How does Disneyland compare to Disney World?

[Honeybee83]

DH and I have been to DW several times but he has never been to Disneyland and I last went 16 years ago and much has changed since then. From what I remember DL was much like Magic Kingdom with only a couple of "the lands" being different. I know there is New Orleans Square instead of Liberty Square and Sleeping Beauty castle instead of Cinderella. California Adventure either didn't exist or my family didn't go when I was a kid.

We've been considering giving Disneyland a try. What are some things that make "Land" unique and a must see vs "World"?

 

[Jekyle]

I usually go to DL and just went to WDW for the first time last September... I love both but here's my take on the differences.... DL is nice because there is so much to do in a compact area... Where as WDW is so spread out. Park hopping from DL to California Adventure is a two minute walk .

Lots of hotels within walking distance to the parks in DL. No bus is needed.

DL has Indy , and Matterhorn and Toon Town which WDW does not. DL has a MUCH better Pirates of the Caribbean ride than WDW. I also like Space Mountain better in DL because you get to sit beside each other .
I like Splash mountain better in WDW because you get to sit beside each other and it has a few more little drops DL doesn't have.
I haven't been on the newly reno'd BTMR in DL yet . Hopefully it is smoother ride like people have been saying because I enjoyed WDW more due to the smoothness .

California Adventure is great! I haven't been to Cars Land yet but this is another DL thing that WDW doesn't have.

I was in WDW for a limited time and felt I should've stayed more days (was there 5 days)
DL can definitely be done in 3-5 days ... We always go longer so we can do hollywood, universal studios, sea world, beaches, legoland, zoo etc. lots of other attractions to see close by.

I've been to DL 3 times now (4th trip coming up in October) and WDW once. I never get bored or tired of going! (I live in Canada so it's never a quick trip - it takes at least a year of saving/planning everytime)

Hope this helps a bit!

 

[nanni]

I've been to WDW more than DL, but I've been to both a few times. To me, WDW feels more like an all encompassing vacation where I see nothing but Disney for my entire visit. DL doesn't gave that all encompassing Disney feel to it, but it's still a lot of fun. The two parks are so close it's really easy to park hop. They are also smaller so you can hit more rides in a quicker time. There are some rides that are better at each park.

It's definitely worth a trip, just don't expect it to be exactly the same. I think my favorite thing at DLR that isn't at WDW is the worked of color show.

 

[luisov]

-DL has a more intimate atmosphere than WDW.
-Park hopping is much easier at DL, as both parks are one right in front of the other.
-DL and DCA have some exclusive rides like Indiana Jones, Mr. Toad's ride, Alice in Wonderland, California Screamin', Casey Jr. Circus Train, Matterhorn, Radiator Springs Racers, Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin, among others.
-Disneyland has Toon Town, an area that is not at MK.
-Characters at DL usually have more freedom to roam around the parks.
-DL's PotC and Space Mountain are better at DL. Splash Mountain and Tower of Terror are better at WDW.
-Fantasmic! is better at DL (in my opinion), and World of Color is better than many of WDW's night time shows. Fantasmic! is performed at the Rivers of America though, so no amphitheater for that one.
-The weather in California is much better than Florida's.
-WDW offers many more food and accomodation options. Also, DL hotels are quite expensive. On the other hand, DL has many more off-site options than WDW.
-As you may know already, DL is smaller, and its castle is not as fancy as Magic Kingdom's. DL's charm is not exactly in the size of its structures but in its environment.
-And of course, DL still uses FP-

 

[DahliaRW]

Well, IMO, DLR is just better. But I am a DLR vet!

When at WDW having to line up for and ride the bus to and between the parks was not at all "magical", it was a hassle. I love that at DLR I can walk to both parks and to the hotel (offsite and onsite). When we stayed onsite at DLR I felt totally immersed in Disney. At WDW I only felt "Disney" at the parks. The hotel we stayed at (port orleans) was nice, but nothing like the Disneyland Hotel. I also like that I can spend a whole day at either park at DLR with plenty to do. At the satellite WDW parks (not MK) there just were not enough rides and shows for us and park hopping was a whole lot less practical.

