Disneyland Vs. Disneyworld

[elaw]

For us, we love them both the same amount but for different reasons. WDW is our favorite vacation destination and we usually go for a week or so. DLR is our "local" park" and we go just about ever other Saturday morning.

 

[JoshuaShaw]

I have enough love in my heart for both, but one thing that Disneyland has that Disney World does not is Southern California weather.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

For us, we love them both the same amount but for different reasons. WDW is our favorite vacation destination and we usually go for a week or so. DLR is our "local" park" and we go just about ever other Saturday morning.

It always irks and amazes me that people live where we want to vacation! How do people get to do that?!

 

[jeffbear]

I've done DL a couple of five time and WDW 10 times so clearly I like both.

As others have noted DL, Downtown Disney, the Disney hotels and Cali Adventure are all located right there together, which I absolutely adore. It's all tighter and more compact so it takes some getting used to, but it's lovely to travel around without the annoyances of Disney Transport at WDW. Likewise though, the walkways and common spaces are all tighter and more congested and the parks do even more volume of customers per square acre than the Florida parks do ... so it really does feel VERY cramped compared to Florida. Walt knew what he was doing when he went for that huge chunk of land in Florida for his east coast park.

And yeah ... the whole thing being located right in the middle of regular old Anaheim takes some getting used to if WDW is your level of expectation. On the one hand it's kind of cool, but on the other .... it's really weird to see the Convention Center just across the street, or to see an elementary school a couple of blocks down the road. Again, fine with me. I like to be in the greater LA area and when we visit DL we also take advantage of other LA stuff that we like. Nothing better than watching my Cardinals play the Dodgers in Chavez Ravine and catching a show at Meltdown Comics. As a destination city, LA really does make Orlando looked like chopped liver.

 

[sonofanarchy]

I grew up in southern California so I went to Disneyland many times. Disneyland is better than the Magic Kingdom in my opinion, but not better than Disney World as a whole.

This is exactly what the discussion should always be about. There is no comparing the Disneyland Resort to Walt Disney World. Walt Disney World is going to win every time. It's a complete vacation destination, it's an escape from the real world, it's completely it's own place. You have to simply compare Disneyland Park with the Magic Kingdom. As others have said, Magic Kingdom is grander. It was built that way to improve on Disneyland. However, Disneyland, for whatever reason, has been pampered much more by the Disney Company. They've been faithful to the die-hards in keeping the Fantasyland dark rides. Even with the expansion at Magic Kingdom, it can't compare to DL's FL, and I say that as someone who hasn't even been out west. Just in doing all the research I have, I can't wait to hit Fantasyland at DL.

 

[sonofanarchy]

I have enough love in my heart for both, but one thing that Disneyland has that Disney World does not is Southern California weather.

Is that a good or bad thing?

 

[Meech Loves Mickey]

I've been to WDW 10 times and DL 3 times and I love them both. There is no way I could pick one over the other.

POTC and IASW are far superior at DL IMHO. DL has the Matterhorn which the only one in the world, no other Disney Park has one. DL also still has Toon Town which I dearly love.

If you go during the Holidays you can experience the Haunted Mansion Holiday where Jack Skellington and the Nightmare Before Christmas take over the HM. (Love it!)

DCA has Carsland and the Radiator Springs Racers, which is a phenomenal ride!


I was lucky enough to get sent to Anaheim in Feb. for a work conference and I was able to go out early and have a day at DL by myself! I took the "Walk in Walt's Footsteps" tour and it was amazing.

Book a trip to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. You won't regret it!!!!!

 

[anonymousegirl]

I love both! DLR has that special Walt magic, that nostalgia, and some great dark rides (Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio, Mr Toad) and the Matterhorn that don't exist elsewhere. There is also Toontown for the tinies, Carlands, and the best versions of Pirates, Space Mountain, Small World.

 

[sunshine1]

I think Disneyland is much more prettier than the magic kingdom.

And after all walt helped build it: he was there.

 

[JoshuaShaw]

Is that a good or bad thing?

SoCal weather > all other weather

 

[helenb]

I grew up on the east coast, and we drove down to WDW every 2 years throughout my childhood. I think I went about 10 times over that period. As an adult, I have made 5 trips to WDW (and will be making another later this month).

