OK rope droppers, this is going to be a fun blog. As I’m writing this, Derek and Doug are recording the latest episode of Rope Drop Radio. This week Derek and Doug will be choosing their favorite and least favorite lands in all four Walt Disney World theme parks. So think of this as a pre podcast prediction blog. You can find the episode here!
How I Will Predict Favorite and Least Favorite Lands at Disney
Now, I have listened to almost every episode of Rope Drop Radio so I feel like I know the guys pretty well. I also was lucky enough to go on Rope Drop Radio myself. I was able to interview Derek and Doug separately on my podcast, The Wooderboys Podcast.
So let’s cut through the introductions and get to these predictions.
Here’s my first predictions in the order in which they will talk about the parks will be Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and, of course, the Magic Kingdom.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Favorite and least favorite Lands
Doug’s favorite – Doug’s favorite land in Disney’s Animal Kingdom is 100% dinoland USA. I know this because he loves the theming and he’s also a very big fan of triceratops Spin. Doug loves to point out that they nailed the tourist trap sideroad attractions of South Dakota, thus making dinoland his favorite land
Derek’s favorite- Derek’s favorite land in Disney’s Animal Kingdom is 100% Asia. He’s a thrill seeker. Derek wants to ride rides. And he wants to ride Everest, even though Joe Rhode refuses to fix the Yeti for him. I know for a fact that Derek is going to select Asia as his favorite Animal Kingdom land. (Now, I realized halfway through this paragraph that Pandora is very thrilling…. but Istand by my Asia pick.)
Doug’s least favorite- The least favorite ones are going to be hard, but I can see Doug picking Asia as his least favorite land. Here’s why, Doug has motion sickness and can’t ride the most popular attraction in the land. He has also mentioned multiple times how Finding Nemo does not fit in Asia nor dinoland USA. Thus leading me to my deductive reasoning of Doug picking Asia
Derek’s least favorite- As I stated before, Derek is a thrill seeker so if we use deductive reasoning again, we can probably guess that he likes Pandora, Africa because that’s where Starbucks is , and Dinoland USA because, let’s face it, Dinosaur is still a great ride. I’m going to go ahead and say he can pass on Discovery Island. It’s tough to be a bug is past its prime and I bet you Derek would like to see it refurbed. (Really, who wouldn’t?)
Epcot Favorite and least favorite Lands
Derek and Doug’s favorite – I think this one should be self explanatory. It’s almost impossible to not select world showcase. Derek and Doug are both big travelers. Doug loves snacks. Derek loves drinks so it kind of hits the two major marks for them. It also hosts decent rides and good character interaction, which both Derick and Doug Value.
Derek and Doug’s least favorite- Epcot kind of makes it easy on you as there’s really only two lands as of right now. So I’m just going to go ahead and say their least favorite land is future world. (Even though it hosts more rides.) Still it’s just really hard to beat world showcase.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios Favorite and least favorite Lands
Derek and Doug’s favorite- I know it seems like a cop out that I’ve put these guys together in the last two parks, but I feel like I’ve listened enough to know that Derek and Doug would both pick Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge. They talk about Star Wars whenever they can. They both are huge fans of the movies and the TV shows so I would be very surprised if either one of them did not pick Star Wars
Doug’s least favorite- Doug has mentioned many times he is very glad his kids are no longer into Disney Junior so I’m going to go ahead and say that Doug’s least favorite land is the animation courtyard. Congrats Doug, your kids have grown up and you don’t have to sit on the floor and watch them dance anymore.
Derek’s least favorite – This is a hard one so let’s go ahead and do deductive reasoning again. We know it’s not Star Wars. Great rides exist on sunset Blvd. Derek loves Indiana Jones which removes echo Lake, and Derek technically works for ABC so let’s remove Commissary Lane. So that only leaves me with one land, Grand Avenue. Home to The Muppets, which I think everyone agrees is still a hilarious show, but that’s about it. Basically, because I’m out of other guesses, I’m going to go ahead and say Grand Avenue is Derek’s least favorite land in Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Magic Kingdom Favorite and least favorite Lands
All right here is the moment everyone’s been waiting for. Everyone wants to know your favorite land in the Magic Kingdom. It’s just the truth. It’s the most historic park, the busiest park, and has the most rides. Derek and Doug spend a lot of time talking about Magic Kingdom because of how much planning goes into tackling this theme park. So without any further delay, let’s go ahead and predict these favorite lands.
Doug’s favorite – If you listen to Rope Drop Radio enough you know Doug loves one thing in Disney more than anything else, and that is the delicious sorbet dessert served at Aloha Isle in Adventureland. Couple that with the jungle cruise, which Doug has said multiple times his retirement plan is to become a jungle cruise skipper. Predicting Doug’s favorite land is basically as easy as getting a Philharmagic fast pass.
Derek’s favorite – Not to sound like a broken record, but Derek is a rides guy. He wants his rides now and I know one of his favorite rides is Pirates of the Caribbean, But there is no way I believe Adventureland is his favorite land. So naturally I am perplexed. Tomorrowland hosts one of the best rides in Disney with Space Mountain. However, Frontierland hosts two very good thrill rides including Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain. But I can’t dance around my prediction forever, I’m going to go ahead and say Derek’s favorite land is Tomorrowland. I think he is a huge fan of space mountain. Also, I think he thoroughly enjoys Buzz Lightyear. This is the hardest prediction I’ve had to try and make.
Doug’s least favorite – Doug’s least favorite land is frontierland. He’s dropped many hints that he cannot ride big Thunder mountain because he’ll quote “get sick”. Come on Doug it’s all in your head. He also has taken many unsolicited shots at my Country Bears, leading me to believe that this is his least favorite part of the park. That’s OK Doug. We don’t need you in Frontierland. Keep yourself in Adventureland and keep sucking down those dole whips.
Derek’s least favorite – I think Derek’s least favorite is Liberty square because there is not a ton going on over there. The Haunted Mansion is a classic but it’s not thrilling. Since Derek routinely forgets to eat in the parks, he’s not too concerned with the fantastic restaurants Liberty square hosts. Thus making it fairly simple to predict Derick’s least favorite land is Liberty square.
I hope you enjoyed this little preview into the podcast, I know I did. I don’t know how many of these prediction blogs we’re going to get a chance to do, but I’m very thankful that Derek and Doug allowed me to do it this time.
Sound off in the comments below or on social media with your predictions, and let’s see if anyone can get a perfect score.
Until the next one, have a zip-a-dee-doo-da day.
