Theme Park Face-Off! Disney Paris vs Disney USA. How are They Different?
I love the curious details that make each Disney theme park different. I’ve been going to the parks on both sides of the Atlantic for over 40 years, and hand on heart, Disneyland Paris gives me a romantic feeling like no other. But how is Disney Paris different to the USA Disney parks? And, in a contest of Disneyland vs Disney World vs Disneyland Paris, which is the BEST Disney theme park?
Let’s compare Disneyland Paris to Disney USA – the Disneyland California and Walt Disney World Florida parks. I’ll cover:
- What attractions and entertainment Disneyland Paris is famous for
- How big Disney Paris is compared to Disneyland California
- Disneyland Paris vs Florida: The difference between Disneyland Paris and Disney World
- The HUGE difference in how many days you need for each park
- Spending money! The different costs for Disneyland Paris vs Walt Disney World and Disneyland California
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What is Disneyland Paris Famous For?
Like all Disney theme parks, Disneyland Paris is famous for capturing the magic of childhood, no matter how old you are. Paris’ two parks recreate popular Disney films with breathtaking rides, top-tier musicals, parades, and legendary fireworks.
✏️ PRO TIP If this is your first taste of a Disney theme park, start in Fantasyland to experience storybook adventures, a picturesque castle, and iconic characters come to life. Don’t forget to say ‘Hi’ to Mickey while you’re there!
🇫🇷 6 Best Things Disneyland Paris is Known For
Disneyland Paris has so many special details that make it unique! So here’s a taster of what you can expect – 6 things that Disneyland Paris is famous for.
➡️ READ NEXT All 21 Unique Attractions Disneyland Paris Has (That You Won’t Find in the USA Parks)
Sleeping Beauty’s Castle in Disneyland Paris (left) and Cinderella’s Castle in Magic Kingdom – one of the parks in WDW in Florida (right). 🏰 Fun Fact For Disney Park Fans Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World Florida is smaller than Disneyland Paris’ Main Park
What are the Overall Differences Between Walt Disney World vs Disneyland vs Disneyland Paris?
I grew up next to Disneyland California in the 80s and 90s, and I visited Walt Disney World in Florida many times before getting my Disneyland Paris annual pass. While each park shares many of the same Disney magic, there are also stark differences.
Most noticeably, Disneyland Paris is different to the Disney USA parks in size. Let’s compare the three Disney resorts.
Size Differences Between the Disney Parks
- Disneyland Resort in California, USA sprawls over 500 acres for the entire resort. However, Disneyland Park itself is only 85 acres and its secondary park, California Adventure, is 72 acres.
- Walt Disney World in Florida, USA has an impressive 30,080 acres. But the main park, Magic Kingdom has just 142 acres. Its sister parks are Hollywood Studios with 154 acres, Epcot with 300 acres and Animal Kingdom with 500 acres.
- Disneyland Paris in France sits on 5,500 acres of land, but only about half has been developed so far. Disneyland Park has 126 acres and the secondary park, Walt Disney Studios, has 62 acres. WDSP will be greatly expanded once Frozen Land opens in 2025 (ish).
The Disney Parks Ranked From Smallest to Largest
1. Walt Disney Studios Park (Paris) – 62 acres (currently)
2. California Adventure – 72 acres
3. Disneyland (California) – 85 acres
4. Magic Kingdom (Florida) – 107 acres
5. Disneyland Park (Paris, France) – 126 acres
6. Hollywood Studios (Florida) – 154 acres
7. Epcot (Florida) – 300 acres
8. Animal Kingdom – 500 acres
Looking at that list we can see, surprisingly, Disneyland Paris is the largest of the 3 classic Disney parks (Magic Kingdom, Disneyland California and Disneyland Paris).
But the Disneyland Paris Resort is 10x the size of Disneyland Resort and only 1/6 the size of the Disney World Resort!
Is size everything?
Take into account that Animal Kingdom has the fewest attractions and Disneyland California has the most, and you will see that acres don’t relate to attractions. Animal Kingdom has large areas dedicated to animals not accessible to guests, so there is less entertainment in that park. In contrast, Disneyland California is packed with attractions and will take much longer to explore.
👱🏻♀️ MY EXPERIENCE The 10 Most Striking Differences Between Disney World vs Disneyland Paris vs Disneyland
Now let’s talk specifics! Here are the 10 major differences between Disney Paris vs Disney USA – California and Florida theme parks.
1. Overall Size
❓How big is Disneyland Paris compared to Magic Kingdom in Florida?
- Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World in Florida feels like the biggest but unfairly so, as it’s not. MK is accessed by a large monorail system and is accompanied by two more parks than Disneyland and Disneyland Paris. Which might be why people assume it’s bigger.
