WDW vs. DL - poss DL-first timer needs info/advice

[LoDivaLoca]

Hi everyone.... I'm a BIG fan of WDW (who isn't?!) and I was thinking of POSSIBLY planning my next trip to DL instead. I know WDW has more to offer - but I'm sure DL has plenty to offer too. Does anyone have any info/advice that could persuade me to go to DL instead? (I know such a generic question, and it's my first time venturing to 'this side of the board'....)

Thanks!

 

[twinz]

We are also going to DL for the first time (we've been to WDW several times), and would love to hear what you guys have to say. We are going the first two weeks of December, and would also love to know what we can expect weather wise. THANK YOU

 

[mikeymars]

Seasoned DVCer who just got back from a trip to Disneyland (stayed at the Grand Californian). The short form comparison:

WDW positives:

- Parks generally have longer hours
- Unlike Disneyland, major attractions don't get shut down during high season.
- Much broader selection of dining
- Broader hotel options
- Easier to drive in area (driving around Disneyland is a nightmare).
- Has high quality on site water parks
- Things feel less crowded because there's more space

Disneyland positives:

- If you stay on property, everyplace is walkable - which saves a huge amount of time (at WDW, even with the best plans tons of time is spent in transit).
- Fantasmic is better than at WDW (albeit viewing is a nightmare unless you buy pricey special tickets for preferred veiwing spots).
- Disneyland Park does have a different feel than the Magic Kingdom; Walt's feel is clearly here, especially in Fantasyland.
- Seems to be more live entertainment than at WDW - Street musicians in Downtown Disney, bands and singers in Cailfornia Adventure, acrobats in Disneyland.
- FASTPASS works better at Disneyland - if you buy your tickets from Disney Travel, they come with the special benefit of letting you get simultaneous fastpasses for more than one attraction at a time. That allowed us to repeatedly do major atttractions as walk ons almost all day long during the middle of high season.

So, which do I prefer? Hard to say - I like my home resort (the Boardwalk) better than any of the hotels at Disneyland (Yes, the Grand Californinan is nice, but not THAT nice, ergo it's overrated), as well as the variety of things to do at WDW. But Disneyland definitely has appeal in terms of convenience (small and managable) as well as that great "super-fastpass" benefit.

 

[LoDivaLoca]

Thank you MikeyMars!!! VERY informative....exactly what I was looking for Extra Pixie Dust to you!!!

 

[Gottaluvthemouse]

Living here may tend to make me biased, but here goes.

DLR is smaller than WDW but there are many more attractions inside Disneyland than the MK. It was planed so that virtually every inch has been utilized. They had to, the land cost a fortune!
Though all three of the hotel are good the best by far is the Disneyland Hotel. If you are planning to stay on the property & want the total magical experience, this is the way to go.

There is a special magical feeling you will get just walking into Disneyland that can not be duplicated at any other park. I am not saying there is not magic at the other parks. But walk under the arches onto Main Street, look up over the Fire House & notice that there is a light on in the window. That light is left on to remind us that "Walt is in the Park". This was his signal to his employees when Disneyland was being build. That space above the fire house was his apartment where he would stay if it was too late to journey home at night during the 1 one year it took to build Disneyland.

Right now indeed there are some E ticket attractions down. We are gearing up for the 50th anniversary. But as of today Space Mountain, Sleeping Beauty Castle - Attraction Walkway & SuperStar Limo are the only attractions closed.

I definitely do think that we do have something to offer everyone. Our weather is great. Ca. has many other wonderful sites besides DLR to see if one has time while visiting.

 

[LoDivaLoca]

Thanks

I forgot to mention that we're looking at maybe going around NYE.....I think the weather is a little rainy then, right?

 

[Bell Family]

The weather in So. Cal in late December / early January can be rainy, but usually is beautiful... Just watch the Rose Parade on New Year's Day. We have had our share of cold rainy Christmas times, but we have also had 80+ degree days. As a life long So. Cal girl - I would not worry about the weather.

