The date: July 17, 1955. The man: Walt Disney. The words: “To all who come to this happy place: Welcome.” The occasion: the Opening Day of Disneyland!

On February 8, 2001, Disney California Adventure joined Disneyland Park as the second theme park in Disneyland Resort.  Today, we’re doing a side-by-side comparison so you can get to know each of the parks with respect to each other’s differences and similarities. From park size and crowd attendance to themed lands and icons and beyond, let’s explore what makes each park unique!

Size: Disneyland Park vs. Disney California Adventure

First, a few short-but-sweet park facts… The entirety of Disneyland Resort (including the Hotels of Disneyland and the Downtown Disney District) occupies a total of 500 acres. Disneyland park sits on only 85 acres of the Resort.

Disney California Adventure sits on even less space at an even 72 acres.

Click HERE for a Complete Guide to Disneyland Park!

Attendance: Disneyland Park vs. Disney California Adventure

According to The Mercury News, Disneyland park attendance in 2022 came to about 16.9 million guests throughout the year.

Disney California Adventure, on the other hand, welcomed just about half the number of visitors at 9 million.

Click HERE for a Complete Guide to Disney California Adventure!

Themes: Disneyland Park vs. Disney California Adventure

Disneyland — Walt Disney’s original park — features 9 themed lands: Main Street, U.S.A., Tomorrowland, Mickey’s Toontown (which was recently reimagined!), Frontierland, Critter Country, New Orleans Square, Adventureland, Fantasyland, and the park’s newest land, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Classic Disney characters find their home in Mickey’s Toontown while Disney Princesses, Pooh and pals, and more fairytale friends can be found throughout the park!

Opening Day attractions include — but aren’t limited to — the Disneyland Railroad, Jungle Cruise, Mad Tea Party, and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.

Some of these, as well as many other beloved attractions that first opened in Disneyland over the years, have iterations in Disney parks all around the world.

Disney California Adventure hosts just 7 themed lands: Buena Vista Street, Grizzly Peak, Pixar Pier, Hollywoodland, Cars Land, Pacific Wharf (which is currently transitioning into San Fransokyo Square), and Avengers Campus.

These uniquely themed lands put the latest and greatest in Disney Imagineering and reinvention on display. Though it’s the newer park, Disney California Adventure just keeps reinventing itself! Pixar Pier (previously Paradise Pier) opened in 2018, and Cars Land debuted in 2012, delivering an astounding level of immersion unlike any land before. Avengers Campus most recently joined the park in 2021.

In fact, the first land guests encounter, Buena Vista Street, did not open until 2012 (when it officially replaced the area previously known as Sunshine Plaza).

Check out EVERYTHING in Avengers Campus HERE!

Some Opening Day attractions that you can still ride at Disney California Adventure include Grizzly River Run and the Golden Zephyr. Certain Opening Day attractions can still be enjoyed, albeit in their more recent iterations. For instance, California Screamin’ is now known as the Incredicoaster.

Though you can certainly encounter classic Disney pals here (the photo of Mickey and Goofy above is from their greeting location on Buena Vista Street), you can also meet heroes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Avengers Campus and say “Howdy!” to friends from Pixar films like Toy Story, Inside Out, and The Incredibles along Pixar Pier.  And VERY soon…

… you’ll be able to meet Baymax and Hiro from Big Hero 6 in San Fransokyo Square!

Nighttime Shows: Disneyland Park vs. Disney California Adventure

Let’s talk nighttime shows! Spectaculars light up the night at both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure!

Here’s a bit of background on the current production you can enjoy at Disney California Adventure: The Walt Disney Company was founded on October 16th, 1923. The 100th Anniversary of the Walt Disney Company is being honored at Disney destinations across the globe to celebrate Disney 100 Years of Wonder! And an updated version of the World of Color spectacular, called “World of Color – ONE,” is now showing to honor the “storytelling legacy of Disney’s first 100 years.”

Set to a soundtrack featuring 18 compositions and with references to Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars movies, California Adventure’s new nighttime show has a little bit of everything. And, in the signature “World of Color” fashion, it presents mist screens, TONS of dancing fountains, laser lights, flame effects, and much more.

See photos and videos of World of Color — ONE here!

Disneyland Park typically presents Fantasmic! on Frontierland’s Rivers of America. It combines water effects, fireworks, and appearances by literally dozens of Disney characters — all set to Disney songs in an original story starring none other than Mickey Mouse!

However, during a spring 2023 performance of Fantasmic!, the Maleficent dragon (who is supposed to breathe fire during the show) caught on fire. After the incident, the show was suspended and remains on hiatus. 

