For context, for myself, I consider myself a Disneyland "homer" as I live a 6 hour drive away from Disneyland and a 4 hour flight away from Walt Disney World.
That being said, over the past year,, I have been to WDW twice (July 2024 1 day at the MK with my wife and kids and April 2025 for a 3 day park hopper solo trip) and Disneyland once (October 2004 I did a 2 day park hopper with my kids (5 and 7 at the time)).
Since this is a WDW forum, I'll deliver some "hot takes" based upon my trips / observations:
1.) Disney's Hollywood Studios gets too much hate. It's a great park and, in my opinion, easily the 2nd best park at WDW. It's not what it once was but it's "devolution" if you want to call it that is very minor and still stacks up as the one park with the highest percentage of tier 1 attractions. If you want to see a park that has fallen, go across town to Universal Studios Orlando.
2.) I understand what Walt was going for, and it does enhance the experience at the beginning of the day when using the ferry or monorail to go from the Transportation and Ticket Center to the Magic Kingdom but when it comes to park hopping or leaving the Magic Kingdom after the fireworks it's a bit of a pain in the butt to have to take the ferry or monorail with the large crowds (especially if you have young children in tow). The bus loading post fireworks is also a bit of a pain at MK.
3.) Speaking of the monorails, they are looking quite tired. I know Walt loved monorails but they really need to be replaced with something a bit more modern. Also the bench bisecting the middle of the car so that there can't be movement throughout the whole car probably should be removed in the next generation of monorail system so that it's much easier to fit strollers on.
4.) World Showcase is as good as ever but Future World / World Celebration is sad. Maybe it'll be less sad when Test Track opens up (I've never gotten to experience Test Track) but Disney has really neglected this area. I remember in the 1990s going to EPCOT and thinking that it was my favorite part of all of WDW and now, outside of Guardian's, it's probably my least favorite.
5.) The Moana Journey of Water is a lot more fun than I thought.
6.) The details on the theming at Disney's Animal Kingdom are incredible. That park, while not my favorite because I'm more of a rides guy than a zoo guy, is really fun. The African area and Pandora are especially well themed.
7.) Slinky Dog and Expedition Everest are 2 of the most popular "meh" attractions at Disney. Slinky felt like a letdown after waiting over an hour in line and Everest just didn't do it for me for some reason.
8.) I am going to miss all of the attractions that are going away but I can see why. The Muppets and Aerosmith don't really connect to a lot of people under 40 anymore. Keeping the Muppets around on the Rock n' Roller coaster is at least a compromise to keep some of that in the park. The cast member even joked that Aerosmith looked 30 years younger during the pre-show.
I actually liked Dinosaur and the darkness and found it a great take on that ride. Of course it is a walk on versus the Indiana Jones Adventure ride being one of Disneyland's signature attractions so the masses much prefer Indiana Jones (and I can also see why).
Magic Kingdom's Rivers of America is far more "dead" during the daytime but is my "happy" place at night. I've attached a few photos illustrating my love of that area.
I'm sure that the Cars attraction will spread out crowd flow better (and allow easier access throughout the east side of the park) but this will probably be the biggest loss of all of the changes.
9.) Disney has, overall, better cast members and food than Universal.
10.) I love the Skyliner and hope it gets extended. It is a nice, quick, quiet break from the parks and make it really easy to hop between DHS and EPCOT.
Overall, I'd rank the domestic Disney parks as follows:
1.) Disneyland Park
2.) Magic Kingdom Park
3.) Disney's Hollywood Studios
4.) Disney's California Adventure
5.) EPCOT
6.) Disney's Animal Kingdom
Here are my takes on the duplicate attractions:
Jungle Cruise: WDW has a temple scene and some other show scenes that Disneyland's doesn't have. I believe Disneyland has the better queue and I like the fact that the skippers at Disneyland shoot the guns. They're similar but different enough.
