WDW & Disneyland - Same trip?

[boomhauer]

My wife and I were talking yesterday about this. We have the Poly booked for next July for 12 nights, then plan on taking our 1st trip to Disneyland for a long weekend in October. Due to scheduling possible conflicts, we thought about maybe just taking 1 long trip next year and doing both. We both agree, it'd be tiring and expensive, but for us, it'd be our "dream vacation". Our plan currently is, to fly from Boston to LA, stay at Disneyland for 4 nights, then fly from LA to Orlando, stay at WDW for 8 nights, then fly from Orlando back to Boston. Toughest part is actually getting affordable flights in and out of LA - Very expensive.

Has anyone ever done anything similar to this? Can I assume the Walt Disney Travel Company doesn't have a package deal for doing both?

 

[Robo]

My wife and I were talking yesterday about this. We have the Poly booked for next July for 12 nights, then plan on taking our 1st trip to Disneyland for a long weekend in October. Due to scheduling possible conflicts, we thought about maybe just taking 1 long trip next year and doing both. We both agree, it'd be tiring and expensive, but for us, it'd be our "dream vacation". Our plan currently is, to fly from Boston to LA, stay at Disneyland for 4 nights, then fly from LA to Orlando, stay at WDW for 8 nights, then fly from Orlando back to Boston. Toughest part is actually getting affordable flights in and out of LA - Very expensive.

Has anyone ever done anything similar to this? Can I assume the Walt Disney Travel Company doesn't have a package deal for doing both?

I can only speak for myself, but having been many, many times to WDW and DLR/DCA, I can say I'd not want to do this.

Too much travel time, for one thing... way too much!

And doing them all at one time could easily spoil one, the other, or both coast's Disneys due to "too much of a good thing," all at once.
Think Snickers bars, Hershey bars, M&Ms and Three Musketeers bars made into a large dessert. (Hey, I know, some folks would go for that in a minute... I'm just sayin'...)

But, if you decide to do it, please tell us before you go, and then report how you liked it when you return!

 

[cdvictorin]

Sounds like a dream vacation to me. I highly recommend flying to John Wayne Airport, which is in Orange County, CA if it is possible. The airport code is SNA. A flight into John Wayne might cost a little more than flying into LAX, but it is a smaller airport, closer to Disneyland, and tends to be a better overall airport experience than LAX.

 

[Microcell]

Have you been to both seperately?

My friend says that there are usually two camps, those that love WDW find DL to be disappointing, and those that have been to DL find WDW to be too different.

I guess I am wondering if one or the other might be a letdown?

 

[Lindymom]

I say go for it!

I took my first trip to DLR a few weeks ago and I'm leaving for WDW in four days. The two trips are quite different since the DLR trip was with two friends and no kids and the WDW trip is for me and my 4-year-old son. It's possible that doing both together would be less fun than spreading them out to do them separately, but if it's your idea of a dream vacation, then go for it. I, for one, am enjoying doing both close together so I can really get the comparisson effect. And I love both resorts.

As for flights, I would highly recommend checking out your options on Southwest. When we lived in Boston, Southwest wasn't available from Logan, but if you're willing to make the drive down to Providence or up to Manchestrer, it might be worth the savings. You don't get penalized for non-round trip travel plans and Southwest is usually much more affordable than other airlines (plus they've been running a lot of deals lately), and they fly to John Wayne Airport (it's listed as Orange County on their site) and to Orlando.

Good luck and be sure to do a trip report if you go!

Oh, and I wasn't able to find any package deals, but there's something about being able to use unused days from a WDW parkhopper at DL, but not the other way around maybe? Definitely worth researching because doing one long parkhopper is a lot cheaper than two shorter ones!

 

[Mr. Pig]

I don't know. With no time between the parks you might start doing the compare thing and thinking how one resort isn't as good as the other. I would rather have two vacations than just one. I have been to both DLR and WDW in the same year for the last five years but not at the same time.

 

[Camilo]

I've done this in 1998 when there was no DCA park yet. I stayed 7 days in Florida and flew to California, where I spent one full day and Disneyland.

It was interesting to compare DL and WDW and see how different they can be. I'd say go for it......

 

[MomOfDisneyBoys]

We live close to DLR, so we went to both DL and DCA on Friday before we left for our WDW vacation on Sunday, so that we could do all the US Disney parks within a week. We thought it was fun, but we did not have to deal with the excess travel to get to DLR.

