I live on the east coast and for me there is only one Disney Park, and that is Walt Disney World. Why would I travel the extra 4 hours by plane to go to a smaller park?
Well, I was recently invited to attend a conference at Disneyland and had a first hand opportunity to enjoy all that this park had to offer, and also to discuss it’s many differences with my spouse and son. We came away with 3 different opinions needless to say!
Disneyland California is the original. It is also quite a bit smaller than Walt Disney World. But that doesn’t mean it does not have different and unique offerings!
The ride I was most excited for was the Indiana Jones ride. I had the luck to ride on this during a recent trip to review some movies in LA for Disney, but alas, it was closed during our recent trip. I felt that the ride was similar to the Dino ride in WDW in basic structure, but great fun on its own merits. We were early and raced tot he head of the line when we rode this, but I would love to experience this with my son, who is a huge fan of the Indiana Jones franchise, more slowly, as the path to the ride has great entertainment along the queue, Disney never disappoints you even if there is a long line. My son would have loved this ride!
My spouse, the man who was not a fan of the Parks before we had a child, now finds it to be the only place on Earth where he can relax! He could not stop singing the praises of Disneyland! He and our son rode the Matterhorn multiple times, and also California Screamin. There is nothing like these rides in WDW!
And then there is Cars Land. This area in Disneyland blew all 3 of us away. First, the authenticity that I have written about before in relation to all things Disney (animated movies, theme park adventures, and the Art of Animation Hotel in WDW!) is quite apparent here.
My son is almost 11 so we grew up with the Cars franchise. We owned the movie, most of the books, and all of the die cast cars. ALL. Cars Land in Disneyland gives you an opportunity to walk into the world of Cars as if you were in the movie. The racing ride completely blew us away.
This is a must do item for every family in America with children who are fans of the movie. The kids will feel like they are in the movie and probably never want to leave. And there are meet and greets with Lighting McQueen!
There is also a Monsters, Inc. ride in the parks that takes you through several scenes of the movie. It is also like being in that movie, another favorite in our home. I especially loved seeing the hundreds of doors flying around above us, I felt like I was in the movie. Which is exactly the experience I want Disney to give me!
And because my research needs to be thorough, we could not leave without the local turkey leg.
We did notice a difference in some of the rides that are in both parks. The Pirates of the Caribbean ride had a bigger drop (it was awesome) and the Haunted House seemed slightly different. And it was quite exciting to be on”It’s a Small World After All” for the 50th Anniversary,and the fact that some Disney characters were thrown in made my favorite ride even more impressive! The rest will be featured in an upcoming Wordless Wednesday post!
As much of an attitude that I had going into this adventure, there were still several rides I did not have time for. And while I have no immediate plans to return, I do now have a list of rides to hit the next time. I am thrilled to report that Disneyland stands on it’s own as a fantastic adventure and no park is better than the other. In fact, it has only made me hungry to try other Disney Parks around the world!
Disclosure: I attended a conference at Disneyland for which I paid a conference fee. Park tickets, some hotel nights and meals were provided. All opinions are always 100% honest and my own.
And one of my many character pictures. Again, there were enough for me to share with you in a few weeks in a Wordless Wednesday post, but this is the one that I have waited all year for, possibly the single most popular character photo opp in the history of the Disney Parks!
Mitch, it was so fun to meet you at #DisneySMMoms. Although we have never been to WDW it was interesting reading your thoughts about Disneyland, which is our second home. What Disney has done with Cars Land is just amazing. Can you believe I have never had a turkey leg there before? Next time.
So interesting to hear about your experience at Disney! Disney can never do no wrong, that’s for sure! I’m glad you had a wonderful time. The rides look amazing!