Beyond WDW —› Disneyland 101 (California)

Okay, well, I definitely like Walt Disney World better than Disneyland in California. It's a no-brainer for me which one I'd like to visit. However, Disneyland can be a better choice for:
-Folks who live near the West Coast.
-Folks who are going to be in Southern California anyway
-Anyone who's looking for a more compact park experience to limit the amount of walking required
-Disney fanatics who can't get enough of Disney just visiting Orlando

Disneyland offers two parks - Disneyland itself (akin to Magic Kingdom) and California Adventure (a unique park with no single sister park in Orlando). Both parks are connected by Downtown Disney, which is very different from Downtown Disney in Orlando.

Disneyland is located in Anaheim, which is between Los Angeles (to the north) and San Diego (to the south). You'll probably want to rent a car because you'll want to see and experience Southern California while you're there.

The maximum number of days you'll spend at Disneyland is about three. In contrast, it probably takes nine days at Walt Disney World (though I've never personally tried the "Do It All" challenge in Orlando). At Disneyland, a typical three day itinerary would be to visit Disneyland Park on Day One, California Adventure on Day Two, and combine both parks on Day Three to cover what you missed on the first shot (and re-experience your favorite rides as well).

Disney offers three official hotels onsite: Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, the Disneyland Hotel, and Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel (listed in most to least expensive). There are several non-Disney hotels that are within walking distance to the parks as well. Because of the compact size of the parks, it is easy to stay at a Disney hotel and walk to do and see everything within the parks.

The closest airport is Orange County (airport code: SNA), although you might find better fares into Los Angeles (LAX).