By Savannah Sanders
As I’ve said before in this Disneyland vs. Disney World series, Disney never does the same thing twice! It’s a common misconception that Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and the Disneyland Park are basically the same experience but on different coasts. That is absolutely not true! Even though Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom was inspired after the original Disneyland Park, it was never intended to be a carbon copy. Both parks offer their own exclusive attractions, restaurants, character interactions, style, and overall experience. Of course, that gives rise to the question of which park is truly the best? That’s the question I intend to answer in perhaps the most ambitious installment of Disneyland vs. Disney World: The Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Park Part I.
Due to the scope of this topic, the first part of this article will compare the two parks on categories such as characters, attractions, and dining. The second installment will compare the different themed lands represented at both parks and determine which one is the best!
Sleeping Beauty Castle
Castles:
So you know I have to talk about the castles. As we all have our loyalties, comparing the two is always controversial. Still, the castles are not just the parks’ icons, but also their centerpieces, and each offers something unique to park guests. Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle has the distinction of being Disney’s original castle standing at 77 feet tall. It features the charming Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough, a personal favorite of mine, with scenes and effects that tell the Sleeping Beauty story.
Cinderella Castle
The design of the Magic Kingdom’s Cinderella Castle is very different than Disneyland’s and is a whopping 189 feet tall! While it doesn’t offer an attraction, Cinderella Castle does house Cinderella’s Royal Table and the exclusive Cinderella Castle Suite. Now I love Sleeping Beauty Castle for its history, its intimacy, and sense of accessibility. However, the grandeur of Cinderella Castle, the ability to dine with princesses inside its halls overlooking Fantasyland, and that view down Main Street, U.S.A. makes it the winner of this category.
Winner: Magic Kingdom
Amenities:
Let’s start with WiFi, shall we? The Magic Kingdom offers free WiFi. In fact, there’s free WiFi throughout most of the Walt Disney World Parks. But at Disneyland… Yeah. No such luck. Walt Disney World also offers MagicBands. It’s a soft plastic band that contains a guest’s ticket, credit card, dining reservations, PhotoPass info, and their FastPass+ reservations which can be made in advance online or on the MyDisneyExperience App. This new amenity was met with criticism at the start, but I love the luxury of having all I need on my wrist and getting into the park is so much faster!
MagicBands
The Magic Kingdom offers three free modes of transportation in the form of bus, monorail, and boat. But then again, this is necessary as the park sits on the Seven Seas Lagoon and can’t be reached by personal car. Now the Disneyland Park does not sit on the shore of a lake but across a spacious esplanade from Disney California Adventure, which is so convenient for Annual Passholders and those with Park Hoppers. Still, Disneyland guests have to park at a parking garage and either walk or take a tram to reach the esplanade.
Finally, both parks offer early entry into the parks. Disneyland offers Magic Mornings on select days for Disneyland Resort Guests with a valid 3+ day ticket while Walt Disney World offers Extra Magic Hours on certain days which could be early entry or extended nighttime park hours. Another difference is Extra Magic Hours are only for guests staying at Disney World Resorts. Tip: Magic Kingdom usually offers Extra Magic Hours Wednesdays and Fridays.
Winner: Magic Kingdom
Festival of Fantasy Parade
Parades:
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom offers two main parades each day. The three o’clock afternoon parade, Festival of Fantasy, debuted in 2014 with fantastically detailed floats celebrating characters represented in Fantasyland. The star of the parade is a steampunk Maleficent dragon that actually breathes fire!
The Main Street Electrical Parade is the Magic Kingdom’s nighttime parade and is a classic in that it originally debuted at Disneyland in 1972! The Magic Kingdom obtained its own version in 1977, which ran off and on in the park through the years. But in 2010, it was reintroduced again and has been offered ever since. Disneyland’s current nighttime parade, Paint the Night, debuted only last year for Disneyland’s 60th Anniversary to rave reviews and offers incredible new lighting effects! It also pays tribute to the Main Street Electrical Parade through its soundtrack, which includes the classic parade’s famous theme song, “Baroque Hoedown.”