The nighttime spectacular will not return until Spring of 2024. When the show returns, it will NOT include the Maleficent dragon figure but will “feature new special effects and a thrilling new battle scene between Sorcerer Mickey and Maleficent.”

But although you can’t see Fantasmic! right now in Disneyland, you can currently see Queenie and the Jambalaya Jazz Band every evening. The band performs nightly on a New Orleans-themed raft as they float down the Rivers of America. You can expect “high-energy New Orleans tunes, plus other Disney favorites.”

Additionally, guests can check out the 100th Anniversary projections show Wondrous Journeys through August 31st or Halloween Screams through October 31st at Sleeping Beauty Castle. These shows also feature fireworks on select nights! And Believe… In Holiday Magic lights up the sky for the Disneyland Holiday Season!  This show features a medley of holiday tunes and ends with a magical snowfall around the park.

Alcohol: Disneyland Park vs. Disney California Adventure

Well, now… had we written this post juuust a few weeks ago, this discussion of the topic of alcohol in the parks would’ve been a bit different. With a few exceptions, Disneyland has operated as a dry park (not serving alcoholic beverages) from its Opening Day. Guests at the exclusive Club 33 could imbibe, but none of the dining locations for regular day guests served alcohol until May 31, 2019.

That’s the day Oga’s Cantina opened as part of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and this Star Wars cantina features both cocktails (like the Fuzzy Tauntaun and the Dagobah Slug Slinger) as well as beer and wine alongside mocktails (including  the cookie-topped Blue Bantha). The lovely Blue Bayou Restaurant also started serving alcohol fairly recently (as of May 2021). And that was it.

However, history has just recently been made once again. Just last week, Disney announced that THREE more Disneyland restaurants will begin offering wine, beer, specialty cocktails, and other non-alcoholic beverages starting September 12, 2023. As of that date, you’ll find alcohol at Carnation Café, River Belle Terrace, and Café Orleans.

So, at this point, Disneyland is becoming more similar to Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, which serves alcohol only at Table Service restaurants. Guests — at this time — still won’t find any alcoholic beverages at Quick Service dining locations or snack kiosks at either park.

Disney California Adventure, on the other hand, has served alcohol at locations around the park throughout its existence.

Guests may imbibe not only at Table Service restaurants, but also at Quick Service restaurants and bars all around the park at spots like PYM Tasting Lab in Avengers Campus and the new Port of San Fransokyo Cervecería. 

We’ve Eaten at Every Restaurant in Disney California Adventure. These Are the Best.

History: Disneyland Park vs. Disney California Adventure

One of the biggest differences overall between these two parks is the simple history behind them. Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955, and the park made history again by welcoming its millionth guest just 7 weeks later. In many more ways than this singular aspect, Disneyland completely set the standard for theme parks around the world.

Main Street, U.S.A. sets the turn-of-the-century scene inspired by Walt Disney’s childhood home of Marceline, Missouri.

In fact, Walt Disney once made his home in Disneyland in an apartment above the Disneyland Fire Department, and you’ll always see a light in the window that stays lit in his honor.

THESE are the BEST Rides in Disneyland Park… RANKED!

Though Disney California Adventure — where “favorite stories come to life before your eyes” — didn’t open until early 2001, it has not forgotten its roots.

As just one example, the charming Buena Vista Street holds a reproduction of Carthay Circle Theater (which is home to the Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge), the famous spot where Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered in 1932.

And there’s another important nod to the past that we can’t neglect to mention in our next section…

Icons & Statues: Disneyland Park vs. Disney California Adventure

Including and beyond Disneyland Resort, each Disney theme park around the world features its own signature icon. In Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, you’ll find that they’re quite different one from the other. Of course, Disneyland’s stunning Sleeping Beauty Castle is recognized world over as the park’s centerpiece.

In front of the Castle, the Partners statue featuring Walt and Mickey hand in hand waits to greet you.

Disney’s California Adventure features the Mickey Fun Wheel — now the Pixar Pal-A-Round — in Pixar Pier. Unlike most parks, this icon is not immediately visible from the park’s entrance.

But guests can pay homage to Walt Disney and Mickey thanks to the Storytellers statue depicting Walt arriving in Los Angeles, California in 1923.

This lovely tribute can be seen right when you enter the park.

Thanks for joining us on our little side-by-side tours of the Disneyland Resort parks! Before we go, here’s a reminder of a few more words from Walt Disney, as something to consider no matter which Disney park you visit anywhere around the world: “I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing… that it was all started by a mouse.”

Disneyland vs Disney World – A Complete Breakdown