The Disneyland Difference (From a Disney World Regular)

If you are a guest who is used to going to Walt Disney World but are going to be visiting Disneyland, there are some differences that you will need to know about. The first difference is the number of parks. In Walt Disney World there are 4 parks, 2 water parks and Disney Springs. Disneyland has 2 parks and Downtown Disney.

The next difference that you will notice is the Lands. 

Disneyland has:

New Orleans Square- Tiana’s Palace, Mint Julep Bar- which has the best Mickey shaped beignets and Mint Juleps (which were Walt’s favorite), Pirates of the Caribbean, Blue Bayou Restaurant, the Haunted Mansion and the Disneyland Railroad. 

Critter Country- Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

Mickey’s Toon Town- Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Cafe Daisy, Minnie’s House and Mickey’s House, Donald’s Duck Pond, Chip ‘n’ Dale’s GADGETcoaster and Goofy’s How-To-Play Yard. 

Walt Disney World has:

Liberty Square- Haunted Mansion, The Hall of Presidents, Columbia Harbour House and Liberty Tree Tavern

Storybook Circus- Dumbo the Flying Elephant, The Barnstormer, Walt Disney World Railroad, Pete’s Silly Sideshow and Casey Jr. Splash ‘N’ Soak Station. 

Attractions

As far as the rides themselves, Pirates of the Caribbean in Disneyland is much longer and has the Blue Bayou Restaurant inside of the ride. The Haunted Mansion in Disneyland gets a Nightmare Before Christmas overlay in August that remains until January, so Jack Skellington, Zero, Sally and Oogie Boogie will join the 999 Happy Haunts that live in the mansion year round. “it’s a small world” in Disneyland has a much grander outside facade than the one in Walt Disney World. Guests can watch a show every 15 minutes featuring the animated figures of the ride and see a holiday projection show every 30 minutes in the evening during the holiday season. 

Transportation

Disneyland has a monorail like Walt Disney World does, however, unlike Walt Disney World where the monorail travels between parks and to certain resorts, the monorail at Disneyland only travels from Downtown Disney to Tomorrowland in Disneyland Park. Another big difference is that the monorails in Walt Disney World continue running for a period of time after the parks close and the monorail in Disneyland stops running a short time before park closing. Don’t make the mistake that I did and walk all the way back to the Tomorrowland Monorail Station only to find out that the monorail was no longer running for the night and have to walk all the way back to the front of the park!

Characters

Character sightings are also different at Disneyland. You will find most characters roaming around the park rather than in a specific location. You can have them sign autograph books and take pictures with them as they roam about. At Walt Disney World, the characters are mostly in designated locations and guests must go to their location to get autographs and take pictures. When I was in Disneyland Park, I got to see a number of characters that I’ve never seen before such as Pete, Pinocchio and Geppetto, the Cheshire Cat and the Genie. 

Size

At Disneyland, everything is very walkable. The 3 Disneyland Resorts are at one end of Downtown Disney and both parks are at the other end. Even if you are staying at a Good Neighbor Hotel, most of those are across the street from the main entrance to Disneyland so guests can easily walk to the parks. However, at Walt Disney World, there are several modes of transportation that guests can use to go between parks or from their resort to a park but for the most part, walking is not an option as everything at the resort is much more spread out. 

The Little Things You Don’t Think About

The biggest difference between Disneyland and Walt Disney World that I was not prepared for on my first visit was how much more standing you do in Disneyland. There is no seating for shows such as World of Color or Fantasmic! unless you do one of the dessert parties. Guests should be prepared to stand in their spot before the show starts as well as during the show. Depending on how early you get a spot, you could be standing for a very long time. 

I believe that the differences at Disneyland are what make the park special and that people who frequent Walt Disney World should visit Disneyland at least once to experience the differences for themselves. 

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