This week’s episode of The Case For with Chris Cox is about the best and worst entrances to Disney Parks around the world. They talk about everything from the berm to the hub - ticket windows, railroad stations, “Main Streets,” castles, weenies, and more.
The poll:
Which Disney Park entrance is your favorite?
(Vote for up to 3 options)
Disneyland (Anaheim)
Disney California Adventure (Anaheim)
Magic Kingdom (Orlando)
Epcot (Orlando)
Hollywood Studios (Orlando)
Animal Kingdom (Orlando)
Disneyland Paris
Disney Adventure World (Paris)
Tokyo Disneyland
Tokyo DisneySea
Shanghai Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland
I am not familiar with the international parks / Other
0voters
You can vote however you want, but try to avoid using all three votes at WDW. You don’t need to have visited an overseas park to vote for it based on what you know, but I did include an “Other” option for people who would rather qualify their vote.
Does this mean like which one is easiest or like prettiest cuz AK for example is lovely and if you’re staying in at the Disneyland hotel in Paris that is by far the easiest. So I’m struggling with meaning here but I’ll do my best to intrepret it both ways. My problem is gonna be DisneySea because we stayed in MiraCosta and once they opened that hotel entrance it’s fantastic but it’s not open at early entry/park opening and you have to walk out the front entrance and go a little ways and that main entrance is packed and if you’re not staying at a park entry hotel then I don’t like that you have to pay for their monorail. It makes it complicated. This is a convoluted question lol. And it changes if you’re staying onsite to either which main entrance is the most efficient for offsite guests and how in the heck is MK winning because the TTC sucks and unless you’re in a monorail resort getting to MK sucks. It’s a one of the longest bus rides from the other parts or WDW.
so this makes me think people are voting on the view once you enter?
The episode focuses more on the aesthetic than the access, but you are free to interpret the question as you wish.
I voted for Disneyland because it is the OG and I love how you see the train station with the Mickey flower garden first, then you go under the tunnels with “Here you leave today …” and are greeted with a timeless land of charm and wonder. The castle is not the most impressive, but it is still iconic.
Well, this is a very interesting question. But, my first (and only real) choice was unhesitatingly clear…and NOT because it is my favorite park. But Epcot’s main gate entrance, where you have spaceship earth, larger than life, hovering overhead with the monorail going around and the beautiful NEW fountain (I would have been less likely to pick it if the main entrance hadn’t recently moved those monolithic monstrosities out of the way), it is just immediately setting the mood. (Now, having said that…I actually prefer to ENTER at the IG…because, well, it means I’m probably staying at the Epcot resorts!)
AK, honestly, the main gateway is rather…blah. Which is a bit of a shame, since the park itself is altogether beautiful, including the Tree of Life…but the Tree of Life is not at the entrance at all, and it takes forever to get to it, it seems!
MK…I mean, okay, when I was young, the novelty of taking the ferry or monorail was cool, and there is something classic/iconic about the train station. But again, there is just build up to the moment we all really care about…seeing the castle. But the castle is a hidden moment until you are well through the entrance. (Granted, on the ferry, you can catch a glimpse of it in the distances, I suppose, but what constitutes “entrance” here? That seems a bit of a stretch.)
HS is a bit better than AK, but still not altogether enticing.
It has been a hot minute (meaning decades) since I’ve been to Disneyland, so I can’t speak to that, nor the international parks, so really the ONLY choice I could realistically make was the Epcot entrance.
I am interpreting it as the view AS you enter, not ONCE you enter. Because otherwise what defines “once” you enter? At AK, for example, that could mean once you get past the initial area and see the Tree of Life…but I wouldn’t exactly call that the “entrance”. But the actually entrance area leading into the park? Nothing particularly spectacular. MK, ONCE you enter, and get beyond the entrance, you are main street…which is cool. But that’s after the entrance, not the entrance itself.
ETA: I guess “AS you enter” for me would be IMMEDIATELY after and/or before the tapstyles. At MK, that means the Train station, more or less. At Epcot, it is that fountain area with SE. At AK, that’s Oasis. HS, that’s…I guess Hollywood Blvd?
I voted Epcot (for IG and 2 park entrances, every park should have them), Animal Kingdom because it’s beautiful. You walk right into the Oasis exhibit. Then you cross a bridge and are greeted with the prettiest tree in the world. I feel like I’m still in the “entrance” until I hit the tree. And also, not familiar with other parks. I could have voted DL entrance because it’s so convenient to PH. But I don’t actually recall it. I was so, so young when we visited I don’t even remember it. I don’t think we even went into the parks.
On the episode they kind of looped in the whole land that branches off from the entrance as part of the discussion. I think it’s fair to dock points at AK since the tree is so far from the entrance (and is technically in a different “area”.) But I would at least include the castle in the magic kindom parks.
I like seeing the castle, but I find it actually frustrating that it is kept from you as you enter. So, I’m not sure I would include the castle as part of the entrance experience. You have to get beyond the tapstyles, see the train station, go under the train station, into the initial main street area, but STILL not in a place you can see the castle. Watch your step, be careful of all the crowds, and then finally…you can see the castle. By this point, I’d say you are beyond “entrance” territory. You have to “work” or “wait” for it too much. But…that’s just me.
Yeah I think it builds the anticipation a bit more. It’s like the producer cards in the credits before you get the big fanfare and the main title. It heightens the payoff. But I agree if you hold that tension too long it can ruin it, which is subjective. For me it is the right amount though.
Okay if we’re talking view DisneySea is at the top of the list and Disneyland Paris still beats MK and DL. Gorgeous castle. I am actually thinking of the oasis when I say Animal Kingdom. I think it’s fantastic immersion. So I guess I’ll keep my votes either way lol. And I have visited all Disney parks currently in existence so this is based on seeing em all.
My favorite area of any park is World Showcase so if you split out IG as an option it would maybe bump AK for me.
I love EPCOT and MK is magical at WDW. The Anaheim Castle reveal just seems underwhelming in comparison. Nothing beats seeing Spaceship Earth though. I want to love AK, but I always feel like I’ve had to walk about 5 miles to get to it and by then I just want to be in the park.
That’s what I voted on. Which is th only thing that can explain my vote. I really do kind of hate that AK taps open into absolutely nothing and you have to work to get that first glimpse of the Tree
