If you think Walt Disney World when planning your California Disneyland trip, you’re going to be confused and surprised.
At Walt Disney World, the smart tip is to always stay on property. Not necessarily so at Disneyland. Disneyland is encircled by every hotel chain you could imagine, and many quality independent hotels as well. A lot of them (especially on Harbor Blvd.) are within a block or two of Disneyland’s front gate. These hotels’ convenient locations makes them a cost-effective alternative to the $175+ per night Disneyland Hotel, Paradise Pier Hotel or the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. Off-property hotels - many of which have status as official Disney partners - are easily half that price.
Times to Vacation. Although the Summer months and during holidays are still the worst time to go to Disneyland, it is made even worse than at WDW due to the smaller size of the parks. If at all possible, vacation in the autumn when hotel rates are more pleasing and crowds are lower.
Just because the attraction is named the same doesn’t mean it’s the same attraction. Yes, you’ll find many of the same rides in Anaheim that you also find in Florida, but just because the name’s the same doesn’t mean it’s the same ride. Peter Pan’s Flight is better at Disneyland, but Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is larger and more detailed at WDW’s Magic Kingdom. Pirates of the Caribbean is much longer and better at Disneyland, and the Disneyland Railroad still has Walt Disney’s beautiful Grand Canyon diorama and scenes of dinosaurs. Other differences may be more subtle: For instance, in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, the stretching room is an elevator where Guests actually are lowered; in the Magic Kingdom, the ceiling rises to create the illusion.
Disneyland has rides and attractions exclusive to that park. Of course, there are more attractions in Walt Disney World; there’s more room. But Disneyland has its own list of exclusive rides, including an Alice In Wonderland dark ride, the Storybook Land canal boats, Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, Casey Jr.’s Circus Train, Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, the Matterhorn Bobsleds, the Indiana Jones Adventure (Dinosaur at WDW’s Animal Kingdom is basically the same ride but themed differently), and Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes. California Adventure sees much fewer repeats, especially in the Santa Cruz/Santa Monica-inspired Paradise Pier area, and other sections of the park. In recent years, Disney has added rides such as the Tower of Terror and the amazing Turtle Talk with Crush to DCA and the 3D “Honey, I Shrunk the Audience” to Disneyland’s Tomorrowland to spice things up a little for visitors. And now, Florida is seeing additions that were first in California (Epcot’s Soarin’ being the most significant). (If only we could get the Matterhorn at WDW’s Magic Kingdom!) One other thing Disneyland has is Walt’s apartment…Disney was so excited about his project, and he spent many happy hours inside his happy place.
Dining Issues: During the Summer, dining in the parks can be a mess and pre-planning is very much necessary. Disneyland was simply not set up for lots of sit-down dining. Eating at the New Orleans Square’s Blue Bayou means calling in advance or eating at off-hours (but if you do, the Monte Cristo sandwich is amazing). In recent years, Disney has increased its restaurant space some, but don’t expect the choices you would find in Epcot’s World Showcase. Our suggestion? Hop the monorail to Downtown Disney or grab a counter service. Walt Disney World is a fine dining paradise with over 100 restaurants…Disneyland simply isn’t.
Days of the Week: Walt Disney World is a vacation destination; Disneyland is seen by West Coast residents as a “local amusement park.” Consequently, more local residents (think Los Angeles) will go to Disneyland on the weekends, making Saturdays miserable and Sunday afternoons only slightly less-so. If visiting, try to show up Tuesday through Thursday for the least amount of crowds.
Using Guidebook Touring Plans: In Walt Disney World, there is so much room inside a park that we found using Sehlinger’s “Unofficial Guide to WDW” tour plan effective but extremely taxing on the feet. We would recommend using Sehlinger’s guide for Disneyland, however, as getting from one section of the park to the other is much easier. He has really researched traffic patterns; we found our wait times greatly cut using Sehlinger’s plan.
Behind the Scenes Tours: As far as the animation behind the scenes tours, Disneyland has Walt Disney World beat, hands-down. The Disney Animation Building tour is 100% better than at Disney-MGM Studios (though Florida is slowly upgrading). Spend some time here.

Tags: Vacationer