is WDW worth it for a West Coast family who love DLR?

[surfmontana]

My family DH, DS(13) and DD(9) and I have been to DLR twice and are in LOVE.

I have been thinking of planning a trip to WDW, but just can't decide if it is worth it.

The downside for me is flights, heat, crowds, and the planning seems OVERWHELMING.

I am excited about Universal Orlando, but not 100% convinced on WDW.

I am not sure how many more Disney trips we will be able to take as we really need to buckle down on college savings and I would like one overseas trip with my kids before college (in six years)

Do you think the experience of WDW is worth it, or should we just stick with what we know and love and go to DLR again?

 

[kappyfamily]

Yes yes yes! I'm from Oregon and grew up on DL, but honestly there is no comparison of the two. We go once a year to both DL and WDW. DL we do in 2 nights 3 days but You can spend an entire week at WDW and not touch it all. Your kids are at the perfect age too. It's so fantastic! Give it a try. I highly recommend staying on site at WDW too. Have fun!

 

[knkmom]

Yes! I'm in So Cal and have been to DL many many times and love it but WDW is something completely different I think you really need to experience it atleast once!! I fell in love with WDW when we went in 2009, went back this past May and am planning a big family trip in 2017! I'd go more often if I could talk dh into going!!

 

[gottalovepluto]

I'm off to my first trip to WDW in Nov but I grew up going to DL. WDW just wasn't in the budget, we could do DL twice for the price of one trip to WDW so we never did the Florida bit. We got to travel internationally a couple times & took many trips to DL & we loved every one of them! We always thought WDW sounded cool and would watch all the TV specials but faced with having to give up 1 trip to DL we always said no. And to this day I have no regrets! Now that I'm doing my own vacations, the Food and Wine Festival is what is finally enticing me back east (and Harry Potter world- part of which will open in CA next year) and I'm quite excited to see it all, the timing is finally right.

 

[OldPyrate]

Yes definitely! WDW has a lot to offer and is well worth the trip! Going to WDW is a much longer vacation for us; we've been twice and both times added a Disney cruise since we were their in FL.

 

[Brancaneve]

YEs, yes! The planning can be as overwhelming as you want it to be and as laid back as you want. You just have to plan knowing that there is no way you will do and see everything on this trip or multiple trips for years to come. It's actually part of the fun as it will want to make you come back! I enjoy hanging out at the resorts, going to Downtown Disney and trying out all the fun restaurants. Enjoy!

 

[califlorican]

I think so. It's definitely more of a commitment to planning, but there's nowhere else like EPCOT. That alone is worth it to me (I grew up in Central Florida, and went to WDW often; EPCOT was always my favorite!)

 

[bumbershoot]

You can spend an entire week at WDW and not touch it all

One AP year I spent 18 separate days at DLR and still didn't do all of what I wanted to do, let alone ALL of it.


I would have once said to go, but we are becoming sooooo over WDW. Problematic, as we own DVC but do not like Grand Californian.

We LOVE love love Universal Orlando, though. Big ol' puffy hearts at UO. I'd go THERE, absolutely. We keep APs for UO despite living in WA.

WDW is more troublesome for us. Of course, the fact that DS and I have gotten horribly sick the last two family trips there hasn't helped anything. Must learn to keep our hands out of our faces!

 

[chickapin parterre]

No.....the end of your first sentence..."and are in love." I am a 60s E-Ticket miser kid, Disneyland was in my blood with Walt on Sunday nights, school assemblies in the cafeteria with the Disney nature films and Donald Duck in Mathematics land. And Jiminy Cricket " don't be a fool" films. I breathed the stuff , I know where I was when Walt Died, I can describe every detail of the outside of that Rexal Drug Store when my dad pointed out the newspaper and to this day I still carry significant Disneyland DNA . When I moved to NYC and couldn't wait to visit WDW in 1984. Even took first timer with me. it was a very traumatic, seriously, I was traumatized that it was nothing like Disneyland, there was no magic, no bubble from the outside world, no wrap around quilt, no Matterhorn to guide me and assure me. I remember nothing of the one day visit other than it rained. One Day. a big zero. Two days later we went to epcot and I still remember all the details. some say that trauma protects the brain and I guess that is what happened.

 

[tarheelalum]

We looked into the cost of a WDW trip last year and with airfare, hotel, ticket costs, and food for the family, it was going to be at least 4k for what we wanted to do. After much consideration, we felt it was not worth the money. If we ever move to the southeast we'll go but for now we just don't see any reason to leave southern California for our vacations.

 

[sheetz]

It's worth visiting because it's one of the man-made wonders of the world. But that doesn't mean you'll like it more than DL.

 

[jdb in AZ]

This is something you need to decide for yourself, so yes, I would try it, but go during cooler weather if possible. The summer heat and humidity are miserable.

As for Universal Orlando, we're waiting for the Los Angeles Universal Studios to finish Harry Potter World instead of going to the one in Florida.

