How to Compare Disneyland to Walt Disney World

Last Updated: March 4, 2021

Some people may have been to one of the two Disney parks, but haven't been to the other and are now wondering if the other park is really for them or not. This article should be able to help you run the comparison. Start at Step 1 in Part 1 below to learn about how this can be done so you can learn this process.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:
Comparing the Park Systems

1
Access information from the Disneyland and Walt Disney World web pages. Most often times, just looking at each of the park systems often yields an answer.
2
Reach out and watch some of the videos about each of the resorts on YouTube to learn about these key comparisons.

Advertisement
3
Read up about the key comparisons via other websites including third-party fan sites and Wikipedia. There are a few really good sites out there that can give you a great comparison to differentiate between the two parks.
4
Scroll around the areas near each park system on Google Earth and see what information will make you smile.
5
Ask other paying guests who visited both parks recently (whether that be other family members who have been to the parks recently or other people who you don't know but have knowledge about both parks' comparisons.

Advertisement

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:
Some Comparisons

1
Look into the location of each park. Disneyland is on the West Coast (in Anaheim, CA) and Walt Disney World is on the East Coast (in Lake Buena Vista, FL (which is near Orlando, FL)).
2
Put some serious thought behind the number of parks for each park system. Disneyland is comprised of 2 main theme parks and a large entertainment district; meanwhile, Walt Disney World is comprised of 4 theme parks and a large entertainment district.
3
Research to learn the different parking type scenarios for each parking area involved. While Disneyland has its users park in one of several parking garages, Walt Disney World would rather have cars spread out more into several lots that span a long distance (and if need be, they have a parking lot tram to bring paying guests to the entrance gates to the park).
4
Research how far away one park is to another within each park system. The distance between the theme parks at Disneyland in California is a short walking path away (you exit one gate and you can plainly see the other gate in front of you). Meanwhile, Walt Disney World isn't set up that way. If you aren't renting a car or can't access the Walt Disney World Monorail system for some reason, the parks are a pretty far distance away and you'll need to find another way to get from one park to another.
5
Locate how many hotel resorts exist nearby each park system that is specifically tied to the Disney Parks Co. In Disneyland, you have 3 major Disney-owned & operated hotels staffed nearby the parks. In Walt Disney World, there are countless Disney-owned and operated hotels ready to assist you during your stay/visit.
6
Grab a park map of all the parks between all of the two park systems and try to learn about some of the theme park attractions that comprise both park systems. Although both parks have the big attractions, some of the biggest attractions have small differences that only those who visit or who watch some of the videos of the on-ride (POV) ride-throughs say "Yes, that's one!" the minute they see the difference.
7
Recognize that both of the Disneyland parks have nighttime shows and premier them in conjunction with each other so that guests can exit one show and have a few breathing moments before the other show starts. Meanwhile, although most of Walt Disney World has nighttime shows, Animal Kingdom has to be exempt as the animals don't want to get scared at these shows so they don't air ones.
8
Look forward to plenty of shopping and food establishments at both park systems. Looking through each set and recognizing that at the end of most of the attractions will often yield a shopping establishment, and in terms of food establishments, they are in the parks too.

Advertisement