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View Full Version : must see in Disneyland that's not in WDW



rosie
06-10-2006, 06:21 PM
Hi Fellow Mouse lovers. My daughter and I will be visiting Disneyland for the first time in December ( I know..so far away). We have been to DisneyWorld a number of times so I'm wondering, aside from DCA, what recommendations do people have for must sees that are only in Disneyland?
Thanks for your input!

Rosie:)

JeffG
06-10-2006, 06:36 PM
There is actually quite a bit that Disneyland has that WDW doesn't. Sticking to the original park alone, attractions at DL and not WDW include:

1. The Matterhorn
2. Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye
3. Roger Rabbit's Car-Toon Spin
4. Pinocchio's Daring Journey
5. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
6. Storybookland Canal Boats
7. Casey Jr. Circus Train
8. Gadget's Go Coaster (although this is very similar to Goofy's Barnstormer at WDW)
9. The Enchanted Tiki Room (original show)
10. Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (assuming it re-opens after the 50th cellebration ends)
11. Main Street Cinema
12. Davy Crocket Explorer Canoes
13. Sailing Ship Columbia
14. Tarzan's Treehouse
15. Disney Gallery

This is from memory, so I'm probably forgetting a couple...

Besides those, you should also make sure to visit Disneyland's versions of Pirates of the Caribbean and Space Mountain, both of which are dramatically superior to the WDW version of the ride. In December, both It's a Small World and Haunted Mansion will also have the holiday overlays in place, both of which are excellent and are not done in Florida.

-Jeff

rosie
06-10-2006, 06:43 PM
Thank you Jeff, I really appreciate that. I was a bit apprehensive about going from a 4 park adventure to only two. But the more I read, the more excited I become.

Disney Vault
06-10-2006, 07:23 PM
Thank you Jeff, I really appreciate that. I was a bit apprehensive about going from a 4 park adventure to only two. But the more I read, the more excited I become.
I really don't think you regret it. And December is so amazing to go to the DLr with all the christmas decorations.

Jodi
06-12-2006, 09:32 PM
I'm in the opposite of your situation, A DL regular, planning our first trip to WDW!

In addition to the rides/attractions listed above that are unique to Disneyland, my research (and there has been a lot, I'm becomming quite obsessed:) ) leads me to think that it would be fun to make a point of catching the rides that are similar, to compare. (With the possible exception of DCA's Soarin, It's tough to be a Bug, Muppets 3D, and DL's Honey I Shrunk..., which are all identical to the ones at WDW)

And, you are going at a time that, although it will be very crowded, is wonderful. Nothing is as beautiful as Disneyland decorated for Christmas!
Have Fun!

DianeM
06-12-2006, 09:44 PM
There are a lot of rides that are at both parks that are different at DL. I understand that POTC is MUCH better in DL than in WDW - it's longer, and more detailled. Also, the Tiki Room is quite different, and considered better in DL. It's just as much fun to compare what you know as it is to ride new things. DL is very different from the Magic Kingdom. It's smaller, for one thing. More compact. Or at least it seems that way. I'm trying to remember back to my honeymoon 5 years ago... we spent a week at WDW. SM is different at DL, but I think it's closer to WDW now than it was before the re-build. In all honesty - I don't like the Magic Kingdom as much as DL. It may just be familiarity, but DL seems richer, somehow. WDW Epcott and the other lands more than make it worth a visit, though.


Hi Fellow Mouse lovers. My daughter and I will be visiting Disneyland for the first time in December ( I know..so far away). We have been to DisneyWorld a number of times so I'm wondering, aside from DCA, what recommendations do people have for must sees that are only in Disneyland?
Thanks for your input!

Rosie:)

littlemissgorgeous
06-13-2006, 12:27 AM
The must sees of must sees- now more than ever- :
NEW ORLEANS SQUARE...:D

evrythngwmn
06-13-2006, 01:15 AM
I'd also check out Fantasmic. It's a whole different experience. I wasn't very impressed by the WDW version. Too much use of the water screens. Also the Mark Twain is much more impressive than that tiny paddle boat they use at WDW. I also much prefer the battle scene with Peter Pan using the Columbia vs the Pocahontas battle scene.

I suggest riding DLs Peter Pan too. The one in WDW lacks the room with all the stars which is my favorite scene.

tod
06-13-2006, 08:09 AM
Simple as this:

Stand in Town Square. Face the West. Note the strand of eucalyptus trees that have been standing as a windbreak for over 100 years.

Then look at the Firehouse. In the second floor east-facing window, you'll see a lamp. This was the first building completed at Disneyland, positioned to catch the first rays of the rising sun. Walt Disney had an apartment there, a modest single room with pull-out day beds, a "kitchenette" with a sink and hot plate, and a bathroom (which eventually had four showerheads in a vertical line so each grandkid could have one in their own size.)

