Disney vs Disney (land vs world)
Our family loves Disney. It is in our blood. Sara’s grandfather was one of the “original 55” employees at Disney. He came home one day, told his wife that he quit his job to start working at a new amusement park that was opening. He retired there 30 years later. We have been fortunate to visit both Disneyland and Disneyworld. We try to go whenever we can. Both parks are awesome, but there are definitely some differences between them. I may lean towards favoring DW, the rest of my family may lean towards DL. Lets review some of the differences between them.
Disneyland
Disneyland was the original park, opening July 17, 1955. There is still some of this history and nostalgia evident in this park. I have been to DL many more times than DW, so may know it a little better. DL has 2 parks, Disneyland Resort and Disney California Adventure Park. Disneyland Resort is the original park and Disney California Adventure Park opened in 2001. The size of both parks is 72 acres. There are 3 resorts on-site at DL. There are multiple “Good Neighbor Hotels” and other hotels in the surrounding area for any budget. If you can afford it, the Disney Grand Californian Hotel and Spa looks amazing and affords you direct back entrance to California Adventure Park. A trip to DL requires less planning ahead than a trip to DW (explain more later). A regular ticket bought at DL allows access to one of the 2 parks, unless you upgrade to a park hopper that allows to go to either park on the same day. A park hopper is definitely useful at DL as the parks are very close together. Once in the park, you can choose what rides to get a fast pass for. Fast pass allows for a shorter wait to get on the ride. You can only have 2 fast passes at a time. Disney recently released MaxPass which is a life saver. It does cost $20 more per ticket, but is worth it if you can afford it. It allows you to add fast passes on the Disney app, so you do not need to physically be at the ride to get your fast pass. You can add, change, delete fast passes directly on the app, anywhere in the resort. It also allows you to keep all the photos taken by Disney PhotoPass. These are the photos taken by cast members throughout the resort.
There are many places to eat at DL. Some are not too hard on the budget. There is a variety of food options to cater to every taste. You can choose fast food, such as burgers/fries, hot dogs etc to more upscale dining at the Wine Country Trattoria. DL does not have a meal plan that is an option at DW. DL has a shopping / food mall outside the park called Downtown Disney. There are many fun shops and dining options to explore.
Disneyworld
Disneyworld opened in 1965. DW is much larger in area and is spread over four main parks. The total space in DW covers 25,000 acres (compared to 72 for DL). The parks are more spread apart and “hopping” from one to another is a little more complicated. Planning for a trip to DW takes a little more advanced foresight. There are more than 25 Disneyworld resorts. I would definitely recommend staying at a Disney affiliated resort as there are some benefits to this. The most important (in my opinion) is planning your fast passes. If you are staying at a DW resort, you can make fast pass selections up to 60 days in advance. If not, you will need to wait until 30 days in advance to make these selections. Some of the more popular attractions may even book up and not be available at 30 days out. You will also be have better selection of times for the booking. There are other benefits to staying at a DW hotel including:
Fast Pass Reservations
Extra Magic Hours
Free Disney Resort Transportation
Option to get a Disney Dining Plan
Can make dinner reservations up to 180 days in advance
Free Magic Bands for entire family
Disney purchases can be delivered to your room
the “magic” continues into your hotel room
There are four parks at DW. They are Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. You can get a park hopper pass to DW, but because the parks are much farther apart, it is not as necessary as at DL. We had park hopper passes and did not use them once. Like at DL, DW has an app that lists all your Fast Pass selections and shows approximate wait times. You can also order food at several participating eateries.
You will need more time at DW than DL. You can enjoy DL in 1 or 2 days (although the more the better)! DW requires at least one day per park. That means you will need at least 4 days to experience all parks. These will be full, busy days and you will be tired. We clocked around 10 miles per day at each park. Get some good shoes, your feet will thank you. If you have more days, you can take it a little easier, go back to your hotel when tired, and not try to cram it all in. My favorite park was Animal Kingdom. The Pandora experience is amazing. My family enjoys Hollywood studios best.
Like DL, there is a shopping and dining mall at DW outside the park called Disney Springs. There are many fun shops and dining options to explore here. Depending on where you are staying, it likely will require some transportation to get here, but is worth it.
Feel free to comment and add some of your own suggestions on enjoying all things Disney!
