Disney World vs. Disneyland

[daliseurat]

I guess this is specifically for those who have been to bot Disney World and Disneyland. Now we all now the obvious differences. Disneyland has 2 major parks (Disneyland, California Adventure) while Disney World has 4 (we know them). Disneyland is more comparable to Magic Kingdom. Obviously Disneyland came first. And Walt set foot in it and was around for 11 years of it's existance.

But what are the subtle differences? Obviously many of the rides are the same but I have heard that Pirates of the Caribbean in Disneyland is significantly longer, as is the Haunted Mansion. Any truth to that? Also the Country Bear Jamboree is gone from Disneyland :shrug:

Also I know Anaheim has a little less to do theme park wise than Orlando. Anaheim area has both Disney parks, Knot's Berry Farms and Universal Studios Hollywood, but that's irrelevant.

But which park gives you the more magic feel to it? Which one is better?

Yeah. this has been done to death, but it's fun.

First off, DISNEYWORLD is huge and massive. It's meant for people to go and stay on property for a long stretch of time. 4 major parks, Waterparks, huge resorts.

Disneyland Resort only has 2 parks and a small assortment of hotels. Not meant for a real long stretch, although some of us COULD stay a long time.

As far as MAGIC goes, it depends on what exactly feels magical to you. For me, Disneyland is more cozy and contains more attractions that give me that DISNEY feeling. Fantasmic is IN the park. Star Tours is IN Disneyland. And it has some of my MOST favorite attractions that are not in DisneyWorld. The Matterhorn, Storybookland, Casey Jr, Nemo subs, Indiana Jones. It has the original Tiki Room. My favorite place to eat is Bengal BBQ. The Monorail goes through Disneyland. These are things that make Disneyland more magical to ME.

However, Magic Kingdom at Disneyworld still has the Peoplemover(TTA) and Country Bears. Magic Kingdom is larger, more spacious, but I believe has fewer attractions. But they have character meals in the park.

They feel very different to me. Disneyland is more nostalgic and magic for me. Disney World is more of an epic vacation. Every Disney fan should really try both coasts offeeings if possible.

 

[Wilt Dasney]

I visited DL for the first time last year and did a lot of mental comparison/contrast during my trip. I posted my writeup here.

 

[FutureImageneer]

Well to me Disneyland cause I grew up going there.

 

[Lucille]

I enjoy WDW and DL both for various reasons.

When I go to WDW, I miss things about Disneyland. When I go to Disneyland, I miss things about WDW.

For resorts....I like WDW best. At Disneyland we always stay offsite (and we used to live 10 minutes from the park so we were AP holders.)

The two Space Mountains can barely be compared because they are just way too different.

Pirates is longer at Disneyland and as two drops.

The Haunted Mansions have a lot of similarities but some differences as well. Both good rides, IMO.

Indiana Jones and Dinosaur are same track but with VERY different theming. Again, I enjoy both.

For me, Fantasyland is 100 times better at Disneyland. I just like the look of the buildings more. Plus there are quite a few rides that WDW doesn't have - Casey Jr, Storybook Canal, Alice in Wonderland, Mr. Toads, and maybe a couple others I'm forgetting.

I think the Tower of Terror is better at WDW.

I like the size of the castle at WDW but I like the color and detailing on the castle at Disneyland. (I like Disneyland Paris' castle the best because it combines my favorite things about the castles here in the states.)

Disneyland Resort doesn't have Epcot or Animal Kingdom which stinks because I love those two parks.

To rank the parks...for me...they go in this order...
1. Disneyland
2. Animal Kingdom
3. Epcot (really, it ties with AK for me)
4. Magic Kingdom
5. California Adventure (will probably jump ahead of MK once the new stuff is done in a couple years.)
6. Hollywood Studios

I've never been to the water parks so I have no thoughts on those.

When we go to WDW, we stay onsite and don't rent a car. We do ONLY Disney for an entire week.

When we head out to California...we do Disneyland but we also do other things in the area (there's tons to do) and visit family.

I can't swap out one vacation for the other. I love both. We have been alternating between WDW and California for the past few vacations.

 

[BigRedDad]

I won't go to Disneyland. My uncle is the reason that my grandparents were never gagillionaires. They almost left Detroit shortly after coming to the US from Hungary. Many of their friends that migrated there moved west to California to open up orange groves. My grandmother refused to go because she was pregnant with my uncle. The land that their orange farms were on? the city of Annaheim. All their friends became instantly wealthy selling off the land to Walt and other businesses wanting to build there.

 

[Chance]

Bottom line - you are not comparing 2 equals. They are different, both are unique and magical for their own reasons and for what they are.

The enormity of magic and the lost in a land of magic from the outside world exists at wdw

the incredible feeling of history and walt's touch, his legacy encompasses disneyland.

You just can't compare --- you can talk about what each has but they are not able to be compared.

I love them both for different reasons.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

Yeah. this has been done to death, but it's fun.

First off, DISNEYWORLD is huge and massive. It's meant for people to go and stay on property for a long stretch of time. 4 major parks, Waterparks, huge resorts.

