Everyone wants to make a good first impression. That extends to theme park lands, where each step a guest takes has (hopefully) been mapped out with sights and sounds in mind. Stepping into a new land is like the first view in a movie where the viewers are acclimating to their environment. In this post, we’ll rank our top ten Disney theme park land entrances.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a firm believer that first impressions can be overrated. I can’t say that I’m very good at them. Some of my favorite theme park lands don’t put an emphasis on an entrance and reward a more exploratory attitude. But other entrances are serious show stoppers and that’s what this post is celebrating. Here’s the criteria I’m judging by!

• Is there an actual entrance? – I mean, obviously! So many theme park lands don’t have an evident entrance into their land though. This might spit in the face of this very post I’m writing but not having a clear entrance can make the park feel more congruent. Most of the castle park lands flow right into each other, which is why you won’t see classics like Frontierland and Fantasyland in the rankings.
• How well does it transition? – Even if the land does have a clear entrance, we don’t want it to be a jarring separation from the place we just came from. I’m looking at you Toy Story Land!
• Good views? – While a few on the list below have an entrance that doesn’t provide a sweeping view of their land, most of them do. We love a grandiose view and that’s taken into account here.
• Disneyland Resort, WDW and TDR included – I’ll be able to add the Disneyland Paris Resort to this list soon but for now this list includes the Disney parks I’ve been to.

There may be other criteria considered but I’ll be sure to mention if that’s the case in each entries blurb. Is there a less attractive word than blurb? Speaking of things that were also considered, some lands just missed the cut. Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea has some intricate carvings and a great water feature that guests go under to enter into the area. Animal Kingdom’s Pandora has a pathway that leads to a glorious big view. Grizzly Peak (DCA) has an entrance that has grown on me over the years, with a calming street canopied by trees. There’s no shortage of great land entrances but let’s get to my top 10!

10. Buena Vista Street & Hollywood Boulevard (DCA & DHS)

Park entrance streets have an inherent advantage on this list. They’re framed to make a big reveal as you walk into the park. Both of these parks feature an iconic theater replica at the end of the street. Hollywood Studios has a massive Chinese Theater at the end of Hollywood Boulevard, with plenty of other landmark representations to remind guests of the movie capital. I prefer California Adventure’s opening street, as it’s a little more understated. The monorail bridge clearing the way for Carthay Circle’s clean and elegant lines is delightful.

9. Galaxy’s Edge (Disneyland)

The long winding pathway from Disneyland’s Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree into Galaxy’s Edge is my preferred entrance into the Star Wars area. Relative to the rest of this list, the walkway is unique. There’s no sweeping view ready to find you upon the entrance. In fact, there’s no real sign of when you’ve crossed over to another planet so maybe I’m breaking my own rules here. What tips off the change is a wonderful soundscape and the plant life becoming more and more different. Before you know it, there are ships and speeders for the rebels to use against the first order. It’s a thoughtful, multi-sensory design that benefits from so much space to use.

8. Discovery Island (Animal Kingdom)

The Discovery Island entrance is similar to Galaxy’s Edge. The obvious entrance is while walking through the gates of Animal Kingdom. After that there are animals to see and no right or wrong pathway to take, while making your way to the Tree of Life. That idea sets guests up for a park that is first-person experiential, making you the main character in every attraction and story. It’s an almost invisible idea but a good bit of a world building that is also lush and full of animals before giving way to the wide view of the park icon.

7. Sunset Boulevard (Hollywood Studios)

Right off of the Hollywood Boulevard is another street that sets guests up for the adventures about to be had. As soon as you can turn right onto Sunset Boulevard, the menacing Tower of Terror is in the backdrop. This makes for a memorable view, as the palm trees in the foreground try to lighten the mood. Where the previous entries earn points for their wandering land entrances, Sunset Boulevard gives you everything in one swift turn of the head.

6. Tomorrowland

Unlike every other pick on the list, I didn’t select a specific Tomorrowland. They are all pretty memorable as far initial impressions go. Like Sunset Boulevard, you just walk toward the park icon and turn your head right to be met with a quick view of what’s to come. There are different tactics taken here – Disneyland doesn’t have the exciting skyline so Astro Orbiter sits front and center. Magic Kingdom sports a kinetic energy and some imaginative space rocks to boot. Tokyo Disneyland’s version is a little more influx as the once perfectly framed Space Mountain is changing. Nevertheless, the blues are iconic. No matter your preference, the view into the land as you enter is great, big and beautiful.

5. Arabian Coast (Tokyo DisneySea)

The first, but certainly not the last, DisneySea entry on the list is another win for the ‘sweeping views’ idea. Entering into Arabian Coast, guests are met with the sight of a gorgeous and broad courtyard. The architecture is immaculate and the colors both fit in and standout among the park’s design. Arabian Coast has a wonderful lead up to this sight too, as guests climb a couple of steps (don’t worry, not too many) before seeing everything sprawled out before them. For those that haven’t been, the reveal is similar to the Mexico Pavilion in Epcot but on a much larger scale.

4. Mysterious Island (Tokyo DisneySea)

This port-of-call was hard to rank. There are multiple ways in and out of the area and the land is in the round, so it’s a little disorienting even talking about entrances. Those are the reasons Mysterious Island doesn’t rank in first place. The reasons it ranks so highly is everything else. If you take the entrance into the land as the closest to the park entrance, that will have you coming in from Mediterranean Harbor. No matter where you’re coming from, you’ll pass under the mountain in a tunnel. The blues and greens are intoxicating and the sounds are otherworldly. Do you know those movie or TV scenes where the camera becomes the main character’s perspective and we stand up to walk into another room or space? It’s a little dizzying but, if done right, then completely invigorating. That’s what walking into Mysterious Island feels like.

3. Cars Land (DCA)

If this post has taught us anything, it’s that streets usually have good land entrances! Cars Land takes advantage of the sightline by having eye candy in the form of fun and neon signage. Behind it rests the Cadillac Mountains, with a few water features that guests can see from the start of the street. Cars Land flows organically from the rest of the park, which isn’t something I often say about California Adventure. The area is successful for many reasons but that initial entrance is as much fun as anything on this list.

2. Mediterranean Harbor (Tokyo DisneySea)

There’s no theme park sight as jaw-droppingly beautiful as the entrance to Mediterranean Harbor. It is the de facto entrance into DisneySea and features a gorgeous hotel in the peripheries framing a volcano, castle and body of water. Between the texture, color and slow reveal from walking underneath the hotel into the full frame, this is as memorable as it gets.

1. Main Street/World Bazaar

The only reason Mediterranean Harbor doesn’t win this very important contest is because the idea for how to frame an entrance for a theme park came from Main Street. Respect! Castle park entrances are multi-layered – entering the gates and seeing the train station is the preview, Town Square and the names on the buildings are the opening credits and then the view of the castle is the start of the show. These ideas are so well thought out that guests don’t actually have to think about it, they just experience. There’s just no land entrance view as renowned as this one. All of the charm and wonder can’t be topped.

What are your favorite theme park land entrances? Let us know in the comments! Planning a trip to a Disney Park? Check out all of our Planning Guides to help you along the way. Check out this site if you’re in need of discount tickets to Disneyland or Disney World. If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!