In this post, we’re going to provide a usable guide to helping you pick between Disneyland and Walt Disney World for your next (or first) Disney trip. Along the way, we’ll cover most of the major differences between the two resorts and try to give you a gauge of how much you should weigh them in making your decision. Read on to learn all about Disneyland vs. Disney World!
You might also read our Disney World Trip Planning Guide or our Disneyland Trip Planning Guide if you’re in the early stages of planning.
Comparing Disneyland vs. Walt Disney World
This post isn’t meant to be some philosophical exercise into which themed experience is better. Rather, it’s a post meant to help people who want to understand the practical differences and choose between them make that decision. We’ll start with a more straightforward comparison before moving onto the major factors that guide which you should pick.
Also, I’m going to say “Disney World” occasionally instead of “Walt Disney World.” I’m aware many people prefer the proper, full name—sorry.
Location & Climate
Disneyland is located in Anaheim, California, in Southern California, near the west coast of the contiguous United States. Walt Disney World is located just outside Orlando, Florida, near the country’s east coast.
Anaheim’s climate is more tolerable year-round, though it experiences more cold days than Orlando. Orlando is warmer year-round, but this can be unbearable in the summer. It’s also at risk during hurricane season.
Anaheim sees 14 inches of rain each year, well below the US average of 38 inches. Orlando, by contrast, sees over 50 inches of rain each year. A good rule of thumb about Disney World is just to assume it will rain some of your trip.
Size, Parks, Hotels, and Transportation
Disneyland Resort comprises two theme parks (Disneyland, Disney California Adventure), three hotels, and the Downtown Disney district. Altogether, the area covers about 480 acres or less than one square mile.
Walt Disney World Resort comprises four theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom), two water parks, about 30 hotels, Disney Springs (shopping district), a few golf courses, a few miniature golf courses, miles and miles of highway, and more. It’s about 25,000 acres or 39 square miles (sometimes cited as 43 square miles *shrug*).
So yea—this is the biggest difference. Disneyland’s two parks are located opposite a small plaza from each other. It’ll take you about a minute to walk between them, and a few minutes to walk to all three hotels.
To get around Walt Disney World, by contrast, requires the use of a transportation system that includes footpaths, boats, buses, the Disney Skyliner gondola system, and driving / Uber / Minnie Vans.
Disneyland Park gates seen from Disney California Adventure park gates
The Disney World Bubble
Disneyland is located in a city. Once you step foot outside of the bus depot adjacent to the parks, you’re back in the “real world” complete with fast food restaurants, motel chains, CVS, and anything else you might expect in an urban environment. You can stay at one of Disney’s three Disneyland Resort hotels to avoid this, but that is going to be too expensive for most visitors.
Disney World, by contrast, occupies its own two “cities”—Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake. Since these cities are entirely controlled by Disney and have no meaningful population (57 combined as of 2010), you won’t be in the “real world” at all if you’re staying at a Disney hotel. Instead, you’ll take a Disney bus from your Disney hotel to the front gates of the Disney theme park.
Even if you stay “off-site” at Disney World, chances are you’ll be taking a shuttle (or driving) to and from the parks. The best non-Disney options at Disneyland will all be within walking distance, which is good for convenience, but bad for “the bubble.” Several non-Disney hotels are actually closer to Disneyland’s parks than Disneyland Hotel or Paradise Pier Hotel, actually.
The bubble is taken pretty seriously at Disney World, and it’s a big part of its appeal. You’re “in Disney’s hands” from the second you arrive at your hotel to the second you leave.
At Disneyland, if you ask a Cast Member “where can I buy [whatever]” they might say “oh we don’t sell that in the parks but there’s a convenience store across the street.” There’s even an IHOP four minutes away.
4 minute walk from Disneyland to IHOP
Parks, Rides, and Shows
Both resorts have a castle park—Disneyland at Disneyland Resort and Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. This is where you’ll find the castle at the center of the park, along with the typical lands of Main Street USA, Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland.
There are differences in the parks—Disneyland has New Orleans Square, Galaxy’s Edge, and Toontown while Magic Kingdom has Liberty Square.
Disney California Adventure is a unique park, as are the other three parks at Walt Disney World (though Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios is nearly identical to that land at Disneyland).
There is a lot of overlap between the rides of the two resorts. Of the fiftyish rides at Walt Disney World, I count about thirty as being present in Disneyland Resort in some identical or substantially similar form.
