11 Reasons You NEED to Go to Disneyland If You've Only Ever Been to Disney World

Updated on 6/26/2018 at 5:25 PM

Tarah Chieffi

Growing up a Florida girl, I always thought of Disneyland as a smaller version of Walt Disney World that was missing EPCOT and the Animal Kingdom. But I recently had to totally eat my words when I experienced the magic of Disneyland with my family for the very first time. California locals have always argued that Disneyland is better than Walt Disney World. While I don't think I can make that kind of proclamation, I was blown away by the rides, how easy it was to get around, and the unique touches you'll only find in SoCal. Oh, and they have Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout, which is worth a few hundred points in my book (sorry, Florida). If you've ever thought about going to Disneyland but have always ended up back at Disney World, here are 11 reasons you absolutely have to experience it at least once.

You Might Run Into Your Favorite Character

On our first morning at Disneyland, Peter Pan excitedly skipped up to our 4-year-old and took him by the hand. It made for an adorable photo opportunity, and the spontaneity of it really added to the magic. The same thing happened at California Adventure. Chip stopped to give our son a quick hug while on the way to wherever he was headed (to meet Dale, perhaps). I feel like these impromptu character meetings don't happen much at Walt Disney World, where the characters are always accompanied by their handlers and typically stay in one spot for the entire day.

The Walkability Factor

If you've ever been to Walt Disney World, you know you have to plan at least 20 to 30 minutes (sometimes more!) of travel time to reach your destination. This includes both getting from your hotel to the parks and also between parks. When you enter the main entrance to Disneyland, Disneyland park is on your right, California Adventure is on your left, and the Downtown Disney District is straight ahead. We were able to walk from our nearby hotel to the main entrance in less than 10 minutes and could easily walk from one park to another in under five. Game changer.

You Can Get All Your Vacation Photos For Only $10

You won't want to leave Disney without all the photos that capture the lifelong memories. The PhotoPass service at Disneyland is a steal — it's only $10 per day for access to download all of your photos from that day (both on attractions and those taken by the PhotoPass photographers around the park). All you need to do is have just one person in your party purchase the MaxPass feature. The Memory Maker package at Walt Disney World, on the other hand, is $169, but does cover you for the entirety of your trip.

You Can Be a Resident of Cars Land

Getting to see Cars Land was worth the cross-country flight to Disneyland alone. As soon as you enter this section of California Adventure, you truly feel like you're in Radiator Springs. Pro tip: hang out here around dusk to watch the neon sign light up and here "Sh-Boom" playing all around you. I may have teared up just a bit.

Disneyland Has Its Own Fun Photo Walls

If you're a big enough Disney nerd to know about the walls of Walt Disney World (like the Purple Wall and the Bubblegum Wall), then you'll love the unique and beautiful photo ops Disneyland has to offer.

See Your Favorite Star Wars Characters With No Wait

On our last trip to Walt Disney World, we waited well over an hour to meet Kylo Ren. When we visited Disneyland in February, there was virtually no wait to meet Kylo Ren or Boba Fett, so we got to meet both!

Fewer People Fighting For Good Firework Viewing Spots

At Walt Disney World, I feel like we're always tripping over people to get even a halfway decent spot to watch the nightly fireworks. You could get a FastPass, but you'll be giving up the opportunity to use it for attractions with a lengthy wait (like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train). At Disneyland, you can pull a paper FastPass for the firework show and it won't stop you from being able to use FastPass for other attractions throughout the day. We arrived at our viewing spot about 30 minutes before Fantasmic was set to begin and only had one family in front of us. We basically had front-row seats!

The Same Rides Are Still Different

This was one of the biggest (and happiest) surprises for me during our Disneyland trip! While both parks do have some of the same rides, they aren't quite the same. It's a Small World had different scenes, Thunder Mountain was much smoother, and Space Mountain even felt a bit scarier.

You Can Ride Nostalgic Rides of Disney World's Past

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was one of my favorites as a kid, so imagine my delight when I got the chance to ride it again at Disneyland. You can also still experience 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (now Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage) and Snow White's Scary Adventures.

Disneyland Has Its Own Special Celebrations

EPCOT has the International Flower and Garden Festival and the International Festival of the Arts, but Disneyland's California Adventure park has the Lunar New Year Celebration (which was extra special for Goofy this year because 2018 is the Year of the Dog) and Pixar Fest (where you can dine on Toy Story alien macaroons).

Smaller Crowds (and Better Castle Pictures)

Disneyland doesn't see quite as many people in a day as Walt Disney World, which means it's actually possible to get a photo in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle where it looks like you have the whole park to yourself. Unless you're one of the first families of the morning to enter the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, this is pretty much impossible.