Choosing Your Disney Park: Disneyland or Disney World? — Tyler Braun's People Mover Travel

*East or West coast? What’s your preference?*

If you’ve never been to a Disney park before it can be really overwhelming to try and figure out where to go!

Not only are there things to consider like which hotel to stay at, how many days should you get a park pass for, where to eat BUT what about which actual park to visit? Disneyland or Disney World? What’s the difference? Or is there a difference? Aren’t they just the same park but on opposite coasts? (Spoiler, the answer to that one is no! They aren’t the same!)

We get a lot of questions asking if there’s one that is better than the other and where our clients should be investing their vacation dollars.

So we decided to break it down to basics to help you make your decision on which park you want to visit! Let’s go!

The Disneyland Resort

This is the original Disney park! It’s in Anaheim, California and opened it’s doors in 1955. This is Walt’s original dream, a place for kids and parents alike to enjoy spending time together in worlds of fantasy, adventure and discovery. He was involved in every part of planning and bringing this park to life which Disney fans love because there’s an added element of magic knowing you are walking through the same places Walt Disney walked! For example, if you’ve ever seen the famous photo of him standing in the castle archway, this was the place it was taken! There is something very special about that piece of Disney history that you feel when you visit.

*The original Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Park.*

The Disneyland Resort (which references alllllll the parks, hotels, shops and backstage areas within it’s boundaries) sits on about 500 acres total. Not to be confused with the actual theme park square footage, don’t worry you won’t be walking through all 500 acres!

There are two theme parks at the Disneyland Resort; Disneyland Park of course and Disney California Adventure! Both offer plenty of attractions, dining and shopping along with seasonal festivals, after hours events and more. Disneyland is home to the Matterhorn, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, just to name a few! Disney California Adventure is where you’ll find Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout, the Incredicoaster, Avengers Campus and Cars Land AKA Radiator Springs!

These parks are just across an esplanade from one another so they are easily walkable when it comes to park hopping between the two! In fact, everything at Disneyland is easily walkable and doesn’t require a car to get from one place to another.

Downtown Disney is the shopping and entertainment district that sits between the theme parks and the resort hotels. There are plenty of things to do and even a newly opened green space for guests to enjoy and kiddos to get their wiggles out! You’ll also find a stage close to the Disneyland Hotel which is graced by different musical acts throughout the week!

*Only at Disneyland would you willingly float into the mouth of a whale!*

And speaking of hotels there are three Disney Resort hotels on property! The Disneyland Hotel, The Grand Californian and the newly renovated Pixar Place! Each of them is wonderfully themed but does come with a higher price tag than your average hotel. If it’s in your budget and you don’t want to leave the “Disney bubble”, these are places we recommend because they are just so magical!

If you would rather focus your budget on things beyond accomodation there are TONS of great options just steps away from the Disneyland Resort entrance! Good Neighbor Hotels are properties that are not Disney owned but have been designated by Disney to have the same level of service, standards and care that you could expect from one of their own properties. There are tons of options within walking distance or just a short shuttle or car ride away that offer a more affordable price tag while staying close to the magic!

There is parking available at the parks for those who would prefer to drive to the parks for a daily rate starting at $35 and there are trams that take you from the parking lot to the park entrance. Downtown Disney does offer parking beginning at $10 for the first hour with additional charges dependant on validations from various restaurants and shops. Disney Resort hotel guests can park their cars at their hotel beginning at $40/night/vehicle although if you are simply visiting a resort hotel for a dining reservation you are able to enjoy complimentary parking for a limited time!

The Walt Disney World Resort

*One of our favorite shots of Cinderella Castle in the background.*

This park opened 16 years after Disneyland, in 1971 and can be found in Orlando, Florida. This resort was a big dream for Walt and he wanted to do so much more here than he did at Disneyland. One of the issues with the Disneyland Resort was that there was limited land available for expansions so when he was selecting the area for what would become Walt Disney World he wanted to be sure that there was plenty of room to do whatever the Imagineers at Disney could dream up! So to that end, Walt Disney World is A LOT bigger! The entire Walt Disney World Resort including parks, hotels, backstage areas, and undeveloped land is over 25,000 acres! That means they could fit FIFTY Disneyland Resorts inside The Walt Disney World Resort! Unfortunately, Walt didn’t live to see this dream become a reality but generations of Imagineers have worked hard to make sure they came true and continue to grow year after year.

There are four theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort; Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Magic Kingdom is probably the park you recognize most when someone says “Disney World” and is home to Cinderella’s Castle, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, the newly opened TRON and more! This is also where plenty of TV shows from our youth shot special episodes including Boy Meets World and Full House!

