One question I hear frequently from friends is, “Should we go to Disney World or Disneyland for our big Disney trip?” The parks are not identical, and there are a fair amount of differences when you compare Disney World vs. Disneyland.
My first instinct is to tell them to go on a Disney Cruise instead, since my family prefers Disney Cruise Line over the Disney parks. But if you’ve never been to the Disney parks, I can understand the desire to visit them first.
One park is not better than the other, they are just different. So if you’re trying to decide between Disney World vs. Disneyland, consider the following:
Disney World Advantages
Theming and Atmosphere: At Disney World in Florida, you really feel like you’re in a different place. Disney World is spread out over so much land that you feel like you’re getting away from it all. The resort hotels have different themes that transport you to the Caribbean, New Orleans, the Pacific Islands or a beach boardwalk. You can feel like you’re at a lodge in the Pacific Northwest without ever leaving Florida.
Restaurants: The food at Disney World is a big part of the experience. With the number of character meals and themed restaurants, you can try new ones every visit without running out of choices. Want to dine in a car at a drive-in movie? Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater has you covered. How about eating in a romantic setting next to a Mayan pyramid, or seeing fish float by as you dine? Disney World has so many great themed restaurants.
More Parks: Disney World has four theme parks plus two water parks, compared to Disneyland’s two theme parks. That means that Disney World simply has more rides and attractions to offer. It is easy to stay an entire week at Disney World without ever leaving the property.
Superior Riding Queue System: Disney World uses the FastPass + system, which lets you reserve three rides ahead of time. That means you will have minimal wait times for those rides and you don’t have to waste time waiting in long lines. You can also add additional ride reservations after you’ve used your three ride reservations. My daughter and I rode almost every single ride at Magic Kingdom two summers ago with this system without waiting in long lines.
Disney World Disadvantages
Lots of Walking: Since Disney World is so large and spread out, you must walk a ton to get around. Even if you stay onsite, you can still walk a lot just to get from the bus drop-off to the front gate. It’s exhausting!
Offsite Hotels are Far Away: If you stay offsite, you can’t just walk from your hotel to the main gates of any of the parks. You must drive or take a shuttle, which can add a chunk of time to your day.
Weather: Orlando gets a lot of rain. Wearing a rain poncho while walking through puddles can ruin anyone’s mood! The parks also get unbearably hot during the summer.
See 4 Things I Wish I Knew Before Our Disney World Vacation by Mommy Baby Life.
Disneyland Advantages
Weather: The weather in Southern California is ideal for a theme park. It seldom rains, and the temperature is rarely as miserable in the summer as it is in Orlando.
Compact Space: Disneyland is squished in the middle of the city. You won’t see vast lagoons or green spaces around the park. However, that does make it much easier to get around. Although you will still get in a ton of walking, the distance is much more manageable.
Off-site Hotels are Close: If you want to save money by staying offsite, you can end up being closer to the main gate than the onsite hotels! Many hotels are within a 10-minute walk to the parks, so going back to your room for a mid-day nap doesn’t suck as much time from your day.
The Original! Disneyland is the original Disney park, and it still has some older rides that Disney World no longer has. If you want to ride the original Snow White ride or Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, you must go to Disneyland.
Cars Land: In my opinion, this is the best themed land in all of the parks. You really feel like you are in Radiator Springs! If your kids are a big fan of the Cars movie, you must see it!
Disneyland Disadvantages
Lack of Themed Hotels and Restaurants: The three onsite hotels at Disneyland do not have themes that are as immersive as some of the resorts at Disney World. Plus, there are only three, and none of them are moderate or value-priced. I also find the restaurants, on the whole, to be far less interesting than the ones at Disney World. There are fewer character dining opportunities and fewer destination restaurants. Dining just isn’t as exciting as it is at Disney World.
Inferior Ride Queue System: Disneyland uses a very different version of the FastPass system since a large number of visitors are local. You cannot reserve rides ahead of your visit. If you buy the MaxPass feature for $10 per person per day, you can reserve one ride at a time on your mobile phone, or you can walk to the FastPass distribution locations for each ride. I find this system to be far less efficient than the FastPass + system at Disney World. My family could not get on as many rides with this system and we waited in more lines.
Two Theme Parks: Disneyland has just two theme parks, so there are fewer rides and attractions than Disney World. If you want to spend a week in Anaheim, you probably need to visit other non-Disney attractions.
