If you’re in the UK (and I suspect this goes for a lot of Western Europe), you tend to have two main Disney destinations marketed at you – Disneyland Paris, and Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida. Walt Disney World is the most visited Disney property in the world and it has a lot to offer – so if you’ve been there, do you even need to go to Disneyland Paris? Our answer is an unequivocal YES! Both resorts are wonderful in their own ways. In this blog we’re explaining why you should go to Disneyland Paris if you’ve been to Walt Disney World.

First, some reality checking…

Before I launch into this, I do want to pop in a few reality checks here – Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris are quite different in many ways, and if comparing the two then there’s some things you need to know first!

And some of those things are going to be more in favour of Walt Disney World – or at least potentially, it depends on the type of break you want. What I don’t want is someone going away from this blog thinking they’ll get the same experience at Disneyland Paris as they do at Walt Disney World… because they won’t. Below are some things you should know about Disneyland Paris compared to Walt Disney World.

• Size – Walt Disney World is huge (about 40 square miles). It offers 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, a huge shopping and dining district, and over 20 hotels (plus extra amenities like golf). Disneyland Paris is a lot smaller – 2 theme parks, 6 onsite hotels (and one off site), and a pretty tiny shopping and dining area. If you’re looking for a multi-week break, Disneyland Paris probably isn’t the place to head.
• Food – Dining at Walt Disney World is pretty much a cult in its own right at this point. It has numerous iconic snacks and literally hundreds of dining locations. When it comes to dining, Disneyland Paris is lagging behind a bit. A lot of people will say the food at Disneyland Paris is bad and that’s really not fair, there are some lovely places to eat there. But overall you’re going to have more quality dining options at Walt Disney World. As for snacks, Disneyland Paris has been upping its snack game in the last few years and there’s plenty of delicious and seasonal snacks on offer, but again it can’t match Walt Disney World on this one. If you’re a real foodie, go into Disneyland Paris expecting to be choosy of where you eat and not always being able to match what’s at Walt Disney World.
• Cast members – Both at Walt Disney World and at Disneyland Paris there’s a whole army of cast members making magic for you. In Walt Disney World the customer service is American Disney level – very smiley, eager to help at all times. Think ‘have a nice day’ culture with bells on. At Disneyland Paris, you have customer service at European Disney level – good for Europe, but not necessarily matching what’s in the USA Disney parks. In our experience most Paris cast members are happy to help with queries and are very polite. However, due to French law Disney can’t tell them to smile all the time – so they don’t! Also, French cast members are given a lot more leeway with their personal appearance than at Walt Disney World, so expect to see more in the way of eclectic hair styles, piercings, tattoos and the like. Personally I like that the French cast members can express themselves more in the parks, but I’ve also seen people comment that it’s not their idea of ‘Disney’ so there’s that.

It has its own unique attractions

A lot of people head to Disney parks regardless of location for the attractions, and both Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris have a lot to offer! Naturally there’s more attractions in Disney World, with two extra theme parks you’d expect that, and there’s some wonderful offerings there you can’t find at Disneyland Paris. But, there’s some great offerings at Disneyland Paris that you can’t find at Walt Disney World too!

Below is a list of the attractions at Disneyland Paris that aren’t available at Walt Disney World. I will note where these attractions might be found at other Disney parks, notably Disneyland in California – just in case you’ve been lucky enough to visit all the Disney Parks in the USA!

