While on our way up California’s coast, my husband and I had to make a stop at Disneyland. Over the years, we’ve made quite a few trips to Disney World because we love it. After visiting Disneyland, I still say nothing compares to Disney World. Overall, we had fun and there are some attractions at Disneyland that I wish Disney World had.

Our first day, we went to California Adventure Park. My favorite part of the park was Cars Land. I felt like I had stepped into Radiator Springs. The Radiator Springs Racers is similar to Epcot’s Test Track, but has some small drops and I found it to be more thrilling.

This might seem like an odd one, but I absolutely loved the Animation Academy, which is located in Hollywood Land. At the academy, a Disney artist teaches you how to draw a Disney character. I learned how to draw Winnie the Pooh. I used to line up for this attraction at Hollywood Studios in Florida, but Disney World decided to close this attraction. I really wish they would bring it back.

Paradise Pier is California Adventure Park’s boardwalk-themed area. It is also home to Toy Story Midway Mania – one of the most popular rides. On Toy Story Midway Mania, you shoot at targets to rack up points. At the end, you find out who has the highest score in your car. My husband always seems to be on top.

We stayed long enough to see World of Color and it was worth it. It is a water and light show that takes place at Paradise Pier. Images from some of Disney’s movies come to life right on the water and are accompanied by Disney’s fabulous music. I highly recommend sticking around for this one.

Our second day was spent at Disneyland. While it is similar to Disney World, there are some differences. Disneyland still has Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride and Snow White’s Scary Adventures. These rides don’t offer lots of thrills, but they are fun nonetheless. It also turned what used to be 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea into the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. I never got to ride 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea at Magic Kingdom because it was closed before my first trip to Disney World, but my husband used to ride that one a lot and really enjoyed the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.

Of course, we had to ride Hyperspace Mountain. As Part of Disneyland’s 60th anniversary, they transformed Space Mountain into a Star Wars high-speed adventure. It was fun being put into the middle of a battle.

No trip to Disney is complete without the fireworks. Because of the 60th anniversary, the fireworks were quite the spectacle. Images were shown on the buildings on Main Street as fireworks exploded overhead. It was beautiful. I found out that Disneyland’s usual fireworks show will return on September 5, 2016.

Before leaving the park, my husband and I made a stop in the theater to watch some of the old cartoons. We had a few good laughs.

Disneyland and California Adventure Park are both great parks and are much more laid back compared to Disney World. We never ran into the long lines that we run into at Disney World. That being said, I still love Disney World because I am completely immersed in the Disney experience as soon as I land in Orlando. On the highway, there are signs everywhere that welcome you to Disney, which build that Disney excitement. Anaheim is missing that. We basically drove off the street and right into a parking garage. The build up isn’t there. Despite that, if I were out that way again, I’d make a stop at Disneyland.

Have you been to Disney World, Disneyland, or both? If you’ve been to both, d0 you prefer one over the other?

 

 

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