17 Once Upon a Time realms ranked from mediocre to magical

Over the course of seven seasons, Once Upon a Time certainly took us on a journey. Metaphorically in terms of the story, as well as physically to numerous realms! Some were alright like the Land Without Color, while others still stand out in our minds like Neverland. Below, we ranked 17 Once Upon a Time realms from mediocre to magical. Do you agree with our list?

Land Without Color

I think Victor's story is actually interesting, and should have been explored more. Now in terms of his realm, the Land Without Color, it's, well, dull. Because there's no color! It was an interesting take to even include the Frankenstein story in Once Upon a Time as it's not a fairytale. I didn't mind it per se. But the scientist's realm isn't all that exciting or nice to look at. I do think science is magical in its own way, but it doesn't hold a candle compared to the other enchanting elements we see. Sorry not sorry.

1920s England

1920s England is the realm Cruella De Vil is from. It's not the '20s of the "real world." The realm is its own location and remains in that time period forever. While I'm actually a fan of Cruella's flapper outfit because I love this era, the realm itself isn't very exciting. It's bland and close to the Land Without Color, with just a bit more contrast to it. I know this was the vibe the show was going for as Cruella's story is so dark. But if you're judging it in terms of the looks and what it offers, it's not that great.

United Realms

Sorry guys, I'm constantly bashing on season 7. Though I'm sure many of you fellow fans are like me and still shake your head when thinking about that final season. One element I didn't like is uniting all the realms. It didn't make sense to me and it just looks kind of ridiculous. The reason it's not ranked last on this list is because this newly formed mega realm includes cool looking places like Neverland and the beloved Enchanted Forest. But mash them all together? I don't like it.

Underworld

This realm is just sad and dreary, which is the point. The orange hue that was used during the characters' time there was an interesting choice. I'd forgotten how the actual color tone of the show was supposed to look like. Ok, I'm being dramatic here. The Underworld is definitely not the place to be, and Hades' powers and what he could manipulate in the realm weren't that impressive to me. So that's why this one is lower on the list.

Arendelle

We actually don't spend a lot of time in Arendelle in terms of being outside. So it's hard to really judge it in terms of looks, and that's a shame. It's nice visually in the animated movie, and obviously the ONCE team can't realistically adapt everything. But we were just in Elsa and Anna's castle, or a cave, or a random room. And the castle wasn't all that impressive compared to the others we've seen on the series. This realm wasn't explored much, even not getting a proper shot when the Snow Queen iced it over. So, Arendelle is unfortunatley mediocre for me.

Mirror Realm

The Mirror Realm we see in OUAT season 6 was a cool idea. Imagine Sidney had to spend years in there! Emma and Regina get trapped in the realm by Evil Queen 2.0. It's an interesting concept, but it wasn't super exciting. There were just rocks and boulders with a bunch of mirrors on them. There could have been a bit more creativity involved. Maybe simplicity was what the series was going for? I don't know. But I wasn't overly impressed to be honest.

Netherworld

The Netherworld is a scary, scary place to be. It's those unfortunate enough to have been under a Sleeping Curse that end up being sent there. We saw Snow of course, as well as Charming, Aurora, and Henry. When that little kid got hurt from the flames, my heart hurt as well. You have to constantly escape the roaring fire and it just has a reddish-orange hue to it. It's not a fun place to be, though it was pretty unique in terms of being a realm where people afflicted with the Sleeping Curse go to. And poor Charming had to wait all that time for Snow to find a way back to Storybrooke from the Enchanted Forest to wake him up with True Love's Kiss.

DunBroch

Season 5 introduced us to Once Upon a Time's version of Brave and the courageous Merida. Unfortunately we don't get to spend a lot of time in DunBroch, but from the little we see of it, it's a nice place. I like that Merida's castle has the Scottish feel to it and her roots are portrayed on the show. It gave some diversity and a different look to the series that we hadn't seen before. And so I appreciated that.

Agrabah

Speaking of, I love Agrabah! It may not be the most visual place that packs a punch and a lot of it is brown, but the desert location and everything about it was really cool. The realm is filled with gold, and Jasmine's palace is impressive. Plus the shops of the marketplace brought me back to the Disney movie. Aladdin always had a distinct feel to it, and it's one of my favorite films. And on OUAT, Agrabah is no different. There's a uniqueness, and the overhead shots of it when Jasmine and Ariel are flying on the magic carpet? Perfect!

Camelot

Other than certain parts of the Enchanted Forest, I feel like Camelot is the realm that feels the most regal. The castle with the long drawbridge is very impressive as our group of heroes walk in. Plus, who can forget the beautiful field of Middlemist flowers? You won't find that anywhere else! Camelot mostly looks like the Enchanted Forest overall. But, it does stand out on its own with these elements too. It's enough that the realm offers the magic of Excalibur and fan-favorite Merlin is from there.

Land of Untold Stories

This one is sort of a wacky one because the Land of Untold Stories is what it sounds like. It's a mashup of all these different tales, so it has a mash-up sort of look. Whereas I'm not a fan of the United Realms, the mess here kind of works. Season 6 involved some storylines that I personally didn't really enjoy, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the realm itself.

The Land Without Magic

Now I think our world can be considered magical in its own sort of way with electricity and other amenities available that aren't in the Enchanted Forest. The majority of the characters only really know Storybrooke and New York City. But I mean, the Big Apple is unique and fun its own way! Plus, Storybrooke is small but it has everything. Just the water view at the docks is enough. Nature is definitely considered magical, and Storybrooke had certain areas that highlight that, like the forest, that made it great.

Mount Olympus

While the Underworld isn't the place to be, Mount Olympus definitely is! When certain characters moved on, they each saw something different. So it's implied that when you move on, what it looks like depends on the person. So for example, Hercules and Meg saw the "actual" Olympus because that's what the young hero had been trying to get to. But with Killian's brother Liam Jones, it was a body of water with his crew. I think that makes this realm unique and pretty cool, even if we don't really see it the details of it. It's purposefully ambiguous.

Oz

Just click play on the video above and look at that Emerald City! It's so picturesque. Oz definitely has its own distinct look with the green and the lava looking columns in Zelena's palace. I'm in love with it! It definitely felt magical and seeing the yellow brick road and more from this story that we know was such a treat. I mean, what other realm can say it has munchkins and flying monkeys?

Neverland

Speaking of magical, Neverland is one of the coolest places on this list! There's magic and powers to use that you won't find in any other realm. If you just believe in something enough, it will get you so far on the island. It's actually a pretty place, but was always dark and nighttime when Pan controlled it. Though as we saw with the Jones brothers, and later on in the series, it's a beautiful place to be. The fact that it's an island makes it picturesque, and the magic it offers makes it rank high on our list!

Wonderland

I know there's the Once Upon a Time in Wonderland spin-off where the story is set in this wacky realm, but I do wish we saw more of Wonderland on OUAT too. From the mushrooms, the floating pieces of land, the caterpillar himself, and even the Queen of Hearts', aka Cora's, palace. Everything is kind of weird but fun and colorful in this place. That's what makes it stand out, and I really enjoyed seeing it come to life on the fairy tale series.

Enchanted Forest

I mean, of course the Enchanted Forest has to rank first. How could it not? The OG of the realms on the show. This is the magical realm that started the story off. There's numerous castles and kingdoms, beautiful waters, mountains, and I just love everything the Enchanted Forest has to offer. It might be nostalgia talking, but it definitely holds a special place in my heart. And it was always great when there were flashbacks to it.

All seven seasons of Once Upon a Time are streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.