7. Indiana Jones

So you want to partner up with Indiana Jones on an adventure. Which coast — Florida or California — gives you the best experience? The good news is, in my opinion, both resorts offer a top-notch experience…and both are completely different. Let’s start with Disneyland in Anaheim.

 Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye is one of those attractions that was a game-changer when it opened in 1995. It incorporated new technology that made the vehicles bounce around rather than building a roller coaster-like track that rattles the riders. Similar technology is found on the Dinosaur ride in Orlando’s Animal Kingdom, but it’s not done nearly as well.

To create the ride, Imagineers actually had to exit the park….in fact, the ride is out where the Eeyore parking lot used to exist. (Apparently, there’s a tribute to Eeyore on a back wall in the queue area.) It’s a solid half mile walk through the queue to get you out to the attraction. The good news is it’s a well-themed and interactive queue that helps set the stage. (That said, I’ve never fully experienced the queue as I always use Fastpass, so I’ve missed out on some of the fun gadgets, like feeling like the ceiling is collapsing when pulling a key in one of the rooms.)

Reading on Wikipedia, I learned that there’s a whole story attached to the ride, which I’ve never known but is quite fascinating. Not that you need to know it to enjoy the ride, but essentially, Indy’s funds are running low, so he’s allowing tourists (you) a chance to enter his latest dig to see it. And Indy has been lost in there for a week, so you’re trying to help find him, which you do at the end. It is a rip-roaring rollicking ride that is one of Disney’s best…and counts as one of the main reasons to visit Disneyland even if you regularly visit Disney World.

 That said, if I could only experience one Disney Indiana Jones attraction, I’d choose Orlando. I’d say nine of ten Disney fans would completely disagree with me, but that’s OK…this is my blog. ☺

Hollywood Studios in Orlando has a half-hour Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular show which I absolutely love. I guess I’m a sucker for a great stunt show….and this one is awesome, partly because it’s themed around a movie series that is one of Hollywood’s best and is known for its amazing stunts. It opened just a few days before I left on my mission in 1989…as such, it has become a bit dated, which is a major complaint of regular Disney visitors to the park. But it has the rolling ball, spikes coming out of the floor, a great bazaar fight scene, as well as a large moving airplane and exploding cargo truck.

Both Indiana Jones attractions offered by Disney are “10+” in my book and should be experienced when visiting the respective parks. But if I was given an option to experience only one of them today, I’d choose the stunt show in Orlando.

6. Disney Railroads

When it comes to the Disney Railroads, Disneyland in Anaheim easily wins.

Both parks' railroads are a great way to get around the park, especially when you need a lift to another "land" and don't want to walk.  Both parks' railroads give you a sneak peak at the finale scene in Splash Mountain...which is great if you have kids who are scared to go on Splash Mountain and its intimidating final splashdown but would like to see some of the attraction.

But Disneyland wins for two reasons:

For starters, it has four stations instead of three.  That means it is a more convenient means of transportation for weary travelers as there are more getting-on and getting-off points.  (Both parks have a stop on Main Street and one at the "8 o clock" position of the park if you consider the park as it relates to a clock....in Disneyland, that's New Orleans Square and in Florida, it's at Frontierland.  They both have one in the Toontown / Fantasyland quadrant.  The difference is only Anaheim has a stop in Tomorrowland.)

But the big difference is Disneyland has a diorama between Tomorrowland and Main Street that doesn't exist in Disney World.  It's divided into two section:  the first is a look at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon (not sure how that fits with the theming of anything, but hey, at least it's something cool to look at!)  Then, you move on to see a diorama with dinosaurs known as Primeval World.  While perhaps not an "E-ticket"-worthy attraction, it's a nice little viewing bonus and beats just looking at a housing area for the parade floats.

And since Florida doesn't offer these two dioramas on its trains, Disneyland steams ahead to another victory in the competition of Disneyland vs. Disney World.

5. it's a small world

Perhaps it's fitting in keeping with the ride's theme of happiness and world peace, but I can't declare a winner as to which resort has the best it's a small world attraction.  They both have unique elements that I like, and I enjoy the different experience found at each park.

If you were to conduct a poll among Disney fans, I would guess that most would say that the original version in Disneyland is superior to its Florida cousin.  But the one thing that I really like about the ride in Orlando is that the attraction floats through a "flooded room" vs. going through on a canal-like flume track. In other words, at Disney World, there's water for as far as the eye can see.  That alone almost makes me like Disney World's version more than Disneyland's.  The canal approach feels very dated and clunky.

The Disney World version also loads inside (though the line can stretch beyond that area) which is a nice plus.

But Disneyland's version has the huge facade that welcomes you to the attraction, featuring the clock that celebrates the arrival of each quarter hour as if it's New Year's Eve.  Plus, it almost feels like it's a small world is an entire themed land unto itself as it is certainly a stand-alone attraction.  (In Orlando, it feels very much like it has been shoved into a corner and can even be overlooked by guests.)  Disneyland also has an additional twist which some love and some purists howl about.  A few years ago, Disney added some characters from Disney animated movies into some of the scenes.  So, for example, the Little Mermaid, Pinocchio and Woody make appearances.  Personally, I like their presence and don't feel it's layering on a commercial plug.  Guests attend Disney parks because they like Disney characters, after all.  It makes a fun game to play, too, while sailing through to see if you can spot the Disney characters.

So no winner will be declared with this attraction...beyond the guests themselves (OK, that's a little sappy, but so is the attraction itself...which is why I like it). It will forever be a multiple ride attraction for me whenever I visit either Disneyland or the Magic Kingdom in Orlando.

Thoughts? Do you think one is better than the other?