WDW Lover Back from 1st Disneyland Trip - My Thoughts

A note to the O.P: I wouldn't recommend staying on-site for your next DLR trip. It will cost you a small fortune, and there are plenty of nice, affordable hotels within walking distance of DLR, on Harbor. Unlike WDW, there are no value resorts, and you don't get or need the same perks if you stay on-site.
 
We did see a lot of the nearby hotels, as we stayed with a friend 20 minute drive away except for that one night, but my friend and I really love the "complete" disney experience, being so close to everything, loved the rooms at disneyland hotel/pool/trader sams, and with our CM friend, we can get a discount anytime we stay out there :) so I think we'd still probably stay on property!
 
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 :)

I think at DLR you get so many repeat visitors and locals that a lot of them have created unique Disneyland outfits that they've developed over the course of months or even years. The average tourist visiting WDW just isn't going to invest the same amount of time in their dress.
 


I live 30 min from WDW, and LOVE DLR. (for reference).

A few notes--MK space mtn has music, just not in-car. DL is way better though.

MK HM is way better. DL Pirates and Small World are way better.

Napa Rose is one of the best restaurants I've ever been to, as is Victoria and Albert's, and California Grill.

Also, I've stayed both on- and off-site and liked both, but the DLH is Magic, especially with a theme park view.
 
Disneyland is small, but I don't say that in a bad way. The castle is adorable. Elements of it are "cute" compared to WDW. But, it's also easier to navigate and sort of take in. The enormity of the Magic Kingdom, and even the 4 parks as a whole, can be overwhelming. Disneyland was a nice change of pace. There's much more of a culture there, since there are so many locals and repeated visitors. We saw some of the social clubs, we saw people just dressing up for the parks, adults wearing disney stuff, *gasp*, non-ironically! It had a nice community vibe I think WDW is too big to have.

Ha ha, I've always tried to come up with a good way to explain this, I think you nailed it... it's much more of a community than WDW.

A lot of the rides are awesome, the queues leave something to be desired. I'm aware a lot of this is WDW coming after and therefore having the time and the space for elaborate themed queues. But just calling it like i see it.

How funny, I've always thought the opposite, that WDW's queues were poorly designed and not very well themed. I guess it's just what you're used to! (PS... since they have the space, why are more of FL's queues not AIR CONDITIONED!?!?!?!)

We did both parks in 2 very long days (8am to midnight) and did everything we could possibly want to do, but without time to stop for details. we skipped rides that were identical to WDW so that saved us a lot of time. I feel very, very satisfied with my trip but would love a few years down the line to go back with at least 3 days so we can slow down a bit.

When you do go back, make sure you check out the rides that are "duplicates". Most of them are much longer and more elaborate at Disneyland!

The food was just OK. I know some people think that of both resorts, but I like the food in WDW better.

Blaspheme! I'll chock this one up to you not having time to sample everything... the variety is so much greater at Disneyland, you couldn't possibly eat everything in 2 days! :thumbsup2popcorn::
 
How funny, I've always thought the opposite, that WDW's queues were poorly designed and not very well themed. I guess it's just what you're used to! (PS... since they have the space, why are more of FL's queues not AIR CONDITIONED!?!?!?!)

When was the last time you went to WDW? There have been many queue updates in the past few years like Peter Pan, Pooh, Haunted Mansion, Little Mermaid was built with an awesome queue, Mine train is nice too.
 


When you do go back, make sure you check out the rides that are "duplicates". Most of them are much longer and more elaborate at Disneyland!

We only skipped rides that were EXACT copies. Otherwise, we did things like Pirates (i liked it better there!), Haunted Mansion, etc that has some differences. We skipped like, Soarin and Toy Story Mania, and Little Mermaid.
 
I actually did my first vlog of this trip. It's going to be in 6 parts, but the 1st one is up, and you can hear from my reaction to the castle and adventureland how cute i thought everything was. Also, that monorail... SO LOW! It blew my mind!

 
I actually did my first vlog of this trip. It's going to be in 6 parts, but the 1st one is up, and you can hear from my reaction to the castle and adventureland how cute i thought everything was. Also, that monorail... SO LOW! It blew my mind!


I just watched your you tube video!! It was awesome! I can't wait for the next part :) I will be there for my first trip in 23 days!!!
 
I actually did my first vlog of this trip. It's going to be in 6 parts, but the 1st one is up, and you can hear from my reaction to the castle and adventureland how cute i thought everything was. Also, that monorail... SO LOW! It blew my mind!


Oooh fun I'm going to watch this now! We also are long-time WDW vets....getting so excited for our first DLR trip next month!
 
Your vlog was super fun! Where did y'all get your custom buttons? My kids saw them and were asking for some!
 
Your vlog was super fun! Where did y'all get your custom buttons? My kids saw them and were asking for some!
My friend, who is a pretty popular youtube vlogger, Keith Lapinig, makes them. So he gave us some when we went. If you find him in the parks (he lives in Cali, so he's at DL/DCA every weekend) and ask for buttons he should have a few different designs that he gives out for free!
 
I just watched your you tube video!! It was awesome! I can't wait for the next part :) I will be there for my first trip in 23 days!!!
Hope you love your trip! It was honestly a wonderful, new experience. I loved it as its own special thing, different from WDW!
 
My friend, who is a pretty popular youtube vlogger, Keith Lapinig, makes them. So he gave us some when we went. If you find him in the parks (he lives in Cali, so he's at DL/DCA every weekend) and ask for buttons he should have a few different designs that he gives out for free!
Awesome! Does he sell them online or anything? Or we just have to try and hunt him down in the parks? Is he used to random tourists attacking him for buttons?? LOL
 
Awesome! Does he sell them online or anything? Or we just have to try and hunt him down in the parks? Is he used to random tourists attacking him for buttons?? LOL
Yes, actually, he is haha we ran into quite a few people who came up to him during our stay! He doesn't sell them since they have disney characters on them, and doesnt want to infringe (he also works for the company, at ABC, so he REALLy doesn't want to get in trouble!). If you DO run into him, please tell him Christine sent you :)
 
Yes, actually, he is haha we ran into quite a few people who came up to him during our stay! He doesn't sell them since they have disney characters on them, and doesnt want to infringe (he also works for the company, at ABC, so he REALLy doesn't want to get in trouble!). If you DO run into him, please tell him Christine sent you :)
Ha! Yes, I did a quick Google search and saw his button shop is closed. I totally understand he wants to be careful about infringement. We will keep our eyes open for him in the parks, and hopefully we will get lucky. Thanks for the help!!
 
I actually did my first vlog of this trip. It's going to be in 6 parts, but the 1st one is up, and you can hear from my reaction to the castle and adventureland how cute i thought everything was. Also, that monorail... SO LOW! It blew my mind!


When you were at the end of Main Street, you were right next to the Fresh Baked Disney crew!
 

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