Disney Parks Ranked From Our Family Experience

Disney Parks Ranked From Our Family Experience

We have a bit of a Disney problem.

Once you’ve visited one Disney park, it becomes very hard not to wonder what the others are like.

Is Tokyo really better than Paris? Does Shanghai live up to the hype? Is Walt Disney World impossible to beat simply because of its size? And what about the original Disneyland in California?

Over the years, our family has had the chance to experience Disney in quite a few different places. We’ve visited six Disney destinations and twelve Disney theme parks, collecting far too many Disney snacks, rides, characters and memories along the way.

Last week, we took you with us on that journey in our story about visiting every Disney park in the world.

But experiencing them all also created a slightly unexpected problem.

We started comparing them.

Because there is a big difference between a Disney park being impressive and a Disney park becoming one of your family’s favourites.

Some parks surprised us. Some were exactly what we expected. And one park that is very close to home ended up much lower in our ranking than you might think.

So this week, we’re putting them in order.

Not based on the number of attractions, the size of the resort or which park has the newest ride. This is simply our family’s personal Disney ranking.

And, as always with travel, your favourite might be completely different.

1. Tokyo Disney Resort

If we had to choose just one Disney destination to visit again tomorrow, it would be Tokyo Disney Resort.

There is something about Disney in Japan that really stayed with us.

We actually wrote about our experience in Tokyo Disneyland & DisneySea with the kids, because the two parks gave us such completely different experiences. Tokyo Disneyland has that familiar classic Disney feeling, while DisneySea feels like something you simply cannot experience anywhere else.

And that is a big part of why Tokyo takes our number one spot.

The attention to detail is incredible, but it is more than that. The atmosphere, the organisation, the food and the way Disney is experienced in Japan all make it feel slightly different from the other parks we’ve visited.

And then there is DisneySea.

It doesn’t feel like simply another Disney park. The atmosphere and theming are so distinctive that it became one of the highlights of our Disney adventures.

We also loved that Disney fitted naturally into our bigger Japan trip. It wasn’t the entire holiday. It was two days within a much bigger family adventure, which is exactly how we’d recommend doing it. Our Japan with Kids guides explain how we fitted Tokyo Disney Resort into our three-week itinerary.

Looking back at our Disney experiences, Tokyo is the park that keeps coming up when we talk about where we would happily go back.

It isn’t necessarily the biggest or the newest.

It just felt special.

And that’s why Tokyo takes the number one spot in our family ranking.

2. Hong Kong Disneyland

Hong Kong Disneyland surprised us.

And perhaps that’s exactly why it ended up so high on our list.

Before visiting, we weren’t expecting Hong Kong to become one of our favourite Disney destinations. But once we were there, the combination of Disney magic, the setting and the manageable size worked incredibly well for us as a family.

It felt like a Disney adventure without becoming overwhelming.

And then there is World of Frozen, which gives Hong Kong something that the other parks simply don’t have.

That’s one of the things we love about comparing Disney parks around the world. You quickly realise that they aren’t just copies of each other. Each destination has something that makes it different.

Hong Kong also works so well as part of a bigger trip. You can spend time exploring Hong Kong, eating your way through the city and discovering the skyline before having your Disney day.

And that’s exactly what makes this park so appealing to us.

Looking back at all six Disney destinations, Hong Kong is one of the places where we genuinely thought:

We would happily do this again.

So yes, perhaps even we were a little surprised when we put everything in order.

Hong Kong Disneyland is number two.

3. Disneyland Resort California

There is something very special about visiting the original Disneyland.

Knowing that this is where the whole Disney theme park story began gives the experience a different feeling.

California was also one of those Disney destinations where we felt that Disney could be part of a much bigger family holiday.

You can visit Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, but you can also continue exploring California afterwards. It doesn’t have to become a week-long Disney marathon.

That’s something we really appreciated.

What we particularly liked about Disneyland Resort California was that it didn’t feel as overwhelming as Walt Disney World.

You can experience a lot without needing to plan your entire holiday around Disney. And because Disneyland and Disney California Adventure are so close together, moving between the parks is relatively straightforward.

For our family, that made California a really enjoyable Disney experience.

We loved the history, the atmosphere and the feeling of being somewhere that has inspired so many other Disney parks around the world.

It wasn’t quite enough to take the top two spots, but it comfortably takes number three in our family ranking.

4. Shanghai Disneyland

Shanghai Disneyland was one of the parks we were most curious about before visiting.

And it certainly didn’t disappoint.

There are attractions here that make the park feel genuinely different from the other Disney destinations we’ve experienced.

Zootopia is a great example. It isn’t simply a copy of something we’ve already seen elsewhere, and the theming makes it one of the memorable parts of the park for us.

And then there is Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure.

That attraction alone makes Shanghai worth talking about.

