This weekend I got together with a few of my friends and did something weird… We had a Disney Theme Park Fantasy Draft.  I have no idea if this is of interest to anyone but I thought I’d put the results here.  In a couple of weeks we will show you the park’s we designed with our draft picks, and then have you vote on which one you’d rather go to.  As I said, I’m not sure if there is any interest in this but we did enjoy ourselves.

There were a few rules.  We only used attractions, shows, etc. from U.S. Disney Theme Parks.  We also tried to stick to attractions that were open today, outside of picking one future expansion.  Rivers of Light, new firework shows, Mission: Breakout and other future plans were not available to draft.  Here’s a look at the ‘roster’ we had to fill:

20 Attractions
5 Shows (3 little/2 big)
1 Parade
1 Nighttime Shows (1 big)
1 Park Icon
2 Hotels (1 cheaper, 1 expensive)
10 Restaurants (3 snacks, 3 quick-service, 3 table-service, 1 choice)
1 Transportation Attraction
5 Sets of Characters
1 Expansion?
1 Festival/Parties
5 Flex (any of the above categories aside from park icons, expansions, and parades)

Now, I think there’s a rule in writing about not just posting lists.  I’m breaking that today as I’m just going to post the order of things drafted.  There were 53 picks a person so this is a long list, scroll to the bottom if you want to hear a few closing thoughts.

