Is Disneyland Different Enough...

[bluerhythym]

Man oh man. Disney World is great and all, but there's just a special type of magic in the air when you step into Disneyland. No other parks have got Walt's personal touch. The history, the charm, its just unmatched. I'd definitely visit sooner than later, the resort is changing so rapidly - it feels like its losing more and more of its history every year.

Definitely don't skip DCA. It still needs work, and the direction seems to be shifting, but there's a ton of bright spots in the park. Just get a park hopper and decide for yourself how much time you want to spend there, the resort is basically one big park anyways.

 

[Darkbeer1]

I agree with checking out DCA, but I wouldn't put at the top of the list.

My rankings of SoCal parks.

1. Disneyland
2. USH
3. Knott's
4. SFMM
5. SeaWorld
6. DCA
7. LEGOLAND

With young kids, I would move LEGOLAND up, and Universal and SFMM down.

And as for Six Flags Parks, they are all different. SF Discovery Kingdom used to be Marineland, and is three parks in one, a Marine Park, A Zoo, and a ride park. Magic Mountain is known as the Thrill Capital of the World with more Roller Coasters than any other park in the World. There is no cookie cutter type of Six Flags park. Same with Cedar Fair.

 

[dweezil78]

I agree with checking out DCA, but I wouldn't put at the top of the list.

My rankings of SoCal parks.

1. Disneyland
2. USH
3. Knott's
4. SFMM
5. SeaWorld
6. DCA
7. LEGOLAND

With young kids, I would move LEGOLAND up, and Universal and SFMM down.

And as for Six Flags Parks, they are all different. SF Discovery Kingdom used to be Marineland, and is three parks in one, a Marine Park, A Zoo, and a ride park. Magic Mountain is known as the Thrill Capital of the World with more Roller Coasters than any other park in the World. There is no cookie cutter type of Six Flags park. Same with Cedar Fair.

Sorry...but you are kinda crazy if you're ranking USH (and some of those other parks) that much higher above DCA! Harry Potter is great and the tram tour is fun every so often, but the rest of the park is pretty lackluster these days. I rode Simpsons a few weeks back and couldn't get over how low-res the video looked and how DARK it was. It was pretty embarrassing to be honest. Transformers is a total incoherent mess of an attraction. Mummy is a pale imitation of it's east coast sibling. DCA has its faults to be sure, but to put it underneath all those other parks? C'mon...

 

[nevol]

DCA is a really nice park now actually, though I cant get over its lack of justification for existence. The second gates at wdw are stronger in their overall themes. It is way nicer, like waaaay nicer than ush, but the fact that ush has the tram tour and is very clear in its movie theme whereas dca is half a california theme and then a bunch of shiny IP distractions that don' communicate with one another, it still needs work. but as much as I love disneyland more than dca, whenever I bring people to the resort for the first time, they prefer DCA. I can't explain it, but it is a real phenomenon (alcohol likely). Wider walkways, alcohol, carsland, soarin.

 

[TROR]

Sorry...but you are kinda crazy if you're ranking USH (and some of those other parks) that much higher above DCA! Harry Potter is great and the tram tour is fun every so often, but the rest of the park is pretty lackluster these days. I rode Simpsons a few weeks back and couldn't get over how low-res the video looked and how DARK it was. It was pretty embarrassing to be honest. Transformers is a total incoherent mess of an attraction. Mummy is a pale imitation of it's east coast sibling. DCA has its faults to be sure, but to put it underneath all those other parks? C'mon...

Yeah but so is Mission Breakout.

Personally I'd put DCA above Six Flags and Sea World but definitely under Knott's. If DCA actually committed to what they were doing in 2012 and increased the focus of California's culture and history, then it'd easily be second in SoCal under Disneyland imo. But changes like MB and the upcoming Pixar Pier that strip that theme as well as Soarin Around the World and the new Frozen Musical being lower in quality than their predecessor make me not enjoy the park half as much.

 

[Darkbeer1]

Amazing how many awards and polls Transformers had won
Also still love Jurassic Park.
The Tram Tour is a Classic.
And Harry Potter has placed it a step above. The evening musical/lighting effect show is amazing.

