Posted by Mike and Chris Pettey Updated on September 17, 2020
Category: Disney vs. Disney
Tags: Disney vs. Disney Disneyland Disneyland Paris Fantasyland Hong Kong Disneyland Magic Kingdom Shanghai Disneyland Tokyo Disneyland

Fantasyland is a themed area within Disney’s Castle Parks, focused typically on characters, stories, and adventures from many of Disney’s animated feature films. The land can be found at all six of the Disney Resorts across the globe. We’ve visited every Fantasyland in person.

Major Similarities & Differences

You can watch fantastic videos of all versions of the land online, so we won’t spend time re-hashing the details of each experience. Instead, we will just point out the major similarities and differences we feel are worth calling out:

Each land is anchored by a large Castle, which serves as the entry point to the land.
Fantasyland is the only land that goes by a consistent name in all six Disney Castle Parks around the globe.

Each Disney park that contains a train circling the park, has a train station in Fantasyland (California, Florida, Hong Kong, Paris).
The Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Florida versions have areas heavily themed to a medieval courtyard, with tournament-style facades for various attractions, shops, and eateries. The original California version also had this theme until its 1983 makeover.

Several Fantasylands around the globe include (or will soon include) “mini-lands” dedicated to specific themes or characters:
- Dumbo’s Storybook Circus in Florida
- Frozen mini-land in Hong Kong
- Beauty and the Beast mini-land in Tokyo
- Zootopia mini-land in Shanghai

The Rankings (from least favorite to favorite)

6. Fantasyland – Hong Kong Disneyland (Hong Kong)

At the bottom of our list is the most underwhelming of all of the Fantasylands. Hong Kong Disneyland is light on attractions in general, and its Fantasyland is quite possibly the greatest offender. After the ho-hum castle that is simply a bare-bones copy of the California original, there is one – just one – single dark ride here: a cookie cutter version of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. And while you’ll find the standard flat rides like Dumbo and the Mad Tea Party, the land pretty much ends there. A somewhat interesting walk-through called the Fairy Tale Forest provides some nice scenery, and the Storybook Theater houses a good show in Mickey and the Wondrous Book. But the rest of this Fantasyland is quite unremarkable in that it is very light on attractions, and is completely lacking a standout headliner. That will all change when the Frozen themed mini-land expansion debuts at a future point, but today, this Fantasyland is the least magical in the Disney portfolio.

5. Fantasyland – Shanghai Disneyland (Shanghai)

It’s a bit perplexing that the newest Fantasyland is so far down the list. Shanghai knocked it out of the park with many of its themed lands…but not this one. In fact, it’s almost as if the budget dried up when they got to Fantasyland. After a gorgeous entry through the fabulous Enchanted Storybook Castle, there is so much open, empty space, that it doesn’t really feel like a “land” at all, but instead more of a large park with a few attractions tossed in for good measure. The original attractions in this land are all quite underwhelming, with the already dated live-action based Alice in Wonderland Maze, and Voyage to the Crystal Grotto – containing quite possibly the most bizarre finale of any ride in any Disney park anywhere. And while Shanghai’s Fantasyland does contain the best version of Peter Pan’s Flight in the world, there isn’t much else going on other than a cookie cutter version of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh or an inferior version of the Seven Dwarves Mine Train. The biggest disappointment here though isn’t the lack of attractions, but rather the lack of “place” that exists due to all that wide open space. A forthcoming Zootopia mini-land should help, but there’s still a lot of emptiness to Shanghai Disneyland’s Fantasyland, and that means it’s in fifth place.

