Comparing the Magic Kingdoms

[CaliforniaAdventurer]

Besides things being more spread out, with a taller castle in Florida, what else differentiates the Magic Kingdoms?
Which attractions are unique to each park?

Walt Disney World
Magic Kingdom park

Mickey's ToonTown Fair
Barnstormer

Fantasyland
Mickey's PhilharMagic
Many Adv. Winnie the Pooh
(featured at DL's Critter Country)

Frontierland / Liberty Square
The Hall of Presidents
Mike Fink Keelboats
Country Bear Jamboree

Adventureland
Swiss Family Treehouse
Aladdin's Flying Carpets

Tomorrowland
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
(coming soon to DL)
Grand Prix Raceway
Stitch Encounter (coming soon)
TTA (WEDway PeopleMovers)
Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress
Transportarium

Disneyland park
Anaheim, CA

Mickey's ToonTown
Gadget's Go Coaster
Jolly Trolley
Goofy's House / Chip n Dale Treehouse

Fantasyland
Matterhorn Bobsleds
Alice in Wonderland
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
Pinocchio's Daring Journey
Storybookland Canal Boats
Casey Jr. Circus Train

Frontierland / Critter Country and New Orleans Square

Sailing Ship Columbia
Fantasmic! (featured at DMGMS)

Adventureland
Tarzan's Treehouse
Indiana Jones Adventure

Tomorrowland
Star Tours (featured at DMGMS)
DL Monorail (soars through DL)
Autopia (much longer than FL)

Main Street USA
Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
The Penny Arcade

[sediment]

I think that's about it.
Except:
1. You didn't mention Pirates at each site. The two Pirates are different. DL's is considered better. More drop, in order to (spoiler) get under the berm to the show room.
2. HM: stretching floor goes down in DL, in order to (spoiler) get under the berm to the show room. Stretching walls go up at MK.

[CaliforniaAdventurer]

Well I also noticed that at Disneyland, you have to eat around the Rivers of America or Main Street, the rest of the park is basically just fast food, shopping and attractions, whereas you can get a nice meal in Adventureland, Fantasyland or even Tomorrowland when you go to Florida.

Below are all the attractions that the two Magic Kingdoms have IN COMMON. What major differences do you know about between the attractions below, that are in both parks?

Tomorrowland:
Space Mountain
Astro Orbitor
Autopia (much longer and better themed) / Grand Prix Raceway

Mickey's Toon Town:
Mickey's House, Minnie's House, Donald's Boat, RR Station
Gadget's Go Coaster -- Goofy's Barnstormer

Fantasyland:
it's a small world (better exterior at DL)
Carousel, Dumbo, Teacups (Mad Tea Party)
Snow White's Scary Adventures
Peter Pan's Flight

Liberty Square / New Orleans Square:
The Haunted Mansion (Colonial vs. Plantation)
Liberty Square Riverboat / Mark Twain Riverboat (DL: Frontierland)

Critter Country:
Splash Mtn. (in Frontierland in FL)
Many Adv. of Winnie the Pooh (in Fantasyland in FL)

Adventureland:
The Jungle Cruise
Pirates of the Caribbean (in New Orleans Square at DL)
The Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management in FL)

Main Street USA:
Vehicles, Streetcars

[cemeinke]

What about Paris? Tokyo? or Hong Kong?

[teri]

The fast food at Disneyland is much more varied and interesting than WDW. Places to sit and people-watch or enjoy the ambience are quite restricted at WDW - the outdoor spots tend to be around junk food places.

[Mark Goldhaber]

The Mad Tea Party has a roof at WDW.

[CoasterMatt]

Originally posted by Mark Goldhaber
The Mad Tea Party has a roof at WDW.

But does it have this? (http://images.somethingawful.com/inserts/articlepics/photoshop/01-02-04-parks/hathfallen1.jpg)
:fez: :~D

[Uncle Dick]

Originally posted by CaliforniaAdventurer
Tomorrowland:
Space Mountain
Much brighter and less thrillling (IMHO) at WDW. Also includes two tracks.


Critter Country:
Splash Mtn. (in Frontierland in FL)
Double seats in Florida.

