Yesterday, I was talking to a friend whose kids wanted to visit a Disney park. She was bewildered by advice around crowd predictions, advance reservations and complicated itineraries. In fact, my friend was so intimidated that she had avoided committing to the trip for her family. Planning a Disney trip should not be that hard! Of course, I assured my overwhelmed friend that I would help her. To ease her nerves around planning, I also suggested that she start her Disney vacationing in California. Disneyland Resort is the perfect destination for people looking for an easier Disney trip.
This is far from the first time I have spoken with someone intimidated by the Disney parks. These are people who have climbed mountains and earned PhDs, but the Disney parks seem like too much work! So, that is why we started blogging here at Mouse Brief. We want to help readers spend time with loved ones rather than in stressful preparation.
Choose California For an Easier Disney Trip
We love Walt Disney World in Florida, and we encourage you to make a trip there. Even so, if you are feeling anxious about planning a Disney trip, we suggest you turn your attention to Disneyland Resort in California.
Disneyland is much smaller and less isolated than its counterpart in Florida. It also involves less advanced planning. If you were overwhelmed by a past Walt Disney World vacation, consider Disneyland Resort as a happy alternative. Let us look at why we recommend Disneyland Resort as the less-stress Disney destination.
Disneyland is Small
Calfironia’s Disneyland Resort is tiny compared to Walt Disney World. Disneyland Resort has two parks: Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park. Alongside those parks are three Disney-owned hotels and a shopping and dining area.
By comparison, Walt Disney World has four theme parks, two water parks, over thirty on-site hotels and an extensive stand-alone shopping and dining destination. The developed and undeveloped area for Walt Disney World Resort is more than fifty times the size of Disneyland Resort!
You Can Walk Anywhere in Disneyland
Sharing those number may seem like we are making a case for booking your ticket to Florida, but stick with us. Yes, Walt Disney World has a lot to offer. Yet, that is exactly what can make it overwhelming to casual guests. At Disneyland, it takes just a few minutes to traverse the Esplanade between the two parks. At Walt Disney World Resort, you are more likely to need transportation and a map to park hop.
All three Disneyland Resort Hotels are within easy walking distance of the either park. There are many more third-party hotels within a ten-minute walk, and quite a few overlook the parks themselves. Book one of these hotels, and you can simply walk to anything Disneyland has to offer: no shuttles, trams or rental cars are necessary at Disneyland.
Plus, small does not mean boring. Disneyland Park is smaller than the comparable “castle park” at Walt Disney World (Magic Kingdom), but do consider what is in those two parks. I just visited the Disney website for both parks. The list of attractions at Disneyland Park features eighty-one “things to do,” while Magic Kingdom has sixty-four. Disneyland simply packs more into every inch, yet it feels smaller and less intimidating.
Disneyland is Not Intimidating
Perhaps this is because the compact layout of Disneyland Resort lends itself to spontaneity and a homey atmosphere. You do not need to plan your transportation or sacrifice an hour or two to transferring parks. In fact, we have caught the nighttime spectaculars in both parks on the same night (multiple times). The features of Disneyland park just feel more approachable and manageable than comparable aspects in Florida.
It seems even Walt Disney himself meant Disneyland to be a welcoming place of inviting proportions. According to D23, Walt Disney wanted the iconic Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland to be small. He wanted to avoid creating an imposing feudal castle meant to intimidate onlookers. Instead, Sleeping Beauty Castle is a friendly beacon in the center of the Happiest Place on Earth. Walt Disney said, “Disneyland is your land,” and it seems he really meant it!
Choose your Own Adventure at Disneyland
We have referred to the spontaneity of Disneyland Resort a few times in this post. If you have not experienced the advance planning involved in a Walt Disney World vacation, maybe you are confused by our insistence that Disneyland is a comparatively casual place. After all, we have hundreds of posts on this site about planning a great Disneyland vacation. It probably seems a little disingenuous of us to insist that Disneyland is a relaxed place while urging your to optimize your Lightning Lane selections.
