Disneyland or Disneyworld?

Do you know where Disneyland is and where is Disneyworld? What is the difference; Mickey lives at both the places, there are several Disneyland, Los Angeles, Orlando, Tokyo, Paris, and Hong Kong. Yes, it’s right, but which one is Disneyland and which one is Disneyworld? Let me answer it, Disneyland is the one in Los Angeles and rest of the places are Disneyworld, this is what I got to know, I may be wrong.

Disneyland : Orlando

I didn’t knew it until I went to Orlando and asked for the “Disneyland” ticket, the person at the ticket counter explained me, “Sir, cannot get you the ticket for Disneyland in Orlando, I can get you Disneyworld tickets only”. Hmmm, since child hood I thought that wherever Mickey lives is Disneyland and rest of the places are of Tom & Jerry, smile :)

Well, I have been to Disneyland, yes in Los Angeles and Disneyworld in Orlando and have desire to visit the ones in Hog Kong, Paris and Tokyo. Disneyland I visited in 2003 with my wife, son and my friend Akhil and his family. I visited Los Angeles to attend a conference by Microsoft and then my family and Akhil’s family joined after the conference. Disneyland is about 40 miles from Los Angeles in Orange County.

There are 2 Disney parks in Orange County, one is called Disneyland and the other one is called California Adventure. Another theme park in Los Angeles is Universal Studio; other attractions are Beverley Hills from where you can see the “Hollywood hill” and the “Baywatch Santa Monica beach”. We had 3 days, planned to visit all these places plus San Diego. My experienced friend suggested me to drop the idea of San Diego and asked me to focus on Disneyland, Universal Studios and Beverley Hills or Baywatch beach, because every place needs a full day.

 



So, here comes my childhood dream comes true, we first went to Disneyland, what a beautiful world, all the Disney characters come alive. It was October 31st and this is observed as Halloween Day in Unites States. You find people in all kind of costumes like Dracula, Witches, cartoon characters, super heroes etc.

My friend visited Disneyland several times, so he planned our day to get the maximum fun in a single day. As soon as we entered the park, a beautiful couple approached my 2 year old son, he was little scared as they were dressed differently, Aladdin and Jasmine. There were happy to pose for a picture, and I ended up taking only their picture in excitement.

We entered the park via Main Street, where you find the statue of Mr. Disney with Mickey. There are several rides and shows in the park, the first one we decided to see “Honey I Blew up the Kids”, this was entertaining as you feel very short comparing to the characters in the movie show.

 Alice in Wonderland

Next one was the Alice in Wonderland; it was a ride in a small car, good for a family. You take a tour inside the world with live characters, beautiful lighting and music. I saw adults were enjoying more than the kids, it was something like your own childhood dream comes true. Next one we visited the adventure land, where you can visit Tarzan’s tree house, but not allowed to swing between trees like Tarzan, smile.

Mickey’s Toontown

Next place was the Mickey’s Toontown, where Mickey and Mini lives. Here you find the houses of all cartoon characters, Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Pooh, Chip N Dale (My favorite characters of Disney), Donald duck. I was sad not to find Uncle Scrooze there, my second favorite character. Then we went for a house tour of Mickey.

It took us about 40 minutes to wait to get a picture with Mr. Mickey. My son was scared to see the human size Mickey and started crying, Mickey tried to console him without any luck, though we managed to take a picture. Then we went to Minnie’s house, she was very humble and greeting everyone at her door.

“India Jones” ride

Next place was “India Jones” ride, this ride was very exciting and adventurous, you pass through steep valleys, rail roads, and a big stone try to hit your Jeep etc. Next, we went to “Pirate of Caribbean’s” ride, I didn’t know about this movie until this ride, my wife liked it most. They make you sit in a boat, that boat give you a tour of pirate world and you also get to know something about movie. During the ride you always feel that at some point of time boat will take a sudden fall.

It was almost evening and kids were not in a great mood, so we took them for kiddie rides like Merry Go Round etc. And now, it was time for the Disney character parade where all the Disney characters go around the park followed by very beautiful fireworks which also calls off the day.

While returning back to hotel, we took a monorail tour of Disneyland and California Adventure theme park, my wife was excited to see the adventurous rides in the other park, but at the same time she was sad as we did not had time and plan to visit the park. And then again she got excited with the thought of visiting Universal Studios next day to experience good adventurous rides.