1. Pirates of the Caribbean (DL) – Andrew
2. Frozen Ever After – Melissa
3. Cinderella’s Castle – Mackenzie
4. Fantasmic! (DL) – Darin
5. Splash Mountain (DL)- Darin
6. Festival of the Arts – Mackenzie
7. Frozen – Live at the Hyperion – Melissa
8. Kilimanjaro Safaris – Andrew
9. Radiator Springs Racers – Andrew
10. California Screamin’ – Melissa
11. Expedition Everest – Mackenzie
12. Polynesian Resort – Darin
13. Space Mountain (DL) – Darin
14. Plaza Inn – Mackenzie
15. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – Melissa
16. Haunted Mansion (MK) – Andrew
17. Tower of Terror (DHS) – Andrew
18. Big Thunder Mountain (DL) – Melissa
19. Characters: Rey & Leia – Mackenzie
20. Indiana Jones Adventure – Darin
21. Tiffins – Darin
22. Soaring Around The World – Mackenzie
23. Marvel Land – Melissa
24. Grizzly River Run – Andrew
25. Festival of the Lion King – Andrew
26. Kali River Rapids – Melissa
27. The Seas – Mackenzie
28. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride – Darin
29. Matterhorn – Darin
30. Pandora – Mackenzie
31. Festival of Fantasy – Melissa
32. Paint the Night – Andrew
33. Star Wars Land – Andrew
34. Star Tours – Melissa (DHS)
35. Peter Pan’s Flight – Mackenzie (MK)
36. Main Street Electrical Parade – Darin
37. Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire – Darin
38. Mickey and the Magical Map – Mackenzie
39. Maharajah Jungle Trek – Melissa
40. Muppets Present… – Andrew
41. Jungle Cruise – Andrew
42. Sleeping Beauty Castle – Melissa
43. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (DL) – Mackenzie
44. Spaceship Earth – Darin
45. TTA PeopleMover – Darin
46. Remember… Dreams Come True – Mackenzie
47. Wishes – Melissa
48. Illuminations – Andrew
49. Jedi Training – Andrew
50. World of Color – Melissa
51. Mickey’s Fun Wheel – Mackenzie
52. Snow White’s Scary Adventure – Darin
53. Mickey & Minnie – Darin
54. Pirate’s Lair at TS Island – Mackenzie
55. The Barnstormer – Melissa
56. Rock n’ Roller Coaster – Andrew
57. Star Wars Fireworks – Andrew
58. DL Railroad – Melissa
59. Test Track – Mackenzie
60. Carousel of Progress – Darin
61. Goofy’s Sky School – Darin
62. King Arthur Carrousel – Mackenzie
63. Flame Tree Barbecue – Melissa
64. WDW Monorail – Andrew
65. Gorilla Falls Trail – Andrew
66. Tangled Bathrooms – Melissa
67. Fantasmic! – Mackenzie
68. Sweet & Spicy Chicken Waffle – Darin
69. Country Bear Jamboree – Darin
70. it’s a small world (DL) – Mackenzie
71. Tiki Room (DL) – Melissa
72. Winged Encounters – Andrew
73. Redwood Creek Challenge Trail – Andrew
74. Ariel’s Undersea Adventure – Melissa
75. Flights of Wonder – Mackenzie
76. MuppetVision 3D – Darin
77. King Triton’s Carousel – Darin
78. Toy Story Midway Mania (DHS)- Mackenzie
79. Dapper Dan’s – Melissa
80. Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (DL) – Andrew
81. Astro Orbiter – Andrew
82. Dumbo (MK) – Melissa
83. Art of Animation (Hotel) – Mackenzie
84. Be Our Guest – Darin
85. Jammitors – Darin
86. Piano Man Casey’s Corner – Mackenzie
87. Animation Academy – Melissa
88. Living With The Land – Andrew
89. Flo’s V8 Cafe – Andrew
90. Raspberry Rose Macaron – Melissa
91. Mickey Pretzels – Mackenzie
92. Corn Dog – Darin
93. Storybook Canal Boats – Darin
94. Mickey’s Christmas Party – Mackenzie
95. Cheesy Garlic Bagel Stick – Melissa
96. Dole Whip – Andrew
97. Chimichangas – Andrew
98. Swiss Family Tree House – Melissa
99. Grand Floridian – Mackenzie
100. Tarzan’s Treehouse – Darin
101. Buzz & Woody – Darin
102. Cinderella & Fairy Godmother – Mackenzie
103. Rapunzel & Flynn Rider – Melissa
104. Darth Vader & Chewie – Andrew
105. Mission: Space – Andrew
106. Incredibles Dance Party! – Melissa
107. Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor – Mackenzie
108. Casey’s Corner (DL) – Darin
109. Hall of President’s – Darin
110. Holly Jolly Bakery – Mackenzie
111. Animal Kingdom Cinnamon Roll – Melissa
112. Tusker House – Andrew
113. March of the First Order – Andrew
114. Pinocchio’s Daring Journey – Melissa
115. Main Street Theater – Mackenzie
116. Via Napoli – Darin
117. Rodger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin – Darin
118. Skewers (Bengal BBQ) – Mackenzie
119. Mad Tea Party – Melissa
120. Gaston’s Cinnamon Roll – Andrew
121. Harambe Wildlife Parti – Andrew
122. Golden Zephyr – Melissa
123. Mariachi Divas – Mackenzie
124. Award Weiners – Darin
125. Not So Scary Halloween Party – Darin
126. Matsurizi (Japan drummers) – Mackenzie
127. Casey Jr. Circus Train – Melissa
128. Port Orleans – Andrew
129. American Adventure – Andrew
130. Boardwalk Hotel – Melissa
131. Princess Dot Puddle Park – Mackenzie
132. Main Street Band – Darin
133. Flik’s Flyers – Darin
134. Silly Symphony Swings – Mackenzie
135. Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters – Melissa
136. Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree – Andrew
137. Tom Sawyer Island (MK) – Andrew
138. Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (MK) – Melissa
139. Ellen’s Energy Adventure – Mackenzie
140. Citizens of Hollywood – Darin
141. Mickey Beignets – Darin
142. Enchanted Tales with Belle – Mackenzie
143. Sleeping Beauty & Maleficent – Melissa
144. Dinosaur – Andrew
145. Blue Bayou – Andrew
146. Seas w/ Nemo and Friends – Melissa
147. Crystal Palace – Mackenzie
148. Liberty Tree Tavern – Darin
149. Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage – Darin
150. Serveur Amusant – Mackenzie
151. Finding Nemo: The Musical – Melissa
152. Animal Kingdom Lodge – Andrew
153. Davey Crockett Explorer Canoes – Andrew
154. Akershus – Melissa
155. Skippers Canteen – Mackenzie
156. Main Street Vehicles – Darin
157. Primeval Whirl – Darin
158. One Man’s Dream – Mackenzie
159. Anna & Elsa – Melissa
160. Lightning McQueen & Mater – Andrew
161. Autopia – Andrew
162. Olaf & Sven – Melissa
163. Belle & Mrs. Potts – Mackenzie
164. Wall-E & Eve – Darin
165. Mickey’s Philharmonic – Darin
166. Circle of Life – Mackenzie
167. Hollywood Brown Derby – Melissa
168. Great Moments w/ Mr. Lincoln – Andrew
169. Timon & Pumba – Andrew
170. Columbia Harbor House – Melissa
171. Minnie’s House – Mackenzie
172. Star Wars, Galaxy far, far away – Darin
173. Sunshine Seasons – Darin
174. Peter Pan & Wendy – Mackenzie
175. Flower & Garden – Melissa
176. Food & Wine – Andrew
177. French Market – Andrew
178. Mickey’s House – Melissa
179. Mary Poppins & Mrs. Banks – Mackenzie
180. Casey Jr. Splash n Soak Station – Darin
181. Pop Century – Darin
182. Joy & Sadness – Mackenzie
183. Aloha Isle – Melissa
184. King Louie & Baloo – Andrew
185. Contemporary Resort – Andrew
186. Electrical Water Pageant – Melissa
187. Frozen Banana – Mackenzie
188. Ariel & Prince Eric – Darin
189. Turkey Leg – Darin
190. Pacific Wharf Cafe – Mackenzie
191. Coronado Springs – Melissa
192. Kermit & Miss Piggy – Andrew
193. Tree of Life – Andrew
194. Captain America & Iron Man – Melissa
195. Fruit – Mackenzie
196. C3PO & R2D2 – Darin
197. Great Movie Ride – Darin
198. Yak & Yeti – Mackenzie
199. Churros – Melissa
200. Katsura Grill – Andrew
201. Rose & Crown – Andrew
202. Coral Reef – Melissa
203. Popcorn – Mackenzie
204. Sci-Fi Dine Inn – Darin
205. Tuck n’ Rolls Drive em Buggies – Darin
206. Frozen Sing-Along – Mackenzie
207. Grumpy & Dopey – Melissa
208. Creature Comforts – Andrew
209. Friendship Boats – Andrew
210. Main Street Bakery – Melissa
211. Soundsational Parade – Mackenzie
212. Toy Story Land – Darin

