What The Heck IS The Disneyland Resort??

What the Heck IS the Disneyland Resort?  Unlike The Walt Disney World Resort in Central Florida, The Disneyland Resort is in Anaheim, Southern California.  

History:

Walt Disney moved to Los Angeles from the Midwest to kick start his animation career.  Once he made it big, he realized that LA wasn’t that family-friendly of an area. That is when he decided to create a theme park that the whole family could enjoy together — and Disneyland was born in 1955.  

Today:

Since then, the “Resort” has grown to include:

• 2 Theme Parks

  • Disneyland Park

  • Disney’s California Adventure Park

• 3 Resort Hotels

  • The Disneyland Hotel

  • Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel

  • Disney’s Paradise Pier

• 1 Entertainment District

  • Downtown Disney

The reason why it is called “The Disneyland Resort” instead of just “Disneyland” is because the property is more than just a theme park and encompasses all of the things above.

While this Resort pales in comparison when it comes to SIZE (Disneyland Park can fit in Magic Kingdom’s parking lot), in relation to Walt Disney World, The Disneyland Resort does pack a punch in some areas.

In my opinion, these are the areas Disneyland beats out Walt Disney World in quality:

• Because of their limit on space, Disneyland tends to make each of their rides more perfected instead of just making new rides.  Examples of these (in my opinion) are:

  • Space Mountain

  • Pirates of the Caribbean

  • The Haunted Mansion

  • It’s a Small World

  • Autopia (compared to Tomorrowland Speedway)

• Because they only have 3 hotels, each of the hotels is at a higher quality than many of the Florida hotels

  • Along with this comes a higher price tag, so most people cannot afford to stay “on property”, unlike Walt Disney World Resort Hotels which can be very affordable

Getting There

If you are flying in to visit, there are several airports to choose from, the biggest being LAX.  While it is a pain to travel from LA to Anaheim, you’ll probably find cheaper flights into LAX because it is a major hub.

After you land, I recommend renting a car or taking an Uber/Lyft to your hotel.  Some hotels will provide transportation from the airport, but probably charge a fee for it.  

You can also try out public transportation, (check out this website) but be aware it may take up to two hours!

This is just a brief overview of The Disneyland Resort.  For more detailed information, about things like MaxPass, Magic Mornings, Fastpass, etc. keep a lookout for future posts!

Which rides do you think are better at Disneyland?  Which are better at Walt Disney World? Let me know!