For those that have been to both DL and WDW...

[sheetz]

One big difference that hasn't been mentioned is that because DLR is smaller and receives more repeat visitors, Disney puts more effort into refreshing its attractions and public spaces on a regular basis. The result is that despite being the oldest park, DL in many ways feels newer than either MK or Epcot.

 

[Belledisney]

I like others have said feel about the same. I grew up going to DL and I use to live close and I have been more times then I can count. I went to WDW for the first time ever this year I was so excited but I knew it wouldn't feel the same for me but I was open to it being different.
I also must say that I am now on the east coast and no one out here even knows "about" DL everyone seems to think it's so small/boring and came after WDW which makes me laugh.

So when we went I actually loved loved Epcot and that was by far my favorite part. The magic kingdom did nothing for me I didn't feel anything like I feel going to DL. I do however appericate anything Disney so I had a blast there but I didn't feel magical at all to me.

I think whateber you have childhood memories of maybe just makes is more special. People can't understand why I love DL more out here. My husband is from the east coast though and he now has been converted to loving DL more.

We just enjoy it being so easy to get around and the feeling. If I want to go to the other park I walk and I don't have to take a train, bus, tram, whatever.
I will definitely go back to WDW but I would go to DL anyday over WDW. I would go to anything Disney everyday if I could though haha.

I also thought I was going to love Disney springs a lot more and maybe because it was being worked on still but I love DTD way more. I think I am biased though because DL just has so many more memories for me. either way you can't go wrong being at Disney.

*IMO*

 

[PoohsFan1]

Those are two. Here is the complete list I believe:

Soarin
Little Mermaid (although the rides have different names LOL)
ITTBAB
TSMM
ST

As you noted many other rides are similar but not copy exact.

After Star Wars Land is done at each resort that will add two more rides that are exactly the same.

Thanks for the clarification, I completely forgot about the other attractions being the same . For some reason I thought I had read on the DIS that TSMM was a tiny bit different in DLR then the WDW version (of course I could be crazy, which I usually am ), it's been 3 years since we were last there so I really can't remember the DLR one unfortunately.

 

[MrJT]

I grew up in California, and I've been to DL somewhere around 10 times. I've also been to the Disneyland parks in both Paris and Tokyo. If I had to choose one resort, right now I'm with WDW. I love how when you get there, you're in a separate world in itself. The outside world is gone. I think that's great.
However, DL park in California is special because it is the park that Walt built. No other park can say that. A lot has changed over the past 60 years, but a lot is still there. I can't speak about DCA yet, because I haven't been to DL in 20 years.

 

[Jaina]

Can I ask for the rides that are at both WDW and DLR, which do you prefer at which place? Just curious as I've heard they do differ a bit.

It has been quite a while since I've been, but I remember being very underwhelmed at POTC at WDW. You could see all the ceilings and walls! I don't think I liked Space as much, but I remember preferring Splash Mountain at WDW. (Though it's still a DLR favorite). I think the ride is technically the same for Indiana Jones and Dinosaur, but Indiana Jones was way more awesome. I think some people prefer Tower of Terror at WDW, but I haven't been on that version.

 

[ktlm]

That is liking asking me to tell you which one of my children I like better!!! We love them both! We love them for different reasons. DLR is great because everything is close together and in walking distance, but it packs a lot in and is very magical. The climate at DLR is great, especially in the summer (as opposed to sweltering summer WDW). WDW is great because there is nothing like EPCOT anywhere else and just the magnitude of all of WDW and the full experience are wonderful. We were planning on making one family trip to DLR when DD(10) was 4 so that she could see the Aladdin show (I had been there on a business trip and knew she would love it). After that family trip, we loved DLR so much that we have alternated coasts and gone to both WDW and DLR every year since.

 

[Tattylou]

We were like you once....we are from Boston with a lot of WDW trips under our belt and so WDW was Disney. Then we booked to go to DL last year and I kept second guessing it...until we got there. We loved it! I thought several of the rides are better at DL, especially pirates. So, I'm in the camp of we love them both in different ways. You will not regret giving it a go.

 

[Frozen2014]

I grew up in California, and I've been to DL somewhere around 10 times. I've also been to the Disneyland parks in both Paris and Tokyo. If I had to choose one resort, right now I'm with WDW. I love how when you get there, you're in a separate world in itself. The outside world is gone. I think that's great.
However, DL park in California is special because it is the park that Walt built. No other park can say that. A lot has changed over the past 60 years, but a lot is still there. I can't speak about DCA yet, because I haven't been to DL in 20 years.