Walt would spend the night on the site, and, later, in the park, rather than take the long drive back to his house in Holmby Hills.

Walt walked these streets. Walt paced out the property, said we put the Castle here, Tomorrowland here, Adventureland over there. He set up the layout so Frontierland was to the west, and Tomorrowland to the east, where each new day begins.

The light still burns in Walt's apartment to remind everybody -- Cast member and Guest alike -- that Walt was here, and his spirit still is.

And that is what you must not miss when you are a Guest at Disneyland.

--t

hbquikcomjamesl
06-13-2006, 09:17 AM
Very, very well-said, Tod.

I would amplify this by suggesting the "Walk in Walt's Footsteps" tour. It's not quite half a day, and includes a catered lunch, and was developed specifically to follow a route Walt would take on inspection tours of the Park, and to point out how his ideas shaped it, how his mark is forever on it, and how Disneyland has the one thing that no other Disney theme park in the world will ever have, an indescribable quality I like to call, "The Hand of Walt."

twist1980
06-13-2006, 01:07 PM
Here is a list I compiled to convince a friend. Sorry if anything is repeated from previous posts, I just copied and pasted my original message! :)

Things that I love that are different than WDW:

1. Fantasmic on the Rivers of America (not in a theatre)
2. PotC is longer
3. Indiana Jones
4. 50th Anniversary Fireworks
5. Hotels are sooo close to the parks making it easy to run back to your room
6. Grizzly River Run
7. Wine tasting in DCA
8. California Screamin'
9. Monsters Inc. ride
10. Nemo's Submarine Voyage (in early 2007)
11. Monorail goes directly into Tomorrowland
12. You can stay off-site and still be within walking distance of the parks
13. Unlimited fastpasses if you book through AAA and stay on-site
14. Catching a movie right next to the park during the busy part of the day
15. Mr. Toads Wild Ride
16. Fantasyland is much more themed
17. ToonTown is much more themed
18. Roger Rabbit's CarToon Spin
19. New Orlean's Square!
20. Sitting in Blue Bayou for lunch watching the PotC boats sail by, eating a Monte Cristo and drinking a Mint Julep!
21. The Grand Canyon and Dinosaur scenes while you take the train around
22. Electrical Parade
23. Safari Skewers (or any skewers for that matter) at Bengal BBQ
24. Alice in Wonderland ride
25. Matterhorn!
26. Tarzan's Treehouse (hey, its good for the exercise)!
27. Storybookland Canal Boats
28. Tiki Room (NOT Under New Management)!

And finally...IT IS THE ORIGINAL! Walt had a hand in creating a majority of the park. How could you miss that!? http://www.disneycentral.com/forum/images/smilies/tongue.gif

LLevy
06-13-2006, 02:11 PM
One thing that I enjoy at disneyland that I found missing at WDW were the shop! yes- the shops.. around every corner, there is a different shop. selling in most cases a different thing. at the magic kingdom, I was in frontier land/ liberty square, and my husband went off to do something I didn't want to do, so I said "don't worry, i'll just shop around here.". and there were no shops! there was a small one in liberty square, and a pin trader, and that was it. I had to wander to adventure and, and the only shop there was the pirate shop..

Just think of all the shops there are in new orleans square, and adventure land, and imagine none of them... there are blank walls where the rides are, and the front of the rides, and a couple of restaurants... no carts, no nooks, no "spirit".


LL

potzbie
06-13-2006, 03:29 PM
The book, "Unofficial Guide to Disneyland," already does the 1-on-1 comparison, and also points out which rides are unique to each park.
Plus ratings.
Plus breakdown by categories.

hbquikcomjamesl
06-13-2006, 04:25 PM
Another difference: The original HM in DL has stretching rooms that are real elevators. And the ride finishes up a story or two below-grade, from which you have to take an escalator back up to the surface. This, along with the drops in DL's PotC, were necessities for getting guests into an out-berm show building. In WDW-MK, it would have been an inconvenience, as it would have put much of both rides down at Utilidor level. It wasn't until people noticed that "something was missing" that anybody realized that all those things that were simple necessities in DL had the pleasant side-effect of making for better show.

(Funny thing: The HM in DL has elevators disguised as ordinary rooms. The "hydrolators" in Epcot's "Living Seas" are ordinary rooms disguised as elevators. Go figure.)

rosie
06-13-2006, 04:40 PM
Thanks again for responding to my query. I have just finished reading "Disneyland Detective" which explores the development of Disneyland and talks about each rides' creation as well as the people behind the scenes. It was a great way to whet the appetite. If only I can wait patiently till December! I still have all of Summer and Fall to go!!!!