A Rebuttal: Top 5(+) things that are better at Walt Disney World than at Disneyland

[jcb]

I found one of the last points you guys and gals made quite interesting. I think Nancy made the point that while there are a good number of WDW lovers who won't go to DLR, there are a lot of DLR people who simply won't go to WDW. I'm not sure if there is a statistical disparity between the lovers of the two resorts or not but I find both attitudes rather silly.

For example, I was waiting on my car at the Disneyland Hotel and made a crack about FastPass+ to one of the valet employees. He had no idea what I was talking about. (I kind of found that refreshing.)

 

[quikah]

This would make for a fun debate for a future show segment.

 

[SoScary'09]

Been to both and I love both. Walking underneath the train tunnel on either coast has the exact same effect on me. If you consider yourself a Disney fan, go see where the magic was born! I'm glad that I did and can't wait to go back.

WDW will always be my "home" park, but putting one against the other is apples to oranges to me

 

[OKW Lover]

First some background: We've been to both WDW & DL. WDW is our "home" park. Its the park we first went to and the one we visit most frequently. We now live just a few minutes away from WDW. We have been to DL probably six times (with another coming up in just a few weeks). The first time we did DL, we probably had 50 WDW trips under our belts.

With that background, we love both! There isn't any doubt in our minds that parts of DL/DCA are better than WDW. There's also no doubt that parts of WDW are better than what they have at DL/DCA.

At this point I think we've agreed that one is not better than the other - its just different.

 

[jcb]

I have reached what many will consider the obsessed stage but after listening to the podcast discussion and hearing "bigger is not always" better, I really wanted to "objectify" whether in fact DL is smaller and more intimate. So I turned to Google Earth. The results surprised me.

First let's compare the width of Disneyland to the Magic Kingdom. I measured from the eastern most train track to the western most train track (or vice versa) in each park.

Magic Kingdom:


Disneyland:


MK width is .44 of a mile.
DL width is .40 of a mile.
Assuming my Google Earth measurements are accurate, that makes MK 211 feet wider than Disneyland.

I also measured some attraction to attraction distances. Suppose I want to go from Haunted Mansion to Space Mountain. I measured from the start of each line (actually, I measured from the covered start of Space Mountain in DL because a good bit of Space Mountain in DL is walking though the restaurant).

MK:


DL:


MK is .35 of a mile.
DL is .32 of a mile.
That is 138 feet longer in MK than DL though I think this is within a margin of error.

Then, I compared the distance to the Partners' Statue from the train track at the entrance.

MK:


DL:


MK is .17 of a mile.
DL is .16 of a mile.
That makes the MK distance 52 feet longer. Again, I think most of this is within a healthy margin of error.

Suffice to say, at this point, I had to measure the length and width of Main Street. For length, I measured from facade to facade south to north. For width, I measured from curb to curb west to east.

MK Main Street Length


DL Main Street Length


MK Main Street Width


DL Main Street Width


So, Main Street USA in the MK is 357.14 feet long (give or take a few feet) and 31.64 feet wide (give or take a few feet).

Main Street USA in DL is 339.97 feet long (give or take a few feet) and 30.04 feet wide (give or take a few feet).

So then I measured the width of Town Square:
MK


DL


MK Town Square width is 247.88
DL Town Square width is 241.27
But I do not believe these measurements reflect the most accurate distance because I measured from facade to facade and, trying to be honest, I ended the eastern measurement at DL at the overhang above Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. If that were factored into the measurements, DL's town square would be a about a foot shorter in width than the one in the MK.

These measurements confirmed that MK is in fact larger than DL but the size difference is no where near as significant as it appears. Yet, there is no denying that DL feels markedly more intimate.

I wonder if it is the castles.

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

I wonder if it is the castles.

How about the hubs?

 

[Kristina4109]

I'd be curious to see how different in size the hubs are. Because the WDW one FEELS enormous next to DL's.

 

[jcb]

DL hub is 191.55 feet from outside curb to curb west to east, north south is 194.22.




Mk hub is 191.26 feet from outside curb to curb west to east, north south in 194.43.




Measurements within a foot are within my margin of error. Note that the East West screen shots are at the same scale but the North South ones are not. The scale doesn't matter for measurement purposes in Google Earth but I wanted to note the point in case the north south shots look different.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

That's so interesting.

I thought that the Magic Kingdom was so much larger, probably because of the way it is designed in comparison to Disneyland. Disneyland does have about 10 attractions more than the Magic Kingdom (46 vs 34, not counting the castle, Disneyana; and counting Main Street Vehicles, train, and Dumbo as one in both parks). So, that plus narrower walkways gives it a more crowded atmosphere.