I do agree that there is something about being in the Disney "bubble" being able to block out the real world (i.e. your comment about Disney World). We stayed onsite and loved it (in Art of Animation that had adorable theming).

It has been quite a while since I've been, but I remember being very underwhelmed at POTC at WDW. You could see all the ceilings and walls! I don't think I liked Space as much, but I remember preferring Splash Mountain at WDW. (Though it's still a DLR favorite). I think the ride is technically the same for Indiana Jones and Dinosaur, but Indiana Jones was way more awesome. I think some people prefer Tower of Terror at WDW, but I haven't been on that version.

Thanks for the reply. I do look forward to comparing them and how the same ride can be different. Not sure we'll do Space Mountain but will have to try POTC

 

[Frozen2014]

This might help:

http://www.disboards.com/threads/ºoº-attractions-unique-to-disneyland-california-adventure-from-wdw.802084/

Awesome link. Thanks.

 

[ShariM]

I have now been to both coasts on several occasions as well. I love the resort experience at WDW (staying onsite is affordable!) as well as Epcot's World Showcase and Illuminations. The castle at WDW is impressive. Rides are similar but different. So if you enjoy them on one coast, it is fun to compare/contrast the other coast's version. The weather at DLR is wonderful! The cool down in the evenings, for those of us that have to travel in the summer, is a welcome relief from the heat and humidity of Orlando in the summer. The proximity of the two parks being across the esplanade from each other is fantastic! DCA has Radiator Springs...a land unlike anything at WDW. And the variety of good counter service food at DL is amazing! I am in the "I love them both" camp, and enjoy each of them for what they are.

 

[Manda_Lizabeth]

More frequent WDW traveler here. They both have the same magic but in different ways for me. WDW has park music much louder and I actually look forward to hearing it when I enter the parks. WDW does feel a little more magical to me since you aren't around other hotels and busy streets....it's a whole different world. Both have great rides. It's really nice that Disneyland and California Adventure are next to each other. I loved the option to swing to both parks in one day. Disneyland has better que lines (except Peter Pan). I loved being outside and not sweating my self to death. Make longer lines more enjoyable. I also thought Disneyland seemed cleaner and they really moved the ride lines along much faster.

Disneyland has Paint the Night and the fireworks show. Hands down the best night-time entertainment I have ever seen. I'd give Festival of Fantasy the best day-time entertainment. Regardless it was still magical for us. I just made sure to put all real-life problems to the side and just go full-in and enjoy the time with my family - and ate a lot of churros - a lot!

 

[ClaraOswald]

As a child, WDW was "my park." I didn't go to Disneyland until I was 23 years old. But now...I consider Disneyland to be "my park." If I could only go to ONE park for the rest of my life...no question, it would be Disneyland.

Don't get me wrong, I love WDW too. We like to alternate trips. They are VERY different vacations to me though. In many ways, you just can't compare the experiences at all.

I think a lot of the previous posts really cover a lot of the things I think on the topic.

 

[Baptist]

I love both destinations. I wish DL would adopt Magic Bands! It's really convenient to have your room key, park admission, fast passes, and credit cards all on your wrist. Plus, the kids think it's extra fun.

If I had to pick a place to visit once, I would choose WDW. If I had to pick a place to live, Southern California over Orlando. The humidity in late summer is outrageous!

 

[Spacepest]

I grew up in southern California, and have family in Florida. DL is my home park but I've been to both resorts, and have stayed both on and off site on both coasts.

I've enjoyed visits to both, but to be honest...for actual park visits, my husband and I prefer the Disney in California. The two parks are more compact, and its easy to get in and out between both parks and go to Downtown Disney. We can do more last minute trips to DLR resort because the weather in California is not as extreme as in Florida, so we can go year round. If we go to Disneyworld we can only go in the late fall and winter without getting sick from the heat and humidity. Also, the only parks in Florida we really felt ecstatic about were the Animal Kingdom and the two Disney water parks because we don't have those on the west coast.

Now, as for staying on site hotels--Disneyworld. The resorts have fantastic theming, there are rooms for all budgets, and you get bus service (albeit slow). Disneyland the onsite hotels are outrageously expensive and you can stay at a non Disney themed hotel within a 10 minute walking distance (basically right across the streets from the parks!) for a quarter of the price. No need to wait for a bus if you can walk! If you stay at the value hotels in Disneyworld, all the hotel prices for the Disney California hotels will seem obscene.

