5. Fantasmic!

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Disney "nighttime spectaculars" have become so synonymous with a day at the parks, guests can queue for hours to grab a space. But after all these years, there's nothing that tops Fantasmic. The show – which debuted at Disneyland in 1992 – takes place on the Rivers of America, with guests seated around the river's southern bend with all eyes on Tom Saywer Island. The 22-minute spectacle combines water, light, projections, live characters, barges, and one of the most memorable scores ever written for a Disney Park into one massive, tear-enducing show.

Disney World got its own version in 1998, including the benefit of a purpose-built stadium and stage at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Unfortunately, the Florida version's "wins" end there, with the show relegating much of the action to water screens, updating the show to replace classic characters with Pocahontas and Aladdin, and lacking the two massive riverboats that Disneyland's Rivers of America location provides.

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To make matters even worse for Disney World, Disneyland's version was famously upgraded from 2007 to 2009, culiminating in the debut of one of the best Audio-Animatronics on Earth – a massive, firebreathing Maleficent dragon. And then, in 2017, while the Rivers of America were dammed for the construction of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, Imagineers took the opportunity to re-record the show's score, refine its story, and add new projection mapping effects to the island. While some fans dislike the newest iteration of the show, at least it's not stuck in 1998 with a dragon-head-on-a-pole like Disney World's.

Again, it's odd that Team Disney Orlando wouldn't "double-dip" on the development of projections and the Maleficent animatronic to plus their own show, but again, maybe without such a dependence on locals, they just don't have to!

6. Fantasyland classics

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When both Disneyland and Magic Kingdom opened, their Fantasylands were relatively simple: mirrored showbuildings built off of their respective castles to create inner courtyards, and pastel "tournament tent" style facades that lightly disguised those buildings as if at a Medieval or Renaissance faire. Walt was said to be frustrated by the end result, having wanted to build out a more charming, storybook tone for the land. 

His wishes came true long after his passing when, in 1983, Disneyland's Fantasyland was entirely closed with its opening day dark rides literally gutted. The Imagineer in charge, Tony Baxter, recalled seeing the facades and dark rides on his childhood torn out and wondering aloud, "What have we done?"

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But the "New Fantasyland" that debuted that year was every bit what Walt was picturing with each dark ride rebuilt to improve upon their 1955 versions: a cobblestone village of "Old World" European architecture, like a Tudor-style British hamlet containing Peter Pan's Flight, a stately red brick Toad Hall for Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, a dark Germanic castle for Snow White's Scary Adventures, and an Italian marionette theater for Pinocchio's Daring Journey.

Meanwhile, Disney World's Fantasyland maintained the tournament tent style for thirty more years. Of course, the New Fantasyland it eventually recieved was inspired more by the "Wizarding World" model (letting guests step into the world's of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, and Dumbo) rather than the European village look in California, so maybe it was worth the wait!

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Still, literally all (yes, all) of Fantasyland's dark rides have survived to today in Disneyland – even the Lost Legends: Snow White's Scary Adventures and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride that are long gone from Magic Kingdom (not to mention the dark rides Magic Kingdom never had to begin with, like Alice in Wonderland and Pinocchio's Daring Journey). 

7. California Adventure

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Okay, before you laugh, consider this. While Disney California Adventure may have had a really rocky start and may be making some odd choices today, the fact remains that Disney has never tackled a project the way they handled the reimagining of Disneyland's second gate. Even the transformations of Epcot don't match the scale or scope of California Adventure's transformation, which literally tore each of the park's lands to its thematic nuts and bolts and rebuilt them with entirely new stories.

Though you can read the incredible story of the park's transformation in our Disney's California Misadventure: Part I and Part II, the fact is that Disney opened a theme park with practically no rides, no Disney characters, and paper-thin lands whose sole purpose was to poke fun at modern California culture, celebrities, and Hollywood CEOs. Lacking the heart and romance people expect from Disney, the park underwent a 5-year, billion-dollar rebuild that wasn't just about new attractions, but a new identity. The resulting park feels like a complement to Disneyland, born of the same basic idea: romanticized, idealized lands that transport guests to historic times and places.

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Is California Adventure the best Disney Park on Earth? Of course not. But it's story is a triumphant one; a park of beautiful themed lands like Buena Vista Street, Grizzly Peak, Pacific Wharf, and yes, even Pixar Pier. And lest we forget, California Adventure's ride count will work out to 20 – more than any pairing of Disney World's non-castle parks combined. 

8. Haunted Mansion Holiday

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Every year from the start of the Halloween season through the New Year, Disneyland's Haunted Mansion is seized by Jack Skellington and the cast of The Nightmare Before Christmas. The Touchstone stop-motion film has become a cult classic, and the "spirited" overlay of the Haunted Mansion has likewise become an annual tradition.

The stately plantation is decked in thousands and thousands of candles and pumpkins. But there's so much more. Inside, the entire house is completely reimagined as Jack and friends "wreck the halls," adding Nightmare twists to every hallway and room. Madame Leota recites the "13 Night of Christmas," the ballroom becomes a spectacular Christmas party around a real gingerbread house (whose annual design fans eagerly wait to see... and smell), and the graveyard is transformed into a singalong with Audio-Animatronics of Jack, Sally, and the nefarious Oogie Boogie.

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Haunted Mansion Holiday has been a part of Disneyland since 2001, and began at Tokyo Disneyland in 2004. After so many years, some fans call for the end of the yearly takeover (after all, it's been nearly 20 years since Disneyland guests have been able to ride the real Haunted Mansion on Halloween). Maybe it's time. Meanwhile, Walt Disney World fans would love for such a detailed, spectacular, and original overlay to their Haunted Mansion... but since so many Disney World guests visit once every few years or even once in a lifetime, seasonal overlays are generally avoided. After all, if it's your only visit to Magic Kingdom for the decade, you want to see the real Haunted Mansion, not a character overlay of it.