 

[jcb]

I also measured the train track length.

DL is 2116.61 yards long


MK is 2607.90 yards long


That is a significant difference but if you look at the track (outlined in red on both photos) the northern part of DL's train track shows why it is shorter.

These shots are to scale. I started each measurement at Main Street Station though that wouldn't affect the distance.

 

[jcb]

I've also measured from Main Street Station to the back (northern most part) of the theme park. At DL this is Toon Town. At MK this is New Fantasyland (the back of Be our Guest, I think).

MK distance is 1891.51 feet.


DL distance is 2089.29 feet.


If you got rid of Toon Town, the distance (north south) would be 1820.10 feet.

OK, this has been fun, but my wife just questioned my sanity to our cat so I had better go.

 

[jcb]

That's so interesting.

I thought that the Magic Kingdom was so much larger, probably because of the way it is designed in comparison to Disneyland. Disneyland does have about 10 attractions more than the Magic Kingdom (46 vs 34, not counting the castle, Disneyana; and counting Main Street Vehicles, train, and Dumbo as one in both parks). So, that plus narrower walkways gives it a more crowded atmosphere.

I really enjoyed your Yosemite segment.

Michael may object but I say, "Drain Hetch Hetchy."

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I really enjoyed your Yosemite segment.

Michael may object but I say, "Drain Hetch Hetchy."

Thank you, Jack. Can you imagine how beautiful the Hetch Hetchy valley would be if they had just left it alone. ::: sigh ::: I'm with you!

But, back to the awesomeness of the two Magic Kingdoms.

 

[OKW Lover]

Very interesting set of measurements here. I'm really surprised by how close the two parks are in overall dimensions. I've always felt that DL was significantly smaller than the MK but obviously I've been deceived by a lot of forced perspective here in FL.

 

[Kristina4109]

Maybe it's just the layout or design. I have had many days in DL Park when I felt I could barely move down Main Street or through Adventureland, and that was on days of moderate attendance. I actually had the most disorienting Disney experience ever in September when I tried to get from the shops in New Orleans Square to our seat for the Fantasmic! Dessert Party at about 8:20pm. It seriously freaked me out, there were so many bodies between me and my destination.

I've gone to the MK on both uncrowded and crowded days. I've never had that sensation, ever. Can't figure out why, but it's always felt wide open and easy to maneuver through - even getting out of the MK after Wishes was only moderately annoying.

However, I stand with Tom's original statement that Disneyland is worth visiting even for people who have visited WDW multiple times. Its charm and history and huge wealth of attractions make it a wonderful place to visit for a day or a week. (Cue the Day 6 segment.)

 

[SA mom]

I really enjoy both resorts. I've been to WDW many times and DL once. It was so much easier to move around Disneyland. We took one day to park hop for water rides. If I had to pick one for the rest of my life, I don't think I could do it.

 

[PinkBudgie]

DH and I went to WDW for the first time this past June. We had an amazing time and we hope to go back again in about 5 years.
Overall we like DLR better but there are things I thought were better at WDW.
But alligators in the rivers were not one of them! Let's see, cats at DL or alligators at MK? Uhmm... I'll take cats!

The number one thing I liked best about WDW is how green it is there. Green trees and green grass everywhere! We stayed at POFQ and often walked over to POR. It was just so beautiful at those two resorts! Even the parks had large expanses of grass in them. Who knew grass was supposed to be green and not brown????

The second best thing at WDW is the big ball at Epcot. I could not get enough pictures of it. I had no idea how huge it really was! And at night it is so pretty!

For rides Splash, HM, Jungle Cruise, and ToT are way better at WDW. Even though we love EE, overall the coasters are better at DLR. For some reason, WDW coasters feel like the Materhorn- bumpy.

I know some people say not to compare DLR and WDW, but how can you not? To us, that was part of the fun! We were there 13 nights and there are still things I feel like we need to go back and see better.

 

[Kristina4109]

Oh my goodness, I completely forgot about the DL cats! Yes, point goes to Cats over Alligators. There are also no "damn lakes" to stay out of in DL, which could be a positive or a negative.

Saying which Disney destination is better is like asking a Mom which kid she loves the most.

 

[Kristina4109]

Oh, my gosh! Whoever it was that added my quote on this thread to my avatar, THANK YOU. I LOVE it!

 

[PinkBudgie]

Oh, my gosh! Whoever it was that added my quote on this thread to my avatar, THANK YOU. I LOVE it!

Congats! I was going to say that was very well said!