5 Reasons Why We Love Disneyland and You Should Too!

If you’re a WDW superfan but have never made the trip out west to Disneyland, you’re missing out! Every Disney Park has its own unique charm, attractions, and experiences, and Disneyland is no different. You’re immersed in nostalgia as you walk down the same streets Walt did. This quaint charm is a breath of fresh air! Plus, with a variety of unique entertainment offerings, a temperate climate all year long, and an easily walkable resort, it's easy to fall in love with Disneyland! Now is the perfect time to plan your Disneyland vacation, especially if it’s your first time. Here are the top five reasons you should experience the magic at the original Happiest Place on Earth:

Ready to book your Disneyland vacation? Contact our Disneyland vacation planners with Just Add Magic Travel® and get your free Disneyland vacation quote!

Unique Events and Festivals

Disneyland just does events and festivals differently. It brings in the nostalgia of the classic characters and stories you grew up with while remaining inclusive of people and cultures around the world—all with its own Disney flair. Disneyland After Dark events offer after-hours access to the park and are themed throughout the year. With themes like 90s throwback, Disney Channel, sweethearts, Star Wars, and Pride, you can revel in your favorite Disney stories with these unique events geared primarily to adults and older kids (who can withstand the 9 pm to 1 am event time). For day guests, the seasonal festival lineup includes unique offerings you won’t find at WDW. Disneyland’s annual Halloween event, Oogie Boogie Bash, regularly sells out and features rare character meet and greets. There are also multicultural experiences that celebrate holiday traditions from Latin and Asian cultures, such as Día De Los Muertos (featuring Miguel and family from Coco) in September and October, ¡Viva Navidad! in November and December, Three Kings Day in January, and the Lunar New Year in January and February. Plus, there are seasonal events like the California Adventure Food and Wine Festival, Festival of the Holidays, Season of the Force, and more!

Unforgettable Entertainment

The shows, characters, and parades at Disneyland are pretty spectacular. You’ll leave each parade or show you see humming the music and looking forward to watching it again. Your kiddos will be amazed by the dazzling floats that exude Disney magic and bring it to life. Right now is a great time to visit, as many of Disneyland’s most popular shows and parades have returned for Disneyland’s 70th anniversary, which runs through summer 2026. Here are just a few of the entertainment options you can experience at Disneyland Resort during its anniversary celebration:

Paint the Night
Watch as over one million LED lights shine on floats and performers during this nighttime parade at Disneyland Park. The floats are dazzling and feature characters from new and classic Disney films, like Peter Pan, Toy Story, Cars, Fantasia, Frozen, and The Little Mermaid. Our favorite floats include Tinker Bell, who is seen “flying” up and down the parade route, a full-scale Mack truck with Lightning McQueen in the back, and a perfectly whimsical Frozen float. The score even nods to the Main Street Electrical Parade, Disneyland's original nighttime parade.

Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration
Over 24 characters from your favorite Pixar movies come together for this daytime parade at California Adventure Park. Floats include characters from new movies like Turning Red, Soul, and Luca, along with classic Pixar friends from Up!, Monsters, Inc., Toy Story, and The Incredibles.

Nighttime Spectaculars
World of Color is the nighttime show at California Adventure, featuring colorful fountains and water projections set to Disney music. The show has seasonal overlays and changes periodically for current celebrations at the park. Disneyland Park’s nighttime fireworks display, Wondrous Journeys, is back for a limited time for Disneyland’s 70th anniversary. There are also several projection shows throughout the parks during the year, like the holiday overlay on the iconic clock facade of “it’s a small world.”

Character Interactions

Disneyland character interactions are what you’ve always dreamed they’d be. For one, many characters actually roam throughout the resort, so you can bump into your favorite Disney pals instead of waiting in a long line or being shuffled through a specified photo op location. The characters also tend to interact more with each other (even if they’re not from the same story), which can provide interesting and hilarious character interactions you won’t find at WDW. Plus, there are so many characters to meet! From Moana to Doctor Strange, you’ll have no problem filling up your autograph book.

One-of-a-Kind Attractions

Even if you’ve visited Disney World a lot and think you’ve seen it all, Disneyland offers many exclusive attractions and original (and, in our opinion, far superior) versions of classic rides compared to their counterparts at WDW. For instance, Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland only shares a few similarities with WDW. At Disneyland, the ride is longer, the drop is much taller, and different scenes are depicted. At “it’s a small world,” the iconic cuckoo clock facade is completely outside, making it one of the park's landmarks. On the ride, you’ll see doll versions of various Disney characters in their respective lands, like the newly-added Miguel and Dante from Coco in the South America room. Several original rides get seasonal overlays, like The Nightmare Before Christmas takeover of The Haunted Mansion, which occurs every August through December. Did we mention there’s a whole land dedicated to Marvel superheroes? You can interact with classic superheroes like Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, Thor, and even Deadpool at Avengers Campus. You can also take a drive through Radiator Springs from the Cars franchise.

Close to the Magic

Who wants to spend their vacation commuting? Disneyland and Disney California Adventure are less than a football field away from each other, allowing you to spend less time getting from place to place and more time enjoying the parks. You’ll definitely want the park hopper ticket—it’s so easy and convenient to pop back and forth between both theme parks! Due to its smaller scale, the resort is completely walkable, including all three Disneyland Resort hotels. There are many Disney Good Neighbor hotels within walking distance, too.

Preserving the Legacy

There’s something simply magical about walking down the same street Walt did every day. Nostalgic touches throughout the park pay homage to the park's early days and Walt Disney's legacy. In fact, a new show will premiere this summer featuring the first animatronic of Walt Disney, which will run alongside Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (which features the first animatronic Walt ever built). Disneyland Resort does an excellent job preserving its most loved attractions while updating them when it makes sense.

Disneyland Vacation Planning With Just Add Magic Travel

If you’re an avid Disney destination traveler and haven’t been to Disneyland—this is your sign! There is something so intrinsically special about Disneyland Resort, from its beautiful theming, the lovely weather, the laid-back vibe, and the compact footprint of the entire property. You can literally feel the love and care that was taken when planning this park. It’s something all Disney fans should experience in person at least once!
​
There’s never been a better time to plan your trip! Disneyland’s 70th anniversary runs now through summer 2026. Get your free Disneyland vacation quote here! For more Disneyland news and vacation planning tips, subscribe to our newsletter.