Difference between WDW & Disneyland

Others have given some feedback here. Having been to four Disney resorts now, I can say that the DL park is the best theme park in the world. Better than MK. There is of course nothing like Epcot at DLR or really anywhere. I myself have always held DHS as my second favorite WDW park. But that was while they still had LMA and GMR. I am afraid the new changes will change the vibe of DHS.

I liked AK and Epcot and would have a hard time saying which I like more. We can call it a tie for 3rd.

DCA has a DHS feel to it (the old DHS) of LMA and GMR. So it may or may not work for you. But you just have to see World of Color. That is unlike any Disney show anywhere ever. My favorite. But my DLR brethren tend to prefer Fantasmic to WOC.

The Paint the Night Parade was at DLR and is now moving to DCA in April. PTN is the best Disney parade ever IMO. Most of my DLR brethren will agree with me on this except for the most nostalgic of Electrical Parade lovers LOL.

So in two months DCA will have the best Disney parade and the best night time show of all the Disney parks.

So, yes, you will miss Epcot. No way to slice it. But you will have some new things not offered at WDW which will hopefully make up for that!

:wizard:
Sounds very exciting! I’m getting a more clear picture now. Thank you so much.
 
I love living close to Disneyland. The compactness with lots of things to do in close proximity make it the best resort imo for a day trip or even just a few hours. The opposite is why I love WDW. If you stay on site you are completely surrounded by Disney. I could see some people being a bit let down if they come to Anaheim expecting a WDW type experience being in Disney for 5 days or more. I don’t think you can come to Disneyland and just do Disney for an extended length of time. You can do everything at the DLR in 2 days, 3 days max.

For me personally I love that my home park is Disneyland but my vacation destination is Disney World. If I lived in Orlando with WDW being my home park and DLR being my vacation destination I don’t think I would like it as much. I feel like I would be too rushed at WDW trying to get from one park to another in a span of a few hours.
 
I love living close to Disneyland. The compactness with lots of things to do in close proximity make it the best resort imo for a day trip or even just a few hours. The opposite is why I love WDW. If you stay on site you are completely surrounded by Disney. I could see some people being a bit let down if they come to Anaheim expecting a WDW type experience being in Disney for 5 days or more. I don’t think you can come to Disneyland and just do Disney for an extended length of time. You can do everything at the DLR in 2 days, 3 days max.

For me personally I love that my home park is Disneyland but my vacation destination is Disney World. If I lived in Orlando with WDW being my home park and DLR being my vacation destination I don’t think I would like it as much. I feel like I would be too rushed at WDW trying to get from one park to another in a span of a few hours.
This trip will be two days tops in Disneyland. We are exploring different parts of California because we will be relocating there eventually. So, it’s good to know that a couple of days will be enough.
 
This trip will be two days tops in Disneyland. We are exploring different parts of California because we will be relocating there eventually. So, it’s good to know that a couple of days will be enough.

That’s what most people do when they vacation out here. Hit Disney a couple days then explore what else SoCal has to offer, which is a lot. You could do the same in Orlando too I suppose but at Disney World you have the option to be there for a week or more for some people and not get bored.
 


Is all good. He took mine as snarky I took his as defensive. It’s all context.
I didn’t take the post I responded to as snarky at all. I was legitimately curious where you had heard such a thing because I never have, including in all my years of reading these boards. But that’s fine if you don’t want to share your “sources.”
 
To me, being at DLR is much more like being at USO than at WDW. Two parks, close proximity, walk back and forth. I find WDW and DLR to be polar opposite experiences. Both are great, both are magical, both have negative issues as well, but they are very, very, very, very different. If you are used to WDW trip planning, planning for DLR may drive you nuts, in the sense that there is really nothing to plan. Its completely go with the flow. I think this actually turns a lot of Type A people off, rather than have them look at it like the breath of fresh air that others may view it as. I find counter service food and snacks to be far superior at DLR, in both quality and selection. And, while there are duplicate rides at both DLR and WDW, some are wildly better at one or the other. Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Pirates are WAY better at DLR. Splash Mountain is far, far better at WDW. If you are used to the grandeur of Cinderella's Castle as a premium focal spot in the park, Sleeping Beauty's Castle is seriously underwhelming, almost disappointing. You will look at it and say, "that's it?".

