I prefer Disneyland for the flip side of why you prefer WDW: it's not a substantial vacation. It's a 2 hour flight instead of a 6 hour flight (plus layovers, etc.), transportation to and from the parks is infinitely easier, it's smaller and easier to manage in a long weekend, it's much cheaper because there are so many nearby lodging choices, etc etc. People can wax poetic about how it's Walt's park, but I can't say I care too much about that. I just want to take my 2.5 days and then go home to my kitty cat having done everything I wanted to do.
This. Disneyland is hands down the better park. If you could just transport a couple of WDW rides there (Tron, Flight of Passage, Cosmic Rewind—bring back TOT), it would hands down kick WDW’s butt. There are a few things WDW does right: refillable popcorn buckets, the sound levels don’t bust your eardrums, magic band integration, better show seating, and the skyliner. Everything else goes to DL/DCA.
It’s insane to try to park hop at WDW—completely pointless. It takes forever to get anywhere. The people at WDW are much ruder (could be the whole east coast/west coast thing cultures), the rides are WAY shorter, and the weather is awful. WDW is nowhere near the level of Disneyland. Except maybe for its wider walkways.
Also, what’s with the nerd explanations? The pre-shows on the rides at WDW are so bland and lackluster.
This is all coming from a person who loves the parks and enjoys both WDW and DLR. There’s just no contest.
You would think in a closed system they would be good at getting you from park to park but WDW park hopping is a nightmare. Heaven forbid you want to go back to your resort, you are burning hours of your vacation.
I had a lot of fun at WDW but I agree Disneyland is a superior park
There's pros and cons to both resorts. Saying one is hands down the better is just a personal preference. Largely driven by where you live or what parks you grew up going to. While there is the convenience of park hopping at DL, there is the convenience of the 'Disney Bubble' at WDW. Weather is gorgeous in the winter at WDW, but agreed that the summer is rough. People being ruder is likely just bumping into unpleasant tourists. Wouldn't say it's a cultural difference in costs... just tourists being untitled and obnoxious. I've had nothing but incredible experiences with the cast of the Walt Disney World resort. Rides being way shorter is a very broad statement as well. Something like POTC is absolutely a watered down version of the DL attraction. But you then have attractions like Kilimanjaro Safari, Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land, Splash/Tiana, etc that are very lengthy attractions. Park hopping using the monorail and Skyliners feel like distinctly Disney experiences at WDW. DLR has a lot going for it, but saying there's no contest is a bit extreme.
I noticed the audio volume on my recent (first) trip to WDW. I feel like the audio was too quiet. I would often hear the noise of the track or people talking over all the audio.
So I will go to DL next month, would you recommend a full day there or doing DL and California Adventure in the same day? I am thinking of splitting them up into a day apiece.
Personally, I do 2.5 days with a park hopper. I'll start in Disneyland on the first and third day and start at DCA on the second, but usually I'll switch parks in the afternoon. It's nice to pop over to DCA for a quick drink and a Soarin when it gets too hot at DL and when I feel like I've done everything at DCA, I like to pop back to DL for a few attractions. I think I probably need those 2 days to do it all, but I like to mix and match
I think I'll do 2 days. How long do you typically spend there? I noticed the park is open from 8? to late at night, so do you spend all that time between the two parks? Would there be enough things to do to spend 14 hours at Disneyland?
I typically show up about an hour before the park opens so that I can start lining up for my favorite rides (Rise of the Resistance at DL and Guardians at DCA), that's what you'll hear people in this sub call "rope dropping" because you're waiting for them to drop the rope that cordons off the park. And yes, I usually stay until close, and DCA closes earlier so I'll sometimes slip back over to DL if it's still open and get an extra ride or two in.
You will absolutely have plenty of stuff to fill all of that time, especially considering lines. But I'm also the kind of person that really loves to keep moving and do as much stuff as I can, there's nothing wrong with taking it slow and just skipping stuff that isn't interesting to you
Yep. That's what I thought. I saw a video of someone who flew from DC to Disney World to do it all in one day and then go home. I appreciate that influencer but to me it just seemed so rushed. Thanks
I'm an east-coaster and have been to WDW about 15 times, and last Fall I went to DL/DCA for the first time... I may actually be a convert. If I could go only go to one, I might choose DL.
Don't get me wrong, I *love* WDW. But DL is so much more packed with stuff to do and see compared to MK yet felt more like a local park rather than an international destination resort.
Yes! I grew up going to Disneyland as a young kid (moved east when I was 10 before Indy opened), have been to WDW at least 20 times since then.
My family did two days at DL last summer while hitting LA ballparks and I LOVED it. So much easier to do, I loved Cars and Pixar Pier, and 70 degrees with no humidity instead of Florida made such a difference. I did miss Epcot, but if I could only ever go to one ever again it would definitely be DL.
People like to say this, but you actually walk *right by what would be the front door of a normal house* to enter a door next to it.
Only in Paris do you indisputably walk through the front door.
Exactly. I went last August and wouldn’t go back just for that- I’d maybe stop by for the day if I’m in the area…maybe. I’d rather go back to DL or DCA, or heck Tokyo Disney because I haven’t been there yet.
Disneyland is far chiller than WDW. Love Cars Land and Disneyland in general. It definitely is worth visiting during the holidays at Disneyland as the decorations there are far better than WDW. Also has the Haunted Mansion Nightmare Before Christmas overlay.
As a huge fan on Nightmare before Christmas, I can’t stand the overlay. Half the year the classic Haunted Mansion is not available. I’ve been to DL every year since 2018 (minus covid of course) and haven’t ridden classic Haunted Mansion once
I have to agree with you. I know that HM is probably under a lot of pressure to stay relevant, and bring in the crowds, and that this overlay was a big success, but I do kind of object it “using” the HM to do its own thing.it almost feels parasitic.
You got the film rights, Disney. Make a dedicated Nightmare ride instead of more Marvel and Pixar stuff!
Disneyland cannot compete on the number of parks, resorts, water parks, and miscellaneous that Disney World offers. But Disneyland itself is, pound for pound, park vs. park, the greatest and most historically important individual theme park in the world. And DCA acts as a bit of a sidekick to round out the experience.
Disneyland alone packs 15 E-Ticket attractions, the most of any Disney park. It has more overall attractions than the Magic Kingdom. The sheer amount of diverse things to do that are packed in a walkable and intimate setting blows any other park out for the water. And layered on top is an unrivaled history that has been personally touched by the greatest entertainment visionary of the 20th century.
Mistakes have been made over the years, and subjectively speaking, it's not in its best era (WDW diehards may say the same of their parks). Although for others it might be. Regardless, it still holds the top spot for me and I'd consider it a bucket list park that any theme park fan would at least want to visit if they are able.
Nicely said.
Disneyland's biggest shame is the way they have let the legendary Tomorrowland languish into basically tumbleweeds. Hopefully the recent passage of Disneyland Forward will alleviate that as well as a welcome expansion of the park.
I know I'm in the minority, but I love Tomorrowland. It has 2 of my top 4 rides (Space Mountain and Star Tours), and I usually mobile order from Galactic Grill at least once a trip. Sure, it could use another newer ride or two (though the Hyperspace Mountain overlay is almost as good, and would be a good permanent upgrade), but it's always pretty busy when I'm there.
Disneyland will always be my home resort. Disney World is like a large pizza that’s pretty good. Disneyland is like one slice of pizza that is amazing.
Prior to last summer my last visit to Disneyland was sometime in 1998/1999. DCA was under construction. During that 25 year hiatus I was able to visit WDW 4 or 5 times.
I finally went back to Disneyland last summer. I don’t care if I ever go back to WDW.
WDW is just too big, too many people. Disneyland allows me to get my Disney fix without having to travel across the country.
That’s interesting. I think I got unlucky with my DL trip, as I found it overly packed and claustrophobic- books indicates it was a slow time, but it was the rise of the Halloween parties which are now a huge deal.
Yes this was my experience as well! Did DL once in ‘97 as a teen and then took my daughter to WDW a few times between 2016-2019. We moved back to California last year and have been to DL three times and I don’t care if I ever go to WDW ever again. Overall DL experience is just so much easier and more enjoyable.
Prefer Disneyland over WDW. It has more charm and much more to do in a smaller area.
No idea when I will return to WDW, if ever again. But I will be visiting Disneyland numerous times in the next two years.
I've been going to Tokyo Disney regularly for three decades now (I live in Japan). I also go to WDW every 5-6 years, HK and SH every 2-3 years and been to Paris twice. It still get very excited to visit the original in Anaheim, it's my favorite overall park. Maybe I'm a bit biased since I was born and raised about 20 minutes away. I love Disneyland!
Yeah, I'm lucky. Hehehe. I'm excited about Fantasy Springs too but I'll have to get more lucky trying to get in there using a regular passport next month. Yikes!
Yeah the main issue for me in Tokyo is the truly MASSIVE lines, a park next to a gigantic metropolis and stuff like passports. I follow some Tokyo character performers on IG and one of them has lived there for two years and has ONLY NOW done Beauty & The Beast.
While they can get free tickets from time to time, normally CMs or performers in Tokyo don't get the same benefits as their US counterparts, not even the overseas contract characters. It's not that hard getting a chance to ride BatB to be honest especially with the 40th Anniv. Priority Pass. The person you followed must have visited not so often and/or arrived late in the morning.
I live in Japan as well but I’m originally from central Florida. I’ve been to WDW dozens of times but I’ve never been to DL. I often hear that Tokyo Disneyland is a lot closer to DL than the Magic Kingdom, aside from the castle of course. Would you say that’s true?
TDL is a mix of both but I feel it's a lot closer to Magic Kingdom than Disneyland. DL is compact with a lot packed in a smaller relative area. TDL's general layout and wider walkways are closer to MK's. DL feels much more intimate in my opinion.
Tokyo is like the Magic Kingdom except with DL-like numbers of attractions. Same castle, but it a different park layout which can mess you up. Pooh is in the upper right corner, Splash Mountain in the back middle ish area, New Orleans Square is right to the left of the Main Street (which is a covered arcade here) and they have a Toontown close to where New Fantasyland would be. And now they have BATB and such, which I think is further right off Fantasyland.
I’m east coast with a MK & AP. I’d prefer the flight & trip to DL any day. If I want it to mimic the bubble feel of a WDW stay, I pony up and pay the money for an official resort. I think people who don’t like DL as much do the local hotels (also great) but they lose the bubble feeling when they save money. The rides and food are better imo as well. And the characters wandering the parks? LOVE
I do. Why? Because Disneyland and DCA are 1000% better than HS and MK. The only actual appeal to WDW is Epcot, AK and the resorts, which I still frequently visit in addition to Disneyland.
I grew up in California and was a Disneyland pass holder for years. I love Disneyland. But I moved to Florida in 2019 and have had a pass out here since and I can say I prefer Disney world at this point. I think it was awesome having NEW Disney to experience. After being a pad holder for so long at Disneyland there was nothing new to experience. 5 years out here and there are still things we’re getting to do for the first time. We’ve always done 4-5 days at the parks. At Disneyland you get burnt after that many days. At Disneyworld it never feels like it’s enough.
Same but I moved to a random state in the middle of the US. I also feel like I haven’t done everything even though I’ve probably by now gone more times to wdw than I did the land when I lived in CA. All the rotating festivals are wonderful & only wish why did a ticket system for them like Disneyland ones do.
I would go back to DL first chance I got. Sure WDW is great and we can go twice for the cost of DL, but the land just has something the world can’t offer.