Dining options--Disneyworld, hands down, just because there are more options. That being said, I've never had a hard time finding good food in Anaheim!

However, we do more trips to Disneyland because its more convenient than Disneyworld and dont require as much extensive planning. The California parks don't require you to make meal reservations six months out, fast passes are done on site--in other words, a Disneyworld vacation is a big pain in the butt and hassle of epic proportions.

 

[Sagginit]

I did my first DL trip last fall. I think the key is to understand they are two different parks with two different feels. The first day I will admit I was a bit frustrated by some of the differences as in your head you are going to compare and see where it may fall short of WDW before you see how it is better. Also its not like being in the WDW bubble, meals were much more practical and didn't make up a huge part of our trip which is different than when in WDW. We were able to do way more rides and spent less time just enjoying the scenery.

Things that are different and I had to adjust to:

- much more compact park, this means everyone can move around quickly, we found the day we did EMH and rope drop it was pointless as the park filled so quickly and there were so many people that we didn't get any advantage... we would have been better off starting our day in DCA. we also found ourselves in traffic jams and bottle necks a lot, especially around the water area in front of new orleans square on your way to frontier land. this made the park much less magical as we felt like we were in a crowded city at times and couldn't find any quiet areas.

- on the other hand they have paper fast passes, on our last day we were able to do 24 rides/shows/attractions between the two parks. i think we rode california screaming three times one day too. this makes hopping a whole new experience and i can't see how you would go without a hopper as the parks are so close you don't even have to go through security to hop. we hopped from WOC one night to DL just in time to see fireworks.

- for some reason there were more rides that would shut down during the day, Splash mountain was closed 50% of the time i was there which made me sad as it is my favorite. California Screaming would go down a few times a day (sometimes for only 20 min but still). fireworks were also canceled 2 for the 4 nights we were there "due to weather conditions", maybe its because there are 4 parks but it was starting to feel like everything was broken.

- they do update it seasonally, so while i wanted to ride the original rides two were decorated with seasonal stuff (its a small world and the haunted mansion). in the case of the haunted mansion my husband hated the cartoony look from nightmare before christmas, it also drove up wait times to over 60 minutes in the evening which was surprising.

- the shows and fireworks were amazing. we both loved world of color, i would trade it for fantasmic or the epcot show anytime. they had updated it for the 60th celebration and it has this really emotionally nostalgic part to it that just pulled at your heart. i also caught Aladdin before it closed and it was one of the highlights of our trip. paint the night parade was also amazing.

- the park has way more locals as they can pop in after school and after work. there were loads of teens there at night just hanging out and lots of adults cruising DCA with beer & wine. to me it gave it more of a boardwalk/ six flags feel than a disney park. we tried to make sure we had FP to use at night as lines would be twice as long as during the day (if not more).

- the crowd there has different favorite rides, so ride times were different than expected. for ex. we walked on the little mermaid ride and winnie the pooh. on the other hand rides you might not expect to may have long lines. use the app so you can hop and move around more efficiently.

- the restaurants are not nearly as competitive to get in or get reservations, but on the other hand if you stay across the street there are so many restaurants outside that are cheaper it makes sense not to eat all your meals in the park

- there were more characters and lines were much shorter. i had a ten minute wait to meet the mouse our first night and a ten minute wait another day to meet all the princesses! that certainly was a magical surprise.

- i had heard that DCA was not that magical but we actually liked it a lot so don't always listen to what others say as some of this you need to sort out on your own. i went to cars land for sunset and to see the lights come on and it really was like being in the movie when the music started. WOC was super duper magical for me, made me want to cry just like wishes.

 

[kkendle]

I haven't read all the comments here but we have been to WDW about a dozen times and DL twice and getting ready for our 3rd visit. I love them both....but I am way more stressed about planning each day with FP and dining and which park etc than I ever am at DL. They are different. Love them both!

 

[Frozen2014]

Sagginit, great comparative list. Very helpful.

 

[VandVsmama]

Which did you like better? I live on the east coast so "Disney" to me is WDW. I am headed to DL August 1st (not my 1st time but I was 7 and I don't remember it so its like my 1st time). I keep feeling like I am not going to be as excited as I would be going to WDW. Maybe because its unknown territory for me?? Are the rides the same? WDW seems like its own world and you feel that way when you are there. I am hoping DL has the same effect?