We're going back this year, and after visiting in Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark last summer, I'm kind of looking forward to pointing out more things Walt stole for his park design when he visited there. I was able to pick a few out immediately, I'm going back to see what else I missed.
 
Also, to be fair, DLR is small, and it is crowded. It feels much more crowded that WDW, because there are more people stuffed into smaller areas inside the Magic Kingdom. Adventureland, in particular, is almost too much for me to handle, its claustrophobic. And yes, you will miss EPCOT. A LOT.

None of that means that you will "hate" it though, you may love it. Its just very, very, very different.

Also, at no time do you ever have to take the monorail at DLR. Its ridiculously short. There is a back entrance from the Grand Californian into California Adventure. Everything is walking distance, and a very short distance at that. You will probably be shocked by the smallness. I was. Rather than look at it as a down side, I appreciated not having to wait for resort transportation to take me from place to place.
 


someone will drop in with a WDW link for you
on page 2 on this site a fellow WDW visitor has a thread with info

But as a literature teacher, who for decades as taught Romeo and Juliet and asked why by decades of freshman....I have always had to think outside of the 80s, 90s, turn of the century pop culture box....so here is my answer on how they are different

Take that pretty soft, huge comforter you have on your bed, one that you chose in colors, patterns and warmth. Spread it out on the living room floor. Thatis WDW. Now go to the closet, the trunk, or the attic and pull out Grandma's quilt and spread it out on the living room floor next to the modern store bought comforter. That is Disneyland.

That is the difference.

I absolutely love this comparison!! I could not of come up with a better answer. I have been many times to both parks, but Grandma's quilt will always hold a special place in my heart! Thank you chickapin parterre for an eloquent way of describing the differences.
 
I didn’t take the post I responded to as snarky at all. I was legitimately curious where you had heard such a thing because I never have, including in all my years of reading these boards. But that’s fine if you don’t want to share your “sources.”

The post right below yours even says smallness and disappointing. There is a source right there. West Coast people have an affinity for the park and that is great. As for my sources were East Coast WDW people that went to Disneyland. We went anyway and loved it as I had stated. Not sure why I was grilled about who said it.
 
This trip will be two days tops in Disneyland. We are exploring different parts of California because we will be relocating there eventually. So, it’s good to know that a couple of days will be enough.

Please do NOT think that 2 days will "be enough" time to do DLR. We have gone several times for 4 days and have NOT been able to do everything we wanted to. 2 days you will get to see the highlights, maybe more if you rush around, but the charm is taking your time and enjoying the atmosphere and details......
 
Biggest similarities:
Magic Kingdom and Disneyland park are identical in a lot of ways (Main Street USA, Tomorrowland to the right, Fantasyland past the castle, Frontierland, Adventureland)

They have many of the same rides

Both are crazy expensive

Both can get very long lines

Biggest differences:
Location- the location of the parks is very different. For example, to get to either Disneyland or California Adventure when staying at a nearby off site hotel, you can walk down the street and be there. At Disney World, if you stay at a Disney hotel, you may be able to walk to one of the 4 parks. You absolutely can’t walk to the Magic Kingdom- the Monorail/Ferry can be pretty time consuming.

Although it has many of the same rides, most of those rides have a lot of differences. (Take Space Mountain for example. The Disney World one doesn’t have very good music and the track has more drops, but the Disneyland one has very good music that makes the ride so much better but it only has one drop.)

Disney World has 4 theme parks and 2 water parks and Disneyland has 2 theme parks. That may make it sound like Disney World is a lot better but the theme parks (other than Magic Kingdom) have a lot less rides. (For example, Hollywood Studios literally has 4 rides right now. Animal Kingdom has 8 I think, and Epcot I think has 7.)

Disney World has alligators...

Fastpass is WAY different. (Disney World, you get to reserve them way in advance, at Disneyland you reserve them day of.)


If you loved Disney World, you’ll love Disneyland just about as much, if not more.
 
Please do NOT think that 2 days will "be enough" time to do DLR. We have gone several times for 4 days and have NOT been able to do everything we wanted to. 2 days you will get to see the highlights, maybe more if you rush around, but the charm is taking your time and enjoying the atmosphere and details......