Still, we stand by our assertion that Disneyland can be a great place for spontaneous fun. Disneyland Resort has the potential to be relaxing destination for you, because you will be in a place with seventy years of experience in giving guests a magical visit. Everything you need, from cribs to clam chowder, is within reach, and cast members are well informed and helpful. The parks are designed to spark your imagination and bring you joy. If you relax into the magical environment of Disneyland, you can enjoy your visit regardless of how much planning you did or did not do.
Spontaneous Disneyland
At Disneyland, you can wander into adventure with the Guardians of the Galaxy and be surprised by fireworks after nightfall. Conversely, you can make a detailed itinerary for what you will ride and schedule a dining package to view Fantasmic! from a premium location. You decide your level of planning versus spontaneity.
Essentially, Disneyland Resort is a place where you can plan and strategize, but you do not need to do so to have a great visit. For example, if you know how to use mobile ordering, you will spend less time waiting in line for food. But, you do not need to know how to use mobile ordering to eat well at Disneyland. Plus, the parks are beautiful enough that you can enjoy the incredible atmosphere even when you are waiting in line.
You Do Not Need Reservations to Eat at Disneyland
The same statement about choosing your level of planning could obviously be made about Walt Disney World. Still, we think it is easier to have a good trip to Disneyland with minimal pre-visit stress.
Disneyland Resort has a large number of (Magic Key) annual pass holders who visit the parks regularly. These are not people who are planning their visits six months in advance, so the California parks need to appeal to guests who are popping by after work. By contrast, Walt Disney World has a higher percentage of guests who are coming from far and wide. Infrequent visitors are more likely to make advanced itineraries than the after-work crowd.
To accommodate these vacationers, dining reservations for Walt Disney World Resort open six months in advance. There are even extra perks for those guests staying at a Disney-owned hotel. At Disneyland, dining reservations open just sixty days in advance, and you always have the option of conveniently joining a walk-up list using your Disneyland app. Plus, there are no reservation advantages that come with staying at a Disneyland Resort Hotel. Without these perks for select guests, the reservation process is more uniform and straightforward.
It is just plain easier to make a dining reservation at Disneyland, and you do not even really need reservations as all. With all of the great quick service options in the parks, you can always find something tasty without advanced planning. You can also easily leave the parks for many more choices within walking distance! You can stroll over to Downtown Disney District, the Disneyland Resort Hotel restaurants or other Anaheim restaurants for lunch and be back enjoying the parks in no time.
There Are No Pre-Visit Ride Reservations at Disneyland Resort
Perhaps more significantly, you do not need to worry about reserving attraction ride times before you visit Disneyland Resort. Walt Disney World guests can get online one week before their visit to book ride reservations with Lightning Lane Multi Pass. There is no equivalent to this at Disneyland Resort.
Yes, you can use Lightning Lane Multi Pass to make ride reservations, and yes, you can purchase that service in advance. But, you need to actually enter a park at Disneyland Resort before you can begin booking reservations. That is it. No exceptions, and no surprise twists. This also means that Disneyland Resort does not have the complicated attraction tier ranking that is part of the reservation system at Walt Disney World in Florida. So, cross that off of your worry list!
Disneyland is Conveniently Located Near… Everything!
Disneyland Resort’s small size is the result of it being nestled into densely populated Orange County. The city streets of Anaheim are just outside Disneyland’s gates. This means you can find everything from Starbucks lattes to Best Western hotels within walking distance.
The isolated nature of Walt Disney World Resort can be nice—it truly is a world unto itself—but it can also be intimidating and, well, isolating. When you are visiting Disneyland, you can easily access grocery stores, pharmacies, churches and other locations you are probably used to visiting at home. You can walk to many of these places from Disneyland or use familiar ride or delivery services.
