Universal beats Disney on list of best-rated theme parks in Florida

While Universal took the crown, Disney certainly has nothing to worry about, with Magic Kingdom placing in second place and Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Typhoon Lagoon Water Park, and Epcot rounding out the top five. 

“It comes as no surprise that theme parks operated by Walt Disney and Universal Studios have dominated the list,” notes a Westgate Palace Hotel spokesperson at Universal. “What may be surprising, however, is that the research crowns Universal’s Islands of Adventure as the best-rated theme park, beating all four major Disney parks.” 

Best-Rated Theme Parks in Florida

1. Universal’s Islands of Adventure

The Universal park claimed the top spot due to an impressive index score of 91.1 out of 100. In addition, of 52,310 reviews from parkgoers, 74% fall under the “excellent” rating – the highest rating in the entire U.S. Stellar TripAdvisor ratings, along with 854,821 Instagram hashtags, secured the top spot for Islands of Adventure. 

2. Disney’s Magic Kingdom

Even with its more than 17 million visitors in 2022 alone, Walt Disney World’s iconic “castle park” landed just behind Universal with a score of 90.4; however, Magic Kingdom still ranks as the most Instagrammable theme park in the United States and in fact, holds the highest number of Instagram hashtags of any theme park worldwide, with a whopping 8,012,859 posts. 

3. Disney’s Animal Kingdom

While ranking as the study’s third best-rated theme park in Florida (with a total score of 80.7) and the third-highest number of hashtags on the list (with 4,752,545 hashtags), Animal Kingdom is the state’s most Googled theme park, receiving 379,000 average monthly searches nationwide.

4. Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park

One of Walt Disney World’s two water parks, Typhoon Lagoon is the third highest-rated Florida park on TripAdvisor, with 63% of its reviews labeled “excellent” out of 9,188 total reviews, contributing to its final index score of 77.7. 

5. Epcot

Rounding out the top five with a final score of 77.6, Epcot is the second most Instagrammable park in Florida (with 4,944,301 hashtags)

In sixth place, Universal Studios Florida earned a score of 77.3 due to its average monthly search volume of 95,000 searches and its 3,340,628 Instagram hashtags of the park. Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park ranked in seventh place with a score of 73.6, followed by SeaWorld Orlando in eighth with 73.5, Disney’s Hollywood Studios in ninth with 72.3, and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in tenth with 70.2.

“Florida stands out as the perfect location for a family vacation,” The Westgate Palace Hotel spokesperson said. “From the enchanting world of Walt Disney World to the exhilarating experiences at Universal Orlando, Florida’s theme parks add a touch of magic to any vacation. Our family-friendly hotel suites are strategically located on I-Drive for easy access to these attractions and offer a welcoming retreat after a day of park exploration.” 

Methodology

The study analyzed every amusement park located in Florida based on three key factors: Instagram hashtags, monthly Google search volume, and the percentage of “excellent” reviews on TripAdvisor.

The three factors were combined in an index to give each amusement park a total score and determine the best-rated theme parks in Florida. Factors were also weighted in favor of customer experiences, so TripAdvisor reviews were given a higher weighting since they directly reflect parkgoer satisfaction.