16 years ago DCA did not exist, it was the parking lot! The addition of DCA and the Downtown Disney area is really a nice addition to DLR and makes for more to do.

 

[Kristina4109]

I spent the first 25 years of my life in New York and every family vacation was to WDW. Then I moved to L.A. 19 years ago and I fell in love with Disneyland. I'll never choose between them. They're both awesome, and I still go to both.

As to what makes DL unique - do not miss Carsland. I am quite used to Disney theming but this blew my mind. You really do feel as if you stepped right into the film.

If you can catch the Aladdin show at CA, do it. I'm not trying to put down Orlando's talent pool, but, come on, this is Southern California - there is a LOT of good talent here. The Genie steals the show.

Ditto for Mickey and The Magical Map in Disneyland - really blown away by this show.

World of Color is wonderful, worth seeing at least once.

And please notice the second floor of the Fire Station on Main Street. There is an apartment up there (you can't go in there) where Walt used to stay. As a symbol that Walt was in the park, a lamp was lighted in the window. When Walt died, the company decided to leave that lamp lit all the time, because Walt will always be in Disneyland.

 

[Jekyle]

I forgot about the character meets! I love in DL that you can walk around and just bump into a character and get an autograph and picture.... You don't always have to wait in a line.... (of course some you do) My fav character we bumped into was Mad Hatter! He was so hilarious !

 

[blackjackdelta]

This post comes up so often...why do they have to be compared??, there is only one original.

Jack

 

[whoever]

DL is pretty much better in every conceivable way. There are a few rides which are shorter/not as good, but those are Splash Mtn and Small World. Despite being only two parks, DLR actually has more rides than the FOUR parks at WDW. And best of all... its not built in a swamp.

 

[Honeybee83]

This post comes up so often...why do they have to be compared??, there is only one original. Jack

I wasn't meaning to compare. More so to find out if one was worth visiting in addition to the other. If they were both pretty much the same, then I would just go to the one that is closer (DW).

It sounds like we will need to make a trip out to Disneyland though too.

 

[figment_jii]

HydroGuy has a useful thread for WDW vets coming to DLR. It talks about the similarities and differences between the two resorts.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

 

[Vintage Mouseketeer]

DL is pretty much better in every conceivable way. There are a few rides which are shorter/not as good, but those are Splash Mtn and Small World. Despite being only two parks, DLR actually has more rides than the FOUR parks at WDW. And best of all... its not built in a swamp.

Shhhhh! It is our west coast secret. Let the crowds stay in WDW. Lol ;-)

 

[CrabbyPatty]

I think you should give Disneyland a try! We like Disney World a lot, but are finding that DL is a much more relaxing trip, IMHO.

Pop Century is a fun hotel, but you need to get on a bus to get to anything as well as get between parks via bus, boat, monorail, etc., and at the end of the day, it's no fun standing in line waiting for those buses. We loved that, at DL, we could just walk across the street (5-8 minute walk from our hotel on Harbor Boulevard) and be back at our hotel for a midday swim or nap.

We also LOVE that we can park hop in about 2 minutes by walking across the esplanade, and Downtown Disney is also the same distance away from the parks.

And Carsland is great, plus the whole Paradise Pier area is fun, and just a different feel than anything at DW. The original Fantasyland is so cute, and there are so many rides that DW doesn't have.

 

[cfw213]

I've been to WDW more than DL, but I've been to both a few times. To me, WDW feels more like an all encompassing vacation where I see nothing but Disney for my entire visit. DL doesn't gave that all encompassing Disney feel to it, but it's still a lot of fun. The two parks are so close it's really easy to park hop. They are also smaller so you can hit more rides in a quicker time. There are some rides that are better at each park. It's definitely worth a trip, just don't expect it to be exactly the same. I think my favorite thing at DLR that isn't at WDW is the worked of color show.

