Compare Disneyland to Disney World

[Big Phil]

Oh yeah, no arguments here. WDW is the better resort. You just can't get around that at all. You can't spend 7 days at Disneyland Resort but you can at WDW. In fact, maybe you don't squeeze everything in there in 7 days. Obviously DL is an experience too, but they lack the space that WDW has. WDW has its own bus transportation. It is just so grand that it is impossible to beat from a mere vacation standpoint. The monorail ride from Epcot to WDW is so nice as well. I just feels like you are being transported to another place. And another thing is that no matter how high you are on a ride you can never see the outside world at any point. You just literally think you are in a park that has trees surrounding it.

So for that I give the nod to WDW. You can spend more time there for sure. I think the nostalgic factor wins out in Disneyland though. Just lots of history, Walt's apartment, the Main Street Cinema, Mr. Lincoln, etc. That's before you even enter under the castle. I just think Disneyland is the perfect theme park in so many ways. Just like when you are in WDW you never ever think you are in a theme park but rather a fantasy. I don't know how Disney does it. But the park itself is about as close to perfect as you can get.

In my honest opinion, I think when you are at either park you miss things from the other park. But you aren't down in the dumps about it because there are things at each park that the other doesn't have, so it evens out. That's my feeling at least. You never feel anything but that Disney magic.

[TylerDurden]

While i agree with you WDW does have overall more things to do outside of the parks, DL doesn't need all those things that WDW has because DLR is in the middle of southern california!. so ya wdw should have more to do as a resort because its in the middle of no where while.. DLR is minutes away from anything you could ever want on a vacation, DLR is about the overall southern california vacation. so that's why DLR its more about the parks, while WDW is more about the overall resort. but when it comes to parks DLR wins hands down.

What? I live in Orlando, it is most definitely not in the middle of nowhere. I've lived many, many places and Orlando has by far been the most entertaining. Besides the abundance of theme parks even outside of Disney, there is premiere shopping, dining, and entertainment (CityWalk, Millennia, International Drive, etc.), an hour drive to the beach (comparable to the length Disneyland is away from the coast), an hour drive to Kennedy Space Center, and other small little quaint attractions like Gatorland. I assure you, there is lots to do in Orlando, just as much if not more than there is in So Cal...in fact, I'd say for everything So Cal has, Orlando has a better and bigger version of it (bigger Disney, better Universal, more beaches, nicer shopping districts, a less scary downtown area, bigger waterparks, and more premiere shopping outlets).

And even if Orlando was boring, though it's arguably the most exciting place in the world, that would not negate the expansiveness of WDW.

[jasmineray]

If I'm going on a two week vacation, I wouldn't spend those two weeks at WDW. Two weeks in California goes a lot further and it's a lot more diverse. I just can't see myself spending two whole weeks at WDW. I'd rather go to a theme park, then go see other places.

[ztonyg]

Before I go into my two cents on this issue, I'm going to make the statement that depending on what you are looking for in a vacation and depending on your budget, Disneyland Resort or Walt Disney World Resort could be better (and so a true comparison is difficult).

If you have a limited budget, a limited amount of time, and want to do as much as possible in the shortest amount of time than Disneyland beats Disney World.

If you have a more flexible (i.e. larger budget), more time, and want to do a lot but be more relaxed in doing it than Disney World beats Disneyland.

What is better at Disney World:

- The fact that Disney World has pretty much something for everyone without having to leave the resort. Disney World has exponentially more restaurants, hotels, and shopping than Disneyland. Disney World also has golf courses and 2 very well themed water parks.
- When comparing the theme parks, Disney World has several unique features such as almost the entirety of EPCOT Center and Animal Kingdom (while there are a few attractions that are the same or similar to ones at Disneyland, both parks have a large number of unique attractions and experiences that aren't found at Disneyland).
- If you like theme parks, the Orlando area is THE place to be and if you venture off property SeaWorld and Universal Orlando Resort are two excellent nearby theme park and resorts in their own light that are superior to their California counterparts.

Some drawbacks of Disney World:

- Park Hopping takes about 30 minutes to an hour.
- The parks are on a larger scale but with less attractions per park than Disneyland, so there is more walking involved and so therefore the number of attractions you can do per day at Disney World is smaller than Disneyland.
- The weather in Central Florida is (on average) worse than the weather in Southern California.

What is better at Disneyland:

- The theme parks themselves are much more action packed. Disneyland Park is far superior to the Magic Kingdom Park (once you enter the park) and Disney's California Adventure is far superior to Disney's Hollywood Studios Park. As I mentioned earlier, EPCOT Center and Disney's Animal Kingdom are unique experiences that aren't well replicated at the Disneyland Resort.
- Park hopping is a breeze. 90 seconds and you can walk across the entrance plaza from one park to another (as they are directly across from one another).
- There is a large number of off site hotel and dining options within walking distance of the entrances to the theme parks at Disneyland. Many of these options are SIGNIFICANTLY less expensive than anything similar in Florida and (as I said before) they are within walking distance which means no need to drive / cab / or take a bus which saves even more money.
- While the quality of the other theme parks in California isn't up to par with what is in Orlando, there is Knott's Berry Farm, Sea World San Diego, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Six Flags Magic Mountain all within a 90 minute drive of Disneyland.
- The NON theme park entertainment options in Southern California are superior to what is in Central Florida.
- As I mentioned earlier, the weather is better in Southern California than Central Florida.