At the same time, our experience wasn’t quite as effortless as Tokyo or Hong Kong.

There are also differences in language and the overall experience that meant Shanghai didn’t quite give us the same feeling as our top three.

But it is still an impressive Disney park and one we are very glad we experienced.

And that’s exactly why we think Shanghai deserves its place in this ranking.

For us, Shanghai lands at number four.

5. Disneyland Paris

This one might be the most difficult ranking to explain.

Because Disneyland Paris is the Disney park we know best.

It’s close to home. We’ve visited multiple times. We’ve made memories there with the girls and, of course, there is still something magical about arriving and seeing the castle at the end of Main Street.

We’ve even gone back for the food. If you’re planning your own trip, our best snacks at Disneyland Paris guide gives you a pretty good idea of how seriously we take the Disney food situation.

So why is it only number five?

Because this is what happens when you compare six Disney destinations around the world.

Familiar doesn’t necessarily mean favourite.

Disneyland Paris has plenty going for it. The European setting, the accessibility from the Netherlands and the fact that it is relatively easy for us to visit all make it a great option for a Disney trip.

But when we put our experiences side by side, Paris simply didn’t give us the same feeling as Tokyo, Hong Kong or California.

And that doesn’t mean we don’t like Disneyland Paris.

Quite the opposite.

It just shows how different a personal ranking can become once you’ve experienced Disney in several countries.

So, somewhat reluctantly, Disneyland Paris takes number five.

6. Walt Disney World, Florida

And then we arrive at number six.

Walt Disney World.

Now, before anyone thinks we didn’t enjoy it: we absolutely did.

Our Disney World Orlando family guide goes into much more detail about our experience, because there is a lot to love about Walt Disney World.

It is enormous.

Four theme parks, water parks, Disney Springs, countless restaurants, hotels and enough attractions to keep you busy for days.

We’ve since gone back through individual experiences too, from Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and EPCOT. And that’s actually a good illustration of the problem with ranking Walt Disney World.

It’s not really one Disney park.

It’s an entire Disney destination.

And that is also part of why it ended up at the bottom of our personal ranking.

For us, the sheer size and amount of choice made the experience more demanding. There is more planning involved, more travelling between places and simply more ground to cover.

We enjoyed our time there, but compared with the more manageable experiences we had in Hong Kong or California, it didn’t have quite the same relaxed family feeling.

Perhaps this is also why Disney rankings are so personal.

Someone else could quite reasonably put Walt Disney World at number one.

For us, however, it comes in at number six.

So… Which Disney Park Is Actually the Best?

After visiting all six Disney destinations, we don’t think there is one universal answer.

And perhaps that’s the biggest thing we learned.

The best Disney park depends on what you are looking for.

Want the ultimate Disney immersion? Walt Disney World might be your dream.

Want history? Disneyland California.

Want something completely different? Tokyo DisneySea.

Want Disney combined with a city trip? Hong Kong is fantastic.

Want an impressive, modern Disney park? Shanghai deserves a place on your list.

And if you live in Europe and want an easy Disney escape, Disneyland Paris is hard to beat.

For us, though, if we could only choose one?

We would go back to Tokyo.

And if we could choose two?

Well… we’re pretty happy that Hong Kong is number two.

Our Disney Parks Ranking at a Glance

After all those rides, snacks, characters and Disney days, this is where our family ranking lands:

1. Tokyo Disney Resort
   2. Hong Kong Disneyland
   3. Disneyland Resort California
   4. Shanghai Disneyland
   5. Disneyland Paris
   6. Walt Disney World, Florida

And yes, we know these rankings are going to be controversial.

That’s part of the fun.

Because once you’ve visited more than one Disney park, everyone seems to have an opinion about which one is best.

Which Disney Park Should Your Family Choose?

If you’re currently trying to decide which Disney destination is right for your family, our biggest piece of advice is simple:

Don’t only look at which park has the most attractions.

Think about the whole experience.

How much time do you have? How old are your children? Do you want Disney to be the entire holiday or part of a bigger trip? Do you prefer a huge resort with endless options or a smaller park that feels easier to navigate?

We’ve experienced Disney in very different ways around the world, and that’s exactly why we love comparing them.

And if you’ve been following our Disney series, you’ll know that this isn’t the end of our Disney stories either.

Because once you’ve visited one Disney park…

well, you probably already know what happens next.

You start wondering about the next one.

And if you’re still deciding where to go, that’s exactly why we’ve created this whole collection of Disney guides from Tokyo Disney Resort with kids, to Hong Kong Disneyland, Shanghai Disneyland, Disneyland California, Disneyland Paris and Disney World Orlando.

Because perhaps there isn’t one perfect Disney park.

Perhaps there’s simply the perfect Disney park for your family