Bravo, Pete nailed it on the intimacy at DL/WDW rant...

MikeTaylor · Mar 26, 2015

Towards the end of the audio-only podcast, right after the Twitter account topic and talking about the intimacy of Disneyland and the crowds, Pete says something that is just so great...

It's a refreshing experience... Don't get me wrong, I love Walt Disney World. I love Walt Disney World. I love our Magic Kingdom, I love EPCOT, I kinda like Animal Kingdom, I tolerate Hollywood Studios... I love our resorts-I love what we're doing. I love... I wish it would happen faster, but, I love Walt Disney World. I'm not-I'm not saying that at all. This. But, ya know what? It's possible to love both and experience both and appreciate the differences and what they do well out here that either they don't do or can't do out in Orlando and vice versa. Ya know? Orlando has the luxury of size and space. And uh, Disneyland has been forced to make do with those limitations and the creativity that has gone into those limitations and restrictions is amazing.

kbelle8995 · Mar 26, 2015

I have never been to DL. I hope to go someday. What kills me is that WDW used to have that feeling of intimacy and somewhere along the way they lost it. In part as they built more parks and more hotels.

WDW also lost some of the special little things that just went away. Main Street used to have a Magic show, a cinema, and an arcade. Now all gone to have a larger version of the emporium. Fort Wilderness used to have a petting area but now it just become a place to ride ponies. I understand that some things have to change. It cannot become encased in amber but some of these little things I do miss.

The more I hear about DL the more interested I get. Hopefully I will be able to visit someday. Also DL seems to understand the importance of the anniverseries. Hopefully WDW 50th will be more of an event hopefully more than just a one day event.

OKW Lover · Mar 26, 2015

We've been to WDW way too many times to count. ...and that was before we moved here. We've been to DL probably 6+ times (going again in July) and love it too. Pete is right about the intimacy of the place. It has a special feeling.

disneysteve · Mar 26, 2015

MikeTaylor said:
It's possible to love both and experience both and appreciate the differences

kbelle8995 said:
What kills me is that WDW used to have that feeling of intimacy and somewhere along the way they lost it. In part as they built more parks and more hotels.

I agree with Pete and with kbelle8995. We've been to DL once and loved it. It is very different than WDW - different but not better or worse, just different. We loved the compact nature. We loved being able to walk to the park every morning from our offsite hotel. We loved watching the monorail go by through our hotel window. We loved sitting on our balcony and watching the fireworks. We loved leaving DL and walking just across the way to DCA and then to DTD.

But kbelle is right. WDW used to have a much more intimate feel. I've been going since the 70s when there was one park, 3 hotels, and DTD (which wasn't called that back then and was just the Marketplace area). In the park, as she mentioned, there used to be smaller, more varied and unique stores. We've lost that over the years. Plus the whole resort is just incredibly more crowded which takes away from that intimacy.

We're heading to DL again this summer and I can't wait to see all that has changed since our last visit. We've never seen Cars Land or World of Color so those are tops on our list.

Angel Ariel · Mar 26, 2015

I completely agree with Pete's comments...especially that it's possible to love both and experience both and appreciate the differences. One is not better than the other...they are just totally different experiences. They don't need to compete - they're both equally awesome in their own right!

Pooh2 · Mar 26, 2015

We had our first DL trip last year, definitely had a different feel.
Loved that it took just a few minutes to park hop and go back and forth to our hotel.
We popped into the parks a few times just to sit on Main St and enjoy people watching.
Just wish it was not twice as long on the airplane!

Jing · Mar 26, 2015

Pooh2 said:
We had our first DL trip last year, definitely had a different feel.
Loved that it took just a few minutes to park hop and go back and forth to our hotel.
We popped into the parks a few times just to sit on Main St and enjoy people watching.
Just wish it was not twice as long on the airplane!

Ditto!

1Grumpy9 · Mar 26, 2015

I am working on planning my first trip to DLR because I want to see the 60th Anniversary stuff, but I also have been talking about going for 3 yrs now. After hearing the podcast this week, it makes me want to go now...but I can't. I am looking at October.

