Just one last blog post about my trip to Disneyland before I get back to writing about, well, my other awesome, cross-country vacation!
One thing that I think was kind of inevitable, being such avid fans of Disney World, was the comparing and contrasting of the two resorts … in a good way, mind you. Over the course of our 5-day excursion, we found a few things that Disneyland did better and a few things that had us yearning for home. Here a few of the points that seemed to stand out the most to yours truly…
Room Keys, Theme Park Admission, Dining Plan All in ONE Place!
Winner: Disney World – It almost seemed a bit silly when Sara showed me the welcome packet that we had received containing not only our park admission in advance, but also a coupon book to be redeemed as our dining plan credits. Here we had assumed that both resorts did it like Disney World does, with everything accessible via a single Key to the World … how we didn’t lose anything important throughout the entire trip, I still have no idea!“Better” Queue Lines
Winner: Disneyland – Muppets, Pirates, A Bug’s Life, Soarin’ … I didn’t believe it when my wife first started pointing them out, but more often than not, she was right – several of the queue lines around Disneyland just seemed more detailed, colorful, or better themed than their Disney World counterparts. Just don’t tell her about the whole “she was right” part or I’ll never hear the end of it…No Tipsy Monorail Out in Florida!
Winner: Disney World – Not only does our monorail actually go somewhere, it also stays level the entire time that you’re riding it … something that Disneyland’s version can’t boast when pulling out of the station at Downtown Disney. Were we the only ones who noticed this?!An Imagineering Presence in the Parks
Winner: Disneyland – Don’t get me wrong, One Man’s Dream at the Studios is cool for looking at the past, but I also really enjoyed the Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar at California Adventure that showed off the new construction projects around the park like Cars Land and The Little Mermaid. It didn’t even have to be big to have a neat impact – for me, something like this somewhere at Epcot would be a great fit!A Lack of Space
Winner: Disney World – What can I say? Walt even realized this one himself, hence the whole reason for starting The Florida Project in the first place. I think this one was centric to most of my concerns with Disneyland – it was just really obvious in some places that they didn’t have the same luxury of space that Disney World enjoys in abundance. Most notable – Tomorrowland at Disneyland seemed really cramped, some of the areas in California Adventure didn’t seem to transition as seamlessly as they do at Hollywood Studios, and even at our hotel, looking out past our view of California Adventure to see the rest of Anaheim or hearing the surrounding roads admittedly did have some impact on the overall ambience. There’s definitely something to be said for being able to forget about the outside world when I drive under that main gate at Disney World.
If I might be so bold as to say, I am still happy that we live closer to Walt Disney World because overall I’ve just gotten very attached to everything that the Florida parks have to offer, but that said, Disneyland certainly wasn’t a one-trick pony for us and even before we left we started talking about going back in a few years maybe when some of the new improvements are completed and we’ve got kids to explore them with! I feel like I still have more to say about Disneyland and eventually I think I might write a few things for my Disney site once I get that back up and going again – maybe more about comparing the actual attractions and whatnot, but for now … good trip!