I am within driving distance of WDW, about 14 hours. That typically is the place we go, and we love Universal Orlando as well. Living in my part of the country, few people even consider Disneyland as a destination. I have been twice, and recently took a trip where I had a day trip to Disneyland, and it reiterated my opinion, that they are different and the same, but both are great. I now am of the opinion, if you are a hardcore Disney fan who loves the attractions, I think Disneyland may be the better option. For now. I know there have been tons of articles about their pros and cons, and this will not be comprehensive on that, here is a lifelong WDW visitor's take.
Disneyland is more compact but has more attractions. Crowd control is much worse, but the lines are much, much more manageable. People is Southern California do nothing in the morning, so getting there early is very unlike WDW, which is crowded throughout the day. Disneyland gets very crowded at night. It still uses the old fast pass system. On a Friday, I never stood in line for more than 30 minutes. That never happens at WDW now, and the 'for now' above is in hopes that they do not change it. If you want to experience the attractions, the compact nature of the park, the quicker lines, the lighter crowds in the morning, and the old fast pass system, Disneyland is an excellent option. Just don't think you are going to walk from one side of the park to the next come fireworks time.
Certainly, getting to and from the park is a nightmare. Traffic in Southern California is awful. I do like both locations, and people on my side of the country tend to forget about the SoCal option. If you pick the right time of the year, I think it is a great Disney vacation.
Tweet
I think Disneyland Park is better than Magic Kingdom
Actually, JC, the Disneyland resort DOES indeed have more ride based attractions that the entirety of WDW combined.
If you include things such as shows and/or short films (in vein of Impressions Du France or O, Canada!) as attractions WDW wins out, but not by a wide margin.
Here's the breakdown:
Number of "ride-based" attractions (That is, attractions which physically move you or give the illusion of movement through some simulated environment):
Disneyland Resort (Combining Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure: 54
WDW (Combining Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Disney Studios, and EPCOT): 44. I'm also including the two new Avatar attractions opening up as well.
Now when you open the criteria up to include any other attractions such as 3-D films, animatronic static shows (Country Bear Jamboree, American Adventure, etc.), live stage shows, regular films, and other miscellaneous attractions such as walk-through attractions or animal exhibits, WDW wins, but not by as wide a margin as you may think.
The other benefit DLR has over WDW is that park-hopping is actually a real thing. You can simply walk from one park gate to the next in about 30 seconds as opposed to having to spend 30+ minutes getting from one park to the next via bus or, at best, monorail at WDW.
This discussion has been archived and is no longer accepting responses.
I should say that the comparison is MK and DL, not WDW. WDW has tons more attractions, and this was meant to be just a comparison of those parks.