Poll: Attractions in which you think the Disneyland version is superior

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Yeah, but the Tumbleweed flash flood effect hasn't worked in decades. At least DL's version works 100%.

 

[Skippy]

DL: Pirates, Thunder, Small World. No question in my mind.
WDW: Tower of Terror by far.

More of a toss-up: Buzz, Splash, Jungle Cruise. Can't pick one over the other.

I like space mountain better at WDW, if only because it has my favorite vertical drop in all the Disney coasters.
I'm going to go ahead and pick WDW's HM over DL too. Love the loading ambiance at DL and the Hatbox Ghost was pretty cool, but after going to Florida for so many years, hearing "The happy haunts have received your sympathetic vibrations.." so soon into the omnimover portion made it feel a little rushed to me..

Also not on this list is Tiki Room which DL wins by default because our fountain still works.

The working fountain and better working chanting tikis were great, but I experienced terrible audio when I saw it. Almost everything was blasted from a single speaker. Since they fixed the WDW version, the audio has been fantastic there.

 

[Stevek]

I voted DL for Pirates, IASW, Autopia, Buzz, BTMRR and Space. I haven't experienced the new addition to DL's haunted mansion so I'm not voting there.

Exactly what I voted for. The HB ghost isn't enough to make our DL mansion better IMO. IASW gets the win due to the much better show building/facade (though I do like the WDW "flooded" flume better) and Thunder would have gotten a WDW vote until they added the new finale at DL. But Pirates...yeah, that's the king by a mile.

 

[Ztonyg]

I prefer the following at Disneyland:

Pirates of the Caribbean: For obvious reasons.

Haunted Mansion: I prefer the mansion building, the fact that the stretching room is an elevator, the corridor from the stretching room to the loading area, and I do like the hatbox ghost (believe it was very well done). The interactive queue at WDW is nice though, but as DL is my "home" park I've got to give this one to DL.

It's A Small World: The exterior facade, the Disney characters, and the America room all push this in the way of DL. Plus, the last time I was on the WDW version many of the animations were broken.

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin: I prefer the moving guns at DL. Other than that, it's pretty much the same at both parks.

Autopia / Tomorrowland Speedway: The DL version is much better themed and, I agree, is more "exciting" although both are rather boring rides that I tend to skip.

I prefer the following at Walt Disney World:

Big Thunder Railroad: The queue is better at WDW, I prefer the lift hill out of the queue area, and I prefer the somewhat "rougher" ride. The WDW version feels like the "wildest ride in the wilderness" The DL ride is WAY too smooth for a mine train. However, the explosion scene at DL is nice.

Splash Mountain: The WDW version's story is more coherent and I prefer their show scenes better. Also, while it doesn't always work, I really like the "jumping water" element in the WDW version. WDW has the better overall show. DL does have the more exciting "drop" though.

Twilight Zone Tower of Terror: The 5th Dimension scene and the more intense feeling drop skew this in favor of WDW.

Jungle Cruise: The ride feels longer and more complete at WDW however, WDW's version only wins by a hair. The queue at DL is definitely better.

Space Mountain: I prefer WDW's version as it feels more like a journey through outer space. The soundtrack at DL is nice, but DL's ride is ruined by the blinding flash at the end.

 

[SilentWindODoom]

Pirates: Obviously superior in Anaheim. Much more to the ride.

Mansion: Obviously superior in Orlando. Added Library, Music Room, and Escher scenes including the neat new eyes transition to the Corridor of Doors. More imposing exterior with grounds that are separate from the rest of the park without scream overlap from Splash Mountain.

Big Thunder: I've never ridden either, but I'd think the Tumbleweed scene would put the Orlando version a big above.

Small World: Obviously superior in Anaheim. Not only is the exterior large and iconic, the show scenes themselves are larger and have more to them.

Buzz: I didn't even know there was a difference.

Splash: Seems better in Orlando. Bigger mountain and more coherent show scenes.

Tower of Terror: Gotta give it to the original. There's so little difference in the ride itself, but the wrapping in Anaheim looks so much like a cheapo budget version.

Jungle Cruise: A couple new scenes have been added to Anaheim, but I gotta give this to Orlando for the temple theme. Without it, how could we remember the Macarena?

Space Mountain: Even though I've never ridden either, everyone knows the Anaheim version is far better.

