Ask Disney Adulting: How much bigger is Walt Disney World than Disneyland?

Any Disney fan knows that Walt Disney World is larger than Disneyland, and rightfully so, as Disneyland was the first theme park venture for Walt Disney and even the genius behind the Mouse struggled with funding the project and even had to create a television show called Disneyland to raise the $17 million it took to complete and open Disneyland in 1955. The popularity of Disney’s flagship theme park was a brush fire and hotels and tourist traps quickly pinned the park in.

Disney benefited greatly from the lessons learned from opening Disneyland and went he started developing plans for his east coast equivalent, he purchased large volumes of land under secret names and corporations so that the could maximize the largest amount of real estate possible. This land grab gives Walt Disney World a considerable advantage over Disneyland and allows plenty of room to add parks, attractions, hotels and more.

# of Visitors & Getting Around

An impressive 17 million visitors per year flock to Walt Disney World making it the most popular amusement park in the world. Disneyland isn’t that far behind entertaining nearly 16 million visitors annually.

It doesn’t matter which park you end up visiting, you are going to log a lot of steps each day. It’s the sheer size comparison of each park that is a notable difference between the two. Disneyland is much smaller and can be easily accessed via foot traffic from an on-property or local hotel. Additionally, both parks are directly across from each other, meaning you can “park-hop” from one to another very easily. Walt Disney World’s size also means you’ll need transportation to navigate the multiple parks, hotels, attractions, and dining across the property and you’ll find yourself hopping buses, monorails, and boats to get around. It also means that most people don’t “park-hop” because you’ll spend a bulk of time traveling between the two parks.

Disneyland Resort

Includes both parks (Disneyland and California Adventure), backstage areas, Downtown Disney shopping and dining, 3 hotels and parking areas for both guests and Cast Members.

571 Acres, 0.89 Square Miles
Size of Hawaiian Gardens, California

Walt Disney World

Includes all four theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios), two major water parks (Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon), 27 Disney resort hotels and about a dozen non-Disney hotels, a campground, four golf courses, Disney Springs shopping and dining and all of the Reedy Creek Improvement District.

27,258 Acres, 43 Square Miles
Size of Modesto, California