Beyond Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California, there are theme parks in Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. This list ranks all 12, with pros & cons, rides, shows, parades, fireworks, and more to determine the best & worst Disney parks worldwide.
Each of the Disney resort complexes has a castle park, but not all of these parks are of the same quality, and their second gates (and beyond) are all very different. The list is our attempt at objectivity in ranking the parks, trying to the greatest extent possible to eliminate personal biases and pesky things like nostalgia.
Like the BCS and other power rankings, no one is bound to agree with these, despite them being very scientific and downright infallible. Joking aside, it’s entirely possible that you’ll appreciate various attractions, entertainment, or the themed lands more or less than us, in which case your list would differ. As with anything like this, your mileage may vary.
If you’ve read this list in the past, we should warn you that there are no changes to the rankings themselves as of our latest update in mid-2026. This is despite some major new additions that include a relaunched theme park. Even so, the expansion, added attractions, reimagined rides, extra entertainment, etc. doesn’t reset any rankings.
It’s probable the rankings won’t change at all between now and late 2027 or early 2028. That’s because the last development cycle has ended and the next one is just getting started. Since things necessarily take time to build, that means no major new lands or attractions between now and late 2027 at Walt Disney World or Disneyland, along with most of the international parks.
The next wave of additions will start to come online in 2027 with Tropical Americas at Animal Kingdom and Avengers Campus Phase II at Disney California Adventure, but the bulk of the projects will wrap in 2028 through 2030. Between now and then, movement up and down the list will probably be minimal, and more driven by entertainment enhancements and how negatively construction and closures do (or do not) impact the guest experience.
With that out of the way, here are our current Disney Parks Power Rankings for mid-2026…
12. Disney Adventure World
The second gate at Disneyland Paris, formerly known as the Walt Disney Studios Park, has relaunched as Disney Adventure World! With this, the park has nearly doubled in size thanks to Adventure Bay & Way, the family attraction Raiponce Tangled Spin, Regal View Restaurant & Lounge, and the World of Frozen land.
Disney Adventure World’s debut is the culmination of this years-in-the-making transformation and expansion project that began back in 2018. In our new review, we explain why Disney’s worst park is finally worthy of the “Disney” name and legacy. It’s not a perfect park, and the reimagining is far from flawless, but we’re happy to report that Imagineers pulled off the impossible in reinventing the second gate into Disney Adventure World.
Disney Adventure World is a triumph in the most important and foundational sense: making this feel like an actual Disney theme park, not just a bunch of disjointed attractions plopped down on what was basically a glorified parking lot, dotted by soundstage-looking buildings in between. Disney Adventure World has a sense of place and purpose, and themed environments that make you want to linger as opposed to getting in, doing a few rides, and getting out as quickly as possible.
Although the bulk of that transformation is finished, park expansion remains ongoing. Next up is the Wilderness Explorers Sky Swings attraction, inspired by the Pixar film Up, which will open in 2027. Following that is the blockbuster Lion King Pride Lands, which will be the park’s distinct, defining addition (likely to open in 2028).
Disney Adventure World has a promising future, but for now, it’s still last place. The gap has closed, and it’s no longer an international embarrassment for the Walt Disney Company, which alone is a small miracle. Even though the ranking is unchanged, we’d now think of Disney Adventure World as the twelfth-best Disney theme park as opposed to the dead last or worst by a wide margin not-quite-Disney park. And that’s progress!
11. Disney California Adventure
Nearly 15 years since Disney pulled back the curtain on DCA 2.0, the much-maligned second gate at Disneyland Resort continues to improve, albeit minus a cohesive “California” theme. This has been done slowly, with a two steps forward, one step backwards kind of approach.
The most recent addition is Avengers Campus, which includes the previously-reimagined Guardians of the Galaxy – MISSION: Breakout and newcomer Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure. Both are fun additions, as is the land itself, which is full of life thanks to the Marvel characters. There’s also San Fransokyo Square, but that’s really more a fresh coat of paint on the food court rather than anything new.