Autopia: Didn't realize until recently how friggin' huge Autopia is. Gotta give it to Anaheim.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Not included in this poll:

Peter Pan's Flight
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Astro Orbiter
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Mad Tea Party
Mark Twain/Liberty Square Riverboat
Tom Sawyer Island
Fantasmic!
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
Disneyland/Walt Disney World Railroad
King Arthur Carousel/Prince Charming (?) formerly Cinderella's Golden Carousel

 

[habuma]

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin: I prefer the moving guns at DL. Other than that, it's pretty much the same at both parks.

Until this past week, I thought the same thing. But they are very different in each park. None of the strategies I've used in WDW are applicable in DL. The show scenes are different and the targets are different. From a "my strategies work" standpoint, I prefer the WDW version. But setting that aside, I think I like the DL version more.

 

[Ztonyg]

Until this past week, I thought the same thing. But they are very different in each park. None of the strategies I've used in WDW are applicable in DL. The show scenes are different and the targets are different. From a "my strategies work" standpoint, I prefer the WDW version. But setting that aside, I think I like the DL version more.

Would you be able to expand upon the differences? In the interest of full disclosure, I have been on the ride more times than I can count at DL but only once at WDW.

 

[dweezil78]

Would you be able to expand upon the differences? In the interest of full disclosure, I have been on the ride more times than I can count at DL but only once at WDW.

I like that you can still see the bones of If You Had Wings and Dreamflight in the track's layout and that they kept the big domed room w/ projection. Makes me happy everytime I go through it.

 

[habuma]

Would you be able to expand upon the differences? In the interest of full disclosure, I have been on the ride more times than I can count at DL but only once at WDW.

Having only ridden the DL version 3 times, I can't recall the scenes that well. But the WDW versions I know pretty well by memory:

• First room's primary target is a robot on the left side. Shooting the inside of his left hand gives you more points. As you leave the first room, there's a claw above you and if you spin around and shoot the target in the claw, there's some large number of points rewarded.
• The second room is large and is target rich. But the main target to look for is a volcano at the back of the scene. This gives you some large number of points and will eventually erupt if you hit it enough.
• The third room is somewhat small and features Zurg. The Z on the bottom of Zurg is the go-for target.
• The next room is a dark tunnel with a projection of a spaceship flying around as well as a few other small targets.
• The final scene has only a few small targets, with Buzz congratulating you on defeating Zurg. This is also where the on-ride photo is taken.

While some of these scenes share elements with the DL version, the scenes are very different. Different enough that it felt like a completely different game.

Also, as far as I remember, the WDW version's targets are all circle-shaped and do not have the feature of giving you more points when they're lit up red. This is in contrast to DL's circle, square, diamond, and triangle-shaped targets (where diamond and triangle targets are worth the most points) and where targets lit up red are worth more points.

And, of course, the well-known difference is that the gun is attached to the car in WDW, but can be held in your hands in DL.

 

[prberk]

Not included in this poll:

Peter Pan's Flight
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Astro Orbiter
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Mad Tea Party
Mark Twain/Liberty Square Riverboat
Tom Sawyer Island
Fantasmic!
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
Disneyland/Walt Disney World Railroad
King Arthur Carousel/Prince Charming (?) formerly Cinderella's Golden Carousel

Also not included was Toy Story Midway Mania, which I understand is almost always a walk-on at DCA in California but crazy busy as we all know at DHS in Florida. Almost like it doesn't exist in California.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Also not included was Toy Story Midway Mania, which I understand is almost always a walk-on at DCA in California but crazy busy as we all know at DHS in Florida. Almost like it doesn't exist in California.

Not exactly - TSMM is quite popular at DCA, and seems to always have a 30-45 minute wait regardless of the time of day or crowd in the park. There is no Fastpass and it's not a headliner attraction because DCA has so many strong attractions - whereas DHS...doesn't.

That said, the ride is virtually identical except for the queue. Comparing the two versions isn't really worthwhile as the attraction is identical.

 

[dweezil78]

Also not included was Toy Story Midway Mania, which I understand is almost always a walk-on at DCA in California but crazy busy as we all know at DHS in Florida. Almost like it doesn't exist in California.

It's almost always busy here... we just don't have the luxury of a having large queue to hold more than 35-45 min worth of people. Which is probably a good thing.

It is funny/interesting though, two of arguably the busiest attractions at WDW (Soarin' and TSMM) which are consistently hours long never really get above 45 min at DCA. Not sure if that's a sign of different tastes or just not enough to do at their respective parks in FL. Probably a mix of both..