*The EPCOT ball at night is even prettier than in the day!*

EPCOT is home to the big iconic golf ball! Just kidding, it’s not a golf ball but it is iconic! This park is where you’ll find World Showcase, a land filled with pavilions representing 11 different countries from around the world. You’ll also find new attractions like Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind and old favorites like Living With The Land here.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios is an homage to old Hollywood with a touch of new movie magic. The Tower of Terror, Toy Story Land and Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge can all be found in this park!

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a love letter to the wonder of nature! You can explore lands dedicated to Africa, Asia, the mythical world of Pandora and even go back in time to DinoLand USA! This is where you’ll find Expedition Everest, the Kilimanjaro Safari, Avatar Flight of Passage and the famous Festival of the Lion King production!

There are also two water parks at Walt Disney World, Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon and Disney’s Blizzard Beach! Both offer plenty of incredible water attractions, pools and dining options with incredible theming.

Want to golf at Disney? You can! There are three golf courses here; Disney’s Magnolia Golf Course, Disney’s Palm Golf Course and Disney’s Lake Buena Vista Golf Course. And if regular golf isn’t your forte but you still want to get some putting practice in you can try out one of the mini golf courses! Fantasia Gardens and Fairways Ministure Golf or Winter Summerland Miniature Golf are both fun for the whole family!

The shopping and entertainment district at Walt Disney World is called Disney Springs and has TONS of dining, shopping and entertainment! There are live musicians found throughout and it’s a great place to wander and explore!

*The Art of Animation Resort lets you step right into your favorite films!*

When it comes to hotels on property there are A LOT! For the sake of brevity we’ll include a bullet pointed list here instead of going into detail on each one. One thing to know is that while Disneyland hotels all fall into a similar price point, Walt Disney World hotels offer a few different price points to fit a variety of vacation budgets.

Campgrounds (yes you can camp at Disney!). These are the most affordable options and offer sites for both tents and RV’s.

The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort

Value Resort Hotels. These hotels are the most budget friendly ones at Disney. Most are a standard room with four person occupancy but there are some family suites available for those with little ones who would benefit from a bit of extra space.

Disney’s Pop Century Resort
Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
Disney’s Art of Animation Resort

Moderate Resort Hotels. These are the mid point hotels at Disney. Most are a standard room with four person occupancy but there are some options that fit a fifth person. You’ll also have a little more space and some other perks like double sinks that you won’t find in a Value Resort.

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
Disney’s Port Orleans Resort - Riverside
Disney’s Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter
Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort

Deluxe Resort Hotels. These are, as the name suggests, deluxe level accomodations! You’ll find the most space, closer proximity to parks and higher end dining at these resorts in addition to the other perks found in the Moderate category.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Disney’s Beach Club Resort
Disney’s Contemporary Resort
Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
Disney’s BoardWalk Inn

*The Riviera Resort is Disney’s newest resort (at the time of writing) and one of our favorites!*

Deluxe Villas. These are some of the most luxurious accomodation options at Disney World. These are full villas with 1, 2 or 3 bedrooms, full kitchens, living areas and more.

Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa
Disney’s Old Key West Resort
Disney’s Polynesian Villas and Bungalows
Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas - Kidani Village
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas - Jambo House
Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
Disney’s Beach Club Villas
Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Copper Creek Villas and Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Disney’s Riviera Resort

WHEW! That is a TON of resorts! As you can see there are plenty of options and usually there’s one that will fit into everyone’s budget!

*The Monorail is on of our favorite ways to get between Magic Kingdom and EPCOT!*

While Disneyland Resort offers proximity to plenty of Good Neighbor Hotels off property, Disney World doesn’t offer exactly the same experience. If you don’t want to stay in a Disney Resort Hotel but still want to be close to the magic you can choose from eight hotels in the Disney Springs Area including Holiday Inn Orlando and Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista. Or stay in one of the Gateway Hotels which are a little further away but still great choices like Fairfield Inn by Marriott or Home2 Suites by Hilton.

Because everything at this resort is so spread out you will require some kind of transportation to get around. There are busses running between all parks and hotels; monorails running between select hotels, the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT; and the Skyliner (gondolas) running between select hotels, EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios!

Of course just like at Disneyland there are parking lots available for each park with trams to bring you to the park entrance if you need. Parking starts at $30 per day and is good across all four theme parks. Parking is complimentary at Disney Springs, both water parks and at Disney Resort hotels for day guests who are enjoying dining, shopping or entertainment experiences at that hotel. Overnight self parking is complimentary at Disney Resort hotels if you are staying at that hotel.

There is obviously SO much more we could get into when it comes to these parks (and we will dig deeper in future blog posts) but for now we hope that this general overview of the differences between the Disneyland Resort and the Walt Disney World Resort help you make a decision about which Disney park is best for you and your magical vacation! The team at People Mover Travel loves both equally buuttt when pressed for a favorite…about half of us would visit Walt Disney World while the other half of us definitely favor Disneyland..so we guess what we’re trying to say is that you can’t go wrong! They are both equally magical in their own way! Happy dreaming friends!