I see more people mentioning here it's the more attractions it has, and the fact that it's the original gives it an edge over MK.
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Disneyland or Magic Kingdom
- Thread starter Getachew
- Start date
I see more people mentioning here it's the more attractions it has, and the fact that it's the original gives it an edge over MK.
bryanfze55
Well-Known Member
Attraction density has something to do with it, though the difference isn’t huge if you count ALL attractions and not just moving rides. But I still think FastPass+ is a huge factor, at least for me. I don’t mind pre-planning FastPasses, but it makes standby wait times pretty obscene throughout the day. Disney regulars are just jaded with WDW, probably for good reason.
Moon Waffle
New Member
Disneyland wins the battle of these two castle parks. Better selection of rides. Better FP program. Better food.
Resort as a whole goes to Florida though.
Resort as a whole goes to Florida though.
General Mayhem
Well-Known Member
As someone who has spent a lot of time at both resorts if you would have asked me this question back about 5-7 years ago I would have said Disneyland no contest. Now however my mind has been persuaded to feel differently due to the many questionable changes Disneyland has made to it's park in the past 6 years. (New Orleans Square being largely ruined by Club 33 expansion, Galaxy's Edge, Tomorrowland's possible update featuring the demolition of the Peoplemover track). While I do think Disneyland has much more to offer in attractions and areas I prefer the Magic Kingdom. Why? MK has a much more thought out plan to it's layout and design. I find a majority of the architecture to be much more interesting than what you find at a majority of Disneyland park. For instance our Adventureland (at least what is left of it after Aladdin was added) has an entire story and narrative that it tells from the moment you cross the bridge from the hub. Also I like the fact that we still have our Country Bears, Peoplemover, and Carousel of Progress. Not to mention our Tomorrowland is vastly superior visually and aesthetic wise. I also love the fact that the park is surrounded by forests and swamps and not crappy motels and Kissimmee level restaurants and shops. Our park lets it's themes breath naturally and the flow of the park's transitions for the most part are extremely well done. I love Magic Kingdom far more than Disneyland because of this and would never trade it.
MK for the overall experience, DLR for the weather any day of the year.
Tori
Well-Known Member
This is the exact reason I don't go to MK much. The whole process of the monorail/ferry is not fun.
Walt Disney1955
Well-Known Member
Probably the fact that there are less rides overall, and the dark rides at Disneyland are still there, with more from their opening day (1955) than WDW's (1971) on a percentage base.
When I first went to Disneyland in 2012 the stuff I heard on these boards was the same thing. Disneyland is considered better. I don't know if it has ever not been that way. Maybe when Magic Kingdom opened up in 1971 it was new and fresh and Disneyland was sort of pushed aside that some might have still considered MK, but I think overall it is Disneyland year after year.
doctornick
Well-Known Member
Meh. I personally prefer the pre-planning, but everyone vacations differently. Even before FP+, there were differences in touring the parks and I think it has more to do with how guests use them.
A lot of people use DL as a private mall to go and visit and hang out. So, while the park might be "crowded", you have folks just lounging around, getting a Dole Whip, browsing the stores, whatever. Heck, many of them camp out way ahead of time for parades or Fantasmic! and just picnic. They don't use up ride capacity nearly as much. So, that makes it easier to ride rides and get FPs for "other" guests. Many of those guests only come for a few hours at a time so daily attendance may not reflect total people in the park at one time as much.
Meanwhile, MK is predominantly tourists going to ride the rides. They are at the park/resort for shorter timeframes and want to maximize. So, ride lines and FP use is more in demand and exacerbated by (somewhat) larger attendance numbers and definitely longer times in the park plus smaller overall ride capacity. All that adds up to a "need" to plan more at MK than at DL. FP+ just pushes that off to an earlier time, but even pre-FP+ the rush for FP at machines was greater at MK than at DL.
bryanfze55
Well-Known Member
I was thinking earlier today that Disneyland strikes me as feeling both classical and modern at the same time. It's retro but fresh. Magic Kingdom, on the other hand, kind of feels like being stuck in the 1990s - it's fun, but forgettable overall. It's neither classical nor modern, it just kind of exists. Idk, it's hard to explain the feeling. Not sure if anybody else gets similar vibes.
The unpopular choices certainly do damage, but like for like as a park DL still wins hands down for me. Albeit Tomorrowland still drags it down.
Having said that, flesh out DLP with another half a dozen attractions and the competition could be tighter.
And that is another reason why Fastpass is the devil. The “need” to plan was forced on us.
Lest we forget neither version of Fastpass wasn’t invented for the guests benefit.
PiratesMansion
Well-Known Member
Also not helping is that Magic Kingdom typically has shorter hours and is far more likely to close the park early for upcharge parties.
bryanfze55
Well-Known Member
I‘ve cancelled two planned WDW vacations (October 2018 & December 2019) and gone to DL instead because of those parties. Such a PITA to plan your trip around them.
WEDway Inc & Company LLC
Well-Known Member
Disneyland Mumbai needs to combine the size of Magic Kingdom, upkeep of Tokyo Disneyland, the castle of Disneyland Paris, the number and quality of rides of Disneyland, the unique rides of Hong Kong Disneyland, and the Gardens of Imagination land of Shanghai Disneyland.
Anyways, enough nonsense. Disneyland is better.Rides Everything is just maintained better. There's more rides, even if they don't completely fit the theme of the park. The food is so much better. The characters are better. The only thing Magic Kingdom has going for it is a PeopleMover. And Tron.
Anyways, enough nonsense. Disneyland is better.
Friday and Saturday night in Anaheim end of September. Park open until midnight for everyone. 2 parades. 2 Fantasmics. And a halloween fireworks show for everyone.
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
I would chose Paris now over either American Magic Kingdom.
A half-dozen more quality rides? That would put it #1 overall for me, with DisneySea a close second.
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
bryanfze55
Well-Known Member
Speaking of Fantasmic!, Anaheim has even managed to update theirs since 1992. I’m not sure how they afford such extravagances... I mean, they only have 3 onsite hotels.