Disneyland Fantasyland vs. WDW Fantasyland

[Deleted member 107043]

That looks so sad.

And to think how loudly people complained about DCA when it opened. Not that it didn't deserve criticism, but that image of Tokyo's Small World loading area proves that cost-cutting mediocre work from WDI is nothing new.

 

[Travel Junkie]

In person the loading area looks better than pictures. As an overall package I'll take TDL's Small World over any of the others.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

In person the loading area looks better than pictures. As an overall package I'll take TDL's Small World over any of the others.

Paris' is looking pretty amazing after its redo. So far, HKDL's is my favorite all around, but when I get on Paris' updated version this summer that might change my mind.

 

[Little Green Men]

I prefer the current WDW iasw load tbh. The new one may not be as amazing as DL's but the old one was sort of empty looking and dated.

Old view from original unloading bridge:

Current:

The fountain is the only part that was better imo.

 

[TP2000]

Of all the things they need to fix in Magic Kingdom Park, I have no idea why they messed around with Small World like that. Was it because they wanted it to look "new" for the launch of New Fantasyland back in 2013?

Tokyo is a weird mish-mash of Anaheim and Orlando, with a big Anaheim-based façade covering the show building but then you go into this long indoor queue that leads to the massive loading area and then on to a WDW-ish version of the ride. For those unaware, they are bulldozing Small World in Tokyo and rebuilding it in a new format on the other side of Fantasyland. It should be stupendous!

Funny how Shanghai Disneyland doesn't have a Small World, the only Castle park in the world to be without one. I guess the Communists who approved Shanghai Disneyland didn't like the message of everyone sharing their culture and being equal with everyone else, which is kind of ironic for Communists.

Back in the good 'ol US of A where Communists are few and far between, Disneyland is still the only park that has a Small World that does this every 15 minutes at Christmastime. YouTube can't begin to do the scale of this justice, but it's always a favorite of mine.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

Am I the only person who thinks WDW's looks better after the redo? The first iteration looks unfinished to me.

 

[FerretAfros]

Of all the things they need to fix in Magic Kingdom Park, I have no idea why they messed around with Small World like that. Was it because they wanted it to look "new" for the launch of New Fantasyland back in 2013?

The changes to WDW's small world actually date back to 2005 (around the same time they were neutering the hub for Wishes sightlines), so it was completely unrelated to the New Fantasyland project. Barely any of the existing Fantasyland structures and attractions were touched by the recent work, which is why they added the castle 'wall' to clearly show that they didn't intent to upgrade the whole land

The changes were made during an extended refurbishment, and were done as a way to show visible upgrades to average guests. It was similar to how the addition of characters and the USA room at DL was used to "justify" the year-long closure to modify the flume and install the new boats.

Judging by the old photos, the curved ramp along the back wall doesn't meet ADA. It's likely that while they were replacing it with a linear one to meet code, they decided it would be a good idea to redo the whole area to mimic the iconic façade used on all of the other iasw's around the world. Personally, I think the end result is far too cluttered and busy for the space, and creates an awkward façade-within-the-façade from the walkway, but I see what they were going for


As for Tokyo, the pictures really don't do it justice, and the huge mural is pretty impressive in person (plus hardly any of the queue is actually in that room, so you barely spend any time there). My favorite part of the mural is the kitschy space-age satellite, which makes you really question the limits of the "it's a small world" message. It's also Disney's only flooded show building boat ride with dual-load stations, which is pretty cool. In all, it's probably my second favorite iasw load area, after the original at DL (which simply isn't practical at the other parks due to weather; even DLP's outdoor load is covered, which takes away most of the charm). I find WDW's current load area to be the least successful of the 5, not to mention they keep switching the entrance and exit for some unknown reason

 

[dweezil78]

It's also Disney's only flooded show building boat ride with dual-load stations, which is pretty cool.

I may be imagining this -- and plus it's gone now, so technically you are right -- but I believe WDW's POTC originally was dual-load and was changed at some point because boats were getting stuck.

 

[the-reason14]

I may be imagining this -- and plus it's gone now, so technically you are right -- but I believe WDW's POTC originally was dual-load and was changed at some point because boats were getting stuck.

