What are the differences?

[DanielleOG]

Hey everyone. So I've been to WDW a few times now, but never Disneyland/DCA in Cali. I might be heading there next year, but I've never done much research on it. Those who have been to both, can you tell me the major differences between them? Thanks!!

 

[Chef Mickey]

EPCOT, DHS, Animal Kingdom, Mr. Toad, Matterhorn, Snow White Ride, Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland. PeopleMover, and Carousel of Progress.

 

[youngdeb]

Parks are WAY closer together. Staying off-site is more common because the number of off-site hotels is significantly greater than the 3 Disney owned hotels. There are a lot more locals. Disneyland is smaller than Magic Kingdom, but has similar attractions. DCA has Cars Land which is amazing. No Fastpass+, they still use paper Fastpasses and just rolled out Maxpass which is $10/day per ticket that allows you to book your Fastpasses online and includes all Photopass pictures.

 

[DanielleOG]

Major difference: WDW has four theme parks. DLR has two theme parks.

So when i looked up attractions at Disneyland, they have a lot of the same rides as wdw, even only being two parks. So now i'm thinking, why spend 4 days in four parks when you can spend two days in two parks and do almost the same things, and then some. What am I missing lol

 

[DanielleOG]

Parks are WAY closer together. Staying off-site is more common because the number of off-site hotels is significantly greater than the 3 Disney owned hotels. There are a lot more locals. Disneyland is smaller than Magic Kingdom, but has similar attractions. DCA has Cars Land which is amazing. No Fastpass+, they still use paper Fastpasses and just rolled out Maxpass which is $10/day per ticket that allows you to book your Fastpasses online and includes all Photopass pictures.

The fastpass thing confuses me. i'm used to being able to pick mine 60 days in advance.

 

[DanielleOG]

There are a lot of similar rides, especially when you compare Disneyland to the Magic Kingdom. But, there are attractions that are unique to each. And, there are differences even in attractions you may find at both parks. Pirates at DL has bigger drops and starts by going through the bayou before you get to the pirates area. The Indy ride at DL is similar to Dinosaur at AK, but with a different theme. But, to say that you can experience the equivalent of 4 days at WDW with 2 days at DLR... just not a valid comparison, IMHO.

Yeah it seems like Indy is Dinosaur, Cars ride is Test Track, The water rapids ride is Kali, etc.

 

[dreamfinder]

Size. You can walk from DL to DCA. As well as being able to walk from the Disney hotels to the parks, and from several 3rd party hotels to the parks as well. There is a bunch of overlap on the attraction list, but the attractions aren't the same. For instance, F! at DLR is usually considered to be vastly better than the one at DHS. But ToT at DHS is usually found to be much better than the one in DCA (Now Guardians of the Galaxy) DL just feels more intimate since it's smaller and has more crammed in, DCA has wider walkways and feels more like a FL park in terms of layout. DL is treated more like a locals park with alot more repeat visitors. IE F! and fireworks may not run every day, but characters can still walk around without having set meeting places and not get mobbed. I found the food at DLR to be a higher quality than at WDW.

 

[youngdeb]

We spent 4 days there back in January and didn't do anywhere close to everything! The nice thing about DL and DCA still having the paper Fastpasses is that you will be able to get a FP for Radiator Springs Racers the day of. You will have to make sure it's your first priority, but we didn't ever miss out. You don't have to worry about them selling out 60 days in advance.

 

[DanielleOG]

We spent 4 days there back in January and didn't do anywhere close to everything! The nice thing about DL and DCA still having the paper Fastpasses is that you will be able to get a FP for Radiator Springs Racers the day of. You will have to make sure it's your first priority, but we didn't ever miss out. You don't have to worry about them selling out 60 days in advance.

So you did two days in Land and two in DCA and it wasn't enough?

 

[youngdeb]

It was our first visit (and now we're hooked!) It also didn't help that we had a 5 and 2 year old who didn't last long in the parks (and crowds were busy as Anaheim had experienced really rainy weather up until the day we arrived). We spent a lot of time in Cars Land in DCA and went back to the hotel for mid-day breaks. There were a few things that were down as well for refurbishment (holiday overlays being removed) so didn't get a chance to experience Small World or Jungle Cruise, as well as Tower of Terror being turned into Guardians of the Galaxy. Just makes me more excited to go back!