- On the other hand, the size difference between California’s Disneyland and Disneyland Paris is hardly noticeable. They feel about the same size (but we’ll talk more about the number of attractions in a minute).
2. Vacation Time Needed
❓How many days should I take off work/school to visit the Disney theme parks?
- Walt Disney World fills 10-14 days, so you will need to book a fortnight off!
- Disneyland California fills 3-4 days. But the long flight isn’t worth it unless you stay at least 10 days in the States.
- Disneyland Paris fills about 3 days. It’s easily manageable as a long weekend, in half-term, or as part of a longer European holiday.
3. Budget
❓What does Disneyland Paris vs Disney World vs Disneyland California cost?
- COSTS FOR DISNEY WORLD FLORIDA: With the length of your holiday in mind, it’s unsurprising that WDW requires the biggest budget! You’ll need a 2-week park hopper ticket (£539). Plus, airfare, car rental (if staying offsite), and a fortnight’s worth of food and accommodation to go to Florida from the UK. We also bought Genie+ for some of the days. For our family of four, WDW cost us around £7,000 for a fortnight.
- COSTS FOR DISNEYLAND RESORT CALIFORNIA: We went for 5 days to Disneyland California as part of a 2-week trip. It was more expensive for airfare to LAX than to Orlando, Florida from the UK. Tickets were a bit less for Disneyland than WDW (we bought a 5-day pass for £413). Accommodation offsite was around the same cost in California as in Florida, but at least we could walk to the parks in California, saving money on a car rental. 5 days of food was about the same cost per day as in Florida. In total, California cost us around £4500 for 5 days.
- COSTS FOR DISNEYLAND PARIS: For Disneyland Paris, the park tickets were cheaper than in the USA parks, (£204 for 3-day park hoppers). We drove to Paris as that was the cheapest transport for us. Food prices were similar to the USA Disney parks, perhaps a bit less overall as we bought fewer snacks. Equivalent Disneyland Paris accommodation was similarly priced as hotels in the USA. Disneyland Paris cost us around £1900 for 3 days.
👱🏻♀️ IN SHORT Overall, it was MUCH cheaper to go to Disneyland Paris than to either Disney USA park, but it was also a much shorter holiday.
4. Number of Rides
❓Which Disney theme park has the most rides?
Let’s compare the number of rides in each of the 3 main parks.
- Disneyland California has 33 rides.
- Disneyland Paris has 29 rides.
- Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World Florida has 27 rides. (Note: I don’t count Country Bear Jamboree or Tiki Room as rides, they feel like shows.)
Popular opinion is that Disneyland California has many more rides than the other two flagship parks. I think it feels like more rides in California because the park is divided into 9 distinctly-themed lands (not counting Main Street USA). By comparison, Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World has 5 lands. Disneyland Paris only has 4 lands!
But there is no contest when you add together ALL the rides at each resort. Walt Disney World has 6 parks in total, so it easily wins on the number of rides!
5. Snacks
❓How do the snacks measure up in Disneyland Paris compared to Disney USA?
Disneyland Paris has a LOT of catching up to do in terms of snacks.
Both Disneyland California and Walt Disney World have far superior snacks in theming, size, taste and choice. Churros, Mickey pretzels and slushies are all better stateside. However, Disneyland Paris has the best crepes by the castle (hence the name of my blog!).
6. Restaurants
❓ Disney Paris vs USA – Which has the best restaurants?
There are a similar number of table-service restaurants in each park. The Mickey pizzas are the best in Disneyland Paris, WDW does the best Mexican food, and Disneyland has the best clam chowder served in a bread bowl.
Quick service establishments are better in American theme parks than in Disneyland Paris. The queues move faster, they have more variety of food, longer operating hours and larger dining rooms.
🏰 FUN FACT FOR DISNEY PARK FANS Disneyland Paris quick-service restaurants have reusable cutlery and tableware. Better for our environment!
7. Weather
❓Which Disney park has the best weather?
- Disneyland California has the most comfortable weather in fall and winter; it’s mild, sunny and generally dry. Early Spring is gorgeous, but later on and throughout summer it can get too hot.
- Walt Disney World is far too hot (and too wet!) from late April to mid-September (I will never again go in June!!). They have a lovely autumn and winter, though.
- If you’re travelling in the summer, Disneyland Paris has the best weather of the three resorts. It’s generally dry and warm but not too hot (though they do get the odd heat wave!). Spring is cherry blossom season and absolutely beautiful, though sometimes wet. However, Disneyland Paris has the coldest winter, sometimes it even snows. And, it can be unpredictably rainy throughout the fall and late winter.
8. Seasonal and Ticketed Events
❓Is Disneyland Paris or Walt Disney World or Disneyland California the best for Halloween and Christmas?
