“Disneyland versus Disney World, what’s the difference?” Right? Well, let’s start with size. When Walt built Disneyland in California, the park was surrounded by Orange Groves (hence the name “Orange County”). Now, 2 parks and nearly 70 years later, the original resort is completely landlocked by suburban Anaheim. The entire Disneyland Resort is an easily walkable 0.78 miles (or roughly 500 acres).
Walt knew in the 1960’s he needed more space to really fulfill his dream. Enter Central Florida. The Walt Disney World Resort now encompasses over 42 square miles of Florida land. That’s more than 27,000 acres. Not exactly walkable. Of course you can run the annual Walt Disney World Marathon and run through most of it!
The Theme Parks
California has 2 parks – the original Disneyland and the newer California Adventure. Disneyland is the iconic park filled with Fantasyland rides and Space Mountain. Its neighbor, California Adventure, is gradually transforming from a “California escape” into a more Pixar Focused environment.
When California Adventure first opened in 2001, it was branded as a “California Escape.” While this might have appealed to tourists, the local population – all 17 million of them – found it less than engaging. Disney has slowly transformed the park into a Pixar Focused experience. Cars Land, Avengers Campus, and the Incredicoaster have all been new additions or re-brands of existing rides. Now it’s as popular as its next door neighbor.
So what do the 2 California parks offer? If you want to Rise with the Resistance at Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, you will want to visit Disneyland. If slinging webs with Peter Parker and participating in Mission Breakout with Guardians of the Galaxy, California Adventure is your destination.
If you’ve never been to California, 3 days across both parks will give you the chance to experience all that both parks have to offer. Even if its crowded. The California Parks are open relatively long hours. A short day at Disneyland is a day when it’s only open 8:00 am to 8:00 pm.
Flying east, Florida has 4 theme parks along with 2 water parks. While I always recommend 2 days at EPCOT, you can spend 1 day at each of the other parks. So, 5 days will cover the 4 main parks unless it’s horribly crowded. I honestly recommend, if you have never been, take 2 days at each park. Unless it’s Christmas, The Florida Parks don’t operate on the extended hours the California Parks do. In shoulder season, the Florida Parks are often only open 9:00 am to 5:00 or 6:00 pm.
In Florida, each park has its premiere attractions. You can test cars at Test Track and Soar over the World in a simulated hang gliding experience at EPCOT’s Soarin’. Magic Kingdom is Florida’s answer to Disneyland with all the Fantasy Land rides and Space Mountain. Magic Kingdom in Florida also has the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train which is a fun ride for children of all ages.
Over at Hollywood Studios you can walk through the streets of Hollywood (minus all the grit and grime of the real Hollywood) while experiencing all things Toy Story and Star Wars. Then there’s Animal Kingdom where you can ride through the African Savannah gazing at giraffes, fly through Mount Everest, and soar on a Banshee on Pandora. Ahh…Pandora. What an amazing feat of engineering and story telling. This is Imagineering at its best. Don’t skip it.
What’s important here is to note that Disney World in Florida has more varied offerings than California.
Hours & Steps
The good news about the shorter hours in Florida. This allows you the opportunity to visit Disney Springs, sit down for a nice dinner, or just go for an evening swim. The longer California park hours allow you less time for evening diversions outside the entrance gates. If you want to indulge at Napa Rose or attend a ball dame at nearby Angel Stadium, you need to plan for that. In a later blog we will discuss how to build your trip to California or Florida.
Also, if you’ve never been to any of the parks, you’ll walk. A lot. An average day in Florida for us is 14,000-16,000 steps. In California, if you park hop between the 2 parks, we often eclipse 18,000 steps. And every single one of those steps is on concrete. If your feet, knees, and hips aren’t ready for 15,000-20,000 steps all on concrete, you’ll want a break day.
Here’s what we recommend:
California – 4 days with 3 days in the parks and 1 day at the pool, movies, or just relaxing.
Florida – 8 days in the parks with 2 break days. That’s a 10-day trip without other sightseeing in the area.
Water Parks
The Florida Resort also has 2 water parks. Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach both offer various ways to get soaked. Both are fun for an afternoon of cooling off in the Florida heat and resting your feet from the day at EPCOT. Blizzard Beach is more popular with local teens. If that’s not your scene, Typhoon Lagoon is a bit more relaxed.
The water parks will close their rides when lightning is present in the area. Don’t leave the park if this happens. Just hang out. The lightning will unleash its fury and move on quickly and you’ll be back to riding Crushin’ Gusher in no time.
Getting Around
As we mentioned at the beginning of this blog, the difference in scope between the 2 Orange County Park locations is extreme. In Anaheim, you can arrive at your hotel, leave your car in self park, and not move it until you leave. You can easily walk throughout the property.
You can easily leave your car in the resort parking lot in Florida as well. But, unless you’re running that Marathon, you won’t be walking between the parks in Florida. Disney World has a free bus system throughout the 42 square miles of resort property. It takes a bit of patience sometimes, but a car is just not needed.
Next up – we will dive into the world of resort accommodations in both states.