Which of the Six Disney Resorts Across the World Should You Visit?

The Walt Disney company is mainly famous for two things – its many movies for children and adults alike, and its extraordinary theme parks, that (used to) surpass others in immersion and atmosphere. Currently, Disney operates six resort areas across the globe, each featuring at least one theme park, several hotels and sometimes even their own public transport. Of the travel-dealz authors, both Carlos and Felix are regular visitors and give their opinion about which Disney Resort is the most and least attractive today.

Overview

Before we go into the weeds, let’s give a quick overview about the six resorts we are talking about.

Location	Theme Parks	Unique Rides²	Opened in	Cheapest Ticket1
Anaheim, California	2	6	1955	US$104 (~€89)
Orlando, Florida	4	17	1971	€139
Tokyo, Japan	2	13	1983	JP¥7,900 (~€45)
Paris, France	2	5	1992	€57
Hong Kong, SAR	1	5	2005	HK$669 (~€74)
Shanghai, China	1	4	2016	CN¥475 (~€57)

¹Cheapest single entry adult ticket for one park w/offseason pricing, w/o external discounts.

In the following, we present some simple facts for each resort – Like how close it is to its host city and how easy it is to reach. We will also list all rides that are unique² at these specific resorts, either because their ride systems or theming differs from other parks – or the entire concept is special. In addition to that, most resorts feature their own version of classic Disney rides like (Hyper-)space Mountain, The Haunted Mansion, The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad or It’s a Small World. We won’t list those separately. We also don’t include stage shows or parades.

Disneyland Paris

The Disney Resort in Paris is located roughly 30 km outside of Paris’ city centre. It’s a 45-minute RER (suburban train) ride away from Paris’ major railway stations Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon, and also features its own long-distance train station. The resort is home to two parks (Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios), whose entrances are roughly 10 minutes apart when walking at a calm pace.

The Facts

Number of parks: 2 (Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios)

Unique rides: 5

• Hyperspace Mountain (Disneyland): While the name might sound familiar, this version has nothing in common with its siblings in other parks. It is much more intense, starts with a launch and features several inversions.
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril (Disneyland): A roller-coaster in a mine cart with a looping.
• Crush’s Coaster (Disney Studios): A mixture of dark ride and roller-coaster with rotating carts.
• Avengers Flight Force (Disney Studios ): A re-theme of the Rock’n’Rollercoaster that also features a launch and several inversions.
• Cars Road Trip (Disney Studios): A slow-moving ride that culminates with an explosion in Car-tastrophe Canyon.

All parks possible in one day? Yes. Since the Studios is currently not even a half-day park, you can enjoy all major rides in both parks on one offseason day. During busier times, like the summer, it’s better to plan for two days.

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The Verdicts

Felix: The Disneyland Resort in Paris is certainly the most intense out of all of Disney’s offerings. You will have a hard time finding a rollercoaster with an inversion in most other Disney Parks – there is one in California, one in Japan and one in Florida – while the Paris Resort offers three on its own (Space Mountain, Indiana Jones & Flight Force). It also has the best and most intense Space Mountain with a catapult and inversions. Apart from that, it features versions of Disney classics like Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion, that live up to – or even surpass – their American counterparts.

Since both parks are mere minutes away from each other and Walt Disney Studios is rather small, you can ride all the major attractions of both parks in one day, if you wish to do so. As a bonus, the food was the least terrible I’ve ever had in a Disney park, though it’s still overpriced. From my point of view, it’s the best value-for-money Disney experience currently available.

Carlos: To be completely honest, Disneyland Paris is not my favourite Disney resort. The castle park hasn’t had a new attraction since 2006 with Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, and Walt Disney Studios is currently a paradise for retirees due to all the construction. That being said, it is a well-rounded park since it opened in 1992 and offers one of the best Disney experiences outside of Asia, e.g. being better than Orlando or Anaheim in terms of construction quality.

Discounts

You can get a 5% discount on all park tickets on tiqets.com by using the coupon code below. During our tests, prices were constantly the advertised 5% cheaper than on Disney’s website.

