One of the most common reactions I get when I tell people I'm going to Disneyworld is "Oh, the one in Japan?". Totally understandable; outside the USA, if you're not a die hard Disney fan or Disney nerd, you might not know that there is one particular Disney park that's the size of 2 Manhatten islands (or the size of San Francisco, the city)!
Here are the top 5 differences:
1 LOCATION
The very first Disneyland park (1 of 2 parks in The Disneyland Resort) is located in Anaheim, California; it first opened on 17 Jul 1955. The Walt Disney World Resort is in Orlando, Florida. The first park in Disney World opened on 1st Oct 1951 and in 2021, they celebrated their 50th anniversary!
There are 4 other Disneyland resorts around the world too:
Tokyo Disneyland (1983) + Tokyo DisneySea (2001)
Disneyland Paris, formerly known as Euro Disneyland (1992)
Hong Kong Disneyland (2005)
Shanghai Disneyland (2011)
There is so much to talk about for each location that I could write a book, so for this article I'll just be focusing on comparing Disneyland California and Walt Disney World.
2 SIZE
So what makes Disneyworld, a "world"?
Cause it's a small world after all *ba dum tsss*
Disneyworld is a whopping 43 sq miles (~111 sq km). That's the size of 2 Manhatten islands or the size of San Francisco city! For a more local analogy, Sentosa Island is around 5 sq km and Changi Airport is an estimate total of 45 sq km (according to Google). Basically you could squeeze almost 23 Sentosa Islands into the WDW property.
Disney World is so huge, once you've entered the iconic entrance, we say you've entered "The Disney bubble".
3 THEME PARKS WITHIN THESE RESORTS
So here's where it gets a little confusing but don't worry, I got you.
Most of the Disney theme parks also have Disney-owned hotels within the property, making it in totality: a Disney Resort. For clarity and to save yourself the massive Google search, I made a table!
Disney Resort | Parks | Hotels & Others |
Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, California, USA | 1. Disneyland Park 2. Disney California Adventure |
- Downtown Disney District (shopping and dining) |
Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, Florida, USA |
| There are over 30 hotels and resorts within WDW!! I'll dive into detail later. - Disney Springs (WDW version of Downtown Disney) |
4 THE CASTLES
At the centre of every Disneyland park, and in the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, stands a breathtakingly beautiful princess castle. It captures the eye of the giddiest of guests both young and old. In an instant, Tinker Bell's pixie dust is sprinkled unto all who believe in the magic of storytelling.
Fun fact! Each Disneyland around the world and Disneyworld has a different castle. Of course, Disney being the amazing storytellers they are, have laid every brick and moat with intention.
Cinderella Castle
(Photo by Clarice Nicole Lee, 28 July 2019)
Location(s):
Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida
Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo, Japan
This castle never fails to take my breath away as I walk down Main Street U.S.A.
Sleeping Beauty Castle
(Photo retrieved from Disney Parks website, 8 Apr 2022)
Location(s):
Disneyland, Anaheim, California
This was the first Disney castle, inspired by Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty.
Both the Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty castles were inspired by the late-19th century Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany; Walt and his wife travelled there once and fell in love with the castle and we can see why. It’s grandeur in architecture and colour brings about a dreamy, fantastical feel that’s fit for any princess.
Unfortunately, King Ludwig didn't really have his Happily Ever After, if you delve into his history. Nevertheless, the Neuschwanstein castle is still one of my absolute favourite castles in the world which makes the Cinderella castle my personal bias of all the Disney castles.
Disneyland Paris, Paris, France
(Photo retrieved from Architectural Digest website, 8 Apr 2022)
Le Chateau de la Belle Bois Dormant in Disneyland Paris is the 2nd castle to be designed after the Sleeping Beauty castle back in 1990, when Micheal Eisner was CEO. According to Tracy Eck with Architectural Digest, she says, “Because we were entering Europe, we had to design and adapt to where we were. There are so many fantastic craftsmen here and the castle had a completely new design, and there was a lot of research that went into it.”
