Is Disney World better than Disneyland?
It’s a question that’s been debated amongst Disney lovers for decades. East coast versus West coast. The Grand Floridian versus The Grand Californian. The Matterhorn Bobsleds versus, well, The Laugh Floor?
Before I get into it, I want to make it perfectly clear that I ADORE Disney World. I worked there for eight months on a Disney College Program. I’m in no way bashing one of my favorite places in the world.
I’m simply saying that one great place is better than a similarly great place.
Want to know my reasons? Let’s get into it.
1. Churros
Ah, yes—the churro. Probably the most sought after snack besides the mickey ear ice cream bars. My best friend from California said he was incredibly disappointed in the churros from Disney World. At first I was kind of flabbergasted because I loved the churros at Disney World. However, after visiting Disneyland and trying the other churros, I can say the man is 100% right about one of the greatest snacks in the parks.
2. Park Hopping Is Easier
Disney World may have more parks, but by the time you get to a different one you’ve wasted close to an hour of your day. You have to exit the park, wait for the buses, board the bus, drive over to the other park, then wait in line again.
And what if you’re park hopping three parks in a day? It’s kind of a massive waste of time.
In Disneyland, all that separates California Adventure from Disneyland itself is about 100-150 yards of space. You’re cutting out at least 30 minutes of wasted time from your day that you can immediately funnel into waiting in line. Speaking of lines, let’s talk about fast passes.
3. FastPass
Ah, FastPasses. They’re probably the biggest reason I’m writing this article right now. Nothing maddened me more than when Disney World diverted away from paper FastPasses. Now they have kiosks where people can swipe second rate passes for second rate times. The reason?
Because they hand out FastPasses like restaurant reservations now. People can book FastPasses months in advance, which leaves no FastPasses for Florida residents who might want to visit the parks for the day. FastPasses for Toy Story Mania are a constant no-go. The same is true for so many of the best attractions at Disney World.
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At Disneyland everyone gets a fair chance, and that’s why I like it so much. You have just as fair of a chance at getting a FastPass as the family that booked their reservations month in advance. In the end, we’re all paying the same price to get into the parks; we all deserve the same chance at FastPasses, too.
To be honest with you, I actually don’t think the FastPass kiosks help large families who do want to plan their vacation months in advance. When I was with my family at Disney World, we used to get at least 4-5 FastPasses a day for all the awesome attractions. Now it’s only limited to three.
4. Disneyland Is Like The Greatest Hits Of Disney World
Soarin’, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Toy Story Mania. You can find all of these attractions at both Disney World and Disneyland. The major difference? You have to visit three different parks to ride all of them if you’re staying in Orlando. In Los Angeles? Not so much.
Disneyland is like the greatest hits of Disney World. Nobody likes Ellen’s Energy Adventure anyway. Instead of diluting the parks with mediocre attractions (ahem, Disney World), why not use space efficiently and make every ride/show a knockout?
That’s what Disneyland does.
They have Fantasmic, Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and all the rides I mentioned above. It’s basically the greatest hits of Disney World without mediocre attractions like The Great Movie Ride or Journey Into Imagination With Figment. I like both of those rides, but are they Soarin’? No.
5. World of Color
I’m about to really get blasphemous here. World of Color is by far the best show I’ve ever seen in any Disney park.
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