Which Park is better – Walt Disney World or Disneyland?
Many people ask - for a first time visitor – which park should you visit first? Personally, we chose Disneyland Anaheim first. We live in Australia and it was cheaper and closer to visit. However – if you really need to decide which Park to visit and you can only choose one – you may wish to consider the following points below.
Disneyland includes two parks –
Disneyland and California Adventure Park. Size wise it’s a smaller park
(approximately 2 square kilometres) – but don’t be deceived by its physical size
– it truly is jam packed full of rides. You can easily Park hop between the two
parks too as they are directly across a mall from each other, across a shopping
mall known as Downtown Disney. It would take you probably all of 5 minutes to
transfer between the parks.
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| Disneyland |
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| California Adventure Park, Anaheim |
Walt Disney World (WDW) is a lot
bigger (approximately 111 square kilometres) – with four parks – Magic Kingdom,
EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Due to the parks
being so spread out – it is a little bit harder to Park hop (some people do
though!) as it does take time getting from one park to the next (transport and
security).
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| EPCOT, Walt Disney World |
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| Disney's Animal Kingdom |
Things to consider when planning
a holiday to either Disneyland or Walt Disney World:
1.
How many days can you spend at the parks? Disneyland is smaller in
the sense it’s more compact and you can see a lot in a minimum of 3 days
(Disneyland 2 days, California Adventure Park 1 day). People generally add on a
day at Universal Studios too (which is a day trip to Los Angeles). This all
adds up to a bare minimum of 4 days.
Walt Disney World requires a
minimum of 4 days (one day per park (but I would strongly recommend that you
need at least 2 days in Magic Kingdom, and 2-3 days in EPCOT). So you are
looking at 6-7 days at Walt Disney World minimum. People generally add on a
side trip to Universal Studios Orlando – which takes 2 days (there are two
parks including the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in both parks). This adds
up to a bare minimum of 8-9 days to do WDW.
Number of days will add up to
your total cost of your holiday – both in monetary terms and time. The number
of days above is only a guide. You can do less! But you will want to do more
days too! You should also schedule in rest days too as attending a theme park
day after day is tiring. I would recommend you spend two days at a theme park
then a rest day (do something else like go to Downtown Disney/Disney Springs,
sit by the pool or go Outlet shopping).
2.
Do you have children attending the parks with you? Some
people suggest that Disneyland is more for younger kids and if you have ‘bigger
kids’ or no kids – Walt Disney World is better. I think this is more to do with
size of the parks rather than the actual rides or experience. Bigger kids will simply
have more stamina for Walt Disney World’s 4 different Parks.
The majority of the rides are
similar in both Parks. Both Parks have thrill rides. Both Parks have plenty of rides
young kids can do. Each park has unique rides not found in the other parks too
and experiences that should not be missed.
3.
Accommodation Expense. Overall Walt Disney World accommodation is
cheaper than Anaheim as there is so much more choice.
Whatever price you wish to pay for
a hotel in Orlando – there is a budget to suit you – there is that much
competition. There are at least 24 Disney hotels in Orlando, compared to
three Disney hotels in Anaheim. I would strongly recommend staying ‘on site’ at
WDW.
We stayed at the All Stars Music Resortat WDW which I totally recommend. Staying on-site means you get all the Disney
perks (and there are quite a few including FastPasses booking 60 days in
advance, free shuttle buses, free transport from the airport and more).
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| All Stars Music Resort (I can vouch for the fact they have the best pools) |
At Anaheim – there is less choice
of hotels but you can find cheaper hotels within walking distance of
Disneyland. There is no real advantage of staying ‘on-site’ at a Disney hotel
like there is at Walt Disney World. There are no benefits like a Magical
Express bus from the airport, Magic Bands or early FastPass bookings. So, I
would recommend if you are trying to save some money – stay off-site at
Disneyland.
We stayed at the ‘Ménage Hotel’
which is now called ‘Sheraton Four Points’ and has since had a complete change
in hotel management and staffing. It was a good 15 minute walk to Disneyland. I
probably wouldn’t recommend staying any further away than this hotel as you
will need a shuttle to get there. This hotel also got very mixed reviews online
which was a bit of a worry for us as we stayed there 2 weeks. But it turned out
to be fine.
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| The Menage hotel (now called the 'Sheraton Four Points' hotel) |
4.
