When you approach a Disney theme park, but you hear the Harry Potter theme playing…something is off. That pretty much sets the tone for this “Disney Theme Park” – and we use those words very loosely. Opened in 2002, this park is the result of Disney’s commitment to the French Government and the resort’s master plan to develop and open a second gate. Unfortunately, the contract was obviously very unspecific as to what that second gate actually had to be. Here is the most watered down, un-themed, unimpressive Disney park on the planet. Yes, it has an extremely charming Ratatouille themed area, with a decent ride, and an even better restaurant. And yes, Crush’s Coaster is fantastic, even though the queue is one of the worst (and slowest moving) in all of Disney’s parks. But beyond these two footnotes, the rest of this park is a mish-mash of contrasting and conflicting attractions – with little to no theming whatsoever. The entry to the park – Studio 1 – could be any indoor mall food court. Tower of Terror looks like it was air-dropped into the middle of a parking lot. And the Studio Tram Tour – arguably the heart and soul of this “studio park” – was so weak, they had to shoehorn in a Cars-themed overlay. Now add in the Paris resort’s mediocre food, and less-than-stellar cast members, and the results are a park that can be fully experienced in about 4 hours…without much need to return. There’s no putting it nicely: there are better Six Flags parks than Walt Disney Studios Park. It is hands-down the worst Disney park on the planet, and it has a long way to go to ever be worthy of the Disney name.

The most under-built Disney castle park ever opened in 2005 with a Space Mountain clone from California, an original take on the Jungle Cruise, and…that’s about it. Since that time the park has desperately been trying to play catch up, with several ambitious expansions and additions. And some of these have been fantastic. Mystic Manor is simply brilliant, and for a serious Disney fan, it is worth the trip from anywhere to experience. Big Grizzly Runaway Mine Cars is another fantastic and all-original attraction, if perhaps a bit too tame. The park has also added Toy Story Land, It’s a Small World, carved out half of Tomorrowland as an Avengers Campus, rebuilt its Castle, and is expanding Fantasyland with a huge Frozen themed mini-land. And yet all of that still may not be enough. The park is lacking on the food & beverage front, with not much to write home about. Entertainment is improving, but still has a way to go. And it boggles the mind that the Disney park in the hottest, most humid climate of them all has no log flume or rapids ride attraction to cool off on those sweltering summer days. For having two “must experience” all-original attractions, it’s telling that the park still falls so short. And it’s even more telling that many of the locals still rant about how much better the park in Shanghai is. Hong Kong Disneyland is the Disney Park (and resort) that has us most concerned for its future, but at least the ambitious expansions and additions seem to keep coming. It wants to be a full-grown Disney castle park, and some great strides have been made…but it’s not there yet. As a result, it sits in eleventh place our list.

The original Epcot Center which opened in 1982 was split into two main areas: Future World, which was heavy on massive, audio-animatronic filled dark rides, and the promise of a brighter tomorrow, and World Showcase, with pavilions dedicated to different countries focusing on culture, food, and exhibits. The theme of “edutainment” ran strong here, and while Epcot Center in its originally state may have been virtually IP-free, it was a consistent, coherent, and ambitious theme park, with the expected level of Disney quality. Unfortunately, as the years went by and the park’s sponsors (both corporate and country) either pulled out or dried up their funding. Disney took over the reins almost completely, and Epcot has since begun a top-to-bottom transformation to overlay attractions and pavilions with characters and movies. It’s not a bad approach in and of itself – for example Ratatouille certainly fits the France Pavilion just fine – but this approach has compromised the originality of the park. The trajectory seems to suggest that ultimately these additions will result in a more generic Disney park. Sure, the familiar characters will almost definitely bring in the crowds, but certainly this means less in the way of pure education about the world and its nations, technology, and future. Still, Epcot really shines on the food & drink side of things…and perhaps leans into that a bit too much – festivals and food events are almost a year-round occurrence today. But there’s no denying it is a gorgeous park, and the upcoming transformation of virtually every aspect from the entry plaza to the entertainment to several new rides and attractions will be something to watch closely. However, when considering the state of things today vs. where they were in 1982, it’s a strange situation. Epcot may be the biggest fall from grace of any Disney park ever, and that’s a shame, because the core concept may be one of the strongest Disney has ever come up with. Tenth place will have to do.