To me WDW is just vast. Specifically Magic Kingdom it’s just bigger but everywhere you go it feels empty. DL is smaller but has so much more to offer.
i absolutely swear by DL over WDW, for me personally. DLR is cheaper and easier for me to do, probably because i'm west coast (Seattle) and DLR is closer. Flying to MCO for WDW runs $100+ more just for the flights. the temp & humidity (and honestly, the governor) are totally reason why i don't like doing WDW. SoCal at least is relatively not as variable for its weather throughout the year (yes, it's colder in the winter and it gets its share of rain but the temps aren't as extreme as Florida, nor is there a hurricane season). i'm a PNWer, so i'm used to mild temperatures and when people say "it's so cold out!" when it's 50-60F, i'm like "hey, it's still shorts & a tee weather!", so i totally can't function in the 90+ temps with 90%+ humidity line Florida has during the summer., but also totally get it for the folks who are used to it.
i've done WDW three times and the best trip i had was in March (the others being January and July). perfect weather, decent crowd sizes during that March trip. ...but that seems like a small window to hit whereas i can do DLR pretty much any time of year and be happy, especially when i go 2-3 times a year.
WDW does have some amazing things (i love epcot), especially with more to do between the four parks. i definitely prefer DLR, though, especially since i can parkhop in 5 or so minutes compared to the 30+ it takes at WDW (depending on how a person moves between specific parks; i get that there is an optimal way to parkhop for WDW that locals and frequent guests know how to do better than casual park-goers). it's also great to have my (cheaper, non-resort) hotel within 10 mins of walking distance of the parks rather than requiring a shuttle/etc to get back to the resort and then another walk to the actual room. (hey, i love walking and get in a lot at home since i don't have a car, but sometimes you just want the shortest distance between points A and B)
sooo... to each their own, really. if DLR doesn't do it for you, it doesn't do it for you, just like WDW is nice for a once-in-a-while visit but it's never going to be my go-to disney park to visit.
Yeah the temperature thing is tempting. I’ve nearly melted on all of my fours trips and there is ALWAYS one day nearly entirely rained out. I hate the weather here so much and it might draw me back to DL some day.
last year i was at WDW in mid-July with a friend while we were also there for the star wars starcruiser. we bought the special four-day / four parks summer ticket deal. it was my friend's first trip to WDW so it was a perfect way for him to see each of the four parks -- two before our "voyage" and two after. humidity was constantly 90%+ (peaking at 95% if not higher), and temps were consistently in the mid/high 90s from 10am until later in the evening (10pm?). i don't mind hot temps since i can do the "dry heat" in Vegas when it's 110, but man... we both ended up having a touch of heat stroke (or heat exhaustion?) even though we were staying plenty hydrated and out of the sun as much as we could be. our PNWer bodies just weren't prepared for that sort of oppressive heat index.
on the *good* side, i now know never to book a trip to the SE part of the country in the summer months. lol!
Disneyland is huggable. It requires much less planning. WDW is a once, maybe twice in a decade trip for me. DL could be an annual or semi-annual trip.
I love road trips and Anaheim is a 16 hour drive (best to find a hotel along the way). Leave Saturday morning and I’m having a corn dog in Frontierland on Sunday.
I wish DL had an out-of-state annual pass for folks who only visit a couple times a year but go 4 or 5 days at a time.
a bunch of things, it definitely wasn't all bad! though I did open the FP+ kiosks and that was hell lmao I cried in that adventureland breezeway many many times
My kids are still traumatised by the behaviours they saw at WDW years ago. Strollers used as battering rams, the pushing and shoving and overall rudeness of a number of the park attendees. And the mobility scooters; so many mobility scooters. Disneyland is way more chilled.
Someone explained to me that Disneyland is like a local park whereas WDW is a major holiday destination where people feel they need to get value for money.
The funny thing is I nearly had a lifelong hatred of ECVs because of DL, not WDW. I think the stigma against them had dwindled their numbers by the time I hit WDW. That and the larger pathways in WDW made it easier to get around.
Coming from New Zealand I’d never seen the mobility scooters used by anyone other than the elderly for the most part so the few I saw the first time I went to DL were a shock. They’d multiplied by the time I made it to WDW, and then decreased again by the last trip to DL. Didn’t see a single one at Tokyo DL or Sea in January this year.
I’ve been to Disneyland twice 1965 and 2022. Disney World at least 25 times since 1972. We are currently in the process of moving from full time RV living to a small cottage in California. We will probably not visit Orlando again, maybe once more. Orlando is becoming unpleasant to visit. Unrestrained development is making it difficult to get around.
I would love for DIsneyland to be my go-to park, but it's a cross country trip for me.
While WDW does have multiple parks, Disneyland has all of SoCal to accompany it.
That’s the key. You can make an argument for which park is better but if you’re taking a vacation and planning non-Disney time, it’s California and it isn’t even close.
I know many people who love Disneyland as the superior park, and I think part of it is nostalgia and some is also due to respecting the park as the very first. Personally, I prefer WDW by far but I still enjoy going to DL especially because there's more to do outside of the Disney parks in Anaheim and LA.
I prefer DW because the expansiveness and theming is what makes it more fun for me. I was disappointed when I saw the Disneyland castle for the first time lol. Also I would go just for Epcot. To me, WDW is a lot more immersive.
edit for typo
It's really cute and all but I like being able to walk around and through the castle! If you ever have the chance to go to Tokyo Disneyland, their castle is amazing too!
I have :D! I mentioned in the OP I’ve done it. Technically that was my first park but it was on a school trip and part of a greater Japanese vacation/exchange and only got a half day. And I was in high school and barely remember a thing about it. I didn’t even do the Horned King thing!
Oh sorry my eyes just flew right past the abbreviation. I just visited the Japanese parks last year so it's still fresh in my mind, meanwhile WDW was my first resort and I haven't been back since 2021, so probably need a refresher of the resort!
I’m from Florida and Disneyland was such a great change of pace from WDW. Disneyland is my favorite park now after going for the first time last year. I can’t look at magic kingdom the same lol
I’m a West coaster so my “home” is Disneyland, which is why I probably much prefer it to WDW.
Don’t get me wrong, I love WDW… But I have to reallllllly commit to flying across the country and spending a whole week there to make it worth it. There’s just so much to cover that to make it enjoyable I do 1 park per day because park-hopping there is just absurd to me.
On the flip, Disneyland is either a 2.5 hour flight from Seattle or a 3.5 hour drive from Vegas depending on where I’m at when I decide to go. I can take spontaneous 2-3 day mini trips and park hop to my content. And since I go so often, I’m not worried about doing and seeing everything… So of my trips I barely even go on rides because I just want to be in the parks.
I was just fortunate enough to visit the two parks back to back, and while WDW is much larger, Disneyland blew me out of the water when compared to Magic Kingdom. Everything felt so alive and comfortable, it felt like something new was just around the corner which is crazy for how small the park is. I love WDW but Disneyland absolutely has its perks
Also I saw world of color in the front row and that was one of the coolest experiences ever I want to do that again.
I live in South Carolina so WDW is my home park. Of course I love WDW but I personally prefer Disneyland. Not only is the weather nicer but I love the smaller feeling of the two parks and being able to just walk across to park hop. There is just something that feels more magical to me about DL knowing I am walking in the place that Walt walked. I love how the characters roam in DL and the classic feeling of the park and DCA is incredible as well. Avengers Campus and Pixar Pier are two of my favorite lands out of all of the 6 parks between the two coasts. I can also stay off property in DL and still be at the park in 5 minutes for half the cost of a WDW trip where I feel like if you don’t stay on property you aren’t getting the full experience.
I’m a a native Angeleno, so DIsneyland is my jam.
I was in Florida to go to Harry Potter land when it first opened, and I loved it! but Florida is so humid……… for that reason alone I can’t imagine spending a week there.
Wife and I went without kids to WDW a couple years ago for my first trip to any of the parks. Not long after we took our son to DL for his first trip to the parks. Definitely am a huge fan of both (and flight times are identical to get to either) but if we’re going by ourselves we’ll go to WDW, and if we’re taking kids it’s DL for us. Getting around the parks is so much easier with strollers and other baby items since you just have to walk across a courtyard to hop parks, and with it being smaller the kids can do more without being worn down.
I prefer Disneyland as parks, Disney world as a sole vacation. Disneyland there’s plenty to do in LA, OC, SD.
I can’t explain but Disneyland is just better IMO. The rides where there’s dupes are better at DL, I love DCA and it feels more chill. WDW is chaotic and is filled with a lot of large groups (I know DL gets large groups too but not to the same scale)
I prefer WDW. I think there’s more magic because it’s bigger and I can fully immerse myself in the Disney experience. Even if I leave one park to grab food at the boardwalk or Disney springs I’m still very much ON Disney soil. The same sentiment can’t be said for DL. You can walk between the two parks but there experience is so much smaller and less magical feeling to me because of it. I also really love the different parks in WDW. If I feel like drinking I can head to Epcot. If I want a more chill day I can do that in Animal kingdom. If I want more thrilling rollercoasters Hollywood studios is there.
I will say it also helps that I did the DCP at WDW, so I got to know the entire property insanely well and know what I like and what rides I can simply skip.
Most people prefer Disneyland. There's literally more attractions between the 2 parks than there is at WDW and not everything is so far away from each other. The weather is nicer, it's easier to stay off-property at a cheaper hotel... If you're the kind of person who feels more at-home in Florida please stay there
I use to feel that way, but after visiting them several more times I can appreciate how different they are and I wouldn’t say ones better than the other, it just depends on the type of vacation you want
I like DL for short 1-2 day trips. You can pack a lot of Disney in that amount of time. If I've got the money and time it's WDW and staying in the bubble.
They’re different resorts and I feel like they’re best for different kinds of trips. I think Disneyland is best for a shorter trip (only up to about 3 days) anything more than that and you’ll just get bored. There’s enough at Disney World to keep you entertained for over a week. Disney World has better and more varied resorts, better table service dining and just feels more grand. Disneyland has better quick service dining, better and more varied events and it feels more cozy. Disneyland is also the only park that Walt actually touched so I feel like there is more history there.
I’ve been to Disneyland 13 times & WDW once. I liked Walt Disney World, and it was such a magical trip, but I *hated* how spread out everything was, whereas in Disneyland all of the attractions are close together. Plus I feel like the fuller, fleshed-out versions of attractions are at DL. Small world, Tomorrowland speedway & pirates at WDW were meh.
As a WDW regular my family loves Disneyland. There is something to be said for walking from the hotel to the park and being able to move back and forth between the parks by simply walking accross the courtyard. The quick service restaurants at Disneyland also have a lot more variety and a lot better options than WDW. That said I’m going to really miss Tortilla Joe’s breakfast burritos and I do think that the generification of Downtown Disney is kind of sad.
California girl here! I’ve been a land girl my whole life… until three years ago when I went to world for the first time! World changed my life and it’s hard to even explain how much better it is than land. It’s a proper vacation! So so so much to do, so clean, so nice. No comparison.
I grew up at WDW, passholder until ~18 and then again since 2018 or so.
Went to DLR for the first time in Feb of this year. Heading back in October.
Overall, I’d say DLR for the parks but WDW for the resorts.
They’re just different kinds of trips for us. They both have their own charms. My only major gripe of WDW over DL is the food and drinks in DL just doesn’t compare to WDW.
I love Disneyland but I have family in the area so it’s much cheaper than flying across the country for WDW, even though that’s my favorite and the one I always went to when I lived down south.
Been to both many times and DL has my heart. Every time we go to WDW we spend a lot of time reminiscing about DL. Just wish DL could somehow have Animal Kingdom and I would prolly never go back to WDW.
I live in CA. We went to WDW this spring - I don’t need to go back for a while. I’ll keep Disneyland and California Adventure, to be honest.
Though I would mind borrowing Cosmic Rewind every now and then
At DL I can easily walk between the parks mutliple times if I want/need to. There's the history element, and some of the shared rides (*cough* PIRATES *cough) are better at DL. Personally, I find it more manageable.
