Among the Disney enthusiasts, the big debate has always been: ?Which is the better Disney - Disneyland or Disney World?. Of course, the Magic Kingdom in Disney World is much larger than the one at Disneyland, but some say that the one at Disneyland has the true spirit of Walt Disney; after all, he built it himself. . . and so the debate goes on.



The Magic Kingdom

Walt Disney wanted to create a family park and initially planned to build it on 8 acres of land. This was too small for his dreams, and today, Disneyland, California, is spread over 180 acres. This was something no one had attempted before. Construction began on July 21, 1954, and Disneyland was opened for public on July 17, 1955. The Magic Kingdom included five different lands:

- Main Street, U.S.A., which was the typical turn of the century city Main Street

- Adventureland, an "exotic tropical place" in the remote jungles of Asia and Africa

- Frontierland, where a person has to relive the pioneer days of the American frontier

- Fantasyland, where classic stories of everyone's youth became realities for youngsters of all ages to participate in

- Tomorrowland looked at the marvels of the future

After its success, Walt Disney had a vision of a much larger amusement park. Initially, 27,000 acres of land was bought in Florida and work started on what Walt Disney called Disneyworld.

After his death, his brother Roy changed the name to Walt Disney World. Walt Disney World, or more commonly Disney World, today is spread over 30,500 acres or about 47 square miles. Disneyworld is gigantic when compared to Disneyland.

The Magic Kingdom of Disneyland was recreated, on a grander scale, at Disney World, with Main Street USA, Fantasyland, Frontierland, Adventureland and Tomorrowland. The Main Street buildings of Disneyworld were bigger and more impressive, and even the castle towered higher in comparison to the original version in Disneyland.

Disneyland and Disney World

The added attractions of Disneyworld include three more theme parks and two water parks, in addition to the above mentioned Magic Kingdom. These are:

- EPCOT

- Disney's MGM Studios

- Disney's Animal Kingdom

- Typhoon Lagoon

- Blizzard Beach

The two main attractions of EPCOT are the Future World and World Showcase. The Disney-MGM Studios offers you an opportunity to see what happens behind the scenes. You can explore the pre-historic animal world and the world of animals at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Here is a comparison of the attractions, which both the Disney parks do not share in common.

Certain attractions, among many others, found exclusively at Disneyland only are:

- Alice in Wonderland

- Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye

- Sleeping Beauty Walk-Thru

- Submarine Voyage

- Matterhorn

Some of the attractions, among many others, found only at Disney World are:

- Cable Cars

- Legend of the Lion King (puppet theater)

- Galaxy Search (Tomorrowland theater)

- Hall of the Presidents

It is not possible to actually say which is the better Disney, but one thing is clear, you always want to come back, impressed with the Magic of Disney!