6 Reasons to visit Walt Disney World over Disneyland
Recently, I wrote about the difficult choice of deciding where to go for your vacation. Should you choose Disneyland, the original theme park, or Walt Disney World, the planet’s most popular theme park? The honest answer here is yes. Any self-respecting vacationer should visit both at some point. When you only have the vacation days to choose one, however, which should you pick? Here are five reasons to visit Walt Disney World instead of Disneyland.
4 > 2
When you visit the Happiest Place on Earth, you’ll have your choice of two terrific parks, Disneyland and Disney California Adventure (DCA). While guests clearly prefer the Happiest Place on Earth to DCA (the annual difference in attendance is usually around 9 million), both have their appeal. DCA is in the process of a massive overhaul that will make it more appealing, too.
Compared to Walt Disney World, however, Disneyland seems small…because it is. The two parks are a combined 157 acres. Disney’s Animal Kingdom is 580 acres on its own. This park is one of four that you can visit when you purchase a four-day, four-park ticket at Walt Disney World. A Park Hopper pass works, too.
The reality is that admission tickets at Walt Disney World are a better deal than Disneyland because you get so much more. With a Park Hopper, you can visit four different theme parks, each of which includes anchor attractions that will make your entire vacation worthwhile. We’ll discuss the highlights in the next section, but several should have popped in your head.
Suffice to say that when you visit Walt Disney World, you get your money’s worth. It’s a better value than Disneyland.
Bigger and Better Attractions
At the end of the day, you visit theme parks for the attractions. No place in the world can match Walt Disney World in this category. I would argue that the only other theme park that’s even close is another Disney offering, Tokyo Disneyland.
Think about the highlights. Epcot has E-ticket attractions like Soarin’, Frozen Ever After, and Test Track. It has terrific slow rides like Spaceship Earth and Living with the Land, too. Disney’s Hollywood Studios claims the newest themed land at any Disney theme park, with Toy Story Land driving traffic right now. It will take the title again when Star Wars Land debuts next year, too.
As for Magic Kingdom, it’s the most trafficked theme park in the world for a reason. And any visit to Animal Kingdom means that you get to spend time at Pandora – The World of Avatar, the most technologically advanced themed land in the world.
These two parks have attractions like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Avatar Flight of Passage, Na’Vi River Journey, and the original Space Mountain. Three out of the four aren’t available at Disneyland, nor is Test Track or either Toy Story Land attraction. While Disneyland does have some exclusives, they are primarily variations of existing Walt Disney World attractions. Examples include Radiator Springs Racers and Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission – BREAKOUT! The bigger and better attractions are clearly in Orlando.
Seasonal Events
Disneyland has a few seasonal events, but Walt Disney World has a park that specializes in them. Later in his life, Uncle Walt fell in love with the idea of the World’s Fair. He treasured the combination of prize-winning attractions and international cuisine. One of his aspirations for the Florida Project was to recreate that concept on the new land.
The opening day version of Epcot wasn’t exactly what Walt Disney had intended. Yes, it featured international pavilions and global cuisine, but it wasn’t expansive like a World’s Fair. Starting with the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival in 1994 and its autumnal companion, the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival in 1995, Epcot took a strong step toward Uncle Walt’s vision.
Today, the park hosts four different seasonal events. When you visit Epcot, you’re more likely than not to attend on a day with an event. There are 365 days in a year. By my count, Epcot hosts exhibitions on 245 of those days. That’s more than 67 percent of the time, meaning that it’s a functional World’s Fair two-thirds of the time! Disneyland just can’t compete with that.
The Disney Dining Plan
This example is another one where Disneyland kind of has the same idea, only a smaller scale version. At various times, you could order the Dine in the Magic meal plan, although the official site indicates that there’s not one available right now. As long-time guests know, Disney offers tend to come and go. At Walt Disney World, however, the Disney Dining Plan is always an option.
I’ve espoused the positives of the Disney Dining Plan (DDP) on multiple occasions. I’m an evangelist on the subject since I use it every vacation. In fact, I just used it the other day. In doing so, I was able to buy two meals for the family of three traveling with us. They didn’t claim to understand the wizardry of it; they were most assuredly grateful, though.
With the DDP, you can eat at the nicest restaurants at Walt Disney World. You won’t have to worry about price, either. You’ll receive Quick Service and Table Service entitlements for “free” meals. The catch is that you must pay for the DDP, unless you’re traveling with a package that includes it for free. In that case, the dining plan is nothing but wonderful! And this particular offer isn’t available at Disneyland.
Magic Bands
One of the best technologies ever invented for a Disney theme park is the Magic Band. With this bit of wearable tech, you can unlock the door to your hotel room. You can gain admission to the various Walt Disney World theme parks as well. Why, it even enables you with the ability to pay for stuff! You simply tap the band against a Disney credit card kiosk. The device will signal via RFID all the needed information to complete a transaction.
Folks, Magic Bands are cool. The technology is so convenient and functional that multiple cruise lines have stolen the idea for their own services. Wrist bands capable of charging items to the room or proving admission have popped up in several locations since Disney introduced the technology. The one place that you won’t find them, however, is Disneyland.
After Disney spent roughly $1 billion developing Magic Bands, smartphones exploded in popularity. In the years that followed the introduction of the devices, Disneyland guests have clamored for Magic Bands. Their wishes will never be fulfilled, however, barring something unforeseen. Disney plans their infrastructure around smartphones at the Happiest Place on Earth. It’s the economical choice since guests pay for their own cells. Magic Bands are better, though.
Better Entertainment Districts
The final reason to visit Walt Disney World over Disneyland is the entertainment. I’m first in line to say that Downtown Disney at Disneyland is terrific. It’s a wonderful place to shop, eat, or just hang out with friends. Walt Disney World wins with scale, though.
On the Orlando campus, you’ll find the largest Disney entertainment district anywhere. I’m speaking of Disney Springs, of course. It’s a mecca for food and shopping that is so diverse that a guest could eat at a different restaurant here every day of the month. As for the shopping, it features one of the largest Disney stores ever built plus literally dozens of other merchandise retailers. If you can think of it, Disney sells it here…and I even include Harley-Davidsons in that.
The remarkable part of Walt Disney World is that it features two other entertainment districts in addition to Disney Springs. The BoardWalk behind Epcot has plenty of shopping and restaurants, too. They even have a bar devoted to magic.
Finally, the one other standout at Walt Disney World is ESPN’s Wide World of Sports. This place hosts literally hundreds of sports competitions each year. It’s most famous for cheerleader and dancing challenges, but it has ramped up the number of onsite events in recent years.
Now, you’ll find volleyball, softball, soccer, and football here as well. In fact, the NFL Pro Bowl returns here in 2019. MLB Spring Training is also an option for one more year. The Atlanta Braves have been a staple of ESPN Wide World of Sports for many years. Alas, their run ends after Spring Training in 2019, so you’re running out of chances to watch them.
With so many entertainment options available, Walt Disney World simply crushes Disneyland in terms of choices. To me, Walt Disney World is a better place to enjoy an extended vacation. Disneyland is better when you want to do a three- or four-day getaway.
That strategy gives you plenty of time to do everything at the Happiest Place on Earth while still having enough left over in your vacation budget for a trip to Orlando. You should speak to a MickeyTravels agent to book at least one of these trips. You deserve to treat yourself, right? Of course you do!
