Walking down Hong Kong Disneyland’s Main Street U.S.A. can seem like a moment in déjà vu, as on the surface this looks like a near replica of the California park – many of the buildings, structures, and shops are almost a carbon copy on the outside. The train whistles overhead, Main Street vehicles litter the roads, and characters and other street performers abound. It all feels very familiar, and this was even more true when the castle was once a near clone of the Disneyland original. A closer look, however, reveals that much is missing in this first act. For starters, there’s no firehouse/apartment – for obvious reasons. The inspiring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln show is absent, as is the wonderful Carnation Café. A Duffy and Friends meet & greet is a positive, but beyond that, it’s a rather uninspiring assortment of retail stores, with a small snack stop thrown in here and there for good measure. And while the new castle gives the Hong Kong park something truly unique (and gorgeous) to celebrate at the end of the road, there’s no denying that this Main Street U.S.A. is a lot of style with very little substance…and as a result it’s our least favorite land in this park.

Toy Story Land debuted as the first new land in Hong Kong Disneyland park back in 2011. It was the beginning of a much-needed shot in the arm for this half-day theme park that was far too underbuilt. And while nicely themed, unfortunately, the land fails to deliver. With three attractions, along with a couple of food outlets and retail shops, this is a land clearly geared toward the younger set. The very tame Slinky Dog Spin and Toy Soldier Parachute Drop attractions both could have (and should have) packed more punch. The RC Racer half-pipe coaster is the headliner here – and while it is no doubt a fun attraction – it is far too short of an experience…and still comes off feeling more like a plussed up carnival attraction than a true Disney-caliber experience. And perhaps that’s the real problem with Toy Story Land in Hong Kong…there is no attraction here that is truly worthy of the Disney name. It feels like something that would be found in one of the more heavily themed areas of any Six Flags or Cedar Fair park: dressed-up, generic rides. It’s a shame that the land doesn’t add Toy Story Mania – there is an empty plot at one end no doubt earmarked for this exact attraction – for that would truly help round out the experience with a quality dark ride. Today, Toy Story Land, like the park’s Main Street U.S.A. is a pretty package without much inside. Sixth place is as good as it can do.

Fantasylands around the globe have many things in common. At their center, a castle, and Hong Kong’s newly renovated version is fantastic. In the courtyard beyond, the Mad Tea Party, and Dumbo the Flying Elephant are the standard offerings, with It’s a Small World hovering in the back of the land. Hong Kong checks those boxes as well. Beyond that, Fantasyland is and always has been all about the mid-level dark rides that add so much charm and immersion to the land. Unfortunately, this is where Hong Kong Disneyland’s Fantasyland fall very short. There is one dark ride here: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. That’s it. And while the honey-loving bear’s attraction isn’t bad by any means, that single dark ride is not nearly enough for Fantasyland. It really is all the land has to offer. The walk-through Fantasy Gardens and Fairy Tale Forests are fine – but they don’t make up for lack of rides. On the plus side, the Storybook Theatre is a great venue, and the unique Clopin’s Festival of Foods gives an underutilized IP some representation. Today, the area is receiving a major expansion based on Frozen, which will add two new attractions in a large mini-land. This is a major step in the right direction, but this Fantasyland still needs more. Another dark ride or two – a clone of Shanghai’s fantastic Peter Pan’s Flight would work wonders here – would help round out the land nicely. Until that happens it’s not only the weakest Fantasyland in the world, it’s the fifth best land in this park.

It’s getting harder and harder to continue to define Hong Kong Disneyland’s Tomorrowland. Like the rest of the park, this land opened with very little to offer. A clone of Space Mountain from California, an elevated spinner dubbed the Orbitron, a meandering Autopia, and a clone of Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters was about all one could find here on opening day. Since that time, half of the land has begun a complete transformation and re-theme into an Avengers Campus. It started with the addition of the Iron Man simulator attraction and experience. Then, Buzz Lightyear was completely overhauled and re-themed to the new Ant Man and the Wasp: Nano Battle! Finally, the Autopia was shuttered, with the space planned to become the large and long-rumored Avengers Quinjet e-ticket attraction. As a result, the land is now half traditional Tomorrowland, and half Marvel…and it’s clear which half is getting all of the love. Disney has always had a hard time keeping its Tomorrowlands fresh and relevant, and in Hong Kong the future of the land is one big question mark: will this become the first Disney park to officially abandon the Tomorrowland name at some future point? Time will tell. Today though it’s simply a mish-mash of two drastically different worlds, with some fun attractions and themed spaces that earn it a solid fourth place ranking on our list.

