Disneyland, Walt Disney’s crown jewel, has long been a beloved destination for children and adults alike. With over a century of history, Disney has inspired the imaginations of millions. Today, the brand spans six global resorts and twelve parks across three continents, an enduring amusement park giant that continues to expand, innovate, and celebrate magic. But just how different are the parks when it comes to experience, especially when cross-referenced with price?
With two locations in North America, one in Europe, and three in Asia, all Disney parks share key similarities as part of the same iconic franchise, but each is also its own distinct entity, offering region-specific food, experiences, and merchandise. This inspired our team at BestBrokers to create an index that explores how much a day at the ‘happiest place on earth’ is worth at every Disney park around the world and to what extent price aligns with overall experience and online ratings.
We discovered that Tokyo Disney Resort ranks as the top park to visit in 2025, thanks to its strong performance across key factors like the number of rides, day pass cost, food and merchandise prices, and ratings on platforms like Google and Yelp. In contrast, Walt Disney Studios Park in Marne-la-Vallée, France and Shanghai Disney Resort received the lowest overall score, likely reflecting the status as the least visited Disney park in 2023 (the latest data available) of the former, and the small number of attractions of the latter.
Key takeaways:
- Tokyo Disney Resort ranks highest of all Disney parks across all categories we looked at, except for the number of attractions and the number of visitors.
- Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida, offers the most expensive day pass, priced at $210.
- Disneyland Paris has the greatest number of rides and attractions, standing at 49.
How did we compare the parks?
To compare and rank the parks, we created an index that combines several variables, including the number of attractions, day pass price, food prices (popcorn, gelato, churros), merchandise prices (T-shirts and Mickey Ears), and average ratings from Google, Yelp, and Tripadvisor. Each park was assigned points based on its performance in these categories. The maximum possible score is 96, calculated by multiplying the 12 highest possible points across 8 variables. The lowest possible score, by contrast, assigns just one point per variable. Finally, the raw points were converted into a total score index, with 100 representing the highest possible score.
Based on the index we created, Tokyo Disney Resort ranks as the best park to visit in 2025, scoring 97 out of 100 possible points. It offers the cheapest prices, a $65 day pass, food items like popcorn, churros, or gelato for around $5, and merchandise such as T-shirts or Mickey Ears for less than $20. While it ranks fourth in number of attractions with 45, just four fewer than the leader in that category, Disneyland Paris, it still delivers exceptional overall value and experience largely due to its unique location and its cultural impact.
The other Disney park in Tokyo, DisneySea, ranks second, trailing Tokyo Disney Resort by just 4 points. Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Bay Lake, Florida and Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, the original park, follow with 65 and 64 points, respectively. However, despite their strong scores, neither ranks among the most affordable parks in terms of pricing. In terms of attendance, Disney’s Animal Kingdom welcomed 8.7 million visitors in 2023, while Tokyo DisneySea attracted 12.4 million guests.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Shanghai Disney Resort appear at the bottom of the ranking, earning just 46 points each. Despite attracting an impressive 14 million visitors in 2023 and ranking second lowest in entry fee cost, Shanghai Disney Resort falls at the bottom due to its fewer rides and relatively expensive snacks. Meanwhile, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which has the second most expensive entry fee, takes the penultimate place in our ranking.
Number of Rides
Disneyland Paris boasts the greatest number of rides with 49 attractions. Close behind is Disneyland Resort in Anaheim with 48 rides, featuring iconic spots like Sleeping Beauty Castle, Adventureland, and Space Mountain. Not far behind, Animal Kingdom in Orlando provides 46 rides, focusing on nature and the immersive world of Avatar.
Meanwhile, Tokyo Disney Resort offers 45 rides spread across themed lands such as World Bazaar, Westernland, Critter Country, and Toontown.
EPCOT and Magic Kingdom follow with 42 and 41 rides respectively, each offering unique experiences, from EPCOT’s futuristic installations and cultural pavilions to Magic Kingdom’s classic attractions like Cinderella’s Castle and Tomorrowland. Slightly fewer rides can be found at Tokyo DisneySea, which presents 36 attractions arranged into immersive ‘ports’, such as Mermaid Lagoon and Journey to the Center of the Earth, as well as Disney California Adventure Park, which offers 34 attractions, including Pixar Pier, Cars Land, and Avengers Campus.
At the lower end of the spectrum, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Shanghai Disney Resort have similar ride counts, with 30 and 29 rides respectively, showcasing regional architecture and themes that add a unique flair to an otherwise streamlined landscape. Finally, Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris offers 21 rides, just slightly more than Hollywood Studios in Florida, which has 17 rides. The smallest of the parks offer a niche look into the more artistic side of Disney, taking guests on a cinematic journey through history. Together, these numbers highlight the variety and scale across the Disney parks worldwide, showcasing diversity, ingenuity and creativity.
Price of a Day Pass
Tokyo Disney Resort and Tokyo DisneySea share the lowest entry fee on our list, with a day pass priced at just $65, granting access to either park. Following them, Shanghai Disney Resort is the second most affordable option, offering tickets at $92. Close behind is Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, where a day pass costs $97, making these three parks the most budget-friendly choices. Pricing across the three east Asian countries highlights major economic differences between them and their Western counterparts.