 

[dweezil78]

Amazing how many awards and polls Transformers had won

It is amazing indeed.

 

[nevol]

Transformers and Jurassic Park are my top ush rides. I loathe forbidden journey but love the rest of the land and spending time in the queue.

 

[Californian Elitist]

DCA is unfortunately becoming an amusement park. At least USH has a fairly clear motive. Disney keeps hacking at DCA, ruining it in the process.

 

[The_Mesh_Hatter]

USH is very good for a tourists. Unfortunately, the experiences aren't very repeatable when you're a local. I still recommend Universal because the rides will really blow you away, if you haven't been to their other parks. I'd say either USH or Knotts should be #2 on your agenda, depending on your taste. If you prefer old Disney and big coasters, Knotts is great. USH has a few rides but they're really good. If you've been to the Orlando one, I wouldn't really bother unless you really love movies, than the Studio Tour would be worth the price of admission.

 

[Little Green Men]

Where the heck is this DCA hate springing from? It’s a more consistent park than 3/4 at WDW. It’s also impossible to ‘do DCA’ in an evening, unless you skip >50% of its offerings.

The only park with inconsistent theming is Epcot.

 

[TROR]

Where the heck is this DCA hate springing from? It’s a more consistent park than 3/4 at WDW. It’s also impossible to ‘do DCA’ in an evening, unless you skip >50% of its offerings.

Well when over 50% of its offerings are carnival rides and hack jobs like Mission Breakout, it's not a real loss.

 

[DLR92]

I'd definitely would opt to visit the two parks. But honestly DCA is kinda a drab if you with that park alone. But Disneyland is super fun. DCA is fun in certain sections. Stay 3-4 days. Anything longer than that would feel tiresome. Their definitely more to see in California than Disneyland for sure.

If you went to WDW, prepare to see how condense the parks are. It would be shocking for someone who went to somewhere very large and open space parks to very small condensed parks.

 

[SuddenStorm]

Where the heck is this DCA hate springing from? It’s a more consistent park than 3/4 at WDW. It’s also impossible to ‘do DCA’ in an evening, unless you skip >50% of its offerings.

I'm not comparing it to WDW, I'm comparing it to Disneyland Park.

In 6 hours or so it's very feasible to complete CA Screamin, Mission Breakout, Soarin, Grizzly, Toy Story, RSR, as well as the last showing of World of Color if you utilize Fastpass and Single Rider. That's most of what the park has to offer for adults- and even then, I don't think those justify the price of admission for DCA- especially when Disneyland has so much to do in order to round out the classic attractions.

 

[SuddenStorm]

For locals, I understand why DCA is good- it offers a change of pace. But if OP isn't planning on visiting regularly, I wouldn't want them to miss out on any of the classic Disneyland attractions that have shaped every Disney park that has come since.

I mean, Disneyland has

The Monorail, subs, and Matterhorn- all remnants (though in altered forms) from Walt
The Main Street vehicles
Space Mountain
Star Tours
Autopia
Great Moments with Lincoln
The Tiki Room
Pirates
Haunted Mansion
All of Fantasyland, including the Canal Boats and Casey Junior
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain
The Disneyland Railroad
Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin
A number of musical performances and diversions around the park
The Fireworks
Fantasmic!
The Columbia and Mark Twain, and Davy Crockett Canoes

Disneyland Park is littered with history, diversions, and easter eggs that can make any Disney fan giddy. With California Adventure, you get a mix of Pressler era imagineering and multiple band aids that attempt to fix the park. Is DCA a bad park? Not at all- but when it's priced the exact same as Walt's classic, I wouldn't want someone with limited time in the park to miss what Disneyland has to offer.

 

[jmuboy]

DCA is unfortunately becoming an amusement park. At least USH has a fairly clear motive. Disney keeps hacking at DCA, ruining it in the process.

Yes - My main issue with DCA. What the 2012 remake of DCA fixed the idiots in charge of TWDC just 5 years later are screwing up.