4. Fantasyland – Tokyo Disneyland (Tokyo)

Tokyo Disneyland has a two-sided approach to its attractions: keep things essentially in their original version with little to no updates, or bulldoze them and build something completely new. This approach results in a schizophrenic Fantasyland that contain attractions more or less exactly as they would have existed in 1983 (Dumbo), right next door to world-class unique headliner attractions (Pooh’s Hunny Hunt). It feels very inconsistent to say the least, but it does provide quite a range of experience, and one can see just how far Disney has come over the years. The food in this version of Fantasyland is the best in the world, and Tokyo’s is also the only location to include the headliner attraction Haunted Mansion – often explained as justified in this location due to differing cultural perceptions of the supernatural among the Japanese population. The forthcoming Beauty and the Beast mini-land looks to set the bar even higher, while at the same time creating even more of a gap between old and new. For now though, it’s good, not great, and the fourth best Fantasyland in the world.

3. Fantasyland – Disneyland Paris (Paris)

Unquestionably the most beautiful Fantasyland of them all, a visitor could spend all day in this Fantasyland not riding a single attraction, and still have an incredible experience. After what is hands-down the best Disney Castle in the world, the land is orchestrated so that the attractions become part of the landscape, not just additions to it, resulting in a truly magical experience. But it’s not all style and no substance: here you’ll find a fantastic version of Peter Pan’s Flight, a charming Alice in Wonderland walk-through maze, and a beautiful version of Storybookland – the only other in the world after the California original. Throw in a couple of additional dark rides as well as the usual flat rides, all enhanced with the gorgeous scenery, and this version of Fantasyland really starts to impress. Admittedly, Paris drops the ball big time on the food offerings, and it still desperately needs that headliner attraction. The landscapes are breathtaking though, and that results in the third best Fantasyland in the world.

2. Fantasyland – Magic Kingdom (Florida)

Like Tokyo, the Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland has a bit of a duel-personality: the area immediately surrounding the castle sports the old-school tournament style theming, while “New Fantasyland” beyond the castle wall is a gorgeous enchanted forest. Where Magic Kingdom differs from Tokyo is that it has updated many of its older attractions, keeping things relatively fresh and new, regardless of their age. The original castle area of Fantasyland is home to great versions of Peter Pan’s Flight and It’s a Small World, along with top-tier food offerings at Cinderella’s Royal Table. Venturing into the forest, the land contains a fantastic headliner attraction in the Seven Dwarves Mine Train, the criminally underrated Enchanted Tales with Belle, and a beautifully themed Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid. And the Be Our Guest restaurant offers arguably the best themed dining experience in all of Walt Disney World. For bonus points, Enchanted Storybook Circus – a mini-land within Fantasyland – contains the world’s best version of Dumbo. Even the Tangled-themed restroom area is impressive and full of details. While it should never have sacrificed some of its original dark rides, Florida’s Fantasyland is still a fantastic version of the most magical land of them all, and good enough for second best in the world.

1. Fantasyland – Disneyland (California)

In the top spot we find the Walt Disney original version of Fantasyland. Everything here just feels exactly as it should, and reads like a “best of” list: First, the castle, a Walt original with the unique and impressive Sleeping Beauty walk-through attraction. Second, a true headliner with the incredible California-original Matterhorn Bobsleds. Third, the best and most dense collection of dark rides in the Disney catalog, with five (yes, that’s FIVE) including two unique offerings with Alice in Wonderland and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. Fourth, the original Storybookland, with two gorgeous intertwined attractions, amid beautiful scenery. Fifth, a fantastic stage show in Mickey and the Magical Map. All of these offerings are based in a consistent, charming village-themed version of the land, thanks mostly to the 1983 overhaul. But despite all of these pros, where California’s Fantasyland really excels is in its setting. Walt’s original park is by far the smallest, and the attractions are packed in tightly, with reduced room for walkways. While this isn’t always a positive for theme park lands, it actually compliments Fantasyland, as the cozy spaces create a charm that simply doesn’t exist at any of the other versions in the world. Yes, there are bigger Fantasylands out there, but in this case, the best things come in small(er) packages, and Disneyland’s intimate, yet attraction-heavy Fantasyland, is the world’s best.

Written by Mike and Chris Pettey

YOUR THOUGHTS?

Agree or disagree with our rankings? Have you experienced any of these lands – either in person, or virtually via the internet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Disney Vs. Disney: Ranking Every Fantasyland