The good news is that Disney California Adventure has much more on the horizon before 2030. DCA got perhaps the most love during D23, with announcements of Pandora – World of Avatar, multiple new Marvel rides, and a Coco boat ride that sounds fantastic. The bad news is that none of this will open until Christmas 2027 at the absolute earliest, so we’re still a few years away from DCA moving up the list.
10. Animal Kingdom
A strong argument can be made that Disney’s Animal Kingdom is the best theme park in Florida. When you emphasize the theme, we’d rank it #1 of Walt Disney World’s parks. That’s high praise, but sentiment that’s not shared by the general park-going public given that Animal Kingdom’s attendance has dropped dramatically.
Animal Kingdom is the worst performing park at Walt Disney World. It’s the only one not in the top 10 for worldwide theme park attendance. Animal Kingdom ranked #16, with 8.8 million annual visitors. It’s the only Walt Disney World park that didn’t hit the 10 million mark, and it had less than half the annual visitors of Magic Kingdom, the #1 theme park in the world.
The problem for many guests is that Animal Kingdom has a lot of style, but not enough substance. Sure, the park is beautiful and the purest example of unblemished (or close to it) theme at Walt Disney World. Nevertheless, people visit theme parks understandably expecting rides. While we love the idea of Animal Kingdom, we visit it less than any other park at Walt Disney World.
While the zoological exhibits, walk-throughs, and even entertainment are wonderful, Animal Kingdom could use more on the ‘traditional attraction’ end of the spectrum. Expedition Everest was a start and Pandora furthered this, but that’s still only 3 high profile rides since the park opened. Animal Kingdom could still use a family-friendly dark ride (or two…or three).
Tropical Americas will help considerably, with the new Encanto ride plus Indiana Jones Adventure. That’s a good start, but just that: a start. The reality is that Animal Kingdom is the park at Walt Disney World the furthest removed from its last big additions, and it’s been overdue for more new rides for the last several years. It’s slow descent down these rankings reflects that.
In the meantime, Dinoland is completely closed and DINOSAUR is extinct, reducing the park’s already low ride count between now and late 2027. The only “offset” to that for 2026 are the additions of Bluey’s Wild World and Zootopia: Better Zoogether, which are fun for young families but no one else. That drops DAK behind EPCOT for now, but that’ll almost certainly change again when Tropical Americas and more debuts next year.
9. Shanghai Disneyland
Shanghai Disneyland was the most complete opening day theme park to debut in the 2000s, a crown it still holds after the opening of Epic Universe in Orlando. Don’t let its ranking here fool you, as Shanghai Disneyland has only gotten better in the years since, adding lands based on both Toy Story and Zootopia.
Now celebrating its 10th Anniversary in 2026, Shanghai Disneyland remains a polarizing park. Some fans have proclaimed that Shanghai Disneyland is superior to all other castle parks with its innovative and modern attractions. Conversely, critics have derided it as franchise-driven, tacky and disjointed. We disagree with both polarized stances, finding Shanghai Disneyland to be surprisingly ‘complete’ for a park that’s still new. It’s still pretty far behind the decades-established castle parks, though.
Among its “home runs” are Treasure Cove (especially its revolutionary Pirates of the Caribbean – Battle for the Sunken Treasure attraction), Camp Discovery, Tron Lightcycle Power Run, and Peter Pan’s Flight. We also give it points for Enchanted Storybook Castle, which is more impressive in person than its divisive design looks in concept art and photos. Zootopia Land looks like it’s also a home run.
8. EPCOT
The EPCOT overhaul is finally finished, I guess. The construction walls are down, and World Celebration and CommuniCore Hall have opened. Underwhelming as both might be–lateral moves at the absolute best after ~5 years of construction–they are better than walls and a dirt pit.
Fortunately, there have been several worthwhile substantive additions. World Showcase is largely looking good, and the debut of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure helped that area become more well-rounded. In the former Future World, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind moved the needle significantly, and is one of the best rides at Walt Disney World. Moana’s Journey of Water also helped round out the lineup, and Test Track 3.0 helped breathe new life into that thrill ride. Soarin’ Across America is the latest incremental improvement, but not enough to move EPCOT up.