Disneyland Park:

• Statue of Liberty Diorama in Main Street USA (Admittedly not the most exciting attraction to kick of with, but it is classed as an attraction by Disney!)
• Molly Brown Riverboat at Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing in Frontierland (Magic Kingdom in Disney World lost their riverboat last year to make way for a new Cars area)
• Frontierland Shooting Arcade in Frontierland (The Magic Kingdom of this closed a couple of years ago now to make way for a DVC lounge).
• Rhythm of the Pridelands in Frontierland (Animal Kingdom in Disney World does have a Lion King show, but it’s not the same!)
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril in Adventureland (there is a clone of this in Tokyo Disney Sea)
• Adventure Isle in Adventureland (the nearest equivalent in Disney World was Tom Sawyer Island in Magic Kingdom, and it also shut last year).
• Aladdin’s Enchanted Passage in Adventureland
• Pinocchio’s Daring Journey in Fantasyland (there is a version of this in Disneyland in California)
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in Fantasyland (the nearest USA equivalent to this in Snow White’s Enchanted Wish in Disneyland. Magic Kingdom in Disney World does have a Snow White ride but it’s very different!)
• Casey Jr in Fantasyland (there is a version in Disneyland in California – although Paris’ version is designed to be more like a junior rollercoaster, although rollercoaster does feel like a generous description here!)
• Storybook Canal Boats in Fantasyland (again there’s a version in Disneyland in California, although the featured scenes do differ between the two!)
• Alice in Wonderland Maze in Fantasyland
• Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthrough in Fantasyland (again, Disneyland in California has something similar but they are also very different from one another!)
• The Dragon’s Lair in Fantasyland
• Mysteries of the Nautilus in Discoveryland (Magic Kingdom in Disney World lost their Nautilus attraction years ago at this point, although it’s worth noting that was a ride and Disneyland Paris’ attraction is a walkthrough. It also makes it very different to the 20,000 leagues under the Sea attraction in Tokyo Disney Sea)

Note – although I’ve not put many Discoveryland attractions here, because versions of most of them exist in Walt Disney World, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how the Jules Verne steampunk vibes of Discoveryland in Disneyland Paris are VERY different to the retro space vibes of Tomorrowland in Magic Kingdom! Also, the parade (Disney Stars on Parade) and nighttime show (Disney Tales of Magic) are very different to their Magic Kingdom equivalents! (Festival of Fantasy Parade and Happily Ever After respectively).

Disney Adventure World

• World Premiere in World Premiere Plaza (bit weird listing this as an attraction but Disney does so here we are – it’s a cool space though even if it really is a shopping and dining opportunity)
• Mickey and the Magician in World Premiere Plaza
• Together a Pixar Musical Adventure in World Premiere Plaza
• Stitch Live! in World Premiere Plaza (this show does have equivalents in Tokyo Disney and Shanghai Disney. Also Walt Disney World does have attractions where you get to interact in live time with animated Disney characters, they’re just different – Monsters Inc Laugh Floor in Magic Kingdom, and Turtle Talk with Crush in Epcot)
• Minnie’s Dream Factory in World Premiere Plaza (Disney’s Hollywood Studios does have a show aimed at little ones in the same vein as this, but it is a different show – it’s called Disney Junior Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live! (Boy that’s a mouthful!))
• WEB Slingers in Avengers Campus (this is identical to the one in Disney’s California Adventure)
• Avengers Flight Force in Avengers Campus (the track may feel familiar to Disney World goers here because it was originally a clone of Rock n Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith over in Hollywood Studios. However as both have since been rethemed the stories are pretty different – saving the planet with Iron Man in Disneyland Paris, and heading to a concert with the Muppets in Walt Disney World!)
• Crush’s Coaster in Worlds of Pixar
• Cars Quatre Roues Rallye in Worlds of Pixar (the movement of this was the basis of Alien Swirling Saucers over in Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida, but the feel is very different – the Aliens ride is a whip ride where you’re attached to main vehicle, in Cars here you ride on the vehicle itself, but with a lot more spinning. And nausea.)
• Cars Road Trip in Worlds of Pixar (long time Disney World park goers will recognise the ‘Car-tastrophe Canyon’ bit as a slight reworking of the Catastrophe Canyon section of the old Studios Tour at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Funnily enough it used to be part of a Studios Tour in Disneyland Paris too!)
• RC Racer in Toy Story Playland in Worlds of Pixar (while not in Disney World, this ride is in both Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland)
• Toy Soldiers Parachute Jump in Toy Story Playland in World of Pixar (like above, it’s in Hong Kong and Shanghai but not Orlando)
• Silnky Dog ZigZag Spin in Toy Story Playland in Worlds of Pixar (same as above, also in Hong Kong and Shanghai but not Disney World. Note that this is NOT the same ride as Slinky Dog Dash in Disney’s Hollywood Studios – if you go into the Paris version expecting it to be the same as Orlando you might be a bit disappointed!)
• Raiponce Tangled Spin in Adventure Way

