I’ll admit it – I’m a Walt Disney World girl at heart. I love the four parks and how vastly different they are, all the resort options, and even the transportation options. Maybe it’s just the familiarity of it, but regardless, Disney World has my heart.
HOWEVER… I recently went to Disneyland (California) with my incredible Travel Agency on a FAM Trip (Familiarization Trip) to get to see Disneyland for myself and soak up all the info to better serve my clients and y’all…it was so fun!! My first trip to California and my first time at Disneyland. It was so cool to see where it all started. The nostalgia of the OG Disney rides and attractions. Seeing Walt’s apartment. It was all amazing and you could just feel the magic!
Here are my opinions on Disneyland as well as my experiences on my trip!
Convenience
The convenience of Disneyland is that everything is truly RIGHT THERE. No need to hop on a bus or a boat to get to another park. Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure are directly across from each other. We got Park Hoppers so we would literally just leave one park and walk over to the other which was so nice! We also stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, which is situated right next to Downtown Disney and walking distance to both parks. It was wild to see how close everything is!
Nostalgia
Many of Walt’s original opening day attractions can still be experienced today. The Disneyland Railroad, Matterhorn, Peter Pan’s Flight, Dumbo, and Jungle Cruise (to name a few) are still ridden daily in Disneyland.
Walt’s apartment can be found above the Fire House on Main Street, USA. While Disneyland was being built, Walt would sometimes stay in the apartment. The lamp remains lit at night in his memory.
Fun to compare
It was fun to compare Disney World and Disneyland – some of the rides are at both parks, but are different, which was neat. For example, Space Mountain at Disney World seats people one-by-one, behind each other, and Disneyland has 2-seaters. The original Haunted Mansion is found in Disneyland, and unlike Disney World, the holding room truly does go down (which was wild!). Pirates of the Caribbean is significantly longer at Disneyland, and rides like Dinosaur (WDW) and Indiana Jones (DL) have the same track.
Disney California Adventure
DCA is a totally different experience than Disneyland Park, and the addition of Avenger’s Campus is amazing! Guardians of the Galaxy: MISSION BREAKOUT is DCA’s version of Tower of Terror (re-themed a few years ago). It was super fun and I honestly liked it better than Tower of Terror!
We purchased an Individual Lightning Lane for WEBSLINGERS and it was so fun but exhausting! Our arms were all tired by the end of the ride. It was totally worth the ILL purchase, though, to not have to wait in that long line!
Another neat part of DCA is Cars Land! From the moment you enter Cars Land it feels like you are in the movie with Mater and the gang. From Flo’s V8 Cafe to Radiator Springs Racers, the whole experience is amazing! So much detail!
Did you use Genie+?
We did for one of our park days and it was super easy to book! Disneyland is different than Disney World in that you have to be IN THE PARK before you can book your first Genie+ ride. We had a consistent flow of rides through Genie+ and it really helped us to take advantage of the limited time we had. We purchased one Individual Lightning Lane attraction – WEBSLINGERS. At the time we purchased it was $12/person, but worth it to not have to waste hours in that line!
One differenced between Disneyland and Disney World with Genie+ is that Disneyland doesn’t have Magic Bands (yet!) so we had to scan our phones. No biggie – but excited that Magic Bands will be coming soon!
So which do I like better?
Honestly, they’re just so different that it’s hard to pick. I still am a WDW girl, but seeing Disneyland was an amazing experience. I can’t wait to go back with my husband someday!
For my clients, I truly think that choosing between the two depends on the family. The age of your kids, where you’re located (Cali was significantly further and more expensive for me to get to than FL), the time of year, etc etc etc. But overall, I’d say it’s totally worth doing!