[sediment]

Space Mountain in WDW is strangely similar to Matterhorn in DL. I recall some story about WDW not having Matterhorn and guests complaining about it. Instead of simply throwing a copy, the imagineers created a new concept overlaid on the Matterhorn infrastructure. Or so I've read.

[PineapplePrincess]

I don't think that SM in WDW is like the Matterhorn. For one, with the matterhorn the two tracks are near each other and go over and under each other, SM are two seperate tracks, two coasters next to eachother. I even have pic that I took when the lights were on. Gotta love the peoplemover ;)
Splash seems to be much longer at WDW, and there seems to be an actual story to it.
For some reason Peter Pan seemed better also, but I tend not to go on that much at DL due to long lines.
Now I found the tea cups to be much better at DL, they hardly spun at all at WDW.

[teri]

Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom is no Disneyland. There are many things that are different, but there are somethings tha are just missing that make the place seem empty.

There is no Matterhorn, no Alice in Wonderland, and the monorail does not run through the middle. No Storybook Canal Boats, and it's a small world at WDW is mind-numbing inside and out. There is no Snow White wishing well, and the castle is just too darn big.

There is no New Orleans Square, no jazz musicians, no French Market, no train station there, no gumbo, no Riverbelle Terrace, no walkway through the woods between Big Thunder and Festival Area, and there are not many regularly performed live shows in regular season. There is no Rancho del Zocalo... although I haven't been there since the accident, and I sure miss watching the Big Thunder trains coming in with all those smiling faces.

WDW lacks benches and places to sit, people watch and enjoy high-quality moderately priced food. It just feels more utilitarian and uncomfortable there.

[CaliforniaAdventurer]

Originally posted by teri
Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom is no Disneyland. There are many things that are different, but there are somethings tha are just missing that make the place seem empty...

WDW lacks benches and places to sit, people watch and enjoy high-quality moderately priced food. It just feels more utilitarian and uncomfortable there.

Yeah but what about "THE HALL OF PRESIDENTS" and the much more exciting TOMORROWLAND in Florida? Also, it's kind of nice that you don't need 2 or 3 days to see the park, you can enjoy it in a day and a half and then go spend the rest of your time at the other 3 parks.

[CaliforniaAdventurer]

Originally posted by CoasterMatt
But does it have this? (http://images.somethingawful.com/inserts/articlepics/photoshop/01-02-04-parks/hathfallen1.jpg)
:fez: :~D

I HEARD THE MAD TEA PARTY aka THE TEACUPS were being slowed down in Disneyland? Are they the same in Florida, or are there more teacups in the set or is there any other difference besides the canopy?

[MattK]

I find the Magic Kingdom to be better than Disneyland at the present.

1) MK has larger pathways which make the park easier to navigate than DL due to less crowding

2) MK seems to be designed smarter, keeping crowds more balanced throughout the park (ex. Splash, Thunder, and Bears all by each other, thus splitting the crowds there; ex2. much more interesting Tomorrowland (w/ Buzz and Peoplemover/Transit Authority), splitting crowds between East and West sides)

3) The rides at MK seem to have better capacities, and shorter wait times; Splash Mountain has more animation and is a longer ride at MK but has a higher hourly capacity due to the increased amount of people it can load per boat. Peter Pan is similarly superior to its DL counterpart.

4) Phillarmagic is a much better show than anything at DL, IMO.

Some MK attractions are slightly superior to their DL counterparts, IMO (Haunted Mansion and Pooh have more animation and scenes) but others seem slightly worse (Pirates is shorter, Thunder and Space are tamer). But then again, DL has neither THunder or SPace right now. Its Tomorrowland has neither Buzz or the Peoplemover. It has Indy and the Matterhorn but those rides push people towards its other working attractions, just making things more crowded and unpleasant. Once DL reopens its closed attractions and builds a new one or two, I may change my mind.

Matt

[Mickeyslittlehelper]

Disneyland has a Club 33!!

[danyoung]

Originally posted by MattK
Peter Pan is similarly superior to its DL counterpart.


You really think so? Most people who have been to both parks agree that Disneyland's extensive use of fiber optics makes its PP far superior to Florida's.

[danyoung]

Originally posted by CaliforniaAdventurer
What major differences do you know about between the attractions below, that are in both parks?