Also to note, while both Disney’s Adventure World and Epcot in Disney World have Frozen Ever After, the version in Paris in inside the immersive World of Frozen, which is pretty different setting to the Norway Pavilion in Epcot’s World Showcase. (Still very cool, but different!) The nighttime show at Disney Adventure World (Disney Cascade of Lights) is also unique to this park – and it has drones! And the new Princess Calvacade is unique here as well.

Also just to add, I know there’s a lot of attractions that Disney World have that Disneyland Paris doesn’t. That’s a blog in its own right I should think! But I’m focusing here on showcasing what Disneyland Paris has to offer Disney World goers. If you’d like a blog explaining why you might want to do Disney World if you’ve been to Disneyland Paris let us know in the comments below!

Different versions of Walt Disney World attractions

Disneyland Paris has a lot of attractions that bear a similar name to equivalents in Walt Disney World too. But just because they share a name or inspiration, it does not mean they’re the same! A lot of Disneyland Paris versions have some key differences to their Florida equivalents – below is a list, and if you’re a Disney Parks fan it’s fun to spot the differences and different takes!

• Disneyland Railroad in Main Street USA – The equivalent of this is the Walt Disney World railroad in Magic Kingdom. At the moment a direct comparison between the two is tricky because the Magic Kingdom ride is significantly curtailed due to building works. However, when they do the full loop, both offer great views into the respective parks, but the Paris one also offers a Grand Canyon diorama section which is missing the Disney World version. (Although maybe it’ll appear after all the building work is finished there? Who knows!)
• Phantom Manor in Frontierland – The Paris version of Haunted Mansion is very different to its Floridian sibling. Here a strong storyline of Melanie the Bride and the Phantom that haunts her runs throughout the ride, and there are key differences in the graveyard scenes too to fit the Frontierland location here. Also note, the Paris version is a bit spookier!
• Big Thunder Mountain in Frontierland – Paris’ version of this ride is held by many as the best and most thrilling, because of its unique position on an island. Big Thunder is a great ride regardless, and the Magic Kingdom version has just come out of a long refurbishment, but there’s quite a difference between the two rides!
• Pirates of the Caribbean in Adventureland – The Paris version of Pirates is much closer to the original one in Disneyland in California than its sibling over in Magic Kingdom in Florida. It’s a lot longer, begins with a scenic sail past a restaurant and through a bayou scene, and has different curse scenes. You also head up a hill near the beginning of the ride – something they wanted to do in previous versions of Pirates but couldn’t! The Paris version is definitely worth a ride for all Pirates fans.
• Peter Pan’s Flight in Fantasyland – This is pretty similar to the version in Magic Kingdom, but it does feature an extra starlit tunnel portion and different view of Neverland. Also the ships here sit two rows of guests instead of one! (It still gets long waits though – that’s the same regardless of location!)
• It’s a Small World in Fantasyland – The Paris version has differences in style and layout, and it has an American section which is missing from the rides in the USA parks! It also has a drop dead gorgeous facade which is worth seeing even if you don’t want to ride.
• Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast in Discoveryland – The Magic Kingdom version is Space Ranger Spin. The two rides are similar but how the targets work is quite different, especially since Magic Kingdom’s ride just came out of a massive refurbishment! They’re both fun to ride.
• Hyperspace Mountain in Discoveryland – If you’re expecting this to be the same as Space Mountain in Magic Kingdom, you’re in for a shock! Even without the Star Wars theme, Hyperspace Mountain is a very different beast, featuring a high speed launch and several inversions. It’s also a lot smoother as a coaster – but more intense for all that!
• Autopia in Discoveryland – This is the Paris version of the Tomorrow Speedway. While neither are the greatest rides in my opinion, the track of the Paris version is both longer and prettier!
• Tower of Terror in World Premiere Plaza – While the storylines of the Paris version and its equivalent in Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, have a similar basis, the ride experiences are pretty different. Orlando has a section where your lift car moves out of the lift shaft. Paris’ doesn’t have that, but instead it’s modelled its story around the Little Girl, and really ramped up the creepy factor here!

