Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Disney's Hollywood Studios, in that order. However, that's not taking your kids into account.
Why Magic Kingdom is weaker than the other parks:
- You live near Disneyland, which is similar yet far superior.
- The dining options are mediocre.
- The live shows are nearly nonexistent.
- You should put off visiting until the Fantasyland refurbishment is complete.
- MK is the most visited park in the world; plus, it's summertime. Crowds will be intense.
Also, make sure to try the Kim Possible World Showcase Adventures at some point. They are very addictive, and really a lot of fun. And for goodness sakes, let your kids hold the Kimmunicator!
(You can check out my Rao Family Adventures thread for lots of info on Epcot - it truly was my family's favorite stop when we visited The World back in May).
Everything for the family is here
Young Kids- Fantasyland
Big Kids- Pirates, HM, Buzz
Teens- The big kid rides plus the 3 mountains
Adults- Anything they wish.
MK hands down.
With all taken into account the best park to spend the day goes to: EPCOT. My personal favorite park is Hollywood Studios but in overall experience EPCOT wins. Why? Well it has enough rides/attractions to keep guests in the park while letting families unwind by touring the World Showcase. Magic Kingdom can technically be parallel to Disneyland and HS/AK are fantastic but are primarily known to be 1/2 day parks.
EPCOT is a good pick too, but you have already been there.
Then there's the most iconic structure at WDW. It has to be Cinderella's Castle, Even though the giant silver orb of Spaceship Earth at EPCOT would challenge it I still think of Cinderella's castle first.
So , for me, it has to be Magic Kingdom.
If you're travelling tens or hundreds or thousands of miles to WDW then the pull of Magic Kingdom is too strong. You surely can't help but be drawn ( even sub-consciously ) towards it. It's in your psyche. It's the essence of WDW.
Even those from Anaheim will be too intrigued. They'd have to check out the differences. To compare it with the wonderful original they have at home. They wouldn't be able to resist. They couldn't go all that way without knowing.
It's Magic you see.
(It's my favorite park, by the way.)
But when someone blatantly tries to force their unwanted opinion down our throats…
Opinions and like noses son, everyone has one….
Didn't mean to blatantly force my opinion across. Rather, I tried to make a logical case for Disney's smaller parks. I was a bit passionate about this one because it upsets me that everyone in favour of the Magic Kingdom uses the same argument to defend its position: "magic". They don't mention the crowds, lines, criss-cross queues without themes, mediocre food, lack of live entertainment, or any other factors that always seem to detract from the "magic". In my experience, I have witnessed more screaming parents and children at this park than any other (not to mention child beatings). I've also seen line-jumpers, verbal fights, clothing that shouldn't be allowed in public, and other sights that I haven't experienced at the less popular parks. I don't think it's a coincidence, either. MK is the world's most popular park; it's bound to attract some idiots.
I'd love to hear somebody defend the Magic Kingdom against the other three parks with an argument not involving the word "magic".
Instead I'd have to pick the Magic Kingdom because I have a hard time, mentally, with going to Orlando and not riding the Haunted Mansion. I've done it before. I've visited Epcot on a one day trip, and it was great, but the whole time I'm dealing with the knowledge that the Haunted Mansion is so close but I can't ride it.
Plus it is not the easiest past to get to.. Tram or boat ride plus the parking shuttle…
I answered using the latter criteria, and I had to choose Magic Kingdom. The logical reason for my choice is that I have 7- and 5-year-old daughters, neither of which are tall enough to ride some of the attractions in the other parks. I think the 7-year-old can now ride everything in the Magic Kingdom, and the 5-year-old everything except Space Mountain.
If I answered for Robert, my answer would be, "Go back to EPCOT and take the family before you have a mutiny on your hands!" (I'm making a wild assumption that his kids are older.)
Anonymous:
I was keeping Robert in mind when I chose Epcot. He lives in California and visits Disneyland frequently, so Magic Kingdom, to me, would be a step down for him. If you've been following his theme park insider summer road trip reports, he's talked as much about customer service and food as he has rides. I find the customer service and food, among other things, excellent at Epcot.
I Respond; The nominations for STUPIDEST POST EVER are ...
Well, Josh, FWIW, I agree that the Magic Kingdom, in and of itself, is a step down from Disneyland.
Regardless, EPCOT is THE park to visit if you only have one day. And I am forcing that opinion down everyone's throat!
(Did I place, TH?)
So who votes for EPCOT? Typical Americans, who never go anywhere apart from theme park sin their own hometown, that's who.
Have you never heard of Tokyo DisneySEA? It's basically World Showcase but with superior theming, and added thrill rides and family attractions. Why would anyone want to walk around EPCOT World Showcase with no rides to go on? Yeah, the food may be great, but we don't all go to theme parks for food, do we, especially not when there's drive-thru McDonalds's on every Interstate junction.
EPCOT Future World has Test Track, Mission: Space, and Soarin', and of those, any true theme park connosiuer will queue for Test Track, but the other two are take it or leave it IMO, especially since you can search for the onride POV of any ride on YouTube instead of forking out an extravagant amount of cash for this horrible waste-of-time theme park named EPCOT.
Now, other Disney parks at WDW are all very good, Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios are all worth the admission fee and worth the probable wait times for popular, newer rides like Midway Mania, the mountains as MK, and Everest.
However, the best Disney theme parks are not even in America. The absolute best is Tokyo DisneySEA, and the best MK-style park is either Tokyo Disneyland or Disneyland Paris.
I wonder if any of you Americans will ever venture out of your comfort zone to actually experience other theme parks apart from those in your precious USA.
Last time I checked, Tokyo DisneySea is not part of Walt Disney World, therefore it is not an option for us to choose.
But then I guess literacy and manners are not required in whatever precious little country from which you so venomously emerged...
Also, where is the sale on Sassy Pants?..... I lost mine.
I agree with a few comments above to go to one of the waterparks. They are both amazing and really inexpensive too. The downside of course is being surrounded by lots of people with questionable swimwear. But hey, that could be an upside too if you are like me and like to point and laugh at people.
I would love to visit Tokyo DisneySea. Hell, I would love to just visit Tokyo. Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Paris, Singapore, Hong Kong - there are plenty of major international cities/states outside of the U.S. that I would love to visit that happen to include incredible theme parks. The problem is traveling expenses. For a round-trip flight to Tokyo, it would cost me $1200-$1500. Compare that to Orlando, which is a 26-hour drive. With 8 friends and two cars, it costs us about $60 each in gas (we don't stop to sleep - we just switch off drivers). So, yes, the U.S. is a bit of a comfort zone (for my wallet). And I'm Canadian, for the record.
With the family it has to be MK and there isn't a close second.
EPCOT. Although not a thrill park, it's got Soarin' and plenty of food. This is also a great park to relax in.