First things first… hello, I’m a Disney World Fanatic. I think it’s important to say, because I grew up going to Walt Disney World and have been a passholder for about the last 18 years, since I moved down to Florida. For the longest time I thought there was no reason to visit Disneyland in California, after all ours is bigger! Why go visit a land when you have access to a whole world whenever you want? Disney World has four parks to offer while Disneyland only has two, why bother. Well, I was wrong. So very wrong. In fact, I think every Disney World fan should take the opportunity to go to Disneyland.

My first trip to Disneyland was a few years ago and it was for a runDisney race. Eventually, the allure of a Coast to Coast medal was enough to lure me out to the flagship park on the East Coast. Once I was there, something unexpected happened; I fell in love with the parks. If I’m being honest, I don’t think I ever wanted to open my heart to Disneyland because it seemed like I would be cheating on my “home park” of WDW. But let me tell you, they are very much their own thing, with their own identity and you will find room in your heart to love both. Each time I go, I find myself appreciating Disneyland a little more and more. So I’m going to give you the top 5 reasons I think Disneyland is worth a trip for a WDW fanatic!

1. First off, Walt Disney walked there. I know a lot of people may roll their eyes at this, but for a hardcore Disney fan, this is a pretty cool reason to go. When you step foot in Disneyland, you truly do feel Walt’s presence. When you first walk into Main Street, you can look to your left and see the lamp in Walt’s apartment above the fire station, it’s now always left on to honor his presence in the park. When you reach the end of Main Street, you can walk through the castle where he stood out front and gave the opening day speech. If that doesn’t give your Disney-loving self a few goosebumps, I don’t know what will.

For those looking to learn a little more history about the parks and Walt’s life in general, I highly recommend the Walk in Walt’s Disneyland Footsteps tour. I recently did this tour and it was amazing. It’s about three hours long and includes a walking tour where your guide tells you history about the park and Walt and you listen to audio clips of Walt’s speeches and descriptions of the park. The coup de gras is that you end with a tour of Walt’s apartment above the fire station. You get to see where Walt and Lilly spent so much time while they were at the parks and the view they had looking out onto Main Street. Being in that apartment where Walt was and seeing that lamp looking over the park is practically a religious experience for a Disney die hard.

2. Disneyland is a much smaller park, and as such, has the opportunity to create some great culinary experiences. I’m a bit of a Disney World foodie, so I love going to Disneyland and seeing what food they have to offer. You might be wondering what being a smaller park has to do with anything, but it’s a lot easier to do more unique quality food when you’re doing it on a smaller scale. Disney World just doesn’t have the same ability because they have to feed so many more people on a daily basis.

While I love character dining and many of WDW’s family-style and buffet meals, I appreciate that Disneyland focuses on more plated meals. From a cost perspective, it gives people of varying budgets an option. You can go in and simply get an entree or go for a three-course meal. I like the flexibility that an a la Carte menu provides. It makes it much easier to have a table service meal without automatically committing to an all-you-can-eat or family-style affair. The quality of food and theming is also great.

In my opinion, one of the best themed restaurants in Disneyland park is Blue Bayou. Tucked in the heart of New Orleans Square, Blue Bayou is a restaurant that overlooks the inside of Pirates of the Caribbean. I have been to Blue Bayou every time I have gone to Disneyland, some trips multiple times, and the food and service is always impeccable. Request a table by the water and spend an evening overlooking the Pirates of the Caribbean boats drifting by as you sip on your (non-alcoholic) mint julep. For those looking to up the ante at Blue Bayou, I recommend the Fantasmic! dining package. This is my favorite dining experience on property and includes a three-course meal as well as reserved viewing for that night’s showing of Fantasmic!

If you’re looking for a little bit more casual table service experience, cross on over to California Adventure and grab a table at Lamplight Lounge. This is a great spot to grab a couple of drinks and appetizers while you look at all the Pixar memorabilia. Snacks also seem to be on a different level at Disneyland, and a trip is not complete without some Mickey-shaped beignets or specialty churros. Nowhere in Disney World can you find a chocolate churro covered in cookie butter, topped with celebration sprinkles, and served with a marshmallow dipping sauce. All of their food just seems like it’s a little bit more specialty.

3. This might just be me, but Cars Land is currently the most beautiful and well-themed land in the Disney parks I’ve been to. If you have a Cars fan in your party it’s almost worth it to take the trip solely for this portion of the park. Cars Land is like stepping into the Pixar movie and simply shouldn’t be missed. The theming is incredible and I’m happier than a tornado in a trailer park every time I can grab a snack at the Cozy Cone and stroll down the streets of Radiator Springs. Radiator Springs Racers is a highly immersive ride that takes you through the scenery of Ornament Valley, into the Cars story with amazingly lifelike animatronics and finally you race on a highspeed loop. It is one of the most well done and immersive Disney rides. There are also two other family-friendly rides themed after Tow Mater and Luigi. Every night, the tenants of Radiator Springs are brought back to their neon glory to the tune of Sh’Boom from the movie. Grab some fried chicken from Floe’s V8 café and enjoy the atmosphere at night. Mater and Lightning also greet guests throughout the day in front of the Cozy Cone.

4. Even though the parks are smaller, Disneyland Park is one of the most ride dense parks. While Disneyland and Disney World have many of the same rides, there are so many unique ones to the California parks. Thrill seekers can enjoy Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout, Incredicoaster, Matterhorn, and Indiana Jones just to name a few. Fantasyland offers several unique rides like Alice in Wonderland, Storyland Canal Boats, and Pinnochio’s Daring Journey. There are so many unique rides and shows between the two parks that you could easily spend a whole day doing rides that are not found anywhere at WDW. For WDW Fans, I think a host of different rides is a huge reason to make the trip out East. They also still have a few rides that have since been replaced at WDW. It’s fun to experience a little blast from the past and get to do another spin on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride or take a drawing class at the Animation Academy.

5. There’s a certain ease to Disneyland. For anyone accustomed to Disney World, it’s not out of the ordinary to use at least two modes of transportation before you reach a park entrance. Disneyland and California Adventure are across an esplanade from each other and makes park hopping incredibly easy. It’s completely possible to switch back and forth between the parks numerous times during the day and it only cost you the amount of time it takes to cross the esplanade. You literally are a stone’s throw away from the next park entrance.

BONUS! My bonus sixth reason is to experience the difference between Walt Disney World and Disneyland. There is something fun about experiencing the differences in the parks and the rides. Once you’ve been to Disneyland, you can then see the difference between the Pirates of the Carribbean or “it’s a small world.” Both parks have several attractions that are the same yet were executed slightly differently. For a Disney World fanatic, it can be fun to simply experience the differences in like rides or the shows like Fantasmic! You can also see why Walt envisioned what he did for Disney World. Disneyland is in the middle of Anaheim, surrounded by the outside world. Right outside the gates are chains like Ihop and many find it disconcerting that you aren’t completely immersed in the property. However, I even find that interesting. You can see what Walt thought worked and didn’t work at his flagship park and what changes were made for Disney World. It brings a new understanding of why Walt Disney World property is so immersive and set apart from the outside world.

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