I do want to throw in an honorary mention here for Frozen Ever After. While the version in Disneyland Paris is very similar to the original found in Epcot in Walt Disney World, it does have a much steeper and longer drop! The same with Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure – while the Paris and Orlando versions are extremely similar, the Paris version has recently added in extra props. More props are meant to be coming to the Epcot ride too, so the differences may not be there for long. Also just to reiterate – Slinky Dog Zig Zag Spin in Disney Adventure World and Slinky Dog Dash in Disney’s Hollywood Studios are NOT the same ride – fans of the Orlando version might be disappointed with the French one! The same with Rhythm of the Pridelands in Disneyland Paris and Festival of the Lion King in Animal Kingdom – while both are Lion King themed shows, they are definitely not the same (in this case we prefer the French one!).

Seasonal entertainment all included in the ticket price

Both Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney World offer a lot of seasonal entertainment, both of which are wonderful to experience. But Disney World does hide some of its seasonal offerings behind a pay wall!

While day guests visiting Walt Disney World can still experience Halloween decorations in Magic Kingdom, try seasonal snacks and buy a lot of merchandise, their unique Halloween parade only runs at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party – a separately ticketed event that isn’t cheap! Some snacks are also only available in party time, and some character meet and greets (looking at you Jack and Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas). Over in Disneyland Paris, the Halloween Calvacade, decorations, Halloween snacks, and special meet and greets are all included in your park ticket. And if you’re an adult wanting to wear a costume, you do have an opportunity to do this during a normal park day too if you visit Disneyland Paris on Halloween itself – again this is something that’s only offered during Not So Scary in Walt Disney World. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the Not So Scary Party offers a lot more in the way of character meet and greets, snacks, and also has a unique fireworks show – it’s a really popular event for very good reasons! But at least all the offerings that Disneyland Paris has you can experience with your normal park ticket.

Again at Christmas, both Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney World hit hard with all the festive fun! Decorations, snacks, and more. And I’ll be fair and say that Disney World has a lot of festive fun that can be experienced in normal park days there – the decorations, the snacks, the Merry Menagerie animal puppets in Animal Kingdom, the whole of the Festival of the Holidays over in Epcot which features food, storytellers, shows and more. But, Disney World also has two ticketed Christmas events – Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas party in Magic Kingdom, and Jollywood Nights in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. And many snacks, shows and characters are only available during these events. Meanwhile over at Disneyland Paris, all the festive fun is included in your normal park ticket – characters, parade, shows and more, all season long! I will add in that for the few days running up to and Christmas Day itself, Magic Kingdom will run the parade and fireworks that were otherwise a part of its Christmas party during the regular park day. But that’s only a few days – in Disneyland Paris it’s the entire season from November to January!

So if you’d like some seasonal Disney magic without worrying about paying for extra event tickets, Disneyland Paris is a good place to be! I also mention that Disneyland Paris also normally has special calvacades and shows running in spring and summer – like the Music Festival last year and A Million Splashes of Colour this year. Disney World has its seasonal entertainment too of course- but I do think with the special calvacades that Paris runs adds an extra charm!

The size

I mentioned in the expectation setting section above that Disneyland Paris is a lot smaller than Walt Disney World. That might be disappointing if you’re trying to plan a two week vacation, but the compact size of Disneyland Paris has a lot of advantages.

