Disneyland is a fabulous local theme park!

[peyjax]

Yes I know this rile up some feathers and I welcome the counter responses.

Returned a few days ago from a first time trip. (sort of as 3 family member spent one partial day there in 09) Things we learned.

Disneyland rides rock! and typically trump the world every time.

Disneyland service sucks! They treat people like crap and cater to locals. Hence why I say it is a great local theme park. I will not go into all the details as they are way to many and I know how these boards are and people love to disect and argue how you were in the wrong and Disney is all candy and lollipops.

Staying on site makes a big difference and for those use to DW it is very noticeable. We stayed off site one night and a split stay at DLH and GCH. Love GCH as it is a very well done. Loved DLH rooms as well and tangora terrace but there was just something about GCH that made it awesome.

Things I learned on here did not have me prepared for the crowds we experienced. Cars and was fine but it was DL that was so packed it made it less enjoyable.

The counter service food is really good and also trumps DW! Plaza fried chicken. WOW! Gumbo.. Yummy. Tiger tail sounds gross but is so good!

Cars land is beyond what I imagined and could not believe how amazing it was! The attention to detail was wonderful. The rest of DCA is well, interesting. Liked paradise pier but that was about it.

Overall we really liked a lot about the Land and think it was great start for Walt. For us DW has the edge with the themes and service, but DCL wins hands down for vacay experience. Then again we have not tried DL Tokyo, Paris, etc. LOL it is on the wish list!

For our family what sets Disney apart from the rest is the service and attention to details. It is why we always choose them for our vacations from Dw to DCL and now DL. What I do not understand is how people say this is Walt's park yet it seems to be the furthest from what the standards I always thought Walt stood for. Cheesy I know but I really could not get over how bad the service was.

 

[disneyismyheart247]

It is clearly Walt's park because he built it. Disneyland is the only park Walt Disney designed, built, lived in, visited and enhanced. How could it not be his park?

I agree with you when you say DL caters to the locals. It goes perfectly with what Walt Disney said in Disneyland's opening speech: "Disneyland is your land". I really do feel like Disneyland's ours. I also believe DL caters to the other guests as well, not just the locals. I find DL's service to be exceptional, but not everyone's the same Glad you had a nice time.

 

[Miss Peach]

I am not sure what you mean when you say Disneyland caters to the locals...

I have never been frisked for my drivers license to ascertain my distance traveled to the park...

I know you cannot be referring to the SoCal discounts since Florida has many many more of those.

And it cannot be the DVC discounts because Disney World patrons got those, Califonia did not.

I am puzzled...

But I am so glad you enjoyed your visit!

 

[disneyismyheart247]

I am not sure what you mean when you say Disneyland caters to the locals...

I think the OP was specifically talking about APs? I don't know.

 

[bumbershoot]

I have never been frisked for my drivers license to ascertain my distance traveled to the park...

Neither have I!


"They treat people like crap and cater to locals."

I just do not comprehend this. What were your experiences? You say you don't want to list them, but by not listing them you're making the issues you think would happen *worse*.

I've had an AP for 3 years (not in a row) yet am NOT a local. And I have not a single clue how they can cater to a group of people that can't be separated out from a crowd.


When I go to WDW (I had an AP there for a year, and just like with DLR, I'm not a local!), I want to schedule a trip to DLR on the way home, to get some relaxation and comfort.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

"They treat people like crap and cater to locals."

I also do not understand the above quote. Especially without any context or specific examples. Given, any CM can have a bad day or make a mistake. But we've had friends and family travel from across the country or from other countries to visit DLR, and no one has ever complained about being ill treated or receiving bad service. No one has ever mentioned feeling slighted because they were not locals. In fact, they usually comment that DLR's CMs and service are better overall than the CMs at whichever Disney park is their home park. There is definitely something uniquely special about Walt's park.

 

[larina]

Everyone has their experiences. We return to DL because of the fabulous service we always get while we are there. I'm sorry that's not what happened for you.
I do think we would respond differently if you gave examples instead of being purposefully vague, leaving us to wonder.

 

[HollyL]

To each their own....

Personally, I choose Disneyland over WDW because WDW is crazy huge and intimidating to me, and I grew up going to Disneyland at least once a year (grew up in San Francisco). I am familiar with Disneyland, and love that everything is together in one area. It definitely makes navigating much easier with 2 small kids.

I have been to WDW twice when I was in my early 20's, before I had kids, and I had a good time, but I didn't enjoy it as much as Disneyland. I also visited Euro Disney when I was in college, back when it was new, and that was really cool because it was so different. It was during the Winter, and was actually snowing (lightly), and was like a ghost town....absolutely no wait for rides, and the food was fantastic. I would love to go again one day.

We now live in Houston, Texas, so it's equidistant between the 2 resorts, yet, I prefer to go to California. We will probably try Orlando when the kids are older though, and who knows, by then, we might just stick with WDW at that point.