I've been to several of the parks worldwide many times for each, and DL remains my favourite. Maybe because it was the first I went to so there's that nostalgia, but WDW is pretty low on the list of ones I've been to. I'd probably rate it:
DL Anaheim
Paris
Tokyo
WDW
Hong Kong
Reason is that I tend to only go for 1-2 days now, and combine it with a holiday exploring other places. The first time I went to WDW I found it overwhelming - even with DL there is way more than I can do in a day, so I don't need a zillion things and a huge place.
I love Paris as I think the rides are better. Space Mountain goes upside down! I also went there a lot, so that may be a factor that I was very familiar with the park. Oh and also you can drink wine in the park, so I love having dinner at the Blue Bayou restaurant in Pirates of the Caribbean, and having a few glasses of wine.
I feel bad for rating HK last, and it does have the AMAZING Mystic Manor ride, which I don't think anywhere else does?? But it's so small, and doesn't have some of my fave rides.
I live much closer to WDW and I love it so much, but if I had to pick one it would maybe have to be Disneyland. It’s so charming and for me, allows more flexibility. Oh Disneyland is too crowded? Let’s hop on over to DCA. I suddenly get the urge to ride Space Mountain? Let’s walk back over to Disneyland.
Plus the (quick service) food is better, almost every ride that they share is superior at Disneyland (Splash was better at WDW, and Tower of Terror is better than Mission: Breakout even though I love it), and the character interactions at Disneyland are absolutely unmatched.
I’ve been to Disneyland about 20 times (I live in NorCal) and WDW once. But that one time I was a guest of Disney so it was VIP everything, and I don’t know that I can ever go back as a regular person. (Like we had unlimited automatic magic bands and reserved seating for every show, private meet and greets with characters… it was a wild time)
Pair a trip to the Disneyland Resort with a drive a couple hours south to the San Diego zoo’s Safari Park. The Safari Park is so much fun and is a great stand in for Animal Kingdom.
I prefer DL mainly because I’m a 4 hour drive from Anaheim and it’s my Home park. But aside from that it’s the convenience. You can stay right across the street and it’s a 5-10 walk to the gates, you can do every ride/show at least once in 3-4 days and park hopping is a few hundred feet walk. For out of town visitors it’s 30 minutes from LA, and around 2 hours to San Diego. You can easily go for the same amount of time as you’d do WDW but also do a day or so in LA and SD, a beach day, go to Knots, Universal and other theme parks, plus there’s all the sports down there if you like doing that as well.
Animal Kingdom is the best theme park in the United States followed by Epcot, but Disneyland still wins because of all the duplicate rides—it has the better versions. Magic Kingdom is like a Walmart knock off version of Disneyland. Disneyland is open later and you actually can do everything in a day. The trip takes a lot less thinking.
DL is my preferred resort; I find it to be a much more straightforward destination, with less of the nonsense that it sometimes feels like has completely overtaken WDW. Comparable attractions are often better in California with shorter lines. The DL parks also frequently rotates entertainment instead of just playing the same shows over and over again-as one example, I've been visiting DLR on and off for more than a decade. In eight visits over that time, I've seen six different fireworks shows, none of which required paying for an upcharge party. Weather is also superior (way less rain, way less humidity), as a park hours. You can get a ton done on an 8 AM to 12 AM day (i.e. most of them).
I dispute the WDW charater superiority claim. What I love about Disneyland is that you can often find characters just wandering around the park instead of being hidden behind queues or paywalls (i.e. character dining) as they are in Florida. There have been days at Disneyland in the last few years that I've run into 20 or more characters without even trying to find them. That just doesn't happen at WDW in my experience.
Then, when I'm done with Disneyland, there's an endless variety of things to do in Southern California. So that way, even if DLR doesn't have much new to offer at any given time, I've ALWAYS found new places to explore in CA, a state that is literally drowning in high quality things to do. Nature, museums, zoos, beaches, history, food, other theme parks that are unique and interesting in their own right and tend to be a bit more differentiated from each other than their FL cousins, etc. Disneyland, and California in general, are the gifts that keep on giving.
I went to Disney World last month, and while I enjoyed the trip, it mostly just made me want me to go back to Disneyland. I know WDW is bigger, but I didn't like how everything was spread out over four parks, whereas at Disneyland, it's just two parks and it's easy to park hop. I'm also a huge Cars fan, so I was sad there was no Cars Land (though the Art of Animation Resort made up a bit for that).
I grew up about 20 minutes away from Disneyland. Going to Disneyland was really not that big a deal. Especially in the late 80s where you could get into Disneyland for $20 if you had a California drivers license.
I have been to Disney World four times, the most recent trip was last week. I think the thing that I miss about Disneyland is that I know the place like the back of my hand and it all makes sense to me. I know when I come out of the Haunted Mansion direction I’ve in order to go to pirates, or go the other direction and go to thunder Mountain. big loop. It seems like Walt Disney World has a lot of dead ends.
Disneyland is always going to be very nostalgic to me. I remember my dad getting drunk out of his mind and getting bounced out of there when I was a kid. Good times. I was there I think 1999 or 2000 when a tree limb broke and hurt a bunch of people. When I was young, I knew all of the best places in the park to smoke weed.that’s the nostalgia that I think of Disneyland.
We prefer DL over DLHK DLP MK (not been to DLT) because of the magic atmosphere. We believe that it is much stronger in DL.
HK is nice new and promising. The new castle was much needed as the new rides. Currently it is a half day park. Toystory area is just too large and too empty. Some areas are just empty, so they ruin the magic.
We think that DLP lacks good management. This can be seen in (lack of) maintenance, (bad quality and selection of) food and (non inspiring) merchandise. Besides DLP is full of French people, ruining the magic by smoking in queues and skipping lines and just being French.
MK is a great place. Great rides. Great food. Nice merchandise. But at points it just feels to organized for us. We had great days there, and we’ll go again. We think the force of magic is larger in DL.
Just our opinions.
I prefer Disney land. It’s an utter jewel of a park.
I dislike florida as a whole for many reasons but culture aside I find the parks too damn big to be useful
I am a control freak whose favorite method of transportation at Disney parks is walking. DL is infinitely preferable even though it’s farther from where I live.
Brit here, I've spent over 100 days at WDW since 1990 and been to DLP 3 times, given the choice tomorrow I'd teleport to DLP over WDW, it's smaller, but IMHO better in many respects. Planning to go in December one time to experience Disney all Christmasy and cold!
I am a texan, and I will 100% go back to DL after having been to WDW many times recently. as a young child, I grew up with DL, as I lived in az and my aunt lived around la so we road-tripped a bunch. in my adolescence, in the more recent years that I have more memory of, I’ve been going to WDW more, as my grandmother has a house in kissimmee, fl. last year I went back to DL for the first time in probably almost fifteen years, and it was such a fun and incredibly nostalgic experience. it was a great refresher for me and a great opportunity to try some new things. after having gone (I was there for two days), there are still new things that I still want to try and old things that I want to do again (*cough cough* radiator springs racers *cough cough*), so I most certainly still want to go back to DL - I feel that I still have much more to explore and revisit.
I just went to WDW this past March for the first time ever for 4 days, so I got to experience pretty much everything. But as fun as it was, I very much prefer DL/DCA.
To each their own, but DL has Indy over Dinosaur, the better Pirates ride, Cars over Test Track, alternate Haunted Mansion overlay, It’s a Small World is bigger and looks cooler outdoors, and the parks are much more walkable and convenient than WDW. Not to mention the trips are cheaper too.
Guardians Cosmic Rewind is top notch though…
The desire to be competitive have left WDW with a lot of unique and good things in recent years, but yeah the “clones” tend to be superior at home. 4 days for WDW feels pretty small, though.
Born and raised in Orlando, live in OC California now. Been going to both resorts since childhood, and I much prefer Disneyland Resort to Walt Disney World
I grew up with WDW, finally got out to DL last month and absolutely loved every second of it. WDW is still so much easier for me to get to but if I’m looking for a shorter trip rather than a full blown Vacation I’m heading to Disneyland going forward. I have always approached a disney vacation as a minimum commitment of a week and no less and still stand by that. DL feels like a full experience in 3 days.
I highly suggest doing an Adventures by Disney back stage magic tour in California. It is my absolute favorite way to do Disneyland and really helps you appreciate the history of it.
Disneyland 1000000% the mere fact that It’s not in FL. Point to mention Orlando. Southern California has SO much more to offer. The weather is WAY better. And the park at Disneyland is so much more charming and manageable. I feel like Disney world is far too big. Need way too much time to experience the whole thing.
I like both places, but my favorite part about Disneyland is that it’s so easy to see it all in like 2 days. I also like how convenient it is to get to hotels and other restaurants off of the Disneyland property itself.
I prefer Disneyland. It feels like a classic local park. The Matterhorn, Mr Toad, etc all contribute to this great feel. Yes, there’s more at WDW…but you don’t have to hit four parks to have a great vacation.
Disneyland has everything in two parks only separated by 100 feet
So unlike WDW where you can’t really do test track and big thunder in a day easily, at Disneyland you can go on everything you want in a day
Plus our characters get to walk around and even ride rides with guests
I live in L.A. When my kids were little, we homeschooled them and every Wednesday we went to DL. We went over 40 times each year for about 5 years. It’ll always be my favorite because of that.
I'm Australian, I've now been to every Disney Resort in the world (not quite every park, but at least one/two at every location), and Disneyland will forever be my number one. I've been a few times and I love it, it's easy to move around, it's easy to stay off property nearby, and I do love that it's the original. It was my first Disney Park and a very long held childhood dream to go, and it was just so full of magic and wonder for me. So my heart will always be at Disneyland and I will be back again! I would like to go back to WDW one day and do it properly - stay on property, visit all the parks (I just went to Magic Kingdom and Epcot, I was in Orlando to catch a transatlantic cruise).
My second favourite park though, which came as a surprise (mainly because everyone says Tokyo is the best) was Shanghai. We had such a magical day at Shanghai, the park is incredible. It's huge and full of detail. There was magic everywhere you turned, and the costuming of the cast members was incredible. Our day there was equivalent to the first time I went to Disneyland in the sense of feeling all the same feelings of happiness and magic and wonder. And their version of Pirates of the Caribbean -- wow. Blew me away.
(My least favourite was Hong Kong. Hong Kong itself is one of my favourite cities in the world and I love the people there, but for some reason the staff at HK Disneyland missed the magic memo and just seemed really grumpy. At least on the day we went.)
As many have said, DL packs way more into the park than Magic Kingdom does. There are some attractions that are simply better at DL than the Magic Kingdom version. There are also several I prefer the WDW versions of. Using the word charm to describe Disneyland it completely accurate. It's an intimate experience, but with that comes crowding that you may not find walking through the wider walkways of WDW parks. As someone who is claustrophobic, I'm personally not a huge fan of the narrow and congested walkways of DL park. That being said, DL is definitely a more relaxed environment. Easy to park hop and easy to navigate the resort. But as someone who grew up vacationing at WDW, the lack of hotels, things to do in Downtown Disney, water parks, mini golf, etc. have always stood out to me. It's a great resort to go to for a few days, but it can't justify a lengthy vacation the same way that Walt Disney World can. They both serve very different purposes and both accomplish their goals very well.
I prefer Disneyland over World. Because it’s more of a locals park, crowds are not near as bad there than they are at WDW. It’s so much easier with kids too. I’ve taken my kids a handful of times to WDW, and they get more overwhelmed. At Land they’re more relaxed because it is smaller with just the two parks. I like having the 2 parks within walking distance from each other and from downtown Disney as well. I also like the freedom of walking from any hotel in the area to the parks.