Alright, now that that’s over… I don’t think this order of picks is necessarily what we think are the best things in the parks to the worst things.  I know Mackenzie came in with thoughts on how she was going to design her theme park.  After the first 10 to 15 rounds people started drafting more for what fit in with their eventual theme instead of what the best available item was.

We drew numbers out of a hat to decide the draft order and I came up with number 1.  It was not rigged.  I debated for a long while between Pirates of the Caribbean (Disneyland) and Splash Mountain, as I think they are two of the best attractions around.  I ultimately settled on Pirates as my first pick because of the amount of people who car ride per hour and the lack of height restriction.

My main strategy was to draft as many great attractions as I could in the first 10 to 15 picks and then see what I had and draft for themes based around those.  I didn’t expect to end up with Star Wars Land as my expansion (I just didn’t want Toy Story Land) and once I happened upon that, I wanted to snatch up any space themed stuff that I could.  Aside from that I tried to stick to attractions that had to do with America or animals.  Again, we’ll show off our hypothetical theme parks in the coming weeks.

Now, the real question is was this worth it?  No, this blog post probably wasn’t worth you reading.  As for the draft itself, I would do it again in a heartbeat.  I found it interesting and liked hearing my opponents strategies.  It did take quite a bit of work to put everything together but I thought it was worth it.  I think you’d need some true Disney nerds to be able to do this at home.  We are also trying to figure out how you win, like a normal fantasy league.  Mostly we did this for the fun of it though and I definitely had a good time.

– Andrew