If there is any Disney Resort that can legitimately create a jungle-themed land based on its surroundings, it is Hong Kong Disneyland. The park sits in a part of the world whose climate, geography, and landscapes are literally a jungle…with the surrounding Lantau Mountains providing a fantastic backdrop. The heat and humidity here make a summer in Florida look like a picnic. With that all said, it completely baffles the mind that this is the only Disney park on earth lacking a large water attraction to cool off on those sweltering days. Adventureland would be the perfect place for a log flume, a rapids ride, or even a spinner with a water feature. As it stands, none of those exist here. Instead, this Adventureland keeps its guests dry, but does so with some truly great attractions. The Jungle River Cruise is a new and fresh take on the Jungle Cruise experience, offered in multiple languages, and cruising what is typically the “Rivers of America” as its ride route. It is well themed, and provides a great surprise ending that earns it’s places as the best of its kind in the world. Tarzan’s Treehouse here is also the best version anywhere, with animatronics and fun interactive features, all experienced only after taking a raft trip to the island on which it sits. Beyond these attractions, the land has some fine food establishments, as well as the Theater in the Wild, which shows the Lion King musical. So while it desperately needs that water attraction – and of course a Pirates of the Caribbean attraction as well – this version of Adventureland is large, well themed, and has a couple of true gems, all earning it the third place slot on our list.

Time for us to be a bit hypocritical. We’ve raved many times about how ride count is critical to a great land or park…it’s what makes places like Disneyland in California or Magic Kingdom Park in Florida so great. However, when a land’s theming and immersion run so deep, and are so convincing, you end up with masterpieces regardless of attraction count. These are themed spaces that are so strong that they can stand on their own, with or without attractions. Places like Mediterranean Harbor at Tokyo DisneySea or Treasure Cove at Shanghai Disneyland that truly transport guests into another time and place. Grizzly Gulch is another of these places. From the moment the land is approached, the details abound, from the towering peak of Big Grizzly Mountain, to the interactive geyser play area, to the shops and stalls of this abandoned western town. It’s an area full of details and worth exploring every inch of. The centerpiece attraction here – the wonderful Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars – winds its way over, under, and through the land, providing a great sense of energy and wonder. It’s the only real ride in this land, and yet it fires on all cylinders, with launches and dives both forward and backward, plenty of surprises, and several great animatronics. And it is built so well into the land that there is hardly an area the coaster doesn’t pass through in some way. It’s true that Grizzly Gulch no doubt could benefit from adding another attraction, shop, or restaurant. But today, it really is a masterpiece of Imagineering with strong bones and a wonderful headliner attraction. It’s all strong enough to earn the title of second best land in Hong Kong Disneyland Park.

Mystic Manor. That’s really all that needs to be said here. On its own, this jaw-dropping marvel of Imagineering would justify a visit from anywhere in the world. It’s so strong, that many have ranked it as the best (or at least in the top 3) Disney attractions ever. It’s simply baffling that the ride hasn’t been cloned. Truly, Disney could have given this one the Walt Disney Studios Park treatment – plop it down onto an unthemed slab of asphalt - and it would still command respect. As it stands, however, Mystic Manor is the centerpiece of Mystic Point – a land perhaps best described as a cross between Adventureland, Lost River Delta, and with maybe a touch of Animal Kingdom sprinkled on for good show. It’s a remote jungle settlement all built around the adventures and travels of Lord Henry Mystic and his charming pet monkey (and sidekick) Albert. The entire land has deep ties with the Society of Explorers and Adventurers (S.E.A.) a group that has a collective story running through many of the Disney parks in the world, and which Lord Henry Mystic is a member of. Mystic Manor sits high above the land on a hill, at the same time both wondrous and foreboding. To ride this attraction is to experience the best Disney has to offer not only in technology and storytelling, but also in an all-original storyline, which is nearly extinct in the parks these days. Beyond this attraction, the land has a fantastic Garden of Wonders area full of optical illusions, but it’s the Explorer’s Club Restaurant – attached to the exit gift shop of Mystic Manor – that really seals the deal. Dripping with details from S.E.A., and offering some of the best – if not the best – food in the entire park, this restaurant is one of the greatest counter service experiences in the Disney empire. Fantastic food, a totally immersive land, and one of the greatest Disney attractions ever all add up to make Mystic Point the single best land in Hong Kong Disneyland – at the top of our list for all the right reasons.