DL vs WDW - it's like debating which flavor of ice cream is better. You go to Baskin & Robbins and there are 31 flavors. Everybody gets their favorite flavor of ice cream most of the time, but sometimes it's fun to try another flavor. And when you're done, you are satisfied & full of ice cream.



DL is **NOT** WDW. And WDW is **NOT** DL. Some reasons that our family loves DL:

1. it's easy to get around both parks.
2. park hopper tickets are totally worth it. We park hop every day.
3. EMH is totally worth going to if you have EMH or MM. Because the locals never want to wake up that early! First 2-3 hours that the parks are open are golden & wonderful.
4. The weather - we much prefer it to humid Florida!
5. character interaction - this is where being there when the park opens is helpful because every morning, we always see the Mad Hatter, Peter Pan, and Captain Hook just wandering around in Fantasyland. NO FP NEEDED!
6. You don't have to mess with magic bands
7. You don't have to plan your meals 6 months in advance.
8. You can be more spontaneous and you don't have to book rides 2 months ahead of time.
9. Pirates of the Caribbean has 2 drops and it's awesome!
10. Did I mention the weather?
11. 'off site' is not a horrible thing. In fact the Best Western Park Place Inn is closer to the main gate than the GCH, I think.
12. you don't have to plan on an hour bus ride in order to go to another park or to make a dining reservation. Because pretty much everything is within 10-15 min walking distance (i.e., far corner of DL to far corner of DCA, or DL main entrance to DL hotel).

 

[KCmike]

I found this post I used back in 2013.....

Disneyland is far and away the best Disney park period. The nostalgia, charm, detail and pure ride concentration is just amazing. The parks being so close together is another pure winner. Now I can't comment on January but I have been to DL in May, June, July, Oct. and December. Pure magic everytime. I am also a WDW vet. We had been over 7 times to WDW and love that resort but hands down DL resort wins my family everytime. We also enjoy seeing and doing so much more in SoCal and NorCal.

If they had put Disneyland's Fantasyland inside the Magic Kingdom the whole world would be talking about how great the expansion was. To me as it stands right now WDW has really lost its mojo.

There are as many rides and attractions in two parks as there are in 4 parks at WDW. With the ages of your kids I think it favors Disneyland for enjoyment.

One of my favorite quotes and I tend to agree:
Al Lutz from miceage.com
There's an answer the old timers at Disney like to give when asked to compare the Anaheim and Orlando main parks, and to me it still applies as to how they are currently run: Disneyland is a park designed by a father for his daughters, while the Magic Kingdom is designed by a committee for the hordes.

Whatever you do, eventually make your way out to California and Disneyland. It's Walt's park. The one he lived in, worked in, designed the famous attractions that every park has copied.

 

[snowybelle]

I am a WDW vet just back from my first trip to DL.

I. LOVED. IT.

I would recommend, to any WDW regular visiting DLR for the first time, to try to manage your expectations going in. It's a different park. It's smaller. Walking around Disneyland feels more crowded than MK because it's more compact and not build for hordes of people. That took some getting used to for me and my travel buddy. Also, if you are used to going to WDW and feeling like you own the place because you know all the in's and out's of planning and park navigation and all of it's quirks, you might feel a little out of your element for your first day or 2 at DLR. It's a different ballgame. You will see MANY more locals and repeat visitors who will appear to have it all figured out while you stumble around trying to get your bearings... so manage your expectations and don't let the initial learning curve get you down.

Because once your get your sea legs it is MAGICAL and touching and moving and inspiring! It truly is Walt's park. There's history and impeccable detail everywhere you turn. The cast members appear to take great pride in the park and their role in making the magic happen. The nighttime entertainment (WoC, Paint the Night, and especially Disneyland Forever) is the best I've ever seen. The current fireworks show is incredibly immersive and moved me to tears. With a few exceptions, I found the DL rides/attractions to be superior to their WDW counterparts (hello Space Mountain!) and the character interaction had a much more organic feel to it.

I love WDW and it is still my "home park" and my first love, but I cannot wait to go back to DLR — hopefully for a longer period next time! It totally won me over.

Edited to add: California Adventure park is also a world class experience! It's beautiful, more spacious, and has a great variety of rides and experiences. I loved it so much more than I thought I would.