Shanghai Disneyland

Shanghai Disneyland is located on the outskirts of China’s largest metropolis. Fortunately, Chinese public transportation makes it easy and cheap to get to the park using Line 11 of the Shanghai Metro. From People’s Square, it will take approximately one hour with a line change and will only cost you CN¥6 (~€1). If you fly into Pudong Airport, there are hotels near the park, such as the Novotel Clover, that offer free transfers. I (Carlos) took a Didi (Chinese Uber) from Pudong Airport to the park for CN¥50 (~€6) without speaking a word of Mandarin.

The Facts

Number of parks: 1

Unique rides: 4

• Pirates of the Caribbean: Another instance of a familiar name with little resemblance to similar rides. This version of Pirates is faster, uses more screens and fewer static elements, and also changes directions.
• Zootopia Hot Pursuit: A trackless dark ride with Zootopia theming.
• Roaring Rapids: A river rapids ride with supernatural theming.
• Voyage to the Crystal Grotto: A slow-moving boat ride that takes you through Disney’s animated classics like Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid, among others.

All parks possible in one day? Naturally.

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The Verdicts

Felix: I wasn’t too thrilled when my wife suggested going to Disneyland during our visit to Shanghai. I have heard rumours about the park being overcrowded and staff members having a difficult time keeping it clean. While the latter part wasn’t a problem, lines in this park are long, with most rides boasting at least a 30-minute wait time. To make matters worse, the rides themself aren’t that spectacular. While Shanghai’s Pirates of the Caribbean is the best of the bunch, other attractions fail to stand out. Personally, one visit was enough for me.

Carlos: I have visited Shanghai Disneyland three times (four in May), and while it is a park where no expense is spared, it doesn’t have a “wow” effect for me. If I can go because it’s on my way, I’ll visit it, but if someone tells me they can only go to two of the three resorts in Asia, it’s the one I would skip. That said, it is worth the entrance fee just to ride Pirates of the Caribbean, and that alone can make your day. Other personal recommendations would be the TRON ride or the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, with shorter lines than at Orlando’s Magic Kingdom, or to enjoy the Zootopia area, which is unique to the park.

My advice for dining is to go to the Cheesecake Factory on Disney Avenue at lunchtime. It offers good quality for the price and is ideal if you want a break from local cuisine.

Discounts

Depending on your dates, you can find tickets up to CN¥100 (~€12) cheaper than the official Shanghai Disneyland tickets with Klook or KKDAY.

Hong Kong Disneyland

While not located on the city’s most populous islands, Hong Kong Island or Kowloon, it is just a 30-minute metro ride away. You always have to change trains when getting there, as the park is connected to the system by its own, dedicated line – operated by trains with Mickey Mouse-shaped windows. It is fairly close to Hong Kong International Airport, inviting you to plan your visit on either the first or last days of your Hong Kong trip.

The Facts

Number of parks: 1

Unique rides: 5

• Grizzly Peak: A mining-themed rollercoaster that also features a launch and a backwards portion.
• Mystic Manor: A trackless dark ride about a mysterious curse that replaces the Haunted Mansion in this park.
• The Iron Man Experience: Dubbed Stark Tours by fans, as it is basically a Star Tours motion simulator with Tony Stark/Iron Man theming.
• Ant-Man and the Wasp Nano Battle: A dark ride/shooter attraction.
• Sliding Sleighs: A short rollercoaster aimed at children with Frozen theming.

All parks possible in one day? Yes – it’s just one park.

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The Verdicts

Felix: I have been to this park twice, once in 2011 and once in 2024. The first visit came shortly after opening – and there wasn’t much to do besides Space Mountain and It’s A Small World. Since both are among my favourite rides, that was fine by me, as lines were short and tickets were cheap. During my last visit, I was fairly impressed – the park offered a lot of attractive new additions, still had pleasant crowd levels (outside of the fairly new Frozen section), and I even liked the Marvel-themed rides, despite their bad press. Both thumbs up from me.

Carlos: Since 2015, I have been to Hong Kong Disneyland four times, and I have witnessed its evolution from being the ugly duckling of the castle parks to becoming the best Disney park experience in the world—if not more so than Tokyo. From the new castle to the new lands, just for Mystic Manor, it is worth visiting the park. The new Frozen area, the short lines for attractions, and especially the attention given to entertainment in the park, such as shows without playback like Mickey and the Wondrous Book, the Halloween villains show, or the nighttime spectacular Momentous. The quality-to-price ratio of the food may possibly be the worst of any park, with the exception of The Golden Crocus Inn in Frozen Land, but I prefer to eat poorly and have a spectacular day in the park.

