They’re similar, but oh so different! I know plenty of people who visit Walt Disney World often. It is their go-to vacation destination. This is something that I highly recommend. I love Walt Disney World so much that when my family and I had the chance to move to Florida, we jumped at it. When we bought a house, we made sure that we could be at a park within minutes. I can truly understand why so many people return to Walt Disney World over and over again.
That said, consider shaking things up at some point and travel to Disneyland instead. I have been lucky enough to visit Anaheim three times in just over two years, and every second has been pure joy. I like to describe the feeling I get at Disneyland as being in a parallel universe. Everything feels familiar, but it’s all different at the same time.
One of my favorite things about Disneyland is how easy it is. There are only two parks, and you can walk from one to the other in only a couple of minutes. (Downtown Disney is right there as well.) That makes Park Hopper so much more valuable! You can ride Space Mountain at Disneyland Park, then head over to Disney California Adventure for a quick meal at Award Wieners. Half an hour later you can be in the Fastpass line for Indiana Jones Adventure. You don’t have that type of flexibility at Walt Disney World.
I also prefer the Fastpass system at Disneyland to FastPass+, which I’m still not a huge fan of. At Disneyland, it’s closer to the way things used to be at Walt Disney World, where you can grab one Fastpass at a time. The system is free, or you can add MaxPass. That costs $15 per person, per ticket, per day. It allows you to grab Fastpass reservations from the app instead of visiting the ride. MaxPass is not essential, but it does save a lot of time. It also includes your PhotoPass pictures, so that offsets the cost somewhat.
At Disneyland there are only three hotels. That’s okay, because there are plenty of others within walking distance. If you can’t get a reservation at a Disneyland hotel, or if the rooms are out of your budget, all is not lost. I like to check the distances on Google Maps when looking for a hotel. There are also others in the area that have shuttles. In our three trips we’ve stayed on property once, once at a hotel that was an easy walk, and once at a place that had a shuttle (but was still within walking distance). Yes, staying on property was the most convenient, but I have no complaints about the other two places where we stayed. We have never had a car, and never needed one.
Speaking of cars, there is no free transportation from the airport. We’ve taken Uber, a taxi, and Super Shuttle. The taxi was of course the most expensive, but it still wasn’t bad. There are several airports that aren’t too far from Anaheim, so make sure that you don’t search just for LAX. It’s not the closest airport.
Don’t assume that just because a ride has the same name at Disneyland that it is the same as the Walt Disney World version. While a few are the same, some are very different. The best example of this is Space Mountain. They are both indoor roller coasters that have a space theme, but that is where the similarities end. If you go, don’t skip Space Mountain. The Disneyland version is one of my favorite Disney rides on either coast.
Since there are two parks instead of four, Disneyland is perfect for a long weekend. Of course, if you want to stay longer there are plenty of non-Disney activities that you might want to try. My bucket list of things that I hope to do “next time” is pretty long. One of these days…
If you’ve never been to Disneyland, or if it has been a long time, consider planning a trip soon. Disneyland is where I first fell in love with Disney, I went with my family when I was a child. When I returned with my own daughter over 40 years later, I can’t describe how incredible it was. One of my favorite things about Disneyland is that it’s the park that Walt Disney himself created. Walking where Walt walked may be a tongue twister, but it’s also something that you need to do at least once.