Fast forward to when I was a young adult, and I got accepted to grad school in California. I moved out west and never looked back. Now I'm in Northern California, but only a 5.5 hour drive from Anaheim (impossibly close, by east coast standards of driving to WDW). And we find that we drive down to Southern California at least twice a year. And every time we go, we visit DL. I've been to DL now more than I have been to WDW... so many times I have lost count. I think maybe 20?

So I grew up thinking of WDW as 'Disney', but as an adult I have come to know and love Disneyland. Personally, I prefer Disneyland, but I admit that this may be because I now consider it my 'home' park. But in my heart, I still love WDW as well, and we visit WDW regularly (although not as regularly as we visit DL, obviously). Both parks have their own charms, and while in some ways they are similar, they are both very unique experiences. I wouldn't pay all of that money to visit WDW if this were not the case.

So the answer is, if you love Disney, you will love both. It's not going to be exactly the same at DL, but that's part of the fun. Embrace it as a new park (well, as 2 new parks) and enjoy!

As a aside, ever since the advent of FP+, I have seen a huge influx of WDW vets coming to the DL boards and asking questions. At least among the DisBoards crowd, it seems that many people fed up with what is going on at WDW are giving DL a try. So you would not be alone in doing so!

 

[jeffbear]

One caveat to visiting Disneyland if you're super familiar with the layout of the Magic Kingdom at WDW ... it's all familair enough that you can get lost as all heck in no time. Get a park map and use it like a newbie. There's no shame.

 

[DoughR]

I like DLR more but I love WDW too-- just got back from an 8 night stay. I think it would be a mistake for any Disney fan to dismiss one or the other so quickly.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

As a aside, ever since the advent of FP+, I have seen a huge influx of WDW vets coming to the DL boards and asking questions. At least among the DisBoards crowd, it seems that many people fed up with what is going on at WDW are giving DL a try. So you would not be alone in doing so!

That's me!

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

I have enough love in my heart for both, but one thing that Disneyland has that Disney World does not is Southern California weather.

And I'm such an oddball because I prefer the weather in Florida. It was just so darn dry when we visited Disneyland. We were spending souvenir money on chapstick and lotion.





An interesting thing about the castle difference. It is very true that Sleeping Beauty Castle is significantly smaller than Cinderella Castle. I read why that was, though. It seems that Walt had seen various castles in Europe and he felt that they were so large that they were almost intimidating. He wanted to have a friendly and welcoming castle. So, when it came time to design Sleeping Beauty Castle for the park, he made sure it wouldn't be so large that people were almost afraid of it. Instead, they longed to be near it.

 

[Retro Magic]

I finally visited Disneyland for the first time a few weeks back. Did both parks in one day! Had an AMAZING time. It's a very special park, both DL & CA I loved. To see where it all started. It has a very similar, yet VERY different feel than WDW does. Some attractions there, compared to the WDW counterparts, I found much better(BTMRR) and others I found inferior(Splash).

But still to me, nothing compares to Walt Disney World. You can't beat the total immersion & feeling you get there. The overall theming and variety all across the world. It keep wanting to go back time and time again where as DL did not leave me with that feeling. That is not to say I wouldn't want to visit again one day if I am in California.

WDW is home base to me

 

[luisov]

As far as Magic Kingdoms goes, DL >>>> MK for me. Now if we talk about resorts and vacational destination, WDW has tons of things to do that you can't do at DL.

Matterhorn is not the only exclusive at DL. CA has lots of exclusive dark rides at FL, toon town, Indiana Jones, Radiator Springs Racers, World of Color, and a better Space Mountain, Fantasmic!, IASW and Pirates.

WDW has some exclusives as well, and you have lots of options to spend a longer Disney-centered vacations.

As far as popularity goes, while MK receives about 17-18 million visitors per year, DL receives 15-16 million, so it's not like nobody cares about DL.

 

[MillauFr]

Is that a good or bad thing?

The weather in southern California is far better than Orlando. With the heat and HUMIDITY the weather in Orlando is lousy 6 to 7 months out of the year. Orlando also gets far more rain than Anaheim.

 

[MillauFr]

We can probably all agree that Disneyworld and Disneyland are both great. They are far superior than any other amusement park that I have been to. Unfortunately many other people seem to agree and they are completely overwhelmed by the masses.

 

[Shadowcat70]

We love them both, but I have noticed that because DL is a 'locals park' and their local annual passes can cost as low as $16 a month, locals tend to use DL like a mall. This makes is really crowded at times when you think it shouldn't be, and it has gotten worse over time. That is the only thing I dislike about DL.