If you want the essence of Walt Disney, you might want to skip Orlando

[DawnM]

I liked them both. I miss living just 40 min. from DL and being able to just pop down for an afternoon or day.

 

[ConnecticutFlea]

After 3 days in DL I feel I've done it all. I need 8 days in WDW to feel that way.

I think it's like comparing apples to oranges. DL is great for a short trip because everything is right there. WDW is more spread out and has more to offer overall.

And the castles......no comparison.

 

[MrsDuck]

Much prefer WDW... DL was a let down after 25+ years of WDW.

 

[pocomom]

I agree with you over-all. Disneyland is far more intimate and cool.

But uh. . . not sure The People Mover is the example you want to use.

I don't know-people mover can be pretty entertaining at times....

 

[fly girl]

For attention to detail and craftsmanship and truly beautiful theming in every tiny detail that I think Walt would just love if he coud see it---DLP's Disneyland wins hands down in my book (followed by DL then MK at WDW).
Each park has its own unique feel though--which I love. I prefer them to not be all the same thing just in different locations.

No doubt, DLP Main Street and Castle wins over the states. Sleeping Beauty Castle at DLP is my favorite! Love it.

Fantasyland and Adventureland are really well done. But I think the states win on Tomorrowland and Frontierland.

IMHO, DL vs. DLP is a harder call than DL vs. MK.

And I haven't been to the other locations, I'd love to hear if Hong Kong, Tokyo, or Shanghai DL's are comparable.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

I prefer Disneyland, but not because it has the essence of Walt.

Probably the majority of visitors have no recollection as to when Walt was alive. He might as well be Herbert Hoover as far as most visitors are concerned.

I made my first visit to Disneyland last autumn and really enjoyed it much better than WDW. I liked how it was all within walking distance from my hotel. Never cared about being in the WDW bubble. Whenever we stayed onsite at WDW, we'd always escape it for a bit practically every day.

I remember hearing about it when Walt died, but I really have no memories of him.

 

[plutotek]

Prior to Toontown, you couldn't see outside DL once inside the berm. It was truly magical. That, combined with being to get from one side of the park to the other in moments, has always made DL my favorite.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I've been to every US Disney park except California Adventure & the only real magic I've experienced was on Kilimanjaro Safari

 

[bcla]

Prior to Toontown, you couldn't see outside DL once inside the berm. It was truly magical. That, combined with being to get from one side of the park to the other in moments, has always made DL my favorite.

Some of the rides were elevated well above the berm. Definitely Matterhorn and the Skyway. Never bothered me though. I was having too much fun to worry about anything "ruining" my experience.

 

[L&Lfan]

I don't know-people mover can be pretty entertaining at times....

I'm gonna risk interpreting someone else's post, but I think King means that at DL the Peoplemover track sits empty and unused. At least in the MK it's still a functioning attraction.

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

Completely off topic, but...

You may want to see your doctor about that finger thing. Something doesn't look right if you ask me.

 

[RedAngie]

I'm gonna risk interpreting someone else's post, but I think King means that at DL the Peoplemover track sits empty and unused. At least in the MK it's still a functioning attraction.

I liked the short-lived notoriously unreliable Rocket Rods.

 

[King Schultz]

I'm gonna risk interpreting someone else's post, but I think King means that at DL the Peoplemover track sits empty and unused. At least in the MK it's still a functioning attraction.

That's exactly what I was talking about.

Kind of hard to see criticizing the MK for maintenance on the People Mover when Disneyland's is pretty much a rusty flower planter.

 

[King Schultz]

I don't know-people mover can be pretty entertaining at times....

Especially with a baby, eh?

 

[Yoshi]

I went to Disneyland for the first time last month after close to 20 trips to Disney World. There was no comparison for me, I liked almost everything about Disneyland better. With a few exceptions like Splash Mountain, when the parks both had the same rides I almost always preferred the Disneyland version and also liked they had rides no longer at Disney World like the submarines and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and Animation Academy. The rides that never at Disney World like the Matterhorn and Alice in Wonderland were also excellent.

California Adventure really surprised me and was much better than I expected the park to be. I also liked being able to use the old Fastpass system, being able to get a dining reservation the same day and much shorter lines.

Almost all rides were under 30 minutes (Space Mountain, Radiator Springs Racers and Splash Mountain the 3 exceptions) and most rides were 5 to 20 minutes even on the weekend. I walked onto Big Thunder Mountain without Fastpass in the late morning, I have to wait longer than that with a Fastpass at Disney World. Same thing with Peter Pan's Flight. 20 minute wait in the middle of the day and I have seen the Fastpass return line at Disney World have the same 20 minute wait. The lines moved faster too. Pirates had a very long line yet the posted wait was 10 minutes and the line literally was always moving and 8 minutes later we were at the loading area.

I liked Paint the Night much more than the Electrical Parade and Spectro Magic and Disneyland Forever over Wishes.

If the locations of the park were reversed, I'd be happy almost exclusively going to Disneyland over Disney World.

 

[minnie mum]

So far they have been able to keep the essence of Walt.

First of all, some of us on the Dis with fairly long memories, have a rather unique connotation of "essence" and where it is spread.

I would wager that there aren't many of us who ever walked DLR when Walt was still alive, so that really has no great significance.

Walt himself wasn't that satisfied with how DLR turned out. Which is one of the main reasons why WDW was designed as it is. He may have never seen MK completed, but he was very much alive during its early planning stages.

For attention to detail and craftsmanship and truly beautiful theming in every tiny detail that I think Walt would just love if he coud see it---DLP's Disneyland wins hands down in my book (followed by DL then MK at WDW).
Each park has its own unique feel though--which I love. I prefer them to not be all the same thing just in different locations.

I absolutely agree with the bolded part. Different parks- different experiences. There's no direct comparison.

IMHO, DL vs. DLP is a harder call than DL vs. MK.

And I haven't been to the other locations, I'd love to hear if Hong Kong, Tokyo, or Shanghai DL's are comparable

I've been lucky enough to have visited DLR and WDW many times,. DLP 3 times and Tokyo's parks once. Each is unique. Each has its pluses and minuses. For me, for blow your socks off impact and attention to detail, Tokyo wins hands down. But that doesn't mean I'd call any of the others bad by comparison.

 

[WebmasterJackie]

Completely off topic, but...

You may want to see your doctor about that finger thing. Something doesn't look right if you ask me.

What, your finger doesn't spew Pixie Dust, GDD? This is why you must visit Disneyland instead of Orlando.

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

What, your finger doesn't spew Pixie Dust, GDD? This is why you must visit Disneyland instead of Orlando.

Learn something new every day! California here I come!

 

[fly girl]

I've been lucky enough to have visited DLR and WDW many times,. DLP 3 times and Tokyo's parks once. Each is unique. Each has its pluses and minuses. For me, for blow your socks off impact and attention to detail, Tokyo wins hands down. But that doesn't mean I'd call any of the others bad by comparison.

Yes, all Disney parks have something special and unique to that location.

I want to go to TokyoSEA sooo badly. I hear it's phenominal.

 

[bcla]

California Adventure really surprised me and was much better than I expected the park to be. I also liked being able to use the old Fastpass system, being able to get a dining reservation the same day and much shorter lines.

California Adventure was poorly executed when it was new. The Disney execs thought that they could build a place for relatively little and that the Disney name and theming would attract crowds. Now they did start off with some state of the art attractions such as Soarin' Over California and California Screamin', but much of it was cookie cutter rides that were dressed up. They had to spend a lot of money to turn a dud into a world class theme park. Radiator Springs Racers is supposed to be the most expensive attraction that Disney Parks has ever built.