 

[Californian Elitist]

For locals, I understand why DCA is good- it offers a change of pace. But if OP isn't planning on visiting regularly, I wouldn't want them to miss out on any of the classic Disneyland attractions that have shaped every Disney park that has come since.

I mean, Disneyland has

The Monorail, subs, and Matterhorn- all remnants (though in altered forms) from Walt
The Main Street vehicles
Space Mountain
Star Tours
Autopia
Great Moments with Lincoln
The Tiki Room
Pirates
Haunted Mansion
All of Fantasyland, including the Canal Boats and Casey Junior
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain
The Disneyland Railroad
Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin
A number of musical performances and diversions around the park
The Fireworks
Fantasmic!
The Columbia and Mark Twain, and Davy Crockett Canoes

Disneyland Park is littered with history, diversions, and easter eggs that can make any Disney fan giddy. With California Adventure, you get a mix of Pressler era imagineering and multiple band aids that attempt to fix the park. Is DCA a bad park? Not at all- but when it's priced the exact same as Walt's classic, I wouldn't want someone with limited time in the park to miss what Disneyland has to offer.

The OP said they were going for 3-5 Days. I could see if they were going for one day. They should have enough time to experience the attractions you listed as well as DCA in a span of 3-5 days.

Yes - My main issue with DCA. What the 2012 remake of DCA fixed the idiots in charge of TWDC just 5 years later are screwing up.

It was ultimately a waste of time and money. I would argue Paradise Pier wasn’t fixed. It still needed work, however it doesn’t matter now, since Disney is taking 10 steps back.

 

[BrianLo]

and the new Frozen Musical being lower in quality than their predecessor make me not enjoy the park half as much.

This one I've at least personally experienced both and can actually evaluate. This is a classic case of nostalgia. I get people are sick of Frozen, you can absolutely argue you prefer Aladdin for a multitude of reasons, but the Frozen production is NOT lower in quality.



Anyways, back to the OP - my comments were always towards what they are, a previous visitor of WDW/UOR. USH has a nice smattering of attractions, but they are nearly all inferior versions of Orlando. DCA just offers more of a unique flavour. I think USH always goes down in my head because Orlando exists, maybe that's not fair to that park, but I also can't undo the reality that it is a half-baked clone park in my mind - with a really cool Tram Tour.

I guess it's the same way people treat MK vs DL sometimes. The existence of one should not in principle degrade the other, but yet it still does.

 

[TROR]

This one I've at least personally experienced both and can actually evaluate. This is a classic case of nostalgia. I get people are sick of Frozen, you can absolutely argue you prefer Aladdin for a multitude of reasons, but the Frozen production is NOT lower in quality.

Nah I love Frozen. Back in 2013 I said it should replace Aladdin someday. When it was announced it would, I cheered it on. Let's face it, Aladdin had already been there for what, 13 years? Not even Tower of Terror got to be 13 years old. But the Frozen show, it's just weak. The giant movie screen for a back drop instead of elaborate sets? That's terrible. The show itself is definitely too faithful to the source material for its own good, as well. Frankly, I think Olaf should've been cut from the production and allow for a much stronger focus on the sisters' relationship. You can have Olaf in a 90 minute feature film, but when you have 40 minutes to tell a story, he just takes up precious time. There are a few other issues, such as costume design and casting that bring it down, but they're not its biggest problem.

 

[Californian Elitist]

This one I've at least personally experienced both and can actually evaluate. This is a classic case of nostalgia. I get people are sick of Frozen, you can absolutely argue you prefer Aladdin for a multitude of reasons, but the Frozen production is NOT lower in quality.



Anyways, back to the OP - my comments were always towards what they are, a previous visitor of WDW/UOR. USH has a nice smattering of attractions, but they are nearly all inferior versions of Orlando. DCA just offers more of a unique flavour. I think USH always goes down in my head because Orlando exists, maybe that's not fair to that park, but I also can't undo the reality that it is a half-baked clone park in my mind - with a really cool Tram Tour.

I guess it's the same way people treat MK vs DL sometimes. The existence of one should not in principle degrade the other, but yet it still does.

The clone park is USO. USH came first. All of the main theme parks in Orlando are clones.