What is not better at Disneyland:

- Crowds. If you are claustrophobic you will NOT like Disneyland. Not only that, due to the smaller size Disneyland Park and Disney's California Adventure will feel crowded at a significantly smaller crowd count than the Disney World parks will. Also, the queues at the Disneyland parks are not nearly as entertaining or immersive as those at Disney World. Also, crowd patterns are different between the two. Crowds are more spread out during all 7 days of the week at Disney World. At Disneyland Saturdays and Sundays tend to be incredibly crowded but Monday - Friday are significantly less crowded (on average). If you can do it, you should try to go to the parks at Disneyland during the weekdays (and avoid them on weekends).
- There is less immersion as the outside world is literally a 3 - 5 minute walk from the entrance to the parks.
- There is less hotel options (only 3), a smaller Downtown Disney area, and no on site water parks.

For a comparison of some of the marquee attractions, my opinions are below:

Attractions that are clearly better at Disneyland:
- Autopia / Tomorrowland Speedway
- Its a Small World (due to the exterior facade)
- Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room (longer show)
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Haunted Mansion (due to Haunted Mansion Holiday, if you go during non holiday themed times the rides are about equal)
- Buzz Lightyear
- The Disneyland / Walt Disney World Railroad (due to the Dinosaur / Grand Canyon scene)
- Indiana Jones Adventure / Dinosaur (Indy at DL is superior)

Attractions that are superior at Walt Disney World:
- Space Mountain
- Tower of Terror
- Rockin' Roller Coaster / California Screamin' (Rockin' Roller Coaster is much better themed)

Most of the other similar / cloned attractions are pretty much the same at both parks.

Disneyland has the Matterhorn, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Snow White's Scary Adventures, Pinocchio's Daring Journey, Storybook Land Canal Boats, Mickey's Toontown, Monster's Inc. (Mike and Sully to the Rescue), The Pacific Wharf area, and Cars Land to name a few unique attractions / areas off of the top of my head. Disneyland also has the submarine lagoon.

Walt Disney World has some of the new Fantasyland experiences, the animals at Animal Kingdom, Stitch's Great Escape, Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor, Carousel of Progress, Tomorrowland Transit Authority, Aladdin's Magic Carpets, Country Bear Jamboree, Mickey's PhilharMagic, Spaceship Earth, Ellen's Energy Adventure, Mission: Space, Test Track, The World Showcase, Expedition Everest, the action shows at Hollywood Studios, the Hollywood Back-lot tour, etc. off the top of my head.

Anyways, you really can't go wrong with either though, it just depends on what you want.

[CASurfer65]

WDW....and, well, quite a few of the parks in Florida, are pretty much a copy of the CA originals. Sea World, Universal, etc. The Florida versions better be plussed. They had the CA parks to learn from. And nowhere was this more evident than in Walt's own vision when he purchased the land in FL. He didn't want to make the same mistake twice by not buying up enough land the second time around.
If things are better in FL when it comes to theme parks, again, they better be.
Of the Sea Worlds though, I still like SD's the best. Because of its location.
And of the main Disney parks, I give the nod to Disneyland.

[magicaldisney77]

clearly you dont know what your talking about when talking about socal.. first off the beach is only 11 miles away takes only 20 min to get there. i cant even begin to type on here all the things there is to do. Orlando is nice but to compare it to so cal really? idn about that.

What? I live in Orlando, it is most definitely not in the middle of nowhere. I've lived many, many places and Orlando has by far been the most entertaining. Besides the abundance of theme parks even outside of Disney, there is premiere shopping, dining, and entertainment (CityWalk, Millennia, International Drive, etc.), an hour drive to the beach (comparable to the length Disneyland is away from the coast), an hour drive to Kennedy Space Center, and other small little quaint attractions like Gatorland. I assure you, there is lots to do in Orlando, just as much if not more than there is in So Cal...in fact, I'd say for everything So Cal has, Orlando has a better and bigger version of it (bigger Disney, better Universal, more beaches, nicer shopping districts, a less scary downtown area, bigger waterparks, and more premiere shopping outlets).

And even if Orlando was boring, though it's arguably the most exciting place in the world, that would not negate the expansiveness of WDW.

[DisneyIPresume]

What? I live in Orlando, it is most definitely not in the middle of nowhere. I've lived many, many places and Orlando has by far been the most entertaining. Besides the abundance of theme parks even outside of Disney, there is premiere shopping, dining, and entertainment (CityWalk, Millennia, International Drive, etc.), an hour drive to the beach (comparable to the length Disneyland is away from the coast), an hour drive to Kennedy Space Center, and other small little quaint attractions like Gatorland. I assure you, there is lots to do in Orlando, just as much if not more than there is in So Cal...in fact, I'd say for everything So Cal has, Orlando has a better and bigger version of it (bigger Disney, better Universal, more beaches, nicer shopping districts, a less scary downtown area, bigger waterparks, and more premiere shopping outlets).

