Hello all, taking a break from my updates on travel to Walt Disney World to bring you an ultimate comparison list between Disneyland and Walt Disney World! I hope this list will not be biased as to my opinion, and I also hope this list helps you choose which park is best for your next visit.
Without further ado, we will start with some general points about each resort:
when using Disney Resort shuttle:
1. WDW includes the fee of the resort shuttle in your package, at Disneyland, you have to pay for this service (it is worth it either way, as I could never hope to navigate California on my own)
2. Travel time from Orlando International airport is significantly shorter than travel from Los Angeles International (LAX is the cheapest to fly into if you are from Canada, in my experience) That said, I recommend trying to arrive in LA when rush hour traffic is not present.
general resort pros and cons:
3. WDW has tons of on site park hotels set for each and every budget, while Disneyland only offers three, and all are on the high end (at least 200 dollars a night) But there are also many good neighbor hotels very close to Disneyland resort and you are still able to walk to Disney from many of these options.
4. The weather at Disneyland is much more mild than in Florida. Disneyland is much more comfortable during the summer months, as they do not have daily rain as WDW will.
5. There is more travel time involved in a WDW trip. There are almost no hotels within walking distance of a park, and they will not be within walking distance of each park. We never went back to the room or freshen up to have a nap because it felt too tedious to wait and take another 15 minute bus ride. With Disneyland, we could take a five minute walk back to our hotel.
6.WDW offers an amazing, all encompassing Dining Plan. Disneyland now only offers pre bought vouchers for Character meals. If you're not a big eater, however, I wouldn't say you even need the dining plan. each meal includes entree, drink, and dessert, and my husband and I struggled to eat that much food three times a day, and we really felt like we were wasting money when we turned down dessert at more than half of our meals or weren't able to finish our food.
7.FAST PASSES!!! Disneyland allows you to have one fastpass at a time, and to get said fast pass, you have to physically go to the ride and get your fastpass, to return an hour or so from that point. In Walt Disney World, however, there is a new thing called magic bands! Magic bands are amazing and Disneyland should really look at implementing it's technology as well. Magic bands allow you to use their app or website to pre book THREE fast passes for your day, and keep track of them on the app as well. Not only that, but they hold your park entry, dining reservations, dining credits, and you can even make charges to your room/credit card with the band! This makes your day so much easier as all you really need is a device that can use wifi and your magic band and you are set for the day, no need to worry about forgetting to get fast passes or your park tickets.
Park differences:
1. Disneyland is more compact, with more rides and attractions in a smaller space. This makes it a little easier to get around and you don't have to go to four different parks just to get to all your favorite rides.
2. That said, places such as Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom did not have much for exciting rides. On average, they have about 2-3 rides that you won't want to miss.
3.The themes of each WDW park are very well done and it feels like you are in a whole new place each time. Especially Animal Kingdom, where you can see tons of wonderful animals as well as different areas reflecting places such as asia, africa, and the like.
4. The castles: Disneyland's castle is the Sleeping Beauty castle. It is pink and the centerpiece for the entire park. It is significantly shorter than the Matterhorn, which is slightly to the right and behind it. WDW's castle is Cinderella castle. This castle is white and is significantly larger than Sleeping Beauty's. It is a wonderful thing to behold, and there isn't really anything in the skyline that is bigger than it.
5. Toon Town and Cars Land: These are two major areas of the the Disneyland parks that are great for kids. If your kids love cars, they are sure to love it. The recreation is amazing and walking down route 66 feels like you just stepped into Cars the movie. As for Toon Town, it is an amazing place to find the main characters of Disney if you don't book any character meals. This is a very unique place in Disneyland and I love it for it's quirkiness, and of course Daisy's Diner pizza.
Ride differences:
If you've only been to one of the parks, you might not know that each of the park's rides are slightly different. Some are the same, such as Peter Pans' Flight, Snow White, and all the main Fantasyland rides. But now i'm going to tell you my opinion on which park has the better ride of each one that I noticed a difference in:
1. Pirates of the Caribbean
This one is hands down the most important to me. It is my favorite ride and I could never get tired of it. Disneyland wins this battle hands down. Not only does the Blue Bayou restaurant overlook the start of the ride, which is really cool, but this version has way more drops than WDW's counterpart, which really only has one compared to Disneyland's 3!
