Posted by Mike and Chris Pettey on January 5, 2021
Category: Disney vs. Disney
Tags: Disneyland Disneyland Paris Hong Kong Disneyland Magic Kingdom Shanghai Disneyland Tokyo Disneyland

Disney Castle Parks are the original magic kingdom theme parks found at each of the six Disney resorts around the world. Each park has a Castle as its centerpiece, thus the nickname “castle park”. We’ve experienced every Disney Castle Park in person.

Major Similarities & Differences

You can watch fantastic videos of all of these parks 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:

The castles in Tokyo and Florida are near clones from the exterior, both Cinderella Castles. The castle in Disneyland is Sleeping Beauty Castle, the smallest of all Disney castles, which once also had a clone in the Hong Kong park. Hong Kong remodeled its castle in 2020 to the Castle of Magical Dreams. The Shanghai park contains Enchanted Storybook Castle, the largest of all Disney castles.
The parks in California, Florida, Paris, and Hong Kong, all contain a train that circles the park, with various stations to board and de-board at. Due to laws regarding public transportation in Japan, the Tokyo park’s train does not follow this model, and is instead a loop around Westernland, with only one station. The Shanghai resort does not contain a train attraction of any kind.

Dumbo the Flying Elephant is the only ride to be found in all six Disney Castle Parks. In Florida, the ride has two separate Dumbo spinner rides placed next to each other, to handle guest demand.
With the exception of Shanghai, each Castle Park is surrounded by a “berm” which is a raised layer of earth to block out sights and sounds from the world outside the park. Generally the train attraction travels just inside the berm.
The Paris park is the only of the six that has not had any new “lands” added since its opening.

The Rankings (from least favorite to favorite)

6. Hong Kong Disneyland (Hong Kong)

If there ever has been a “half day” Castle Park, it’s Hong Kong Disneyland. This is the classic example of what happens when Disney tries to cut corners. The opening day roster at this park was a joke – the only major attraction being a Space Mountain clone from California. A unique Jungle River Cruise was a nice touch, but otherwise, this park offered far too little, with a list of attractions that could easily be completed before lunch time. Fortunately, the attendance was so poor, that Disney was forced to course-correct, and the park quickly added three all new lands with Toy Story Land, and the incredible Grizzly Gulch, and Mystic Point. These latter two lands are home to two of the best Disney attractions in the world with Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars, and Mystic Manor – rides that are so stellar, they make this park absolutely worth a visit for any Disney fan. Still, those additions are not enough, and even with additional plusses of 2016’s The Iron Man Experience, a completely re-designed (and gorgeous) Castle of Magical Dreams in 2020, and a Frozen-themed headliner attraction and mini-land in 2021, the park will still need even more to get it where it should have been since Day 1. On the plus side, the cast members are great, and the food offerings are varied and solid. Entertainment is average, though that should improve once the new castle gets a proper nighttime projection show. Ride maintenance unfortunately falls in line with Disney expectations, with just enough being done to keep things from looking totally shabby, but not on par with the quality standards that Walt originally established for his company. Overall, Hong Kong Disneyland is worth a visit if you are nearby, but not worth an overseas trip, and until it adds one or two more solid e-tickets, it will remain the weakest of the pack.

5. Magic Kingdom (Florida)

The world’s most visited theme park is the castle park at Walt Disney World resort in Florida. And while Hong Kong Disneyland was a disappointment from the start, Magic Kingdom in Florida started out strong but fell in a decades-long state of stagnancy, and not until the 2000’s did it begin to receive some desperately needed attention. Today, the Magic Kingdom is home to “new” adventures, as found in the fantastic “New Fantasyland” addition that contains several noteworthy additions, including the fabulous Seven Dwarfs Mine Train coaster and incredible Be Our Guest restaurant. It is also, unfortunately the home of too much “old”, as seen with its dated Tomorrowland Speedway, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and tournament-style Fantasyland castle grounds and courtyards. Not all that is old is bad, however, as the park is still home to several Disney classics that have disappeared at other resorts – namely the Peoplemover, Carousel of Progress, and Country Bear Jamboree. On the negative side, the food here is extremely average, which is a disappointment for a resort that has much to brag about in parks like Epcot and Animal Kingdom. Cast Members are generally very friendly, but ride maintenance is among the worst in the Disney portfolio, with animatronics and special effects regularly broken down and in need of repair and maintenance. Florida does redeem itself to some degree with its fantastic Happily Ever After nighttime castle show, among the best in the world. But those years of neglect mean that a lot needs to be done to get this park up to the caliber that should be expected of Disney’s flagship park in its flagship resort. As such, it will have to settle on fifth place.

