Whether in Anaheim, Orlando, Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong, or Shanghai, you won't find a "Disneyland" without a castle at its center. Fans even call the five Disneylands and Magic Kingdom Disney's "Castle Parks" for short. But as to what castles they have at their center? Well... All six castles are different from one another (sometimes slightly, sometimes wildly), and all six are meant to celebrate Disney Princesses (sometimes a single Princess, and sometimes the whole group)...

But it got to us thinking... of the twelve official members of the Disney Princess franchise, whose castle would make for the most impressive park icon? Today, we'll rank the Disney Princess castles from worst to best, figuring out whose palatial home would be the most picturesque park icon of them all...

The Castle-less Crew

First, we can start by eliminating the four Disney Princesses who don't have a castle at all – or at least, not one we've seen on screen. For example, Mulan may be a member of the Disney Princess franchise, but she earns her place through heroism, not marriage to a royal. As a result, she doesn't have a castle. Neither does Moana, who's path merely leads her to become the Chief of her people on the island Motunui – a "Princess" in a sense, but not by way of the classic European iconography of a castle.

For similar reasons, Pocahontas has no castle to add to the countdown here. As daughter of Chief Powhatan, the forests of what would be called Virginia are her palace. Finally, Tiana from Disney's 2009 return to classic hand-drawn animation The Princess and the Frog does become a bona fide princess by the film's end, marrying Prince Naveen of Maldonia... but we never see the castle she stands to inherit back in Maldonia, and it's her restaurant – not coincidentally named Tiana's Palace – that serves the site of her happily ever after. 

Right off the bat, the elimination of those four princesses leaves us with just nine members of the Disney Princess franchise whose royal abodes could potentially serve as park icons... so let's start the countdown...

9. Castle DunBroch from Brave (2012)

2012's Brave was described as Pixar's first ever fairytale, seeing the experimental studio dip into Disney's domain. The result was Princess Merida of the kingdom of DunBroch in the Scottish Highlands. Just as Merida is somewhat of an exception in the Disney Princess catalogue, DunBroch doesn't quite feel like a "Disney Castle" to begin with. Low on stylization, it's a historical Scottish fortress filled with Great Halls, Medieval bedchambers, and tapestry rooms more akin to the world of Berk from How To Train Your Dragon than a typical Disney Castle. 

Would it make a good park icon? We'd say pretty flatly, no. DunBroch would be more at home in a living history park or a World Showcase pavilion than in a fantasy environment like a Disneyland.

8. The Royal Castle from Cinderella (1950)

Don't believe what the sequence before a Disney film tells you... This is Cinderella's castle from the 1950 film. We know, we know. It doesn't look much like the Cinderella Castle you'll find at Magic Kingdom or Tokyo Disneyland. But it's pretty! Highly stylized and perfect for the film's art style, we like it on screen!

The question, though, is whether or not it would make a good park icon if it were built in the real world the way it's shown in the film. We'd tend to think... no. While it's nice to look at in the movie, this castle probably wouldn't translate well to the real world. That would help explain why Herb Ryman merely took inspiration from this animated castle when designing the park icon we know that carries Cinderella's name. 

7. Agrabah from Aladdin (1992)

Agrabah is certainly among the most exceptional of the Disney Princess' castles given that it's stylistically drawn from the Middle East and from the mythology of the Arabian Nights – the book of ancient tales from which "Aladdin" is adapted. Instantly iconic, Agrabah is a beautiful, glistening palace reminiscent of Arabic, Persian, and Islamic architecture – especially inspired by the Taj Mahal. 

The only reason Agrabah ranks low on our list is because it's too specific to Aladdin, and is drawn from a more exaggerated, saturated cartoon style than the rest of the castles on this list. If DunBroch is too "real" to stand in the center of a Disney Park, Agrabah is probably too unreal. If Disney were to build a theme park based on the Disney Renaissance, it might be in the running, though!

6. Arendelle Castle from Frozen (2013)

Technically, the sister duo of Anna and Elsa from 2013's Frozen have never been officially inducted into the Disney Princess franchise (likely because the pair sells enough merchandise on their own that they need not be added). Even still, their castle in the stylistically-Nordic Kingdom of Arendelle is a beautiful one. Equal parts historic and stylized, it resembles a fairytale stave church expanded into a palace.

The castle in Arendelle actually is coming to life in Disney Parks thrice over (with recreations being built in Hong Kong, Paris, and Tokyo)... which probably explains why a late change to Frozen 2 saw the castle suddenly salvaged from the tidal wave of a broken dam when original drafts called for the palace to be destroyed and rebuilt to reflect the style of the indigenous Sami people of the region. Could the Arendelle castle serve as the centerpiece of an entire Disneyland? Eh, maybe not. Its historical accuracy and its silhouette sort of edge it out of the competition in terms of being a park-anchoring structure. But it's pretty!

Whose castles will come out on top? Read on to find out...!