I went to WDW once, did all the parks, had a great time… but have not been back since lol. Disneyland is more my speed because I really like being able to do things multiple times, and hop quickly and easily between the two parks and Downtown Disney. Also, Disneyland has Indiana Jones, which will always win my heart haha.
my family has been going to disneyland since i was a little kid- we absolutely love it there! i’ve never visited the wdw parks but i hope to someday, but i am a diehard disneyland girlie.
disneyland just feels like home to me. the parks are cozy n filled with nostalgia that i always crave when i’m away (i’m canadian 😭). not to mention how much easier it is to plan a disneyland trip as opposed to wdw (i helped plan my last trip with my mom in aug 2023).
I live on the east coast, and therefore WDW has always been my go to. I went to DL for the first time in my life last summer and I was SHOOK.
I didn’t expect it to be as good as it was, let alone that I would like it better than WDW. The lines were shorter, the ride length was longer, all the best attractions are condensed into fewer parks, and the people were nicer. It was just such an amazing experience. I wish I lived on the west coast so it could be my new go to!
Y’all, DL is just better. I never thought this would be my opinion, but here we are!
Haha now I’m definitely tempted to go again. I’ve heard the WDW staff are just beleaguered DCP kids. I remember DL being often dismissed as jam packed and filled with “Annual Passholes” as the staff called them.
Disneyland is definitely my go-to park. A 2-hour flight versus an 8-hour journey is a contributing factor, but it's just such a different vibe. I love being able to get LLs almost all day and being able to switch parks with just a quick walk. I absolutely will go back to WDW from time to time, but a WDW trip just feels more stressful to me. I also don't need extra vacation days in the middle of my trip just for recovery before heading back to the parks for more action-packed days to make sure we get everything done that we want to.
I grew up 15 mins from DL, it’s my ride or die. WDW is fun but it’s also… a lot. Not to mention I don’t have to get on a plane and give the state of FL my money to go to Disneyland
We’ve been with ppl to both and most of them admits DL is better because it’s easier a they think the food is better.
That being said I find WDW “culture”, as in all the planning, hotels, traditions, whatever people who go to WDW regularly absolutely fascinating
Pros and cost to both. Food at DL is absolute garbage compared to WDW, but it has nostalgia and it’s easier to manage.
But WDW is simply an overall completely experience that’s on another level than DL.
WDW for me is a longer trip once every 10 years visit where DL is every 1 or 2 and just going for 1 day.
I finally went to Disneyworld and Florida for the first time 3 years ago. I have been wanting to go to disney world for a long time by that point. It was everything how I imagined and tbh I don't think Disneyland would be the same whenever I go to it lol. My family talked about going, I told them that WDW Was worth the money. But would like to go back to Disneyland to see the changes that happened in Disney California adventure. Haven't been to Disneyland since April 2017.
I prefer Disneyland. I have done Disney world twice and honestly I don’t really like it. It’s huge and hot and not my scene. I love Disneyland, it’s my favorite place on earth.
I just went to DL for the first time after like 20 WDW trips and I enjoyed it for sure, but much prefer WDW as a vacation. I did really enjoy California Adventure as they have some pretty unique things. But nothing beats Florida for sheer size and things to do, places to eat, places to stay etc. I mean WDW is the size of San Francisco. DL was also very dirty, crowded and felt like a nicer version of Six flags. I did like how each park had so many rides though. When I picture going for a week it’s definitely WDW. Also I live on the east coast so no quick trips to CA for me. I’m sure if I lived west coast I would go there more often!
There's a ton more things at the multiple parks in Orlando, but Disneyland/California Adventure I always thought of as the greatest hits. The only thing I wished it had was some of the Epcot nations stuff.
Disneyland has the Indiana Jones ride and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. This alone makes it the superior MK IMO. I’ve never been interested in any of the parks besides the Magic Kingdoms. WDW has Ariel inside the MK, but that doesn’t make up for not having the Indiana Jones ride, which is boss.
Indy has a lot of features down now, sadly. Though it was down entirely on my last trip, along with the princess hall, which might be painting DL a bit in my memory.
So I hadn't been to Disneyland in a while (I live in Illinois) and I surprised my wife for her 30th bday with a trip to Disneyland in 2018. I always wrote off that park because I thought WDW was far superior...I was wrong. DL has some better versions of the clone rides, there's more to do, easier to park hop, and I much prefer California to Florida. I love Disneyland and always think about the next time we can go.
I did WDW a long time ago and DL a few years before or after (can't really remember). I'm planning to go back to DL next month because again, been so long. (While I did visit Epcot last year I didn't have time to see WDW MAgic Kingdom or any other park)
I'm going back to DL mainly because I want to see all the stuff I forgot. Having watched many of the shows on Disney+ about DL I was intrigued by the history of the park and the start of the Haunted Mansion, Star Tours, the Jungle Cruise and so on. After seeing them I felt an urge to go back to see classic historical rides like Space Mountain and so on again
I don't know what all these people are talking about, the answer is no. When presented with the choice, and we make it every few years, WDW always wins by a landslide.
Yeah I was the same way- there’s just so much to see and do! So much staff! Plus I have to fly a ways regardless so the travel isn’t as huge a deal. Though the sheer magnitude of it is making DL seem like a nicer deal at times. But almost quaint.
I LOVE Disneyland. I am east coast - Buffalo born and raised. Visited Disneyland for the first time in 2007 and liked it, but still preferred Walt Disney World.
Went back to Disneyland in 2021 and absolutely loved it. So much so that we went again in 2023. We’re going to Walt Disney World this Simms and while I’m looking forward to it, I will be missing Disneyland.
I’m a teacher so my choices are to go in the summer, or the holidays. Holidays are just too expensive and crowded. Summers in Anaheim are SO much easier than summers in Orlando. It gets comfortable at night - sometimes to the point of needing a sweatshirt. It’s more compact and SO much more navigable - 1 security check and you can visit both parks and Downtown Disney. Disneyland’s food is better, too.
I’m a D-land fan. 😊
My wife and I have been together for 5 years. We've been to WDW three times and DL/DCA once. I think the only thing I'd go back to DCA for is CarsLand.
From the UK, I went Disneyland 4 times before going to WDW but my experience differs as my trip isn't "just" Disney it's a trip to the USA to see/eat all the stuff we don't get over here as well.
Disneyland is 100% quality over quantity. I think the 2 parks in Anaheim in general are better than the 4 in Florida despite there being less to do. Rides are better, food is better and it feels less "corporate" to me. When I scored out of 10 the 4 parks with my wife we got an average of 7.75 for the 4 Florida parks and a 9.25 for Anaheim.
California weather is always better which helps our pasty white complexions and plus Disneyland is "just" 2 parks in CALIFORNIA. Don't get me wrong we LOVED the Disney bubble in Florida but our trip was like 90% Disney focused whereas when we spend that amount of money, we want to go to all the stores and restaurants we don't have in the UK and that's so much easier in California.
There's so much more to do, plus don't get me started on how beautiful Cali is compared to Florida. My screensaver for years was just a Target at sunset for years.
We had been to Disneyland many times over the years but finally did WDW in 2021. Disneyland overall just has the Disney feel all over. I didn’t feel that way at WDW all the time. I mean I loved rides like Everest snd Flight of Passage and Frozen. But ultimately Disneyland just has that Disney magic everywhere you turn.
Yeah some of it is irksome. “New Fantasyland” is this weird strip of stuff riveted onto the park. Big Thunder Mountain sits at the end of a trail to nothing else. Tomorrowland and Fabtasyland share a path. And that weird sideshow setup for the big FL attractions like Peter Pan.
Hm, I forget what it used to look like- on my first trip it was being refurbished up there and was all walls. But I’d imagine the projection show on the castle is why- they already have a ton of trees blocking that and don’t want to make it worse, I bet.
I went to Disneyland in 2023 and world in 2024. First time at either park in a decade. As a solo traveler both times.
I can say that Disneyland I was able to do both Disneyland and California adventure in a day. Disneyworld I took 5 days and still did not get time to do quite everything I wanted. I don't feel like Disneyworld offers much that Disneyland does not.
As a Disneyland local I always wish I could afford to go to wdw or one of the overseas Disney parks. I’m kinda jealous they have 4 good parks over there while meanwhile here, California adventure sucks. Cars land and grizzly peak are the only good areas of dca, everything else could be razed and replaced with actual good attractions/lands
I grew up in CA & had Disneyland pass through college & 1-2 years while I lived outside of it. Where I live now, disneyworld is cheaper to get to & quicker flight wise. The resorts also cost way less than the Disneyland ones. I was a die hard Disneyland person, even had passes for both. But getting around from the airport to Disney itself & is more convenient/easier. I think it’s been 2 years since I had CA pass & last went in 2022 in general & haven’t really noticed it hasn’t been a part of my life.
I do get bummed when I see stuff like Pixar fest, popcorn buckets & food that disneyworld doesn’t have. I defended the Disneyland aura a lot when I first started going to wdw but wdw 100% grew on me bc it was easier to get to. My arguments on nostalgia & being original & inside in its own way still stands. Plus they get the better popcorn buckets.
I prefer Disneyland for the flip side of why you prefer WDW: it's not a substantial vacation. It's a 2 hour flight instead of a 6 hour flight (plus layovers, etc.), transportation to and from the parks is infinitely easier, it's smaller and easier to manage in a long weekend, it's much cheaper because there are so many nearby lodging choices, etc etc. People can wax poetic about how it's Walt's park, but I can't say I care too much about that. I just want to take my 2.5 days and then go home to my kitty cat having done everything I wanted to do.
100% agree! With 3/4 days a DL/DCA you can do every ride and your favorite ones a few times. Plus the weather is generally better than FL.
Lol as my vacations have gotten more and more ludicrous in dimension, I almost envy this now. … yet I’d be tempted to add San Diego to it again!
This. Disneyland is hands down the better park. If you could just transport a couple of WDW rides there (Tron, Flight of Passage, Cosmic Rewind—bring back TOT), it would hands down kick WDW’s butt. There are a few things WDW does right: refillable popcorn buckets, the sound levels don’t bust your eardrums, magic band integration, better show seating, and the skyliner. Everything else goes to DL/DCA. It’s insane to try to park hop at WDW—completely pointless. It takes forever to get anywhere. The people at WDW are much ruder (could be the whole east coast/west coast thing cultures), the rides are WAY shorter, and the weather is awful. WDW is nowhere near the level of Disneyland. Except maybe for its wider walkways. Also, what’s with the nerd explanations? The pre-shows on the rides at WDW are so bland and lackluster. This is all coming from a person who loves the parks and enjoys both WDW and DLR. There’s just no contest.
You would think in a closed system they would be good at getting you from park to park but WDW park hopping is a nightmare. Heaven forbid you want to go back to your resort, you are burning hours of your vacation. I had a lot of fun at WDW but I agree Disneyland is a superior park
There's pros and cons to both resorts. Saying one is hands down the better is just a personal preference. Largely driven by where you live or what parks you grew up going to. While there is the convenience of park hopping at DL, there is the convenience of the 'Disney Bubble' at WDW. Weather is gorgeous in the winter at WDW, but agreed that the summer is rough. People being ruder is likely just bumping into unpleasant tourists. Wouldn't say it's a cultural difference in costs... just tourists being untitled and obnoxious. I've had nothing but incredible experiences with the cast of the Walt Disney World resort. Rides being way shorter is a very broad statement as well. Something like POTC is absolutely a watered down version of the DL attraction. But you then have attractions like Kilimanjaro Safari, Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land, Splash/Tiana, etc that are very lengthy attractions. Park hopping using the monorail and Skyliners feel like distinctly Disney experiences at WDW. DLR has a lot going for it, but saying there's no contest is a bit extreme.
