Let’s compare the two Disneyland Resort parks to see which one is superior.
First Up, Disneyland
Disneyland was the first Disney park that opened in July 1955 and currently includes 9 lands:
- Main Street, USA: This is where you first enter the park that’s a straight shot to the castle with stores, eateries, and shops on both sides.
- Adventureland: Home to the Jungle Cruise, and Indiana Jones. Not to mention this is where you’ll find Dole Whip!
- New Orleans Square: The French Quarters which is home to the famous Mickey Beignets, haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean
- Critter Country: Home to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (aka Splash Mountain) as well as Winnie the Pooh and Hungry Bear Restaurant, which has some of the best seasonal funnel cakes.
- Frontierland: This is where you find the iconic Big Thunder Mountain Railroad as well as some little cheesy carnival style Western shooting games.
- Tomorrowland: Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and Autopia call this home
- Mickey’s Toontown: By far the most kid-friendly area with a tiny roller coaster, some fun meet and greets, as well as an area for the kids to play on some astroturf.
- Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge: Immerse yourself in the world of Star Wars where you an experience the Cantina, escape the First Order, and even fly the Millennium Falcon.
Disneyland Rides
- Disneyland Railroad: travel around the park on a steam engine
- Jungle Cruise: take a chill ride through the jungle accompanied by a skipper spewing out dad jokes left and right
- Indiana Jones Adventure: an intense ride featuring moments found in all the movies
- Pirates of the Caribbean: a fun boat ride where you a thrown in to the world of pirates
- Haunted Mansion: a slow-moving stroll through a haunted mansion filled with ghosts
- Tiana’s Bayou Adventure: a log ride featuring Princess Tiana (still basically Splash Mountain)
- The Many Adventure of Winnie the Pooh: a kiddie ride through the hundred acre wood
- Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes: a literal workout
- Star Wars Rise of the Resistance: escape the First Order
- Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run: Actually fly the Millennium Falcon
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: the wildest (roller coaster) ride in the wilderness
- Pinocchio’s Daring Journey: a kiddie ride featuring Pinocchio and friends
- Snow White’s Enchanted Wish: an iconic ride through the story of Snow White
- King Arthur Carousel: your typical carousel but with a castle backdrop
- Casey Jr. Circus Twin: a slow-moving mini-train ride
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant: probably the most iconic ride next to the teacups
- Mr Toad’s Wild Ride: an old school dark ride
- Peter Pan’s Flight: a classic ride with the longest wait times known to man
- Mad Tea Party: spin a teacup as fast as you can
- Alice and Wonderland: a slow moving ride that immerses you in the story
- Storybook Land Canal Boats: just a chill boat ride through a magical lands of miniature Disney locales
- Matterhorn Bobsleds: The roughest roller coaster you’ll ever go on, but it’s so fun as you try to escape the yeti
- “it’s a small world”: the most annoying song but the cutest classic ride
- Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage: claustrophobia times 1000, as you actually are in a submarine underwater
- Autopia: a fun way to drive some little gas-powered cars
- Space Mountain: the second best Space Mountain roller coaster besides Disneyland Paris’
- Astro Orbiter: A kid ride that actually hits like half a g-force towards the end
- Star Tours: immerse in a 3-D Star Wars adventure
- Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters: a laser shooting game that can get competitive
Disneyland Experiences and Shows
Disneyland has a nightly projection show on the castle, as well as fireworks during some evening. There’s a fun parade during the day, and even a nighttime show called Fantasmic on select nights.
Disneyland Food
So I’m not going to list all of the restaurants, but I will list some of the best food and drink items to get at Disneyland Park:
- Mickey Beignets with a Mint Julep
- Mini-Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Blue Milk (or Green Milk)
- Cold Brew Black Caf
- Any seasonal funnel cake from Hungry Bear
- Buttered Popcorn
- Normal Churro
- Garlic Cheese
- Cheesy Garlic Pretzel Bread
- Matterhorn Macaron
- Birria Toasted Cheese
- Plaza Chicken
- Dole Whip
- Bengal Beef Skewer
Next Up, California Adventure
California Adventure is a smaller park across from Disneyland Park that opened in February 2001 to give guests a glimpse of some of California’s most notable attractions, as well as some new themed lands:
- Buena Vista Street: This is where you enter the park which is lined with some shops and a few eateries, including a Starbucks
- Hollywood Land: On Sunset Blvd, you’ll find Mickey’s PhilharMagic as well as the Animation Academy which is where you can draw some beloved Pixar, Disney, and Star Wars characters
- Paradise Gardens Park: Home to Goofy’s Sky School, which is terrifying lol, as well as some smaller kid-friendly rides, including the symphony swings!
- San Fransokyo Square: a new area from the world of Baymax which is a play on both San Francisco and Tokyo
- Grizzly Peak: This is where you’ll find a fun roaring rapids rides which is so fun, but will also get you absolutely soaked if you’re unlucky enough
- Pixar Pier: This is where you can ride the best Disney coaster, the Incredicoaster, as well as one of the scariest rides on earth, the Pixar Pal-A-Round
- Avengers Campus: A super cool land where you can meet some of your favorite Marvel heroes as well as experience a workout including Spider Man ride, and a terrifying yet super fun drop ride, Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout.
California Adventure Rides
- Radiator Springs Racers: an indoor outdoor car ride that actually hits some top speeds during the race
- Soarin’ Around the World: a hang gliding ride in front of a massive IMAX screen that takes you to iconic landmarks around the world
- Grizzly River Run: a fun white water raft ride
- Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout: drop tower type ride with some great music
- Turtle Talk with Crush: an interactive show with Crush from Finding Nemo
- Web Slingers: a Spider-Man 3-D shooting ride that’s a pretty good arm workout
- Incredicoaster: a fun roller coaster with some insane views
- Monster’s Inc: a dark ride featuring iconic scenes from the movie
- The Little Mermaid: a track dark ride featuring iconic scenes from the classic original
- Silly Symphony Swings: outdoor swings with music
- Goofy’s Sky School: a small roller coaster that feels like you’re gonna get thrown off the track
- Pixar Pal-A-Roud: a ferris wheel with a scary twist
- Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree: a whipping ride in Cars Land
- Golden Zephyr: a spinning rocket ride
- Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind: a baby friendly spinning ride
- Jumpin Jellyfish: a bouncing parachute ride
- Toy Story Midway Mania: a 3-D indoor shooting ride that’s only the super competitive
California Adventure Experiences and Shows
There are two (sometimes three) major shows you can experience at this park such as World of Color at night, some cool meet and greets and presentations at Avengers Campus, including Spider Man swinging, and even a theater show, when running.
California Adventure Food
The quality and choices of food at California Adventure is insanely better than Disneyland Park. Plus, this is the best park to have a cocktail, Michelada, and wine. Not to mention there’s also a couple seasonal food festivals throughout the year!
Here are some of my favorites at this park worth getting:
- seasonal churros
- Choco-Smash cake
- beef bulgogi burrito
- quesabirria
- lobster nachos
- chili cone queso
- cozy cone soft serve ice cream
- flo’s fried chicken
- original hot link corn dog
- funnel cake fries
- New York’s tastiest shawarma
- Baymax sour dough bread
- Pym popping particle punch
Winner: California Adventure
As controversial as it may sound, but California Adventure is my favorite Disney park in the U.S., mainly because it’s the best park for adults and that is a hill I will die on.
If you prefer the adult-oriented thrills as well as some good eats and cocktails, then you’ll love California Adventure. But if you prefer the classic Disney experience and magic, then Disneyland is the way to go. Either way, you can’t go wrong with either park 🙂