To me, there is just something so magical and nostalgic about the original. I never felt like I was treated like crap, and can't really remember being treated differently as a Californian compared to being a Texan.

 

[cats mom]

Yes I know this rile up some feathers and I welcome the counter responses.

Returned a few days ago from a first time trip. (sort of as 3 family member spent one partial day there in 09) Things we learned.

Disneyland rides rock! and typically trump the world every time.

Disneyland service sucks! They treat people like crap and cater to locals. Hence why I say it is a great local theme park. I will not go into all the details as they are way to many and I know how these boards are and people love to disect and argue how you were in the wrong and Disney is all candy and lollipops.

Staying on site makes a big difference and for those use to DW it is very noticeable. We stayed off site one night and a split stay at DLH and GCH. Love GCH as it is a very well done. Loved DLH rooms as well and tangora terrace but there was just something about GCH that made it awesome.

Things I learned on here did not have me prepared for the crowds we experienced. Cars and was fine but it was DL that was so packed it made it less enjoyable.

The counter service food is really good and also trumps DW! Plaza fried chicken. WOW! Gumbo.. Yummy. Tiger tail sounds gross but is so good!

Cars land is beyond what I imagined and could not believe how amazing it was! The attention to detail was wonderful. The rest of DCA is well, interesting. Liked paradise pier but that was about it.

Overall we really liked a lot about the Land and think it was great start for Walt. For us DW has the edge with the themes and service, but DCL wins hands down for vacay experience. Then again we have not tried DL Tokyo, Paris, etc. LOL it is on the wish list!

For our family what sets Disney apart from the rest is the service and attention to details. It is why we always choose them for our vacations from Dw to DCL and now DL. What I do not understand is how people say this is Walt's park yet it seems to be the furthest from what the standards I always thought Walt stood for. Cheesy I know but I really could not get over how bad the service was.

RE: the parts of your post I took the liberty of bolding....

It's hard to come up with much in the way of counter responses when you purposely didn't include details or concrete examples of bad service, how you were treated like crap, or how you think locals are catered to. Honestly I'm trying to figure out how that's even possible since the CM's have no idea who is local and who isn't.

But without details, I guess there's not much to say except I'm sorry your experience with CM's wasn't better. I'm glad you enjoyed the onsite hotels, Cars Land, the rides, and some of the food. Did I get that right?

BTW, I just posted in a thread about Disney's new "Limited Time" marketing campaign, I called them out on it big time, and I wasn't alone. All of us here are not Disney can never do wrong cheerleaders, I promise.


.

 

[melancholywings]

I can understand some of what you are saying. I love both parks equally but they are both a very different experiences (despite sharing so many rides). And I agree with the catering to locals, on our last trip we kept being asked for some local card that gives a discount...I don't think it was an AP but something else. Being asked over and over again got to be a little tiring.

Sometimes it was also easy to pick out some locals because of how they treated the park, and they behaved as though they were in their local mall. Like the park isn't a 'special' place to them but just an ordinary place they visit so frequently that they don't care if they 'put their feet up on the coffee table' so to speak.

But....Disneyland has the prettiest face characters. (Hello California girls!) and has just better character interactions all around. With out having to pay for a character meal. This is my favorite thing about the park.

Edited to add - this may be because we went late summer just as AP's were unblocked.

 

[pixiewings71]

I can't compare as I've never been to WDW but I've rarely been treated poorly at DLR and I'm not a local. Yes, I currently have an AP but I've done the get park hoppers and upgrade at the last possible moment and I can say with certainty that I have been treated the same whether I have an AP in my lanyard or park hoppers. I've been treated great, I've been treated poorly, it's up to me to decide how to react to both and in many cases it's up to me to determine how the CM treats me. For instance, if you treat a CM with a negative attitude they will likely respond in kind, but if you treat them as a person with kindness they generally appreciate that. In general the CM's at DL/DCA treat me with kindness and respect and again, even though I live in CA I am not a local.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

I 100% disagree that their service sucks. We go year after year and have yet to have a bad customer service experience in the park, and I'm not easy to please.

 

[bumbershoot]

And I agree with the catering to locals, on our last trip we kept being asked for some local card that gives a discount...I don't think it was an AP but something else. Being asked over and over again got to be a little tiring.

There's no local card that gets a discount. All they ask about is an AP, or a passport/pass, and it's so that they can be sure to give you a discount if you're entitled to one. This is better than just a few years ago, when the guest had to ask if they had an AP discount.

Since anyone can get an AP, this isn't a local thing! Of course, it's cheaper for a southern Californian (if they buy a SoCal AP and not the Deluxe (as we have), Premium, or even Premiere), but then they've got scads of blockout dates to work around.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Agree with the above poster. The card you are being asked for is an annual pass, not because it puts you in some "local club," but because it will give you a discount on your purchase. And good for Disney for training the CMs to ask for the card, intead of making passholders work for the discount (and often not receive it because they forgot to ask). Being gracious to all guests is hardly "catering to locals." If you read the fan boards, you'll see that there are passholders all over the world (hello, australia??). Most of the passholders probably are local and domestic visitors, but certainly not all.