If you’re planning a short visit to Hong Kong, I recommend staying at The Silveri Hong Kong MGallery, where I stayed last time, with free shuttle service from the airport and just one MTR stop away from the Hong Kong Disneyland line.

Discounts

You can find tickets up to HK$60 (~€7) cheaper than the official Hong Kong Disneyland tickets with Klook or KKDAY.

Walt Disney World (Orlando)

A twenty-minute drive down Interstate I-4 from Orlando’s city centre is Walt Disney World. A huge area containing four theme parks, two water parks, two shopping areas and more than 20 hotels. It has its own traffic signs, its own (and free) public transport and comes with the moniker of the most expensive magical place on earth. Getting from park to park requires you to use buses, monorails, boats or your own car and takes at least thirty minutes, making it impossible to explore everything on a single day.

The Facts

Number of parks: 4 (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom)

Unique rides: 17

• The Carousel of Progress (Magic Kingdom): An electronic stage show in a rotating theatre, created by Walt Disney himself.
• Tomorrowland Transit Authority (Magic Kingdom): A dark ride that takes you through the show buildings of other Tomorrowland attractions.
• Spaceship Earth (Epcot): A slow-moving dark ride, located inside the park’s iconic geodetic sphere.
• Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind (Epcot): A launch coaster with rotating carts, lots of screens and 80s music.
• Mission Space (Epcot): A one-of-a-kind attraction that combines elements of a motion simulator with a centrifuge.
• Test Track (Epcot): First opened in 1999, this high-speed ride is currently closed, undergoing its second re-theme.
• Journey into Your Imagination (Epcot): A silly dark ride with Figment, the imagined dragon.
• Living with the Land (Epcot): A boat ride through a greenhouse.
• The Seas with Nemo and Friends (Epcot): Blending real-life fish with animated screens, it’s an unusual experience that’s actually just a prelude to the main attraction, the building’s giant aquariums.
• Rock’n’Rollercoaster Starring Aerosmith (Hollywood Studios): A launching coaster with inversions, soon to be closed and re-themed.
• Slinky Dog Dash (Hollywood Studios): A tame rollercoaster in Toy Story Land.
• Expedition Everest (Animal Kingdom): A smooth, but thrilling roller coaster with excellent theming and a backwards portion.
• Kali River Rapids (Animal Kingdom): Traverse dashing rapids on rotating boats and get really, really wet.
• Kilimanjaro Safari (Animal Kingdom): A motorised ride through a real-life animal shelter with Lions, Rhinos, Zebras and many more African animals.
• Flight of Passage (Animal Kingdom): Interesting take on a motion simulator with theming from James Cameron’s Avatar movies.
• Navi River Journey (Animal Kingdom): Slow-moving boat ride through a colourful alien world.
• Dinosaur (Animal Kingdom): A fast and thrilling dark ride through very ancient times – soon to be closed and re-themed.

All parks possible in one day? Impossible. While you can get a lot done in two days by basically speedrunning two parks each, it’s advisable to plan at least three days to do everything worth doing. Taking a day off between days two and three usually pays off to calm your feet and nerves.

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The Verdicts

Felix: This is the hardest park to judge for me. Over the last 30 years, I have paid roughly a dozen visits to the Walt Disney World resort. Happy memories of a child and a young adult mix with more cynical thoughts of the present. During my last trip to Orlando a couple of months ago, I limited myself to the free stuff you can do onsite and skipped visiting the parks. From my point of view, Disney’s price hikes of the past years outgrew the quality of changes or new additions to each park.

While visiting the Florida parks always demanded a certain degree of a shut up and take my money attitude, for me, it currently represents the worst value-for-money Disney experience you can have. As a consumer, simply not paying those prices is the best I can contribute to correct that trend.