Disneyland Resort only has 2 parks and a small assortment of hotels. Not meant for a real long stretch, although some of us COULD stay a long time.

As far as MAGIC goes, it depends on what exactly feels magical to you. For me, Disneyland is more cozy and contains more attractions that give me that DISNEY feeling. Fantasmic is IN the park. Star Tours is IN Disneyland. And it has some of my MOST favorite attractions that are not in DisneyWorld. The Matterhorn, Storybookland, Casey Jr, Nemo subs, Indiana Jones. It has the original Tiki Room. My favorite place to eat is Bengal BBQ. The Monorail goes through Disneyland. These are things that make Disneyland more magical to ME.

However, Magic Kingdom at Disneyworld still has the Peoplemover(TTA) and Country Bears. Magic Kingdom is larger, more spacious, but I believe has fewer attractions. But they have character meals in the park.

They feel very different to me. Disneyland is more nostalgic and magic for me. Disney World is more of an epic vacation. Every Disney fan should really try both coasts offeeings if possible.

Thanks. Yeah the feedback is great. I'm a huge Disney park junkie but I've only ever been to Disney World being in the eastern time zone. But Disneyland has still entrigued me. Now a little off topic but how is Knot's Berry Farms and Universal Hollywood? As far as I know these are the 4 big theme parks in that area

 

[daliseurat]

Thanks. Yeah the feedback is great. I'm a huge Disney park junkie but I've only ever been to Disney World being in the eastern time zone. But Disneyland has still entrigued me. Now a little off topic but how is Knot's Berry Farms and Universal Hollywood? As far as I know these are the 4 big theme parks in that area

Personally. I really like Knotts. it has a really nifty old west area, which might be considered corny. but I love it. They have more thrills than Disneyland. Some really GREAt coasters. Mrs. Knotts restaurant has great fried chicken, and AWESOME boysenberry pie.

Universal Hollywood is strange. It is an ACTUAL movie studio, so you get a few real peeks into real movie-making, but they've kind of attached a really nice theme park to it, which detracts from the studio. Again, some really great stuff to do. The new Simpson's ride is great. Universal Orlando is more themepark faking it as a studio. So Universal Hollywood has a uniqueness.

You also have Six Flags Magic Mountain nearby, as well as all the wonderful natural beauty of California.

If I had to give a preference between STATES, California would win for me hands down over Florida.



Both of these parks REALLY shine for HALLOWEEN.

 

[dweezil78]

Both Magic Kingdom parks are amazing places to visit and you can't go wrong with either. As someone noted above, there are things you'll miss about each when you're at the other. Rides and everything else aside, the only thing that really bothers me about DL is how difficult it gets to navigate the park when it's crowded. It just wasn't designed with hoardes of people in mind and can get super congested.

And on that note, because it is so popular with the locals (many of them AP holders) and there are fewer parks / activities to spread the crowds around, you'll find that it's almost always way busier than the Orlando park. There are days in Orlando when you can feel like you totally own the place whereas I have yet to experience that in Anaheim.

But ultimately, they're both incredible places!

 

[puntagordabob]

Currently:
Disneyland: Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
Walt Disney World's MK: Tiki Room Under New Management

DisneyLand BETTER!!!!

Before 1998:
Disneyland: Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
Walt Disney World's MK: The Tropical Serenade (Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room)

Walt Disney World & Disneyland: TIE!!!!!

Thats the one and only difference that annoys the tar out of me... Fix our Tiki Room in WDW! Please bring the Disneyland show here.

 

[papamouse1]

Personally. I really like Knotts. it has a really nifty old west area, which might be considered corny. but I love it. They have more thrills than Disneyland. Some really GREAt coasters. Mrs. Knotts restaurant has great fried chicken, and AWESOME boysenberry pie.

Universal Hollywood is strange. It is an ACTUAL movie studio, so you get a few real peeks into real movie-making, but they've kind of attached a really nice theme park to it, which detracts from the studio. Again, some really great stuff to do. The new Simpson's ride is great. Universal Orlando is more themepark faking it as a studio. So Universal Hollywood has a uniqueness.

You also have Six Flags Magic Mountain nearby, as well as all the wonderful natural beauty of California.

If I had to give a preference between STATES, California would win for me hands down over Florida.



Both of these parks REALLY shine for HALLOWEEN.

These are good, but you could possibly also include Legoland, Sea World, and the Zoo in San Diego. It is a little bit of a drive, but not much more than it would be to Magic Mountain from Anaheim.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

Personally. I really like Knotts. it has a really nifty old west area, which might be considered corny. but I love it. They have more thrills than Disneyland. Some really GREAt coasters. Mrs. Knotts restaurant has great fried chicken, and AWESOME boysenberry pie.

Universal Hollywood is strange. It is an ACTUAL movie studio, so you get a few real peeks into real movie-making, but they've kind of attached a really nice theme park to it, which detracts from the studio. Again, some really great stuff to do. The new Simpson's ride is great. Universal Orlando is more themepark faking it as a studio. So Universal Hollywood has a uniqueness.

You also have Six Flags Magic Mountain nearby, as well as all the wonderful natural beauty of California.