And even if Orlando was boring, though it's arguably the most exciting place in the world, that would not negate the expansiveness of WDW.

What!?

The nearest beach to Disneyland is only a 20 minute drive away! In fact that's why the street Disneyland is on is called "Harbor" Blvd. Back in the day Harbor Blvd was the street that took you to Newport Harbor. (And Beach Blvd is the street that took you Huntington Beach). It will never take an hilour to get there. Maybe it will take an hour to find a parking spot in peak season but it should never take more than 20-25 minutes tops to make it to the beach from Disneyland.

[TylerDurden]

What!?

The nearest beach to Disneyland is only a 20 minute drive away! In fact that's why the street Disneyland is on is called "Harbor" Blvd. Back in the day Harbor Blvd was the street that took you to Newport Harbor. (And Beach Blvd is the street that took you Huntington Beach). It will never take an hilour to get there. Maybe it will take an hour to find a parking spot in peak season but it should never take more than 20-25 minutes tops to make it to the beach from Disneyland.

Well ok, the point is, they're both close. I knew the beach was closer to DL than WDW (I didn't think it was 25 minutes close but still). The point is, you can make a full vacation in Orlando and it's not the hick town that the other poster made it out to be.

[TylerDurden]

clearly you dont know what your talking about when talking about socal.. first off the beach is only 11 miles away takes only 20 min to get there. i cant even begin to type on here all the things there is to do. Orlando is nice but to compare it to so cal really? idn about that.

I've lived in SoCal as well, I've much preferred my time in Orlando (if anything just because of the reduced traffic and better commutes). In my opinion it's just more upscale overall (not as many high-crime areas) and more entertaining. And everything is bigger and improved upon!

[Sambo]

<nerd alert>

Comparing the two is like the diference between the original Eastman and Laird graphic novels of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by First Publishing - as compared to what happened when the TMNT franchise was sold to Archie Comics.

Disneyland is the former and WDW is the latter.

</nerd alert>

[jasmineray]

There's no way California compares to any other state in this country, let alone Orlando. It is by far the most diverse state, IMO, and the possibilities are endless. Everyone has their own opinion. Orlando can hold its own, but comparing it to California, in terms of things to do and sites to see, there's no competition.

[Disneylandfan85]

If I was forced to take sides, as I really don't want to do, I'd have to go with Disneyland. I've only been to WDW about six times in my life (the last was about ten years ago), but I've been to Disneyland about once a year every year since I was born. Plus, Disneyland has a sort of history/intimacy/etc. to it that WDW can't match.

[TylerDurden]

There's no way California compares to any other state in this country, let alone Orlando. It is by far the most diverse state, IMO, and the possibilities are endless. Everyone has their own opinion. Orlando can hold its own, but comparing it to California, in terms of things to do and sites to see, there's no competition.

We weren't comparing Orlando to California, we were comparing Central Florida to Southern California, of which Orlando definitely has its perks.

[jasmineray]

We weren't comparing Orlando to California, we were comparing Central Florida to Southern California, of which Orlando definitely has its perks.

Someone had mentioned California offerings, so I took it as the whole state. My bad. Still, the offerings in SoCal squash those in Orlando or Central Florida.

[CASurfer65]

I haven't been to Orlando in many years, but I enjoyed it while I was there. In fact, I liked the area.
But you'll never be able to compare the two areas equally.
Sure, both Anaheim and Orlando were small towns when their respective parks were built. Disney put both of them on the map.
The difference is WDW came years later and Walt learned from the Disneyland experience.
So for those who say the resort in Florida is better than that in California, it better be.
The WDW resort is newer and had the advantage of learning from the original in California, especially when it came to space.
That goes for the other theme/amusement parks that were replicated in FL from the CA originals as well.
I know that some will say that newer isn't always better. And when it comes to the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland, I would agree. I like Disneyland better.
Not only is it the original, but I just like the feel of the park better.
I've never been to Universal Studios in Orlando, but the special thing about Universal Studios Hollywood is that while it may not compare as an "amusement park" to the one in Orlando, it was started as a working studio, and added the "amusement" piece later. And this adds something special to the Universal Studios Hollywood experience for me, even if it doesn't have the space the park in Orlando has when it comes to areas for "rides."
Now I'll agree that if you're looking for mega-amusement/theme park experiences, Orlando definitely has those. But again, they benefit from being a lot newer, were designed with the kinks knocked out from the get go, and had an infinite amount of space to work with. They should look different.
As far as the traffic/population aesthetics of the regions where the parks are located, well, Anaheim had a head start on that one too. It's smack dab in the middle of a region that probably has 15 million people plus when you consider the LA/OC/SD corridor.
And that's going to put a lot of cars on the freeway.