Unfortunately, several substantive additions and upgrades are still needed in the Future World pavilions. Play Pavilion has been abandoned, Spaceship Earth’s overdue reimagining was shelved, and a much-needed redo of Journey into Imagination has been rumored for the last decade. EPCOT really needs actual improvements at the front of the park. Its overhaul should not be over.
On the plus side, World Showcase is still gorgeous and offers some of Disney’s best ambiance, anywhere. Spaceship Earth remains an awe-inspiring icon and pretty good attraction. Some Future World pavilions remain solid. It’s just unfortunate that half of the “overhaul” didn’t end up materializing or changing much.
7. Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Disney Hollywood Studios has seen its stock soar in the last few years, going from #11 on this list to #7. This as a result of the reimagined Fantasmic (which is underappreciated among fans), Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, and more. The most important addition remains Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and its mega E-Ticket Rise of the Resistance, which lives up to every bit of the hype and is tied for the #1 attraction at Walt Disney World.
However, as a whole DHS is easily Walt Disney World’s most frustrating park. The top-heavy lineup coupled with a surplus of shows makes crowds and wait times unbearable at times. This park could really use another dark ride or two, or even a couple of flat rides to round out the ride roster. There really aren’t many family-friendly rides, just shows.
Last year was an up and down one for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, with the Villains Unfairly Ever After and Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure stage shows opening. Both are good additions. Shortly after those debuted, Muppets Courtyard and MuppetVision 3D closed to commence construction on Monstropolis, which should be a blockbuster addition in 2028.
Summer 2026 has been unequivocally positive. The new Mandalorian mission on Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run improves the gameplay and passive ride experience. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets is a crowd-pleaser with its fun music and humor. The reimagined Walt Disney Studios Lot turned a blighted area with ‘dead mall’ vibes into one of the most inviting spaces in the park. All of this is more than any other park at Walt Disney World got in 2026, but DHS still falls just short of surpassing HKDL for #6.
6. Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland catapulted up this list following its huge expansion consisting of Toy Story Land, Grizzly Gulch, and Mystic Point. That expansion included Mystic Manor and Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars, which are two of the top 15 attractions in the world.
Not much changed for another 5 years, but Hong Kong Disneyland now emerges from another mostly-finished expansion cycle. The two new Marvel rides have also proven to be a pleasant surprise, even if the E-Ticket is still years away. The new Arendelle: the World of Frozen land is now open, and far exceeds expectations. Don’t take it for granted as simply a clone of the EPCOT attraction plus a kiddie coaster.
The castle has also grown in size and scale, which was a controversial change but one that clearly establishes Hong Kong Disneyland as a park with its own identity, and not just a lesser-Disneyland clone. Smaller, less splashy additions have been made over the last few years, to the point that Hong Kong Disneyland now punches above its weight and is a worthy castle park. Hong Kong Disneyland’s 20th Anniversary Celebration elevates it even further through Summer 2026.
Do not sleep on Hong Kong Disneyland if you visit Asia. It’s a pleasant surprise and one of our favorite places to spend time, even if its ride roster or themed design still puts it–on paper, at least–a rung below the “big” castle parks. You won’t regret visiting, and HKDL might just steal your heart, like it did ours.
5. Magic Kingdom
Again, nostalgia comes into play. My opinion of Magic Kingdom will most likely always be colored by memories of my youth–this remains my “home” castle park. Sitting here evaluating the park online, I can look at it with a critical eye, but in person all of that melts away as I feel like a kid again when walking down Main Street.
It’s been an up and down few years for Magic Kingdom. Happily Ever After returned and TRON Lightcycle Run is an excellent addition. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure also opened, and Disney Starlight Night Parade debuted. All positive additions, although the latter two are a bit more mixed.
The new additions for 2026 are a recharged Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and retracked Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. While both are upgrades, the bigger story here is that, for the first time in a few years, none of Magic Kingdom’s headliner attractions are closed for lengthy refurbishments or reimaginings.
With the more robust ride roster of any park, and a healthy mix of modern and classic attractions, it should be easy to see why Magic Kingdom ranks #5 on this list and is the most-attended theme park in the world. If anything, it underperforms the other castle parks of its era, but that could change by the 2030s.
