American cartoonist Walt Disney’s vision and creativity established a cartoon dynasty, beginning in the early to middle part of the twentieth century. This dynasty culminated in the development of Disneyland, America’s first theme park, in Anaheim, California. Disney opened the park in 1955 and it became an immediate success. Disney, however, was not satisfied and decided to develop yet another theme park, this one much larger and far more ambitious. While the basic difference between Disney World and Disneyland is location – Disneyland is located in Anaheim, California, while Disney World is located outside Orlando, Florida – the greater differences between the two parks range anywhere from creative vision to day-to-day operations.

Disney World and Disneyland are based on similar ideas: providing the general public with an escape from reality, a place where imagination reigns supreme. It was with this vision that Walt Disney conceived the idea of Disneyland. After the theme park was built, however, Disney realized a fundamental problem in the park’s design when he spotted a cowboy from one section of the park wandering through the futuristic Tomorrowland. It ruined the fantasy for Disney, and so he resolved to build another park, one that solved the problems of the original.

One of the fundamental differences between Disney World and Disneyland is in the park’s day to day operations. Disney World was designed to avoid the very problem Walt Disney spotted with the cowboy walking through Tomorrowland; a series of tunnels was built beneath Disney World, allowing workers to move from one area of the park to another without being spotted by guests. Disney World and Disneyland are both based on the fantastic, and so Disney sought to avoid such mix-ups that would allow visitors to be taken out of the fantastic world.

Disney World and Disneyland both share Walt Disney’s creativity and imagination, but Disney himself only saw Disneyland come to fruition. He died before construction on Disney World had even begun, and his brother Roy took charge to see that the park got built. While Disney World and Disneyland both share Disney’s vision, Disney World is far larger and contains many more different facets to the resort; for example, the Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, and MGM Studios are all part of the Disney World complex, while Disneyland is far smaller and encompasses far fewer distinct sections. Disney World is billed as a collection of parks and resort, while Disneyland is billed as a much smaller park.