What is Your Favorite of Disney World Park?

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

Just talking the main four, not including the water parks and stuff.

Just went for the first time earlier this month We got to check out all four, but spent the most time at the Magic Kingdom and Epcot.

[Deleted]

Was Epcot (way back before they closed a bunch of the original Futureworld attractions - yes, I'm old), now Magic Kingdom.

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

Mar 28, 2017 13:48:06 GMT -5 @knapp said:

Was Epcot (way back before they closed a bunch of the original Futureworld attractions - yes, I'm old), now Magic Kingdom.

If they ever take away Journey Into Imagination with Figment I'll riot

I definitely love Epcot, but each park has its own strengths

Magic Kingdom is quintessentially Disney. It's got the most classics - Pirates of the Carribean, The Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Enchanted Tiki Room, Hall of Presidents, CAROUSEL OF MOTHERf***ING PROGRESS. The parades and night shows are top notch.

Animal Kingdom is a zoo, Disney style, in the best way. The safari ride is a wonderful experience. The tree at the center of it all is spectacular to just look at. I don't know what to make of the new Pandora (Avatar) world. It seems like an update that will clash with the rest of the park, but who knows.

Epcot is like two parks in one. I feel like Future World has lost a lot of its identity. I remember it being much more, well, future focused as a kid. I think there was a hands on area with new technologies that is long gone. Now it feels much more like Future World, Brought to You By Siemens and Chevrolet. Figment and Journey into Imagination is one of my favorite rides in all of Disney. The World Showcase is a wonderful taste of different cultures, with some of the best food in Disney. Again, it is in danger of losing its identity, with the way the Frozen ride replaced the Maelstrom. Frankly, World Showcase could use some updating too. It has several movies throughout about different cultures, which haven't been updated since CTR monitors were replaced with flat screens. They ought to do modern shows, with the classics also available for viewing at select times.

Disney's Hollywood Studios is in such a transition phase its hard to grade it. Last time I went half of it was closed for construction. The Backlot Tour was one of my favorites, especially when they still did actual animation work at the park. All of the great Star Wars, Toy Story and Muppet pieces, with each set to get an expansion soon. The Great Movie Ride is another classic, which could probably use an update (though they did add a Robert Osbourne voice over in recent years). Phantasmic, the night show, is my favorite among the parks. I don't do thrill rides, so I've never ridden the Aerosmith coaster or the Tower of Terror.


They are all great, really. The nerd in me wants to say Epcot, and the movie nerd in me wants to say Hollywood Studios, but both are getting/need updates. Magic Kingdom is the park I'd go to if I had one day at Disney, so I guess it gets my vote.



If you are at Disney on a second or third trip, I recommend doing one of the backstage tours. We did one that actually went behind the scenes at the Haunted Mansion, and toured the rest of Magic Kingdom, with a very informative guide.

[Deleted]

Mar 28, 2017 14:45:57 GMT -5 YAKMAN is ICHIBAN said:

Mar 28, 2017 13:48:06 GMT -5 @knapp said:

Was Epcot (way back before they closed a bunch of the original Futureworld attractions - yes, I'm old), now Magic Kingdom.

If they ever take away Journey Into Imagination with Figment I'll riot

I definitely love Epcot, but each park has its own strengths

Magic Kingdom is quintessentially Disney. It's got the most classics - Pirates of the Carribean, The Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Enchanted Tiki Room, Hall of Presidents, CAROUSEL OF MOTHERf***ING PROGRESS. The parades and night shows are top notch.

Animal Kingdom is a zoo, Disney style, in the best way. The safari ride is a wonderful experience. The tree at the center of it all is spectacular to just look at. I don't know what to make of the new Pandora (Avatar) world. It seems like an update that will clash with the rest of the park, but who knows.

Epcot is like two parks in one. I feel like Future World has lost a lot of its identity. I remember it being much more, well, future focused as a kid. I think there was a hands on area with new technologies that is long gone. Now it feels much more like Future World, Brought to You By Siemens and Chevrolet. Figment and Journey into Imagination is one of my favorite rides in all of Disney. The World Showcase is a wonderful taste of different cultures, with some of the best food in Disney. Again, it is in danger of losing its identity, with the way the Frozen ride replaced the Maelstrom. Frankly, World Showcase could use some updating too. It has several movies throughout about different cultures, which haven't been updated since CTR monitors were replaced with flat screens. They ought to do modern shows, with the classics also available for viewing at select times.

