Disneyland and Disneyworld

[qman6975]

As a family we have been to Disney World for five week long family trips in the past 14 years, the last trip was last May. We know the parks quite well and consider ourselves "experts" on "the World". Last week I visited Disneyland and California Adventure (one day in each park) for the first time.

Disneyland Park

First off the castle...a bit disappointing. Is it even the tallest structure in the park? It really is weak as centerpiece of the park. Second, it seemed a bit cramped. It was a very busy day but it just seemed smaller than the World. Third, some things are in the same place as the World (Pirates), others are close (Space Mountain) some in completely different places (Pooh). It was sort of like a dream where you are in a familiar but it's not the same.

As far as a comparison of the attractions:

Space Mountain - Hyperspace/Star Wars theme was nice improvement over the World version.
Pirates - Ride has one more big drop, has the bayou/restaurant scene (similar to Mexico in Epcot) and at lease one more additional scene but really not much different than the World.
Star Tours - Really no different than Hollywood Studios version.
Jungle Cruise - About the same as the World.
Haunted Mansion - The real big difference was the crowd, you could tell most folks had been on the attraction man, many times and they were really into the stretch room scene (screaming as the lights go out).
Pooh Bear - Nice setting, pretty much the same attraction.
Splash Mountain - The scenes inside the mountain seemed a bit random, not the straight forward story from the World. Other than that the ride seems about the same.

California Adventure

My first observation was that the park is very well laid out. All sections of the park loop into another section, no annoying dead ends like you have in Hollywood Studios. One complaint, the fastpass machine locations (particularly Radiator Springs Racers) not being close to the attractions themselves.
We had a pretty reasonable crowd and were able to do everything we wanted (including multiple rides on Radiator Springs and Soarin) between opening and 5:00 pm.

As for the rides vs the World:

Radiator Springs Racers vs Test Track - My word is this a great attraction, the ride and Cars Land in general are wonderful. Test Track, sad by comparison.
Soarin - Pretty much the same in each park although I agree with the folks that I liked the California film to the around the world version. Hey, at least we still have the Patrick pre-show and "these little beauties".
California Screaming vs Rockin and Roller Coaster - Alright not the same ride except for the fast start...solid attraction, no complaints.
Midway Mania - No real difference although the boardwalk setting is nice.

 

[istillbelieve]

I will have to disagree with your pirates review. Pirates at Disneyland blows DisneyWorld away to the point my kids don't want to ride pirates at DisneyWorld. Agreed with Cars land, it is amazing! But, for some reason I like Splash better at DisneyWorld. Also tower of terror was better at DisneyWorld, so interested to see new Guardians of the Galaxy at Disneyland.

 

[Prinsessdai]

to me it's all about the FEELING... i went to disneyland as an adult for the first time in september and i have to say I was VERY disappointed to the point i dont think i'll ever go back. I think its EVERYTHING that is wrong that disneyworld fixed. Walking from my hotel into the park and seeing cast members also walking w/ me was just NOT magical at all... that's what i think hated the most... and just everythign... i didnt feel the DISNEY magic once there. I went to disney paris in march and i even felt it there... not like MK but still... only reason maybe i'll go back to disneyland is to see paint the magic (Amazing) and .... i think that's it

 

[adelaster]

I loved my recent first visit. So much more I wanted to do, & I found the park absolutely charming. Everyone was so much friendlier, and the history gave the park much more soul. It's funny, never once did I think the size was off, and I thought the visibility of the cast coming and going made it seem that much more "real". There was a pervasive sense of farce to me at my first WDW experience, I'm hoping my second visit will be different. Regardless, I appreciated the reality in DL-it made the park that much more magical for me. I think that the size of WDW & the amount of things to do on property gives it an edge (& we still have yet to visit even a fraction of it), but the two are so different it isn't really worth comparing. I am glad that we live closer to Florida as it does have so much to offer for repeat visits. Disneyland truly made me feel like a kid again though, and the location doesn't hurt! I seriously can't wait to go back someday. The walkabiliity of the area was awesome, & the trains & monorail were down during our visit, so it can only get better!

The one thing I gotta ask though, how did pirates not blow you away in comparison to other versions?!

 

[deedubb]

Radiator Springs is my favourite ride at all of Disney. In general, the rides in Cars Land are awesome. I also love how easy it is to park hop there and how you don't have to take a tram, ferry or monorail to get to the park. Overall though, I'll take WDW over DL any day. I loved Paint the Night and sure hope it comes to WDW.

 

[maramarrie]

For me, Cars Land and Paradise Pier are highlights of visiting the California parks. However, I LOVE how compact everything is (walking to/from hotels) and feel like we can accomplish more in a day at those parks than we can in WDW parks. We found lines to be shorter for almost everything. I haven't been on Space Mountain in DL in a couple years (I don't remember it having a Star Wars theme), but when I was last on it I strongly felt it was better than WDW - darker, faster, and you can sit side-by-side with your fellow traveler. The Soarin' ride is identical, but I like the theming a little more in CA. One thing I noticed about DL/CA - there were a few cast members we came across that didn't seem quite as "willing to please" or as almost every cast member in WDW. I do agree that much of what Walt found "wrong" in DL was fixed in WDW, but there are definitely reasons I like them both.

 

[WorldNoFace]

I loved my recent first visit. So much more I wanted to do, & I found the park absolutely charming. Everyone was so much friendlier, and the history gave the park much more soul. It's funny, never once did I think the size was off, and I thought the visibility of the cast coming and going made it seem that much more "real". There was a pervasive sense of farce to me at my first WDW experience, I'm hoping my second visit will be different. Regardless, I appreciated the reality in DL-it made the park that much more magical for me. I think that the size of WDW & the amount of things to do on property gives it an edge (& we still have yet to visit even a fraction of it), but the two are so different it isn't really worth comparing. I am glad that we live closer to Florida as it does have so much to offer for repeat visits. Disneyland truly made me feel like a kid again though, and the location doesn't hurt! I seriously can't wait to go back someday. The walkabiliity of the area was awesome, & the trains & monorail were down during our visit, so it can only get better!

The one thing I gotta ask though, how did pirates not blow you away in comparison to other versions?!

Wdw will always be number 1 to me but I do know what you mean. A wdw experience can feel spoon fed. They thought about every aspect of your every tendency as a human tourist and engineered every aspect of the environment to play on that. I can't lie though - I love it. But DL was a breath of fresh air of sorts. Its like Disney without the "magic" lens youre made to look through while at Wdw. And the history does add a certain flavor too like you describe. Sort of like you're paying homage to Disney heritage by being there.