With Walt Disney World shifting in 2025, Disneyland may be the park to check out in the coming year!
There's been a buzz about how Walt Disney World may not be as fun to visit in 2025. With scores of attractions being planned for every one of the parks, there's going to be more construction walls going up than major fun.
That includes Big Thunder Mountain closed for the entire year, Animal Kingdom set to get rid of DinoLand USA and the seemingly never-ending stuff at EPCOT. Toss in anything from the awesome Stormalong Bay pool area closing until summer and the crowds for festivals, and it's hampering a lot of vacation plans for Florida.
This is why Disney fans may instead want to look toward California, as it seems Disneyland will be the park to check out more. It's not just a huge anniversary event but other factors that suddenly make the West Coast a bigger vacation opportunity.
The 70th Anniversary will be a big deal
The last time Disneyland hit a big anniversary was the 65th of the park opening. Sadly, that was in 2020, so thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the park was closed. So Disney is hoping to make up for it as 2025 sees the 70th anniversary taking place.
The early concept art looks fun, a bit laid-back in a way, and has a serious 1990s vibe, which was a fun era for the park. We don't know more details of special parades or shows but the merchandising will doubtless be plentiful.
It's also just the fun of visiting Disneyland in an anniversary year to become part of the park's history. That alone makes California a top spot to check out for 2025.
The rides are better and open
There's always been the fun debate of Disney park buffs on whether Florida or California can be better. Most will agree that the majority of rides tend to be better in California, from classics like Pirates of the Caribbean to Peter Pan.
Not to mention, they have scores of rides Florida doesn't like Mr. Toad, Radiator Springs Racers, and Spider-Man: Web Slingers. Best of all, while a few rides may have periodic downtimes for refurbishments, at least Disneyland has Big Thunder Mountain open and adding stuff like the special Walt Disney: A Magical Life show.
A few rides, like their Indiana Jones attraction, just underwent a major refurbishment to be better than ever. They'll also be keeping their Rivers of America to pull folks in and retain the classic Disney park feel.
In other words, 2025 has WDW packed with construction walls, noise, and a lot of chaos, whereas Disneyland offers actual rides and attractions, so it's easy to see why folks will want to go there.
It's much easier to get around
It's no secret WDW can be pretty daunting for visitors. There are four theme parks, Disney Springs, a myriad of hotels, and more. It's so much that trying to fit it all in less than a week can be almost impossible and a reason some folks may be wary of trying.
Compare that to Disneyland. It's only two parks, both offering amazing stuff to last a day in each at least with its own Downtown area. You can walk from one park to the other and the hotels (both Disney and non-Disney) are close enough that you're minutes away from all the fun.
It's a key reason Disneyland retains its popularity; you don't need to make this a trek on par with a mountain hiking journey to do it. Even with costs in California a bit higher than in Florida, a few days at Disney feels like a bargain compared to the arduous needs of Florida.
Get there before the additions start
Maybe the best reason to visit Disneyland in 2025 is to get there before they start their own big construction changes. The Disneyland Forward project seems to be moving ahead, expanding both Magic Kingdom and California Adventure with new attractions.
D23 revealed the planned additions: An Avatar land (which has a different theme than in DAK), a Coco boat ride, and major additions to Avengers Campus with a dark ride. That's likely going to wait until after the 70th-anniversary stuff, with Disney no doubt hoping to get all this opened by the time the 75th rolls around in 2030.
In other words, this is the time to hit Disneyland before they're the ones overwhelmed with construction walls and rides closed for extended periods. That alone makes it a lot more appealing than walking around Florida parks where the walls get more attention than any rides.
There are always going to be folks who prefer Florida over California, yet between the anniversary and the lack of massive construction, Disneyland is likely going to be a lot more enticing to folks in 2025, and why it should be topping more vacation lists.
Where will your next Disney trip be?