Pirates of the Caribbean: WDW has a better queue. Disneyland has the far superior attraction. MK's Pirates just feels too abbreviated.
Enchanted Tiki Room: Disneyland's Tiki Room is superior in almost every way. Disneyland has a better pre-show and has some extra scenes with a working fountain that WDW's doesn't have. It's still a good show and a great way to cool down in A/C.
Swiss Family Treehouse: Pretty much identical now.
Dumbo: WDW's is in a better setting (Storybook Circus) and has a better queue. WDW has 2 spinners versus Disneyland's 1. I'd give the edge to WDW here.
It's a Small World: Everything about this is better at Disneyland. Better queue, better theming, better everything. It's almost skippable at MK.
Mad Tea Party: MK's is covered and Disneyland's isn't. Other than that they're virtually identical.
King Arthur Carrousel / Prince Charming Regal Carrousel: They're pretty similar.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: I like the MK version of this attraction better. It's got a better queue and overall seems like a more complete ride.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: MK's version is currently closed and will be closed in October. I've always preferred the Disneyland version (especially with the current special effects). MK's might be getting some of the special effects that Disneyland's version has in the refurb.
Tiana's Bayou Adventure: I've not experienced the DL version but I understand that DL probably has the better "show" but is more likely to get you soaked whereas the WDW version you are less likely to get soaked but because the ride overall is longer there are more times where it feels like the boat is traveling through "dead" space.
Haunted Mansion: This is one attraction where overall I believe the MK's version is superior. Also, in October you'll be able to get the standard attraction as opposed to the Haunted Mansion Holiday version that Disneyland has then. MK also has some different show scenes that don't exist at Disneyland.
Liberty Square Riverboat / Mark Twain Riverboat & Sailing Ship Columbia: If it's still there, you should ride the Liberty Belle as it's set to be removed soon. Disneyland's river, overall, is superior to MK's.
Astro Orbiter: Mk's version is better as it's on top of the Peoplemover station. Disneyland's is a spinner at ground level.
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters / Space Ranger Spin: Currently Disneyland has the superior attraction. The MK ride is set to be updated and might be the superior attraction once the updates are complete. The two attractions are similar with, apparently, Disneyland's being canonically the sequel to MK's.
Space Mountain: Disneyland's version is smooth and has on board audio. MK's is rough and the audio is mounted along the track. It's an unpopular opinion amongst most Disneyland veterans but I significantly prefer the MK's version of this attraction.
Tomorrowland Speedway / Autopia: This might be the worst attraction at the MK. Disneyland's Autopia is superior in every way imaginable.
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run: Virtually identical at DHS and Disneyland.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance: Virtually identical at DHS and Disneyland. DHS has a single rider line which reduces the wait time to maybe 10 minutes but skips the transport vehicle pre-show.
Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway: The rides are virtually identical. Disneyland has the better queue.
Toy Story Mania! / Toy Story Midway Mania!: The rides are virtually identical. DCA has the better queue.
Soarin' Around the World / Soarin': The rides are virtually identical except for the final scene. DCA has the better queue.
Walt Disney World Railroad / Disneyland Railroad: Disneyland's has a better story and has the Grand Canyon and Primeval Dioramas. MK's is more simply transportation around the park.
Mickey's PhilharMagic: The show is similar at both DCA and MK but the MK's version is far superior. DCA's version basically shoehorned the show into the Muppet Vision 3D theater and left it virtually unchanged from when it was the Muppets.
Voyage of the Little Mermaid: The ride is the same but the MK has the far better queue.
Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout / Twilight Zone Tower of Terror: These attractions both used to be the Tower of Terror and while I think Mission: Breakout is the more "fun" attraction the DHS Tower of Terror is better themed and the overall better attraction.
As far as non-duplicate rides:
Radiator Springs Racers is probably the best themed Disney attraction.
Flight of Passage is the most beautiful Disney attraction.
Guardian's of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind is the most fun Disney attraction.