The biggest problem will be the crowds. The week between Christmas and New Years is one of the busiest of the year. We have annual passes and we avoid that week like the plague. We enjoy the Christmas decorations and special activites the weeks leading up to Christmas and then usually go after New Years for one more touch of the holidays before they take the decorations down (about January 6 - depending on where the weekends fall). When they take them down it is a miracle but they all go down overnight.

I have been to WDW twice (most recently in June). I love the differences between the two and love Epcot. However, Disneyland has it over Magic Kingdom any day.

Which ever you choose, have a magical trip.

 

[Amy]

Hi all! I, too, am thinking of visiting Disneyland next summer (probably June or July). Have been to WDW 4 times, haven't been to Disneyland since 1963 (I'm not THAT old - I was 4 at the time) so I have a few questions:

- How many days should we plan for the parks? Our boys will be 12 and 14 next summer and they LOVE coasters. Should I plan one day for Disneyland and one day for California Adventure? Or can we do both the same day?

- What are the Disneyland hotels like? The one that's in the middle of the park sounds pretty neat. Is it worth the money?

- I was looking on the Disneyland web site, but I couldn't find anywhere to order a vacation planning video like you can order for WDW. Is there some place I can get one?

- How horrible is California heat in June/July? Each time we've gone to WDW it's been June and we've survived. Just trying to get a feel for California heat.

- How far is Universal Studios from Disneyland?

I'm sure I'll think of more questions as I get more into planning. Thanks for your help!

 

[mom_rules]

We leave for our first visit to DLR in 31 days YEAH!!!
Have been to WDW several times - the last two have been at Yacht and Beach Club on the gold plan. This time it will be Grand Californian - Concierge. We're really looking forward to it as well as a visit to Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Fashion Island, The Block and Knotts. Vacation Planning has made all our PS, special treats in the room each night and we're waiting for confirmation of Fantasmic Balcony.

Any advice. What do you think?

 

[Amy]

I thought of another question re Disneyland:

When making reservations, are there as many "codes" and things as there are when staying at WDW?

 

[mom_rules]

Does not appear to be-They have AP rates out and a pay for 3 stay for 4 special. What reservation told me is that rates are charged according to how full the hotels are-so if you book early and not many rooms are booked you have a better chance of getting a good rate (is this urban myth?). Don't really have a peak, regular, moderate because most guests are from CA.
Is this true?

 

[Bell Family]

Amy...

In June or July it will be crowded - I would allow a day for each park. DCA may not fill a whole day, but if you have hopper passes, you can go back to Disneyland to see what you missed. Use FastPass to avoid long waits.

There is a video (I just received a copy recently). I have not watched it, but check the site again - if it is not there, call and order it.

The weather is June can be overcast and actually cold in the early morning and after dark. We call it "June Gloom" and this year it lasted from May into late June. When we do get the heat, usually late June - October, it is generally pretty dry heat (mid 80s to over 100 - not too many of those really hot days). Disneyland has more shade than WDW, but DCA is lacking for shade and can get warm. I find the heat here is much easier to deal with than the humidity in Florida.

Universal on a really good day is 1 1/2 hours away by car - but really more like 2 hours if there are no major accidents. Our freeways are horrible, and public transportation is not great either. Although it is getting better. You could possible take the train and metrolink to get there. If you are not used to driving our crazy freeways, a bus tour or the train might be a better option. I've posted the metrolink website below for you to look at. We have not been to Universal in the last 20 years, so I can't tell you much about it, but your kids seem to be the right age for it.

http://www.mta.net/

Have a fun trip.

 

[Amy]

Thanks much, Bell Family and mom_rules! I get so excited when I'm in the planning stages! We'd like to do LA, Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon, but already we've got 2 days for Disnley/Calif. Adventure, 1 day for Universal, plus a day to visit my BIL in LA, and we haven't even gotten to Vegas or Grand Canyon yet! I guess this is what planning is all about........