There isn’t a Disney park on the planet that has had the identity crisis that has plagued Disney California Adventure park since Day 1. At first envisioned as a theme park located in California, themed to California, the park – originally named Disney’s California Adventure – opened to dismal numbers in 2001. Poorly received attractions and shows were quickly shuttered, sometimes after only weeks of operation. The park hobbled along, injecting a few new rides that were designed to boost attendance, but in 2008, Disney finally admitted the elephant in the room, and announced that the park would undergo a massive, multi-year transformation. This resulted in a much-improved Disney California Adventure park in 2012, with a fantastic new opening act in Buena Vista Street, a consistent turn-of-the-century seaside Paradise Pier, and the gorgeous Cars Land, with the fantastic Radiator Springs Racers headliner. Unfortunately, since that time, there have been several missteps that have compromised the theming drastically. Hollywoodland has become a waste of space without any vision or direction. Turning the corner from Avengers Campus to Cars Land is more than jarring. And we’re not even sure what the thought process was behind Pixar Pier. On the plus side, the park has some of the best food offerings in all of Disney’s theme park portfolio, and entertainment is stellar with World of Color, but at the end of the day, it’s a park that has lost its identity. Today, we’re not sure what it is trying to be. We’re not sure Disney does either. And ninth place is as good as it can get for Disney California Adventure.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios is another park that has experienced a massive transformation over time. Originally opened in 1989, the park was Disney’s answer to Universal Studios, complete with tram tour, live action shows, and Hollywood theming. The park even was for a time an actual working movie studio. Over the years, this concept slowly fizzled out as the studio was shuttered, and the park began seeing waning guest interest in the “behind the scenes” vibe. It didn’t help that many attractions were often left without updates, and movies that once seemed fresh turned stale rather quickly. Disney’s answer was to transform the park from an inside look at the movie business, to placing guests “inside the movies” – and this very loose concept change allowed Disney to inject basically whatever they wanted into the park. As a result, recent years have seen the park add Toy Story Land, as well as Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The park completely eliminated its studio tour, and even the Great Movie Ride – the signature centerpiece of the park, was removed for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Today, the park is a slew of headliner attractions in randomly themed mini-lands and areas that have little consistency. It’s par for the course for the Disney of the 21st Century. Food offerings in this park are fairly weak, though there are some truly special themed dining experiences, such as the Prime Time 50’s Café, Sci Fi Drive-In Diner, and Docking Bay 7. But again, the transitions and consistency are lost, and the park is really just a random assortment of spaces with very little rhyme or reason to their placement. Disney’s Hollywood Studios is quite possibly the only Disney park to completely change its core concept – and it looks like it might get away with it. As a result, it’s in eighth place on our list.

There are few things as breathtaking as approaching Magic Kingdom park in Florida via the Disney Ferry system. The sight of the massive Cinderella Castle, complimented by the peaks of Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, and the parks entry gates at the Ferry Dock, is breathtaking. Inside those gates is a park that is full of great offerings, both old and new. Opened in 1971, Magic Kingdom is home to some true Disney classics – perhaps as many or even more than the original Disneyland park itself – with the Peoplemover, Carousel of Progress, and Country Bear Jamboree. With respect to newer offerings, the park has the recently expanded Fantasyland Forest, as well as the upcoming Tron Lightcycle Run coaster. And of course there are the classic headliners, from Splash Mountain to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, to the Haunted Mansion. All of this would seem to strongly support this being Disney’s flagship park, but where Magic Kingdom stumbles is that its offerings are in many places either weak or the weakest of their kind. Here, Pirates of the Caribbean is by far the weakest in the world. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain, Peter Pan’s Flight, and It’s a Small World are good, but not great. And perhaps most frustrating of all is that often times – as demonstrated by New Fantasyland – rides are replaced instead of added to this park – contradicting the entire point of building a park on Disney-owned acreage in Florida, and capitalizing on the “blessing of size”. It doesn’t help that food at Magic Kingdom is also in general very “meh”. The reality is that the most visited theme park in the world should be Disney’s best – but it isn’t. And so seventh place is where Magic Kingdom sits on our list.

