What rides to skip?

[DISNEY FIX]

First time to Disneyland....been to wdw a lot....
We have one day in each park, what rides to skip being either doubles of wdw or just like (stitch) awful? If you must do would love to hear them as well!!!!
Thanks!

 

[mdmost]

Skip as there are little to no differences:
Big Thunder, Small World, Dumbo, Star Tours, Buzz Lightyear, Millenium Falcon, Rise of the Resistance, Jungle Cruise. The queue is different on Mickey and Minnie's Train Ride but if you're ridden it before at HS, it might be worth skipping since it's at the back of the park

Similar but better or with small differences:
Haunted Mansion has the Hatbox Ghost which WDW doesn't have yet.
Pirates of the Caribbean, far superior
Tiki Room since it's the original
Autotopia, if you enjoy it, it's longer and more scenic.


Different and worth it:
All of Fantasyland, save Dumbo
Space Mountain, ride side by side instead of single file
Matterhorn, outdoor WDW Space Mountain
Splash Mountain, assuming you're going before it closes
Mr. Lincoln
The trains
Everything in California Adventure except The Little Mermaid

 

[glocon]

Skip as there are little to no differences:
Big Thunder, Small World, Dumbo, Star Tours, Buzz Lightyear, Millenium Falcon, Rise of the Resistance, Jungle Cruise. The queue is different on Mickey and Minnie's Train Ride but if you're ridden it before at HS, it might be worth skipping since it's at the back of the park

Similar but better or with small differences:
Haunted Mansion has the Hatbox Ghost which WDW doesn't have yet.
Pirates of the Caribbean, far superior
Tiki Room since it's the original
Autotopia, if you enjoy it, it's longer and more scenic.


Different and worth it:
All of Fantasyland, save Dumbo
Space Mountain, ride side by side instead of single file
Matterhorn, outdoor WDW Space Mountain
Splash Mountain, assuming you're going before it closes
Mr. Lincoln
The trains
Everything in California Adventure except The Little Mermaid

Great info!
I was wondering this too.
Thanks!

 

[DLgal]

Please do not skip Big Thunder. It's MUCH better than WDWs version. I'd also argue for It's a Small World. Again, far superior AND it has the added Disney character dolls scattered throughout.

I'd agree with everything else above, though.

I'd say definitely spend plenty of time in Fantasyland. Do ALL the dark rides there. They are all better than WDW versions, where applicable.

In DCA, you can skip Soarin. Little Mermaid and Toy Story Midway Mania.

 

[irlandaise]

Specifically in Fantasyland, WDW no longer has Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, so I consider that a must-do at Disneyland!

 

[DLgal]

Specifically in Fantasyland, WDW no longer has Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, so I consider that a must-do at Disneyland!

And Snow White, which was recently plussed up.

 

[Chokky]

Disneyland Buzz is way better than the WDW one. Although it is the same ride format, the guns pull out on a long cord. So it is much easier to aim and get better scores.

 

[DLgal]

Disneyland Buzz is way better than the WDW one. Although it is the same ride format, the guns pull out on a long cord. So it is much easier to aim and get better scores.

It is NOT any better. I recently rode it and my gun was literally not working. My score was zero. And I'm not bad at that game. The whole thing needs to be gutted and replaced. It's an embarrassment at this point.

 

[MissDisney21]

Following as we are taking our first Disneyland trip this June. Pretty familiar with WDW.

 

[Steven G]

For DCA:
Skip:
Philharmagic is actually worse, since the theater wasn't designed for it.
Toy Story Mania (identical)
Little Mermaid (identical)
Soarin (identical unless they happen to have the original California movie)
Turtle Talk (identical, although technically it's "different" each time)


Other things to possibly skip (they are just disney themed amusement park rides)
Jumpin Jellyfish
Golden Zephyr
Pixar Pal A Round (although the view is great) -- please note that the swinging version of this ride is way scarier than it has any right to be
Critter Carousel
Emotional Whirlwind
Silly Symphony Swings (this is my favorite of these amusement rides)

 

[Blue32]

I’ll echo DLgals advice on Big Thunder. I would not skip it DL. It’s much better. I also agree you can skip most if not all of the rides on the Pier in DCA.

 

[DLgal]

I’ll echo DLgals advice on Big Thunder. I would not skip it DL. It’s much better. I also agree you can skip most if not all of the rides on the Pier in DCA.

I like the Pier rides. They are all quite fun.

 

[mdmost]

Here's what you do at DCA. Start at Incredicoaster. Ride it at rope drop. Ride it 2-3 times. Then go around the Pier in a clockwise fashion and get a LL for Guardians. Make your way over to Guardians. Get an ILL for Spiderman. Ride it and move on to Cars Land. Get an ILL for Radiator Racers. Ride Mater and Luigi on standby. Get a LL for Soarin and ride next. Hit Monster's Inc. At that point you've done everything in DCA. Skip DCA's Kali River Run unless you really want to get soaked. Come back and do Guardians at night. Walk around Avengers Campus and Cars Land at night. Get a reservation at Carthay Circle. Take in World of Color.

 

[gelatoni fan]

It is NOT any better. I recently rode it and my gun was literally not working. My score was zero. And I'm not bad at that game. The whole thing needs to be gutted and replaced. It's an embarrassment at this point.

It's the only version of the ride where you can know your score above 1M and get a ride photo for free. Sure it often has issues but it almost always has little to no wait in the morning and just before closing so you can easily go again. If they added the score and ride photos to the versions in Paris or Tokyo, then I'd be more OK with them doing something else with the Disneyland version but as it stands, I say it's something worth making a bit of time for at either the beginning or end of the day.

Soarin' has a different ending scene at Disneyland so I think it's worth doing if the wait isn't too long.

I think Goofy's Sky School is skipable because it often has a long wait and is an off the shelf Wild Mouse coaster (same track as primeval whirl but without the spinning).

 

[irlandaise]

Skip DCA's Kali River Run unless you really want to get soaked.

Yes, there's a good chance of getting soaked, but I think it's a more fun ride than Kali River Rapids, so it's worth doing.

Walk around Avengers Campus and Cars Land at night.

And especially, do Radiator Springs Racers again at night if at all possible. (Does it still have a single-rider line?)

 

[Poppyko]

Skip Nemo. It is awful.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Skip Nemo. It is awful.

Awwwwww, I like this ride!

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

And especially, do Radiator Springs Racers again at night if at all possible. (Does it still have a single-rider line?)

It does have a single rider line.

 

[DISNEY FIX]

Thanks for all the help!!!!! I feel like such a noob! Keep em coming.

 

[ajollyholidaywithjo]

Big Thunder, Small World

Do not skip either of these! The Small World in Disneyland is vastly superior to the one in Disney World. I could argue the same for Big Thunder.