With Disney World being so large, trying to get between two places within the resort can take a while. Disney themselves advise to allow at least an hour if using Disney’s own transportation to get between two locations, and that’s good advice! The two nearest theme parks to each other there are Epcot and Hollywood Studios. You can walk between the two in 20-25 minutes, drive which will take about 10 minutes, or use boats, bus, or the Skyliner which can vary between 10 minutes ish (for the bus) to around 30 minutes. But want to get between the two parks at Disneyland Paris? They’re directly next door – it takes about 5 minutes to walk between them. Want to pop to Disney Village to do some shopping? It’s directly outside the theme parks, again about 5 minute walk max. Even from the furthest away of the on site hotels (Hotel Santa Fe) you can walk to the parks in 20-25 minutes. While Disney World has some resorts in walking distances to parks, for the most part you’re either choosing to drive yourself or using Disney’s own transportation to get from the resort to the parks and back again, and this can take some time!

So for an all encompassing multi-week stay? Disney World is going to be the better option. But for a stay where everything is in walking distance and getting around on site is a breeze? Then Disneyland Paris is actually the better option!

Different themed resorts

With Walt Disney World’s huge range of resorts, you’d think they’d encompass all themes – but Disneyland Paris actually has resorts that don’t have equivalent themes in Orlando!

I will acknowledge first of all that Newport Bay at Disneyland Paris has similar vibes to the Yacht Club at Walt Disney World, and likewise Paris’ Sequoia Lodge has similarities to Wildness Lodge (although to me they still feel different!) But for the other 4 onsite hotels there’s no real equivalent!

While there is a Cars themed section at Art of Animation resort in Orlando, it really doesn’t echo the South West USA vibes of Paris’ Hotel Santa Fe, even if they both have Cars in common! Hotel Cheyenne in Paris is themed to the Wild West, there’s nothing close to that in Disney World. Likewise a Marvel themed resort in Paris does not appear there, and while there are Princess themed rooms at Port Orleans in Disney World, they do not really compare to the all out Princess theming of the Disneyland Hotel! Also for all you luxury fans, the Disneyland Hotel is the only 5 star rated hotel that Disney owns – yes it’s rated higher than the Grand Floridian, the flagship resort in Disney World. So if you’re looking for a Disney resort stay with a difference, Paris might be a good option for you.

It’s a lot easier to do a lot in a shorter stay

As you’ve probably got from this blog already, Walt Disney World is HUGE and has a lot to do. In a week stay you’ll barely scratch the surface. Heck, in a two week stay there’ll be things you won’t be able to do. I’ve been to Disney World a lot and there’s still things I haven’t done. So really, to do Disney World justice you really need a good chunk of time to stay there. There’s a lot to do at Disneyland Paris too, but it’s much easier to do a long weekend stay or mid-week break and still feel like you’ve got a lot done.

For first-timers for Disneyland Paris I would typically recommend a minimum of a 4 night, 5 day break in order to hit up a lot that’s in the parks, meet characters and see shows, repeat favourites, and visit Disney Village, and not feel completely frazzled doing it. If you’re a repeat visitor you might be able to do shorter stays focusing on your favourites, or perhaps new attractions you’ve not got to experience yet. Personally I still like a 5 day stay as it helps me to pace better, but many others can do 2-3 nights as repeats and feel like they’ve done what they wanted. Or even a 2 or 1 day visit can still achieve a lot! (Look at our planning a day trip blog if you’d like some ideas there).

It being a shorter break has some advantages – you need to take less time off work, you can fit trips in better around school holidays and long weekends, and it can cost a lot cheaper, depending on where you choose to stay! (I say that because if you did a week in an offsite hotel in Florida and compared it to 4 nights in the Disneyland Hotel, the offsite hotel in Florida will more than likely be cheaper! I’m also leaving transport out of the debate because that varies so much depending on where you’re travelling from.) Disneyland Paris also has a big advantage that Disney World doesn’t have – an onsite train station, making the resort very easy to travel to.

