Are you planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Or just want to learn more about the parks and don't know where to start? Disney Darling breaks down the basics for you! Disneyland vs. Walt Disney World Disneyland and Disney World are two different parks, located on opposite sides of the country. As mentioned in this post , it is a common misconception that Disneyland and Disney World are the same thing. Disneyland is the first Disney theme park ever, opening in 1955. It is located in Anaheim, California, near Los Angeles. Disneyland has two different parks: Disneyland Park (with the castle), and Disney's California Adventure (or DCA). Disneyland also has three hotels and the Downtown Disney shopping district. Walt Disney World is located in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It opened in 1971, after Walt's passing. Walt Disney World has 4 different theme parks, 2 water parks, 28 hotels, and the Disney Springs shopping district. There are quite a few more differences, but lo
History Disneyland was a huge success for Walt Disney. Always wanting to improve and innovate, Walt was dissatisfied with the size of Disneyland. It was very difficult to add all of his ideas into such a small space. So, he started looking elsewhere to open up a bigger theme park. Another problem with the park was that you could easily see and access the outside world. Walt wanted guests to feel transported. He wanted guests to forget about the outside world. This is also reasoning behind buying more land. The more land Disney has, the more difficult it is to see the outside world. This is also why the Magic Kingdom has a parking lot that is separate from the park itself. Then, guests can take one of 2 transportation options - one of the future (monorail), and one of the past (ferry boat) - to arrive to the Magic Kingdom. At the time, Orlando was not the tourist destination that it is today. Most of the tourists in Florida could be found on the beaches of the Atlantic or th