Ticket expense – Tickets for Walt Disney World are a little more
expensive than at Disneyland. If you spend more time at Walt Disney World, your
total ticket expenses will work out more. Ticket prices do vary depending upon
what time of year you go, whether you choose a Park Hopper ticket and how many
days you purchase (if you purchase more days the ticket price gets drastically
cheaper!).
Park Hoppers are worth it in
Disneyland if you are going more than 2 days as on the third day you can park
hop. The parks are literally 5 minutes from each other so its no big deal
swapping parks.
Park Hoppers at Walt Disney World
are not worth it if you are a first time visitor to the parks (there is so much
to do in each Park and moving parks will be time consuming transport and time
wise – only advisable to a regular visitor to the parks or someone with only very
limited days who really wants to do particular rides).
5.
Transport to the Parks
In Anaheim, many hotels are
within walking distance to the Parks. Those that aren’t within walking distance
sometimes provide shuttle buses.
In Orlando staying off-site you
either need a car/Lyft/Uber. Parking costs money too and if you do take your
own car to park, you may have to then catch a free ‘trolley’ car to pick
you up at the parking lot and take you
to the front entrance of the park (parking is that far away!).
Staying on-site you use the free
Disney Shuttle buses to get from the Disney Resorts to the Parks. The Free
Disney Shuttles are great. There are also free transport options like the
monorail and ferries to get to the parks. Basically if you stay at a Disney
Resort – transport to the Parks and Disney Springs is free for you and very
convenient to use as the buses are so regular. [Please note if you stay
off-site you can also use the free Disney transport system – you only need to
actually get to a Disney site].
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| The bus times for the Disney Shuttles at Disney All Stars Music resort |
So there is no real difference
cost wise if you stay on-site WDW or at Disneyland to distinguish between them.
There will be an added cost to stay off-site at WDW as you will need to use
UBER/Car etc and if you use a car you will need to pay for parking, car-hire,
insurance and petrol.
6.
Downtown Disney versus Disney Springs?
These are shopping and restaurant
areas of Disney – including official Disney shops and more.
Downtown Disney is just outside
of Disneyland. It is a giant outdoor mall just outside the parks filled with
restaurants and shops.
Disney Springs (Walt Disney
World) is not directly connected to Walt Disney World – you can catch a (free)
shuttle bus to get there. Disney Springs is larger and more scenic then
Downtown Disney. It is located next to a large lake where you can go on free
boat cruises and air balloon rides (these cost about $20).
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| Disney Springs |
We preferred Disney Springs.
There was so much more to do and in a very pretty setting being next to a lake.
Visiting Disney Springs (or Downtown Disney for that matter) is like a day at
the Parks without paying for a ticket. A lot of the stores are Disney themed.
7.
Activities outside of the Parks?
In Anaheim there is not a lot to
do outside of the Parks. We did day trips to Los Angeles to visit Universal Studios.
There is also Knott’s Berry Farm and a Medieval Dinner people can go to. We
went to the Orange County Outlets and did some shopping. We also did day trips
to San Diego Sea World and Zoo. I am sure I am missing out on what else to do
in Anaheim – but in general there seemed more to do at WDW.
In contrast, there is quite a lot
to do outside the parks at Walt Disney World. You can easily spend a day at
Disney Springs (with the aforementioned free boat rides). You can read more fun
things to do at Disney Springs including free activities: 10
Amazing things to do at Disney Springs
There are
also two Disney themed water parks near the parks – Blizzard Beach and Typhoon
Lagoon. Universal Studios also has Volcano Bay, which is a water theme park too.
Just outside of Orlando, there is
also Kennedy Space Centre (NASA) and we did a day trip to Miami as well. You
can also tour the Everglades. Another popular spot is Clearwater Beach for day
trips. You can also see Manatees in the wild at Crystal River (just over an
hour drive from Orlando).
Universal Studios and Islands of
Adventure are also extremely popular in Orlando. You need two days for these
parks which include the Wizarding World of Harry Potter that spans over both
parks.
8.
Which season are you heading to the Parks?
Walt Disney World is located in sub-tropical
climate. Summers are generally hot and humid. Winters are generally mild. It
also rains a lot, and when it does it's generally heavy rain.
Hurricane season
is from 1st June until the 3oth of November. Peak hurricane season
is generally August through the end of October. The weather can also be
stifling hot and humid in Florida in Summer (July/August). That said, WDW is
actually prepared for this crazy weather. There are enormous areas of the park
which are under cover. WDW is made to withstand hurricanes too and only in very
exceptional storms does the park ever close.