I’ve heard a lot of folks say they like Disneyland Paris to get a ‘taste’ of Disney magic between longer trips to Orlando, and it does work very well for this.

It’s services for the differently-abled are better than those in Disney World

If you’re disabled, have neurodiversity or have a medical condition to manage, in our opinion Disneyland Paris just has more support to offer in Disney World.

That’s not to say that Disney World doesn’t have services to support the differently-abled – they do. Their Disability Access Services (DAS) scheme assesses folks who may struggle to wait in lines in the parks, and offers those who qualify a chance to book return times for rides to save having to wait in the long lines. However, for reasons I won’t go in to, Disney World also never asks for proof of disability. Because of this the service was becoming over-subscribed (annoyingly some of this is likely due to people using it when they didn’t need to – there used to be websites telling you what to say to Disney to guarantee you were approved for DAS). Since then DAS has now become super-restrictive, essentially now you only tend to get it for neurodivergence in little ones and even then it seems a bit hit and miss, based on the impact Disney thinks it has on the individual.

I won’t go into full detail on the services Paris offers here, but it offers two types of passes for the differently-abled – the Easy Access Pass for people with certain medical conditions, that allows people to book return times for attractions (rather like the DAS in Orlando), and the Priority Pass which provides expedited waits for attractions, special waiting areas for shows, support for reducing waits in restaurants and more. To qualify for either though you need to show proof – either a medical certificate for the Easy Access Pass, or proof of disability like a PIP Award letter, Blue Badge or Access Card for the Priority Pass. For those who would otherwise find waits unmanageable, these passes can be a game changer – and by needing to supply proof, it reduces down the number of people trying to use the service when they shouldn’t.

So sorry Disney World – love you to bits, but when it comes to supporting disabled guests on attractions, Disneyland Paris is superior.

Disneyland Paris is sooooooo pretty…

Walt Disney World has some really beautiful places, notably at Animal Kingdom and Epcot. The scenery can be stunning. But Disneyland Paris has a beauty all of its own!

Disneyland Paris is often held up as the most beautiful of the Disney parks and we’d have to agree. Everything from the entry gardens, Sleeping Beauty Castle, and landscaping is just so gorgeous in Disneyland Park. And Magic Kingdom in Florida is also pretty, but it’s not Disneyland Paris pretty! And while in the past Disney Adventure World hasn’t been much to look at, the recent addition of World of Frozen and the new Lion King area promise a lot more beauty here. If stunning landscapes, buildings and awesome photos are important to your holiday memories, Disneyland Paris certainly delivers!

More unique experiences are coming!

As you can see from the above, Disneyland Paris offers a lot that Disney World doesn’t, and vice versa. And with the current building works taking place in both, new experiences are going to keep coming!

Currently in Disney World there are four major new lands being built – a Cars themed land and Villains Land in Magic Kingdom, Monstropolis from Monsters Inc in Hollywood Studios, and a Tropical Americas themed pavilion with Indiana Jones and Encanto rides at Animal Kingdom. Experiences that Paris doesn’t have! However over in Disneyland Paris there is a new Lion King land under construction, and an Up themed attraction that Disney World won’t have. So both are going to have unique offerings to come! And with the D23 event just around the corner, where they tend to make big announcements about what’s coming to the theme parks, who knows what more unique experiences will be coming? Watch this space.

So hopefully you’ll agree – if you’ve been to Walt Disney World, there’s still a lot you can discover at Disneyland Paris! Both resorts are wonderful and special in their own ways. Comment below if you think of anything we’ve missed that could help Disney World visitors consider Disneyland Paris. And while down there please consider subscribing to this blog – you’ll get future blogs in your inbox and a free copy of our Magically Different Guide to Disneyland Paris Attraction Accessibility (otherwise £3). We’d love to see you over on our YouTube channel too! And if you’d like to support our work please consider leaving us a tip or shopping our Amazon storefront. Thank you!