Attractions That Are Better At Disneyland Than Walt Disney World

Attractions That Are Better At Disneyland Than Walt Disney World

Every Disney theme park is unique and special in it’s own way and there are dozens of different theme parks spread over six different cities across the world. However, the two places that were built first are still the most popular locations for tourists.

Disneyland opened in 1955 and Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom opened 1971. The two parks were almost the same from a design standpoint, many Disneyland attractions made the jump to Florida. However, over the decades, just as many attractions that have started in Florida and have made the trip west as well.

Today, there are almost two dozen attractions that exist at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, but many have slight differences, while some have significant differences. Here are some of the rides that exist at both locations, but are better at Disneyland. Maybe you will agree and maybe you won’t, let’s get started anyway, shall we?

 Space Mountain

Space Mountain roller coaster uses single seat ride vehicles that let your legs stretch out before you. It then sends you off into near darkness as you zip through the black at high speed.

At Disneyland, the attraction is largely the same ride. However, there are two key differences. One is when sitting in the roller coaster car, two people sit side by side. The other is that the ride vehicles have speakers, so the ride’s music plays right by your ears.

Why is Disneyland’s Ultimately Better? While Walt Disney World’s Space Mountain ride is actually smoother because of a single seat rider, Disneyland’s goes faster at a whopping 32 MPH verses Walt Disney Worlds at 30 MPH which makes for a slightly slower ride. However, the biggest tie breaker is the on-board sound track, composed by Micheal Giacchino which makes Disneyland’s seem more immersive and exciting.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Walt Disney World’s queue is mostly indoors and looks like an old time train station and is quite nice. The coaster itself is outdoors as you go racing through the mountains

Big Thunder Mountain’s queue at Walt Disney World is pretty nice. It’s mostly indoors, likely due to frequent Florida rain, but that makes it feel like you could be inside an actual old-time train station, though you actually feel like you’re inside a mountain when you board. The coaster itself is outdoors as you go racing through the mountain at speeds faster than Space Mountain, past animatronic wildlife.

The queue however, at Disneyland feels less themed, mostly because it’s outside and doesn’t contain a lot of the signage that you see at Walt Disney World. However, the ride itself is a mirror image of Walt Disney World’s version, which means the ride itself is essentially identical except that it goes left when the other ride goes right and vice versa. But, there is one major difference, and it’s a big one.

So why did we choose Disneyland’s verses Walt Disney World’s? With the rides being identical, the only real difference is that during the attractions most recent refurbishment at Disneyland, a segment where one of the tunnels gets dynamited, explosive noises go off and smoke begins to fill the tunnel, was added. Walt Disney World does not have this new addition.

Pirates of the Caribbean

Pirates of the Caribbean can be found in Adventureland in Florida. The queue is entirely enclosed, and has some cool stuff to look at, like pirates who died playing chess. The ride itself is a simple boat ride through a variety of scenes, all of the iconic bits including the pirate ship attack on the fort, the pillaging of the village and the dog holding the key to the cells can be found here.

The queue at Disneyland is less themed than Walt Disney World’s and is in New Orleans Square verses Adventureland. Everything that you see on the Walt Disney World version can be found in the Disneyland version. However, there is just a lot more at Disneyland to see, including an entire opening sequence with a series of pirate skeletons, the part that inspired the entire movie franchise. This make Disneyland version a much longer ride.

Why did we choose Disneyland’s version over Walt Disney World’s?  Disneyland’s version just has a lot more to see, making it clearly superior.

It’s A Small World

In Walt Disney World, It’s A Small World is located in a back corner of Fantasyland, near the border with Liberty Square. The queue tries to be everything that the Disneyland version is, but because it’s all indoors, it feels less grand, because it’s all literally smaller. When you get to the actual ride, it’s essentially the same: a slow boat ride through a variety of cultures represented through stylized dolls, singing the famous “It’s a small world ” song written by the Sherman Brothers, Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman.

Disneyland’s version of It’s a Small World is located at the back of Fantasyland near Mickey’s ToonTown. It has to be there because it is, unlike its name, a massive ride. The outer facade is a huge clock that marks every quarter of an hour with a parade of dolls. At Christmastime, the whole thing is done up in lights and it looks amazing. One major change inside the ride itself is the somewhat recent addition of dolls that look like classic Disney characters in their appropriate locations. Mulan can be found in Japan and Alice and the White Rabbit are in the U.K.