Bottom Line
It’s very difficult to say which park is better than the other when comparing Disney World vs. Disneyland. I love each of them for different reasons (although Disney Cruise Line is still my #1 Disney choice!)
If you can only visit one, I recommend Disney World in Florida. You can experience more attractions with more efficiency, and fewer lines results in more enjoyment for all family members.
What are your arguments for Disney World vs. Disneyland? Do you prefer one over the other?
Check out our other Disney posts:
10 Tips for First-timers to Disney World
Disney Cruise Line to Alaska Trip Report
Affordable (and Fun) Disney-Area Resorts for a Large Family
Five Super Duper Cheap Hotel Points Redemptions for your Trip to Disney World
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Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
This is so helpful! It has such a great pros and cons list for each!!!
@Erica Thank you!
We’re taking the kids to WDW for their first time this year, and as Disneyland annual passholders, I already warned them that they may be a bit disappointed. WDW has a different feel to it than Disneyland, but they do offer a lot more rides. We went yesterday to Disneyland & California Adventure, and between the 2 parks, 6 rides were closed (which made wait times even longer so we did single rider lines & fast passes), but since the parks are so close to each other, we just walked back and forth a few times.
I am hoping to find recommendations as to where to eat at WDW because I hate Disneyland food – way overpriced and it’s just not good. There is a McDonalds, Mimi’s Café, and Paneras just down the street which is helpful.
@Stephanie I’m also not a fan of Disneyland food. Disney World has some really great choices (although still overpriced)! We love the breakfast at ‘Ohana’s and Kona Cafe inside the Polynesian. If you’re up for adventurous food, Boma inside Animal Kingdom Lodge is a great choice. Be sure to make dining reservations six months in advance, as reservations go quickly!
Great comparison. Since we live in Florida, of course we go to the Disney parks here, but I would love to go on some of the older rides that I remember as a child. Disneyland is on the bucket list!
@Amanda Yes, those older rides at Disneyland are a trip down memory lane! 🙂
Hmmm, these are great points! We live 30 minutes from Walt Disney World and maybe because we visit so often, I actually prefer Disneyland – I like that it’s compact and cozy and of course, that it’s the original! I’ll also disagree with you and say that I loathe FastPass+, but mostly because as a local, trying to get a FP+ for anything is pretty tough! I haven’t tried the MaxPass system yet, but I do miss the old paper fastpasses!
@havediaperswilltravelblog I can see that as a local the FastPass+ system might be really annoying if you’re trying to go on a spur-of-the-moment trip and competing with tourists who have had their ride reservations for a few months. I still remember back in the ’80s, pre-FastPass, and waiting in many lines for 1+hours.
We are taking your advice and doing the disney cruise first at the end of this year. Galveston is an easy drive from our home. Like you, we have NO family able to babysit for us so the idea of a coupke of hours to ourselves each day while the kids are at the kids’ club sounds incredible! But after the cruuse i’m sure the trips to Disney parks will begin. Unless we book another cruuse, of course!!!
@Lindy I really hope you like your Disney Cruise! I love that DCL has been sailing from Galveston a few months of the year. I will warn you that the cruises are addictive!
Thank you for this! We’ve done disneyland a dozen times and I’ve wondered if we should make the trekk to disneyworld. This was very insightful!
@Karin I’m glad it was useful for you.
What a timely article. I’m planning our spring break 2019 trip to California and Disneyland is on the menu, along with a trip to LA and San Diego. I think 2 days in Anaheim should be ok based on your assessment of the parks.
Of course points and miles will be used including JetBlue points from the increased sign up bonus and UR transferred to Hyatt for hotels. Also am looking at the new AmEx Hyatt card which gives Diamond status and other perks for a possible stay at the Hotel Coronado in San Diego.
@Natasha That sounds like a great trip! I’ve always wanted to stay at the Hotel Del Coronado! It looks beautiful. I think two days at Disneyland is sufficient, although many people like to stretch it to three to make sure they get on all the rides.
Would you recommend California adventure or just Disneyland park?
I definitely recommend California Adventure! It’s so different than any other Disney park. Cars Land is there!
Hilton card not Hyatt..lol
For us, the deciding factor was distance. That made Florida an easy choice. Plus, we found some extra perks for military families. We stayed at the Fields of Green resort and really enjoyed it.
@Tanyatravels I’m sure distance is a factor for a lot of families. I live in the middle of the country where it’s about as easy to go to both locations, but if we lived closer to one that would probably sway us. I’ve heard great things about Fields of Green!