I would disagree with Mansion at this time because of the awful theme-spoiling Interactive Queue, Horrible new Hitchhiking Ghost effects and lack of a certain ghost with a hatboxIt's like MAGIC!
I'll start. WDW's Haunted Mansion trounces DLR's. Same with Splash Mountain and Tower of Terror.
Disneyland has a better Magic Kingdom in that it has more soul and dare I say charm. Although tomorrowland in Disneyland is an absolute mess. No effort to be cohesive whatsoever and Space Mountain, while smoother, is nowhere near as fun.
Disneyland wins with:
Fantasyland
Big Thunder Mountain
Pirates
Paint the Night
Grizzly River Run
Carsland
Indiana Jones
Critter Country
Buena Vista Street
Grizzly Peak Airfield
Sorian makes more sense here
Pacific Wharf (Totally under appreciated)
World of Color
WDW:
Hall of Presidents
Peoplemover (lol)
Space Mountain
Everest
Pretty much all of Animal Kingdom. An atmosphere that nothing In Disneyland has.
The water parks
Disney Springs
Resort options
Spaceship Earth
American Adventure
Illuminations
Tower of Terror
Great Movie Ride
So yea I guess WDW is still the better vacation destination of the two although both are very special.
Kilimanjaro Safarai is a fantastic ride and is practically worth the admission to Animal Kingdom alone. The trails and sheer detail of Animal Kingdom alone is something not seen in either park out west. Pandora is probably going to be amazing based on what we know so Animal Kingdom is only getting better. After visiting Tokyo Disneysea, I can easily say Animal Kingdom is the closet we have to it as far as detail and proper flow. Hollywood Studios, yea it's not hard to beat. Tower of Terror is leaps and bounds better then the one in Anaheim and Great Movie Ride is pure classic Disney even in its rather old state. The park doesn't have much other then that but at least Star Wars Land will fit MUCH better there then Disneyland.I haven't been following the GOTG thread, but I'll play;
After riding the Disneyland Splash Mountain several times from 1989 to 1993, I had no idea that it was supposed to have a plotline until I rode the WDW version in 1994. Previously I thought it was just "Log Ride With Singing Chickens And Big Drop". The Disneyland version still fits that bill. Then in the 2000's I rode the Tokyo Disneyland version of Splash Mountain and realized not only is it supposed to have a plot, but it's also supposed to have proper maintenance. Who knew?
Tower of Terror at WDW looks really cool from the street that leads up to it. The DCA version looks like a lightly decorated warehouse building at the end of an un-themed side street in a theme park. No wonder they ripped it out in DCA.
Epcot Center is truly wonderful, even in its dumbed down and increasingly neglected state in the 2010's. But I still view it through rose tinted glasses of my first visit in 1987, when it was a triumphant tribute to American Free Enterprise and the brilliance of Imagineering. If it weren't for Epcot, I would have stopped visiting WDW many years ago. It's really the only reason for a West Coaster with a Disneyland AP to bother visiting WDW. The rest of non-Anaheim WDW offerings are a good zoo with bad to decent rides at DAK, and a Hollywood theme park with two pretty good rides Disneyland doesn't have at DHS. Neither DAK nor DHS are enough of an excuse to fly to Florida. But Epcot is.
Carousel of Progress should have been updated twice in the last 20 years, but it hasn't been. Embarrassing.
Most of the rest of the E Tickets at WDW in Magic Kingdom, DHS and DAK are weaker, shorter and cheaper looking than their Disneyland counterparts; Pirates, Small World, Space Mt., Thunder Mt., Grizzly, Indy, all of Fantasyland, etc., etc.
Cars Land and all its rides and stores and entertainment kicks behind, plain and simple. Carthay Circle Restaurant is unparalleled in the global theme park industry, not just the Disney theme park industry. The Blue Bayou from 1967 has never been matched, fifty years later. Disneyland entertainment, from small bands to major spectaculars, is lush and beautifully presented and finely crafted and routinely replaced and updated, and there's so much of it compared to the weaker WDW parks. SNOWFLAKE TRIGGER WARNING: There are far fewer overweight people in ECV's at Disneyland, nor people in tacky clothing, which makes for a nicer environment in Disneyland.
WDW has four parks, DLR has two parks but still has a half dozen more rides than all four WDW parks combined. How the heck does that happen after 45 years of operation out there except for gross mismanagement and cheap leadership?
