How does “Sin City” stack up against “The Happiest Place on Earth”?

We’re all familiar with Las Vegas’ slogan “What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas.”  

How would you end the phrase “What Happens in Disneyland…”?  Maybe “You’ll Treasure in Memory Always!” or “Ain’t Cheap!” or “Is MAGIC baby!”.  But you certainly wouldn’t be afraid if word of what happened there got out. 

While Vegas would really like for it to be a “bad boy” town - except for gambling, there isn’t much special about Vegas - beyond the decorations meant to bring you inside.  Here’s our breakdown of the reason Disneyland, for adults without children, is a much better bet than Las Vegas.
 

First, Las Vegas is based on gambling.  There are pros and cons to that.  Gambling can be fun - but when you’re through gambling, or if you don’t gamble, there’s a problem.  The resorts don’t want to provide TOO MUCH to do besides gambling, because nothing is as lucrative as taking your money for a chance to throw the dice.  There may be nice water displays, there may be a neat tower, but because the resorts need you gambling as much as possible, they can’t give you too much else to do.  This even reduces the # of television channels available to you in Las Vegas hotels!

 At Disneyland, in contrast, the entire goal is to give you wonderful memories.  Since they’re in the business of giving you great experiences and great memories, you’ll find special care taken to details that aren’t putting money back into the till.  They improve your individual experience.

Secondly, the cost of Disneyland vs. the cost of playing in Las Vegas makes Disneyland a real value.  In Las Vegas, besides gambling, you can enjoy high priced shows - take Menopause: The Musical at the Las Vegas Hilton - $55 for a 2 hour show.  Or celebrity impersonators at The Imperial Palace for $50 for a couple hours of “enjoyment”.  And that’s AFTER spending all day plunking money down to roll the dice.  Consider a one day/one park adult admission to Disneyland: you enjoy 16 hours (8am to 12am) among 45+ rides (summit the matterhorn in a bobsled, ride a runaway mining car through mountains and cliffs, sail with pirates, etc.), you can meet characters, listen to a barbershop quartet or jazz musicians in New Orleans Square.  You can ride a real steam locomotive.  You can view elaborate parades, and shows.  At night, you can see a spectactular fireworks event.  Disneyland.  With Disneyland you get SOOOO much more with your money.

After the cost, let’s look at atmosphere/environment.  Outside - Vegas is in the middle of a dessert.  There is little/nothing to do outside of Vegas.  Water has to be pumped in from hundreds of miles away.  People don’t go hiking.  People don’t go camping out there.  There’s nothing outside of Vegas.  Inside: While there are some pretty murals, fountains, etc - the majority of the square footage in the casinos is devoted to smoke filled rooms filled with banks of machines.  If the smoke wasn’t bad enough, the incessant “ding ding ding” of the machines (even if noone is sitting at them) is annoying and constant - no matter which casino you go to.  Now granted, gambling can be fun for many people, but it can’t be fun to be breathing second hand smoke all day, or to hear “ding ding ding” about as loud as when your tv is on at home.

Compare the outside of Vegas to the outside of Anaheim:  You’ve got great weather (don’t go to Vegas in summer!), you’ve got access to the beach.  You’re within a short driving distance to San Diego and Los Angeles.  The environment of Disneyland has a greater variety of sights, smells and sounds than those of Vegas.  There’s a fresh yet musty smell of the pirate’s lagoon on the Pirates of the Carribean, the smells of candy along Main Street USA.  There are unique and different sounds no matter where you go in Disneyland - “Remain Seated Please, Permanaced Sentados Por Favor” while getting on the Matterhorn bobsleds.  I’ll take that over “ding ding ding ding ding” everyday.

After range of activities, cost and environment, the final comparison I’d make is SOUL.  Las Vegas may have had a soul at one time.  I’m afraid it was buried in the desert by mobsters long ago.  Today there are Elvis impersonators, fake Dean Martins and Sammy Davis Jr. look-a-likes.  The Las Vegas monuments don’t stand for anything - the Stratosphere, the Eiffel Tower of the Paris casino, the pyramid of the MGM Grand, or the fountains of the Bellagio.  They don’t *mean* anything - they’re just pretty - built by the incredible money to be made by giving someone back $0.95 when they give you $1.00.  On giving them back $0.89 when they give you the $0.95.

Disneyland has a deep soul.  It has the REAL LIFE Cindarella, Mickey Mouse and Pluto.  Honest.  Its monuments of the Matterhorn, Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, the Disneyland Railroad - they surround a little statue of a man holding the hand of a mouse.  Walt Disney says it best when he says, (of Disneyland and its soul):

“To all that come to this happy place: welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America… with hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.”

You can keep your “What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas”.