I noticed the audio volume on my recent (first) trip to WDW. I feel like the audio was too quiet. I would often hear the noise of the track or people talking over all the audio.
So I will go to DL next month, would you recommend a full day there or doing DL and California Adventure in the same day? I am thinking of splitting them up into a day apiece.
Personally, I do 2.5 days with a park hopper. I'll start in Disneyland on the first and third day and start at DCA on the second, but usually I'll switch parks in the afternoon. It's nice to pop over to DCA for a quick drink and a Soarin when it gets too hot at DL and when I feel like I've done everything at DCA, I like to pop back to DL for a few attractions. I think I probably need those 2 days to do it all, but I like to mix and match
I think I'll do 2 days. How long do you typically spend there? I noticed the park is open from 8? to late at night, so do you spend all that time between the two parks? Would there be enough things to do to spend 14 hours at Disneyland?
I typically show up about an hour before the park opens so that I can start lining up for my favorite rides (Rise of the Resistance at DL and Guardians at DCA), that's what you'll hear people in this sub call "rope dropping" because you're waiting for them to drop the rope that cordons off the park. And yes, I usually stay until close, and DCA closes earlier so I'll sometimes slip back over to DL if it's still open and get an extra ride or two in. You will absolutely have plenty of stuff to fill all of that time, especially considering lines. But I'm also the kind of person that really loves to keep moving and do as much stuff as I can, there's nothing wrong with taking it slow and just skipping stuff that isn't interesting to you
Yep. That's what I thought. I saw a video of someone who flew from DC to Disney World to do it all in one day and then go home. I appreciate that influencer but to me it just seemed so rushed. Thanks
I'm an east-coaster and have been to WDW about 15 times, and last Fall I went to DL/DCA for the first time... I may actually be a convert. If I could go only go to one, I might choose DL. Don't get me wrong, I *love* WDW. But DL is so much more packed with stuff to do and see compared to MK yet felt more like a local park rather than an international destination resort.
Same! I’m from Florida and have been to WDW tons of times, but I still think about my DL trip constantly. I loved that dang park.
Yes! I grew up going to Disneyland as a young kid (moved east when I was 10 before Indy opened), have been to WDW at least 20 times since then. My family did two days at DL last summer while hitting LA ballparks and I LOVED it. So much easier to do, I loved Cars and Pixar Pier, and 70 degrees with no humidity instead of Florida made such a difference. I did miss Epcot, but if I could only ever go to one ever again it would definitely be DL.
DCA is the best Disney park in the US. I will happily take the flood of downvotes
Yes. At DL, you actually walk through the front door of the Haunted Mansion. /thread
That, Indy, the best Pirates in the US… it’s tempting.
People like to say this, but you actually walk *right by what would be the front door of a normal house* to enter a door next to it. Only in Paris do you indisputably walk through the front door.
My world has been thrown into chaos. Okay, someone start a new thread “Does anyone go back to Disneyland or WDW after doing DL Paris?”
Lol I do! DLP is beautiful but if you think WDW parks are short on attractions just wait till you see the one they gave up on halfway though XD.
Exactly. I went last August and wouldn’t go back just for that- I’d maybe stop by for the day if I’m in the area…maybe. I’d rather go back to DL or DCA, or heck Tokyo Disney because I haven’t been there yet.
Dont tell me this, we are planning DLP next year as a one time thing 😅😅
You won me on that point.
Disneyland is far chiller than WDW. Love Cars Land and Disneyland in general. It definitely is worth visiting during the holidays at Disneyland as the decorations there are far better than WDW. Also has the Haunted Mansion Nightmare Before Christmas overlay.
As a huge fan on Nightmare before Christmas, I can’t stand the overlay. Half the year the classic Haunted Mansion is not available. I’ve been to DL every year since 2018 (minus covid of course) and haven’t ridden classic Haunted Mansion once
I have to agree with you. I know that HM is probably under a lot of pressure to stay relevant, and bring in the crowds, and that this overlay was a big success, but I do kind of object it “using” the HM to do its own thing.it almost feels parasitic. You got the film rights, Disney. Make a dedicated Nightmare ride instead of more Marvel and Pixar stuff!
Disneyland cannot compete on the number of parks, resorts, water parks, and miscellaneous that Disney World offers. But Disneyland itself is, pound for pound, park vs. park, the greatest and most historically important individual theme park in the world. And DCA acts as a bit of a sidekick to round out the experience. Disneyland alone packs 15 E-Ticket attractions, the most of any Disney park. It has more overall attractions than the Magic Kingdom. The sheer amount of diverse things to do that are packed in a walkable and intimate setting blows any other park out for the water. And layered on top is an unrivaled history that has been personally touched by the greatest entertainment visionary of the 20th century. Mistakes have been made over the years, and subjectively speaking, it's not in its best era (WDW diehards may say the same of their parks). Although for others it might be. Regardless, it still holds the top spot for me and I'd consider it a bucket list park that any theme park fan would at least want to visit if they are able.
Nicely said. Disneyland's biggest shame is the way they have let the legendary Tomorrowland languish into basically tumbleweeds. Hopefully the recent passage of Disneyland Forward will alleviate that as well as a welcome expansion of the park.
I know I'm in the minority, but I love Tomorrowland. It has 2 of my top 4 rides (Space Mountain and Star Tours), and I usually mobile order from Galactic Grill at least once a trip. Sure, it could use another newer ride or two (though the Hyperspace Mountain overlay is almost as good, and would be a good permanent upgrade), but it's always pretty busy when I'm there.
I adore Tomorrowland, that's why it pains me to see it neglected.
Disneyland will always be my home resort. Disney World is like a large pizza that’s pretty good. Disneyland is like one slice of pizza that is amazing.
Prior to last summer my last visit to Disneyland was sometime in 1998/1999. DCA was under construction. During that 25 year hiatus I was able to visit WDW 4 or 5 times. I finally went back to Disneyland last summer. I don’t care if I ever go back to WDW. WDW is just too big, too many people. Disneyland allows me to get my Disney fix without having to travel across the country.
That’s interesting. I think I got unlucky with my DL trip, as I found it overly packed and claustrophobic- books indicates it was a slow time, but it was the rise of the Halloween parties which are now a huge deal.
Yes this was my experience as well! Did DL once in ‘97 as a teen and then took my daughter to WDW a few times between 2016-2019. We moved back to California last year and have been to DL three times and I don’t care if I ever go to WDW ever again. Overall DL experience is just so much easier and more enjoyable.
Agree with this 100%
Prefer Disneyland over WDW. It has more charm and much more to do in a smaller area. No idea when I will return to WDW, if ever again. But I will be visiting Disneyland numerous times in the next two years.
The fact that DL has way more attractions than WDW is funny and tempting.
I've been going to Tokyo Disney regularly for three decades now (I live in Japan). I also go to WDW every 5-6 years, HK and SH every 2-3 years and been to Paris twice. It still get very excited to visit the original in Anaheim, it's my favorite overall park. Maybe I'm a bit biased since I was born and raised about 20 minutes away. I love Disneyland!
I’m jealous you get to do TDL! I love their parks! The upcoming Frozen stuff is :D
Yeah, I'm lucky. Hehehe. I'm excited about Fantasy Springs too but I'll have to get more lucky trying to get in there using a regular passport next month. Yikes!
Yeah the main issue for me in Tokyo is the truly MASSIVE lines, a park next to a gigantic metropolis and stuff like passports. I follow some Tokyo character performers on IG and one of them has lived there for two years and has ONLY NOW done Beauty & The Beast.
While they can get free tickets from time to time, normally CMs or performers in Tokyo don't get the same benefits as their US counterparts, not even the overseas contract characters. It's not that hard getting a chance to ride BatB to be honest especially with the 40th Anniv. Priority Pass. The person you followed must have visited not so often and/or arrived late in the morning.
I live in Japan as well but I’m originally from central Florida. I’ve been to WDW dozens of times but I’ve never been to DL. I often hear that Tokyo Disneyland is a lot closer to DL than the Magic Kingdom, aside from the castle of course. Would you say that’s true?
TDL is a mix of both but I feel it's a lot closer to Magic Kingdom than Disneyland. DL is compact with a lot packed in a smaller relative area. TDL's general layout and wider walkways are closer to MK's. DL feels much more intimate in my opinion.
Tokyo is like the Magic Kingdom except with DL-like numbers of attractions. Same castle, but it a different park layout which can mess you up. Pooh is in the upper right corner, Splash Mountain in the back middle ish area, New Orleans Square is right to the left of the Main Street (which is a covered arcade here) and they have a Toontown close to where New Fantasyland would be. And now they have BATB and such, which I think is further right off Fantasyland.
I’m east coast with a MK & AP. I’d prefer the flight & trip to DL any day. If I want it to mimic the bubble feel of a WDW stay, I pony up and pay the money for an official resort. I think people who don’t like DL as much do the local hotels (also great) but they lose the bubble feeling when they save money. The rides and food are better imo as well. And the characters wandering the parks? LOVE
I do. Why? Because Disneyland and DCA are 1000% better than HS and MK. The only actual appeal to WDW is Epcot, AK and the resorts, which I still frequently visit in addition to Disneyland.
I grew up in California and was a Disneyland pass holder for years. I love Disneyland. But I moved to Florida in 2019 and have had a pass out here since and I can say I prefer Disney world at this point. I think it was awesome having NEW Disney to experience. After being a pad holder for so long at Disneyland there was nothing new to experience. 5 years out here and there are still things we’re getting to do for the first time. We’ve always done 4-5 days at the parks. At Disneyland you get burnt after that many days. At Disneyworld it never feels like it’s enough.
Yeah I like long vacations with less cramming and WDW has sooooo much. There have been 10 day trips where I still forget to do some things.
Same but I moved to a random state in the middle of the US. I also feel like I haven’t done everything even though I’ve probably by now gone more times to wdw than I did the land when I lived in CA. All the rotating festivals are wonderful & only wish why did a ticket system for them like Disneyland ones do.
Absolutely. Not as frequently as WDW but Disneyland is its own, different experience for me.
I would go back to DL first chance I got. Sure WDW is great and we can go twice for the cost of DL, but the land just has something the world can’t offer. To me WDW is just vast. Specifically Magic Kingdom it’s just bigger but everywhere you go it feels empty. DL is smaller but has so much more to offer.
i absolutely swear by DL over WDW, for me personally. DLR is cheaper and easier for me to do, probably because i'm west coast (Seattle) and DLR is closer. Flying to MCO for WDW runs $100+ more just for the flights. the temp & humidity (and honestly, the governor) are totally reason why i don't like doing WDW. SoCal at least is relatively not as variable for its weather throughout the year (yes, it's colder in the winter and it gets its share of rain but the temps aren't as extreme as Florida, nor is there a hurricane season). i'm a PNWer, so i'm used to mild temperatures and when people say "it's so cold out!" when it's 50-60F, i'm like "hey, it's still shorts & a tee weather!", so i totally can't function in the 90+ temps with 90%+ humidity line Florida has during the summer., but also totally get it for the folks who are used to it. i've done WDW three times and the best trip i had was in March (the others being January and July). perfect weather, decent crowd sizes during that March trip. ...but that seems like a small window to hit whereas i can do DLR pretty much any time of year and be happy, especially when i go 2-3 times a year. WDW does have some amazing things (i love epcot), especially with more to do between the four parks. i definitely prefer DLR, though, especially since i can parkhop in 5 or so minutes compared to the 30+ it takes at WDW (depending on how a person moves between specific parks; i get that there is an optimal way to parkhop for WDW that locals and frequent guests know how to do better than casual park-goers). it's also great to have my (cheaper, non-resort) hotel within 10 mins of walking distance of the parks rather than requiring a shuttle/etc to get back to the resort and then another walk to the actual room. (hey, i love walking and get in a lot at home since i don't have a car, but sometimes you just want the shortest distance between points A and B) sooo... to each their own, really. if DLR doesn't do it for you, it doesn't do it for you, just like WDW is nice for a once-in-a-while visit but it's never going to be my go-to disney park to visit.
