Varied Skies

As veterans of multiple Walt Disney World tours, we left our beach-side site at Dockweiler with some trepidation, traversed the spider-web freeway system of LA County, and setup shop in Anaheim a stones throw from Walt’s original park creation, Disneyland. Props for being Walt’s first-born, but how could this small, aging, urbanized, park even compare to Disney World? Walt designed Disney World to rectify problems he saw in Disneyland. The park’s very names establish a pecking order–“world” trumps “land” every time. Even Disney’s own marketing, which casts Disney World as “The Most Magical Place On Earth” and Disneyland as “The Happiest Place On Earth,” reinforces that pecking order. Anybody can be happy. I was happy we did not break down in Compton on the way to Anaheim. But “magic” is special.

Nevertheless, legions of Disneyland fans prefer Disneyland over Disney World. We are not among them, though our affection for the original Mouse House grew as we explored the park and its sister park, California Adventures. After getting our “Disney Legs” underneath us, we very much enjoyed our stay. Without a doubt, Disneyland is a special place worth visiting, even if you truly believe Disney World to be “The Most Magical Place On Earth.”

We stayed at Anaheim RV Park for a week and spent five days inside the parks, three at Disneyland and two at California Adventures. Rather than give a blow-by-blow account of our adventures, I’ll touch on our perceptions of Disneyland as compared to Disney World. Maybe someone will find this information useful in deciding whether to include Disneyland in their future vacation plans.

Size: 43 square miles (DW) vs. 500 acres (DL). Disney World surrounds you in the “Disney Bubble.” You could spend weeks at Disney World and never see the outside world…until your money ran out. Suburban streets surround Disneyland. While this makes for a less immersive experience, it does provide ample opportunity to dine off-site at cheaper/better places. We enjoyed going to the square in Orange, Ca, and eating at Blaze Pizza and Smoqued BBQ.

Number of Parks: 4 (DW) vs. 2 (DL). Disney World has more parks and more rides, but the difference might not be as dramatic as you think. Disneyland manages to squeeze in many of the best rides offered by Disney World and some great rides not available in Florida. Moreover, hopping from Disneyland to California Adventures takes mere minutes, making all the rides easily accessible even if you are there for only a day or two.

Ride Differences: You won’t find the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train, Rockin’ Roller Coaster, Test Track, Mission Space, or any major attraction from Animal Kingdom at Disneyland. On the other hand, Disneyland offers Radiator Spring Racers, Indiana Jones, Mickey’s Fun Wheel, Matterhorn, and several Fantasyland attractions geared for smaller kids (e.g., Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Pinocchio, Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, Storybook Canal) not found at Disney World. Moreover, some Disneyland rides are better than their sister attraction at Disney World. For example, Pirates of the Caribbean departs from New Orleans and is a longer, more entertaining ride that its DW counterpart.

From the top of Mickey’s Fun Wheel

Toy Story is great at both parks, though the Midway theme works best at the California Adventures Boardwalk.

The Castle: Sleeping Beauty’s Castle at Disneyland is a nice place, but I know in my heart that Sleeping Beauty is seriously jonesing for Cinderella’s Castle, the centerpiece of Disney World’s Magic Kingdom.

Holiday Theme: Disneyland re-themes several rides for the Holidays. It’s a Small World echoes with joyous songs from around the world intermixed with that oh so familiar refrain.

Jack Skellington and his crew from Halloween Town, as depicted in the Nightmare Before Christmas, took over the Haunted Mansion.

And the Jungle Cruise becomes the Jingle Cruise when a shipment of Christmas decorations goes missing in the jungle only to be used and abused by the locals.

To my knowledge, Disney World does not re-theme rides for the holidays, though the Osborne Family Light Display at Hollywood Studies should not be missed.

RVing: Disneyland does not have an RV park. Though Anaheim RV Resort is a decent place to stay and is very close to Disneyland, nothing beats Fort Wilderness and the experience of catching a boat to the Magic Kingdom.

That hits the key park differences from our perspective. If you are looking to get away from it all and immerse yourself in all things Disney, head to Disney World. If you want a great Disney experience and are interested in exploring Southern California as part of your vacation, head to Disneyland. Better yet, try them both!