Agree with this. We are in LAX right now heading out of DLR and we are WDW veterans. We didn't like that we weren't in the "bubble" as we like to call it - it's not as all-encompassing as WDW. We did like quite a few rides better than their WDW counterparts and we loved being able to walk everywhere - that was great! We didn't like that since a lot of the rides are older they seem slower loading and that it felt much more crowded due to more narrow walkways. It's definitely worth a visit, just manage your expectations. We loved it but WDW still has our hearts!

ETA: we also felt the FP lines at DLR are not as good as WDW. I have rarely waited for more than 5 mins with a Fastpass at WDW but at DLR we were usually still waiting about 20 minutes with a Fastpass.

 

[whoever]

We didn't like that we weren't in the "bubble" as we like to call it - it's not as all-encompassing as WDW.

Stay onsite. You are in the bubble from the moment you pull into the GCH to the time you leave unless you specifically intend to wander offsite.

 

[MichaelaF]

I grew up going to WDW. Having gone to both WDW and DLR in the past year, my personal experience was that there was a special kind of "magic" at DLR that was harder for me to find at WDW this trip, even though we had 10 days at WDW and 2 days at DLR. I think it has a little to do with the smaller, more intimate atmosphere at DLR, but also that it's "the original". My expectations were not really high, honestly - I considered myself a WDW girl at heart, and my mom always talked about how much she hated DLR in comparison. (I know now that she last visited DL during the "dark ages" of Disney Parks management....) But we truly loved it, and almost immediately made plans to go back so we could spend more time there.

I don't think one is better than the other, they are just different. I love the smallness of DL and I love the bigness of WDW! For us, DLR is nice with a 1-year-old in particular, because we don't have to worry about folding up the stroller for buses, or walking forever to get to the Baby Care Center, or even to get back to our (very close, but off-site) hotel. But I love that we can stay for weeks at WDW and never run out of things to do.

My general rule when people ask me....If all other things are equal (such as they haven't been to one or the other more recently, don't have family they want to stay with, or something)....

I say that if you have 4 or more days, and more money to spend, do WDW. If you have 3 days or less, and less money, do DLR. I think it's just easier to feel you've done DLR proper, with less $$ (if you stay off-property), in a shorter amount of time, than you can at WDW.

BUT in your case, since you've been to WDW plenty of times....then DLR is a no-brainer. I don't think it's really about the specific rides, it's just got a different feel. And you'll really love it, I think.

Oh, and we LOVE California Adventure, and World of Color. We were definitely not expecting that at all....but we loved them!

 

[d1gitman]

the way I explain it to people is "I cut my teeth on WDW but DLCA stole my heart"

I'd take DLCA over WDW any day of the week

 

[GrtWtNorth]

I spend more time walking through WDW parking lots than I would walking from the DLR parks to my off-site hotels. I enjoy the DLR parks more knowing that I don't have to factor in the same commute time that is an intrinsic part of the WDW experience.

WDW has its advantages too, especially the affordability of Disney value resorts and the immense variety of table service dining.

I view WDW monorail resorts with the same jealousy that I view DLR hotels. They are great for dining and exploring, but I can't justify the extra cost of staying there.

What it comes down to with me is how long I wish to vacation. If I have a couple weeks, I will go to Florida. If I have a week or less, California is easier to enjoy.

 

[whoever]

I say that if you have 4 or more days, and more money to spend, do WDW. If you have 3 days or less, and less money, do DLR.

From all the pricing I've looked at, if you remove travel costs, DLR is much more expensive than WDW.

 

[mummabear]

I forgot about the character meets! I love in DL that you can walk around and just bump into a character and get an autograph and picture.... You don't always have to wait in a line.... (of course some you do) My fav character we bumped into was Mad Hatter! He was so hilarious !

Funny people are in different camps with this, I much prefer the scheduled nature of character meets at wdw, then I know where and when to take the girls to meet their favourites rather than hoping for a random encounter