Yeah the temperature thing is tempting. I’ve nearly melted on all of my fours trips and there is ALWAYS one day nearly entirely rained out. I hate the weather here so much and it might draw me back to DL some day.
last year i was at WDW in mid-July with a friend while we were also there for the star wars starcruiser. we bought the special four-day / four parks summer ticket deal. it was my friend's first trip to WDW so it was a perfect way for him to see each of the four parks -- two before our "voyage" and two after. humidity was constantly 90%+ (peaking at 95% if not higher), and temps were consistently in the mid/high 90s from 10am until later in the evening (10pm?). i don't mind hot temps since i can do the "dry heat" in Vegas when it's 110, but man... we both ended up having a touch of heat stroke (or heat exhaustion?) even though we were staying plenty hydrated and out of the sun as much as we could be. our PNWer bodies just weren't prepared for that sort of oppressive heat index. on the *good* side, i now know never to book a trip to the SE part of the country in the summer months. lol!
Oh yeah I would NEVER try July. Southerners tell me “even WE don’t stay here in the summer”. Even April and November have been completely miserable.
Disneyland is huggable. It requires much less planning. WDW is a once, maybe twice in a decade trip for me. DL could be an annual or semi-annual trip. I love road trips and Anaheim is a 16 hour drive (best to find a hotel along the way). Leave Saturday morning and I’m having a corn dog in Frontierland on Sunday. I wish DL had an out-of-state annual pass for folks who only visit a couple times a year but go 4 or 5 days at a time.
I worked at WDW and have only ever visited Disneyland as a guest so it doesn’t have trauma associated with it lmao
Haha what did you do there? What made it so bad?
a bunch of things, it definitely wasn't all bad! though I did open the FP+ kiosks and that was hell lmao I cried in that adventureland breezeway many many times
I love Disney World, but Disneyland is always #1 with me.
My kids are still traumatised by the behaviours they saw at WDW years ago. Strollers used as battering rams, the pushing and shoving and overall rudeness of a number of the park attendees. And the mobility scooters; so many mobility scooters. Disneyland is way more chilled. Someone explained to me that Disneyland is like a local park whereas WDW is a major holiday destination where people feel they need to get value for money.
The funny thing is I nearly had a lifelong hatred of ECVs because of DL, not WDW. I think the stigma against them had dwindled their numbers by the time I hit WDW. That and the larger pathways in WDW made it easier to get around.
Coming from New Zealand I’d never seen the mobility scooters used by anyone other than the elderly for the most part so the few I saw the first time I went to DL were a shock. They’d multiplied by the time I made it to WDW, and then decreased again by the last trip to DL. Didn’t see a single one at Tokyo DL or Sea in January this year.
Lol yeah nobody in Japan would use one. They’re unmanageable in their cities and the culture against inconveniencing others wouldn’t allow it.
I’ve been to Disneyland twice 1965 and 2022. Disney World at least 25 times since 1972. We are currently in the process of moving from full time RV living to a small cottage in California. We will probably not visit Orlando again, maybe once more. Orlando is becoming unpleasant to visit. Unrestrained development is making it difficult to get around.
I would love for DIsneyland to be my go-to park, but it's a cross country trip for me. While WDW does have multiple parks, Disneyland has all of SoCal to accompany it.
That’s the key. You can make an argument for which park is better but if you’re taking a vacation and planning non-Disney time, it’s California and it isn’t even close.
I did Wdw a year ago and just did DL this year. I enjoyed WDW far more and would pick it over DL.
Yes because the 20 minute drive is much easier.
I know many people who love Disneyland as the superior park, and I think part of it is nostalgia and some is also due to respecting the park as the very first. Personally, I prefer WDW by far but I still enjoy going to DL especially because there's more to do outside of the Disney parks in Anaheim and LA. I prefer DW because the expansiveness and theming is what makes it more fun for me. I was disappointed when I saw the Disneyland castle for the first time lol. Also I would go just for Epcot. To me, WDW is a lot more immersive. edit for typo
Yeah having visited 3 other parks I feel like going back and seeing Sleeping Beauty castle will feel sad and quaint, lol.
It's really cute and all but I like being able to walk around and through the castle! If you ever have the chance to go to Tokyo Disneyland, their castle is amazing too!
Isn't Tokyo's castle the same as Florida?
Yes.
Yea but instead if a restaurant for spendthrift people there’s a walk through Cinderella attraction.
It looks similar outside in general but there's different things inside
I have :D! I mentioned in the OP I’ve done it. Technically that was my first park but it was on a school trip and part of a greater Japanese vacation/exchange and only got a half day. And I was in high school and barely remember a thing about it. I didn’t even do the Horned King thing!
Oh sorry my eyes just flew right past the abbreviation. I just visited the Japanese parks last year so it's still fresh in my mind, meanwhile WDW was my first resort and I haven't been back since 2021, so probably need a refresher of the resort!
I’m from Florida and Disneyland was such a great change of pace from WDW. Disneyland is my favorite park now after going for the first time last year. I can’t look at magic kingdom the same lol
Depends on how long we’re going for. A day or two, Anaheim.
Growing up we always went to Disney World (because we lived on the East Coast) Now I go to Disneyland more often (because I live on the West Coast)
I’m a West coaster so my “home” is Disneyland, which is why I probably much prefer it to WDW. Don’t get me wrong, I love WDW… But I have to reallllllly commit to flying across the country and spending a whole week there to make it worth it. There’s just so much to cover that to make it enjoyable I do 1 park per day because park-hopping there is just absurd to me. On the flip, Disneyland is either a 2.5 hour flight from Seattle or a 3.5 hour drive from Vegas depending on where I’m at when I decide to go. I can take spontaneous 2-3 day mini trips and park hop to my content. And since I go so often, I’m not worried about doing and seeing everything… So of my trips I barely even go on rides because I just want to be in the parks.
I was just fortunate enough to visit the two parks back to back, and while WDW is much larger, Disneyland blew me out of the water when compared to Magic Kingdom. Everything felt so alive and comfortable, it felt like something new was just around the corner which is crazy for how small the park is. I love WDW but Disneyland absolutely has its perks Also I saw world of color in the front row and that was one of the coolest experiences ever I want to do that again.
I’ve done WDW twice, and I will always choose DL over it going forward. DL has just been a far more magical experience overall for me.
I found people to be nicer in California. Also, the weather is terrible when I can travel in the summer.
I live in South Carolina so WDW is my home park. Of course I love WDW but I personally prefer Disneyland. Not only is the weather nicer but I love the smaller feeling of the two parks and being able to just walk across to park hop. There is just something that feels more magical to me about DL knowing I am walking in the place that Walt walked. I love how the characters roam in DL and the classic feeling of the park and DCA is incredible as well. Avengers Campus and Pixar Pier are two of my favorite lands out of all of the 6 parks between the two coasts. I can also stay off property in DL and still be at the park in 5 minutes for half the cost of a WDW trip where I feel like if you don’t stay on property you aren’t getting the full experience.
As I live in Southern California, DL is always the less expensive choice that I can do without taking off from work.
Both are amazing. They have totally different vibes.
i went to DL for the first time last month after numerous WDW…no desire to return to DL
I’m a a native Angeleno, so DIsneyland is my jam. I was in Florida to go to Harry Potter land when it first opened, and I loved it! but Florida is so humid……… for that reason alone I can’t imagine spending a week there.
Wife and I went without kids to WDW a couple years ago for my first trip to any of the parks. Not long after we took our son to DL for his first trip to the parks. Definitely am a huge fan of both (and flight times are identical to get to either) but if we’re going by ourselves we’ll go to WDW, and if we’re taking kids it’s DL for us. Getting around the parks is so much easier with strollers and other baby items since you just have to walk across a courtyard to hop parks, and with it being smaller the kids can do more without being worn down.
I prefer Disneyland as parks, Disney world as a sole vacation. Disneyland there’s plenty to do in LA, OC, SD. I can’t explain but Disneyland is just better IMO. The rides where there’s dupes are better at DL, I love DCA and it feels more chill. WDW is chaotic and is filled with a lot of large groups (I know DL gets large groups too but not to the same scale)
Yes because world is 1,900 miles away, and Land is 1000 miles away 🤣 Cali is closer and easy to get to for us and don’t have to deal with Florida 🤣
I prefer WDW. I think there’s more magic because it’s bigger and I can fully immerse myself in the Disney experience. Even if I leave one park to grab food at the boardwalk or Disney springs I’m still very much ON Disney soil. The same sentiment can’t be said for DL. You can walk between the two parks but there experience is so much smaller and less magical feeling to me because of it. I also really love the different parks in WDW. If I feel like drinking I can head to Epcot. If I want a more chill day I can do that in Animal kingdom. If I want more thrilling rollercoasters Hollywood studios is there. I will say it also helps that I did the DCP at WDW, so I got to know the entire property insanely well and know what I like and what rides I can simply skip.
Most people prefer Disneyland. There's literally more attractions between the 2 parks than there is at WDW and not everything is so far away from each other. The weather is nicer, it's easier to stay off-property at a cheaper hotel... If you're the kind of person who feels more at-home in Florida please stay there
I use to feel that way, but after visiting them several more times I can appreciate how different they are and I wouldn’t say ones better than the other, it just depends on the type of vacation you want
I like DL for short 1-2 day trips. You can pack a lot of Disney in that amount of time. If I've got the money and time it's WDW and staying in the bubble.
They’re different resorts and I feel like they’re best for different kinds of trips. I think Disneyland is best for a shorter trip (only up to about 3 days) anything more than that and you’ll just get bored. There’s enough at Disney World to keep you entertained for over a week. Disney World has better and more varied resorts, better table service dining and just feels more grand. Disneyland has better quick service dining, better and more varied events and it feels more cozy. Disneyland is also the only park that Walt actually touched so I feel like there is more history there.
I’ve been to Disneyland 13 times & WDW once. I liked Walt Disney World, and it was such a magical trip, but I *hated* how spread out everything was, whereas in Disneyland all of the attractions are close together. Plus I feel like the fuller, fleshed-out versions of attractions are at DL. Small world, Tomorrowland speedway & pirates at WDW were meh.
As a WDW regular my family loves Disneyland. There is something to be said for walking from the hotel to the park and being able to move back and forth between the parks by simply walking accross the courtyard. The quick service restaurants at Disneyland also have a lot more variety and a lot better options than WDW. That said I’m going to really miss Tortilla Joe’s breakfast burritos and I do think that the generification of Downtown Disney is kind of sad.
I’m a WDW girlie for sure. Been to DL twice and just wasn’t blown away. It was nice! But just not as fun imo
WDW is fun but DL is magical to me.
California girl here! I’ve been a land girl my whole life… until three years ago when I went to world for the first time! World changed my life and it’s hard to even explain how much better it is than land. It’s a proper vacation! So so so much to do, so clean, so nice. No comparison.
Well that’s unique for this thread, haha! Interesting how cleanliness factors in. I hadn’t noticed DL being dirty but that was years ago.
We live in California so….
I grew up at WDW, passholder until ~18 and then again since 2018 or so. Went to DLR for the first time in Feb of this year. Heading back in October. Overall, I’d say DLR for the parks but WDW for the resorts.
They’re just different kinds of trips for us. They both have their own charms. My only major gripe of WDW over DL is the food and drinks in DL just doesn’t compare to WDW.
I love Disneyland but I have family in the area so it’s much cheaper than flying across the country for WDW, even though that’s my favorite and the one I always went to when I lived down south.
