Disney World Vs Disneyland Rides, Finding the Biggest Thrills

When comparing Disney World vs Disneyland rides, the debate is endless. Which park offers more attractions or better thrills, the list goes on and on.

Before entering the debate, however, we first need to define what is considered a ride. Disney World has 171 attractions, and Disneyland has 91. In Disney terms, attractions do not easily translate to rides.

For example, in Disney World’s Animal Kingdom, each animal exhibit counts as an individual attraction. All shows also are counted as attractions.

For the sake of this post, we will consider a ride anything that moves you, the guest. So, Carousel of Progress will be considered a ride, because it moves you, the audience. But Mickey’s Philarmagic is a show, not a ride, because the guests are not moved by the attraction.

Transportation systems that transport you outside of the park such as the monorails, skyliner and boats will also not be counted as rides.

Comparing the Scale: Disneyland vs Disney World

As discussed in our Disney World vs Disneyland article, the parks cover vastly different amounts of acreage. Disneyland comes in at around 500 acres total, while Disney World is about 27,000 acres.

When Walt built Disneyland and proved its popularity, land around the resort began selling quickly to those hoping to make a profit off of the people drawn into the area by the park. As a result, before building Disney World, Walt was adamant he have space to grow his ideas.

Friends of Walt began discreetly buying large chunks of conjoining land in Florida to make Disney World happen. But despite this large size difference, when comparing Disney World vs Disneyland rides, the original park has almost as many rides as its newer counterpart.

Key Differences Between Disneyland and Disney World Rides

When it comes to comparing Disneyland and Disney World, many people tend to think they are the same park. For one thing, the Magic Kingdom park in Disney World was designed off of the original Disneyland. Both parks open onto Main Street and into a central hub, highlighted by the 77-foot tall Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland or the 189-foot tall Cinderella’s Castle at Magic Kingdom. (To explore all of the differences, read our Disney World vs Disneyland Castle blog).

However, what most people don’t understand is that Disney World offers far more than the Magic Kingdom. In fact, Disney World is comprised of 4 different and uniquely themed parks. Listed in order of age they are: Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. Disney World also boasts a shopping center called Disney Springs and over 25 onsite resorts that range from Value to Deluxe and large villas.

Disneyland is located in Anaheim California and is the original theme park created by Walt Disney. It began as one park, simply called Disneyland. After some time, a second theme park called California Adventure was open, right across from Disneyland. Disneyland has three onsite resorts as well.

In California, to get from one park to another, you simply walk from the exit of one, across to the entrance of the other. At Walt Disney World, park hopping requires a bus, train, boat, monorail, or car service due to the number of parks and the extensive size of the resort as a whole.

To learn more about getting around at Disney World, read our complete guide to the Disney World complimentary transportation service or our comparison between Disney World transportation and ride sharing.

Since the Magic Kingdom Park inside Disney World is based off of the original Disneyland park, many rides overlap between the two. And, when we get back to the topic of Disney World vs Disneyland rides, you will see that many of the rides overlap from Disneyland and the other parks at Disney World.

How Many Rides at Disneyland vs Disney World

Despite having half the number of parks, Disneyland is still able to hold its own with the park 54 times its size, offering nearly as many rides (as defined above). Disney World has slightly more rides, but many more shows and other attractions.

Our breakdown for the number of rides in each park, and the resort totals is below. (Remember a ride is considered something that moves you, the guest.)

Shared Rides at Disney World and Disneyland: A Closer Look

To help us narrow down the question of Disney World vs Disneyland, which rides are better, we should weed out the ride copies. Disneyland and Disney World share many rides with each other.

In total, there are 15 rides that can be found in both the Disney World resort and Disneyland resort

These rides and which parks they are found in are listed below.

Not only do these 15 rides share a name, they are essentially copies of each other. While some may offer a few unique features, these are usually slight.  For example, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Disneyland is taller, and Pirates of the Caribbean in Magic Kingdom has a smaller drop.

When comparing Disney World vs Disneyland rides, these 15 rides can be taken out of the running for best experiences as both parks have them.

Exclusive Attractions at Disneyland vs Disney World

Once we take out the 15 rides that overlap, we can compare the leftover 34 rides inside Disneyland resort, and the 36 unique rides in Disney World.

The Disneyland resort has 6 unique thrill rides that cannot be found in any of the Florida parks. These include the Incredicoaster, The Matterhorn, Indiana Jones, Grizzly River Run, Radiator Springs, and Guardian’s of the Galaxy Mission Breakout.

Disney World has 9 unique thrill rides to call its own. These are 7 Dwarfs Mine Train, Test Track, Expedition Everest, Flight of Passage, Tower of Terror, Rockin’ Roller Coaster, Slinky Dog Dash, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, and Mission Space.

When comparing rides at Disney World vs Disneyland, Disney World does have more thrill rides. But, Disneyland does have more rides in fewer parks. This means you can experience more ride experiences in a shorter amount of time, with less hassle.

Disney World does have more parks though, allowing for more cohesive theming with their rides. Rides are not shoehorned into areas they do not necessarily fit into just to be able to add them to the guest experience.

For example, when you enter Pandora Land at Disney World Animal Kingdom, extensively themed pathways take you out of the main area of the park, thoroughly immersing you into the sights and sounds of Pandora long before you even encounter a ride queue. Having the extensive land for additional theming really transports the guest into the experience, adding to the thrill of the ride.

Top Thrills: Most Popular Rides at Disney World and Disneyland

In the end, Disney World has 12 total thrill rides out of 52 total rides. Disneyland has 54 total rides with 13 total thrill rides.

With that being said, when it comes to considering which park to visit in the future, it’s important to consider the new and unique rides. Disney World has the new Guardian’s of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, and Tron.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is a unique roller coaster experience where guests rotate to become part of the story. The Tron rollercoaster adds some extra excitement to Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland.

In Disneyland, the two new rides are Mickey and Minnie’s runaway Railway, which is also located in Hollywood Studios in EPCOT, and WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure. The Spider Man ride is a unique take on a shooter game, like Midway Mania, but with web shooting instead. Specialty technology reads where your arms are, so instead of a blaster, you use your arms.

Despite all the numbers and research, we think the debate of Disney World vs Disneyland rides comes down to opinion. All die-hard fans of one park will always prefer the rides where they’ve made memories. In our opinion, however, it’s pretty easy to put the debate to rest. With all the fun and unique experiences that Disney has to offer, why not experience both parks?

Future Rides Coming to Disneyland and Disney World

Currently, as of April 2024, we are all excitedly awaiting the opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in both Disney World and Disneyland. While we do not have an exact opening date yet, official statements have declared it will open sometime in 2024, we hope soon!

If you have been to either park recently, you have seen that the exteriors of what used to be Splash Mountain have entirely transformed, and look ready to go. Work continues on the inside of the mountain, and guests have reported seeing the ride undergoing testing.

Additionally, over in EPCOT, Test Track will be closing in mid June for a lengthy refurbishment. This is not just a routine maintenance refurb though. Test Track 2.0 will be becoming Test Track 3.0 with a retheme that brings it back to the buildings roots: World of Motion. For now, that is all the information that has been released.

Lastly, rumors and discussions are flying about Pandora coming to Disneyland, a retheme of DinoLand USA in Animal Kingdom, and a new land beyond Thunder Mountain in Magic Kingdom. We hope we will have more details soon.