Celebrate Happy and History: Disneyland Attractions You Can No Longer Experience at Walt Disney World
While Walt Disney World has the luxury of size, spanning approximately 27,000 acres, Disneyland and its much smaller 500 acre resort has managed to hold on to several classic attractions that no longer exist in Florida. Just ahead of Disneyland’s official 70th birthday, I think it’s time to brag about the amazing attractions still found at Disneyland that can no longer be found at Magic Kingdom.
Tomorrow, July 17th, Disneyland officially celebrates 70 years of magical Disney Parks memories. Since its opening in 1955, the original magic kingdom has served as inspiration for Disney resorts around the world. In many ways, Disneyland was an experiment, and Walt Disney was quickly unhappy with the development surrounding the park. Motels, restaurants, and other buildings quickly rose around the park’s success, which Walt considered to be visually obstructive to the immersion of Disneyland.
Jumping into his next adventure, Walt would learn from this mistake, snatching up an unprecedented amount of land in Florida that would eventually become Walt Disney World. Opening in 1971, Magic Kingdom served as an updated version of Disneyland, replicating the spoke-and-wheel design and nearly all of the Disneyland’s lands. While much larger in scale to its California counterpart, especially with the iconic Cinderella Castle, Magic Kingdom featured many of the same experiences found at Disneyland. Both parks have grown and evolved in the 54 years since Magic Kingdom’s opening day, including attraction closures and replacements.
While Disneyland is essentially landlocked, with very little room to expand, the park has managed to include nearly double the amount of attractions as Magic Kingdom. As it stands today Disneyland has squeezed 52 attractions across its 85 acres, with Magic Kingdom sitting at only 28 attractions within its significantly larger 105 acres. Some of that can be attributed to Walt Disney World choosing to expand with additional theme parks and water parks, however, Magic Kingdom has still received additions, many at the expense of other attractions.
Somehow, Disneyland fails to struggle with this exact problem. Creatively curating attractions to fit in around the park, Disneyland is decorated with experiences of Disney’s past and present, many of which were long abandoned at Project X. As the resort celebrates 70 years of memories, it’s time for Disneyland fans to revel in their superiority as the original Disney Park. So, let’s take a look at some of the classic experiences you can find at Disneyland that you can no longer experience at Magic Kingdom.
Rivers of America
Disneyland Opening: July 17th, 1955
Magic Kingdom Opening: October 1st, 1971
Magic Kingdom Closure: July 6th, 2025
Replacement: Magic Kingdom’s Rivers of America was permanently shuttered to be transformed into the new Cars-themed Piston Peak expansion of Frontierland. The area is set to honor America’s national parks. While the new area won’t take up the entire Rivers of America plot, it is expected the back half will become the new Disney Villains land.
Tom Sawyer Island
Disneyland Opening: June 16th, 1956
Magic Kingdom Opening: May 20th, 1973
Magic Kingdom Closure: July 6th, 2025
Replacement: Similarly to Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island has been shuttered in favor of the new Cars and Disney Villains themed areas.
Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes
Disneyland Opening: July 4th, 1956
Magic Kingdom Opening: October 1st, 1971
Magic Kingdom Closure: 1994
Replacement: Nothing replaced the attraction, as it utilized the Rivers of America.
Snow White
Disneyland Opening: July 17th, 1955
Magic Kingdom Opening: October 1st, 1971
Magic Kingdom Closure: May 31st, 2012
Replacement: While Snow White has been reimagined to not be “Scary" anymore at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom removed their version of the attraction as a part of the New Fantasyland project. The area is now home to Princess Fairytale Hall, a permanent indoor meet and greet location for Disney Princesses.
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
Disneyland Opening: July 17th, 1955
Magic Kingdom Opening: October 1st, 1971
Magic Kingdom Closure: September 7th, 1998
Replacement: Magic Kingdom’s two track version of the attraction was beloved by Disney fans, but was shuttered in favor of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. A similar version of the attraction also found a home at Disneyland, which, unfortunately, replaced Country Bear Jamboree.
Mickey’s Toontown
Disneyland Opening: January 24th, 1993
Magic Kingdom Opening: June 18th, 1988
Magic Kingdom Closure: February 11th, 2011
Replacement: Similarly to Snow White, Mickey’s Toontown Fair was closed as part of the New Fantasyland Project. Replaced with Storybook Circus, the area now houses the doubled Dumbo attraction, the Casey Jr. Splash ‘n’ Soak Station, a rethemed Barnstormer, Big Top Souvenirs, and Pete’s Silly Sideshow.
Submarine Voyage
Disneyland Opening: June 14th, 1959
Magic Kingdom Opening: October 14th, 1971
Magic Kingdom Closure: September 5th, 1994
Replacement: The area has seen several changes over the years. After being filled in, the Ariel’s Grotto meet and greet area operated from 1996-2004, before being replaced by Pooh’s Playful Spot from 2005-2010. The area is now home to the incredibly popular Seven Dwarfs Mine Train attraction. I do want to note that Disneyland’s version of the attraction did have a nearly 20 year closure before it was reimagined from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea to Finding Nemo, with Magic Kingdom’s attraction running for 6 years after its 1988 closure.
While this is all in good fun, as Magic Kingdom is a spectacular theme park with amazing world-class attractions, Disneyland will always be the best place to honor the magical traditions that have made Disney Parks worldwide so special. Now, if only they would bring back the PeopleMover…
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