1. Pirates of the Caribbean

This one is no contest….Disneyland’s version is so much better that I almost don’t even like going on the one at Magic Kingdom at WDW. Quite simply, the tranquil bayou at the first of the Disneyland version makes it far superior to Florida’s version. It really sets the stage, too.

I’ve always felt that the premise is you are out for a peaceful float in the bayou and essentially take a wrong turn that dumps you into the pirate world. At WDW, you simply jump right in and it makes no sense. And, if memory serves, Disneyland is the only version that has my favorite scene: the pirate ships shooting at each other, with water/light fountains creating the effect of the cannonball shells hitting the water.

I also prefer having the “lift” at the end of Disneyland to get the boats back up to the main level…it plays to the premise that you entered some pirate underworld, but need to go up to get back out. My understanding is that Pirates wasn’t slated for Orlando but after it proved so popular in Anaheim that they worked it in later. But in so doing, they didn’t have as much space and had to skimp a bit.