I agree. We have done one trip at each. At WDW we did 4.5 days...half a day was non-Disney (plus/including a party night). Our trip was fantastic. At DL we did 4 days straight. Our trip was fantasmic. In both cases, we could have used more time. And with DL, this was with park hoppers and MaxPass. It was end of the summer so "shorter" hours but we were at the parks without break...so from about 9am-8pm depending on the day. We still missed tons.
 
... If you are used to the grandeur of Cinderella's Castle as a premium focal spot in the park, Sleeping Beauty's Castle is seriously underwhelming, almost disappointing. You will look at it and say, "that's it?"...

But when you look up and see the Matterhorn rising to the right, behind SLB's castle, you'll say, "Ah hah! I get it now!" After all, how many castles do you know of anywhere that are bigger than an alp? I love the B&W photo of Walt watching the group of children running full speed through the castle entry. His chosen design was perfect -- so that the children would feel big and magical, not overwhelmed and afraid. :)
 
If you’ve never been to DL, it is hard to wrap your head around the compactness of the resort. There is no need for a monorail...it’s a ride, not really a legitimate transportation option—because it doesn’t need to be. Even the farthest-flung rooms on property are less than a 15-minute walk from the entrance gates.

The Grand Californian has a direct entrance into DCA. Like, walk out the hotel door and into the park direct. Some people use that entrance and then park hop over to Disneyland. Or, there’s another exit into Downtown Disney that is a short walk to the main entrance gates (which are a better idea to use for EMH anyway).

Park hopping at DL is like going from Future World into World Showcase, but with ticket turnstiles.

Because of the longer park hours, I would recommend rope dropping, taking an afternoon break, and coming back in the evening. If you’re only there for two days, and want to see a good chunk of the parks, you’ll need more than just the mornings. The later evening ours are awesome..the parks are so pretty, and they tend to clear out a bit after the fireworks.
 
If you are used to the grandeur of Cinderella's Castle as a premium focal spot in the park, Sleeping Beauty's Castle is seriously underwhelming, almost disappointing. You will look at it and say, "that's it?".
But when you look up and see the Matterhorn rising to the right, behind SLB's castle, you'll say, "Ah hah! I get it now!" After all, how many castles do you know of anywhere that are bigger than an alp? I love the B&W photo of Walt watching the group of children running full speed through the castle entry. His chosen design was perfect -- so that the children would feel big and magical, not overwhelmed and afraid. :)
This.

A WDW vet who loves Cindy's castle might be similarly bewildered by the DLR vet entering MK for the first time and paying little attention to the castle there because they cannot get over the fact that there is no Matterhorn next to the castle. DL's castle is a classic and common example of how comparing the resorts and parks without a larger understanding of the differences and perspectives can lead to disappointment. One can easily find more examples which are similar.

FWIW, below is a photo I took of the Matterhorn and Sleeping Beauty's Castle from the top deck of the Mark Twain
full

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Also, to be fair, DLR is small, and it is crowded. It feels much more crowded that WDW, because there are more people stuffed into smaller areas inside the Magic Kingdom. Adventureland, in particular, is almost too much for me to handle, its claustrophobic.
Yes, I agree, with some clarifications...

It is a common question about whether DLR is more or less crowded than WDW. I agree that much of the time DLR feels more crowded because of narrower walkways. than WDW parks. However, anyone who has spent time in ride queues at DLR and WDW knows that DLR's wait times are typically much less than WDW. So in this way DLR can feel less crowded because you do not wait as long for rides.

Good example are Soarin' and TSMM. Until WDW built a third theater for Soarin and third track for TSMM (DCA's version only have two each), average wait times at WDW vs. DLR were probably twice as long. TSMM DCA rarely got over an hour and was often 40 minutes. TSMM DHS often was 2 hours mid-day.

Part of the reason for this is that DLR has a higher ride concentration and thus has more places (queues) to "put people". This spreads out guests much better at DLR and makes wait times much more reasonable most of the time. For more on this see: https://www.disboards.com/threads/ride-count-comparison-between-dlr-and-wdw.3221332/

:wizard:
 
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In think the biggest thing you notice is that DL is treated much more like a local them park and less like a vacation resort. Nearly 20M people live within day-tripping distance and most of those grew up going to DL. They go for a day, but go sveral days throughout the year. Few of them feel a need to fit everything into one trip like they do at WDW. There is far less planning and services catering to long-term guests.
 
