In my last post I focused on the differences between the
Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. In this post I will look at the remaining
parks in both resorts. For WDW, that is
Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom.
And for Disneyland, that means California Adventure.
Let’s start with some of the rides that are similar between
the two resorts. Star Tours at WDW is
located at Hollywood Studios. The ride
itself is exactly the same as it is at Disneyland. The one major difference, though, is the line
queue. You get to walk through the
forest moon of Endor complete with AT-AT at WDW. It’s pretty cool! Toy Story Midway Mania is also the same in
both parks, with the line queue being more exciting in Florida. The ride itself is great! It’s totally worth the wait in both
places! Advantage Disney World for the
line queues, but a draw for the rides.
And, then there’s Tower of Terror. It is similar in both places, but the Florida
version adds an extra twist when the cars move along a track before getting to
the big drop. At first I thought it was
cool, but then it takes you into an unsettling dark room and I wasn’t a fan of
that. The second time I rode it at WDW,
I focused more on the details of the ride and what I realized is that the story
is not as tight as it is in California.
The story, as told on the ride, is much stronger at Disneyland. And for that reason, I like the Disneyland
version better.
Now for some differences, starting with Epcot. Epcot is a beautiful park which is split into
two areas, Future World and World Showcase.
Future World features two really innovative rides. Test Track is a really cool ride in which you
get to design your own car and then simulate the specs while on the ride. It’s a fun slot car race type ride. I thought the whole premise was clever and
the ride is a lot of fun. Also in Future
World is Mission:Space, which simulates a mission to Mars. I absolutely loved this ride!! The ride vehicle is very detailed and
actually gives each rider a task as if you really are a flight crew. And you really feel the G Forces if you
choose the Orange side. You can choose
the Green side if you get motion sickness, so you can still enjoy the
ride. These two rides are a definite
plus for WDW. The rest of Epcot just
continues to add to the mystique.
Spaceship Earth, which is the ride located in the big geodesic sphere,
is also a ton of fun and gives guests a chance to put themselves in a video
that they can send to themselves. The
Seas pavilion in Future World has a wonderful aquarium and two Finding Nemo
inspired attractions, which can also be found at Disneyland.
After you finish exploring Future World, though, you head
over to World Showcase and proceed to sample all kinds of delicious food and
drink. Walking around this section of
the park is incredibly relaxing and romantic.
Nothing at Disneyland can compare to this. It is really geared more towards adults,
however, so don’t be surprised if the kids get bored in this section of the
park. But overall, Epcot gives a huge
edge to WDW.
I’ve already discussed a few rides from Hollywood Studios,
but there’s one more big one that’s a lot of fun. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is a thrilling indoor
roller coaster complete with an Aerosmith soundtrack. It’s definitely a must. The Great Movie Ride is another unique ride
to the park and is a must see for any movie lover. The rest of Hollywood Studios includes some
fun stunt shows and a great Fantasmic experience in its own theater. Although, I will say the best thing we saw at
this park was the Star Wars fireworks show which was absolutely beautiful. Everyone should see that show if possible.
The final park at WDW is Animal Kingdom. The feature here is the animals. So the Kilimanjaro Safaris is an absolute
must. It is a 20 minute ride through an
open animal encounter. You get to see
everything from lions and cheetahs to giraffes and elephants. After getting your zoo fix you can then ride
Expedition Everest, a really unique mountain roller coaster. I don’t want to spoil anything for you, but
there are definitely some surprises on this ride! Also at Animal Kingdom is Dinosaur, a ride
back in time to the prehistoric world.
The ride vehicles and track is pretty the same as Indiana Jones, but not
as good. I love dinosaurs, but this ride
is just ok. The rest of Animal Kingdom
has some really amazing shows including Lion King and Finding Nemo. I’m not usually a fan of shows, but these two
were totally worth it.
So now let’s switch coasts and look at the second park at
Disneyland, California Adventure. This
park features a unique blend of adult thrills and children’s fun. I’ve already discussed Tower of Terror and
Toy Story, but another feature ride of the park is California Screamin’, an
amazing outdoor roller coaster. I’m
pretty sure this is the longest coaster ride in any of the Disney parks and
includes a loop and lots of air time. I
always have fun on this ride. The other
big ride is Radiator Springs Racers, which is located in the beautifully
designed Cars Land. This ride is similar
in style to Test Track, but takes you through Radiator Springs in a really fun
dark ride atmosphere before going outside for a race through the hills. When you’re done riding the Racers, you
should make sure you enjoy Cars Land, because it is really beautifully
done. Another unique attraction at
California Adventure is World of Color, the nighttime show. It is a blend of water show, light show, and
video show. It’s really cool.
Other rides at California Adventure include Soarin’ over
California, a fun flight simulator type ride, and Grizzly River Rapids, a water
ride. Both rides are fun and have
counterparts in Florida, but they were closed when I went so it is hard to
compare them. Other parts of the park
are similar to Epcot in the sense that you can sample some good food and get your
drink on at places that are unique to California such as a Napa Valley winery
and a bread factory. It’s a nice way to
relax during the day.
Ride-wise, it’s easy to give the edge to WDW because there
are just more of them spread among the four parks. The rides there are innovative and fun and
really do a much better job keeping guests entertained while in line. The rides at Disneyland are also fun, but
they just can’t compete with the quantity at WDW.
So let’s look at some other aspects of the resorts. WDW has over 150 restaurants on
property. That’s a ridiculous amount of
options and you can pretty much find any type of food that suits you. Disneyland can’t compete with that. But with all those parks, rides, restaurants,
etc., WDW is just plain huge. And with
that sheer size comes some issues.
Trying to park hop or even get back to your hotel takes a lot of
time. Even walking within the parks is a
huge task. The Disneyland resort is much
more intimate and much more conducive to seeing in a short amount of time. I can understand why people spend a week at
WDW, whereas it is perfectly feasible to spend a weekend or even a day at Disneyland and do
it all. For that reason I give
Disneyland the edge.
One other thing I was surprised about at WDW was the lack in
merchandise diversity. It seemed like
every store was filled with the same stuff, even across the four parks. I assumed there would be a lot more choice,
especially when it came to the pins. As
an avid pin collector I was looking forward to see what WDW had to offer. What I found was quite disappointing. I really feel like the pin selection at Disneyland
is much more diverse and you see something different in every store. Also, the pin displays at WDW were much
smaller compared to Disneyland. I
expected the opposite to be true considering everything else is bigger there.
And, finally, Disneyland has a sense of history that WDW
just can’t contend with. Walt had a hand
in everything with Disneyland, but unfortunately he passed away before WDW was
finished. When you walk through
Disneyland you know that you are walking in Walt’s footsteps, and that is
something that is just indescribable.
Maybe it’s because I grew up going to Disneyland, but I really do think
it is the better park. Don’t get me
wrong, WDW is incredibly fun and you will have an amazing time there, but after
going there recently, I would be ok with not going again for another
decade. As fun as it is and as magical a
time as I had with my wonderful girlfriend, it’s just so overwhelming. And I really would only want to go during
off-peak times anyway. Disneyland, on
the other hand, I could go at anytime, and when I leave I’m ready to go back
again immediately.
So if I had to pick one, I would choose Disneyland. I hope you enjoyed my comparison. Please feel free to comment with your
thoughts.
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