 

[Californian Elitist]

I'm always puzzled when people say TSMM is a walk-on at DCA.

 

[Figments Friend]

I prefer the DCA version of TSMM for the simple fact you can watch Mr. Potato Head do his thing without having to actually be in line.
At DHS in Florida, you cannot see him unless you are in the massive indoor queue.

I once visited DHS with a engineering friend who works with Animatronics.
I was taking him around the Park, showing him the more impressive figures, and sadly he never saw Mr. Potato head because neither of us wanted to wait in the hour+ long queue to do so.

I find that a nice 'plus' at DCA's version of the Attraction....seeing that feature from the sidewalk.

 

[Figments Friend]

Not included in this poll:

Peter Pan's Flight
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Astro Orbiter
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Mad Tea Party
Mark Twain/Liberty Square Riverboat
Tom Sawyer Island
Fantasmic!
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
Disneyland/Walt Disney World Railroad
King Arthur Carousel/Prince Charming (?) formerly Cinderella's Golden Carousel

Well, looking at this list....i will rate my choices.

Disneyland has the superior 'Peter Pan's Flight' by a longshot....and i am not even counting it's current refurbishment which will make it even better.
One of my memories from my 1st visit to DL was experiencing their version, with the fiber optic dimensional effects as you take off to Neverland.
For a moment, it really felt like you were going off into the sky through the clouds.
WDW's is still pretty much in it's original state ( interior scene wise ) and it even still has it's tin-foil lined volcano.
I like it for it's old-school charm, but if we are comparing, Disneyland's version wins hands down.

Pooh is about the same to me, but i think WDW's has a little edge to it due to the spacing of the scenes.
The scenes seem larger and more immersive, while the Disneyland version is quaint.
I am not a huge fan of either, but it's a okay diversion.

WDW's version of the 'Astro Orbiter' wins for height advantage, but i prefer the design aesthetics of the Disneyland version.

'Dumbo' is more appealing to me in Disneyland.
The 'Dueling Dumbo' setup in Florida just seems odd to me.
At Disneyland, you get a sense of flying over that beautifully designed Fantasyland...with all it's gorgeous buildings.
At WDW, you are flying over a 'circus' filled with strollers. Meh...

'Mad Tea Party' now....Disneyland again. Love the setting, and the themed control booth made to look like the White Rabbit's house.
The lighting is also a plus here.

Disneyland wins again for the Rivers of America experiences, which includes all the boats and activities on Tom Sawyer Island.
I DO like WDW"s version of TSI a bit....but i like DLs for the more intimate scale and more eye candy to be seen from the shores.

'Fantasmic' is 10000Xs better at Disneyland.
NO contest.
Maleficent rules, and the staging of this version is awesome.

Disneyland wins for the 'Enchanted Tiki Room' too.
You just cannot beat the original, with it's beautifully themed show building, Enchanted Garden, and handy double-sided Dole Whip refreshment stand!
The Show itself is stellar...and usually in much better condition then the one in Florida.

I prefer the Disneyland Railroad to WDW's...for the very cool 'Grand Canyon' and 'Primeval World' dioramas, as well as a more scenic journey.

The Carousel is about the same to me...although WDW's seems larger and more elegant.

 

[prberk]

Well, looking at this list....i will rate my choices.

...

I prefer the Disneyland Railroad to WDW's...for the very cool 'Grand Canyon' and 'Primeval World' dioramas, as well as a more scenic journey.

While I appreciated the dioramas on DL's railroad, I like WDW's railroad better because it is wider. And if I remember correctly, you face sideways on the DL railroad. I prefer forward-facing seats.

 

[prberk]

We also never compared Star Tours. I think the ride itself is identical, but the outdoor Endor theming gives WDW an edge for this one, I think.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

While I appreciated the dioramas on DL's railroad, I like WDW's railroad better because it is wider. And if I remember correctly, you face sideways on the DL railroad. I prefer forward-facing seats.

It actually varies by car - there is one train with forward facing seats. Of course, the side facing seats make viewing the dioramas easier.

 

[wdrive]

We also never compared Star Tours. I think the ride itself is identical, but the outdoor Endor theming gives WDW an edge for this one, I think.

Interestingly I prefer Disneyland in this regard. The fake Endor film set facade at WDW is out of place with the Star Tours 2.0 version of the ride. At Disneyland the facade fits the overall theme better. WDWs is more interesting to look at though so I can see where you are coming from.