Here are some items that I've posted before about ride differences, particularly between rides with the same name. You may find this helpful.

Jungle Cruise: DLR version does not have the tunnel through the temple.

Pirates of the Caribbean: DLR version is vastly superior and much longer containing scenes that are not at WDW at all. It does tend to back up at unload because the boats are brought up to the original level before you get out. There are two drops. Only the facade is better at WDW.

Haunted Mansion: DLR version is slightly shorter, but not much. The hallway to board is much longer, and the scene with the busts that follow you is actually there. They (DL) now have Hatbox Ghost, who is amazing and that helps even it up with the WDW version. WDW does not have Hatbox, but does have the enhanced Hitchhiking Ghosts that sometimes even interact with a Magic Band. The facade is better at WDW and it has the interactive graveyard queue.

Splash Mountain: It's similar but not exactly. The logs have single-file seating and the drop is definitely smaller (ETA: not really apparently - they are both 50 feet). The WDW one has bench seating with several across. It seems like you get wetter on the DLR one.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: The DLR version loads on an outside platform. The ride is the same except for the new effects added to the final climb. They are very cool, so DLR wins this round (though the loading/queue area is much better at WDW).

Sleeping Beauty Castle/Cinderella Castle: Despite being much smaller, the DLR castle actually has an attraction in it. It's a walk-through with storybook scenes from Sleeping Beauty. It's actually rather cool and easy to miss. Cinderella Castle only has a hard to get into restaurant in it.

Peter Pan's Flight: It's a little shorter at DLR but not by a lot. Some of the scenes are arranged differently. It loads even slower because it stops to load. It has the basic, old-style queue.

Dumbo: This is the old-school version, not the double-Dumbo of WDW. WDW version now has two spinners, plus a playground for the kids while you wait. You are given a pager that goes off when you are to report to the ride.

Mad Tea Party: The DLR one is not under a canopy.

it's a small world: DLR version had a much cooler facade and loads outdoors. The ride is about the same length but they have incorporated Disney characters into some scenes. I like it!

Autopia/Tomorrowland Speedway: Autopia (DLR) is much longer and has a nicer queue, but otherwise the ride is the same.

Space Mountain: This is controversial. The DLR version is smaller, but it arguably a better roller-coaster. It is also much smoother. You sit side-by- side in rows of 2 instead of the single file (you can see WDW's Space Mountain ride system in action at the Matterhorn!). I don't think the theming is as strong, though the on-ride soundtrack is a nice bonus. Most people like DLR's better

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters/Space Ranger Spin: The DLR version had guns that you can actually hold making aiming easier. WDW version has the guns on a swivel and you can't pick them up (think Toy Story Mania). Otherwise they are very similar.

DLR is definitely worth a visit for WDW veterans.
 
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BrainL, great description/comparison of the rides. One comment I'l add..and this is from my son only as I don't ride that one....but it's his very favorite ride. He did comment that Splash is better at WDW in the sense of telling the story. Having said that, he still went on multiple times each day at DL (except when it broke down) and I'll say that the drop "looked" so much bigger at DL.

Unfortunately we missed my very favorite at DL as Haunted Mansion was closed due to the Halloween overlay (which I guess is another difference as they redo a few rides for Halloween & Christmas).

I will comment that table service options are better at WDW and more shows overall....but WOC is not to be missed.
 
BrainL, great description/comparison of the rides. One comment I'l add..and this is from my son only as I don't ride that one....but it's his very favorite ride. He did comment that Splash is better at WDW in the sense of telling the story. Having said that, he still went on multiple times each day at DL (except when it broke down) and I'll say that the drop "looked" so much bigger at DL.

Unfortunately we missed my very favorite at DL as Haunted Mansion was closed due to the Halloween overlay (which I guess is another difference as they redo a few rides for Halloween & Christmas).

I will comment that table service options are better at WDW and more shows overall....but WOC is not to be missed.

I think that's fair on Splash. The DL version is a little shorter and the sections are less defined, still they are reasonably comparable. Research tells me that the drops are exactly the same at 50 feet, but I always felt thought that the DL one was smaller.
 

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