WDW Lover Back from 1st Disneyland Trip - My Thoughts

[IvyWinter]

Unfortunately land values in California are very very expensive so it makes sense that the queues are tiny to leave more space for the ride. Florida also has to deal with in-climate weather, which means that people have to be covered in the event of monsoon rains.

100% understand that. We kept saying if we could slap together some of the DL rides with WDW queues, you'd have the ultimate experiences!

 

[courtneybeth]

Was it weird to see the little tiny castle after seeing the BIG HUGE ONE at WDW? A friend of mine who worked at WDW for years finally came to see DL and laughed when she saw how cute and tiny ours was. She was so adorable about it, too, pointing out that the Matterhorn was taller than the castle

 

[IvyWinter]

Yes! I kept squealing "IT'S SO ITTY BITTY!"

We were also laughing that we were like "let's walk through the castle" *3 steps later* "OK we're through the castle!...what?" but it's super endearing. It wasn't in disappointment at all, we totally loved how cute it was.

 

[Spyral]

Yes we did Splash too. WDW's splash has a more..."Sensical" plot, i guess? As much sense as a plot can be in a log flume ride! Also, whoa to DL having a really dark moment on the ride (not literally dark, like thematically, where one of the animals is singing all sad and scary). That is NOT at WDW. I didnt like the single seaters there, i felt more like i was going to fall out!

I prefer the double seaters at MK Splash Mountain as well. Being west coasters, we've only been to WDW once, and that was for our honeymoon. We timed it so it would be during my wife's spring break in '97 (wife is a teacher), and it wasn't too bad crowd wise. Since we stayed at one of the resorts (Polynesian) we got the extra magic hours after the park closed. That was great because shortly after most rides were walk-ons and were able to do them multiple times in a row. We did Splash Mountain multiple times in a log by ourselves to get a good ride picture Didn't have to get out, just stayed in and kept going around!

We are planning on going back to WDW for our 20th in 2017, but boy is it more expensive with flights for 5 of us now. Been pricing it out to figure out a budget. Probably should have scaled back our DLR trip this fall, but will be my son's first time there, so gotta make it special

 

[HydroGuy]

Just so everyone knows, at WDW MK's Space Mtn is single seats (capacity of 6) and Splash Mtn is double seats (capacity of 8).

At DL Space Mtn has double seats (capacity of 12) and Splash Mtn has single seats (capacity of 6).

 

[BostonJP]

Great information! I am spending just one park-hopping day there soon and based on your review, it sounds like there's more to see than I'll have time for.

 

[MichelleWDWfan]

Loved reading your thoughts! DS & I are making our first trip to DL in 2 weeks.
I have an AP for WDW and go 3 times a year.

At WDW we're table service eaters, we hate the QS at WDW except for a couple places
I really enjoy character meals at WDW.
We usually eat breakfast and dinner and pick for lunch on things like dole whip, and other snacks.

So for this trip (4 nights) I booked a bunch of table service meals:
Blue Bayou & Carthay Circle, Plaza Inn Bkfst, BTRBBQ, Storytellers Cafe, PCH Grill dinner.
For QS we decided on: Cars Land bkfst, Plaza Inn Fried Chicken & Mint Julep bar Mickey Beignets.

After reading the comments here I'm wondering if I should get rid of PCH grill in lieu of trying more QS.
Decisions, decisions! LOL

 

[alyssa810]

I'm glad you had a great time at DLR!

Two things about your comments- people really don't wear Disney clothing at WDW?! Will I be mocked if I do?! Also, are you telling me there is NO music for Space Mountain at WDW?!

wat

People most definitely wear Disney clothing at WDW! We just came back from a completely unplanned trip to DL (rerouted our planned trips through Sequoi-Kings Canyon and Yosemite from fire/smoke closures). I consider myself more of a WDW vet, but I've been to DL a good amount of times now too, and I have to say at either resort I wear almost exclusively Disney clothes. I love seeing what so many different Disney t-shirts, be they more generic character types, or different park-specific ones from years gone by.
I love the smallness of Disneyland; we hit the parks early and hit so many attractions in a short amount of time. It's also nice to use the "old" fastpass system as a change from the planning and scheduling for FP+ at WDW.
I was so impressed with Cars Land the first time we went - you really do feel like you're walking in the movie. It's quite impressive, regardless of how you feel about the movie.
I feel like DL does more for their annual passholders too, where at WDW, it seems like more and AP perks are removed. We've had APs at both parks -once we even got the "golden ticket" Premier pass, and overall, seems like DL does more...or maybe we've just hit the parks on the right days, but one of the coolest things IMO was when we watched the Aladdin sing-a-long for pass holders at Big Thunder Ranch! Free popcorn, cocoa, a movie and an exclusive experience! I think the last AP holder "treat" like that we got at WDW was a passholder sneak peek at Philharmagic before it opened.
OP- glad you had a good time!

 

[GrumpysGal]

Was interesting to see this thread b/c we took our first trip to DL in July and are headed back again for the half marathon on Friday. We have been to WDW over 20 times in the last 10 years. Obviously we love WDW...so we were a little nervous about how DL would compare. Well we loved DL just as much...actually maybe more. That being said, it could partly be due to the excitement of new rides/shows, etc. as well as our disenchantment with some of the changes at WDW in recent years. We were at DL over six days last month..went to the parks five full days so were able to spend more time than IvyWinter, but I agree with everything she said.

