Why do people prefer Walt Disney World to Disneyland?

nw_man

I have been to both.

Magic Kingdom is the same in both I think.

Disneys California Adventure Park is obviously in Anaheim and NOT Florida.

However Florida has Epcot etc....

As for Universal Studios, again I have visited both and love them both. The LA version is more of a working studio with filming happening and actual film backlots available to see and visit.

California has Knotts Berry Farm... Florida has Busch Gardens.

Two different places and two places both of merit.

moneywasternomore!

Please keep quiet about Disneyland. Now I've done Paris, and did Disneyland on a quick night-stop in LA about 20 years ago, but have not faced the behemoth of WDW, much to the chagrin of the 2 mini-moneywasters, though we have braved Orlando...

For me, the main attraction of Disneyland is the distinct lack of football-shirted Brits compared to WDW in the summer!!

maemaesmummy

Indout96 wrote: »

1) Florida is (or was) cheaper to get to
2) 9 hour flight rather than 12 (a big deal with Kids)
3) Florida Disney is larger than LA and then start adding in MGM - Epcot
4) Universal studios in LA is cr*p compared to Universal in Orlando

I'm sure there are many more reasons but having been to both several times Florida really is a clear winner plus for a first timer to the US Florida is far easier to get to and far more laid back driving wise.

Long gone are the days when Orlando is a cheaper option..we can do 4 weeks in LA for the price of 2 weeks in Orlando with Virgin lol

vivatifosi

Although it is the newest and the technically most advanced overall, Disneyland Paris does not have the "flavour" of Disneyland or Disneyworld. It's like owning a print of a favourite artwork rather than the original: good but there's something that's not quite right.

Which leaves the other two. Walt Disney did not see WDW through to completion, but he was instrumental in the planning of both, you cannot rule out the hand of Walt in Disneyworld. His brother and long term business partner, Roy, opened the park. Although Walt was the front-man, he and Roy worked extremely closely together and Roy was committed to achieving his brother's dream.

Disneyland in its day was completely revolutionary. Walt stated that he opened it as a place for a family day out. Prior to Disneyland, there were no family theme parks. Fun fairs and more adult oriented attractions, but not something for all the family. This was his aim at Disneyland. The layout of the Magic Kingdom type parks is essentially the same, with what Walt called the "big Wiener" in the middle - the draw - of the castle, in a wheel spoke pattern. So Walt bought his land in Anaheim, which at the time was among orange groves, and built his theme park. As other posters have mentioned, the space there, though quite big, was built around quickly. So you can stand in parts of Disneyland and look up and see, for example, the local Hilton hotel. This doesn't happen in Disneyworld.

When Walt had the vision for WDW he bought up a lot of land in secret. The idea was to have enough land that all of the future dreams and plans of the company could be kept on one site. These plans have changed a lot since Walt's day, the biggest change is probably the vision of Epcot, which was planned as a lived in community rather than a theme park.

Since its original opening, a second theme park has been built in California, in the former car-park of the original. Initially this was slated as lacking vision and not having big rides. However it did give birth to one of the most popular new rides - Soarin', which has since transferred to WDW and if rumours are to be believed - is being refilmed to remove the California theme.

Disneyland has a lot to offer. It is on the doorstep of Los Angeles so you can see other attractions too. In reality it is not that close to Universal Studios though, as you are effectively travelling across a large city to get from one to the other. Disneyland is a great place to visit, but I wouldn't go there as a destination in itself for a couple of weeks. It is however a wonderful place to go as part of a west coast tour or for a stay in LA. Additionally there isn't as wide a choice of Disney accommodations and those that there are with one exception are not as themed. For purists though there is something very special about Disneyland, even if the castle looks like Sleeping Beauty's bungalow in comparison with Cinderella's at WDW.

WDW on the other hand is a complete destination. If you want to you can go there for two weeks and not leave Walt Disney World. You can't do that in California as they will kick you out of the park at the end of the day and you're back to reality. Both are great though and any Disney fan should try to get to both in their lifetime so that they can make their own personal comparisons.

If you are planning a visit, its worth checking out the weather for both. I'd argue that a nice time to visit Disneyland is late Spring, my favourite time to visit WDW is November/December as its less hot and there are more events in the prep for Christmas.

dickydonkin

Having been to both US parks on many occasions when the kids were younger, thankfully I can now avoid the hideous ordeal of having to visit these places when I travel to the states.

Yes -call me a grumpy git.....but I just could never see the enjoyment of having to queue in hot, winding never ending lines of squealing kids (American kids were the worse) that seemed to take an eternity to clear - seeing the sign '30 minutes waiting from this point' after already waiting for God knows how long used to make me feel like jumping under the Disney Trams -but I couldn't because I was stuck in the queue!

Then there was the danger of being pushed, shoved and bumped when the disney characters walked around for photo opportunities.

Safety boots and body armour was the order of the day - it was like waiting around the whoopsie counter in Tesco when the guy is reducing the prices - you really have to push and shove to get in - no mean feat with bl**dy 25 stone Americans (and that's just the women!) pushing their kids in to get a photograph or autograph of some poor sweating s*d in a character suit!

Oh.......and don't forget the ubiquitous smell of sickly pocorn and overpriced food filling the air from outlets on every corner to tempt a captive market to part with more dollars ensuring Disney shareholders are as happy as their dwarf characters namesake.

Add to that the fortune you pay for the 'pleasure' of this torture makes me happy that my kids are now grown up and I can see REAL parts of the States - not a sugar coated fantasy world where the 'D' in Disney = $ - not that you will have many left after a day of misery anyway!

On my recent trip to California, I drove past the entrance of the Anaheim Park and I felt so sorry for those poor 'Clark Griswald Types' with a load of kids in tow heading towards Disneyland entrance.

Walt stated that he opened it as a place for a family day out.

Walt Disney has a lot to answer for - the man must have been a sadist!

mummyroysof3

shows how much i know...didnt even know there is 2 lol atm paris one is out of our price range as 5 of us would need passports first lol