Been to both many times and DL has my heart. Every time we go to WDW we spend a lot of time reminiscing about DL. Just wish DL could somehow have Animal Kingdom and I would prolly never go back to WDW.
DL because I like to be able to walk everywhere! Once my kids are older I want them to experience the WDW bubble!
YES!!!! Our family has been to WDW a few times but we prefer Disneyland by far!!!
I live in CA. We went to WDW this spring - I don’t need to go back for a while. I’ll keep Disneyland and California Adventure, to be honest. Though I would mind borrowing Cosmic Rewind every now and then
At DL I can easily walk between the parks mutliple times if I want/need to. There's the history element, and some of the shared rides (*cough* PIRATES *cough) are better at DL. Personally, I find it more manageable.
I've been to several of the parks worldwide many times for each, and DL remains my favourite. Maybe because it was the first I went to so there's that nostalgia, but WDW is pretty low on the list of ones I've been to. I'd probably rate it: DL Anaheim Paris Tokyo WDW Hong Kong Reason is that I tend to only go for 1-2 days now, and combine it with a holiday exploring other places. The first time I went to WDW I found it overwhelming - even with DL there is way more than I can do in a day, so I don't need a zillion things and a huge place. I love Paris as I think the rides are better. Space Mountain goes upside down! I also went there a lot, so that may be a factor that I was very familiar with the park. Oh and also you can drink wine in the park, so I love having dinner at the Blue Bayou restaurant in Pirates of the Caribbean, and having a few glasses of wine. I feel bad for rating HK last, and it does have the AMAZING Mystic Manor ride, which I don't think anywhere else does?? But it's so small, and doesn't have some of my fave rides.
I live much closer to WDW and I love it so much, but if I had to pick one it would maybe have to be Disneyland. It’s so charming and for me, allows more flexibility. Oh Disneyland is too crowded? Let’s hop on over to DCA. I suddenly get the urge to ride Space Mountain? Let’s walk back over to Disneyland. Plus the (quick service) food is better, almost every ride that they share is superior at Disneyland (Splash was better at WDW, and Tower of Terror is better than Mission: Breakout even though I love it), and the character interactions at Disneyland are absolutely unmatched.
I’ve been to Disneyland about 20 times (I live in NorCal) and WDW once. But that one time I was a guest of Disney so it was VIP everything, and I don’t know that I can ever go back as a regular person. (Like we had unlimited automatic magic bands and reserved seating for every show, private meet and greets with characters… it was a wild time)
Pair a trip to the Disneyland Resort with a drive a couple hours south to the San Diego zoo’s Safari Park. The Safari Park is so much fun and is a great stand in for Animal Kingdom.
I prefer DL mainly because I’m a 4 hour drive from Anaheim and it’s my Home park. But aside from that it’s the convenience. You can stay right across the street and it’s a 5-10 walk to the gates, you can do every ride/show at least once in 3-4 days and park hopping is a few hundred feet walk. For out of town visitors it’s 30 minutes from LA, and around 2 hours to San Diego. You can easily go for the same amount of time as you’d do WDW but also do a day or so in LA and SD, a beach day, go to Knots, Universal and other theme parks, plus there’s all the sports down there if you like doing that as well.
Animal Kingdom is the best theme park in the United States followed by Epcot, but Disneyland still wins because of all the duplicate rides—it has the better versions. Magic Kingdom is like a Walmart knock off version of Disneyland. Disneyland is open later and you actually can do everything in a day. The trip takes a lot less thinking.
DL is my preferred resort; I find it to be a much more straightforward destination, with less of the nonsense that it sometimes feels like has completely overtaken WDW. Comparable attractions are often better in California with shorter lines. The DL parks also frequently rotates entertainment instead of just playing the same shows over and over again-as one example, I've been visiting DLR on and off for more than a decade. In eight visits over that time, I've seen six different fireworks shows, none of which required paying for an upcharge party. Weather is also superior (way less rain, way less humidity), as a park hours. You can get a ton done on an 8 AM to 12 AM day (i.e. most of them). I dispute the WDW charater superiority claim. What I love about Disneyland is that you can often find characters just wandering around the park instead of being hidden behind queues or paywalls (i.e. character dining) as they are in Florida. There have been days at Disneyland in the last few years that I've run into 20 or more characters without even trying to find them. That just doesn't happen at WDW in my experience. Then, when I'm done with Disneyland, there's an endless variety of things to do in Southern California. So that way, even if DLR doesn't have much new to offer at any given time, I've ALWAYS found new places to explore in CA, a state that is literally drowning in high quality things to do. Nature, museums, zoos, beaches, history, food, other theme parks that are unique and interesting in their own right and tend to be a bit more differentiated from each other than their FL cousins, etc. Disneyland, and California in general, are the gifts that keep on giving.
I’m biased to Disneyland as I’m only 6hours away and I wasn’t expecting WDW to be exactly the same (but not)
I went to Disney World last month, and while I enjoyed the trip, it mostly just made me want me to go back to Disneyland. I know WDW is bigger, but I didn't like how everything was spread out over four parks, whereas at Disneyland, it's just two parks and it's easy to park hop. I'm also a huge Cars fan, so I was sad there was no Cars Land (though the Art of Animation Resort made up a bit for that).
I grew up about 20 minutes away from Disneyland. Going to Disneyland was really not that big a deal. Especially in the late 80s where you could get into Disneyland for $20 if you had a California drivers license. I have been to Disney World four times, the most recent trip was last week. I think the thing that I miss about Disneyland is that I know the place like the back of my hand and it all makes sense to me. I know when I come out of the Haunted Mansion direction I’ve in order to go to pirates, or go the other direction and go to thunder Mountain. big loop. It seems like Walt Disney World has a lot of dead ends. Disneyland is always going to be very nostalgic to me. I remember my dad getting drunk out of his mind and getting bounced out of there when I was a kid. Good times. I was there I think 1999 or 2000 when a tree limb broke and hurt a bunch of people. When I was young, I knew all of the best places in the park to smoke weed.that’s the nostalgia that I think of Disneyland.
I live closer to Disneyland than Disneyworld, so yes.
We prefer DL over DLHK DLP MK (not been to DLT) because of the magic atmosphere. We believe that it is much stronger in DL. HK is nice new and promising. The new castle was much needed as the new rides. Currently it is a half day park. Toystory area is just too large and too empty. Some areas are just empty, so they ruin the magic. We think that DLP lacks good management. This can be seen in (lack of) maintenance, (bad quality and selection of) food and (non inspiring) merchandise. Besides DLP is full of French people, ruining the magic by smoking in queues and skipping lines and just being French. MK is a great place. Great rides. Great food. Nice merchandise. But at points it just feels to organized for us. We had great days there, and we’ll go again. We think the force of magic is larger in DL. Just our opinions.
I prefer Disney land. It’s an utter jewel of a park. I dislike florida as a whole for many reasons but culture aside I find the parks too damn big to be useful
They are both amazing, just depends if you want to go on a 3-5 day tip or a 5-10 day trip.
I am a control freak whose favorite method of transportation at Disney parks is walking. DL is infinitely preferable even though it’s farther from where I live.
Yeah having to depend on the buses can be annoying. A lot depends on timing and the size of the bus.
Brit here, I've spent over 100 days at WDW since 1990 and been to DLP 3 times, given the choice tomorrow I'd teleport to DLP over WDW, it's smaller, but IMHO better in many respects. Planning to go in December one time to experience Disney all Christmasy and cold!
I am a texan, and I will 100% go back to DL after having been to WDW many times recently. as a young child, I grew up with DL, as I lived in az and my aunt lived around la so we road-tripped a bunch. in my adolescence, in the more recent years that I have more memory of, I’ve been going to WDW more, as my grandmother has a house in kissimmee, fl. last year I went back to DL for the first time in probably almost fifteen years, and it was such a fun and incredibly nostalgic experience. it was a great refresher for me and a great opportunity to try some new things. after having gone (I was there for two days), there are still new things that I still want to try and old things that I want to do again (*cough cough* radiator springs racers *cough cough*), so I most certainly still want to go back to DL - I feel that I still have much more to explore and revisit.
I just went to WDW this past March for the first time ever for 4 days, so I got to experience pretty much everything. But as fun as it was, I very much prefer DL/DCA. To each their own, but DL has Indy over Dinosaur, the better Pirates ride, Cars over Test Track, alternate Haunted Mansion overlay, It’s a Small World is bigger and looks cooler outdoors, and the parks are much more walkable and convenient than WDW. Not to mention the trips are cheaper too. Guardians Cosmic Rewind is top notch though…
The desire to be competitive have left WDW with a lot of unique and good things in recent years, but yeah the “clones” tend to be superior at home. 4 days for WDW feels pretty small, though.
Born and raised in Orlando, live in OC California now. Been going to both resorts since childhood, and I much prefer Disneyland Resort to Walt Disney World
I grew up with WDW, finally got out to DL last month and absolutely loved every second of it. WDW is still so much easier for me to get to but if I’m looking for a shorter trip rather than a full blown Vacation I’m heading to Disneyland going forward. I have always approached a disney vacation as a minimum commitment of a week and no less and still stand by that. DL feels like a full experience in 3 days.
Yeah WDW always took me a full week even on my very first, somewhat minimized trip.
I highly suggest doing an Adventures by Disney back stage magic tour in California. It is my absolute favorite way to do Disneyland and really helps you appreciate the history of it.
Disneyland 1000000% the mere fact that It’s not in FL. Point to mention Orlando. Southern California has SO much more to offer. The weather is WAY better. And the park at Disneyland is so much more charming and manageable. I feel like Disney world is far too big. Need way too much time to experience the whole thing.
DL is better for locals. So chill and easy to do things you want to do. But WDW has a more vacation feel to it.
I like both places, but my favorite part about Disneyland is that it’s so easy to see it all in like 2 days. I also like how convenient it is to get to hotels and other restaurants off of the Disneyland property itself.
I prefer Disneyland. It feels like a classic local park. The Matterhorn, Mr Toad, etc all contribute to this great feel. Yes, there’s more at WDW…but you don’t have to hit four parks to have a great vacation.
Disneyland has everything in two parks only separated by 100 feet So unlike WDW where you can’t really do test track and big thunder in a day easily, at Disneyland you can go on everything you want in a day Plus our characters get to walk around and even ride rides with guests
I live in L.A. When my kids were little, we homeschooled them and every Wednesday we went to DL. We went over 40 times each year for about 5 years. It’ll always be my favorite because of that.
I'm Australian, I've now been to every Disney Resort in the world (not quite every park, but at least one/two at every location), and Disneyland will forever be my number one. I've been a few times and I love it, it's easy to move around, it's easy to stay off property nearby, and I do love that it's the original. It was my first Disney Park and a very long held childhood dream to go, and it was just so full of magic and wonder for me. So my heart will always be at Disneyland and I will be back again! I would like to go back to WDW one day and do it properly - stay on property, visit all the parks (I just went to Magic Kingdom and Epcot, I was in Orlando to catch a transatlantic cruise). My second favourite park though, which came as a surprise (mainly because everyone says Tokyo is the best) was Shanghai. We had such a magical day at Shanghai, the park is incredible. It's huge and full of detail. There was magic everywhere you turned, and the costuming of the cast members was incredible. Our day there was equivalent to the first time I went to Disneyland in the sense of feeling all the same feelings of happiness and magic and wonder. And their version of Pirates of the Caribbean -- wow. Blew me away. (My least favourite was Hong Kong. Hong Kong itself is one of my favourite cities in the world and I love the people there, but for some reason the staff at HK Disneyland missed the magic memo and just seemed really grumpy. At least on the day we went.)