• DL is much smaller and more compact, but we loved being able to walk from the hotel, to Downtown Disney, both parks, and other local restaurants w/o having to rely on transportation. I will say it was a different experience as we would pass by the homeless of Anaheim on our way to/from the parks...real life as opposed to the "Disney bubble" experience of onsite at WDW
• Sleeping Beauty Castle is not as spectacular, but just as beautiful and charming
• WDW wins on queue theming and restaurants...but a lot of that is b/c DL is operating with much less park space
• DL wins Small World, Haunted Mansion, Pirates, and Space Mountain for us...I could actually ride Space Mountain multiple times w/o feeling like I needed a chiropractor afterwards
• DL wins on weather (at least for most of the year)...we would never dream of going to WDW in July...DL was very pleasant, warm but w/o the stifling FL humidity
• Agree that Paint the Night is the best Disney parade we've seen and, as much as I love Wishes, watching Disneyland Forever on Main Street was absolutely magical
• CarsLand theming was incredible...and I'm not even a huge fan of the movie. It was literally like walking into a scene from the movie complete with Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater rolling down the streets...Radiator Springs Racers was great as well
• Also agree with the Aladdin show...we saw it 3 times while there
• California Screamin' was a great new coaster experience
• Loved getting to use Fastpass- again...not huge fans of Fastpass+, but we have learned to work with it...it just isn't as conducive to our touring style and what we like to do as the old system was
• We did miss a lot of our favorites at Animal Kingdom (Lion King show, Expedition Everest, the Safari) and World Showcase at Epcot
• Overall, we just felt that DL was "Disney done better"...so many nice touches and little extra details that added to the magic...things that WDW seems to not be focusing on as much these days

 

[MillauFr]

• Overall, we just felt that DL was "Disney done better"...so many nice touches and little extra details that added to the magic...things that WDW seems to not be focusing on as much these days

That was our exact reaction after visiting DW last August. I don't understand why they couldn't have made it better. With all the advantages they had when building DW, space, money, I think it should have been better than DL but it is not.

 

[Cats2]

Just so everyone knows, at WDW MK's Space Mtn is single seats (capacity of 6) and Splash Mtn is double seats (capacity of 8).

At DL Space Mtn has double seats (capacity of 12) and Splash Mtn has single seats (capacity of 6).

And, is it just my imagination, or are the ride vehicles at MK's Space very similar to DL's latest version of the Matterhorn bobsleds? A train of two cars, single file with 3 seats per car. And both give a rough ride :-(

 

[IvyWinter]

I think the Matterhorn ride is much, MUCH rougher than WDW Space Mountain. I love coasters, and Ive been on my fair share of bumpy ones, but man, Matterhorn really HURT. I dont get that from any other disney ride.

 

[Davey Jones II]

I'm glad you had a great time at DLR!

Two things about your comments- people really don't wear Disney clothing at WDW?! Will I be mocked if I do?! Also, are you telling me there is NO music for Space Mountain at WDW?!

wat

I and many others wear Disney shirts/hats at WDW. And no, I've never been mocked for it.

 

[MichelleWDWfan]

I and many others wear Disney shirts/hats at WDW. And no, I've never been mocked for it.

I always wear Disney themed clothing at WDW and so do many, many, many other ppl.
I got a new shirt for this trip to DL.
You all have me even more excited for this 1st trip to DL.
I can't believe it's only 2 weeks away.

 

[HydroGuy]

And, is it just my imagination, or are the ride vehicles at MK's Space very similar to DL's latest version of the Matterhorn bobsleds? A train of two cars, single file with 3 seats per car. And both give a rough ride :-(

I think the Matterhorn ride is much, MUCH rougher than WDW Space Mountain. I love coasters, and Ive been on my fair share of bumpy ones, but man, Matterhorn really HURT. I dont get that from any other disney ride.

I agree with Ivy. Matterhorn is much rougher than MK Space Mtn. I can barely tolerate Matterhorn. They just ruined that classic ride with the new bobsleds. But Space Mtn at MK? It is a fun and exciting ride. And much more comfortable.

 

[GrumpysGal]

I always wear Disney themed clothing at WDW and so do many, many, many other ppl.
I got a new shirt for this trip to DL.
You all have me even more excited for this 1st trip to DL.
I can't believe it's only 2 weeks away.

Have a great time! I think you will love it!

 

[IvyWinter]

I and many others wear Disney shirts/hats at WDW. And no, I've never been mocked for it.

Yeah i definitely was being a bit sarcastic about that, no one will be mocked, promise! I just saw it more in a fashionable way in DL, like people really put their thought into their disneybounds or overall outfits, whereas WDW it's more like, cool i got this souvenir shirt ill just throw on. Which there's nothing wrong with that, at all! it just was a noticeable difference in how people wear their disney

 

[GrumpysGal]

I agree with Ivy. Matterhorn is much rougher than MK Space Mtn. I can barely tolerate Matterhorn. They just ruined that classic ride with the new bobsleds. But Space Mtn at MK? It is a fun and exciting ride. And much more comfortable.

I'll third the opinion that Matterhorn was rougher than Space Mtn at MK (although my spine is not a fan of either). I'm glad I rode it b/c, well it's the Matterhorn, but once was enough for me.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I just thought I'd share some thoughts since I'm a few days back from my first Disneyland trip. These are just my opinions, to spur thought and conversation, but not bashing. Thanks!

It definitely has a different vibe and for that I cannot understand how people say one resort is better than the other. I think it's comparing apples and oranges. You get different experiences and both are lovely and magical. I made some really fantastic memories and I'd definitely go back! Of course being from NYC, Florida is the shorter trip, so planning Disneyland takes a bit more. But next time I'll be spending all nights on property!

I agree with your summary. Both Disney resorts are special in their own way, and being open to the experiences at that park can only enhance your visit. I love Disneyland, but I won't say it's better than Walt Disney World, because there are things at Walt Disney World that are different and just as enjoyable.

 

[NorthernCalMom]

And nope, no music for Space Mountain!

I can't even imagine that ride without music. The music is the best part!