Moving up the price scale, Disneyland Paris charges $135 for a day pass, which covers both Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios Park. Disneyland Resort in Anaheim is notably more expensive, with tickets priced at $180, allowing entry to either Disneyland or Disney California Adventure Park. Animal Kingdom follows closely, with a day pass costing $182, offering access to its nature-themed attractions.
At the higher end of the spectrum, EPCOT tickets are priced at $199, providing a blend of cultural and futuristic experiences. Hollywood Studios commands the second highest day pass price at $204, featuring popular attractions like Galaxy’s Edge and the Tower of Terror. Finally, Magic Kingdom holds the distinction of having the most expensive day pass among all Disney parks, priced at $210. The higher entry fee is arguably justified by the vast scale of Florida’s Walt Disney World, which exemplifies the notion that greater size often enhances the overall experience.
Number of Visitors
Disney parks continue to draw massive crowds, with 140.02 million visitors across all 12 locations in 2023. Magic Kingdom leads with 17.7 million guests, thanks to its prime location in Orlando, a major tourist hub, and its global recognition as the ‘most popular’ Disney park, though it is not the original one. Disneyland Resort follows with 17.3 million, just ahead of Tokyo Disney Resort
Shanghai Disney and Tokyo DisneySea hold fourth and fifth, reflecting Asia’s growing love for Disney. Even the least visited parks, like Walt Disney Studios and Hong Kong Disneyland, still attract millions, proving the brand’s global staying power.
Food Prices
Disney parks offer a wide range of food options, from full meals to quick snacks. To compare affordability, we focused on three iconic snacks available at all parks: popcorn, churros, and gelato.
Popcorn is a Disneyland classic, with fans often collecting themed buckets priced between $25 and $50, while refills cost about $2.25. Among parks, popcorn is most expensive in Disneyland Paris at $7.39 for a regular carton of popcorn, followed by U.S. parks at $7, and Hong Kong at $5.74. Interestingly enough, caramel popcorn seems to be the most popular choice of Hong Kong park visitors, rather than standard salt-and-butter popcorn. Shanghai, in turn, charges $4.89, while Tokyo offers the cheapest popcorn at just $2.78.
Churros vary in price too, costing $6.50 in U.S. parks, $6.38 in Hong Kong, $5.76 in Shanghai, and $5.12 in Paris. Japan again offers the best value, with churros priced at $3.13.
Gelato prices range from $9.46 in Shanghai, $8.79 in U.S. parks, $7.96 in Paris, and $7.65 in Hong Kong. Tokyo remains the most affordable, with gelato costing only $5.42.
Merchandise Prices
After a full day at Disney, many visitors pick up a souvenir, most often Mickey ears or a T-shirt. Mickey ears are iconic, with prices varying by location: the most expensive are in Disneyland Paris at $45.50, while Tokyo offers the cheapest at just $13.20. In the U.S., they sell for $34.99, and in Hong Kong and Shanghai, around $29.
T-shirts follow a similar pattern. The highest prices are in Shanghai ($31.81) and Hong Kong ($31.75), while the U.S. and Paris hover around $29. Japan again has the lowest price at $18.76.
Online Reviews
To evaluate visitor satisfaction across the 12 Disney parks, reviews from three major guest platforms, Google, TripAdvisor, and Yelp, were analysed. An average rating was then calculated from these sources to rank the parks based on guest feedback. The results are as follows:
Tokyo Disney Resort emerged as the highest-rated park, with an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars. Close behind, each with a 4.4-star rating, are Disney California Adventure Park, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, and Tokyo DisneySea. At the lower end of the spectrum, Disneyland Paris and Shanghai Disney Resort both received the lowest ratings, standing at 4.1 out of 5 stars.
How much does a day at a Disney park cost?
After crunching the numbers, we calculated the total cost of spending a day at Disney based on the products and prices mentioned earlier.
You would spend the most in any of the Disney Parks located in America, primarily due to the high price of the day pass. Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida, leads with a daily expense of $297.27, of which $87.27 is for food and merchandise, allowing you to enjoy a few park staples without overspending.
Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios Park fall into the mid-range of affordability, with a full day costing $230.89, including $95.54 for food and merchandise. As the only European location, Disneyland Paris continues to attract millions, despite prices being on the higher end.
On the other hand, Tokyo Disney stands out as the most affordable Disney destination, with a total cost of just $108.60 for a full day.
Methodology
All the data on the 12 Disney parks concerning the number of attractions, ticket prices, and food and merchandise costs was extracted from regional Disney stores and official park websites. Online ratings from Google, TripAdvisor, and Yelp were then added, and an average rating across all three platforms was calculated to be used as one of the variables in the evaluation.
The index used to rank the parks from best to worst was based on eight variables: number of attractions, day pass price, food prices (popcorn, gelato, churros), merchandise prices (T-shirts and Mickey Ears), and average online ratings. Points were assigned according to each park’s performance in these categories. The maximum possible score was 96, calculated by multiplying the highest score per category (12, based on the number of parks) by the 8 variables. The lowest possible score was 8, representing 1 point per variable. The raw points were normalized into a 1-100 scale: a total score index, with 100 representing the highest possible score.
For additional context, the number of visitors in 2023 (the latest data available), sourced from Statista, was included in the analysis but not used in the index, as a higher number of visitors cannot be considered a clear indicator of visitor satisfaction.