Paint the Night Parade
The Disneyland Park also offers Mickey’s Soundsational Parade in the afternoon. Each float is themed after a particular musical instrument or style with the lead float featuring Mickey Mouse playing the drums. I mean, he really plays the drums. It’s fantastic! Like Festival of Fantasy, this parade also showcases some amazingly themed floats so detailed and imaginative that one viewing is never enough.
So this category was a difficult one for me. I LOVE Festival of Fantasy at the Magic Kingdom, but Mickey’s Soundsational Parade coupled with Paint the Night gives Disneyland the edge in this comparison.
Winner: Disneyland Park
Captain Hook
Characters:
Interacting with characters is a huge part of any Disney Park experience, but I’ve noticed the Disneyland Park offers characters that rarely seen at the Magic Kingdom and vice versa. At the Magic Kingdom, guests can meet with Stitch from Lilo and Stitch, the Tremaine Family from Cinderella, and Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. But at Disneyland, guests meet with the Evil Queen from Snow White and Seven Dwarfs, Dr. Facilier and Louis from The Princess and the Frog, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee from Peter Pan, and Bert and the penguins from Mary Poppins.
Meeting characters is also different at both parks. At the Magic Kingdom, it’s difficult to meet characters as they typically can only be found at the end of a maintained line. But at Disneyland, many characters roam about and more free to interact with guests.
Winner: Disneyland Park
Matterhorn Bobsleds
Attractions:
The Disneyland Park and Magic Kingdom both offer attractions that can’t be found at the other. For instance, the Disneyland Park has the Matterhorn Bobsleds, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, Storybook Land Canal Boats, and several Fantasyland dark rides. The Magic Kingdom, however, offers classic attractions Disneyland no longer has, such as the PeopleMover, Carousel of Progress, Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, and the Country Bear Jamboree.
Now about the attractions both parks share, Disney isn’t in the business of duplicates. Many share a few variations, if not a very different experience altogether. There isn’t space in a single article to compare each version; but overall, I think Disneyland wins this one. I prefer Disneyland’s headliners to the Magic Kingdom’s, particularly Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Winner: Disneyland Park
Having fun in The Haunted Mansion interactive queue! Copyright DisneyWorldEnthusiast.com
Queues:
All guests at a Disney Park will spend some time in a line or queue; and for me, the difference in queues were one of the most noticeable between Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom. At Disneyland, the queues are mostly uncovered and much more narrow. This first is due to the beautiful Southern California weather, while rain can be an almost daily occurrence at the Magic Kingdom; but the second is due to the park’s overall lack of space. Overall, I prefer the Magic Kingdom’s queues for extra personal space and the additional theming that comes with a covered line or queue.
Winner: Magic Kingdom
Dining:
Dining at the Magic Kingdom is an event to be planned for while dining at the Disneyland Park is more of a casual affair. Many Magic Kingdom restaurants are difficult to set foot into without an advanced dining reservation, but there is a reason for that. Restaurants such as Cinderella’s Royal Table, Be Our Guest, the Jungle Navigation Co. Skipper Canteen, and Liberty Tree Tavern deliver an immersive experience and fantastic theming.
Be Our Guest Restaurant
Disneyland restaurants aren’t quite as strong on theming or immersion, as most of their restaurants offer a considerable amount of outdoor seating, but they do deliver in regards to food! Disneyland is famous for its Monte Cristo Sandwich, Mint Juleps, Mickey-shaped Beignets, gumbo, and fried chicken. If this category was about menus only, Disneyland would easily capture the win. But after factoring in the Magic Kingdom’s variety of restaurants, the experiences they offer, and their own yummy menus, I believe the Magic Kingdom just tips the scale.
Winner: Magic Kingdom
So which coast boasts the best park? For Disneyland vs. Disney World: The Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Park Part I, the Magic Kingdom holds a slight lead. But remember, there’s no winner yet! Part II will compare the different lands that make up the Disneyland Park and the Magic Kingdom. Do you agree? Is the Magic Kingdom the worthy winner so far, or does Disneyland deserve more credit?
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Disneyland vs. Disney World: The Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Park Part I is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.