Disneyland: The land of make believe and cardboard doors
By: Nicole Motahari
Cheerful music being pumped out of speakers, vendors selling everything from $200 anniversary purses to hats with mouse ears attached, the smell of buttered popcorn infiltrating your nostrils--Disneyland is a commercial heaven for its stockholders.
By: Nicole Motahari
Cheerful music being pumped out of speakers, vendors selling everything from $200 anniversary purses to hats with mouse ears attached, the smell of buttered popcorn infiltrating your nostrils--Disneyland is a commercial heaven for its stockholders.
Tomorrowland in Disneyland California |
Disclaimer- I only
visited Disney Springs/ Downtown Disney, Disneyland (not California Adventures)
and Magic Kingdom. This is a comparison of Disneyland to Magic Kingdom and
Downtown Disney to Disney Springs, so don’t expect to find a guide to Epcot in
this article!
Downtown Disney vs Disney Springs:
Disney Springs is
definitely bigger than Downtown Disney, and offers more options as far as
dining, entertainment and shopping. I was able to thoroughly canvass Downtown
Disney in the span of three or four hours. That included stopping by every shop
and exploring the major Disney souvenir store. Disney Springs in Florida offers
more dining and shopping options- furthermore, the stores that are similar are
much bigger in Florida. When I was in Disney Springs’ Chapel Hats location, I
spent two or three hours playing dress up and taking photos with the various
fancy hats, whereas Downtown Disney offered a few cute options, but none that
were any different than what I could pick up from Macy’s on any given day.
Aurora Castle lit up for the Disneyland Diamond Anniversary Celebration |
The Actual Parks:
I’m not a roller coaster
person- never have been, never will be, but let’s start off by stating that
Magic Kingdom has opened up a Snow White roller coaster that is said to be
similar to the Big Thunder Mountain coaster. This is in addition to the already
existing Space Mountain and Big Thunder coasters, whereas Disneyland is limited
to those two coasters only.
However, one major ride I
will give the California park major kudos for is the Indiana Jones ride- my
only question is WHY DON’T THEY MAKE MORE LIKE IT? The Indiana Jones ride is a
cross between your usual dark ride and a roughened up min-rollercoaster. The
animatronics are extremely realistic and the ride is unique and fun for
everyone ages 7 and up, especially for those who have seen the movies. The Pirates of the Caribbean ride in
Disneyland has two solid drops, instead of one small drop, but the addition of
Blackbeard and mermaids to the Magic Kingdom version of the ride make me favor
the Florida version a bit more.
The Haunted Mansion
(which really isn’t too spooky, just ridiculously fun) is better in Magic
Kingdom. The queue sets the mood better, winding through a massive cemetery
with funny names on the headstones- in Disneyland you can see Mr. Toad’s grave!
Disneyland has a smaller graveyard and while the house is beautiful from the
outside, it doesn’t carry the same sense of foreboding that the Magic Kingdom
attraction does. Walt Disney World also carried the tale of Madame Leota’s ring
embedded in the concrete outside the ride, while Disneyland lacks that legend. For
non-roller coaster riders, those rides are it as far as anything mildly
exciting. Other rides consist of cardboard doors opening as your car winds
through a track. I was mildly disappointed, just because I feel Disney could do
so much more, especially with all the revenue they’re receiving.
Cinderella Castle in Magic Kingdom |
Snow White and the Little
Mermaid rides are comprised of shoddy animatronics and poor story lines. The
Snow White ride leaves off with the dwarves looking at the Evil Queen, and then
it jumps to the Happily Ever After sign indicated the end of the ride, to which
my 16-year-old sister remarked “So what, the dwarves marry the Queen in a
polyamorous relationship and everything gets fixed?”, to which I had to laugh.
It’s understandable that rides have thin plotlines, but when all you’re doing
is winding through with nothing else to watch, I’d expect something with a
little more substance.
Edited by: Kelly Aliano, PhD
Photo Credits: Heleya Motahari for Disneyland
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