By far the most beautiful Disney park on the planet, Disneyland Paris has some of the greatest strengths, as well as the most pronounced weaknesses, of any Disney park in the world. The park opened in 1992, and its landscape cannot be understated: it is clear that the Imagineers here were determined to create a postcard view from every vista possible. And they pulled it off. There are no visual intrusions or out-of-place sightlines: it is simply the most aesthetically pleasing of all the Disney parks. It also has some fantastic headliner attractions, including the world’s best Big Thunder Mountain, a stellar Pirates of the Caribbean, and the unique and fantastic Phantom Manor. Discoveryland is a great twist on the usual Tomorrowland formula even if it has had much of its integrity compromised, and the park’s Fantasyland is a gorgeous area of intertwined green spaces and unique rides and attractions. This is all fantastic, if it weren’t for the shortcomings of the park. And they are severe. On the food front, the Paris park ironically suffers from the worst food roster anywhere, with mediocre offerings galore. Staffing-wise, the Cast Members here are less than enthusiastic, especially compared to other Disney resorts. And finally and perhaps most importantly, despite a fresh coat of paint and some massive refurbishments in recent years, the park feels stale. It hasn’t had a major new attraction added in a long, long time. So while looks go a long way, looks aren’t everything. And when you haven’t added a noteworthy attraction in over 3 decades…all the fresh paint in the world can’t hide it. Sixth place on our list is as good as it can get.

It could be argued that Disney’s Animal Kingdom is the most consistent and pure form of a “theme park” in the Disney portfolio. Opened in 1995, Disney’s largest park in the world is part zoo, part amusement park, and fires on all cylinders. The park oozes details, with areas dedicated to Asia, Africa, Dinosaurs, and even alien species. The transitions from land to land are natural and consistent. The educational aspect to the park runs strong through its conservation and wildlife themes. And there is plenty to do over the course of the day, with miles of walkable trails, and the Kilimanjaro Safari attraction providing an incredibly real African safari experience, with up-close encounters with dozens of different species. All of this would make once spectacular zoo, but now throw in some incredible unique attractions like Avatar: Flight of Passage, and Expedition Everest, along with fantastic entertainment in the form of theater shows, “streetmosphere” events, and over-the-water parades, and Animal Kingdom becomes a Disney park unlike any other. Even the food offerings are stellar here, with offerings like Yak & Yeti, Tiffins, and Satu’li Canteen. Where it struggles is with attraction count – it’s too top-heavy, and all those e-tickets need a supporting cast. A couple of mid-range dark rides would do wonders, as would the return of the river transportation system. Still, there is far too much to love about Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and overall it is an incredible theme park – with emphasis on the word theme – and the fifth best Disney park in the world.

How can a Disney castle park have no railroad, no berm, no Main Street, no Space Mountain, and no It’s a Small World…and even be called a Disney park? Opened in 2016, Shanghai Disneyland is the newest Disney park on the planet. It’s the riskiest, most unique, most rule-breaking Disney park out there – and it somehow pulls it all off successfully. In Shanghai, Disney went all-out to create a roster of new and original attractions, including the jaw-dropping Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure, the uber-cool Tron Lightcycle Power Run, and the immersive Adventure Isle including the fantastic Roaring Rapids and Challenge Trails. The park also plussed-up some classics, creating stellar versions of Peter Pan’s Flight and Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue. The park’s castle is among the most impressive in the world – a massive structure that houses attractions, shops, dining, and architectural tributes to several Disney princesses. Shanghai’s entertainment offerings are abundant and fantastic, with parades, fireworks and stage shows throughout. The park also incorporates several Chinese-cultural aspects such as large open green spaces for picnics, abundant gardens, and architectural nods to the home country. There are a few points lost here on the food front, as the offerings are mostly standard Chinese cuisine. Further, the park does need some time for its foliage to grow and hide some of the outside world visual intrusions, but this should come as the years go by. Expansions with both Toy Story Land in 2017, as well as the upcoming Zootopia land continue to keep the park on the right trajectory. So while it breaks all the rules (and this will certainly upset some of the purists), Shanghai Disneyland is a fantastic new twist on the classic Disney castle park formula that actually works, and it is the fourth best Disney park on the planet.