Why did we choose Disneyland’s over Walt Disney World’s? The addition of the Disney characters to the Disneyland version of the ride can be a controversial one, but I actually like it. The first time you see them, they’re like easter eggs hidden among the rest, and they don’t take away from the ride. Otherwise, the exterior of the Disneyland version is enough to give it the win here.

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

At Walt Disney World, technically  the name of the ride is Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, but at this point pretty much all the Disney parks have this ride, and it’s called something different pretty much everywhere. You sit in an omni-mover vehicle in the colors of Buzz Lightyear and roll through a series of rooms where you shoot at targets with a blaster mounted to the front of the ride car in order to defeat Emperor Zurg and score points.

Over at the Disneyland, the track is and the setup are basically the same. The only difference is the blaster isn’t mounted directly to the front of the car, but instead attached by a cord, allowing you to pick it up and aim it more freely.

Why did we choose Disneyland over Disney World’s?  Using the blaster is just easier, and therefore more fun, at Disneyland since you have more freedom to aim.

Haunted Mansion (sometimes)-

The Haunted Mansion is located in Liberty Square at Walt Disney World and is built in a gothic revival style. After you enter the famous stretching room, you board your Doom Buggy and are then carried through the mansion to meet the 999 Happy Haunts in residence. You meet Madame Leota and you get a rousing chorus of “Grim Grinning Ghosts.”

Because Disneyland has less space than Walt Disney World, the stretching room actually lowers you down below Disneyland and you take a short walk to a second show building to board your Doom Buggy.  The ride itself is largely the same otherwise, though the Disneyland version is missing a couple of effects, such as the M.C. Escher inspired staircase, and a shadow ghost piano player.

So Why did we choose Disneyland verses Walt Disney World’s? Eight months of a year, I’m not sure I could say that Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion is actually superior, but four months a year, from September to December, Disneyland’s version gets a Nightmare Before Christmas-inspired overlay that the Florida park does not get. It integrates into the existing attraction perfectly, and is just fun to experience every year when it comes around.

eading into the Enchanted Tiki Room at Walt Disney World, you get in a fairly standard line as you would expect for most attractions. There’s a brief pre-show with a couple of animatronic birds conversing outside the actual show, then you take your seat for Jose, Pierre, Fritz and the gang to give you a great musical revue.

The show itself is essentially the same at Disneyland, since it was first seen there, but everything leading up to it is different. Rather than the queue being a normal line, guests are able to mill about freely in an open area before the show. In addition, before the formal show gets started, you get to meet the various Polynesian gods via a series of statues that come to life.

So why did we pick Disneyland’s over Walt Disney World’s? The show itself is the same and both pre-shows are good in their own way, so we have to judge which one is better based on one simple factor: Dole Whip. The popular soft serve treat is available at a stand just outside of the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland, but not at Walt Disney World. And since this is one of the few places where you can bring food to an attraction, that’s worth it.

Walt Disney World’s Splash Mountain Opened October 1992, and seats riders in on a flume ride. In addition to the side-by-side seating in Orlando, the version also has special effects such as Brer Rabbit hopping away. Walt Disney World’s version also moves a little slower through the scenes than Disneyland’s does

Disneyland’s version of Splash Mountain was built in July of 1989 and is typically wetter than Disney World’s. That means during the drop and splash down at the bottom, guests will get a bigger splash than in Central Florida.

So Why did we pick Disneyland Verses Walt Disney World? While both rides, you follow the story of Brer Rabbit and his attempt to escape from Brer Fox. The attempt results in Brer Fox throwing Brer Rabbit, and you down the waterfall into the Briar Patch. Disneyland’s Splash Mountain’s final drop is sharper and at a bit more of an angle, add in the splash down at the bottom, which gets the guest wetter, makes for a better thrill, especially on those hot park days.

And there you have it, just a few attractions we think rank superior in Disneyland verses Walt Disney World. Of course, the beauty of Disneyland and Walt Disney World is that these attractions are all worth visiting no matter which park you visit. Even if one is better at Disneyland, it’s still great at Walt Disney World. And of course, there are a lot of attractions at both parks that aren’t on this list, so maybe there’s more to say down the road.