Disney's Hollywood Studios is in such a transition phase its hard to grade it. Last time I went half of it was closed for construction. The Backlot Tour was one of my favorites, especially when they still did actual animation work at the park. All of the great Star Wars, Toy Story and Muppet pieces, with each set to get an expansion soon. The Great Movie Ride is another classic, which could probably use an update (though they did add a Robert Osbourne voice over in recent years). Phantasmic, the night show, is my favorite among the parks. I don't do thrill rides, so I've never ridden the Aerosmith coaster or the Tower of Terror.

They are all great, really. The nerd in me wants to say Epcot, and the movie nerd in me wants to say Hollywood Studios, but both are getting/need updates. Magic Kingdom is the park I'd go to if I had one day at Disney, so I guess it gets my vote.

If you are at Disney on a second or third trip, I recommend doing one of the backstage tours. We did one that actually went behind the scenes at the Haunted Mansion, and toured the rest of Magic Kingdom, with a very informative guide.

I loved Future World at Epcot so much as a kid. World Showcase can probably be appreciated more now that I'm older, but other than LOVING The American Experience it wasn't really a thing I liked as much as the front of the park. When I went back a few years ago (first time since the early '90s) it was jarring just how different FW was & felt. I had fond memories of hanging around at CommuniCore that.....are gone now that that section of the part was remodeled and redone.

Disney MGM (sorry, Hollywood Studios - ARGH SO OLD) is turning into Constructing Star Wars Land Land, and all the pictures I see make the entire park look so unappealing. I wouldn't go near it until that work was done. But even a few years ago it was still the most expansive park of the bunch. (Animal Kingdom.....only been once, recently, and it was raining pouring so the experience was cut very short).

And I have to say.......going as a kid and going as an adult are very different experiences. Just being taller changes the perspective of the whole place, almost across the board. (The Backstage lot at Studios about to close so I guess I got in there before that experience was altered from its original state...)

I was booked for a backstage tour (my ex works there), but got cancelled when........well, she became my ex.

EDIT: Whoops, was replying to you and forgot to actually incl. the post...

[edgestar]

I love all of the parks! Like someone said, they all have their strengths. I really liked Magic Kingdom and MGM, both times I went to Disney world.

[Nickybojelais]

Not been to the Disney parks for almost twenty years, but I was a geeky nerdy child and adored the Epcot Centre.

The huge golf ball amazed me as a child and I loved walking around the world showcase.

[DragonMasterP]

I'd say Magic Kingdom for doing things, Epcot for walking around and exploring.

[Ultimo Gallos]

Even as a young kid I didn't care for the Magic Kingdom. But love Epcot!

[Jiren]

Hollywood

It's the only one that isn't shit

[bibboid]

The only time I went to Disney World was back in the mid to late 70's.
They hadn't built Epcot yet.

As a matter of fact, it wasn't even a "pay one price" park. You had to buy a book of tickets that had different letters for the different types of rides. Ever heard the term "E ticket ride"? Those were the best rides in the park.

Crap, I'm old.

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

Mar 29, 2017 21:27:06 GMT -5 bibboid said:

The only time I went to Disney World was back in the mid to late 70's.
They hadn't built Epcot yet.

As a matter of fact, it wasn't even a "pay one price" park. You had to buy a book of tickets that had different letters for the different types of rides. Ever heard the term "E ticket ride"? Those were the best rides in the park.

Crap, I'm old.

I never knew that!

Found a picture of the ticket book




disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2013/05/vintage-walt-disney-world-an-a-attraction-or-an-e/


These were done away with by the time Epcot opened in 1982



Now of course you have just tickets to get into the park, plus the Fast Pass system for line management. All tied to your your Magic Band




One really cool/creepy thing about the Magic Bands is that it interacts with the rides. It's a Small World will shows the first names and state of where the guests in the boat are from at the end. The Haunted Mansion will pick up on information too and use it to customize your ghost at the end of the ride. If it is your birthday, for example, you might get a ghostly birthday cake.





I'm kind of a Disney guy.

[Shai]

Mar 30, 2017 8:46:07 GMT -5 YAKMAN is ICHIBAN said:

Mar 29, 2017 21:27:06 GMT -5 bibboid said:

The only time I went to Disney World was back in the mid to late 70's.
They hadn't built Epcot yet.

As a matter of fact, it wasn't even a "pay one price" park. You had to buy a book of tickets that had different letters for the different types of rides. Ever heard the term "E ticket ride"? Those were the best rides in the park.

Crap, I'm old.

I never knew that!

Found a picture of the ticket book




disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2013/05/vintage-walt-disney-world-an-a-attraction-or-an-e/


These were done away with by the time Epcot opened in 1982



Now of course you have just tickets to get into the park, plus the Fast Pass system for line management. All tied to your your Magic Band




One really cool/creepy thing about the Magic Bands is that it interacts with the rides. It's a Small World will shows the first names and state of where the guests in the boat are from at the end. The Haunted Mansion will pick up on information too and use it to customize your ghost at the end of the ride. If it is your birthday, for example, you might get a ghostly birthday cake.





