I grew up with Disneyland (DLR), and at times have struggled with feelings of disloyalty, as I’ve come to enjoy Walt Disney World (WDW) very much in recent years.
I find that as an Arizona native, when I’m talking with people about Disney trips I have to make it very clear which of the Disney parks I’m speaking of. For those people in my home state, they hear “Disney” and automatically insert “Disneyland”, even if I’m referring to WDW. I’m sure the same proximity issues arise when speaking with people from states surrounding Florida – they hear “Disney” and assume their friends and family are speaking of Disney World.
I also get asked how the two theme park resorts compare to one another and which I like best. Here’s my quick comparison…
Comparing DLR to WDW is like comparing Laughlin or Reno to Las Vegas. Both parks are built on the same beloved foundation, but one is much more “over the top”. I also tell people who’ve grown up loving one park, that a trip to the other will not ruin or diminish their “home park pride”.
DLR is charming, quaint, full of nostalgia, and has an almost tangible awareness of its history. Disneyland is the only park that Walt Disney built, walked through, and, at times, lived in.
There is a connection to that past that simply isn’t present at any of the other parks.
You can look up to the apartment where Walt resided above the fire station on Main Street. If you look just beyond the fire station, a grove of trees original to the acreage purchased for the park still stands. You can see his and his brother’s initials in the wrought iron on the patio of the Disney Dream Suite in New Orleans Square. An anniversary gift for his wife, Lillian, sits near the banks of the Rivers of America – a section of petrified tree. He and Lillian celebrated wedding anniversary dinners, along with invited guests, in The Golden Horseshoe in Frontierland. At the Disneyland RR, you might catch a glimpse of the Lilly Belle – a train car Lillian Disney personally decorated. And on and on…
Along with this charm comes one of the most noticeable differences at DLR, and that’s its size and subsequent crowds. There simply isn’t the room to spread out that is in abundance at WDW. Bottlenecks can and do occur frequently. Parks may close due to capacity issues. When you can walk the length and width of the entire resort in under thirty minutes, this can be both a blessing and a curse. At 300 acres, EPCOT at WDW is comparable in size to Disneyland and California Adventure combined.
In addition, the type of guests between DLR and WDW are markedly different. DLR certainly has a more local vibe, while WDW receives much more international travel. This makes sense…if I lived overseas and was flying to the U.S. to visit a Disney park, I’d pick the bigger one too.
To its own merit, WDW has so much to offer! You could easily spend two weeks at this property and not come close to exhausting all of your possibilities.
WDW boasts four theme parks, two distinct water parks, an expansive shopping district, and numerous outdoor activities. The choices of where to stay, where to eat, and what to do are on a scale that is almost incomparable to DLR.
We just returned from a trip to Disney World, and we’re currently planning our next trip to Disneyland. My husband asked about the “tiers” for the DLR hotels, since WDW hotels are classified into three different categories. I laughed! “There are no tiers at Disneyland,” I said. Where DLR has three hotels on property, WDW has close to ten times the number of resorts.
The beauty of this beastly, large property is what Walt Disney desired most – the room to spread out his way.
He hated the gauche businesses that were a literal stone’s throw from the main entrance to Disneyland. With Disney World you can easily travel 30 minutes between destinations and still be on property.
If you want to get lost in the “Disney Bubble”, it’s much easier to do this staying on property at WDW. On a recent trip I experienced immersion in this bubble. My husband, our three kids, and I stayed on property for six nights before joining my extended family in a rental house off property. When picking up takeout for the rental house gang, a song was playing at the restaurant that was actually one of my favorites. I was annoyed, however, as it was such a jarring bit of reality after being so insulated in Disney for our first week of vacation.
So “which Disney” depends a lot on what sort of trip you’re looking for. There’s no right or wrong when choosing between DLR and WDW, and you can love them both for different reasons, as I’ve found for our family.
And now “why Disney”…
I am unapologetically, yet torturously, Type A. For me Disney offers a complete break from reality. I can go over and over and never tire of a vacation at Disney, because that’s what it is for me – VACATION! I don’t want the fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants excitement and adventure. I want the comfortable-well-worn-old-shoe sort of feel. That’s just me, and why Disney fits my particular bill.
Because of my personality disorder, I think a lot! I’ve found that, amazingly, Disney thinks even more than I do. So when you hear, “they’ve thought of everything”, it’s true! Their attention to detail is at such a heightened level, that I can trust them to take over and follow along. If this makes me seem like stupid, bleating livestock, I will happily follow Disney to school any day! I will stand where they want me to stand, queue where they want me to queue, and will even look forward to using their well kept and perfectly themed restrooms.
Every time I walk through the tunnel under the train station on Main Street and see this sign, I feel like I’m home. I know how it smells, feels, and tastes to be there.
Simple, I suppose, but I know what I like, and like what I know!