Disney also has done a great job with some of its other unique attractions (at least in the states). Tron is a great addition to Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom and has its unique cycle system and fast speeds while still being tame enough to be enjoyed by most of the family. Remy's and Frozen Ever After are well themed attractions that give younger kids something to look forward to at EPCOT. Frozen Ever After is actually a lot better than I thought it would be upon reading some of the reviews posted here. Also, WEB Slingers isn't as bad at DCA as I've read here. My kids really liked it a lot and, while not the best ever Disney attraction, it was a net addition to that part of the park.
As for theming: I think Disneyland is a better themed castle park and DCA has the worst theming of any park, except for Cars land and the Grizzly Peak Airfield.
I think food is good either place. Disney's Animal Kingdom, EPCOT and Disney's California Adventure probably have the best food and Magic Kingdom the worst park food.
Atmosphere: I believe Disneyland wins on that. A higher percentage of Disneyland visitors are people who absolutely LOVE Disneyland. It's not uncommon for 50 - 70% of Disneyland guests to be wearing some sort of Disney or Disneyland merchandise. It also seems that strangers are much more likely to interact with one another at Disneyland versus Walt Disney World. Overall the weather is also much better in Southern California.
Cost: What nobody has mentioned is that Disneyland tickets are generally cheaper. In addition, while on property hotels are more expensive at Disneyland, the close off site hotels are significantly cheaper at Disneyland,
Security: Walt Disney World security is significantly faster than Disneyland security.
Disney Springs vs. Downtown Disney: There is a larger variety of shopping / restaurants / activities at Disney Springs versus Downtown Disney.
Park Hopping: I enjoy doing it both places. It's easier to go back and forth at Disneyland versus Walt Disney World (although the skyliner between DHS and EPCOT and the monorail between MK and EPCOT make for a nice "break" from the parks while hopping).
Lightning Lane: I prefer Disneyland's LL system (as it seems to even the playing field somewhat). At WDW the LL system is geared more towards resort guests.
Overall: Disneyland is my "happy" place and I find Walt Disney World to be "magical."
That being said, over the past year,, I have been to WDW twice (July 2024 1 day at the MK with my wife and kids and April 2025 for a 3 day park hopper solo trip) and Disneyland once (October 2004 I did a 2 day park hopper with my kids (5 and 7 at the time)).
Since this is a WDW forum, I'll deliver some "hot takes" based upon my trips / observations:
1.) Disney's Hollywood Studios gets too much hate. It's a great park and, in my opinion, easily the 2nd best park at WDW. It's not what it once was but it's "devolution" if you want to call it that is very minor and still stacks up as the one park with the highest percentage of tier 1 attractions. If you want to see a park that has fallen, go across town to Universal Studios Orlando.
2.) I understand what Walt was going for, and it does enhance the experience at the beginning of the day when using the ferry or monorail to go from the Transportation and Ticket Center to the Magic Kingdom but when it comes to park hopping or leaving the Magic Kingdom after the fireworks it's a bit of a pain in the butt to have to take the ferry or monorail with the large crowds (especially if you have young children in tow). The bus loading post fireworks is also a bit of a pain at MK.
3.) Speaking of the monorails, they are looking quite tired. I know Walt loved monorails but they really need to be replaced with something a bit more modern. Also the bench bisecting the middle of the car so that there can't be movement throughout the whole car probably should be removed in the next generation of monorail system so that it's much easier to fit strollers on.
4.) World Showcase is as good as ever but Future World / World Celebration is sad. Maybe it'll be less sad when Test Track opens up (I've never gotten to experience Test Track) but Disney has really neglected this area. I remember in the 1990s going to EPCOT and thinking that it was my favorite part of all of WDW and now, outside of Guardian's, it's probably my least favorite.
5.) The Moana Journey of Water is a lot more fun than I thought.
6.) The details on the theming at Disney's Animal Kingdom are incredible. That park, while not my favorite because I'm more of a rides guy than a zoo guy, is really fun. The African area and Pandora are especially well themed.