- Disneyland Resort California is amazing during the holidays! They have a fantastic Nightmare Before Christmas layover on the Haunted Mansion starting for Halloween and Christmas. And ‘it’s a small world’ is stunningly lit and decorated for the festive season. Throughout the two parks, there are seasonal decorations, but California Adventure’s Haul-o-ween in Cars Land is transformational. And they host an Oogie Boogie Bash (ticketed party event) at Halloween.
- Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World Florida has their own (separately ticketed) Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party that far exceed anything in Paris for those seasons. The park decorations are out of this world with over-sized Christmas trees, lights and multiple areas decorated for the holidays.
- Walt Disney World‘s second park, EPCOT, almost always has an exciting festival going on, which encompasses special food and live entertainment. There is the International Festival of the Holidays at Christmas, Food and Wine in the fall and Festival of the Arts early in the year.
- Disneyland Paris sadly does not have any separately ticketed seasonal events, except for annual pass holders. They decorate for Halloween and Christmas, but not as extravagantly as either Disney USA park.
9. Number of Parks
❓How many parks make up each resort for Disney USA vs Disney Paris?
Walt Disney World has more to see than the other two resorts, being that it has 4 parks and 2 water parks.
Disneyland California has 2 parks, including California Adventure, which has a far superior Pixar land than Disneyland Paris’ Walt Disney Studios equivalent.
Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris ranks significantly last as a secondary park because it’s under major construction. We expect Frozen Land to bring that status up substantially. There is no opening date yet, but we hope for the end of 2025.
10. Smaller Details
❓How does the overall experience compare for Disney in Paris vs Disney USA?
- Disneyland California is the original Disney park and the only one Walt got to see. It has unique places dedicated to the legacy of Walt Disney, which is really special for Disney fans.
- The castle looks the most beautiful in Disneyland Paris. Plus, you can explore the dragon’s dungeon and Sleeping Beauty’s story in the upper level.
- Adventureland in Disneyland Paris is far larger than in WDW or California.
- Disneyland Paris seems to involve a bit less walking between attractions and to the car park and hotels than the Disney USA parks.
- Disneyland Paris involves far less planning than WDW. I talk more about this and other key differences in 17 Surprising Tips for Disneyland Paris.
- Walt Disney World is an epic holiday. It has the advantage of having extra parks and water parks to fill a fortnight. But it is also an expensive and exhausting experience. So it’s something you can do once or perhaps rarely.
- Disneyland Paris and Disneyland California are easier to manage in 1 day, and therefore you can do them on repeat.
How We Booked Disneyland Paris, Walt Disney World Florida and Disneyland Resort California
Here are the links for how I booked all our family holidays to the Disney theme parks.
👉 PRO TIP Don’t forget to use TopCashback.com when booking your holiday. It’s a free service that gives you money back when you shop online (and that adds up to a considerable amount for booking Disney!) Find more money-saving tips in my post, Cheapest Way to Do Everything for Disneyland Paris.
💖 Final Verdict: Which is My Favourite Theme Park: Disney Paris vs Disney USA?
BEST PARK? I love all 3!!!
California will always hold my fondest childhood memories, WDW is a blow-the-budget extravaganza, and Disneyland Paris is where my annual pass calls home.
But, Let’s Be Real. What Is the Best Park for YOU?
Picking the best Disney park for you will depend on your location, your budget, and how much time you have.
- Disneyland Paris makes a fantastic 3-day trip, so it is perfect for visitors from France, the UK, Spain, the Netherlands and other neighbouring European countries. And Americans can squeeze an action-packed day or two at Disneyland Paris into a broader European vacation.
- Walt Disney World in Florida is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many people. You will need to save up for longer, but it’s worth it to experience the Disney parks on a vast scale.
- Disneyland California suits locals best, especially annual pass holders from the surrounding counties. Equally, it’s an ideal resort to visit for 2 days as part of a fortnight fly-drive in California, Arizona and Nevada.
If you are trying to decide which Disney resort to visit, remember that they all have their special features, and you won’t regret visiting any of them.
Over to You…
Have you made up your mind on which park to visit? Will you be visiting Disneyland Paris this year? Or will you be going to the USA? I would love to hear your thoughts, so leave a comment below.👇
➡️ READ NEXT If you enjoyed Disney Paris vs Disney USA, you will love:
💛 Making your bucket list? Check out 21 UNIQUE Attractions Disneyland Paris Has (That the USA Parks Don’t!)
🧡 17 Clever Tips for First-Timers. Read this BEFORE you plan to visit Disneyland Paris
❤️ Thinking about what to do in the parks? Check out my 1-day itineraries for Disneyland Park, Walt Disney Studios Park and 2 Parks in One Day
🩷 Don’t spend any more than you have to! Here’s the Cheapest Way to Do Disneyland Paris