I'm kind of a Disney guy.

We went for my brother's birthday last year and had no idea the bands did that stuff, so the ghost giving my brother a birthday cake was an amazing surprise.

[HMARK Center]

I guess I don't even need to say it.

That said, EPCOT Center >>>>>>> current Epcot. It's not even close. The history of EPCOT Center's development is absolutely breathtaking to read, from the official book "Walt Disney's EPCOT" to accounts written by the engineers behind the American Adventure attraction, the amount of work that WED Enterprises put into thematic unity, creative choices, and all the tiniest details of that park make it a monumental achievement in themed entertainment.

Current Epcot sadly lacks cohesion, has been neglected for many years, and sadly the current buzz about them rehabilitating the park center around just shoving more pre-existing Disney characters into attractions and places where they don't really make a lot of sense or in other ways dilute the larger original goals of the park. I mean, any help for the park is welcomed at this point, but man, it brings me down that they can't bring back more of the spirit of the original park.

Mar 29, 2017 20:58:00 GMT -5 Jiren said:

Hollywood

It's the only one that isn't shit

Considering it's a park where you can do just about everything in it by 3pm on an average day, I can't really agree. That park desperately needs help, and despite getting Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land soon, neither concept looks particularly interesting or useful in terms of fixing its larger ills.

Especially Toy Story Land, good Lord does that design seem lazy.

[DZ: WF Legacy]

Speaking of Magic Bands, last year when I went, mine malfunctioned a bit and wouldn't scan right for a few minutes. This guy came up to me and just shoved an iPad in my face and took a photo of me before trying to help me fix it. That, and the newer bag stations they have and a few armed guards I saw shows how much they bumped up security over the last 2 years. Anyway....

Epcot is awesome. I always love that place for the food (Tangierine Cafe in Morocco!) and the Japense store, Mitsukoshi.

Animal Kingdom might start ranking higher on my list once I visit Pandora.

Hollywood Studios gets big points for Toy Story Midway Mania. I absolutely love that ride. And now they have Star Wars Launch Bay, too.

Magic Kingdom has all the traditional rides that make Disney feel like Disney.


Overall, Epcot is definitely my favorite.

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

Mar 30, 2017 16:39:19 GMT -5 HMARK Center said:

I guess I don't even need to say it.

That said, EPCOT Center >>>>>>> current Epcot. It's not even close. The history of EPCOT Center's development is absolutely breathtaking to read, from the official book "Walt Disney's EPCOT" to accounts written by the engineers behind the American Adventure attraction, the amount of work that WED Enterprises put into thematic unity, creative choices, and all the tiniest details of that park make it a monumental achievement in themed entertainment.

Current Epcot sadly lacks cohesion, has been neglected for many years, and sadly the current buzz about them rehabilitating the park center around just shoving more pre-existing Disney characters into attractions and places where they don't really make a lot of sense or in other ways dilute the larger original goals of the park. I mean, any help for the park is welcomed at this point, but man, it brings me down that they can't bring back more of the spirit of the original park.

Mar 29, 2017 20:58:00 GMT -5 Jiren said:

Hollywood

It's the only one that isn't shit

Considering it's a park where you can do just about everything in it by 3pm on an average day, I can't really agree. That park desperately needs help, and despite getting Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land soon, neither concept looks particularly interesting or useful in terms of fixing its larger ills.

Especially Toy Story Land, good Lord does that design seem lazy.

I only vaguely remember how Epcot was when I went in 3rd grade, around 1993 or so. I remember it being a blast though. I loved old school TLC and Discovery channel stuff so Epcot was right up my alley. So much is gone now - World of Motion Wonders of Life, Horizons, the parts of Journey into Imagination besides the ride. Test Track and Mission:Space are fun, but just don't scratch that same optimistic-about-the-future itch.

I've heard rumors of a Guardians of the Galaxy ride, but meh. Shove that in Hollywood, not Epcot.

How great would a health themed attraction with Baymax be? Or something with the Inside Out emotions? Both were meet and greet characters last time I went. Hugging Baymax was AWESOME.

[HMARK Center]

I'm kind of sad to see no votes for Animal Kingdom; I'm an Epcot guy, yeah, but Animal Kingdom is a freakin' triumph of aesthetically/artistically pleasing design, just epic stuff, and the company has sunk some cash in there lately to touch up certain areas. The African village before the Kilimanjaro Safari ride alone is nearly worth the price of entering...ok, not THAT much, nothing on its own is worth the insane Disney ticket prices, but still.