There's also a vast cultural difference between Orlando locals and SoCal locals who are theme park fans. In Orlando, the only thing to do for entertainment is visit theme parks, the shopping malls attached to theme parks, the corporate restaurants attached to theme parks, the hotels attached to theme parks, or the nearby tourists traps just outside of theme parks. The video blogs on YouTube of Orlando area theme park fans are terrifying, in that the bloggers entire life seems to revolve around going to Disney or Universal properties and then wandering around and talking about them. In SoCal, where there is a huge wealth of cultural and natural entertainment offerings, Disneyland is just one beautifully crafted florrette of icing on the big cake of life. SoCal has mountains and desserts and beaches and a million or more cultural and entertainment offerings that a glamorous and affluent global capital like Greater Los Angeles offers. Disneyland fans in SoCal seem to balance their fandom much better than Orlando fans do, who just keep going back to Disney Springs again to blog about the latest Darden Corporation food barn or the latest bathroom refurbishment in Fantasyland. It gets creepy.
I would disagree with Mansion at this time because of the awful theme-spoiling Interactive Queue, Horrible new Hitchhiking Ghost effects and lack of a certain ghost with a hatbox
There's also a vast cultural difference between Orlando locals and SoCal locals who are theme park fans. In Orlando, the only thing to do for entertainment is visit theme parks, the shopping malls attached to theme parks, the corporate restaurants attached to theme parks, the hotels attached to theme parks, or the nearby tourists traps just outside of theme parks.
I've read entire books of literary renown that were poorer written and offered less insight than your one brief post.I haven't been following the GOTG thread, but I'll play;
After riding the Disneyland Splash Mountain several times from 1989 to 1993, I had no idea that it was supposed to have a plotline until I rode the WDW version in 1994. Previously I thought it was just "Log Ride With Singing Chickens And Big Drop". The Disneyland version still fits that bill. Then in the 2000's I rode the Tokyo Disneyland version of Splash Mountain and realized not only is it supposed to have a plot, but it's also supposed to have proper maintenance. Who knew?
Tower of Terror at WDW looks really cool from the street that leads up to it. The DCA version looks like a lightly decorated warehouse building at the end of an un-themed side street in a theme park. No wonder they ripped it out in DCA.
Epcot Center is truly wonderful, even in its dumbed down and increasingly neglected state in the 2010's. But I still view it through rose tinted glasses of my first visit in 1987, when it was a triumphant tribute to American Free Enterprise and the brilliance of Imagineering. If it weren't for Epcot, I would have stopped visiting WDW many years ago. It's really the only reason for a West Coaster with a Disneyland AP to bother visiting WDW. The rest of non-Anaheim WDW offerings are a good zoo with bad to decent rides at DAK, and a Hollywood theme park with two pretty good rides Disneyland doesn't have at DHS. Neither DAK nor DHS are enough of an excuse to fly to Florida. But Epcot is.
Carousel of Progress should have been updated twice in the last 20 years, but it hasn't been. Embarrassing.
Most of the rest of the E Tickets at WDW in Magic Kingdom, DHS and DAK are weaker, shorter and cheaper looking than their Disneyland counterparts; Pirates, Small World, Space Mt., Thunder Mt., Grizzly, Indy, all of Fantasyland, etc., etc.
Cars Land and all its rides and stores and entertainment kicks behind, plain and simple. Carthay Circle Restaurant is unparalleled in the global theme park industry, not just the Disney theme park industry. The Blue Bayou from 1967 has never been matched, fifty years later. Disneyland entertainment, from small bands to major spectaculars, is lush and beautifully presented and finely crafted and routinely replaced and updated, and there's so much of it compared to the weaker WDW parks. SNOWFLAKE TRIGGER WARNING: There are far fewer overweight people in ECV's at Disneyland, nor people in tacky clothing, which makes for a nicer environment in Disneyland.
WDW has four parks, DLR has two parks but still has a half dozen more rides than all four WDW parks combined. How the heck does that happen after 45 years of operation out there except for gross mismanagement and cheap leadership?
There's also a vast cultural difference between Orlando locals and SoCal locals who are theme park fans. In Orlando, the only thing to do for entertainment is visit theme parks, the shopping malls attached to theme parks, the corporate restaurants attached to theme parks, the hotels attached to theme parks, or the nearby tourists traps just outside of theme parks. The video blogs on YouTube of Orlando area theme park fans are terrifying, in that the bloggers entire life seems to revolve around going to Disney or Universal properties and then wandering around and talking about them. In SoCal, where there is a huge wealth of cultural and natural entertainment offerings, Disneyland is just one beautifully crafted florrette of icing on the big cake of life. SoCal has mountains and desserts and beaches and a million or more cultural and entertainment offerings that a glamorous and affluent global capital like Greater Los Angeles offers. Disneyland fans in SoCal seem to balance their fandom much better than Orlando fans do, who just keep going back to Disney Springs again to blog about the latest Darden Corporation food barn or the latest bathroom refurbishment in Fantasyland. It gets creepy.
I haven't been following the GOTG thread, but I'll play;
After riding the Disneyland Splash Mountain several times from 1989 to 1993, I had no idea that it was supposed to have a plotline until I rode the WDW version in 1994. Previously I thought it was just "Log Ride With Singing Chickens And Big Drop". The Disneyland version still fits that bill. Then in the 2000's I rode the Tokyo Disneyland version of Splash Mountain and realized not only is it supposed to have a plot, but it's also supposed to have proper maintenance. Who knew?