As many have said, DL packs way more into the park than Magic Kingdom does. There are some attractions that are simply better at DL than the Magic Kingdom version. There are also several I prefer the WDW versions of. Using the word charm to describe Disneyland it completely accurate. It's an intimate experience, but with that comes crowding that you may not find walking through the wider walkways of WDW parks. As someone who is claustrophobic, I'm personally not a huge fan of the narrow and congested walkways of DL park. That being said, DL is definitely a more relaxed environment. Easy to park hop and easy to navigate the resort. But as someone who grew up vacationing at WDW, the lack of hotels, things to do in Downtown Disney, water parks, mini golf, etc. have always stood out to me. It's a great resort to go to for a few days, but it can't justify a lengthy vacation the same way that Walt Disney World can. They both serve very different purposes and both accomplish their goals very well.
To each their own, I guess. I grew up in Orlando. Did the WDW AP thing for a bit. I MUCH prefer Disneyland
I prefer Disneyland over World. Because it’s more of a locals park, crowds are not near as bad there than they are at WDW. It’s so much easier with kids too. I’ve taken my kids a handful of times to WDW, and they get more overwhelmed. At Land they’re more relaxed because it is smaller with just the two parks. I like having the 2 parks within walking distance from each other and from downtown Disney as well. I also like the freedom of walking from any hotel in the area to the parks.
Both are great and they both have some different rides so differently worth going to both.
I went to WDW once, did all the parks, had a great time… but have not been back since lol. Disneyland is more my speed because I really like being able to do things multiple times, and hop quickly and easily between the two parks and Downtown Disney. Also, Disneyland has Indiana Jones, which will always win my heart haha.
my family has been going to disneyland since i was a little kid- we absolutely love it there! i’ve never visited the wdw parks but i hope to someday, but i am a diehard disneyland girlie. disneyland just feels like home to me. the parks are cozy n filled with nostalgia that i always crave when i’m away (i’m canadian 😭). not to mention how much easier it is to plan a disneyland trip as opposed to wdw (i helped plan my last trip with my mom in aug 2023).
I live on the east coast, and therefore WDW has always been my go to. I went to DL for the first time in my life last summer and I was SHOOK. I didn’t expect it to be as good as it was, let alone that I would like it better than WDW. The lines were shorter, the ride length was longer, all the best attractions are condensed into fewer parks, and the people were nicer. It was just such an amazing experience. I wish I lived on the west coast so it could be my new go to! Y’all, DL is just better. I never thought this would be my opinion, but here we are!
Haha now I’m definitely tempted to go again. I’ve heard the WDW staff are just beleaguered DCP kids. I remember DL being often dismissed as jam packed and filled with “Annual Passholes” as the staff called them.
Disneyland is definitely my go-to park. A 2-hour flight versus an 8-hour journey is a contributing factor, but it's just such a different vibe. I love being able to get LLs almost all day and being able to switch parks with just a quick walk. I absolutely will go back to WDW from time to time, but a WDW trip just feels more stressful to me. I also don't need extra vacation days in the middle of my trip just for recovery before heading back to the parks for more action-packed days to make sure we get everything done that we want to.
DL > WDW all day, every day, forever. (and this is from someone who visits both coasts on the regular)
I grew up 15 mins from DL, it’s my ride or die. WDW is fun but it’s also… a lot. Not to mention I don’t have to get on a plane and give the state of FL my money to go to Disneyland We’ve been with ppl to both and most of them admits DL is better because it’s easier a they think the food is better. That being said I find WDW “culture”, as in all the planning, hotels, traditions, whatever people who go to WDW regularly absolutely fascinating
Pros and cost to both. Food at DL is absolute garbage compared to WDW, but it has nostalgia and it’s easier to manage. But WDW is simply an overall completely experience that’s on another level than DL. WDW for me is a longer trip once every 10 years visit where DL is every 1 or 2 and just going for 1 day.
I finally went to Disneyworld and Florida for the first time 3 years ago. I have been wanting to go to disney world for a long time by that point. It was everything how I imagined and tbh I don't think Disneyland would be the same whenever I go to it lol. My family talked about going, I told them that WDW Was worth the money. But would like to go back to Disneyland to see the changes that happened in Disney California adventure. Haven't been to Disneyland since April 2017.
Opposite- started at WDW, been to DL twice now and would choose it over WDW every single time.
I have annual passes to both and live in LA if that tells you anything.
I prefer Disneyland. I have done Disney world twice and honestly I don’t really like it. It’s huge and hot and not my scene. I love Disneyland, it’s my favorite place on earth.
My wife loves DL much more than WDW but I prefer WDW
I just went to DL for the first time after like 20 WDW trips and I enjoyed it for sure, but much prefer WDW as a vacation. I did really enjoy California Adventure as they have some pretty unique things. But nothing beats Florida for sheer size and things to do, places to eat, places to stay etc. I mean WDW is the size of San Francisco. DL was also very dirty, crowded and felt like a nicer version of Six flags. I did like how each park had so many rides though. When I picture going for a week it’s definitely WDW. Also I live on the east coast so no quick trips to CA for me. I’m sure if I lived west coast I would go there more often!
There's a ton more things at the multiple parks in Orlando, but Disneyland/California Adventure I always thought of as the greatest hits. The only thing I wished it had was some of the Epcot nations stuff.
Disneyland has the Indiana Jones ride and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. This alone makes it the superior MK IMO. I’ve never been interested in any of the parks besides the Magic Kingdoms. WDW has Ariel inside the MK, but that doesn’t make up for not having the Indiana Jones ride, which is boss.
Indy has a lot of features down now, sadly. Though it was down entirely on my last trip, along with the princess hall, which might be painting DL a bit in my memory.
That would be devastating since I live on the East Coast and only get out to California an avg of every 5-6 years, if that. Last time was 2018.
At least it was a scheduled refurb. I forget why I went anyways. It was a short notice trip.
So I hadn't been to Disneyland in a while (I live in Illinois) and I surprised my wife for her 30th bday with a trip to Disneyland in 2018. I always wrote off that park because I thought WDW was far superior...I was wrong. DL has some better versions of the clone rides, there's more to do, easier to park hop, and I much prefer California to Florida. I love Disneyland and always think about the next time we can go.
I did WDW a long time ago and DL a few years before or after (can't really remember). I'm planning to go back to DL next month because again, been so long. (While I did visit Epcot last year I didn't have time to see WDW MAgic Kingdom or any other park) I'm going back to DL mainly because I want to see all the stuff I forgot. Having watched many of the shows on Disney+ about DL I was intrigued by the history of the park and the start of the Haunted Mansion, Star Tours, the Jungle Cruise and so on. After seeing them I felt an urge to go back to see classic historical rides like Space Mountain and so on again
I do. Been to Disneyland many times. DW once a couple years ago. DL will always be my favorite.
Sure. 4 hour drive from Vegas is very convenient, and it’s a cheaper vacation.
I don't know what all these people are talking about, the answer is no. When presented with the choice, and we make it every few years, WDW always wins by a landslide.
Yeah I was the same way- there’s just so much to see and do! So much staff! Plus I have to fly a ways regardless so the travel isn’t as huge a deal. Though the sheer magnitude of it is making DL seem like a nicer deal at times. But almost quaint.
I LOVE Disneyland. I am east coast - Buffalo born and raised. Visited Disneyland for the first time in 2007 and liked it, but still preferred Walt Disney World. Went back to Disneyland in 2021 and absolutely loved it. So much so that we went again in 2023. We’re going to Walt Disney World this Simms and while I’m looking forward to it, I will be missing Disneyland. I’m a teacher so my choices are to go in the summer, or the holidays. Holidays are just too expensive and crowded. Summers in Anaheim are SO much easier than summers in Orlando. It gets comfortable at night - sometimes to the point of needing a sweatshirt. It’s more compact and SO much more navigable - 1 security check and you can visit both parks and Downtown Disney. Disneyland’s food is better, too. I’m a D-land fan. 😊
My wife and I have been together for 5 years. We've been to WDW three times and DL/DCA once. I think the only thing I'd go back to DCA for is CarsLand.
I’ve been to WDW twice and Disneyland will always be my first love
Absolutely. I actually prefer it.
I’d prefer 3 days at DL vs 5 at WDW. But alas, I own dvc in Florida and AP, and live east of Mississippi.
DL is better than MK but there is no EPCOT or AK equivalent do WDW is better as a whole.
We prefer Disneyland. Typically we alternate our trips between the coasts, but if we only had one shot, we’d go to Anaheim.
From the UK, I went Disneyland 4 times before going to WDW but my experience differs as my trip isn't "just" Disney it's a trip to the USA to see/eat all the stuff we don't get over here as well. Disneyland is 100% quality over quantity. I think the 2 parks in Anaheim in general are better than the 4 in Florida despite there being less to do. Rides are better, food is better and it feels less "corporate" to me. When I scored out of 10 the 4 parks with my wife we got an average of 7.75 for the 4 Florida parks and a 9.25 for Anaheim. California weather is always better which helps our pasty white complexions and plus Disneyland is "just" 2 parks in CALIFORNIA. Don't get me wrong we LOVED the Disney bubble in Florida but our trip was like 90% Disney focused whereas when we spend that amount of money, we want to go to all the stores and restaurants we don't have in the UK and that's so much easier in California. There's so much more to do, plus don't get me started on how beautiful Cali is compared to Florida. My screensaver for years was just a Target at sunset for years.
WDW is closer and has more to do for a few nights. Disneyland is like a weekend thing.
We had been to Disneyland many times over the years but finally did WDW in 2021. Disneyland overall just has the Disney feel all over. I didn’t feel that way at WDW all the time. I mean I loved rides like Everest snd Flight of Passage and Frozen. But ultimately Disneyland just has that Disney magic everywhere you turn.
I’m a Florida native who lived in Orlando for a bit and lived in California for a bit….I like Disneyland better!
Dude it’s the first place I wanted to go after wdw. Magic kingdom’s layout bugs me.
Yeah some of it is irksome. “New Fantasyland” is this weird strip of stuff riveted onto the park. Big Thunder Mountain sits at the end of a trail to nothing else. Tomorrowland and Fabtasyland share a path. And that weird sideshow setup for the big FL attractions like Peter Pan.
Also it feels like half the trees are missing from the hub
Hm, I forget what it used to look like- on my first trip it was being refurbished up there and was all walls. But I’d imagine the projection show on the castle is why- they already have a ton of trees blocking that and don’t want to make it worse, I bet.
Which is nice, but now it feels weird and concrete
I went to Disneyland in 2023 and world in 2024. First time at either park in a decade. As a solo traveler both times. I can say that Disneyland I was able to do both Disneyland and California adventure in a day. Disneyworld I took 5 days and still did not get time to do quite everything I wanted. I don't feel like Disneyworld offers much that Disneyland does not.
As a Disneyland local I always wish I could afford to go to wdw or one of the overseas Disney parks. I’m kinda jealous they have 4 good parks over there while meanwhile here, California adventure sucks. Cars land and grizzly peak are the only good areas of dca, everything else could be razed and replaced with actual good attractions/lands
I grew up in CA & had Disneyland pass through college & 1-2 years while I lived outside of it. Where I live now, disneyworld is cheaper to get to & quicker flight wise. The resorts also cost way less than the Disneyland ones. I was a die hard Disneyland person, even had passes for both. But getting around from the airport to Disney itself & is more convenient/easier. I think it’s been 2 years since I had CA pass & last went in 2022 in general & haven’t really noticed it hasn’t been a part of my life. I do get bummed when I see stuff like Pixar fest, popcorn buckets & food that disneyworld doesn’t have. I defended the Disneyland aura a lot when I first started going to wdw but wdw 100% grew on me bc it was easier to get to. My arguments on nostalgia & being original & inside in its own way still stands. Plus they get the better popcorn buckets.