You don’t need to get hung up on these details, but lots of fans will debate which version of a ride is better even if many guests won’t notice a difference. Is California’s original Haunted Mansion better than the slightly different Florida version? Do you prefer your Pirates of the Caribbean longer or shorter? Is “it’s a small world” good on either coast?
Haunted Mansion, present at both parks (slight differences)
Then there are rides that are similar in technology but vastly different in execution. Radiator Springs Racers (California) and Test Track (Florida) are based on the same technology, but have wildly different stories and themes.
And some don’t have any real counterparts. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in Magic Kingdom is unlike anything in California.
The most shocking number—Disneyland Resort has more rides than Walt Disney World (52 vs. 51). How is this possible? Pretty simply, here are the ride counts for the six parks:
Disneyland (33)
Magic Kingdom (23)
Disney California Adventure (19)
Epcot (11)
Hollywood Studios (9)
Animal Kingdom (8)
But ride count isn’t everything. Hollywood Studios also has several amazing live productions, like Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage and the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. Epcot has its famous World Showcase and rotating cast of festivals. Animal Kingdom has stage shows, streetmosphere, and several zoological trails / exhibits.
Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage, Hollywood Studios
Each of the six parks has at least one nighttime show. These range from fireworks and projections, like at Happily Ever After at Magic Kingdom, to illuminated water shows, like World of Color at Disney California Adventure.
Price
The short version of this is just that a trip to Walt Disney World is usually going to be more expensive that a trip to Disneyland. If for no other reason, it just takes longer to visit Walt Disney World and its four parks than Disneyland and its two parks.
The long version is…it depends. If, for example, you’re just visiting two theme parks at Walt Disney World, it’s not hard to throw together a trip that will be less expensive than a visit to Disneyland. (Read also: How much does a trip to Disney World cost?)
One thing to note is that the three Disney hotels at Disneyland are all very expensive, with the cheapest rack rates around $500. By contrast, you can sometimes find rates at Disney World’s All-Star resorts for under $120 per night (pre-tax).
Here are some price comparisons using an arbitrary 2024 date:
One-Day Park Hopper — $219 Disneyland vs. $228 Disney World
Three-Day Park Hopper — $460 Disneyland vs. $525 Disney World
One Night Flagship Hotel — $807 Disneyland vs. $800 Disney World
One Night Cheapest Disney Hotel — $487 Disneyland vs. $180 Disney World
Grand Californian, Flagship hotel at Disneyland Resort
Which Is Better, Disneyland or Walt Disney World?
As I implied at the start of this post—this is a nonsense debate. Both sides have diehards who can make good points. I’ll admit that I fall on the Walt Disney World side of things, but that’s also because I grew up taking trips there and I write mostly about it.
Here’s how the six parks fall in our Disney parks rankings, which cover all six Disney resorts around the world:
9. Epcot (Walt Disney World)
8. Animal Kingdom (Walt Disney World)
7. Disney California Adventure (Disneyland)
6. Hollywood Studios (Walt Disney World)
3. Disneyland Park (Disneyland)
2. Magic Kingdom (Walt Disney World)
We put Magic Kingdom (the castle park at Walt Disney World) ahead of Disneyland Park (the castle park at Disneyland) and Hollywood Studios ahead of Disney California Adventure, which gives an immediate edge to Florida.
Disneyland diehards would point out that resort has more nostalgia and intimacy or charm. It’s somewhat easier to plan a trip to Disneyland because it’s smaller. While mastering Genie+ at Disneyland will help you have a great time, mastering Genie+ at Disney World is basically a necessity to have a good trip. Disneyland also doesn’t have the complicated dining plans or as much demand for advance dining reservations.
I’d reply that if you properly plan your trip you’ll get more out of Disney World than Disneyland. And the debate goes on…
Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom, the undebatably better theme park
Should I visit Disneyland or Walt Disney World?
As with most things, there’s no one-size-fits-all “right” answer here. Instead, your answer is going to depend on what exactly you’re looking for in a trip. But we’re happy to highlight the major questions we think you should ask when choosing between these two destinations.
How long do you have?
This is the first question I’d start with, and it should be resolve the debate in many cases. This section doesn’t address whether you’ll spend time visiting other attractions in the area, though.
If you can only manage two full days, go to Disneyland. Three full days is a perfect length for a first visit to Disneyland and the bare minimum for a first visit to Walt Disney World, so I’d probably favor Disneyland for that length.
At four days, you’d comfortably experience all of Disneyland Resort, while you’d still leave some of Walt Disney World untouched. This is the only length that I’d call undecided, though I’d probably lean toward Walt Disney World.