In the meantime, Magic Kingdom faces growing pains to accomplish its expansion. Walt Disney World is building two all-new Cars attractions in a reimagined area of Frontierland and Villains Land expansion at Magic Kingdom, essentially between and behind Big Thunder and Haunted Mansion and replacing the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island.
Those are likely pluses from a ride roster perspective in the long-term once they debut between 2028 and 2030. The problem is the next few years, in the lead-up to those lands opening. The result of this isn’t just the loss of scenic beauty and kinetics–it’s replacing that charming area of the park with a sea of construction walls. On top of that, New Fantasyland is not-so-new, Tomorrowland is ironically the most dated and tired land, and several attractions are long overdue for updates.
With all of that said, Magic Kingdom has a certain beauty, grandiosity, and sentimentality. This sense of escape and suspension of disbelief makes it really appealing. Still, as the crown jewel park at Disney’s largest and most popular resort complex in the world, Magic Kingdom deserves better. Plan your visit with our comprehensive Walt Disney World Vacation Planning Guide.
4. Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris has admirably used the momentum of its fantastic 30th Anniversary into success thanks to drones and seasonal entertainment. The park has perfected drone shows over the castle, Sleeping Beauty Castle is looking splendid, and Disneyland Paris has brought back fan-favorite entertainment.
Even before this, Disneyland Paris was getting back on track with major refurbishments to key attractions. This has included extensive reimaginings of Pirates of the Caribbean and Phantom Manor, the latter of which is France’s unique take on Haunted Mansion. Disneyland Paris still has room for improvement (much of it on the operational front), but Disneyland Paris looks better than we’ve ever seen it.
This is coupled with the always-exceptional design work at Disneyland Paris make it one of the top parks in the world. This is particularly true for those who favor parks as themed spaces, rather than collections of attractions. On the ride front, Disneyland Paris is still a step or two (or 3-4) behind the other castle parks, but it compensates for this with so many amazing spaces and intricate details. Oh, and it has the best Disney castle in the world. It can be a frustrating place to visit, but also incredibly enchanting. Plan your visit with our comprehensive Disneyland Paris Vacation Planning Guide.
3. Disneyland
Disneyland takes the #3 slot, and comes within striking distance of #2 thanks to the successful 70th Anniversary Celebration, which brought with it the return of Paint the Night Parade and Wondrous Journeys Fireworks, plus the debut of Walt Disney – A Magical Life.
Unfortunately, that winds down in August 2026, leaving us to wonder what’s next for Disneyland, as nothing has been announced for 2027 and beyond. Disneyland could definitely use some near-term help to reinvigorate the park, perhaps with some ‘singles & doubles’ style projects similar to those that debuted at Walt Disney World in Summer 2026.
The last big permanent addition was Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Before that, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and its flagship attraction, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Disneyland doesn’t score quite as many points here as perhaps it should, as the new Star Wars Land feels isolated and removed for the rest of the park–like a park within the park–rather than a coherent space that congeals with the greater whole.
However, this separation has one tremendous upside, and that’s the preservation of the charm and intimacy of Walt Disney’s original magic kingdom. The ‘traditional’ side of the park still oozes whimsy, beauty, and warm. Moreover, Disneyland has some of the best themed spaces in the world, with the Rivers of America, New Orleans Square, Frontierland, Adventureland, and Main Street all being incredibly inviting.
Equally as important, it has an incredible slate of attractions, ranging from intimate Fantasyland dark rides like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride and Alice in Wonderland to blockbuster E-Tickets like Indiana Jones Adventure and Hyperspace Mountain. Disneyland is incredibly attraction-dense, with great versions of the classics, plus a solid slate of entertainment. Plan your visit with our comprehensive Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide.
2. Tokyo Disneyland
Tokyo Disneyland’s $750 million expansion breathed new life into Fantasyland, Toontown, and Tomorrowland. Those additions transformed a lot of dead space into engaging themed areas, which has been a big initiative for Tokyo Disneyland.