However, your main concern should
be about lightning, not rain, when visiting any of the parks. In Walt Disney
World most rides continue in the rain. But if there is lightning – many outdoor
rides will close. Indeed, some Water Parks will shut down the whole park
entirely if there is lightning about.
In contrast, Anaheim is generally
a warm dry place most of the year. The hotter times of the year are August-
October, but it rarely goes above 38 degrees Celsius. It is mostly about 20-30
degrees and rarely rains.
9.
Both Parks will have Star Wars Land
Both Parks will have the upcoming
Star Wars Land ‘Galaxy Quest’. They are supposed to be identical, but I do
wonder if Walt Disney World’s version will be bigger – just because there is
simply more space to accommodate it. Disneyland is ahead of schedule so will be
opening earlier in 2019. Walt Disney World is behind schedule and so will be
opening later in 2019. They will have both the same rides so there is nothing
to distinguish them apart there. The names of the two new rides are: Millennium
Falcon: Smuggler's Run and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
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| Disney Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World - Just outside of Star Tours |
10
Walt Disney World benefits those who like to plan
Walt Disney World truly benefits
those guests who like to plan. If you stay on-site you can book FastPasses 60
days in advance of your holiday. If you stay off-site you can book your
FastPasses 30 days in advance. A trip to Walt Disney World can also be last
minute – but it is quite probable, without early FastPasses you will be stuck
in a few long standby lines as the FastPasses for the most popular rides are
already taken. The standby line for the ever popular ride Avatar-Flight of
Passage can be 2-3 hours long depending upon the season.
Disneyland does not have early
FastPass bookings. You either need to physically go to the ride on the day
itself and book your paper based FastPass or use the online system of MaxPass
on the day itself. There is no early bird booking.
A trip to Disneyland can therefore
be more ‘last minute’.
So are you are a planner? Or like
to be spontaneous?
*FastPasses are when you book a
return time back to a ride. You return to the ride at the set time and are
often than in line for less than 20 minutes. You can read more about FastPasses
here for Walt Disney World.
11.
There is more history at Disneyland
Disneyland is the original Disney
Park. It is the Park that Walt Disney originally created and walked around in on
a daily basis. Hey – he even had an apartment here and Disneyland was the basis
for all the other Disney parks around the world. You can go on tours to see his
actual apartment.
With Walt Disney World, Walt also
actually had a hand in actively planning – he would fly in his plane over
Florida checking out parcels of land to purchase and was actively designing his
new park right up until his untimely death. There are also tours you can do
here too where you visit behind the scenes.
But Disneyland was where Walt
spent more time. There is a gas lamp left on in his apartment at all times. Historically,
this light would be left on when he was in the park so the staff in the park
would know he was on site. Since his death, the light in the apartment gas lamp
is always left on. People report Cast Members who pass his apartment do a brief
salute whenever they walk past his apartment as a mark of respect to Walt Disney.
This park has a different feel to Walt Disney World as it’s the original park.
There are original rides here from when it opened in 1955 including the Jungle
Cruise, Peter Pan, Snow White's Scary Adventures, Storybook Land Canal Boats
and Mr Toad’s Wild ride.
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| Disneyland |
12.
Walt Disney World has Avatar - Flight of Passage
This ride was simply breathtaking
and is only available at Walt Disney World. Its a 3D simulator ride and sets
ALL theme park rides to a new level (including rides from Universal Studios). Disney
Imagineers have done a wonderful job of creating the world of Pandora from the
Avatar movie. There is currently nothing like this ride in the whole world – it
is so immersive. My
review on Pandora is here. This ride
may soon be surpassed by the upcoming Star Wars rides however.
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| Na'vi River Journey, Walt Disney World |
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| Avatar - World of Pandora, Walt Disney World |
13. Disneyland has the Indiana Jones Ride
Well, this is my favourite Disney
ride so have to sneak this one in. It is only at Disneyland, not Walt Disney
World (the ride also appears in Tokyo Disneyland and a different version again
can be found at Disneyland Paris). It is a manic ride in a jeep through the
world of Indiana Jones (volcanoes and more).
Walt Disney World has a stunt
show called ‘Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular’. There are rumours that pop
up from time to time that they will replace the Dinosaur ride in Disney’s
Animal Kingdom with the Indiana Jones ride. For those that don’t know – the
Dinosaur ride/track is the same as the Indiana Jones ride – but with Dinosaur
theming instead. So WDW does already have this Indiana ride in a way. Sort of. I
just prefer the Indiana Jones version.
