I grew up in California and have been going to Disneyland since California Adventure and Downtown Disney were parking lots. So the big question I had when we arrived in Orlando last weekend for a three day stint was, “How much alike are Disneyland and Disney World?”
Quite a bit, as it turns out.
The first thing one from the West Coast notices is that Walt Disney World is HUGE. It takes a bus just to get from one park to the next, while in California you can walk to everything. But not too fear, the parks have a great transportation system of monorails, buses and boats.
Yes, that’s right, you can take a boat to your hotel if you stay near Epcot Center or the Disney’s Magic Kingdom. You leave the park with your Indiana Jones hat and whip and jump on the waiting boat to take you to the hotel. How cool is that? At Disneyland and California Adventure you have to walk, but who wants to exercise when you’re on vacation?
Ray and Josh are mapping out our weekend
So, how do the parks in Florida stack up against to those in California? I’ll break it down and give you my thoughts on each of the four parks in Walt Disney World, beginning with Disney’s Magic Kingdom.
In the meantime, which Mouse House would you say is better? Is it really fair to compare them?
There is no comparison, Disney World RAWKS! Four parks in one, plus all the water parks, Downtown Disney, (Pleasure Island when it was around), Cirque de Soleil…., phenomenal hotels. You could go for a month and still not do everything!
Toni
Ooohhh, hurry, hurry, hurry. We’ve been planning a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando for months and are leaving tomorrow. I’m always up for more information and reviews though.
I’m a soCal girl too, so I’ve only ever been to Disneyland. Going to Disneyworld just feels like I’d be fooling around behind Disneyland’s back.
I think Walt Disney World in FLA is better than the one in Cali… just my opinion… I have not taken my children to either location yet, though. My favourite part of Walt Disney World in Orlando is staying at they Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort. HEAVEN. The only icky part of being in Orlando is no beautiful ocean.
I grew up going to Disneyland – so my childhood memories are there. I’ve only been to DisneyWorld as an adult, first with my husband and now with my little one. So different to me. WDW is just HUGE and so much more to do. That’s my pick……..but you’ll find me going back to Disneyland for a few favorites:
Matterhorn
Indiana Jones ride
and the restaurant overlooking Pirates of the Caribbean
Those are the things I miss most when in Orlando.
But being in TX, if I can make it to either coast and I’m with the MOUSE, I am happy either way!
Well, Disneyland IS the original…but now it just can’t compare with the whole WORLD that is Disney! 😉
Even tho’ there are lots of similar attractions, Disney World just has MORE. I think I heard one time that ALL of Disney Land can fit into the parking lot of the Magic Kingdom at Disney World. Or something like that…
Josh is a cutie! 🙂
I grew up going to Walt Disney World almost every year. I have been to Disneyland once. I am an Orlando girl at heart. There is so much more to explore at Disney World that each visit can be different. We just returned from a week stay with our boys (their first trip) and it was so magical.
While I love Disneyland, if you’re comparing the resorts themselves then it’s WDW all the way, hands down, make no mistake about it, waaaaaaayy better! WDW is comprised of four theme parks, two water parks and over 23 resort hotels. Disneyland Resort is comprised of two theme parks and three resort hotels. ‘Nuff said?
If you’re going to compare WDW’s Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Resort’s Disneyland, Downtown Disney in either CA or FL, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s California Adventure respectively then that is where the ONLY comparisons can be made. Even then there really is not much that is comparable. We’ll start with Downtown. Florida’s is a village of shopping and California’s is a promenade. Florida’s includes Disney Quest Indoor Interactive Theme Park. 5 floors of every video game you could imagine and some you will have never even dreamed of. You can climb into a pirate ship and fight pirates on a giant surrounding screen and go whitewater rafting with a boat and paddles. You can even build your own roller coaster and ride in it! Then there’s La Nouba the only permanent Cirque du Soleil venue the east side of the Mississippi. California’s has some shopping and some dining. Okay, on to post two. If my fellow California natives don’t hate me then follow along…….