7.) Slinky Dog and Expedition Everest are 2 of the most popular "meh" attractions at Disney. Slinky felt like a letdown after waiting over an hour in line and Everest just didn't do it for me for some reason.
8.) I am going to miss all of the attractions that are going away but I can see why. The Muppets and Aerosmith don't really connect to a lot of people under 40 anymore. Keeping the Muppets around on the Rock n' Roller coaster is at least a compromise to keep some of that in the park. The cast member even joked that Aerosmith looked 30 years younger during the pre-show.
I actually liked Dinosaur and the darkness and found it a great take on that ride. Of course it is a walk on versus the Indiana Jones Adventure ride being one of Disneyland's signature attractions so the masses much prefer Indiana Jones (and I can also see why).
Magic Kingdom's Rivers of America is far more "dead" during the daytime but is my "happy" place at night. I've attached a few photos illustrating my love of that area.
I'm sure that the Cars attraction will spread out crowd flow better (and allow easier access throughout the east side of the park) but this will probably be the biggest loss of all of the changes.
9.) Disney has, overall, better cast members and food than Universal.
10.) I love the Skyliner and hope it gets extended. It is a nice, quick, quiet break from the parks and make it really easy to hop between DHS and EPCOT.
Overall, I'd rank the domestic Disney parks as follows:
1.) Disneyland Park
2.) Magic Kingdom Park
3.) Disney's Hollywood Studios
4.) Disney's California Adventure
5.) EPCOT
6.) Disney's Animal Kingdom
Here are my takes on the duplicate attractions:
Jungle Cruise: WDW has a temple scene and some other show scenes that Disneyland's doesn't have. I believe Disneyland has the better queue and I like the fact that the skippers at Disneyland shoot the guns. They're similar but different enough.
Pirates of the Caribbean: WDW has a better queue. Disneyland has the far superior attraction. MK's Pirates just feels too abbreviated.
Enchanted Tiki Room: Disneyland's Tiki Room is superior in almost every way. Disneyland has a better pre-show and has some extra scenes with a working fountain that WDW's doesn't have. It's still a good show and a great way to cool down in A/C.
Swiss Family Treehouse: Pretty much identical now.
Dumbo: WDW's is in a better setting (Storybook Circus) and has a better queue. WDW has 2 spinners versus Disneyland's 1. I'd give the edge to WDW here.
It's a Small World: Everything about this is better at Disneyland. Better queue, better theming, better everything. It's almost skippable at MK.
Mad Tea Party: MK's is covered and Disneyland's isn't. Other than that they're virtually identical.
King Arthur Carrousel / Prince Charming Regal Carrousel: They're pretty similar.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: I like the MK version of this attraction better. It's got a better queue and overall seems like a more complete ride.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: MK's version is currently closed and will be closed in October. I've always preferred the Disneyland version (especially with the current special effects). MK's might be getting some of the special effects that Disneyland's version has in the refurb.
Tiana's Bayou Adventure: I've not experienced the DL version but I understand that DL probably has the better "show" but is more likely to get you soaked whereas the WDW version you are less likely to get soaked but because the ride overall is longer there are more times where it feels like the boat is traveling through "dead" space.
Haunted Mansion: This is one attraction where overall I believe the MK's version is superior. Also, in October you'll be able to get the standard attraction as opposed to the Haunted Mansion Holiday version that Disneyland has then. MK also has some different show scenes that don't exist at Disneyland.
Liberty Square Riverboat / Mark Twain Riverboat & Sailing Ship Columbia: If it's still there, you should ride the Liberty Belle as it's set to be removed soon. Disneyland's river, overall, is superior to MK's.
Astro Orbiter: Mk's version is better as it's on top of the Peoplemover station. Disneyland's is a spinner at ground level.