Thanks again. I've only been to Universal Orlando obviously, but the Hollywood version almost sounds better. All I've heard from Knott's was from a cousin of mine and that funny one minute spoof they did for it on the Simpsons once

 

[dweezil78]

Thanks again. I've only been to Universal Orlando obviously, but the Hollywood version almost sounds better. All I've heard from Knott's was from a cousin of mine and that funny one minute spoof they did for it on the Simpsons once

Hollywood version is great, but it's more of a working studio with rides than a a full-fledged theme park like Orlando is. The studio tour, especially if you've never done it before, is really great and something you just won't find in Orlando.

As a local I really love the park because they're almost always doing the "buy a day get a year" promotion and it's a great place to come and chill without an agenda. There are some really great views to soak in and it's never too too busy.

Only complaints are that they closed E.T. and brought in all chain restaurants to replace their own unique food vendors. (Booooo)

 

[TakeMeThere81]

Just putting my two cents in here since I've been thinking about this a lot lately. From 2007-2009 our family made 5(some short) trips to WDW and just fell in love. We'd been to DLR back in 2004 (and myself as a child, before CA and DTD were added to the property). We went again a few weeks ago on our move back to the West coast(in fact I'm behind but a trip report should be up soon).

I think the parks themselves are pretty comparable. I love some details of how Disneyland is laid out. Some attractions are different, but they are all Disney magic in my opinion. Notably as others have said, Pirates and HM are longer, Jungle Cruise is shorter, Indy is a must-see, there's no Country Bears and Winnie the Pooh is located in the back of the park in Critter Country. Toontown is bigger, Autopia is much longer than Tomorrowland Indy Speedway...CA has Mike and Sulley and all the little California-ish details and the original Soarin'(exactly the same as the EPCOT ride, just a different queue). It is worth a trip, at least once.

The major difference I found was the location. People have probably said this, and I have to agree when they've said that the location of DLR really sucks the magic out of it. It is smack dab in the middle of a normal city, Anaheim, right off the freeway... Now it isn't their fault that the city grew up and is somewhat suffocating the property(at least in comparison to WDW's 40 square miles of land where you can breathe Disney magic day and night throughout your whole trip). They are doing their best with this challenge, but parking in a parking garage, walking off property to your hotel(which let's face it, since there are only 3 very expensive hotels on property most of us will end up doing)...just not very magical.

I love Disneyland, it holds a special place in my heart and I'm glad we went, we had a great time! But our next trip will hands-down be WDW instead.

 

[Lucille]

Just putting my two cents in here since I've been thinking about this a lot lately. From 2007-2009 our family made 5(some short) trips to WDW and just fell in love. We'd been to DLR back in 2004 and myself as a child, before CA and DTD were added to the property. We went again on our move back to the West coast(in fact I'm behind but a trip report should be up soon).

I think the parks themselves are pretty comparable. I love some details of how Disneyland is laid out. Some attractions are different, but they are all Disney magic in my opinion. It is worth a trip, at least once.

The major difference I found was the location. People have probably said this, and I have to agree when they've said that the location of DLR really sucks the magic out of it. It is smack dab in the middle of a normal city, Anaheim, right off the freeway... Now it isn't their fault that the city grew up and is somewhat suffocating the property(at least in comparison to WDW's 40 square miles of land where you can breathe Disney magic day and night throughout your whole trip). They are doing their best with this challenge, but parking in a parking garage, walking off property to your hotel(which let's face it, since there are only 3 very expensive hotels on property most of us will end up doing)...just not very magical.

I love Disneyland, it holds a special place in my heart and I'm glad we went, we had a great time! But our next trip will hands-down be WDW instead.

One good thing I've noticed though...is that once you're in Disneyland park or California Adventure, you really don't notice that you're in the middle of Anaheim anymore. They do a good job of keeping the "real world" out.

 

[flyer31]

This year I am taking 2 Disney trips...in April I am headdin down to Disneyland and off to WDW in November/December. I have never been to DL and am looking forward to it. I have been to WDW a few times and now I am looking forward to seeing the origional and seeing where it all started!!

 

[wm49rs]

Al? Al Lutz, is that you?

But like EPCOT Explorer said, if you haven't been, give it a try. It certainly won't hurt. I'm going to head out there as soon as the current construction on CarsLand is completed.

 

[nastee24]

One thing I like about DL is that the theming in many cases is better than at DW. For example Pooh is in a woodsy setting and not in the middle of fantasyland. Soarin is in an airplane "hangar" and not in the back of land pavillion.

 

[csaguy]

Jungle Cruise

Is there some reason, county ordinance. or rule that keeps the WDW Jungle Cruise from using blanks in the gun like DL does? We were in DL last month and it was surprising to hear them.

 

[nemofinder22]

Is there some reason, county ordinance. or rule that keeps the WDW Jungle Cruise from using blanks in the gun like DL does? We were in DL last month and it was surprising to hear them.

Disneyland's were removed for a few years sometime prior to the 50th. When Jungle went down for refurbishment in 05 prior to the 50th start they came back.