2. The Haunted Mansion
This is my second favorite ride. In this instance, WDW's version of the Haunted Mansion wins. The queue for the WDW haunted mansion is immerse, with many activities to do while you wait for your turn on the ride. Once inside, the elevator ride is much the same, though I hear in Disneyland you actually descend, whereas in Disney World the ceiling goes up and you stay in place. There are quite a few more rooms in the Haunted Mansion in WDW, including the library, the staircase room, and the attic. I loved each of these rooms so much and I hope that one day they make their way into Disneyland.
3. Jungle Cruise
ah, Jungle Cruise. Nothing like lame dad jokes to really make you laugh. I always enjoy when you get a cast memeber with a few jokes of their own- it really refreshes the trip. Much of each jungle cruise is the same- except for the fact that Disney World does not have the 'piranhas' like Disneyland, and Disney World also boasts and impressive ruins cave, complete with spiders, tigers, and treasures abouding. Disney World also happens to win this one for me, due to the addition of the ruins. However, I find smaller children might not appreciate this addition.
4. Finding Nemo
The WDW version of this ride is found in Epcot, named a little confusingly so I was not sure if it was actually there or not. It is connected to the aquarium, and once you make your way through the ride you end up in the aquarium itself. Most of the ride details are the same, but Disneyland takes the prize on this one. In Disneyland, you get into an actual submarine in a little lagoon and make your way around, viewing the events through your own little porthole. This is much more fun in my opinion.
5. Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters vs. Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin:
I found it much more enjoyable in Disneyland. The gun was easier to fire and the way it was designed seemed to be much easier on the eyes than it's WDW counterpart. Though it has a different name, this ride is basically the same in each park.
6. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror:
Once again, very similar. The difference is in WDW you are moved forward in a hallway before you drop. That and they are programmed to drop a different number of times and from different heights each time, therefore your experience in WDW should never be the same twice. I have to say Disneyland wins this one for me because I didn't really like the feeling that we moved through a corridor before plummeting to our doom. It's a marvel how it works, but it makes me nervous!
7. Last but not least, the Train!
I'm talking about the train that takes you around the parks. WDW's is literally just about getting from point A to point B, and in Disneyland there's something to see in between every stop on the way! The best part: Dinosaurs! They have a HUGE dinosaur scene between Tomorrowland and Main ST. and it is well worth riding the train at least once. Disneyland wins this one, hands down.
I didn't notice a significant difference between Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Ariel's Undersea Adventure, or Autopia, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
Rides at One park that aren't at the other:
Disneyland exclusives:
1. Cars Land- all rides here are present in California Adventure.
2. Matterhorn Bobsleds
3. Monsters Inc. in California Adventure.
4. Alice In Wonderland
5. California Screamin' in California Adventure
6. Casey JR. Circus Train
7. Flik's Flyers in California Adventure
8. Gadget's Go Coaster in Toontown, also something you can't find in WDW
9. Golden Zypher in California Adventure
10. Goofy's Sky School in California Adventure
11. Heimlich's Chew Chew Train in California Adventure
12. Indiana Jones Adventure- arguably one of the best rides for adults.
13. Jumpin' Jellyfish in California Adventure
14. Mickey's Fun Wheel in California Adventure
15. Mr Toad's Wild Ride
16.Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin
17.Storybook Land Canal Boats: another amazing ride
Walt Disney World exclusives:
1.Advanced Training Lab- Epcot
2.The Barnstormer- Magic Kingdom
3.DINOSAUR- Animal Kingdom
4.Expidition Everest- Animal Kingdom
5.Gran Fiesta Tour- Epcot
6.The Great Movie Ride- Hollywood Studios
7.Kilimanjaro Safaris- Animal Kingdom
8.The Magic Carpets of Aladdin- Magic Kingdom
9.Mission: Space
10.Primeval Whirl- Animal Kingdom
11.Rock 'n' Rollercoaster- Hollywood Studios
12.Seven Dwarfs Mine Train- Magic Kingdom
13.Spaceship Earth- Epcot
14.Test Track- Epcot
15.PeopleMover- Magic Kingdom
16.Triceratop Spin- Animal Kingdom
17, If you're looking for Malestrom, it's gone. It's to be replaced with a Frozen themed ride!
I actually didn't expect these lists to turn out so close! But here we have them, with the aide of each park's website. I didn't include rides that are basically the same with different names. This isn't a total list of everything different, but I will certainly write a part two for people who want! So suck all this information in and really think about which park is best for you and your family/travel companions. While I loved both, Disneyland will always be #1 for me.
-Sarah
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