4. Disneyland Paris (Paris)

Disneyland Paris is unquestionably the most beautiful park on this list. It is a wonder to behold, with every inch meticulously designed and fully realized in a way that makes the park experience an attraction all its own. Unfortunately, in many ways, beauty is only skin deep here. For starters, Disneyland Paris has what is without a doubt the worst food offering of all the Disney resorts, a true irony for the city of Paris. Cast Members here are also the most inconsistent – with some real stars, and some that seem, shall we say, disengaged. The park has a handful of rides that are fascinating to behold, but rather lousy experiences – among them, Hyperspace Mountain and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril. Add to this a rather light lineup of dark rides, and a few misplaced attractions (Mickey’s Philharmagic in Tomorrowland, anyone?), and the negatives are hard to ignore. It’s not all bad though, as the park does contain a trio of world class attractions with their versions of Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Phantom Manor – all completely justifying the trip to Marne de Vallee. Entertainment is solid here, with great night and day shows throughout the park. Ride maintenance and reliability is hit or miss – typical for Disney – with inconsistencies found throughout. The problems run deeper than just repairs however, as the Paris park inexplicably chooses to keep many rides, shops, and eateries closed even when crowds are bursting. Still, even with its blemishes it is a gorgeous park, with fantastic sightlines and hours upon hours of beauty just begging to be explored. The “theme” in theme park runs deep and strong at Disneyland Paris park – the fourth best castle park in the world.

3. Shanghai Disneyland (Shanghai)

Shanghai is home to the most unique of all the Disney Castle Parks, evident from the first steps inside the gate, where a train station – but not train attraction – exists to welcome guests. From there, Main Street gives way to the fun-but-way-too-small Mickey Avenue opening act, and the beautiful Gardens of Imagination placed in front of the gorgeous Enchanted Storybook Castle. Shanghai Disneyland is no slouch on attractions, with several unique headliners that demand attention: Roaring Rapids, Peter Pan’s Flight, Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue, Tron Lightcycle Power Run, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure are all world-class, incredible attractions. The newest resort benefits from master planning that includes fantastic, consistent, and fully realized lands, and an absolutely incredible sound system throughout, completely engulfing guests in its crystal clear, 360 degree glory. The uniqueness of the lands – including the exclusive Adventure Isle and Treasure Cove – means that even if you’ve been to other castle parks, there is much to take in here that is all-new and refreshing. On the flip side, the park is gigantic and very spread out – and this definitely does take away from the intimate feel found at other castle parks. The food offerings also leave much to be desired – not enough variety, and certainly not much to write home about. Cast Members are bright and cheerful, and ride maintenance is fantastic – though these may be reflections of the “newness” of the resort, and time will tell if they hold up as the years roll on. Entertainment offerings are great, with fantastic day and nighttime offerings. Overall, it’s a fantastic and incredible unique park that is worthy of the Disney name, and a solid third place on our list.