Let me comment on a few of these differences:


Tomorrowland:
Space Mountain - I thought the ride itself was very similar, but the music tracks in the DL version really made it the better ride. Sadly, it's gone for now.

Astro Orbitor - It's where it belongs in WDW. At DL they've lowered it to ground level, much like Dumbo, and very stupidly moved it right into the entryway to Tomorrowland, where it not only blocks the crowd flow, but impinges horribly on the Central Plaza of the park. Dumb.

Autopia (much longer and better themed) / Grand Prix Raceway - since the redo, much better at DL.

Mickey's Toon Town - without going into specifics on the individual houses and kiddie rides which I rarely visit in either park, DL has Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin, a really fun ride.


Fantasyland:
it's a small world (better exterior at DL) - better ride at DL. Seems to flow better. WDW's version just kinda klumps along from big room to big room. Never worked for me.

Carousel, Dumbo, Teacups (Mad Tea Party) - pretty much the same in both parks. Hopefully WDW has not stupidly slowed down the teacups, like the lawsuit frightened DL execs.

Snow White's Scary Adventures - Not a lot of difference. DL's works better for me.

Peter Pan's Flight - far better at DL, with much more use of fiber optic lights throughout

Liberty Square / New Orleans Square: DL gets the edge again for pure atmosphere.

The Haunted Mansion (Colonial vs. Plantation) - both mansions are cool, but I've always liked the grand scale of DL's. I think the ride works better in DL as well. The stretch room moves down in DL, but at WDW the floor doesn't move. Small difference, but important.

Liberty Square Riverboat / Mark Twain Riverboat (DL: Frontierland)- about the same

Critter Country:
Splash Mtn. (in Frontierland in FL) - WDW gets the edge. Better flow of the story. The drop is about the same.

Many Adv. of Winnie the Pooh (in Fantasyland in FL) - much better in WDW. DL's version was built on the cheap, and it shows.

Adventureland:

The Jungle Cruise - longer and better at WDW

Pirates of the Caribbean (in New Orleans Square at DL) - far superior at DL. Better water drops, better flow of the story. DL has much longer caves, plus the float thru the Blue Bayou Lagoon.

The Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management in FL) - The original in DL is still better. I like the redone version in Florida, although it's more cutesy than cool.

Main Street USA:
Vehicles, Streetcars - pretty much the same in both parks.

As to my take on which park is better? While they both give pretty much the same feel, and while MK is much larger, there's just something more intimate about the layout in California. It's been there 16 years longer, and has had time to develop more character. If you compare DL against WDW as a whole, well, there's much more to do in the 4 parks of WDW than in the 1 1/2 in DL.

My take - why choose? They're both incredible!!!

[sediment]

I agree with Dan's last statement.

[Crispy]

I'd have to disagree with what's been said about Small World. The facade at DL is more eyepopping than at WDW because of the outdoor loading. However, I think the actual ride is better at WDW. It's bright and airy at WDW as opposed to the darker Disneyland version. You also have the added element of being in a lagoon of water (a la Pirates) as opposed to the trough at Disneyland. After having gone to WDW all our lives, we made a visit to Disneyland and when we rode Small World there my mother said "that was pretty crappy." I think this is just an east coast vs. west coast thing. Those from the west coast that get used to riding the DL version are disappointed when they ride the version at Disney World and the east coasters that get used to riding the WDW version get disappointed when they ride the version at Disneyland.

I will say that I enjoyed the Paris verion the least. Much of the charm of the ride comes from the Mary Blair/ 60's 70's psychadelic color scheme and decor. That is gone from the Paris version. Instead they made it this super cute Hello Kitty type of ride. And rather than the individual rooms, the ride just zig-zags through one big room. Lastly, there's no dimension to the sets. They are just flat backdrop dividers and the dolls are just lined up right beside the boats. It's really bizarre.

One last very sad observation. There now only exists ONE Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in the world. WDW's version is gone and there was never another built at Tokyo or Paris.


Cris

[CaliforniaAdventurer]

Originally posted by sediment
I agree with Dan's last statement.
DITTO

[danyoung]

I just love it when we can all come together and agree about how right I am. It happens so rarely . . . . .