Carlos: Walt Disney World as a destination is no longer what it used to be, given the cuts made to the parks since 2020, and if you are planning a short visit, it is not the best park for Europeans. However, if you are planning a family trip of 7 to 14 days, visiting Universal and possibly taking a short cruise from Port Canaveral or Miami can be a good option for a great family vacation. But for a 2 or 3-day visit during a trip to the United States, it is no longer what it once was, unless the dollar continues to drop.

Discounts

While not as attractive as discounts on one-day tickets, the Irish version of attractiontickets.com offers 14-day tickets for roughly €600. That’s about the same amount Disney charges for a 4-day ticket on their website.

Tokyo Disney Resort

Tokyo is the only resort not owned by Disney (Hong Kong is 48% owned by Disney, and Shanghai is 43% owned). This resort operates under a license controlled by Oriental Land Company. The main park opened in 1983, being a mix of Magic Kingdom in Orlando and Disneyland in Anaheim. Despite being located outside of Tokyo in Chiba Prefecture, it only takes 15 minutes to reach the park from Tokyo Station for just JP¥230 (~€1). If you can’t dedicate two days of your trip to Japan to the resort and can only spare one, we recommend prioritising Tokyo DisneySea.

The Facts

Number of parks: 2 (Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea)

Unique rides: 13

• Pooh’s Hunny Hunt (Disneyland): While similar to Pooh the Bear attractions in other parks, this one uses a trackless ride system.
• Splash Mountain (Disneyland): The last remaining Splash Mountain after its counterparts have been re-themed to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
• The Happy Ride with Baymax (Disneyland): A simple carousel themed after Big Hero Six.
• Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast (Disneyland): A trackless dark ride, set to the motive of the film.
• Aquatopia (DisneySea): A trackless ride set in shallow water, giving the illusion of riding a boat.
• Journey to the Center of the Earth (DisneySea): A thrilling and colourful rollercoaster, with a long and award-winning history.
• Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage (DisneySea): A slow-moving, but technically impressive boat ride chronicling the adventures of Sindbad the Sailor and his tiger cub, Chandu.
• Raging Spirits (DisneySea): The only roller-coaster with an inversion in Tokyo Disney, it is a very close cousin to Paris’ Indiana Jones rollercoaster.
• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (DisneySea): A dark ride simulating a submarine voyage to the ocean floor.
• Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey (DisneySea): Longer and more ornate than its siblings in the USA and Hong Kong, this is the one Frozen-themed ride actually worth visiting.
• Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival (DisneySea): A boat-based dark ride, this is the first Disney ride themed to Tangled. While the ride offers a charming experience, it is rather short.
• Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure (DisneySea): A dark ride with 3D elements, retelling the story of Peter Pan’s Flight with animatronics and screen effects.
• Fairy Tinker Bell’s Busy Buggie (DisneySea): An outdoor, family-friendly flat ride.

Both parks possible in one day? No. While the distance between the parks is not that huge, Tokyo DisneySea is widely regarded as the company’s best offering and worth a day on its own.

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The Verdicts

Felix: I am not much of an expert here, since my last and only visit to the parks came in 2014. While I found the Disneyland park to be bland and nothing special, Tokyo DisneySea certainly stands out among all of Disney’s offerings. Its themed areas are different from anything you’d find at other Disney parks. And while the number of unique rides has gone down compared to ten years ago, Tokyo DisneySea makes visiting the resort worthwhile on its own.

Carlos: Despite living 12,000 kilometres from Tokyo, I have been to Tokyo Disney Resort seven times, and although the quality of the animation has decreased significantly since the year 2000, they have removed annual passes and reduced the park opening hours from 14 to 12. Nonetheless, Oriental Land Company continues to do an excellent job of maintaining the parks and investing immense amounts of money in new attractions and lands. It offers the best value of any Disney park. During my last visit to Tokyo DisneySea, I spent a total of JP¥15,000 (~€85), which included admission, two Disney Premier Access passes for Fantasy Springs, having curry for lunch in the park, and purchasing a couple of buckets of popcorn. If I had done something similar in Orlando, it would have cost me around US$250 (~€215) or even more.

Discounts

Unlike Hong Kong and Shanghai, this resort does not offer discounts. We recommend that you purchase your tickets directly from the resort’s website.