Disneyland’s city location also means that you have plenty of options for non-Disney hotels. Some of them are independent hotels specific to Anaheim and others are part of familiar worldwide chains. If you like staying with a particular hotel brand (and collecting loyalty points), it is nice to know that you can almost certainly find one of their hotels near Disneyland. The close proximity of these third-party hotels also gives you a range of options for cost and amenities.
Additionally, Disneyland’s awesome location means that you can fold your easy Disney visit into a larger Southern California vacation. Being able to visit some of the world’s best beaches just might entice a Disney-doubter (like my friend) to make the plunge into Disney vacationing.
MagicBands Are No Big Deal at Disneyland
My friend was particularly concerned about needing “wristbands” to visit the Disney parks. After speaking to her further, it was clear she was worried that she would need to pre-buy MagicBands for her family to visit Walt Disney World. She was confused by what that would mean for her family.
To be clear, MagicBands are not necessary at any Disney parks. You do not need MagicBands to visit Walt Disney World, but you will probably see signs of them all over the parks there. MagicBands are much less prevalent in California. They were never offered as part of hotel packages at Disneyland Resort. You do not see many guest wearing MagicBands at Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park. The Disneyland app is a powerful tool, so you can manage all of your group’s tickets and passes from just one or several devices.
You do not need MagicBands to visit Disneyland, and your kids are not likely to see “everyone” using them and want one too. Of course, you can use MagicBands if you want, but they are not necessary, so eliminate that from your to-do list.
Characters Roam the Lands of Disneyland
And finally, a word for families with small children. We think the compact layout is one of the best reasons to make Disneyland the first Disney park for guests with little legs. Plus, the many conveniently located hotels make naptime far easier for small Disneyland guests as compared to Walt Disney World. We also know that another big concern for families with young kids is the opportunity to meet Disney’s most famous residents, be they snow queens or superheroes.
Many parents of small children are anxious to make sure their families get to meet characters at the Disney parks. The lines to do so can be long, but there are alternatives! The relaxed nature of character interactions at Disneyland Resort surprises many experienced Walt Disney World guests. While character meet and greets are fairly structured in Florida, you are far more likely to see characters wandering casually around the parks in California.
We have stepped out of “it’s a small world” in Disneyland Park to find Moana relaxing across the way. Without another guest in sight, we walked right up to Moana and talked all about traveling by boat before snapping some photos.
You can certainly plan to meet characters by checking the schedule in the Disneyland app or reserving a meal with them, but isn’t it nice to know that you do not need to have a plan just to see characters? (For some particularly fun surprises, we suggest hanging around Avengers Campus and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and fans of Mickey and friends are sure to enjoy Mickey’s Toontown.)
So… What Do I Need to Plan for Disneyland?
We have spent about two-thousand words making the case that you do not need to plan heavily to visit Disneyland Resort. We hope this has helped ease some anxiety. Perhaps it has also sparked your interest in seeing Disneyland as an easier alternative to Walt Disney World. But, should you do some planning for your (easy) Disneyland Resort visit?
You can certainly walk up to a Disneyland ticket booth while you are on vacation and hope for the best, but this is not what we would recommend. In fact, we think that no-planning approach would probably induce more stress rather than less. Instead, we suggest doing some calm planning before your visit.
We think it is best to make park reservations in advance of your visit, and choosing accommodations ahead of time can certainly save you money. To walk you through the Disneyland planning process, we have assembled all of the planning steps here. We suggest reading through that page and deciding which pieces will help you feel less stressed. Go ahead and read the steps you find helpful and pass on the ones that do not apply to you. We hope this will help you have a wonderful low-stress Disney vacation.
Thank you for reading this post on Disneyland Resort as an easier alternative to a Walt Disney World trip.
If we have convinced you to begin your Disneyland planning today, be sure to see our Step-by-Step Disneyland Prep. For more insights into the differences between Walt Disney World versus Disneyland Resort, we suggest 5 Tips Walt Disney World Pros Visiting Disneyland for the First Time. Finally, please consider subscribing to our free newsletter below to get our posts right in your inbox. Thanks again for reading.
