. Unless you have an advanced dining reservation or are staying at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn or Villas, you officially cannot park in the BoardWalk area.  You can use Disney transportation to this area, though.

If you are looking for shopping options, Disney Springs wins easily. Disney Springs contains almost 100 merchandise locations. Disney’s BoardWalk contains under ten.

For dining options, Disney Springs wins again with over 20 table service dining options and over 60 dining options total. Disney’s BoardWalk offers a few excellent choices. However, the dining options list fails to reach ten in total.

The Disney Spring complex covered almost five times as much land as Disney’s BoardWalk. For example, some guests will make a day of entertainment out of the Disney Springs options. Disney’s Boardwalk does not offer enough for a day’s entertainment.

The decision of Disney Springs vs. Disney’s BoardWalk comes down to location. If you are staying at a hotel near Disney’s Boardwalk or visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios, then the BoardWalk makes a reasonable choice. However, Disney Springs makes the best Disney World option for all others.

FAQ About Best Disney World Park