Many Disney Guests hope to visit every Disney theme park around the globe at some point in their lifetime. There are six Disney Resorts around the World. They are:
- Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, consists of two Disney Parks – Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park
- Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, consists of four Disney Parks – Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom
- Tokyo Disney Resort in Tokyo, Japan, consists of two Disney Parks – Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea
- Disneyland Paris in Paris, France, consists of two Disney Parks – Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park
- Hong Kong Disneyland Park in Penny’s Bay, Hong Kong
- Shanghai Disneyland Park in Shanghai, China
When visiting the different Disney Parks, you will experience some attractions typical to many Disney theme parks. However, part of visiting other Disney Parks is riding different attractions.
Are you a regular Guest at the Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort? You may be an Annual Passholder. Alternatively, you regularly take a Disney vacation to one of the Disney Resorts. Whether you consider your home Resort as the Disneyland Resort or you are a regular at the Walt Disney World Resort, when visiting the other Disney Park area, you may be drawn to the attractions that you can’t experience in the other.
The Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort share many attractions and experiences. However, several attractions are unique to each Disney Resort. Here, we consider the Disney attractions you won’t find in the Disneyland Resort but can experience in the Walt Disney World Resort. Let’s take a look.
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Known as the icon of Disney’s Hollywood Studios, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror used to be a Disneyland Resort attraction. However, the attraction was rethemed in 2017 to suit the transformation of Hollywood Land to Avengers Campus. Therefore, to ‘cross over into The Twilight Zone,’ you must visit Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Lake Buena Vista.
Sunset Boulevard is home to the Hollywood Tower Hotel in the Walt Disney World Resort. Explore the grounds of the deserted hotel before entering the grand lobby. From there, you will be directed into the library and then to the boiler room. Soon enough, you’ll board a maintenance service elevator that is still in operation and waiting for you. Will you leave the deserted hotel, or will you become a permanent resident of The Twilight Zone?
Test Track
Have you ever wanted to design and test your own car for its efficiency, capability, responsiveness, and power? Test Track in EPCOT allows you to do such a thing. You’ll design your Chevrolet Custom Concept Vehicle before boarding a Sim-Car. The majority of the Disney ride is indoors. The sim-car guides you along the SimTrack, where you will experience a series of vehicle tests. Power is the final test, where you will exit the building, and accelerate around the track, reaching a top speed of around 64.9 miles per hour.
Test Track may be compared to the Radiator Springs Racers in the Disney California Adventure theme park. However, the Disney attractions are very different. Radiator Springs Racers is mostly outside, allowing you to enjoy an idyllic drive around Ornament Valley. When riding Radiator Springs Racers, you will experience a section of acceleration. However, you will only reach a maximum speed of 40 miles per hour.
Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress
The Walt Disney World Resort is home to Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress. You’ll find the lengthy attraction in Tomorrowland in Magic Kingdom Park. Travel through the 20th Century in a rotating theater while watching an audio-animatronic take show. While riding, Guests follow a family over four generations, demonstrating the progress in technology and how it transforms their lives. Throughout the Disney ride, you can enjoy the Sherman Brothers’ classic song, ‘There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow’.
The Disney attraction was an idea that Walt Disney had for a new area of Disneyland Park called Edison Square. It featured in the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair, where it was called ‘Progressland.’ The Disney attraction was a success at the World’s Fair, so it was moved to Disneyland Park and renamed ‘The Carousel of Progress.’ However, in 1975, it was then moved to Magic Kingdom Park, where it has been since. So, while you could once enjoy the classic attraction in Disneyland Resort, you can now only enjoy it in the Walt Disney World Resort.
Avatar Flight of Passage & Na’Vi River Journey
Pandora – The World of Avatar is a unique Disney land in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. As such, you won’t be able to experience it in any other Disney Resort worldwide. What was once Camp Minnie-Mickey is now a beautiful area filled with floating mountains, glowing fauna, and an abundance of foliage. While exploring the Valley of Mo’ara, you’ll come across several dining locations, a shop, and two Disney attractions.
Avatar Flight of Passage allows you to ride on the back of a banshee and take a breathtaking flight over Pandora. 3D glasses will enable you to see the beauty of Pandora, while the ride vehicle provides the feeling of flying and the smell of the landscape you are experiencing. Meanwhile, the Na’Vi River Journey takes you deep into the bioluminescent rainforest of Pandora. Board a boat that will allow you to experience the full beauty of the stunning and mysterious river. The rainforest comes alive as you venture deeper into it.
Frozen Ever After
The EPCOT World Showcase attraction allows Guests to voyage through Arendelle on a Nordic vessel. Enjoy your favorite Frozen (2013) songs as you pass beloved characters on your way to Elsa’s ice castle. Frozen Ever After is located in the Norway Pavilion in World Showcase. While it was once a Disney ride that told a mythological story of Norway’s Viking days, called Maelstrom, the attraction was overhauled in 2016 to bring a Frozen-inspired ride to the Walt Disney World Resort.