14.
It is cheaper to get Disney professional Photos at Disneyland with MaxPass
With Disneyland you can get the
MaxPass for about $10 per day, which includes all your ride photos (where
applicable) and professional Disney character photos. It also allows you to
book your FastPasses (on the day).
Walt Disney World has a Memory
Maker PhotoPass service open to its guests, whereby you can pre-purchase all
your photos ($169 USD prepaid 3 or more days prior to commencement of your
holiday) or after your trip ($199). If you are spending multiple days at the
parks, this can be a great way to get all the photos of your family in all the
photos. You just need to approach a Cast Member (with a camera) in the park,
and they will take your family photos. There is also a $69 one day version only
available on the App.
Personally, I don’t think you can
beat Disneyland for $10 per day access to your Photos!
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| PhotoPass at Disneyland |
15.
Will this be your one and only trip?
The first time we went to
Disneyland I did think it would be for one trip only. Somehow, 3 years later we
have since visited 4/6 world Disney parks. With another repeat visit in
planning next year.
In Summary
In summary if you can only afford
a short visit to a Disney Park, you may be better off visiting Disneyland. If
you can afford a longer stay – then I would suggest make the trip to Florida.
Although the parks have similarities – there are also lots of differences too. Which
park is better? You need to visit both to be sure!
GENERAL
How to save money staying at Walt Disney World
Booked a trip to Walt Disney World? What do do next and when
15 Free or Cheap things to do at Walt Disney World
What is the best age to visit a Disney or Universal Park?
The Complete Guide to Fast Passes at Walt Disney World
My top 6 theme park rides in Orlando and why
Tips and Advice from WDW Castmember Part 1
A foodies guide to WDW
How to plan a Disney Wedding
Planning Tips for Someone without a Car
Interview with an Annual Passholder -WDW
Why Halloween is a great time of year to go to a Disney Park
Awesome Paintings and Prints you can get at Walt Disney World
7 Ways to beat the rain at Walt Disney World
DISNEY HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
Disney's Hollywood Studios - what to see and do before Star Wars Land opens
MAGIC KINGDOM
ANIMAL KINGDOM
The Beginners guide to Disney's Animal Kingdom
World of Pandora at Disney's Animal Kingdom
Pandora and Animal Kingdom
EPCOT
The rides and attractions at EPCOT
The Complete Guide to EPCOT in Spring
EPCOT World Pavilions Part 1 - Kidcot Funstops and EPCOT Passports,Germany, U.S.A, U.K, China, Norway and Mexico World Pavilions
EPCOT World Pavilions Part 2 - Morocco, Canada, France, Japan and Italy.
DISNEY SPRINGS
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experiences.
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Until next
week,
KJ
KJ
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GENERAL
How to save money staying at Walt Disney World
Booked a trip to Walt Disney World? What do do next and when
15 Free or Cheap things to do at Walt Disney World
What is the best age to visit a Disney or Universal Park?
The Complete Guide to Fast Passes at Walt Disney World
My top 6 theme park rides in Orlando and why
Tips and Advice from WDW Castmember Part 1
A foodies guide to WDW
How to plan a Disney Wedding
Planning Tips for Someone without a Car
Interview with an Annual Passholder -WDW
Why Halloween is a great time of year to go to a Disney Park
Awesome Paintings and Prints you can get at Walt Disney World
7 Ways to beat the rain at Walt Disney World
DISNEY HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
Disney's Hollywood Studios - what to see and do before Star Wars Land opens
MAGIC KINGDOM
ANIMAL KINGDOM
The Beginners guide to Disney's Animal Kingdom
World of Pandora at Disney's Animal Kingdom
Pandora and Animal Kingdom
EPCOT
The rides and attractions at EPCOT
The Complete Guide to EPCOT in Spring
EPCOT World Pavilions Part 1 - Kidcot Funstops and EPCOT Passports,Germany, U.S.A, U.K, China, Norway and Mexico World Pavilions
EPCOT World Pavilions Part 2 - Morocco, Canada, France, Japan and Italy.
DISNEY SPRINGS
Disney Springs - Where to eat and what to do
10 Amazing things to do at Disney Springs
DAY TRIPS
A day trip to Miami from Walt Disney World
Kennedy Space Centre
10 Amazing things to do at Disney Springs
DAY TRIPS
A day trip to Miami from Walt Disney World
Kennedy Space Centre
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