 

[rrobalew]

There ARE different rates, but I'm not sure how commoners like us get them. On my last trip, I asked for the cheapest rate available and had a great CM who spent quite a bit of time looking for different rates. I could hear her muttering the letters as she tried different codes. One great tip: Expedia often has the lowest rate, and if you mention that rate when you call Disney, they'll match it - at least they did the last two times I made reservations. For example, the initial rate I was quoted was $200+ a night, but when I mentioned Expedia's $150 rate, I got that. This lets you get the best rate, but get it from Disney so that you can book everything together.

My favorite thing about Disneyland is being able to walk anywhere you want to go in 10-15 minutes, whether it's from a Disney hotel to a park or from one park to another. Definitely get a park hopper pass and you can easily hop back and forth across parks to catch all of the shows. Last week, the times were such that we could watch the evening Parade of the Stars at Disneyland, then walk over to California Adventure and get a good spot 20 minutes before the Spectromagic Parade, and then walk back To Disneyland and get a good spot for the fireworks. Try that at WDW!!!

I think the best place to stay is the Disneyland Hotel with a fireworks view. This situates you in the hotel at a point closest to the Downtown Disney monorail station for Disneyland and, obviously, gives you a view of the Disneyland fireworks from your hotel. The Grand Californian is closer to the parks, but costs much more. The Paradise Pier is cheaper, but it's a bit farther of a walk (although probably only 5 minutes or a little more). The Disneyland Hotel also has Goofy's Kitchen, which has character meal buffets for all 3 meals. The characters vary wich each meal, so you can do this multiple times and see different characters.

As I previously mentioned, there's a monorail station in Downtown Disney close to the Disneyland Hotel and convenient for the Paradise Pier Hotel. This monorail drops you off in Fantasyland, which, in the morning, gives you a bit of a jump on people entering via the main entrance. Also, there's a special entrance at the Fantasyland station for Disney hotel guests. This helps cut down on your wait when returning to your hotel.

Here's some tips for shows:
- The parade at Disneyland runs twice a day (at least it did this summer). The first parade will start at one end of the park, and the next one will reverse direction and start where it ended for the first parade. If you have small kids who like the Alice in Wonderland ride, find out which parade starts at It's a Small World. Then, right when that parade is scheduled to start, get in line for the Alice ride. You'll get to watch the parade while in line, and then probably get to go on the ride one or two more times in a row with NO line. No fastpass needed (or available).
- People seem to line up earlier for the Spectromagic parade. Last week, at about 20-30 minutes before the parade, the "front row" along the road was already pretty much taken. While at the Parade of the Stars at Disneyland, there were still plenty of spots on the curb at 20 minutes prior.
- For the Disneyland fireworks, Tinkerbell does not fly during the winter. In the summer, she starts from the Matterhorn, to the right of the castle. A good spot to watch the show is to the right of the castle, just as the road starts to curve back left around the castle. There's a little area with water fountains and benches. From the benches, you have a great view of Tink and a clear view of all of the fireworks. Last week this area was almost empty, even though the parks were quite crowded.
- Check the California Adventure schedule for times when the Aladdin show starts 1 hour after the Playhouse Disney show. The Playhouse Disney show is 20 minutes and the line for the Aladdin show opens 40 minutes before the show. So this schedule allows you to leave Playhouse Disney and walk up to the Aladdin show right when the lines open (you no longer get tickets to Aladdin in the morning as was previously done). The theater doors open 20 minutes prior, so you'll only have a 20 minute wait in line. But in the summer you'll still want to be first in line so that you're waiting in the shade.

As another poster mentioned, some Disneyland fastpasses allow you to hold multiple passes at once. AAA offers these, but from other posts on this board it sounds like you may need to order these many days in advance. Disney also offers these, but make sure to ask what you're getting. We got passes with our room, using the number on the Disneyland hotels page, and did not get this benefit. At check-in, the CM said it was some other Disneyland reservation system that offered these (I guess it's like the two reservation systems that WDW has).