In addition to Frozen Ever After, the Royal Sommerhus was also added to the Norway Pavilion in EPCOT. It provides the perfect location to meet Anna and Elsa before or after your ride on Frozen Ever After. While you can meet Anna and Elsa in Disney California Adventure Park, you can’t experience a Frozen-themed ride.
DINOSAUR
Disney’s Animal Kingdom is the place to board a Time Rover and travel back to prehistoric times. DINOSAUR is located in DinoLand U.S.A., and is an attraction based on the Disney movie, Dinosaur (2000). It is one of two attractions found in the Disney land. Embark on a secret mission with a paleontologist to bring back an Iguanodon to the present time. Will you make it before a meteor shower strikes and the dinosaurs become extinct?
DINOSAUR is often considered a scary ride among Disney Guests. The dark ride brings you face-to-face with various dinosaurs, including the giant Carnotaurus. However, the ride is a must to experience if you are a regular Guest of the Disneyland Resort, as you won’t find anything like it in Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park.
TRON Lightcycle/Run
TRON Lightcycle/Run is the newest Disney attraction to open in the Walt Disney World Resort. You’ll find it in Tomorrowland, and it is currently operating to Guests who have an Individual Lightning Lane Entry or those who have successfully joined the Virtual Queue and have a boarding group. The Disney ride is almost identical to TRON Lightcycle Power Run that can be found in Shanghai Disneyland.
When experiencing TRON Lightcycle/Run, you will ride on a motorbike based around the lightcycles in TRON: Legacy (2010). Join Team Blue and race across the Grid, traveling up to 60 miles per hour. We recommend riding during the day and night. You’ll enjoy a slightly different experience in the light and dark.
Kali River Rapids
Florida is known for its high temperatures, sunny days, and humidity. As such, many Guests welcome the opportunity to cool off by riding a water ride. Since the closing of Splash Mountain, Kali River Rapids is the only water ride where Guests can get soaked in Lake Buena Vista. The thrilling whitewater adventure takes you around Asia in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, ending with a 20-foot drop. Unfortunately, Kali River Rapids tells the devastating story of our current world, where animal habitats are being destroyed due to deforestation and overuse of the land.
While Kali River Rapids is experienced at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Grizzly River Run is a similar attraction in Disney California Adventure. Both Disney attractions offer Guests the chance to ride in large rafts that drift along a river before a thrilling descent that is bound to cause a splash!
The Barnstormer
In Magic Kingdom Park, Goofy has his very own attraction. You’ll board Goofy’s homemade stunt airplane before taking to the skies above Storybook Circus. The junior roller coaster is perfect for Guests of all ages, particularly younger Guests who are embarking on their first roller coaster ride. You’ll find it at the back of Fantasyland, near Dumbo the Flying Elephant.
The Barnstormer could be compared to Chip ‘n’ Dale’s GADGETcoaster in Mickey’s Toontown in Disneyland Park. Both attractions have the same height limit of 35 inches. However, in Chip ‘n’ Dale’s GADGETcoaster, Guests sit in hollowed-out ‘acorns’ to ride.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is the newest Disney attraction to have opened in EPCOT theme park. Unlike Guardians of the Galaxy- Mission: BREAKOUT, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is a thrilling reverse-launch coaster that takes Guests on a chase through space. The Walt Disney World attraction is one of the world’s largest full-enclosed coasters that rotates 360 degrees offering Guests a view of all the action. Your ride experience will be accompanied by one of six songs, offering a varied experience each time you ride. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is available to Guests with Individual Lightning Lane Entry or a Virtual Queue boarding group.
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Have you ever wanted to enter the Seven Dwarfs mine? You have the opportunity to do so in Magic Kingdom Park. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is currently the most popular attraction in the Disney Park. Located in Fantasyland, you board a mine train that races through the mine while the Seven Dwarfs work. Throughout the ride, you’ll climb steep inclines, rush down the other side, and navigate hairpin turns in a swaying mine cart. Prepare to wait in the long but interactive line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, but we’re sure the wait will be worth it to experience this one-of-a-kind family roller coaster.
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is featured in two Disney theme parks. The original attraction is in the Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris and is named Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy. The second attraction, a copy of the original, can be experienced at EPCOT in the Walt Disney World Resort. Embark on a 4D adventure through Remy’s kitchen in the France Pavilion in World Showcase. You’ll be amazed as the rat vehicle moves through the attraction without a track. While the trackless ride might feel familiar to Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventures offers a different ride experience you won’t want to miss.
Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover
While Tomorrowland is an area of the Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World, the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover is unique to Lake Buena Vista. Take a guided tour of Tomorrowland that offers birds-eye views of the land and a memorable ride through some favorite Disney attractions. The 10-minute tour can be enjoyed throughout the day and is the perfect way to rest your legs. While we enjoy riding the Disney attraction during the day, we adore the views of Tomorrowland when riding at night.Â
Are you planning a Disney vacation at the Walt Disney World Resort soon? Do you generally visit the Disneyland Resort rather than Lake Buena Vista? Make sure these Disney attractions are included in your plans. You won’t be able to experience them in California!