 

[EOD K9]

I stayed at Grand Californian twice, and the direct entrance to California Adventure is great. Disneyland just feels smaller and more intimate. You get that feeling of Walt's direct involvement. Also, you get the feeling that you've been there before, even though you never have.

 

[No Name]

The fastpass thing confuses me. i'm used to being able to pick mine 60 days in advance.

..........

I feel old. And I'm not.
That's how it was until only three years ago at WDW. You stick your ticket into a machine and it spits out your fastpass. Much more freedom... you don't have to map out every step months before you visit. You can just buy a ticket and show up.

 

[flynnibus]

Hey everyone. So I've been to WDW a few times now, but never Disneyland/DCA in Cali. I might be heading there next year, but I've never done much research on it. Those who have been to both, can you tell me the major differences between them? Thanks!!

Check out this thread https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/guide-to-dlr-for-wdw-veterans.875596

 

[I am Timmy]

The biggest difference to my kids - walking into MK the first time, expecting it to be like DW - Main Street is smaller, not as wide, and the castle is smaller. My kids felt ripped off (they have since gotten over it, many years ago!), but it's something to prepare yourself for if you are used to DW. Also, you are not limited as much to eating or staying onsite. Loads of options right across the street.

 

[75disney]

So you did two days in Land and two in DCA and it wasn't enough?

In the summer, we also did 2 days at DL and 2 days at DCA. We did almost everything that we wanted to do. We were there from rope drop to almost closing time. i think one of the biggest differences between the two resorts was pacing and our frame of mind. 4 days at WDW, we spend one day at each park and rush from attraction to attraction after months of pre-planning meals and fastpasses. At DLR, I felt more relaxed. We were more spontaneous and enjoyed the little details that make this resort so charming. We had no problems getting paper fastpasses when we wanted them. The attractions which had counterparts at WDW were usually not carbon copies and had better details. And don't forget that DL is THE park that Walt actually created, walked around, and even slept in! If you only do two days here and go in with a mentality that it is the same as WDW, then you might miss what makes DLR so special. I want to go back to DLR because there are so many little details that I missed rather than because I didn't do one of the big attractions.

 

[Mickey5150]

Size is the main difference. However, Disneyland has more rides than the Magick Kingdom, despite being smaller. About the only major difference that people need to be aware of is because of size and location certain areas of DL have to close during fireworks. In Florida there is plenty of land to shoot fireworks over, in California they have to shoot them over the park. I remember being stuck on a bridge by Fantasyland waiting for firemen to inspect the area and declare it safe.

 

[Disneysea05]

The convenience of having everything within walking distance is a big difference for me. I love not having to dedicate considerable amount of time waiting for and taking transportation.

The two parks are packed with attractions and entertainment.

Disneyland Resort could comfortably fit within Epcot and the Epcot Resorts area.

 

[DanielleOG]

Check out this thread https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/guide-to-dlr-for-wdw-veterans.875596

Thank you! This is super helpful and answers a lot of my questions!

 

[Tom 55]

my wife and I go to Disney world almost every year. In the spring we were invited to a wedding in San Diego for my niece. We went to the wedding and them drove up to Disneyland for 5 days.This was our first time there.The first thing that surprised me was that Disneyland has no parking close by. There are Disney parking lots away from the part and you take shuttle buses. There are now some Disney run hotels that are within walking distance or monorail travel to park but for the most part there are off site hotels that are were the majority of guest stay. We stayed at Candy Cane Inn which is one of the closer hotels. The back side of Cars land abuts the hotel property. It was still a walk to the front entrance. There are many of the same rides but with little differences. There were many rides still their that had been closed at Disney World. I felt that Test Track was = to Radiator Springs Racers. Dinosour was = to Indiana Jones Adventure. There are more rides at the Magic Kingdom at Disneyland because they include rides that are split off to other parks at Disney World. One of the biggest surprises was how many rides they have in a smaller space. This meant that the ride lines wound around and around. Without the Fastpass + we waited much longer in the lines. California Adventure reminded me off Hollywood studios. It was built latter and it had more open space. It took 2 days at Magic Kingdom and 2 days at California Adventure. The night time water show World Of Color in front of Mickeys Fun Wheel was 10 times better than Fantasmic.

 

[DfromATX]

I'm interested in this too, following. I recently downloaded the Disneyland app and they have quite a few different rides than Disneyworld. They even have that Mr. Toad ride that I've only heard about from here! We are also considering a trip to CA in the couple of years. I think their fast pass system is similar to the old way WDW used to do it (just one at a time).