Tower of Terror at WDW looks really cool from the street that leads up to it. The DCA version looks like a lightly decorated warehouse building at the end of an un-themed side street in a theme park. No wonder they ripped it out in DCA.
Epcot Center is truly wonderful, even in its dumbed down and increasingly neglected state in the 2010's. But I still view it through rose tinted glasses of my first visit in 1987, when it was a triumphant tribute to American Free Enterprise and the brilliance of Imagineering. If it weren't for Epcot, I would have stopped visiting WDW many years ago. It's really the only reason for a West Coaster with a Disneyland AP to bother visiting WDW. The rest of non-Anaheim WDW offerings are a good zoo with bad to decent rides at DAK, and a Hollywood theme park with two pretty good rides Disneyland doesn't have at DHS. Neither DAK nor DHS are enough of an excuse to fly to Florida. But Epcot is.
Carousel of Progress should have been updated twice in the last 20 years, but it hasn't been. Embarrassing.
Most of the rest of the E Tickets at WDW in Magic Kingdom, DHS and DAK are weaker, shorter and cheaper looking than their Disneyland counterparts; Pirates, Small World, Space Mt., Thunder Mt., Grizzly, Indy, all of Fantasyland, etc., etc.
Cars Land and all its rides and stores and entertainment kicks behind, plain and simple. Carthay Circle Restaurant is unparalleled in the global theme park industry, not just the Disney theme park industry. The Blue Bayou from 1967 has never been matched, fifty years later. Disneyland entertainment, from small bands to major spectaculars, is lush and beautifully presented and finely crafted and routinely replaced and updated, and there's so much of it compared to the weaker WDW parks. SNOWFLAKE TRIGGER WARNING: There are far fewer overweight people in ECV's at Disneyland, nor people in tacky clothing, which makes for a nicer environment in Disneyland.
WDW has four parks, DLR has two parks but still has a half dozen more rides than all four WDW parks combined. How the heck does that happen after 45 years of operation out there except for gross mismanagement and cheap leadership?
There's also a vast cultural difference between Orlando locals and SoCal locals who are theme park fans. In Orlando, the only thing to do for entertainment is visit theme parks, the shopping malls attached to theme parks, the corporate restaurants attached to theme parks, the hotels attached to theme parks, or the nearby tourists traps just outside of theme parks. The video blogs on YouTube of Orlando area theme park fans are terrifying, in that the bloggers entire life seems to revolve around going to Disney or Universal properties and then wandering around and talking about them. In SoCal, where there is a huge wealth of cultural and natural entertainment offerings, Disneyland is just one beautifully crafted florrette of icing on the big cake of life. SoCal has mountains and desserts and beaches and a million or more cultural and entertainment offerings that a glamorous and affluent global capital like Greater Los Angeles offers. Disneyland fans in SoCal seem to balance their fandom much better than Orlando fans do, who just keep going back to Disney Springs again to blog about the latest Darden Corporation food barn or the latest bathroom refurbishment in Fantasyland. It gets creepy.
In SoCal, where there is a huge wealth of cultural and natural entertainment offerings, Disneyland is just one beautifully crafted florrette of icing on the big cake of life. SoCal has mountains and desserts and beaches and a million or more cultural and entertainment offerings that a glamorous and affluent global capital like Greater Los Angeles offers.
DAK is still a half day park even with Pandora added. At least now there is a reason to visit it but not for the entire day. The San Diego Zoo / Wild Animal park and Sea World take care of the animal need on the west coast. Their environments are well themed and the zoo is in Balboa park with lots of museums and cultural events. It's a beautiful place and doesn't feel theme park fake like DAK.
With the addition of Star Wars land to Disneyland there is absolutely no reason to visit DHS. That day is better off seeing IOA anyway.
I believe EPCOT is the number one reason to cross the country. I still think it is amazing place. DCA is WDW's saving grace. If Westcot were built instead of DCA there would be no reason for someone from the west coast to step in Florida.
DAK is still a half day park even with Pandora added. At least now there is a reason to visit it but not for the entire day. The San Diego Zoo / Wild Animal park and Sea World take care of the animal need on the west coast. Their environments are well themed and the zoo is in Balboa park with lots of museums and cultural events. It's a beautiful place and doesn't feel theme park fake like DAK.
With the addition of Star Wars land to Disneyland there is absolutely no reason to visit DHS. That day is better off seeing IOA anyway.
I would maybe just add clarify no reason for anyone from the West Coast to **return** to WDW. I mean you would have at least see it once to fourmulate a complete opinion right? For example. as someone who has never been to WDW, I would want to visit DHS just to ride the original TOT.
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