Really? This is interesting. As far as IASW is concerned, I guess MK's version suffered from what Disneyland as a whole suffers from now. With DL being the first park, there was no guide or blueprint to take information from, that's why everything is so cluttered compared to MK. While the MK IASW had DL's for inspiration, they knew it wouldn't be practical with the constant rain Orlando gets, so it make sense that it's inside the way it is. However DLP got it right with the facade and canopy, and it looks really nice. But I get what people are saying about IASW, although I do prefer the current cramped version. It's a nice attempt, but it doesn't even come close to the original. I wish they would just redo it, and hearing that tokyo is doing that makes me want WDW to even more, but it's good that both resorts offer different versions of the same experience. Even if it's vastly superior in one resort over the other.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Really? This is interesting. As far as IASW is concerned, I guess MK's version suffered from what Disneyland as a whole suffers from now. With DL being the first park, there was no guide or blueprint to take information from, that's why everything is so cluttered compared to MK. While the MK IASW had DL's for inspiration, they knew it wouldn't be practical with the constant rain Orlando gets, so it make sense that it's inside the way it is. However DLP got it right with the facade and canopy, and it looks really nice. But I get what people are saying about IASW, although I do prefer the current cramped version. It's a nice attempt, but it doesn't even come close to the original. I wish they would just redo it, and hearing that tokyo is doing that makes me want WDW to even more, but it's good that both resorts offer different versions of the same experience. Even if it's vastly superior in one resort over the other.

What do you mean when you say everything is "cluttered" at Disneyland?

 

[Curious Constance]

I think it would have been much better to keep Small World unique to Disneyland. I don't think it needed to be cloned at every other park.

 

[Curious Constance]

And if you are going to clone something, whatever it is, why, oh WHY would you ever make an inferior version???? You've instantly branded yourself as the crappy version.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

One formidable area of old MK FL is the stretch between Columbia Harbour House and Pinocchio Village Haus, especially back in the day. It's not the same since they removed the Skyway and put in Rapunzel bathrooms, but it's still pretty lovely.

 

[the-reason14]

What do you mean when you say everything is "cluttered" at Disneyland?

Not everything, a lot of things. On my first trip, I was shocked to see how close the Haunted Mansion is to splash mountain, and DL as a whole felt cluttered in comparison to the MK. It's so small, but it utilizes it's space very well. It kind of has to because it's so small. When they built the MK they were able to see what worked and didn't work for DL and plus it. Of course, they had all that land to work with but DL was the blueprint.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

^^ This is one of the things I prefer about the newer parks. Generally they tend to be much more spacious than Disneyland and feel less "busy", if you know what I mean.

 

[dweezil78]

And if you are going to clone something, whatever it is, why, oh WHY would you ever make an inferior version???? You've instantly branded yourself as the crappy version.

I doubt most people think of MK's version as 'crappy.' Sure the queue was initially much less to look at -- but I think that was largely in part to the fact that it was all indoors and they probably saw no reason to do a whole facade indoors. It very much fit with the times when it opened and had an early 70s aesthetic to it like much of early WDW. I think the MK version also benefits from being flooded vs. DL's flume style with everything around it being totally dry. Can't quite put my finger on it, but there's just something about having everything submerged in water that ties it all together for me.

And finally, IMO, I think MK got the better finale. One might also argue that MK's shorter length is also more tolerable as it's still a long ride, but not too long.

 

[the-reason14]

I doubt most people think of MK's version as 'crappy.' Sure the queue was initially much less to look at -- but I think that was largely in part to the fact that it was all indoors and they probably saw no reason to do a whole facade indoors. It very much fit with the times when it opened and had an early 70s aesthetic to it like much of early WDW. I think the MK version also benefits from being flooded vs. DL's flume style with everything around it being totally dry. Can't quite put my finger on it, but there's just something about having everything submerged in water that ties it all together for me.

And finally, IMO, I think MK got the better finale. One might also argue that MK's shorter length is also more tolerable as it's still a long ride, but not too long.

I agree with this. I think the inside looks much better in MK versus Disneyland. A lot of things are higher up and the way the flume looks at DL makes the inside looks a little tacky in some senses. It's essentially the same ride, but when it comes to the actual ride part I think it's better in MK. I do like the first scene in Disneyland though.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

 

[mlayton144]

So now that I've been to DL I want to comment on my old comment lol (I forgot about it but someone recently liked it). I went to DL for the first time last year and I've been to WDW 12x now. IMO, "quaint" really is the best word to describe DL. I wish I could have gone to DL first bc I really do love MK so much more. Going from big to small is harder than the other way around. MK is just bigger and imo better. It's newer and shinier.

DL is cute. It's smaller. I did like that it was the original but it left a lot to be desired for me after being used to the grandeur of MK. I really missed being able to see the castle from almost anywhere bc it reminds me where I am. SB Castle is sweet but it wasn't impressive and almost everything in MK is impressive vs. just cute.

Now as a whole, WDW def wins. There's way more to do and it really is it's own world that is self-contained magic. DL is a theme park in the middle of a lot of crap. I know it didn't start that way but that's how it is now. It didn't feel like I was leaving the real world and entering the magical world of Disney. It felt like I was going to a theme park. Which I guess I was lol but WDW has that different feeling.

This

 

[DisneyAndUniversalFan]

Easy. Disneyland's!