Disneyland vs. Walt Disney World is like the Coke vs. Pepsi of the theme park universe. Disney fans passionately debate the topic, arguing relentlessly about which place is better. Some prefer the original theme park, the one that Walt Disney constructed from land previously reserved for orange groves. Others prefer the vast space and multiplicity of Walt Disney World, former swampland that Uncle Walt secretly bought but never got to witness as it evolved into the theme park of his dreams.
These debates are endless, the G-rated East Coast/West Coast version of rap cliques. While picking the better park isn’t simple, we have a different way to determine superiority. Several similar attractions exist at both locations, sometimes even with the same name…but which version is better? Let’s take a look at three of the best attractions at Disney to decide which park has the better rides.
Test Track vs. Radiator Springs Racers
Test Track is one of the best themed rides at Walt Disney World. This Epcot attraction displays the challenges that car manufacturers face in constructing new vehicles. It’s a high-concept evaluation of the difficulties in engineering cars. Designers have to allow for many challenges like slamming on the brakes, reducing environmental footprints and the like, all while building an engine that will provide an explosive burst in a short timeframe. People care about the other features in a car, but they want the vroom, vroom.
The oddity of Test Track is that it is a stop-and-start ride during most of the journey. Just as you reach a respectable speed, an 18-wheeler appears, forcing an abrupt swerve to avoid (fictional) contact. That’s the delayed gratification element of the attraction. You only spend about 45 seconds of it at maximum velocity. But you do get to design your own car. You also get to enjoy one of the best adrenaline surges at a Disney theme park for those blissful 45 seconds. I’m a huge fan of Test Track; I’m also aware of the validity of its criticisms.
Radiator Springs Racers is a later generation deployment of the Test Track technology. That fact alone is a strong hint about which attraction is better. Oddly, the Cars version of the design doesn’t have the maximum velocity of its predecessor. The highest speed for Radiator Springs Racer is only 40 miles per hour, yet that doesn’t seem to matter. The thrill of the attraction doesn’t come from a surge of adrenaline. It’s from the immersive world that Disney brings to life.
Radiator Springs is a community that welcomes an unhappy traveler in the movie, Cars. Lightning McQueen doesn’t want to stop there, and he’s pretty much a jerk while he’s there. Over time, he falls in love with the place’s genteel charm. The same is true of the ride. The dark portions of Radiator Springs Racers cause the neon lights to seem that much shinier. The entire town feels vibrant. It’s one of the best jobs of theming that Imagineers have even accomplished. This ride is pure animated delight and the first hint that Disney California Adventure would eventually change into Pixar Pier.
While both attractions are phenomenal, Radiator Springs Racers is the finest version. It has better tech and a superior theme.
Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! vs. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Hoo boy! I know that I’m about to step in it.
Nobody’s going to be right or wrong on this one. Purists have a strong opinion about Disney’s decision to shut down one of the best rides ever created at a Disney theme park. Fans of the new and different appreciate that the Anaheim version of Twilight Zone Tower of Terror was always a bit lacking in comparison to the one at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Also, change isn’t always the boogeyman that will ruin lives.
Keeping the above in mind, here’s the tale of the tape. Disney introduced Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios in 1994. The Disney California Adventure didn’t arrive until a decade later in 2004. Both versions have the same wonderful theme: theme park tourists are guests at the formerly luxurious Hollywood Tower Hotel, once a vacation playground to the rich and famous. It’s since fallen into disrepair due to a supernatural event that eviscerated a group of people on an elevator, instantly turning them into remnants that haunt the abandoned facility.
Fans of spooky hijinks will never find a more satisfying thrill ride that Tower of the Terror. It’s an award winner for a reason. Disney maxed out on big ideas here. Generally, the blue sky phase of ride design is when all the best ideas flow freely. Then, reality sets in. Imagineers have to compromise on those grand ambitions. The best parts of Tower of Terror somehow escaped this fate, which is why it’s basically a perfect ride.
At Disney California Adventure, Tower of Terror was also a masterpiece yet also criticized as mimicry. To some, the attraction never felt like an integral part of the second Disneyland gate. It also felt like a mismatch in theme and tone with the Golden State design. Less than 13 years after its arrival, park planners felt okay with its removal.
Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! is the proverbial phoenix that has risen from the ashes of Tower of Terror. It uses the same ride structure as its predecessor, only with the intellectual property theme of the wildly popular Marvel characters. The two movies have earned more than $1.6 billion worldwide, and kids in particular love the foul-mouthed but fuzzy Rocket Raccoon, and his laconic friend, Groot.
The new attraction follows Disney’s recent trend of ride variation. The Peter Quill-approved song that you hear as the ride begins is the tell about which ride experience that you’ll have. Each one is different enough that you’ll want to ride all six iterations. Importantly, the humor from the movie franchise is omnipresent during the drops. This attraction is modern Disney in both tone and structure. It’s just not Tower of Terror.
Yes, I’m a purist. I’ll take Rod Serling over Star-Lord any day.
The Haunted Mansion vs. The Haunted Mansion
Now we’re comparing apples to apples. The two versions of The Haunted Mansion are eerily similar. That’s because The Haunted Mansion was one of the newest and most popular attractions at Disneyland as Magic Kingdom prepared to open. Barely two years had passed between the introduction of The Haunted Mansion at New Orleans Square and its arrival in Liberty Square at Magic Kingdom.
Imagineers deftly employed the additional space available at Magic Kingdom to make a larger but similar version of the attraction. Whereas the Disneyland attraction lowers theme park tourists to the bottom floor, the Magic Kingdom version has its own building. There’s no reason for it to act as an elevator. The attraction still features a Stretching Room since it’s so integral to the ride’s popularity, though. This wrinkle is one of the many differences between the two attractions, just as the inclusion of the Stretching Room is one of the similarities.
Occasionally, Imagineers even renovate one version to bring it in line with the other. For example, the Portrait Hallway at Magic Kingdom once featured a group of paintings that had eyes that would follow the rider through the area. It was a creepy touch that set the mood for the scarier sections of the ride. Roughly a decade ago, Disney replaced these paintings with the ones from Disneyland’s iteration. You know them as the images that take on a macabre tone when lightning strikes.
Of course, the biggest current difference between the two versions is the presence of The Hatbox Ghost. An original creation from the opening of the attraction in Disneyland, The Hatbox Ghost failed as an illusion. Only days after The Haunted Mansion began, The Hatbox Ghost vanished for 46 years. Disney buried this ghost in shame. Its popularity unexpectedly soared during its absence, and Disneyland brought the character back in 2015. The Hatbox Ghost is now the coolest trick at either park.
Even without the triumphant return of The Hatbox Ghost, I’d still favor the Disneyland version. After all, it’s the one that Uncle Walt worked on prior to his death. And as I said above, I’m a purist. Disneyland takes this round, too.
Out of the three attractions evaluated today, Disneyland bests Walt Disney World by winning two out of three rounds. Do you agree with me or think I’m way off-base? Leave a note in the comments!
