From one of those annoying Disney adults

For those who think that adults shouldn’t be attending Disney parks, feel free to ignore this post.

I grew up in Northern California, but my folks had moved from Southern California, and we still had a lot of family down there. We made the trek south multiple times a year. We sometimes stopped at Knott's Berry Farm or Universal Studios, but most years we went to Disneyland. On one of those trips, I remember stopping at Gulf for gas and they were giving out a Disney magazine promoting the opening of Disney World. I was curious, but that was the other side of the country. We’d never go there.

Raising our kids, we took them to Disneyland many times.

In 2018, one of my daughters went to Disney World with her husband. I pestered her with questions about comparisons between the parks.

This year, my daughter and son-in-law said they wanted to treat us to a trip to Disney World together, partly in thanks for those trips to Disneyland through the years. So, I made a log of attractions visited at the four Disney World Parks (The Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, and Epcot) with comparisons to the California Parks (Disneyland and California Adventures).

Attractions visited on Tuesday, 10/26/26

Magic Kingdom

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train - Disneyland has Snow White’s Scary Adventure, a dark ride with disclaimers that are equivalent to a PG-13 rating. The Mine Train is a mild roller coaster. They are very different rides, but I wouldn’t say one was better than the other.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure - I certainly understand why this was changed from the extinct Disneyland’s Splash Mountain. Splash Mountain was based on the film The Song of the South, which Disney took out of circulation because of its depiction of a sharecropper in the rural South. The new ride is based on The Princess and the Frog, a film set in New Orleans with an African American heroine. But I think I still preferred Splash Mountain and its celebration of Br’er Rabbit by a tad.

Pirates of the Caribbean - My real preference is for the original Pirates ride. The original incarnation had several politically incorrect sketches, such as a pirate’s auction of captured women. After the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise became a box office sensation, Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow was added to incarnations of the ride. I still prefer the Disneyland version. One thing that really makes the Anaheim version better is the time spent boating through the bayou before venturing into the world of pirates, a leisurely ride by the old cabins and fireflies. The preparation for the return to the past really adds to the experience.

Bear Country Jamboree - I’m really happy that this park brought back the experience that Disneyland shut down. This is a country western variety show performed by animatronic bears. In the old Disneyland version, country western standards provided the soundtrack. It was a clever idea to incorporate Disney songs in the attraction for the synergy. But I do miss “Blood on the Saddle” sung by Big Al, one of my favorite Disney creations.

Jungle Boat Cruise - There are some differences between Land and World rides. Disneyland’s cruise used to feature African natives depicted as headhunters (though headhunting was most practiced in South America, Borneo, New Zealand, and the South Seas). The boat traverses quickly from Asia to Africa. But the real fun of the ride is the tour guide. Guides are given a basic outline for the tour, with some corny jokes that have been around for decades (“Here are the famous Schweitzer Falls named after the famed Dr. Falls. Here’s something you don’t see every day, the back side of water. But I do.”) But they are encouraged to come up with their own comic bits which keeps the ride fresh.

The Haunted Mansion - The same spooks can pretty much be found at Disneyland and Disney World.

Space Mountain - Again, pretty much the same as the Disneyland ride.

Hall of Presidents - I was very glad to see an attraction I’ve been curious about for decades. All of the nation’s presidents come to “life” on the stage, including President Trump to recite his oath of office. But I have the same problem with this attraction that I have with "Presidents’ Day" rather than honoring Washington and Lincoln’s Birthdays. Not all presidents were especially honorable. And the narration gives special attention to four presidents: Washington, Lincoln and both Roosevelts. The narrator lauds the “progressive progress” of the latter two executives. I prefer Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln at Disneyland.

Epcot

Soarin’ Over America - This ride lifts the visitors into the air for a scenic flight over the nation. The original incarnation of this ride was Soarin’ Over California, which was the best version. Riders felt water spray going over the Pacific and smelled orange while traveling over the groves. (Fortunately, Soarin’ Over the World, an incoherent narrative mess once featured at both parks, is no more.)

Spaceship Earth - This ride gives a tutorial of the intellectual and scientific history of the world. There is nothing like it at Disneyland. It probably is a good thing to introduce the youths to the basics of world history.

Ratatouille’s Grand Adventure - A great character ride with no equivalent at Disneyland. I love the film about that culinary rat, Remy, and the ride creatively captures the fun of that film.

Attractions visited on Wednesday, 10/28

Hollywood Studios

Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad - Why has it taken so long to use Mickey and friends in a ride? After all, they were the foundation of Disney’s empire. And they managed to make something quite clever that salutes not only Walt’s work but all of early American cinema.

