Marathon Weekend 2025

[Bree]

SAFD: This was so hard to decide.

MK - I rarely go these days because of the insane crowding and horrible guest behavior. However, this park has most of my favorite rides and the view of Main Street down to Cinderella Castle never gets old.

EP - I love strolling around WS. I do miss the old festival days with seminars and classes. The festivals are so watered down now. I miss the innovation buildings that actually had cool things to do. It’s nice to see some rides going in for the thrill seekers and the added addition of Ratatouille for a family ride.

AK - I come here to relax. It’s a day where I enjoy strolling around the park with a coffee and enjoy the animals and all the architecture. I usually stop in at Nomad Lounge too.

HS - What a mish mash of nothingness this park has become. There’s a lot of great rides, but other than that it’s just lacking something cohesive. California Adventure does it right with their old Hollywood area and you feel immersed in the movie for each of the lands. Yeah, they are all separate themes, but something about it just fits. HS used to have a little of that going on, but it has been long since gutted.

for straw poll

 

[Cabius]

I have never been! It is one on my list for the next trip, unless we really run out of time or if many tell me it is not worth the hour.

Unless you want to do the Animation Experience, the main draw is just seeing animals up close. There's a petting zoo (goats, etc.), which my kids really enjoy. And you can see some of the vet/treatment rooms. If you're lucky you might get to see an operation in progress! (I understand this is more common in the morning,) My whole family love the Magic of Disney's Animal Kingdom TV show, so it really clicks for us.

That said, it's the most 'zoo'ish part of DAK, so have that expectation going in. The train ride is nice and relaxing! Many people would probably tell you it's not worth the hour, but with my little ones, and their love of animals (and DAK), it's worth it for us.

 

[nancipants]

Unless you want to do the Animation Experience, the main draw is just seeing animals up close. There's a petting zoo (goats, etc.), which my kids really enjoy. And you can see some of the vet/treatment rooms. If you're lucky you might get to see an operation in progress! (I understand this is more common in the morning,) My whole family love the Magic of Disney's Animal Kingdom TV show, so it really clicks for us.

That said, it's the most 'zoo'ish part of DAK, so have that expectation going in. The train ride is nice and relaxing! Many people would probably tell you it's not worth the hour, but with my little ones, and their love of animals (and DAK), it's worth it for us.

Same, my kid LOVES the affection section and the train ride. He can play pretty rough with us, so it was a really good way to teach him about being gentle with animals and following their lead about whether they want to be petted or not.

 

[Baloo in MI]

Fun question this week @camaker! I already responded and have enjoyed reading so many of the other responses. I was surprised by how many people had MK lower, or at the bottom of their lists. This made me think about my ranking, as I had MK at the top. Growing up in California DL was a yearly visit for my family so I have to own my choice is significantly influenced by nostalgia. But I wanted to add that it absolutely gets to crowded at MK and this has a significant impact on the experience. Hard to feel any magic when you are getting rolled up on by a stroller, wait 45 minutes for a Mickey Premium bar that is either frozen solid or melting away in seconds and the place is wall to wall people!

I think the fact that I get to go a couple times a year as a DVC and AP holder lets me not feel the need to stay in any park too long. MK works best for me when I rope drop it and get out around lunch time, take a dip in the pool or nap at the hotel and then come back for dinner and stay into the evening.

I did not think about how being a local or someone who gets to visit a few times or more each year could really affect perspective. If I was only coming once in a lifetime I might still have MK at the top but I think my reviews would be a lot more negative. Happy Monday all.

 

[The Expert]

When WDW first reopened after the COVID closure, I went to MK and only did outdoor rides and it was AMAZING! First time in a couple decades that I could hear the ambient music and actually see the place as it’s designed to be seen - NOT through a wall of taller people’s bodies.

THIS! I have actually said to DH while navigating through a recent crowd at MK "I miss Covid"

the Yeti has been broken for years, and even the pandemic wasn't enough to get someone up there to fix it

I say this as EE's biggest fan and someone who dressed as Disco Yeti for the SS 5K a few years back. Joe Rohde addressed this during Covid, iirc. The movement and weight of the Yeti imposes on the structural integrity of the building, so they essentially can't fix it without completely redesigning the animatronic. And to remove him or replace him would involve removing and reconstructing part of the ride and building, so it is highly unlikely to ever happen.

SAFD from the gut as a DVC member and AP holder for 20+ years:
AK (and I can't stand Pandora -- this is how much I love animals)
Epcot (food!)
MK (the heart of WDW)
HS (Star Wars and Muppets are saving this park for me right now)

 

[nekonekoneko]

I find it really funny that the thing that knocks HS down for a lot of people on this thread, the mishmash of disparate themes, is one of the things that I listed as a plus

I think it's because DHS used to be more cohesive, especially when it was MGM. After the name changeover, a lot of the "behind the scenes" stuff was pulled out, making way for things that didn't fit in the other 3 parks.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I think it's because DHS used to be more cohesive, especially when it was MGM. After the name changeover, a lot of the "behind the scenes" stuff was pulled out, making way for things that didn't fit in the other 3 parks.

THIS. I had an absolute blast at MGM when I was a kid.

The new sections are just kind of plunked down, and then there are leftovers from the more MGM-type days.

