Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

If you have ever traveled to one of the U.S. Disney parks, you may think you know all there is to know about the other park. This could not be farther from the truth. As someone who lives in the western United States, I have been to Disneyland my fair share of times. When I decided to take a trip to Orlando to visit Disney World, I thought there would be plenty of overlap and no research was necessary. Obviously, this was an incorrect assumption on my part. There are major differences to be aware of when traveling between the two Disney parks. 

1. Park Accessibility

Disneyland is located right in the middle of Anaheim, surrounded by plenty of hotels and resorts that are within walking distance to the park. You can literally walk from your hotel and into either of the Disneyland parks in a matter of minutes. This makes for convenient travel, but unfortunately this was not exactly the vision that Walt had for his Disneyland park. He wanted his guests to be removed from the outside world. For this reason, he decided that Walt Disney World should be completely separated from the outside. 

Walt purchased several acres in the Florida swamp and began building his dream park. Today, that park is completely detached from the outside. In fact, in order to get to Magic Kingdom, you either have to take a ferry or the monorail. It is an island completely surrounded by water. It is a very cool concept and definitely adds to the magic, but makes getting in and out of the park a little more time-consuming.

Another cool aspect of Walt Disney World is that there are several more Disney hotels with unique ways to enter the park. From Disney’s Riviera Resort, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, Pop Century Resort, or Art of Animation Resort guests are able to take the Disney Skyliner, which is an aerial gondola that you can ride directly into EPCOT or Disney’s Hollywood Studios. 

All four of the Disney World parks are also very spread out, and you will have to drive to make it to each of the parks. There is no way that you could walk from one park to another and would definitely have to rely on some other form of transportation. 

2. Park Hopping

Disneyland and California Adventure are close enough to each other that it is very easy to park hop and walk back and forth. You could easily fit both of the parks in one day. However, this may be a little trickier at Disney World. 

As mentioned before, the parks at Disney World are very spread out compared to the two parks right next to each other at Disneyland. You could visit two parks in one day, but you definitely would not be getting the full experience. The parks are generally bigger and more spread out, and you’d have to take a significant portion of time commuting. This time is very precious and could instead be spent enjoying your time in the magic world of Disney. 

I definitely do not think you could easily or comfortably visit two Disney World parks in the same day and get the full experience. I always recommend at least one day at each park, which means that the park hopper is not worth it. 

3. Weather

Both southern California and central Florida have fairly moderate and predictable weather. California is moderate all year round, and it doesn’t usually get extremely hot in the summer or cold in the winter. This is perfect for visitors to come by all year long and enjoy their time comfortably. 

Florida weather is a little bit more extreme, as they do experience hurricanes and it can get quite hot in the summer. Since Orlando is located in the central part of Florida, the hurricanes don’t affect Disney World as much as it does some of the coastal cities. Disney World has also prepared for the extreme heat by providing air conditioning in the buildings, fans in the attraction lines, and water misters located throughout the parks. 

You can also expect it to rain at least once a day during the summer months. And by rain, I mean an absolute torrential downpour. The good news is that it doesn’t last long, and the storm passes over very quickly so you can resume your activities. The bad news is that if you are not prepared, it could derail your whole day. Definitely plan to come prepared with an umbrella, poncho, and potentially a change of shoes and socks. 

However, both parks have created the perfect atmosphere for conquering the day, regardless of the weather. 

4. Disney Hotels and Resorts

Disneyland has two official Disney hotels; they are Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa and Disneyland Hotel. 

Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa is located on property, meaning it is literally in California Adventure. This provides extremely close proximity to the parks and early entry to either of the parks, a benefit you get just for staying with them. 

Disneyland Hotel is right by the monorail that takes you directly to the parks. It also provides the early entry perk for staying at the Disneyland Hotel. 

Although those are the only two “official” hotels affiliated with Disneyland, Disney does have some Good Neighbor Hotels that are located near the parks that provide great stays for guests planning on visiting the Disneyland theme park. 

On the other hand, Disney World has several official Disney hotel options for your stay. There are five different categories of hotels for you to choose from. These are Deluxe Villas, Deluxe Resort Hotels, Moderate Resort Hotels, Value Resort Hotels, and Campgrounds. This ensures that no matter what your budget is, you can find something to fit your needs. All of these properties have different amenities and access to each of the four parks. Staying on property provides convenient access and keeps you inside the magic of Disney. 

5. Number of Parks (and Water Parks)

Disneyland is composed of Downtown Disney, Disneyland, and California Adventure Park. Downtown Disney is free entry and consists of shopping and restaurants for your enjoyment. Disneyland and California Adventure Park are the two amusement park options that have roller coasters, character appearances, and themed lands. 

Disney World is much larger in terms of land area and number of attractions. Disney World is comprised of Disney Springs, which is similar to Downtown Disney in California, with shopping and restaurants to enjoy. It is comprised of four parks, which are Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, and Epcot. In addition, there are two water parks, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach that you can enjoy to beat the heat. 

6. The Castles

As you walk down Main Street USA, you will see the Disney castles that are in each park. Each of these castles are very different.

Disneyland has Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, which was the original Disney castle. This castle appears larger than it actually is due to a visual effect called forced perspective. The bottom tier of the castle is the largest, and as you move up through the tiers they get smaller. This helps achieve the visualization of a large castle, when it really is not very tall.

Disney World has Cinderella’s Castle. This castle is huge! As someone who had only been to Disneyland until well into adulthood, the Disney World Castle seems absolutely massive. It is much taller than its sister castle in California. Forced perspective was not used in Florida and the castle is definitely as tall as it seems.

Both castles are absolutely amazing and truly bring the magic to the Disney parks.

Overall, Disneyland and Disney World are very similar but very different, each bringing their own unique offerings and things to enjoy. Is there anything you would like to add to this list?