Anything over four days, and Walt Disney World is going to be the more fulfilling destination. You could still do Disneyland and some other nearby attractions, but if you’re solely focused on a Disney trip, Walt Disney World is best for longer trips.
What’s your budget?
Disneyland is generally less expensive than Walt Disney World, as long as you’re not fixed on staying at a Disney hotel at Disneyland. Three day tickets are around $100 per person less expensive at Disneyland, though this gap varies by date and type of ticket. (Read more about Discount Disney World Tickets and Discount Disneyland Tickets)
Budgets are always subjective, though. How much are flights to the two destinations? If you have to stay at a Disney hotel, you’ve got no budget options in Disneyland. If you’re undecided, it’s going to make sense to just compare the prices of different options at both resorts.
A final important note about budget—upcharges. Walt Disney World offers a ton of upcharge events, like After Hours, dessert parties, holiday parties, and dining packages. Disneyland has fewer of these.
You don’t have to do these are either resort. But if you’re the type of person who is going to book one or two of these given the option, then Disney World is going to get significantly more expensive.
How Much Do You Want a Project?
Planning a trip to Walt Disney World is much more of a project than planning a trip to Disneyland, even if you’re working with a travel agent.
Even with years of expertise planning visits to Disney World, I still put together spreadsheets organizing all of my park plans, Early Entry strategies, advance dining reservations, Lightning Lane plans, dessert parties, dining packages, and ticketed events.
When I go to Disneyland, I just plan to rope drop each park at least once, and I know roughly my targeted ride order and desired Genie+ rides.
I have much more experience with Walt Disney World, but I’d be comfortable telling anyone they could plan a visit to either resort using this site.
Do You Need “The Bubble”
There’s no way to avoid it—walking down Harbor Boulevard after Disneyland closes isn’t what most families picture when they think of a “magical” Disney vacation.
If you’re not paying the premium to stay in one of Disney’s very pricey options at Disneyland, chances are your experience is going to be touched by the real world at some point.
As much as I love the Disney World bubble, I don’t consider this a decisive factor.
All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered
Don't be overwhelmed by Disney World planning! Take a second to check out our most important content and you'll not only be an expert, but you'll save big $$$ along the way.
Just starting out? Check out our Walt Disney World planning guide! If you're still picking dates, we've got everything you need to know about Disney World crowd calendars. For picking your hotel, check out our Walt Disney World hotels guide.
When it comes time to book we’ll help you find discount Disney World tickets. Decide whether you need a dining plan in our Complete Guide to Disney World Dining Plans! And don't forget to book those Disney World Advance Dining Reservations!
Don't forget to master your Disney World Genie+ and Lightning Lane strategy a few months in advance. We'll keep you out of long lines so you can maximize the magical time in the parks! We've got park-specific guides as well: Magic Kingdom Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, Epcot Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, Animal Kingdom Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, and Hollywood Studios Genie+ and Lightning Lanes.
Know what to ride with our guides to: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, Epcot rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our guide to Blizzard Beach and our guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.
Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip. And if you're interested in saving, there's no better list than our 53 Ways to Save on your Disney trip from start to finish.
All Your Other Disneyland Planning Questions Answered
Don't be overwhelmed by Disneyland planning! Take a second to check out our most important content and you'll not only be an expert, but you'll save big $$$ along the way.
Just starting out? Check out our Disneyland Planning Guide. If you're still picking dates, we've got everything you need to know about Disneyland crowd calendars.
When it comes to hotels, we’ve got reviews of all three Disney hotels: Disneyland Hotel, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, and Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel. As for tickets, check out where to find discount Disneyland tickets.
Know what to ride with our: Disneyland Rides Guide and Disney California Adventure Rides Guide. And just as important, know how to get on the best rides without the wait with our Disneyland and Disney California Adventure FASTPASS and MaxPass Strategy! For the complete guides to a day at the park, we have a One Day Disneyland Itinerary and a One Day Disney California Adventure Itinerary.
We always recommend arriving at the parks early. If you can get access to Extra Magic Hour at Disney California Adventure or Extra Magic Hour and Magic Morning at Disneyland, you’ll have the most time in the parks. Even without those bonus hours, you’ll need to know Rope Drop Strategy at Disneyland and Rope Drop Strategy at Disney California Adventure.
Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip. And if you're interested in saving, there's no better list than our 53 Ways to Save on your Disney trip from start to finish.