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

Mar 31, 2017 8:56:58 GMT -5 HMARK Center said:

I'm kind of sad to see no votes for Animal Kingdom; I'm an Epcot guy, yeah, but Animal Kingdom is a freakin' triumph of aesthetically/artistically pleasing design, just epic stuff, and the company has sunk some cash in there lately to touch up certain areas. The African village before the Kilimanjaro Safari ride alone is nearly worth the price of entering...ok, not THAT much, nothing on its own is worth the insane Disney ticket prices, but still.

I think some things that count against Animal Kingdom for me are 1) no night shows (this is no longer the case) and 2) a complete lack of interest in either the Everest roller coaster or the water raft ride. That turns it into a much smaller park for me.

It does have some great attractions. The Finding Nemo musical show is a blast with some awesome puppets. The Dinosaur ride is fun though too short. Kilimanjaro Safari is definitely a top 10 attraction in Disney World.

And that tree. Holy shit.

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

Wow, so I was just reading this article 29 Things You'll Never See at Disney World Again

www.buzzfeed.com/jessicaprobus/things-youll-never-see-at-disney-world-again?utm_term=.apaq0z7b5O#.vrKRrYmQ8D

The most interesting thing is about Discovery Island. Some of you may remember the article a few years back about someone who snuck on the island and took a bunch of creepy pictures. It was an animal park, but everything was transferred to Animal Kingdom.

This article says that Disney was in talks with the creators of Myst to turn the island into an interactive adventure, but it never went past the concept stage.



Man I'd pay big bucks for an "Abandoned Disney" tour. Discovery Island, River Country. Getting to peek inside walled off exhibits (the singing food animatronics are just behind a wall in the Land Pavillion)

You just have to settle for photos though

io9.gizmodo.com/the-trashed-remains-of-abandoned-disney-projects-1466546591

[Powerline]

Having just went last month, I enjoyed Epcot the best. I'm not a big "ride" person though, so that made a huge difference. Not to mention I only had one day and the lines were just so insane that I never wanted to ride anything enough to stand in the lines. FastPass is pretty much a necessity to get on any ride there. Without it (and if you're not there in the morning/the extra hour Resort guests get), get ready to kiss at least an hour goodbye PER ride.  If you only have a one-day pass and not just to one park, waiting in a normal line for a ride is straight-up out of the question.


A friend of mine who often visits said that Hollywood Studios are being renovated and constructed pretty heavily, but it's typically a highlight especially if you're that much more into the rides.

Mar 31, 2017 9:12:19 GMT -5 YAKMAN is ICHIBAN said:

Wow, so I was just reading this article 29 Things You'll Never See at Disney World Again

www.buzzfeed.com/jessicaprobus/things-youll-never-see-at-disney-world-again?utm_term=.apaq0z7b5O#.vrKRrYmQ8D

The most interesting thing is about Discovery Island. Some of you may remember the article a few years back about someone who snuck on the island and took a bunch of creepy pictures. It was an animal park, but everything was transferred to Animal Kingdom.

This article says that Disney was in talks with the creators of Myst to turn the island into an interactive adventure, but it never went past the concept stage.



Man I'd pay big bucks for an "Abandoned Disney" tour. Discovery Island, River Country. Getting to peek inside walled off exhibits (the singing food animatronics are just behind a wall in the Land Pavillion)

You just have to settle for photos though

io9.gizmodo.com/the-trashed-remains-of-abandoned-disney-projects-1466546591

STRONG language warning on this article (and anything on this site, honestly), but I always loved this article off I-Mockery of them walking through the abandoned Treasure Island resort: www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/disney-blunder/

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

Mar 31, 2017 9:25:43 GMT -5 Powerline said:

Having just went last month, I enjoyed Epcot the best. I'm not a big "ride" person though, so that made a huge difference. Not to mention I only had one day and the lines were just so insane that I never wanted to ride anything enough to stand in the lines. FastPass is pretty much a necessity to get on any ride there. Without it (and if you're not there in the morning/the extra hour Resort guests get), get ready to kiss at least an hour goodbye PER ride.  If you only have a one-day pass and not just to one park, waiting in a normal line for a ride is straight-up out of the question.


A friend of mine who often visits said that Hollywood Studios are being renovated and constructed pretty heavily, but it's typically a highlight especially if you're that much more into the rides.

The good thing about Epcot and making the most of your fast pass is that there are not as many attractions that build up long lines. It is pretty much Test Track, Mission: Space, Soarin and Frozen (I assume, it opened after my last trip)