Star Tours - Pretty much the same ride as Disneyland has now, which is fun. But I miss Captain Rex (Paul Reubens), who piloted the original version of the ride. (C3P0 is in charge now.)

Toy Story Midway Mania - This interactive carnival shooting gallery is the same at Disney World as at California Adventures. Fun for young and old.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets - An excellent indoor roller coaster, though I might prefer the outdoor roller coaster at California Adventures, The Incredicoaster. From what I've read, this ride used to feature Areosmith.

Hollywood Tower of Terror - Pretty much the same ride they used to have at California Adventures, a salute to Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone. Visitors ride an elevator that goes off the rails. (Its replacement at California Adventures—Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission: Breakout—is better, but not as good as the Guardians ride at Epcot.)

Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run - A decent ride; made memorable by offering riders different parts to play: the pilot, the gunner, or the engineer.

The Rise of the Resistance - This is arguably Disney’s most innovative combination of its many Imagineer techniques: animatronics, screens, trackless cars, and some excellent actors. I’ve read this ride is plagued with frequent breakdowns because of its complexity, but it worked well while we were there.

Magic Kingdom

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - Pretty much the same ride they had at Disneyland, but it had been a very long time since I rode it there. Good little roller coaster.

Peter Pan’s Flight - Interesting how few of the character rides have been transplanted from Disneyland to Disney World. Disneyland had rides honoring Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, and Mr. Toad. (Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride is one of my favorite rides that literally sends riders to hell.) But this is a good one, and they were wise not to change it much. (Though you can’t hear “Come on everybody, here we go!” over and over again as you wait in line at Disneyland, which is a shame.)

TRON Lightcycle Run - Pretty great ride. Riding a bike on a roller coaster. It would be smart to replicate it in Disneyland’s Tomorrowland.

Attractions visited on Thursday, 10/29

Animal Kingdom

Avatar Flight of Passage - Frankly, I was a little disappointed with this ride after hearing the hype over the years. One sits on a simulator while wearing 3-D glasses. The adventure in Pandora takes place on the screen. I’ve heard people claim that the ride even redeems the awful James Cameron Avatar films, but that just isn’t possible.

Kilimanjaro Safaris - Obviously, nothing like this in Disney in California. A bus carries passengers on a tour of animals from different continents. It’s a good little zoo.

Expedition Everest - Disneyland does have an equivalent ride, the Matterhorn, a roller coaster following trails of a mighty mountain. But I think Everest is a little better. The Yeti is on both rides, but is better integrated into Everest. And the backward track was a nice surprise.

Kali River Rapids - A boat ride not very different from Grizzly River Run at California Adventures. Every park needs a rapids ride to get visitors wet on a warm day.

Attractions on Friday, 10/30

Epcot

The Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind - Great ride, better than what California Adventures does with Star Lord. Excellent indoor rollercoaster that makes good use of the soundtrack of the film series the ride is based upon.

Frozen Ever After - A nice little character ride, though it doesn’t have much of a story. Some of these rides at Disneyland follow the basic outline of the film they are based upon, but the new outline for Disney World seems to be, “Hey kids, let’s throw a party!”

Journey Into Imagination with Figment - Unmitigated disaster. Eric Idle introduces a tour of the five senses. Idle himself has mocked the ride.

Canada Far and Wide - Quite the bore. Prefer the extinct 360-degree film in Disneyland, America the Beautiful. The Disneyland ride had much better material to start work with.

I love the experience of both parks. The primary difference is the size. Disney World is spread over four parks rather than two, with more space. If you have limited time for a visit, you can see many more attractions in the compact Disneyland site. But the open spaces of Disney World might be more aesthetically pleasing.

There were, of course, many rides and attractions we didn't experience. We chose not to wait in the long line for Toy Story's Slinky Dog roller coaster. We'd often been on It's a Small World at Disneyland. It was a choice this time: "We don't want to have that annoying song stuck in our heads." Some attractions didn't interest us (we had been on the Little Mermaid ride at California Adventure and didn't need to do it again).

There was one other major difference in the park experiences, for me at least. When I used to go to Disneyland with my parents, and when I took my kids, we would sneak peanut butter and jelly sandwiches into the park, or sometimes we would take a break to go to Denny’s across the street from the park. This trip, our daughter and son-in-law treated us to the meal plan. There are some really good restaurants at Disney World.

I'm curious. Those of you in the Ricohetti who have experienced these two Disney parks, or have perhaps been to the other resorts in Europe and Asia, do you have a favorite?