Disneyland experience is one of the experience you carry your entire life, my pictures are not great as I used disposable camera. We covered a lot in a single day, thanks a lot to Akhil for his guidance and many times they took care of our son during our visit to some of the rides where children are not allowed.

 

10 Comments

  • Devasmita says:

    Amazing pictures and writing …. you made me nostalgic about my 2009 trip to Disneyland in LA. I was traveling alone, went there on my own, and still had so much fun. That is the kind of lively and magical place Disneyland is!!

  • Nandan says:

    My daughter is now big enough and she is already asking for it. Didnt know that the Disneyland is only at one place and rest of then are Disneyworld :-)

    would you take us to Universal Studios as well.

  • upanshu says:

    Thanks a lot DevaSmita and Nandan for your comments. I will cover Disneyworld in my next post. Follow up stories will have Universal Studios of Los Angeles and Orlando.

  • Nandan says:

    Look fwd Upanshu.

    Also we would take you through a small boot-camp process to better equip/enable you in dealing with backend s/w etc.

  • Ishani Mehta says:

    It was really nice reading Upanshu’s account, especially because he managed to cover all the places that I couldn’t when i visited Disneyland on September 14, 2011. The park had been decorated for Halloween with huge pumpkins lining the entrance. The thing about Disneyland is that it is a huge city (it really is, it has streets and a for-show city council etc.) and like any city, it is impossible to cover all the attractions in one day. So it is a good idea to prioritise and chart out your day using the park map. Since I was able to experience a different set of rides and places, I thought I might add to Upanshu’s account my experience in those places. I went to fairyland, where you walk through a lifesize jungle to meet a princess and Tinker bell. I got to pose with tinker bell and she was very sweet and naughty.

    I also went to the Finding Nemo submarine ride. Once you are below the water, you feel you are really deep and in a totally different world. There is so much beauty and then you also see Nemo and all his sea friends including the giant turtles

    I went to the Enchanted tiki house. This is a show that is worth the wait. It has singing birds and they really put up quite a show with so many enchantments like lighted fountains and flowers and trees. You really feel you are inside an actual disney movie.

    For all Buzz Lightyear fans, it is a good idea to go on the Buzz Lightyear journey, where you get to help him fight his space wars on an amazing ride. You even get a photo shot inside the tunnel.

    All modes of transport are thrilling and must be tried – the raft that takes you to the island of tom sawyer, the mark twain cruise, the kayaks, the train that takes you all around the park, and the exciting monorail that also takes you into the actual disney town and you get to see the lavish hotel from outside. This was the first monorail in the northern hemisphere!

    The other two amazing rides I did were – Splash, which is a roller coaster that plunges you into water and really psyches you out; and the Winnie the Pooh adventure, which is again a train ride through this favourite disney character’s world.

    The great thing about my trip was that it has been a childhood dream for all of us in the family to go to Disneyland. I am the only one who got to go, and because I had my 3G ipad with me, I was able to show a significant amount of the park to my parents in India and my sister in London via skype.

    Overall, even though I was travelling alone, I had a great time!

  • Vibha says:

    Thanks for the additional details Ishani. It seems like one is never too old to go to disney land. I hope to be able to see all of the things you and Upanshu have mentioned one day.

    I think traveling alone is a great idea where places like Disneyland are concerned ( not that traveling with kids or spouse is a bad idea!) At least when you are alone, you can explore things that you want to explore and leave out the ones that don’t interest you.

    Anyways, if you have more stories from other places you’ve been to, feel free to send them to me. We’d love to publish them on Ghumakkar.

    Cheers,
    Vibha

  • Nandan says:

    Upanshu – This reminds me that visit to Universal Studios is pending :-). Please share it as you get time.

    Dear Ishani – Skype video sharing via a 3G Tab looks like a great idea. Ghumakkar community would love to read some of your experiences. Please write them as you find time and thanks for such an insightful comment.

  • Thanks a lot Ishani for liking the write up and also adding the details.

    Yes, Nandan, I have to write about Universal Studios and DisneyWorld of Orlando as well. These will be come in 2011 for sure, lock kiya jaye :)

  • Nandan Jha says:

    Time flies Upanshu. Your son is now in higher secondary :-). Show this story to him.

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