I personally would not want to spend that much time on a plane or in airports in one trip, but if you don't mind it, I say go for it. I like to see both resorts and compare the details and differences.

And hey, the line for Soarin at DCA is usually 45 minutes or less(and I have never had trouble getting a fastpass), opposed to the 90 or more at Epcot!

 

[quiltymom]

Would I want to do it all in one week? No. But, if you're they type of people who thrive on all that activity/jet lag/travel, then you could do it.

I don't know what part of the USA you live in, but for me the 3 hour time difference between coasts going to California just throws me off for days. (We go there every year to visit family.) I wouldn't have a good time because I'd just be too cranky. I'd much rather do them in two separate trips because I'm too old now to do it all at once!

As for the differences between WDW & DLR - just read my tag. They different in many ways, but they are both Disney. Isn't that the point? Each place has something better than the other, but if they were exactly the same just think of how bored everyone would be. I grew up going to DL and although it's still my favorite it doesn't stop me from going to WDW and enjoying it, too.

 

[Yensid_MD]

Be sure to check the rates of Jet Blue into Long Beach Airport. It is a small airport, equidistance from Anaheim as is John Wayne.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

If you're only coming out to California to see DLR right before going to WDW, then I'd say no. If you're planning to other, non-Disney things in California then it would probably be fine. DLR only has 2 parks and a much smaller DTD area. The entrances basically face each other in a single plaza and the 3 Disney hotels are right there as well. Yes, it's a different atmosphere than WDW and much more compact. But many of the rides and attractions are the same. I just spent 4 days at DLR last month and that was plenty for me. Between my aching feet and wallet, I considered myself done with Disney for at least a while (we spent 10 days at WDW at Christmas time). As much as I love Disney, a trip to WDW right afterward would have sent me over the edge!

Visiting DLR is definitely worth it. You get to see the original park and the whole experience is much different than WDW. But, I would recommend letting DLR be its own experience. You're definitely going to compare the two no matter when you go. But I would give DLR it's own trip to make it more special.

 

[flyinglizard]

Don't do it!

Good suggestions above... Seperate they two vacations and savor the two parks in their own time. Try to avoid LAX and use one of the smaller airports closer to DLR.

I think the physical strain of the travel would diminish your enjoyment of the two very different experiences.

 

[rstamm]

June 2006 we spent 8 wonderful days at DL.
We had the trip planned for close to a year, then free dining was offered for August 2006 at DW.
Well we couldn't pass that up, so we spent 10 days there, the trips are totally different.

I absoutely love DL and prefer it over DW where my wife is the opposite.

I can't wait to back to DL next June and I don't want to wait 2 years again, from now on I want every June for DL and the other trips will be DW.

I say go all you can whenever you have the time off and can afford it.

 

[Cool-Beans]

If it is your dream vacation, I think you should do it. It isn't all that often we get to have a dream-come-true!

But, you might find that when the dream comes true it isn't what you thought it would be. That's how it usually works with dreams-come-true.

Still, I'll be in the minority and say Go For It!

 

[POB14]

And doing them all at one time could easily spoil one, the other, or both coast's Disneys due to "too much of a good thing," all at once.
Think Snickers bars, Hershey bars, M&Ms and Three Musketeers bars made into a large dessert. (Hey, I know, some folks would go for that in a minute... I'm just sayin'...)

I'll have two, please, and a large Coke.

 

[Disneywoz]

We did this and my wife was 7 months pregnant at the time. We flew from Dallas to LAX, my wife had a work Christmas party in LA, so we flew to LAX and did DL for two days. Then after the party, we flew direct from LAX to Orlando and did WDW for another 5 days. WDW was planned well in advance of finding out about the Christmas party.

I say go for it. It is one of those things you can always say you did. My dream trip would be to go around the world visiting each Disney park all on one trip. Maybe some day. I would do it again.

Yes, you start to compare but so what. If you have been to WDW a bunch of times and go to DL for your first time, you are going to compare anyway.
Also don't worry about jet lag. Remember this is your first time to DL, when you get in, you will be so excited to see the park, that jet lag won't hit for a while. If Jetblue does fly direct from Orlando to Long Beach, take that. If not, take the direct flight to LAX and make the drive. I would rather drive an hour from the airport than have to make a stopover somewhere.

 

[Missy1961]

too much travel for me.