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters / Space Ranger Spin: Currently Disneyland has the superior attraction. The MK ride is set to be updated and might be the superior attraction once the updates are complete. The two attractions are similar with, apparently, Disneyland's being canonically the sequel to MK's.
Space Mountain: Disneyland's version is smooth and has on board audio. MK's is rough and the audio is mounted along the track. It's an unpopular opinion amongst most Disneyland veterans but I significantly prefer the MK's version of this attraction.
Tomorrowland Speedway / Autopia: This might be the worst attraction at the MK. Disneyland's Autopia is superior in every way imaginable.
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run: Virtually identical at DHS and Disneyland.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance: Virtually identical at DHS and Disneyland. DHS has a single rider line which reduces the wait time to maybe 10 minutes but skips the transport vehicle pre-show.
Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway: The rides are virtually identical. Disneyland has the better queue.
Toy Story Mania! / Toy Story Midway Mania!: The rides are virtually identical. DCA has the better queue.
Soarin' Around the World / Soarin': The rides are virtually identical except for the final scene. DCA has the better queue.
Walt Disney World Railroad / Disneyland Railroad: Disneyland's has a better story and has the Grand Canyon and Primeval Dioramas. MK's is more simply transportation around the park.
Mickey's PhilharMagic: The show is similar at both DCA and MK but the MK's version is far superior. DCA's version basically shoehorned the show into the Muppet Vision 3D theater and left it virtually unchanged from when it was the Muppets.
Voyage of the Little Mermaid: The ride is the same but the MK has the far better queue.
Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout / Twilight Zone Tower of Terror: These attractions both used to be the Tower of Terror and while I think Mission: Breakout is the more "fun" attraction the DHS Tower of Terror is better themed and the overall better attraction.
As far as non-duplicate rides:
Radiator Springs Racers is probably the best themed Disney attraction.
Flight of Passage is the most beautiful Disney attraction.
Guardian's of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind is the most fun Disney attraction.
Disney also has done a great job with some of its other unique attractions (at least in the states). Tron is a great addition to Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom and has its unique cycle system and fast speeds while still being tame enough to be enjoyed by most of the family. Remy's and Frozen Ever After are well themed attractions that give younger kids something to look forward to at EPCOT. Frozen Ever After is actually a lot better than I thought it would be upon reading some of the reviews posted here. Also, WEB Slingers isn't as bad at DCA as I've read here. My kids really liked it a lot and, while not the best ever Disney attraction, it was a net addition to that part of the park.
As for theming: I think Disneyland is a better themed castle park and DCA has the worst theming of any park, except for Cars land and the Grizzly Peak Airfield.
I think food is good either place. Disney's Animal Kingdom, EPCOT and Disney's California Adventure probably have the best food and Magic Kingdom the worst park food.
Atmosphere: I believe Disneyland wins on that. A higher percentage of Disneyland visitors are people who absolutely LOVE Disneyland. It's not uncommon for 50 - 70% of Disneyland guests to be wearing some sort of Disney or Disneyland merchandise. It also seems that strangers are much more likely to interact with one another at Disneyland versus Walt Disney World. Overall the weather is also much better in Southern California.
Cost: What nobody has mentioned is that Disneyland tickets are generally cheaper. In addition, while on property hotels are more expensive at Disneyland, the close off site hotels are significantly cheaper at Disneyland,
Security: Walt Disney World security is significantly faster than Disneyland security.
Disney Springs vs. Downtown Disney: There is a larger variety of shopping / restaurants / activities at Disney Springs versus Downtown Disney.
Park Hopping: I enjoy doing it both places. It's easier to go back and forth at Disneyland versus Walt Disney World (although the skyliner between DHS and EPCOT and the monorail between MK and EPCOT make for a nice "break" from the parks while hopping).
Lightning Lane: I prefer Disneyland's LL system (as it seems to even the playing field somewhat). At WDW the LL system is geared more towards resort guests.
Overall: Disneyland is my "happy" place and I find Walt Disney World to be "magical."
hahah