 

[Sweettears]

I've been to DLR twice and WDW many times. I've never noticed a difference in service or attitudes. The biggest difference for me is that I can spend a week at WDW with no problem while 3 or 4 days is enough at DL/DCA for me. I think both parks are fantastic just leaves me with a different approach to a vacation.

 

[mouseymommy]

I haven't been to WDW, but I have had great service from the CM at DL. They have taken my info so the chef could send me recipes. They have never been anything but kind when we need help. They call my little girl princess all the time. When we go for birthdays they call the kids by their first names and wish them a Happy Birthday.
This last trip our DD2 had an accident all over the floor of a shop. My DH and I were so embarrassed and offered to clean it up. The CM's called somebody in to clean it, and also GAVE her a pair of pants so we wouldn't have to leave the park. They were so kind and understanding, they really made us feel less worried her accident. I have never even had slightly questionable service from a CM.

I have to say though, I found the title of this thread condescending.

 

[Mugglemama]

I've not been to WDW, so I can't compare service levels between the two resorts. However, I *can* say, that I've been both a local (lived 30 minutes away and was in the parks about twice per week), and a non-local. I've received good and bad service as both a local and non-local.

Ten years ago, DLR was a pretty different place. Back then, I always felt CM attitudes were very pleasant and easy to deal with. I also never saw other guests (many of whom were also AP holding locals who were likely in the parks quite often, because sometimes we would recognize people in line for the tram or in the parks, etc., from other days we had been there) treat the parks badly back then. We didn't experience rudeness in the parks back then, either. I think all of those things combined are why we fell so in love with being there!

It is different now, no way around it. There is a lot of rudeness and inconsideration in the parks, IMHO, mainly on the part of guests. CM's are a mixed bag (we've actually had a CM yell at our 5 year old once because as we walked through the park in the hour or so before a parade, he held up his arm and ran his hand lightly along one of the ropes they use to cordone off parade areas for like, a tenth of a second). I am unhappy when CM's are grouchy, rude, or (as in that one instance with my son) completely out of line. We pay a LOT of money to be there...I don't want some crab screaming at my kid for doing something totally harmless (would it have been any harder to just say in a normal voice, "Please don't touch the rope" ???). But we've received acceptable service from CM's much of the time, too. And again, we've received both kinds of treatment as locals AND non-locals.

Personally, I feel like the "poor service" issues are more an issue of now vs. then...as opposed to locals vs. non-locals. CM's were different 10 years ago. They used to smile and take time to be friendly. They didn't used to ram our kids' heads into measuring sticks or act like they hated their jobs. CM's used to really act as though they were playing a role (especially when it came to certain attractions)...I don't see that anymore, except for HM and JC...and those CM's pale in comparison to the ones from a decade ago in terms of enthusiasm). Our last trip in May...it felt like so many of the CM's were indifferent, or grouchy, or miserable with their job. It's a bummer to see it...and it definitely affects the tone of the visit.

Perhaps DLR used to be a better place to work, and that explains the change? I don't know...but that's my best guess. CM's used to seem happy to be there.

 

[melancholywings]

Agree with the above poster. The card you are being asked for is an annual pass, not because it puts you in some "local club," but because it will give you a discount on your purchase. And good for Disney for training the CMs to ask for the card, intead of making passholders work for the discount (and often not receive it because they forgot to ask). Being gracious to all guests is hardly "catering to locals." If you read the fan boards, you'll see that there are passholders all over the world (hello, australia??). Most of the passholders probably are local and domestic visitors, but certainly not all.

They didn't call it an AP card, or a passholder card (I'm aware of what those both are), does it have a different name? I only knew it gave a 'local discount card' because a cast member explained it that way.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

They didn't call it an AP card, or a passholder card (I'm aware of what those both are), does it have a different name? I only knew it gave a 'local discount card' because a cast member explained it that way.

There is no local discount card. Discounts are either AP (maybe it was the So Cal AP?), Disney Visa, DVC membership, CM, or AAA. If the CM called it a local discount, then he/she was misinformed, or didn't know the correct terminology.

 

[bumbershoot]

They didn't call it an AP card, or a passholder card (I'm aware of what those both are), does it have a different name? I only knew it gave a 'local discount card' because a cast member explained it that way.

Just "pass", which is how I remember hearing it most often. There's just no local discount card, so it really had to be an AP.

I think the CM did a rotten job of explaining it, OR he thought that APs are only for locals? I had a Team Member at Universal Orlando think that APs were only for locals, I mean he TRULY thought that. We had just been talking about how I was from WA, then I pulled out my AP for a discount on a wizard's robe and he almost wouldn't give me the discount because he thought it wasn't my AP. Craziness. Anyway, the CM might have had a similar understanding.