which rides are identical/very similar?

[becalubob]

My friend and I are making our first trip to DL this summer and only have 2 days. We for sure want to experience the rides that are not at WDW - Indiana Jones, Alice in Wonderland, etc and rides that are at both parks but different - Space Mountain, POTC, etc. I would like to know which rides are very similar, so if we need to pick and choose, I know which ones I can skip this time around. Thanks! We are sooooo excited!!!

 

[HydroGuy]

FWIW, if you have two days you will also want to visit DCA. "DL" stands for Disneyland, which is a park at "DLR" - Disneyland Resort. Saying you are going to "DL" is like saying you are going to Orlando to go to MK (Magic Kingdom) even though you are really going to WDW and MK is a part of that.

Rides to skip if short on time because they are identical or almost identical:

At DL

Star Tours
HISTA
IASW
Mark Twain

At DCA

Tower of Terror
Soarin
ITTBAB
TSMM
Turtle Talk w/ Crush


Rides that you need to do because they are unique. Or different and better:

At DL

Indy
Matterhorn
Space Mtn
POTC
StoryBook Land Canal Boats
Alice in Wonderland
Roger Rabbit
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
Pirates Lair on Tom Sawyer Island
Mr Toad's Wild Ride

At DCA

GRR
California Screamin
Monsters Inc

 

[mybestieismickey]

I would say don't miss IASW if you can fit it in. I have always loved it, but DH was never a fan. Now that it has been refurbished with the Disney characters, it's super cute and DH doesn't make that face when I say I want to ride

 

[LittleWoodenHead]

Rides that you need to do because they are unique. Or different and better:

At DL

Indy
Matterhorn
Space Mtn
POTC
StoryBook Land Canal Boats
Alice in Wonderland
Roger Rabbit
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
Pirates Lair on Tom Sawyer Island
Mr Toad's Wild Ride

To which I would add:

Pinocchio's Daring Journey
Sleeping Beauty's Castle walkthrough
The Enchanted Tiki Room (true to Walt's vision, without the hideous additions of the WDW version)
Splash Mountain (fairly different; debate rages as to which version is "better")

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Honestly, with only 2 days, skip most of DCA since Soarin' has been cloned and most of DCA's best attractions are found elsewhere in their original form. I think WDW vets must experience Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular, and MI. If you haven't done Toy Story Mania yet, it's spectacular as well.

In Disneyland, I would add to those that have already been recommended, Peter Pan's Flight (more detailed and longer than the MK version), second the Small World notion, and check out Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin in Mickey's ToonTown(more detailed than ToonTown Fair). And do not skip POTC. If you've only ridden the MK version, you haven't experienced POTC.

Be sure to take the time to soak up Disneyland itself. A lot of people not familiar with Disneyland mistakenly think that it has less to do than the MK. In truth, Disneyland itself contains more attractions than the Magic Kingdom and if Disneyland closes at midnight, you can usually do most of Fantasyland in the last hour or so before the park closes.