7 Disneyland Vs Disney World Comparisons So You Pick The Right Park

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Many parents look forward to the time when they can bring their kids to see the magic of Disney: the rides, the princesses, the shows and fairytale thrills. If you are a parent with younger kiddos you may be wondering what the best choice is for your family. Disneyland vs Disney World? I’ve gone ahead and done the work of compiling suggestions from gobs of parents who have had the same questions as you.

Their answer? Most parents suggest a trip to Disneyland if you’re traveling with young kids and here’s why!

Disneyland Vs Disney World Comparisons

Make sure to read this article to learn how to score savings on your Disney vacation!

Size/ Walkability

Walt Disney World has a whopping four theme parks: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and two Water Parks (30,000 acres) while Disneyland is just comprised of two theme parks (510 Acres). Since Disneyland is so much smaller, you can easily use a stroller with your youngest ones. Parents report traveling from the middle of Disneyland Park to Disney California Adventure Park in about 15 minutes!

Hotels

When visiting Disneyland, there are several inexpensive hotels just across the street. This makes for easy rest stops during a warm summer day without the difficulty of catching another bus or taxi to get there. One blogger writes, “One day we literally went back and forth from Disneyland to our hotel at least six times like it was nothing. Running from character greeting to ride, to lunch back and forth across parks was easy.”

Shorter Wait Times

Across the board, Parents Magazine reports, the wait times at Disneyland are anywhere from 10-30 minutes shorter than their Walt Disney World twin.

Easy to “Hop”

When hopping from one park to the next at Disney World, there is a good bit of travel involved that leaves even parents with older children likely to visit one park per day. At Disneyland, the entrances to the two parks face each other intentionally to encourage hassle free travel between the two theme parks. The value of your “park-hopper” ticket can’t be beat at Disneyland!

Disney Characters

Parents conversing on TripAdvisor observed that while there may be more favorite Disney characters at Walt Disney World, the characters at Disneyland were more accessible and available because Disney World has far more scheduled visits with the characters instead of impromptu meetings.

Weather

Many parents choose summertime to take family vacations for obvious reasons. However, if you’re planning on visiting Walt Disney World, be sure to take your trip in the early summer because the Florida temps can be brutal. The California coast has a much friendlier summer than the east coast making it a more comfortable (and tolerable) traveling environment for your little ones.

“Little” Kid Friendly Rides

Disneyland has several rides for younger children that Walt Disney World lacks, “most notably Indiana Jones Adventure and the Matterhorn Bobsleds.

Other attractions included at Disneyland are Alice in Wonderland, Casey Jr. Circus Train, Autopia, Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes, Disney Princess Fantasy Faire, Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, Pixie Hollow with Tinker Bell & Her Fairy Friends, Snow White’s Scary Adventures, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, the Sailing Ship Columbia, Storybook Land Canal Boats, Gadget’s Go Coaster and Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin.

There’s also Mickey and Minnie’s houses, Donald’s boat, Goofy’s Playhouse and Chip ‘n Dale’s Treehouse in Toontown”(Orlando Sentinel)- many which cater to the younger crowd.

When deciding between Disneyland vs Disney World — Hands down, Disneyland was the obvious choice for parents with kids 4 and under. S0, when you sit down to plan your Disney vacation with your Walt-Disney-World-loving significant other, be sure to bring this list to your meeting. You may just change their mind.