Even if you just look at the map, it's just a bunch of 'warehouses' which probably used to make it feel like an active movie-lot but now just feels weird. Like I can walk out of Star Wars and go eat lunch somewhere with a bunch of ABC talk-show posters in it? It's theming whiplash.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

I think it's because DHS used to be more cohesive, especially when it was MGM. After the name changeover, a lot of the "behind the scenes" stuff was pulled out, making way for things that didn't fit in the other 3 parks.

DCA is like this too. It definitely wasn’t the best at the beginning and needed different things (Super Limo or whatever looked in such bad taste) and as Disney’s moved away from the California theme, the park has just become a hodge podge of things that don’t gel.

 

[flav]

I think it's because DHS used to be more cohesive, especially when it was MGM. After the name changeover, a lot of the "behind the scenes" stuff was pulled out, making way for things that didn't fit in the other 3 parks.

Agreed with this, even if I never visited when it was MGM. Part of the problem with HS is also that it has a lot of rides that are thought for people with motion sickness (spinning, reversing or simulators).

 

[camaker]

I really miss the days of the Sorcerer Hat and Osborne Family Lights in DHS.

 

[nancipants]

I miss the lights, but NOT the hat. Good riddance.

 

[Desdemona924]

I really miss the days of the Sorcerer Hat and Osborne Family Lights in DHS.

I don't really miss the hat, but the lights...

 

[PrincessV]

I miss the lights, but NOT the hat. Good riddance.

PREACH!!!!!

 

[nekonekoneko]

the park has just become a hodge podge of things that don’t gel.

In DCA's defense, Disneyland has only 2 parks to put stuff in. So unless they can find a plot of land to plop more stuff, it's one of two spaces. WDW has 4 main parks, so they have more places to put things, and yet, still feel like they need a dumping ground.

 

[camaker]

In DCA's defense, Disneyland has only 2 parks to put stuff in. So unless they can find a plot of land to plop more stuff, it's one of two spaces. WDW has 4 main parks, so they have more places to put things, and yet, still feel like they need a dumping ground.

The Island of Misfit IPs, if you will.

 

[luv2cheer92]

SAFD:
1. AK
2. HS
3. MK
4. EPCOT

1 and 4 are pretty solidly where they are
for me, 2 and 3 could switch on any given day. AK is far and away my favorite park. I could spend an entire week there and not get bored. I don't dislike Epcot, it's just my least favorite of the 4.

 

[marty3d]

DCA is like this too. It definitely wasn’t the best at the beginning and needed different things (Super Limo or whatever looked in such bad taste) and as Disney’s moved away from the California theme, the park has just become a hodge podge of things that don’t gel.

Completely agree - and hear is where I fully admit nostalgia came into play in my rankings - for some reason I don't mind the mix of themes at HS where I don't like it at all at DCA. I think it's because HS was my favourite park for years when it was MGM and DCA didn't exist when I lived in LA so I have no nostalgia for that park. (and speaking of theming I'm not a fan of - I hate that GE is in DL. I'd rather it was in DCA - or if in DL, it would be less jarring if you entered through Tomorrowland - but I know - lack of space)

While I completely agree with all the criticisms of HS - I still love the park and all this talk is making me wish I was sitting at Baseline Tap House, enjoying a beer flight and people watching the massive crowds

 

[Naomeri]

I think it's because DHS used to be more cohesive, especially when it was MGM. After the name changeover, a lot of the "behind the scenes" stuff was pulled out, making way for things that didn't fit in the other 3 parks.

See, I don’t remember very much of when it was MGM, so the current state of HS is my “normal”

 

[Scootin'By]

SAFD:

So MK is definitely at the top. It's just my favorite park hands down. Even without the rides, I could just wander around MK for days, soaking it all in.

Second is definitely harder, but I'm going to go with EP. I love the pavillions and the random shows and the food. Plus, for a few years you were able to buy Beaver Tails in Canada and it was SO GOOD! I felt like I was home and skating on the Canal.

Third and Fourth are meh. I'd probably go with AK and then HS, because I liked the shows the last time I was in AK (Nemo the Musical is awesome!), but I haven't been to HS since Galaxy's Edge or Toy Story Land opened, so I really can't say.

I miss the lights, but NOT the hat. Good riddance.

The Osborne Family Lights were so fun! My dad really liked those when he was alive, with the fake snow drifting down on the fake street. Very cool!
The Sorcerer's Hat to me goes in the nostalgia box with the Pink Birthday Cake Castle. Absolutely ridiculous at the time but a piece of history I was glad to experience.

The straw poll: March Madness is rapidly approaching and I was thinking that it would be fun to run a tournament of our own.

Absolutely yes! If you need help, PM me.

 

[PrincessV]

Completely agree - and hear is where I fully admit nostalgia came into play in my rankings - for some reason I don't mind the mix of themes at HS where I don't like it at all at DCA. I think it's because HS was my favourite park for years when it was MGM and DCA didn't exist when I lived in LA so I have no nostalgia for that park. (and speaking of theming I'm not a fan of - I hate that GE is in DL. I'd rather it was in DCA - or if in DL, it would be less jarring if you entered through Tomorrowland - but I know - lack of space)

While I completely agree with all the criticisms of HS - I still love the park and all this talk is making me wish I was sitting at Baseline Tap House, enjoying a beer flight and people watching the massive crowds

Yep, agreed - a lot of my love for DHS is based in serious MGM nostalgia. The remnants of NYC Street make me stupidly happy every time I’m there!