Disney World vs. Disneyland

[bdiddy]

DL will always win for Walt's original vision. Outside of that WDW wins with more parks, more resorts, and mostly importantly for me, a true bubble. Ive been to both and still prefer WDW. I personally cant stand seeing downtown Anaheim while in the DL parks. Now if you take into account other options outside the park I could see Cali wining over Florida. Depending on tastes of course.

This is pretty much how I feel too. We love DL but for me WDW will always win because it’s more immersive and that Disney bubble is much bigger. I like how when you leave the park at WDW you are still at Disney, not the case at DL. And like you said, I don’t like seeing “real life” outside of the park when you are on rides up high.

 

[OKW Lover]

So while I do consider WDW my home park (I do work there), each park around the world has some thing about it that makes it stand out - for me, the special thing about DL is it was "Walt's park." AT DLP, it is that amazing castle; at HKDL, it is Mystic Manor! At SDL it is POTC (with Tron a close 2nd) and at TDR, it is DisneySea.

Well said. I'm not a CM but otherwise agree with pretty much everything. Except Disney Sea which we found to be just a mishmash of seaside settings with no artful transitions between them.

 

[Nelly Tsunami]

I will also have to say Disney World. There is just so much more to do and I love being in the huge bubble. But I do have to agree that some of the attractions are better at Disneyland, which is strange because in theory, I would think that the attraction that was built second should always beat out the original seeing how you have the chance to make improvements. Or at least it should remain the same in regards to enjoyment. But to ride something and find it to be worse than the original is strange. Yet thats exactly what happened with some of them haha.

 

[PirateBrigade]

This "argument" (friendly rivalry) has always intrigued me... I will admit, I have never been to WDW (all of my Disney visits center around the Pacific Ocean -- DLR, Aulani, TDL, TDS), but for me personally, DLR was always home.

It was the park that Walt built, rode his bike around, slept at (when the Jungle Cruise noises weren't muted yet, hah). Everytime I pass through the tunnel, that fact is never lost on me. There's physical reminders everywhere that this was carved out of farmland by one man's dream -- each tree has a story, the cut off streets in Anaheim that just end at the park (and restart on the other side), the random houses on the property that were repurposed, etc...

I'm a huge history buff, and that aspect of DLR has always informed by visits.

 

[raidermatt]

This question usually comes down to quantity vs. quality. (Relatively speaking of course. This is not to say WDW lacks quality or DLR lacks quantity. It's only in comparison to each other)

If I only had 1 or 2 days to spend in one park, it is Disneyland hands down. Most (not all) of the attractions there are better than their WDW counterparts. It has more attractions overall than any WDW park. The food is more varied. And then there is the history factor.

But for a longer vacation, WDW becomes the choice. More options overall and more of a resort experience.