Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
To chime in, it's about 62 miles from Magic Mountain in LA County to Disneyland in Orange- and about 68 miles from Magic Kingdom in Orange (FL) to Busch Gardens Tampa (in Hillsborough) which features 8 significant Roller Coasters.
I would say in all fairness in Theme Parks the Orlando area really includes Busch Gardens, Discovery Cove, and Legoland.
Yeah if we include all of those, Orlando by a mile. Busch Gardens' roller-coasters are great!
Also worth throwing in Fun Spot parks, which, while small, provide a nice alternative to the massive theme parks in the area.
I grew up going to Magic Kingdom, but like Disneyland much better. Everything is so spread out at Disneyworld that it takes forever to get in or out of the parks. At least 1-1.5 hours to get through the gates if you are staying off the resort. Going from 1 park to another with a park hopper is 30 mins to an hour. It doesn't feel like a vacation at Disneyworld. It feels like I made bad life decisions and have been reincarnated in my own personal hell, the life of exurban super commuter. In Disneyland, you can get an affordable hotel a 15 minute walk from the park gate. No waiting for a ferry or monorail. If you want to park hop, the entances of Disneyland and California Adventure are about 100 yards from each other.
On the plus side for Orlando, EPCOT is cool, Disney Studios is pretty meh.
For Universal, while the setting in the hills in California is nicer and they actually produce on the sound stages, the rides/theme parks are better in Orlando.
I haven't been to Magic Mountain or Animal Kingdom.
Agreed 100%. Unless you’re the biggest Disney nerd, I think the overwhelming majority that have been to both would say this as well. It is what I hear from transplants all the time.
We went to Disneyworld a few years back and you couldn’t pay me to do that again. Seriously, if I won a free trip there I’d donate it to charity. Besides how spread out everything is, and the PITA getting in/out, the weather was unbearable. I do agree that Epcot is cool, I’ll give Disneyworld that.
We didn’t go to universal studios in Orlando, but you’re right about the setting in California, and the fact it’s a working studio makes it more legit. As cool as universal is, I actually prefer the studio tours at Warner Bros, Sony/MGM, and Paramount. WB is the best.
As for amusement parks for older kids/adults, Magic Mountain is gonna blow away anything Florida has to offer. Sorry Busch gardens, but Magic Mountain always ranks #1, sometimes #2 after Cedar Point, when it comes to roller coasters. Bonus points for Magic Mountain being Wally World.
Orlando will have more to offer in the theme park world, but everything that Los Angeles doesn’t have you’ll find in San Diego. Sea World (original, and on the ocean, lol), Legoland (first in America), and the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park (largest).
I know this isn’t a city vs city comparison on what each has to offer besides amusement parks, but I’d still rather set up shop in Orange County and do both Los Angeles and San Diego over Orlando strictly from a theme park standpoint and nothing else. Weather being the biggest factor.
Disney World blows Disney Land out the water. Universal Studios in Orlando blows the Cali US as well. That alone gives it to Orlando
Orlando is basically to theme parks what Vegas is to casinos. The casinos in Vegas and Orlando are built beyond means and these respective cities revolve entirely around these.
I went to Disneyland this past summer for the first time. It was nice being able to do two parks in one day, and having the hotels and “Disney Village” right there was cool. But it absolutely is not a replacement for Disney World. I could go on 4 weeklong DW trips and each one be basically different experiences. The breadth of experiences is unparalleled in the world of theme parks.
Also we almost died in the heat at Disneyland. To each their own, but when the uv index is able to get a driver’s permit it’s so high, and no cloud cover means your basically praying to the gods you can find shade before you turn into dust under the unrelenting sun, I’ll take an afternoon rain please and thanks.
The whole Orlando economy is pretty much dependent on theme parks. More space, more rides everything’s bigger. But there’s something magical about going to the original Disneyland in LA/OC that Walt Disney had created.
The whole Orlando economy is pretty much dependent on theme parks. More space, more rides everything’s bigger. But there’s something magical about going to the original Disneyland in LA/OC that Walt Disney had created.
Wildly false.
Tourism (which is much more than just theme parks alone) accounts for 1/3 of Orlando's economy.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