Entertainment is (still!) slowly returning, venues are reopening, and cuts are being restored. It’s to the point where, outside of scaled-back seasonal events, Tokyo Disneyland feels pretty close to what it was like in 2019. More recently, the park debuted the new “Reach for the Stars” nighttime spectacular, which is fine. It’s also brought back the Country Bears seasonal shows and other celebrations, which is a much bigger deal. It could still use a couple more stage shows and more on the seasonal front.
Tokyo Disneyland’s attraction roster still offers the greatest hits of the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland, with the best version of numerous iconic Disney rides. In addition to a formidable lineup of classics, Tokyo Disneyland also has multiple headliners of its own in Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, Monsters Inc. Ride and Go Seek, and Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast.
It no longer feels like a ‘clone park’ as so many of its existing lands have been overhauled, and that’ll be even more true in a couple years when the all-new Space Mountain and revamped Tomorrowland debuts. For now, that part of the park is a mess of construction walls–not to the point to hurt its ranking, but enough to comment on.
However, it’s not the ride roster that puts Tokyo Disneyland near the top. The entertainment is amazing, with a regular lineup of solid seasonal offerings, plus the Harmony in Color daytime parade and Dreamlights, Disney’s best night parade. Beyond that, Tokyo Disneyland’s maintenance, attention to detail, show quality, dining, and Cast Members are all unsurpassed. Plan your visit with our comprehensive Tokyo Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide.
1. Tokyo DisneySea
Even after the debut of Fantasy Springs, there is somehow still legitimate debate about whether Tokyo DisneySea is deserving of the top spot. The good news is that our scathing post explaining Why Disney’s #1 Park is Getting 1-Star Reviews is no longer completely valid. The bad news is that too much of that still remains accurate.
For one thing, wait times at Tokyo DisneySea remain ridiculous for ~200 days of the year. It’s no longer as absurd as it was when Fantasy Springs was using a de facto virtual queue, but it’s still pretty far off from 2019. There are 8 attractions that average wait times of 100 minutes or more. Five of those have averages above 2 hours. These are averages–peak waits of 240 minutes for multiple headliners is not uncommon!
For another, a lot of other entertainment is still missing. We wouldn’t go as far as to say Tokyo DisneySea feels like a shadow of its former self, but it has been noticeably downgraded outside of Fantasy Springs. This is a big part of why wait times are longer–because so many things that previously absorbed crowds are (still!) missing.
As compared to what it once was in 2019 or earlier, Tokyo DisneySea has lost its luster. However, it was the best Disney theme park by a wide margin before, and retains that status, albeit with a much narrower lead over its next door neighbor or even Disneyland in California. The fact of the matter is that, even acknowledging its issues, if we could only visit or recommend one theme park in the world, Tokyo DisneySea would still be it.
I have already dedicated an entire article to the Top 10 Reasons Tokyo DisneySea is Disney’s Best Park, so I’ll just defer to that for what else makes this park so unbelievably special. Tokyo DisneySea is still Disney’s best theme park in the world, even the current version of the park. That’s the bottom line, and why it’d be disingenuous to let one of the Disneylands sneak into the top spot over it just because I’m frustrated by the park’s operations and absurdly long lines (even by Japan standards).
As for Fantasy Springs, its attractions are popular for good reason. This over $2 billion addition consisting of Peter Pan, Frozen, and Tangled areas is the biggest budget expansion of any existing Disney theme park ever and absolutely lives up to the hype. There’s a reason why Anna & Elsa’s Frozen Journey makes Sarah & Tom’s List of the Top 15 Disney Attractions in the World, and Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure almost does!
Hope you enjoyed this new edition of the Disney Parks Power Rankings. Keep in mind that this list is all in good fun. Like sports fans, most Disney fans have strong allegiances towards their home park and take offense when they feel it’s slighted.
Remember that this is one random dude’s opinion on the internet. At the end of the day, it doesn’t impact your enjoyment of your “favorite” park if I rank it at number 8, nor does my opinion matter (at all) in the grand scheme of things.
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Your Thoughts
How would you rank the Disney Parks you’ve visited? It doesn’t matter how many parks you’ve been to, I’m still interested in knowing! Do you think I misranked any parks, or made any poor choices? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
