Disneyland More Popular than Walt Disney World? Technically.

According to the O.C. Register, Walt Disney World, on average, had a lower rise in attendance than the Disneyland Resort did this year.

DCA's World of Color

This is probably because California Adventure's opening of "World of Color," the terrific new nightly water show.

Or it's because Disneyland is better, at least as a concise Disney park. I've always held this theory, but numbers don't lie, and they say that I'm right.

Other speculation is that WDW attendance is being siphoned off  by the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter section at Universal's Islands of Adventure. This is probably also true. If it is, it wont last for long. Disney World will eventually open something that far outshines the wannabe Fantasyland "world" at the Universal park.

But look at the statistics on how the opening of the Wizarding World at Universal and the opening of "World of Color" at DCA. According to the OC Register's article, "Universal Orlando’s attendance jumped 36 percent since the opening of the Harry Potter-themed attractions in June" while according to Bob Iger, President of Disney, "California Adventure had a 20-percent leap in attendance since the debut of the “World of Color” show in June."



"World of Color" is a integral part of the DCA update happening in California, but it's not the main feature. Over at Universal, "Harry Potter" is their big shebang, their E-ticket attraction. It's the big thing getting people to walk through their gates. But it only raised Universal's attendance 16 percent more than a nightly water show, that can only be experienced twice in a single day for about 40 minutes total. I think that says a lot about the attractiveness of the things Disney does and thow Universal does things.   

"Harry Potter" world will always attract people, but it will never be comparable to anything Disney does. Attendance will even out, and WDW will reign supreme once again. With the rumors of an Australia section coming to Wild Animal Kingdom or a reproduction of DCA's soon to be opened Cars Land at Hollywood Studios, Universal's Islands of Adventure will once again be a footnote to WDW in Orlando.

Happy 109th Birthday, Walt Disney!

Today marks what would be Walt Disney's 109th birthday. By now, he would have passed away from old age, but sadly, Walt only lived to be to be 65 and 10 days, dying from lung cancer after a life full of chain smoking.

Walt still managed to do some amazing things in a what seemed by many, a life cut short. His achievements include the first sound cartoon, bringing color to cartoons, the first feature length animated film, building Disneyland, buying the land in Orlando, and overseeing the plans for EPCOT, which was never built as Walt wanted it.

One of the best ways to thoroughly learn about Walt's life is to visit the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. I have written a blog post about it in the past, and hope to go back when I am back home for winter break.

It's an odd coincidence that 10 days from now, on December 15, it will mark the anniversary of Walt's death. He died only 10 days after his 65th birthday, having come down with lung cancer, which he had only known about for a short time. But we'll discuss his death more when that day comes. Today is the day to celebrate his birth, and life, and what he did during those 65 years and 10 days.

As I have discussed at length, and will discuss even more, I was at Disneyland for 5 days a few weeks ago. Besides visiting the Family Museum, this is the the best way to explore what Walt loved about life. It was his personal utopia, built to be as close to perfection as possible. A place for both the young and old; not just for children, as many people seem to think. It's a place he loved so much, he would often sleep over there, a place he was an integral part of since day one of construction. A place that frustrated him when the surrounding area was developed by less than classy establishments.

To really celebrate Walt's life, to really walk in his shoes, you have to walk through Disneyland. So today, we celebrate Walt's life, and his greatest achievement, Disneyland.

Happy Birthday, Walt.