Disneyland or Walt Disney World?

The Magic Kingdom part of Disney World is pretty much the same as Disneyland in Anaheim. There are of course more parts in Walt Disney World, but as far as I am concerned the ones I saw did not live up to their hype. Epcot was interesting, but I wouldn’t call it thrilling and the studio was basically Universal Studios redux. All in all I would say whichever is closer to where you are is best. I wouldn’t travel cross country to see either one.

This is such a tough question, and it doesn’t have a clearcut answer. I’ve been to WDW uhm…. 16? times in the past 6 years. I’ve been to DL once, and am going back this September.

As an overall experience, there’s simply no comparison. WDW is hands-down the better vacation destination. It is twice the size of Manhattan. It is four completely separate and distinct theme parks, two full water parks, 20+ hotels, 5 golf courses, two mini golf courses, two different shopping/nightlife districts, and more. Disneyland is two parks, side-by-side, and a small shopping/nightlife district between them.

That being said, I believe that several of the attractions that DL offers that WDW does not are very good to excellent. These include the Indiana Jones & The Temple of the Forbidden Eye, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride (WDW used to have it, it doesn’t any more), Grizzly River Run, and California Screamin. And I also believe that the DL versions of some of the attractions that are on both costs are better than the WDW versions. Space Mountain is faster and darker at DL. Pirates of the Carribean is about 5 minutes longer with at least 3 extra scenes. Soarin’s queue is better themed. (On the flip side, WDW’s Tower of Terror and Splash Mountain are significantly better than DL’s, and Tough To Be A Bug makes a lot more sense in WDW’s Animal Kingdom than in DL’s California Adventure.

In WDW, you are completely immersed. You are entering a different world, completely cut off from non-Disney. You can’t see anything from the outside world. When you’re at DL, you can see traffic on the highway on some of the taller rides, and as soon as you walk outside the main gate, there’s a Denny’s. I point these out as facts – some would say that’s a plus for WDW, others would say it’s a plus for DL.

WDW is more expensive. A one day ticket is upwards of $80 compared to DL’s one day ticket of ~$65.

Both resorts have outstanding attractions, shows, parades, fireworks, and cast members. I can’t imagine having a bad time at either of them.

A while back I made a comparison of the attractions that are unique to each resort and common to both. It’s a little outdated now, but still relevant: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AkAI9LTUaudtcGlybGh2anNZR0RPVHY2VGdkcWZWVlE&hl=en

Hope that helps!
(and no, I’ve never been to Paris, Tokyo, or Hong Kong)

I found WDW a notch above DL… considering too that there’s more parks at WDW
as it may argueably be the largest and most visited recreational resort in the world, with four theme parks, two water parks, 24 themed hotels, and massive variety of shopping, dining, entertainment and recreation experiences.

Between LA and Orlando, I pick Orlando. It’s a much bigger park with a lot of other parks (Epcot, Animal Kingdom) plus water parks (Typhoon Lagoon, etc.). Also, you can also visit Universal or Sea World in Orlando and combine a lot of different parks in one vacation.

I can’t compare DL and WDW, because I haven’t been to Disney World. I have been to two Disney theme parks: Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland. I actually found them extremely similar, except that in Tokyo Disneyland everyone speaks Japanese (bet you never saw that one coming!)

well, if you like classics, go to walt disney world, if you like new parks, go to disneyland.

Neither

@coolshaymin uhm. Huh?

Disneyland Resort
Disneyland Park – 1955
Disney’s California Adventure – 2001

Walt Disney World
Magic Kingdom – 1971
Epcot – 1982
Disney’s Hollywood Studios – 1989
Disney’s Animal Kingdom – 1998

DL has both the oldest and the newest park. How is one coast classic and the other new?

Disney World in Florida – NOTHING can beat it! If – gods forbid – you get tired of the resorts, restaurants, fun, zoos, EPCOT Centre (5 stars, BTW), etc., then the surrounding area has sooo much to offer, too! Lots of entertainment, culture, couples, families, beaches, art galleries – it’s all at your feet.

It’s the same thing dear. If u have been to one u have basical been to the other

not true at all, jamcanfi74! Disneyland is older, smaller and has much, much less amusements, not to mention, the resorts, the different “kingdoms” and the surrounding attraction that Paris and Hong Kong just cannot boast.

@jamcanfi74 that is so phenomenally false it’s mind-boggling.

Walt Disney World.

Everything is better on the East coast. :-)

Disneyland is the OG and it’s in CA not FL. That alone makes it better.

From our family’s perspective, Disneyland is preferable for older kids. It felt like there were fewer small children and strollers at DL. It made for a nice experience.

That said, the weirdest and most interesting Disney experience was at WDW. We went about 2 weeks after 9/11 and the place was nearly vacant. We got on every ride with no line (in fact, we got lost trying to find the starting point for the Pirates of Carbi ride. We found the place where the line usually started and tried to follow it but the twists and turns of the normal line path go us lost!) and they were giving freebies left and right. it was very weird to be in the big place when it was almost vacant.

I preferred WDW. DL felt like it had very little to offer if you didn’t have young children. Of course, at that time California Adventure was just being built, so there weren’t any other parks. I consider the Magic Kingdom at WDW to be mostly for young children as well, but they so much to offer for everyone in the other parks.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the “magic” of the magic kingdom, but 3 or 4 hours was all I needed. Not worth planning an entire vacation around it.

Disney World!!!