It recently underwent refurbishment with a new paint job, just in time for the park's 30th anniversary. (Lots of Disney park milestone birthdays this year haha)
Castle of Magical Dreams
(Photo by Graham Uden, retrieved from Conde Nest Traveler website, 8 Apr 2022)
Location: Hong Kong Disneyland
This castle‘s story is a special one. The Walt Disney Company wanted the new Hong Kong Disneyland castle to reflect the importance and beauty of diversity. So they gave the Hong Kong Disneyland Sleeping Beauty castle a MAKEOVER! As part of the park's 15th anniversary celebration. A total of 12 spire towers were added to the original Sleeping Beauty castle, each representing one Disney princess story. The princesses represented include Moana, Mulan, Ariel, Aurora (of course), Pocahontas, Tiana, Snow White, Merida, Cinderella, Belle, Rapunzal, Jasmine and sister queens Anna and Elsa.
Enchanted Storybook Castle
(Photo retrieved from Magic Guidebooks website, 8 Apr 2022)
Location: Shanghai Disneyland
Does this castle in particular look a lil' large to you? Why it's because the Enchanted Storybook Castle in Shanghai Disneyland is the tallest castle ever built. The park opened in 2016, ushered in by the company's fourth CEO - Bob Iger. This castle is a super special one. Prior to HKDL's refurbishment, this castle payed homage to four disney princesses - each princess as an ambassador for each of the four seasons.
Within it's halls are murals and mosiacs depicting the four seasons: spring (The Princess and the Frog), summer (Tangled), autumn (Brave) and winter (Frozen, duh). I, myself have yet to visit this beautiful beacon but one day will. Currently, Shanghai Disneyland is closed due to the surge in Covid-19 cases. We can only wait as the country battles the pandemic and we can one day visit this enormous castle.
5 UNIQUE ATTRACTIONS
A part of "the Disney magic" experience is enjoying a unique Disney vacation every time you go to the parks - be it a new snack at the concession stands or newly renovated rooms, even different rides!
If you visit Disneyland California, you can take a drive down the streets of Cars Land. Head down south of the country and you'll be scurrying away from the chef's in the kitchen in Remy's Ratatouille Adventure (newly opened in EPCOT, 2021). Head over to Tokyo Disney Sea for Sinbad's Storybook Voyage or to Disneyland Paris in 2024 for a new Frozen themed land!
Every Disney parks fanatic has a mission to visit all 6 Disney resorts so much so that it birthed this famous Facebook meme:
There's just so much of the stories to explore. And Disney is all about immersing guests in the fairytale world to escape reality, momentarily during your vacation.
WHY IT MATTERS
If you have made it this far into the article, thank you, I love you for your patience. You’re probably wondering by now - what does all this matter? Well, the main reason for my lengthy explanation is...
We don’t want to wind up in the wrong park, now would we? I have heard stories of guests coming in asking for attractions that are actually from another Disneyland. Or they want to know where the Harry Potter ride is haha.
Take your time to do some research on which rides/ characters interest you the most.
Fret not my friends, I will be coming up with more tips and guides to help you understand Disney jargon and plan your Disney vacation. While I am not a certified travel agent but I hope too still help you out. So stay tuned!
Check out the attached links in the photo credits for more information about the castles if you are an architecture nerd or just love fantasizing about being a prince/princess. (They aren't affiliate links, I just want you to love Disney too)
See ya real soon!
And remember your daily scoop of pixie dust! ;)
Sources:
"8 Things to Know About Hong Kong Disneyland's New Castle" (Todd Plummer, 22 Dec 2020), retrieved from Conde Nast Traveler's website on 8 Apr 2022.
"Disneyland Paris’ Iconic Sleeping Beauty Castle Gets a Major Makeover" (Gay Gassmann, 3 Mar 2022), retrieved from Architectural Digest's website on 8 Apr 2022.
"The Imagineering Story", a Disney+ original series, 2019. Retrieved information on 8 Apr 2022.
Information extracted from multiple articles, retrieved from Disney Wiki Fandom website, 8 Apr 2022.
Comments