Ah, Hong Kong Disneyland, what you could have been with the proper investment. Here – again – we have the Hong Kong park at the bottom of our list. And this is a real shame. Hong Kong itself is nestled within rolling mountains that literally are a jungle, so there was a lot of potential to get this area right. Instead, the park’s Adventureland matches the rest of its lands – it is simply too small, with too few attractions. The headliner here is the fantastic Jungle River Cruise – the best Jungle Cruise type ride in the world. The area also contains Tarzan’s Treehouse – again the best of its kind. And that’s it. A few shops and eating options surround the Theater in the Wild – which houses essentially the same version of the live Lion King show found in Disney’s Animal Kingdom park in Florida. It’s really a shame, because this Adventureland is just begging for its own Indiana Jones or Pirates of the Caribbean attractions. Without any of that, it just feels far too lacking. Over the years, ideas have come and gone for incredible expansions, but none have become a reality. Instead, Adventureland in Hong Kong Disneyland is exactly what it was on opening day – lacking a true headliner, and the least impressive Adventureland in the world.

The Florida park’s Adventureland is a sprawling area – among the largest “lands” in Magic Kingdom park. Here is located a solid version of the Jungle Cruise, the best dining experience in Magic Kingdom park at the fantastic Skipper Canteen, and a carbon copy (though larger seating) of the original Enchanted Tiki Room. It’s a decent lineup, but it’s just not deep enough. Magic Kingdom loses points for a completely (pardon the pun) watered-down version of Pirates of the Caribbean – a real shame for a park of this caliber. And then there is the unnecessary crowd bottleneck that is The Magic Carpets of Aladdin: a spinner that did nothing to enhance the land when it was added in 2001. Magic Kingdom park’s Adventureland has taken positive steps in recent years, plussing their Pirates attraction (though we really miss the short-lived inclusion of the mermaid skeletons), and ditching the horrible Tiki Room Under New Management attraction. But Disney’s flagship park should contain its best versions of the best attractions, and there’s no Indiana Jones Adventure, no live show whatsoever, and no waterfront-based eatery to take advantage of the jungle river setting. It’s not a bad land, but it is lacking compared to many of its peers, which means it’s only the fifth best Adventureland in the world.

Spots #4 through #2 on our list are all virtual neck-and-neck ties. Truly, they could probably be swapped around based on individual nuances and preferences, so we will try to be clear why we ranked them as we did. In Paris, the land is predictably gorgeous to match the rest of this beautiful park, but alas, there is much style and little substance. Adventure Isle is a large section of the Paris Adventureland that is more or less this park’s Tom Sawyer Island, but on serious steroids. With caves, trails, and interactive features, it is worth a good hour or two of time – and it’s all topped off by a towering Swiss Family Robinson treehouse. This is Disney theming and immersion at its prime, and is unfortunately the only one of its kind in the world. The Paris park’s Adventureland contains a mixed bag of eateries – from the wonderful Restaurant Agrabah Café, to the truly awful Captain Jack’s Restaurant des Pirates. Which brings us to the rides…again, a very inconsistent offering. Paris has a unique and very impressive Pirates of the Caribbean attraction…but Indiana Jones et le Temple du Peril is colossal waste, and a rant best left for another post. So when the land is considered for its attractions – and we are in a theme park after all – there are some major shortcomings underneath all of this impressive eye candy. And It’s why the Paris version of Adventureland sits in fourth place on our list.

Don’t blink, or you might miss California’s relatively small, but solidly packed Adventureland. On second thought, the crowd bottlenecks so tightly here that you will be forced to stop walking and take in your surroundings. And it’s a great place to do so. This Adventureland shows what Imagineering can do with packing a huge amount of fun into a tiny little box. California’s Adventureland is one fantastic shop, eatery, and attraction after another, with much to brag about. The pathway to the Temple of the Forbidden Eye and the incredible Indiana Jones Adventure ride is buried deep within the jungle amid one of the greatest Disney queues in the world. Tarzan’s Treehouse adds great energy with its pathways winding above and over the rest of the land. And the Walt Disney original Jungle Cruise and Enchanted Tiki Room attractions are somehow wedged into all of this as well. If this weren’t enough, the relatively new fantastic Tropical Hideaway may be the best eatery to be added to Disneyland in decades, with excellent food and beautiful vistas looking out over the Jungle Cruise rivers. There’s so much going on here in such a small footprint that it’s hard not to get caught up in all the energy and fun. It’s another example of how the best things often do come in small packages, and it’s why California’s Adventureland sits in third place on our list.

Some might call it cheating, but Tokyo’s Adventureland actually feels like two impressive “mini-lands” combined into one. Half of this land follows the traditional Adventureland mold – with a stellar version of the Jungle Cruise, a unique take on the Enchanted Tiki Room featuring Stitch (which works far better than it should), and a Swiss Family Treehouse. The other half of the land is patterned after California’s brilliant New Orleans’s Square – complete with an almost-clone of that park’s Pirates of the Caribbean and accompanying Blue Bayou restaurant, and many of the shops, food offerings, and details one would expect from this area of the park. Tokyo ups the ante here by throwing in a full-blown theater show into Adventureland with Let’s Party Gras! The park also includes the Western River Railroad loading station on the second story of the Jungle Cruise building, which feels a bit odd, but ultimately means that the train attraction winds its way not only through their Westernland, but also through the jungles and rivers of Adventureland as well. Now throw in Tokyo’s reliably awesome maintenance, upkeep, and cast members, and the result is an Adventureland that fires on all cylinders to support that strong attraction, food, and shopping roster. It’s another win for Tokyo – with some tough competition from California and Paris – but the sum of its parts is why their Adventureland is the second best on the planet.

In the number one spot is a completely new and unique take on Adventureland – dubbed Adventure Isle – at the newest Disney park in Shanghai, China. This version of Adventureland is the antithesis of the California version – with wide pathways and attractions spread out with plenty of breathing room. The Explorer Canoes are the best of their kind in the world – with breathtaking views of the Adventure Isle jungle as well as nearby Treasure Cove. Tribal Table is a massive eatery with some of the best food in this park. And the Tarzan: Call of the Jungle show – while now on hiatus – was one of the best Disney live shows in the world – incorporating infamous Chinese acrobatics with Disney’s animated classic. But it’s a trio of world-class attractions with an incredible interwoven backstory that steal the show here - all housed in and around the centerpiece of the land – the breathtaking Roaring Mountain. Roaring Rapids is one of the greatest white water rafting rides in the world, with an animatronic beast that the local Arbori tribe has warned the League of Adventurers not to disturb. This monster is an Imagineering marvel, and will legitimately frighten guests of all ages. Challenge Trails is a Disney themed ropes course with endless pathways that wander over, around, and through roaring mountain – with Arbori carvings and paintings warning of respect to the mountain and the beast therein. This attraction is downright nerve-wracking in places as guests cross over slippery rocks and past raging waterfalls, high above the ground. And finally, Soaring over the Horizon takes the classic flight simulator and ties it back into the Arbori tribe via its mystical shaman preshow and temple theming. Overlay all of this with a myriad of caves, trails, and pathways for guests to explore, and it becomes crystal clear that this is one of the most impressive (and most cohesive) Disney theme park experiences anywhere. The storytelling is cohesive, consistent, and on-point, and the rides and attractions are top-notch. As a result, Adventure Isle in Shanghai sits comfortably atop the list, as the best Adventureland in the world.