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

We are making our first trek to WDW this December after years of consideration. We had always thought that there is no way it could be as good as the original, why waste our money? But the more we thought about it, the more we realized that there are quite a bit of differences in Orlando and we should check it out. We will try to go and enjoy the total experience and try as hard as we can to not compare things to DL and just have fun. And we are treating this as a real vacation, we have half days and whole days off during our 10 day stay. When we go to DL it is usually commando cram in as much as possible style, though our last trip was a bit more leisurely.

Plus Hogwarts-the kids cannot wait for the California version.

 

[Canuck16]

My family DH, DS(13) and DD(9) and I have been to DLR twice and are in LOVE.

I have been thinking of planning a trip to WDW, but just can't decide if it is worth it.

The downside for me is flights, heat, crowds, and the planning seems OVERWHELMING.

I am excited about Universal Orlando, but not 100% convinced on WDW.

I am not sure how many more Disney trips we will be able to take as we really need to buckle down on college savings and I would like one overseas trip with my kids before college (in six years)

Do you think the experience of WDW is worth it, or should we just stick with what we know and love and go to DLR again?

Our family loves DLR as well and made our first trip to WDW in May 2014 and we had an absolute blast!! Seeing as we live in the Northwest we did a 2 week trip with 10 days at WDW, 2 days at UO/IoA and a day to Kennedy Space Center. We stayed onsite at Universal to take advantage of the the Front of the Line perk. We also did a split stay onsite at WDW and used Disney transit to get pretty much everywhere.

We had so much fun that we are saving up for a return trip in 2018 hopefully.

I think if you decide to go you will enjoy all that WDW has to offer.......have fun!

 

[agamble]

I have been to WDW once, for my Honeymoon. I look forward to going again some day. I wanted to go for our 10 year anniversary, but when that comes we'll still have a child under three. That means the trip would be cheaper, but it also means splitting up and doing things at a toddler's pace. So we're going to wait until our youngest is at least 5. We live in CA and have had APs for Disneyland a few times. We plan to get them again when our upcoming Mouse Fan is one. We love Disneyland too, and it is a lot cheaper in many ways (especially because of flying) than WDW. But we still plan to make at least one WDW trip as a family.

So, I think you should go. Your kids are a good age. Big enough to do anything they want, young enough to enjoy the Magic. I don't know what your family schedule is like, but if I could pick any time to go I would go at the end of April. Looking at weather patterns it's not too hot, not too wet, and also not too crowded. January, after Christmas, could also be a good time, but it could be cold. We went in June and it is humid and does pour down rain. The crowds were not that bad though. Everything is sooooo spread out that there is a lot more room for all those people.

 

[StormyCA]

Absolutely! I grew up in So Cal and DL was my 'playground'. Just got back from my first (and probably only) trip and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Weather (end of April) was wonderful, crowds were low. The three 'other' parks were unique and so much fun. The Magic Kingdom was 'the same yet so different' from DL. A trip to WDW is more costly for me than DLR (mostly because of airfare since I drive to DL). We stayed at Ft Wilderness as part of a cross country RV trip.

Go!!! You'll never regret it.

 

[ImDMous]

We have DL APs and go once a month at least. We've been to WDW twice and I can't wait to go back. It's a completely different experience. We stayed for a week each time and there are still plenty of things we haven't done. They really aren't comparable. We went the first week of May and the weather was beautiful and crowds were low. The second time we went in the middle of August, not by choice, it was just awful weather-wise but we still had a great time. I say, go for it!

 

[Phoenixrising]

I'm planning a WDW trip for 2017, but it's more because the family want's to go than myself. I want to experience it once, as this will be our only chance to visit the mouse now that the kids are getting older. But I cringe at the cost, as it costs so much more than DL. But later that year I'm planning another solo trip and am seriously considering going to DL again. Family and friends think I'm nuts, but I like that I can walk everywhere once I'm at my hotel, and I find it to be a very relaxing vacation when travelling solo.

 

[nicolispicoli]

I have a similar predicament. We have deluxe AP's and love Disneyland, but I'm considering not renewing come November and planning a big WDW trip for next year instead. For someone who mostly stays on-site at DLR, the packages I've priced out at WDW are pretty affordable compared. We have a bunch of Southwest miles saved up and I was thinking of using them for flights to help the overall cost. We would also visit Harry Potter World at Universal.

For me, the main reason I have not just gone for it is because of my dd's age. She would be 5 when we went and I'm not sure if that's too early for a trip that I don't know when we would repeat again. Going to DLR is so convenient for us (we live in Northern CA), but we also know it so well. It would be nice to go somewhere new. For you, I say go for it. Your kids are the perfect age for a trip that like. I was 10 the first time I went to DLR and obviously I was sucked right in to Walt's magic

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I grew up in SoCal and went to DLR many, many times growing up. Now I live on the east coast and have visited WDW several times. They are two completely different places. DLR is compact and easy to get around. WDW is huge, with several different parks and takes a lot more planning.

Personally, I'd take the kids to Europe before visiting WDW. They are great ages right now to make this trip.