3 Reasons to visit Disneyland

A couple of months ago, I wrote about Disney World because it is Disney World and it is the happiest, most magical place on earth, and I want you to go there and I want you to let me help you plan it. However, Disneyland also holds a special place in my heart. It gets a bad rap among Disney World lovers, but there are so many reasons to visit Disneyland instead of (or really in addition to) Disney World.

Yes, Disney World is much bigger than Disneyland and there is much more to see and do there. This is because when Walt began to bring his vision to life with Disneyland, he found a great location to build his park, but there wasn’t much room for expansion. There are now two parks and three hotels, with no more room for growth at just over 500 acres. On the other hand, Disney World was built on a giant open space (43 square miles, or 27,000 acres) and it has continued to grow and expand with four theme parks, 2 water parks, over 20 hotels, golf courses, and more.

Despite it’s smaller size though, there are actually a lot of perks to visiting Disneyland. Here are my top three reasons.

1. Disneyland is the original. This park was built under Walt’s direction and vision. Disney World did not open until 1971, 5 years after Walt Disney had already died. So Disneyland was his baby, and you can definitely feel the magic.

2. There are only two parks making Disneyland incredibly manageable. Everything is much closer together, and you can spend a day or two there to really get a feel for the parks without running around like a crazy person to make sure you hit all of the attractions. You can also spend 3 or 4 days there, or more, because there is still enough to do! You don’t have to worry about how long it takes to get from the park to dinner, because chances are it won’t be that long, and so much is walking distance. This is all especially nice with young kids. They still get to see the castle and meet the characters. They still get to ride the rides and enjoy the magic. But they will probably be a little bit less cranky and exhausted.

3. Also, there’s the point of there not being any room for expansion that should definitely be addressed here. This is true, because Disneyland is right outside Los Angeles. This means that if you don’t want to spend an entire vacation hopping around amusement parks, you don’t have to. You can check out Hollywood, the Walk of Fame, and the Dolby Theater (formerly known as the Kodak Theater).

   

   You can relax on the beach in Santa Monica. You can go shopping on Rodeo Drive. LA is obviously a great vacation destination on its own, and Disneyland is a huge perk. OR Disneyland is a great vacation destination on its own and LA is a huge perk. It really depends on your interests, but the point is there is definitely something for everyone here, whether you are a Disney lover or not.