How Similar Should Disneyland and Disney World Be?
Here’s a question I wonder about frequently. How similar should Disneyland and Walt Disney World be?
About the Two Resorts
Walt Disney lovingly planned every aspect of Disneyland in the time leading up to its 1955 grand opening.
Meanwhile, Disney died roughly five years prior to the opening of Walt Disney World.
Photo: Disney
As such, his impact on that park involves ripple effects more than any direct contact.
One thing we do know is that Uncle Walt plotted the Florida Project as something much different.
Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The entrepreneur envisioned a capitalist utopia and bristled at the notion of a second Disneyland.
That little purity test probably wouldn’t have stood the test of time, as Disney knew something from experience.
Photo: D23
Money always runs out in the run-up to the opening of a new project like this one.
Disney nearly went broke on Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, the creation of Snow White, and the opening of Disneyland.
Credit: Disney
So, at some point, I have to think he would have listened to reason on the subject of a Disneyland East.
The number crunchers at Disney definitely felt strongly that a second theme park was a necessity.
Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)
However, based on the accounts of all those who spoke with him on the subject, Disney didn’t want this.
Therefore, we always face a nuanced, complex discussion when we debate the virtues of what came next.
Disney
Walt Disney World has grown exponentially more popular than Disneyland, primarily because of its space.
With more room to expand, Disney World offers twice the theme parks plus oh so much more.
Photo: Disney
For example, you won’t find water parks at Disneyland Resort, and Disney Springs is substantially larger than Downtown Disney.
Is Bigger Better?
Beyond the surface similarities between Disneyland and Disney World, the parks have dramatically diverged.
In every reasonable evaluation, Disney World stands as the deluxe version of Disneyland.
Photo: Washington Post
That’s another concession to Uncle Walt’s financial problems in creating Disneyland.
Since he couldn’t afford to buy much land, Disneyland faces a hard lock on its real estate.
Photo: skillastics.com
The recent DisneylandForward negotiations drove home this point.
Disney officials lobbied to acquire a new street (and a half) and update zoning laws.
Photo: Disney
None of that would be needed if Disneyland covered more ground…but it doesn’t.
Walt Disney famously purchased 160 acres of orange groves to build The Happiest Place on Earth.
Photo:Los Angeles Examiner/USC Libraries/Corbis via Getty Images
At this point, Disneyland Resort includes as much as 550 acres of land, depending on how generous we’re being.
Meanwhile, Disney World consists of 47 square miles, the equivalent of 30,000 acres.
Photo:visitorlando.com
So, the Orlando campus is nearly 55 times as big as the original location at Disneyland Resort.
Disney officials can do more with this space, which explains why Disney World operates two water parks and a sports complex.
Image Allan Grant / The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty
To Disneyland loyalists, the extra space doesn’t equate to a net positive, though.
On the contrary, they lament the labyrinthine nature of Disney World, which seems to go on forever.
Tree of Life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Consider that Disney’s Animal Kingdom alone claims more space than the entirety of Disneyland Resort.
That’s just one of four Disney World parks, yet it’s bigger than Disneyland on its own. Is that a good thing?
Photo: Disney
The answer depends on who is talking at the moment, but it leads to a bigger question.
How Similar Should the Parks Be?
The number of rides exclusive to Disneyland is small relative to the reverse list. Here are a few examples:
- Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
- Indiana Jones Adventure
- Matterhorn Bobsleds
- Toad’s Wild Ride
- Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin
- Snow White’s Enchanted Wish
- Storybook Land Canal Boats
Photo: DIsneyland
This list is by no means comprehensive, but it also tells a story.
Two of these rides, Mr. Toad and Submarine Voyage, weren’t exclusives.
Photo: Disney
Magic Kingdom closed them to use the areas more effectively. The newer park can do that.
When Disneyland changes any of its classic 1950s attractions, fans vent relentlessly.
The introduction of Finding Nemo to Submarine Voyage is a good example of a solid change that fans initially resisted.
While I lament the closing of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, I know that it wasn’t exactly packing in the fans.
Photo: Yesterland
So, Magic Kingdom added The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Ariel’s Grotto, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train instead.
This “New Fantasyland” has objectively proven more popular. More importantly, the parks differ more.
Magic Kingdom
In many ways, Magic Kingdom started as just a carbon copy of Disneyland.
Park officials resisted this premise to an extent, which explains the delay in Pirates of the Caribbean.
Cinderella Castle
The Magic Kingdom team didn’t feel a ride based on local stories would add much.
Let’s just say that fans disagreed, forcing a quick copy of the Disneyland ride at Magic Kingdom.
D23
There’s a LOT of that kind of cross-pollination at the parks, even in some less obvious instances.
Indiana Jones Adventure is a twin of DINOSAUR in the same way that Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger are.
Indiana Jones Adventure Sign
The ride carts are identical under the hood, but one tells a vastly different story from the other.
Will the Parks Vary More Or Less?
DINOSAUR
Well, that statement used to be true. As of 2027, who knows?
DINOSAUR will close in a few months. Then, park officials will replace it with an Indiana Jones ride.
Currently, Disney claims that the new ride will tell a different story from the one at Disneyland.
That’s a double-edged sword, and both edges are viciously sharp.
Indiana Jones Adventure Queue
Consider Disney’s dilemma here. Let’s say that the new version of Indy proves wildly popular.
What will happen next? Disneyland fans will demand that version at their park, wanting the new hotness.
Indiana Jones Adventure – Adventureland – Disneyland – 1/12/18. (Joshua Sudock/Disneyland Resort)
Conversely, let’s say that the new Indiana Jones Adventure isn’t as good as the Disneyland one.
Fans will decry Disney’s decision to differentiate the two attractions. It’s a classic no-win scenario.
That’s Imagineering in a nutshell these days as the designers navigate an impossible balance.
When Disney does a copycat ride like Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, everyone’s happy.
Photo: Walt Disney Imagineering via Instagram
That’s the safe play. Since everyone knows the ride is good, they want it and are satisfied to get it.
When Imagineers take a riskier approach, it doesn’t always pay out, as DINOSAUR shows.
Photo: Walt Disney Imagineering
A second version of Indiana Jones Adventure would have proven more popular.
People knew who Indiana Jones was at the time, while the movie DINOSAUR had no impact on pop culture.
Image: The Healthy Mouse
So, what should Disney do here? Should the company play it safe with clones everywhere?
Or, would you rather all the new expansion projects be original stories, some of which may not work?
Photo: Playbuzz.com
Do you want Disneyland1 and Disneyland2, or do you want distinct theme parks with their own exclusives?
This decision is much tougher than you may think.
Photo: MickeyBlog
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