ImTooExcitedToSleep · Mar 26, 2015

1Grumpy9 said:
I am working on planning my first trip to DLR because I want to see the 60th Anniversary stuff, but I also have been talking about going for 3 yrs now. After hearing the podcast this week, it makes me want to go now...but I can't. I am looking at October.

Halloween at Disneyland is second only to Christmas. Great time of year to be there.

Angel Ariel · Mar 26, 2015

ImTooExcitedToSleep said:
Halloween at Disneyland is second only to Christmas. Great time of year to be there.

It looks like we might be coming out there for Christmas this year, and I couldn't be more excited! The 60th anniversary updates, plus the overlays and the holidays? yes please!!

McNs · Mar 27, 2015

Just finished listening on the way home from work. It was interesting to hear what the WDW team had to say about DL, some interesting insights.

DL is my "home" park (if a park 10,000 km+ away can be considered home) as it was our first and only Disney visit. We fell in love on our first trip in 2013, went last year and are going again this year. We have thought about a trip doing the Disney Double but the exchange rate and time constraints put an end to that. Plus the more I read about WDW the harder it seems to be to visit from this far away. We have only just booked our flights for September, let alone made a hotel choices, decided when and where we will make our ADRs, what parks we will be in on each day, and which rides we want FPs for...

One day I am sure we will make it, but for now we can't think of anything more magical than DL, it suits us perfectly.

disneysteve · Mar 27, 2015

McNs said:
the more I read about WDW the harder it seems to be to visit from this far away. We have only just booked our flights for September, let alone made a hotel choices, decided when and where we will make our ADRs, what parks we will be in on each day, and which rides we want FPs for...

Don't let any of that nonsense stop you from visiting WDW. It is not at all difficult to go to WDW, even on relatively short notice. We never book ADRs. We don't book FPs in advance. We don't decide which park to visit each day until the night before. Don't let the commando planners scare you away.

SaraMc · Mar 29, 2015

Ive been twice to DL in July. I would never think of going to WDW in July. The crowds were fine and the weather was good. That whole little humidity makes a difference. I agree with Pete, the intimacy of DL is so refreshing and nice, it makes me appreciate WDW and understand why they went bigger. But it wasn't until I rode Pirates in DL that I fully understood the story line that the cut down version in WDW had.
There is something about DL, maybe its the size or that Walt was there that makes me plan out my next visit there and making sure its special ( going for our wedding anniversary)

RAD · Mar 29, 2015

Agree with Pete, plus Disney just seems to put a little extra magic into DL that they don't in the MK.

Tonyz · Mar 29, 2015

That last segment on this week's show really made me contemplate doing a Disneyland trip this summer. I'm planning on doing WDW again, but I definitely gotta get out to the original sometime soon.

BradChristian · Mar 30, 2015

I think the show needs to revisit the changes the DL parks have made in the past 7-8 years... I was at Paradise Pier for a broadcasting convention in 2008. I enjoyed both parks, but the charm of DL didn't rub off... (I now know that I made the mistake of only going though the 'alternative' entrances of monorail and GC and never had the beautiful main street welcome as a first timer) and California Adventure had a lot of bad carnival baggage.

Looking at the photos from this latest trip shows a brand new DCA... Even beyond the addition of Cars Land. All the carnival blah is gone, and its really looking like a Disney Park. (Midway Mania, World of Color and more have been added too!)

Keep up the great work @Mary Jo - Tom and Team! Its helping many of us rediscover DL.

daneenm · Apr 1, 2015

I have not listened yet, but I am glad to hear that the team feels this way. DL is my home park and so I do have a special affection for it. Having said that, we have visited WDW and enjoy it very much too, for different reasons. The great thing is that they are so different, for us, comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges. They are both great because each brings something different to the experience.

I really dislike reading negative commentary about the relative size of DL, and even our castle, as compared to Magic Kingdom. DL does have a special feeling and even the castle is perfect for the space. Intimate is a good word for it.

Can't wait to listen.

Cormoran · Apr 2, 2015

I think DLR is so much EASIER to visit than WDW, and because of this it is my personal favorite. I love walking between the parks and DTD. I also think the CM's are happier at DLR.

Bravo, Pete nailed it on the intimacy at DL/WDW rant...

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