Disneyland Resort Anaheim

Being located in the middle of one of the most densely settled areas in North America comes with both pros and cons. While it might be the easiest park to reach by car, the area is also very limited when it comes to possible expansions – a major reason why Disney built its next park in unpopulated swampland. Los Angeles’ traffic is (and will be for some time) a nightmare, but many nearby hotels offer free shuttle services to the property. It is very easy to switch parks, as they are located directly opposite each other.

The Facts

Number of parks: 2 (Disneyland and California Adventure)

Unique rides: 6

• Matterhorn Bobsledes (Disneyland): With a similar theming, but totally different ride system and layout, this roller coaster comes across as Expedition Everest’s decently aged grandfather.
• Mr Toad’s Wild Ride (Disneyland): A beloved classic focusing on the fun aspects of DUI.
• Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage (Disneyland): A slow ride in a submarine-like vehicle.
• Incredicoaster (California Adventure): A roller-coaster with a unique theming and ride layout that was previously named California Screamin‘.
• Radiator Springs Racers (California Adventure): A fitting use of the high-speed Test Track ride system with characters from Disney’s Cars movies.
• Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout (California Adventure): A free-fall tower with a Marvel theme, using the Tower of Terror ride-system.

All parks possible in one day? No. While they are located directly opposite each other and mere minutes apart on foot, both parks are usually too crowded to get the best of both on a single day.

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The Verdicts

Felix: The one thing that really fascinates me about Disneyland is how many attractions it crams into such a tiny space. While you are strolling through the old parts of the park – so basically everything not named Galaxy’s Edge – you see a line starting almost everywhere. This can lead to the park feeling cramped and overcrowded at times. The unique rides at California’s Adventure make me genuinely curious – especially Radiator Springs Racers – yet it remains the only Disney park I haven’t visited.

Carlos: Despite finding cheap flights to Los Angeles all the time, I have never been able to justify the expense of going to Anaheim. Someday, I will have to go eventually, but for what I would spend on a three-day stay at Disneyland, I could travel for two weeks to Asia and enjoy the cities and the parks there. So I hand this portion over to…

Ditmar: A few words from me, as I’ve actually been to both parks, though 2005 and 2008 are quite a while ago. Yes, the parks are extremely crowded on weekends and holidays, with lines reaching up to 3 hours of waiting time. However, in 2008, I went in early February, and the lines were fine at most attractions that weren’t brand-new. I found California Adventure to be rather boring and lifeless, especially compared to its neighbour Disneyland. The fact that this was the first Disney park does add a certain magic to it. Overall, I found it fun and charming. Other pros of the Anaheim parks: The weather is usually nice year-round, and located in a city, you have normal-priced (for US standards) stuff very close to the park (supermarkets, motels, fast food, etc.)

Discounts

Undercover Tourist offers discounted tickets, you can save up to US$35 (~€30) on multi-day tickets.

Bottom Line

As you can easily see by reading our verdicts, Carlos is a huge fan of the Asian Disney parks, while Felix was enarmoured by his recent visit to Paris. Just like travel in the entire country, American Disney parks have gotten extremely expensive since the end of the Covid pandemic and have a hard time living up to their price tag.

If you have never been to Disney, any of the six castle parks (=parks that feature the classic Disney castle, each resort has one) will give you a decent experience. The main exception may be Shanghai, as many of the classic Disney rides (Space Mountain, It’s A Small World, the Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain) are absent from that park.

If you have never visited an American Disney Park, by all means, go there. Disney in its home country is a different experience than the non-American Disney parks. It has always been an expensive destination, anyway. But your first visit is usually worth it. However, if you have visited an American Disney park in the past, you are probably in for a worse experience at a higher price. Don’t set yourself up for failure.

If you are Disney veteran, Tokyo is your place to go. The weak Yen-exchange rate makes park tickes cheap and Tokyo DisneySea is an outstanding experience by itself, even if you have visited several Disney parks before. If you are not looking for something new and just want to play the hits, Tokyo Disneyland will give you your fix, too. Hong Kong is a close second on that list.

Of course, any destination depends on your geographical location. For Europeans, the Parisian Disney resort gives a perfectly fine experience at a reasonable price.

Cover Picture: © Pixabay user stinne24 under pixabay license