Another thing I like is that, I think since the resort area is smaller, when you meet face characters multiple times they're more likely to be the same person. For example, we met Belle at Goofy's Kitchen in the Disneyland Hotel and my daughter talked to her about starting kindergarten. We then met Belle again the next day at the Disneyland park and it was the same girl. She remembered my daughter, even her name, and mentioned how exciting kindergarten was going to be. We had a similar experience with Snow White on a previous trip.

 

[sandygirl]

I echo rrobalew's post. Good stuff!

M DD6 and I just returned from Disneyland. We are DVC members and our home is the Villas at Wilderness Lodge. We are huge WDW fans. Having said that, I LOVED Disneyland. We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel on DVC points. We had a fireworks view room and it was wonderful. DD went to sleep each night looking up at the pixie dust border and tinkerbell on the wall. She just loved it. Well worth the points to stay there. It was within walking distance of DD, DL and CA. Downtown Disney was nicer than WDW. I enjoyed the street musicians and the overall feel of the area.

You can walk across a plaza from Disneyland to California Adventure. We did both parks each day. The parade was wonderful. We actually participated in the 8 PM parade. Look for the bus on the route about 45 mins before the parade starts, They are looking for guests to participate. Just ask!!

The Aladdin Show is terrific. Don't miss it. Sit in balconey level. You will see more from there.

We tried to do all the things that are different from WDW. I think we succeeded. It's a Small World is in both parks but I prefered DL to WDW.

I am so glad we made the trip to Disneyland. It was well worth it. Goofy's Kitchen was great. We did the dinner and the breakfast. Different characters were there each time. And they ask the kids to join them in a dance on the floor instead of just watching the characters dance. I think DL has more character interaction than WDW. My DD had so much fun.

It is different. If you love WDW, you will like DL. Just don't look for the hugeness. One of the things I appreciated about DL was its intimate feel. The MAGIC was more evident, I think. I didn't think the crowds were unmanageable. My cousins who are AP joined us one day and could not get over the crowd. They usually visit in Oct and say the crowds are non-existant.

I miss it already!

 

[Refillable Mug Dork]

A couple of things I really enjoy at DL that are not available at WDW are: The Indiana Jones Ride (Much better than Dinosaur at WDW) and the cool holiday overlays for HM and IASW.

The heat in Cali is also more bearable than Fla. because of the lower humidity.

I love both.

 

[LoDivaLoca]

WOW - thanks for ALLLLLLL the good stuff guys!!

You actually may convince me to go to DL after all (I started leaning towards WDW again...) I just got my DL video and DCA looked HUGE! But according to you folks, DL is bigger...? Either way - I'm just hoping to save enough to go. I will probably have to stay at the HoJo across the street, but I here it's VERY close. (Sounds so weird to me, being a WDW gal myself.)

I'm aiming to go for either NYE or just after NYE...so I'm hoping to find out what the hours will be (and a fast/effecient way to get to Universal! I'll check that link above, thanks!)

Keep the good info coming!!

 

[disneyfreak1]

I have switched our timeshare condo to Peacock Suites in Anaheim for March 20th. Since I live in Florida, I have been to WDW numerous times, but never to Disneyland. Thanks so much for all the great info!

 

[Grog]

(and a fast/effecient way to get to Universal! I'll check that link above, thanks!)

We took VIP Tours which is located not too far down Harbor Blvd from the HoJo. I think transportation and park tickets were about $62 or so. The drive took 45 minutes in the morning, but closer to two hours coming back due to rush hour traffic.

 

[donnsuz]

We just got back from a big family trip to WDW. It is only the 2nd time we've gone...last time was 10yrs ago. However, we've been to DL several times. To me DL just seems more Walt Disney and WDW seems more Disney Inc. DL is more magic, childlike, definately smaller and easier to get around. The addition of DCA and Downtown Disney has added more amenities and similarities to WDW. As a matter of fact, my 20yoa DS said several times during our WDW trip that DL was better.