2. Tokyo Disneyland (Tokyo)

The top two spots on our list are essentially a neck-and-neck tie, and we’ll elaborate on the reasons for our order below. Tokyo Disneyland is hard to beat. First up, the opening act World Bazaar is a completely covered Main Street, with added side streets to give it depth and charm. The attraction line up starts with what feels like a “best of” list from both the Florida and California resorts: with the best versions of Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, and Pirates of the Caribbean from each of those resorts finding home at this park. Beyond that, there are three incredible and Tokyo-only e-ticket headliners that cannot be missed: Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek!, and Enchanted Tale of Beaty and the Beast. These are so good that they could almost stand on their own and justify the visit, and result in nearly every land (less Toontown) having at least one (and in many cases two or three) true headliner attractions. Thankfully, you can add much to this stellar attraction roster to really separate Tokyo Disneyland from its peers: Cast Members are the best in the world here, with an infectious enthusiasm that defies logic. A true preventative ride maintenance program is in place, ensuring that broken effects and props are virtually non-existent. Food is fantastic at the Tokyo park, with everything from incredibly cute and delicious snacks, to amazing table service experiences. Entertainment is also next-level here, with shows that are both cutting edge and irresistible. It’s “Disney on steroids” at the Tokyo park – even the soap dispensers spray out Mickey-shaped foam into guest’s hands. And it all adds up to an experience that many argue is the most authentic Disney experience in the world. For these reasons, Tokyo Disneyland sits barely in second place on this list, as one of the greatest Disney castle parks in the world.

1. Disneyland (California)

Edging out the Tokyo park just ever so closely is the original in California. And that is saying something. Tokyo truly does best the California resort in terms of Cast Members, entertainment, and ride maintenance. But the heart of a theme park is its heavily themed and appropriately placed attractions, and here the California park wins out. Packed into the smallest footprint of any Disney castle park is the most attraction dense offering in the world. There are dozens of attractions here with arguably a double-digit count on e-ticket headliners, eight separate “classic” dark rides, and dozens of other attractions and entertainment offerings. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge may seem a bit out of place in this park, but is built in so wonderfully that it feels like it’s been there all along, adding fantastic shopping and dining to its two incredible rides. Throw in some unique experiences like the Matterhorn Bobsleds, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Alice in Wonderland, and Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, and Disneyland really shines. Disneyland also has the most solid food offerings of any of the six castle parks – snacks to sit-down options abound and are generally solid choices. And the entertainment here representative of being so close to the Entertainment Capital of the World – with incredible shows throughout. Finally, there is New Orleans Square – arguably one of the greatest “lands” in any Disney park – and exclusive to the California resort. Beyond the tangible, the small nature of this park means that there is an intimacy not found in any other Disney castle park – and that intimacy really works wonders to create a special type of magic exclusive to the California offering. It has that certain special “something” – maybe its because this is the one Walt himself personally designed and oversaw – and it’s enough to put Disneyland at the top of this list – barely – as the greatest Disney castle park in the world.

Written by Mike and Chris Pettey

YOUR THOUGHTS?

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

3 Comments

Francis says:

April 26, 2024 at 3:51 am

I think it’s a real shame that Tokyo Disneyland does not update the attractions when the other parks do so as you both said.

It’s gotten a lot worse in recent years too with all the updates/reimagining done on attractions elsewhere except Tokyo like updating Roger Rabbit’s Car Spin, reimagining Splash Mountain and adding new scenes to Star Tours.

Does it have anything to do with Tokyo Disney Resort not being owned by The Walt Disney Company I wonder?

Eric says:

August 22, 2024 at 4:40 pm

Disneyland in CA is the best. All the best rides and experiences condensed into 2 parks. Which as an American i think Disneyland is better than Disneyworld because you can walk between parks and not have to ride a bus to a new area. As a kid i went to both within a week or 10 days and Disneyland is better. Id much rather walk than ride a bus between parks on my vacation. Even now as an approaching middle age adult.

Mike and Chris Pettey says:

August 26, 2024 at 1:36 pm

Thanks for the comment Eric, and we completely agree. As parks guys, we prefer California to Florida any day, for all the reasons you outlined. We do understand why people who are really into the resorts, love Florida. But for us who are there for the parks and rides, Disneyland is king.

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Disney Vs. Disney: Ranking Every Disney Castle Park