Disney tops list of best U.S. amusement parks – but #1 isn’t a park you’d expect

Social casino site Hello Millions analyzed over 500 amusement parks nationwide to find the ten best based on Google, TripAdvisor, and Yelp reviews, plus TikTok posts.

Five Best U.S. Amusement Parks

#5 Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando Resort

Universal’s Islands of Adventure ranks fifth on the list, scoring 89.86 out of 100 based on a 4.7-star rating on Google and 84% of its reviews being rated “excellent.” The park’s top-rated attraction is Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, which has a 4.7-star rating on Google.   

#4 Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort

The largest theme park in the world by area, Disney’s Animal Kingdom takes the fourth spot with a score of 90.76 out of 100. The zoological theme park focused on conservation has a 4.7-star rating on Google, a 4.5-star rating on TripAdvisor, and ranks among TripAdvisor’s top 10 attractions across America. The park’s most popular ride, Avatar Flight of Passage, has a 4.8-star rating on Google.  

#3 Disneyland Park at Disneyland Resort

Disney’s original theme park in California ranks third, scoring 91.88 out of 100. In 2022 alone, the park saw over 16 million visitors and has accumulated a 4.7-star rating on Google.  

#2 Disney California Adventure at Disneyland Resort

California’s second Disney park narrowly missed the top spot, scoring 92.79 out of 100. 81% of the California Adventure’s Google reviews and 67% of the park’s TripAdvisor reviews are rated “excellent.” 

#1 Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort

Walt Disney World’s Epcot tops the list of best U.S. amusement parks, with a score of 92.83 out of 100. According to the research, 80% of TripAdvisor reviews for the park, known for blending innovation, technology, and entertainment, earned an “excellent” rating.

In case you were wondering, Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World just missed the top five, with a sixth-place score of 87.73 out of 100 based on a 4.6-star rating on Google and a 4.5-star rating on TripAdvisor. However, the Most Magical Place on Earth did place first in one category: it had the highest number of attendees of all the parks analyzed, with over 17 million attendees in 2022.

Rounding out the top ten best U.S. amusement parks in America are Universal Studios Florida (83.83/100), Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park (83.34/100), Cedar Point in Ohio (83.01/100), and Disney’s Hollywood Studios (70.10/100).

“These findings showcase that Disney has the largest market share in resorts and amusement parks, with seven of the top ten ranking parks all owned by Disney,” notes Joerg Nottebaum from Hello Millions. “Surprisingly, Universal Studios Hollywood failed to make the top ten ranking, [but] what is more shocking is that Six Flags Great Adventure or Six Flags Magic Mountain failed to make the top ten despite having some of the most thrilling roller coasters in the world.”

Methodology 

The study analyzed seven factors to create an index that scored each park out of 100, with the highest-scoring park being deemed the best. 

For each park, the seven factors measured included: 

• Google rating
• Percentage of 5-star Google reviews
• TripAdvisor rating 
• Percentage of 5-star TripAdvisor ‘excellent’ rating
• TikTok posts with relevant hashtags 
• Yelp rating 
• Percentage of 5-star Yelp reviews