Difference Between Disneyland and Disneyworld

Difference Between Disneyland and Disney World

The main differences between Disneyland and Disney World have to do with their locations and sizes. Disneyland in Anaheim, California, is significantly smaller than Disney World, which is located near Orlando, Florida.

Disneyland vs. Disney World

Disneyland vs Disney World
Anaheim, California Location Orlando, Florida
500 acres Size  43 sq. miles
Shuttle bus and monorail Transport Boat, bus, cable car, and monorail
Between $208 and $325 Costing
Between $208 and $325
Between $109 and $159
Between $109 and $159
Around 25 Rides
Around 25
More than 50
More than 50
The Disneyland Hotel, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Spa, and Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel are the three hotels that make up the Disneyland complex. Hotels Disney World’s terrain is covered with more than 25 distinct on-property hotels.

What is Disneyland?

Located in Anaheim, California, Disneyland is an amusement park with rides, shows, and characters like Mickey Mouse based on Walt Disney and the Disney Company’s works. It opened in 1955 in Southern California.

It has five different themed lands, making it a unique place for parents and children to enjoy themselves. Its centerpiece is Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, which is based on Germany’s Neuschwanstein Castle. Despite this, Sleeping Beauty’s Castle is a recognizable symbol of American popular culture. 

Difference between Disneyland and Disneyworld
Nighttime photo of the pier at Disneyland.

What is Disney World?

The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is a recreational resort area in Florida, close to the towns of Orlando and Kissimmee. You can find it in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista. 

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The resort, which debuted on October 1, 1971, is run by The Walt Disney Company subsidiary Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products. It spans a property that is more than 25,000 acres in size. 

The resort has four theme parks, two water parks, 31 resort hotels with a theme, nine hotels that aren’t owned by Disney, many golf courses, a camping resort, and other recreational opportunities, including Disney Springs, an outdoor retail mall.

Difference between Disneyland and Disneyworld
EPCOT is a Disney World park.

Difference Between Disneyland and Disneyworld

Location

Disneyland is situated in Anaheim, California, roughly an hour’s drive from Los Angeles. The John Wayne Orange County Airport is the nearest airport to the park. However, flying into and out of the bigger Los Angeles International Airport may provide you with more direct routes and airline alternatives.

Disney World is on an entirely different seashore in Orlando, Florida. The nearest airport to the parks is Orlando International Airport. You may also reach Disney World through the Sanford or Tampa airports.

Size

Regarding size, the two parks could not be more different. The size of Disney World is astounding—43 square miles. Disney World can fit roughly 51 Disneylands because Disneyland is just 500 acres.

Disney California Adventure Park and Disneyland Park are separate parks inside the 500 acres of Disneyland. Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios are the four primary parks in Disney World.

Choosing between the two Disney resorts will likely rely on how much time you have to spend in the parks. Unlike Disney World, where you can visit everything in about a week, you can see all the major attractions of Disneyland in a single day or two.

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Transport

Due to its modest size, transportation within Disneyland is unimportant. The park does, however, provide complimentary shuttle buses to and from the parking lot or other places located within walking distance. Additionally, a Disneyland monorail connects Downtown Disney and Tomorrowland in Disneyland Park.

But in Disney World, the requirement for mobility is quite clear. Fortunately, the park ultimately looks after its visitors by providing a free transport network that can take them everywhere they need. 

This involves all modes of transportation, such as buses, a boat, cable cars, or the monorail that connects three Disney-owned hotels with two theme parks.

Costing

Both Disney World and Disneyland employ dynamic pricing for their theme parks. Pricing depends on the day ticket costs change based on the time of year, the day of the week, and other considerations. 

Further, the two have high prices for theme park admission. A single-day, a one-park ticket will cost you more than $100. Still, actual costs will vary depending on when you go on vacation and whether you spend extra money on Park Hopper to visit multiple parks daily.

Rides

There are a few shared attractions between the two parks, including well-known rides like It’s a Small World, Splash Mountain, and Pirates of the Caribbean. These rides aren’t identical everywhere since each park adds its twist to them.

If you’re in Disneyland, don’t miss out on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, located in Fantasyland.

Disney World offers approximately 50 rides due to its greater size and two different theme parks. Still, Disneyland only has around half that number. Suppose you wish to spend a lot of time riding attractions. In that case, you may prefer to choose the Florida parks and enjoy exclusive rides like Blizzard Beach, Haunted Mansion, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and Space Mountain.

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Hotel

The Disneyland Hotel, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Spa, and Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel are the three hotels that make up the Disneyland resort complex. There are also many non-Disney choices close by or accessible by car. You can also go shopping in the Downtown Disney District.

Meanwhile, Disney World’s terrain is covered with more than 25 distinct on-property hotels. This includes luxurious villas with dining reservations like those at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows and budget-friendly lodging alternatives like Disney’s Art of Animation Resort and the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

While the two theme parks may have identical names, they are pretty different from each other. Suppose you want to experience the authentic park created by Walt Disney himself. In that case, you must visit Disneyland. Still, in case you wish to explore more rides and have an extensive experience, a Disney World vacation is ideal for you.

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Vanessa

Vanessa is passionate about written communication, especially after beginning her career as a middle school English teacher. She’s an experienced content marketer as well. Vanessa loves to analyze, compare, and contrast, which is why she writes for ContrastHub. Besides writing, Vanessa is a wife, mom, entrepreneur, spicy food enthusiast, comedy nerd and lifelong learner.

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