The Tokyo castle park was the first Disney park to open outside of the United States back in 1983. And it’s part of the Tokyo Disney Resort, which is the only resort in the world not owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company. The Oriental Land Company (OLC) runs the show here, and in designing this park they created essentially a mash-up of the best parts of Disneyland in California and Magic Kingdom in Florida, with a few mind-blowing original attractions thrown in for good measure. Tokyo Disneyland has fantastic versions of Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, but also is home to a trio of originals that are all worthy of the “e-ticket” moniker: Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek!, and Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast. Beyond the rides, Tokyo Disneyland really flexes its muscles, with incredible food offerings, with a variety of cuisines from around the world, incredible entertainment offerings, and the hands-down most enthusiastic and entertaining Cast Members on the planet. Finally, there is the upkeep. The Walt-standard of “show” is in full-force here, with a true preventative maintenance program that keeps all effects, props, and animatronics working exactly as they should, at all times. All of these variables come together to elevate this park to a level that many of the others can only dream of, and it could be argued that OLC does Disney better than, well, Disney itself. Tokyo Disneyland is known for a lack of updates or “plussing” of its attractions – some argue this is actually a good thing as classic attractions remain virtually untouched in this resort, but it does leave attractions like Space Mountain without audio, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad without the new Dynamite scene. But Tokyo Disneyland really has no major faults, and only finds itself in third place on our list not because it has weaknesses, but only because the remaining parks are just that much better. At the end of the day it is a fantastic park with a great attraction roster and all other aspects firing on all cylinders. Third place is well deserved.

For many, the rides are the number one reason to go to a Disney park, and for those people, Disneyland should easily be their #1 park. Opened in 1955, the attractions aren’t centerpieces of their lands, but instead the lands are the centerpiece – each with numerous attractions built into them in a natural, but ridiculously efficient way. There are more attractions in Disneyland park than in some of Disney’s entire resorts combined…and in many cases a single land within Disneyland park has more attractions than some of Disney’s other theme parks. And it’s not filler. Disneyland park is oozing with headliners, yet has a very strong supporting cast of mid-range attractions, almost all of which are family friendly experiences true to Walt’s desire to have a place where parents and children could have fun together. What’s even better is that in recent years the park has expanded these offerings, and rather than replace rides or attractions, they somehow have found a way to wedge in new ones – making this already very stellar lineup even better with additions like Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and the upcoming Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Entertainment, food, and retail offerings are all strong here. And Cast Members are among the best in the world. And finally, there is that special “Walt Disney” factor – the intangible impact of this being the only park on earth that Walt personally had a hand in designing, building, overseeing, and even living inside of for a time. It’s not unreasonable to think there will never be another park as attraction-dense as Disneyland. But replicating this place should be the expectation, as it feels like the single most complete theme park in the world – and it is the second-best Disney park on our list.

Volumes have been written about why Tokyo DisneySea park is a masterpiece. And every word of it is true. It’s what happens when the budget is given a back seat, and Imagineers are allowed to dream and create, unrestrained. It’s the result of not being tied to a specific IP or franchise of the day. It’s the complete and total realization of a theme park, where the landscapes and architecture are seamlessly blended with the attractions, entertainment, and offerings. Tokyo Bay itself is part of the backdrop here, as the park is a love letter to the ocean, with the lands and themes all pointing to the water in a near perfect way. Opened in 2001, it would be possible to explore the Tokyo DisneySea park all day, not actually board a single ride, and still have the best theme park experience ever. The experience of the park itself is equal to or better than any single attraction here. And Tokyo DisneySea is not particularly heavy on the attraction front – but the attractions that it does have are almost all masterpieces both to observe and experience. From the centerpiece Journey to the Center of the Earth inside Mount Prometheus, to Tower of Terror’s unnerving backstory and ornate detailing, to the palace housing the mind-blowing animatronics of Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage, these are among Disney’s greatest accomplishments in the world. The upcoming expansion Fantasy Springs will be the largest in the history of a Disney Park, and will enhance the resort even more with four new attractions (three headliners), an all-new hotel, and new retail and food offerings, in immersive water-centered lands. Now, take all of this and add in the top tier Tokyo resort food, entertainment, Cast Members, and ride upkeep, and the result is a perfected version of a theme park, if there ever was one. But rambling on and on cannot do this park the justice it deserves. Nor can any photo, video, or internet blog. Tokyo DisneySea needs to be experienced in person to be fully appreciated and understood. It is, without question, the greatest theme park in the world.