Will I be disappointed by Disneyland/DCA?

[megs1313]

Habitual WDW visitors, but my DH really wants to do something new. He is suggesting Disneyland. Will we find it horribly disappointing compared to WDW? My DH is looking for something a little more low key. I prefer to be entertained. Anyone have thoughts?

 

[GoHorns94]

We recently returned to Disneyland after 3 straight trips to WDW and absolutely loved our time there again. Both coasts have their pros/cons and unique parts and we truly enjoy visiting each.

As the family Disney planner, I have found DL/DCA to be way more laid back overall which makes it easier to plan and be more spontaneous. Park hopping doesn’t get any easier either with the entrances to both parks about 200 yards from one another.

Cars Land and the Marvel Campus at DCA are worth the visit alone. The weather is generally much more pleasant than Orlando too.

And you are walking in Walt’s footsteps in the original park he built.

Disneyland is just special and a ton of fun.

We will continue to visit both coasts - hope you enjoy it as much as we have!

 

[mdmost]

If you go to Disneyland expecting it to be like WDW, you'll be disappointed. If you go into wanting to get lost in the magic of what Walt built, you'll really enjoy it. Yes, it's smaller and possibly more crowded. The castle is smaller. But there's an incredible charm to how intimate it is. And the weather can just be incredible compared to Orlando. I think the proximity of both parks makes it a lot easier to have a more laid back experience. You can get a hotel across the street and be in the parks in under 10 minutes.

Come over to the Disneyland portion of this site and we can give you some great tips. Wife and I spent a whole day on our last trip just taking it easy while the kids were off doing all the rides they wanted. I don't think we could accomplish that as easily at WDW.

 

[MillauFr]

I think the problem you are going to have is that you are going to feel ripped off at the inferior rides they have in Florida. Pirates, Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain, Raider Springs, Small World, Indiana Jones.

 

[FigmentFans]

I have been to WDW and Disneyland; as another poster said, they are different. Not worrying about transportation in Disneyland is definitely a plus, and there are multiple places to eat right outside Disneyland (mostly chains) and in Downtown Disney. If you ever have been to Universal Orlando, it is a similar layout with the two parks and the dining/shopping area all right next to each other. Our hotel was less than a 10 minute walk to the front gate.
It is charming, but I would try to avoid a busy time as it does tend to get more crowded as it is more compact. Also, after 3 days we basically covered all the rides and attractions (rope dropped each day), so if you are planning to stay for a week or more, you may want to find other things to do - we did a foodie tour and visited one of the studios - YMMV.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Habitual WDW visitors, but my DH really wants to do something new. He is suggesting Disneyland. Will we find it horribly disappointing compared to WDW? My DH is looking for something a little more low key. I prefer to be entertained. Anyone have thoughts?

Not at all!!! We have visited WDW more than 20 times and went to DL for the first time last summer and LOVED IT!!! Go with an open mind. Explore all that DL has to offer! Keep comparisons to a minimum and you’ll have a great time!!

WDW will always be ‘home’ to us but we’re already talking about our next visit to DL too!

 

[KateDrake]

I agree with what others have said - it's all about expectations. I highly prefer the original and DCA over WDW! But I love that it is so easy to move from one park to another, and I can literally stay across the street and have a 5 minute walk to the park. The duplicate rides are FAR superior. You can wave to Walt in his apartment above the firehouse, and just feel the amazing spirit that pervades his park. Everything is just EASIER there.

Now that said, it does tend to get a bit crowded with locals, so it's important to time when you go. But we've had a fantastic time every time we've gone, and we've ended up where we stay longer and longer each time. We now consistently go for 5 days and ride all our favorites over and over again!

 

[StarSeven7]

After several trips to WDW, we went to Disneyland for the first time last year and I probably prefer it to WDW now! We're heading to WDW next week and I sorta wish it were Disneyland! Disneyland for me has all my favorite WDW attractions in two compact parks that it's super easy to walk between. We were able to walk from our hotel and it was so freeing to not rely on transportation! After fireworks (that we didn't need to stand around for an hour+ beforehand to find a decent spot, we just rolled up a few minutes before they started), we were back in our hotel room 10 minutes later! Most of the rides that were the same as WDW, we preferred the Disneyland version. Also, Incredicoaster is probably my favorite Disney ride anywhere now and the Guardians of the Galaxy version of Tower of Terror blew us away - we loved it so much more than Tower of Terror at HS!

 

[bsjs0708]

I think of it this way...WDW is the crazy, over the top excessive fun uncle while DL is the grandma that offers warm hugs, smiles, kind words....DL has a special nostalgic place in my heart as Walts original vision... enjoy DL for it is

 

[Renarr]

We went to Disneyland twice in 2022 after annual trips to WDW started pre-pandemic until 2020.

The cons for us:

• EPCOT is by far our favorite park and the lack of something comparable made it so that we didn't enjoy the DLR trips as much.
• We also found we didn't like as many of the restaurants.
• We generally have to go at more-crowded times because of my work schedule, and navigating around in those crowded environments was less fun.

The pros for us:

• We loved Cars Land, the new Marvel area, and Pixar Pier.
• We loved staying in hotels without having to deal with the buses.
• It was a much shorter flight for us than Orlando.

We're probably always going to be WDW people, but going to DLR instead periodically is definitely well worth considering for a change of pace!

 

[dalmatian7]

After a lifetime of WDW visits, we did our first DL visit in November. I knew that the parks were close, but we stayed at the Grand Californian and I was stunned that the hotel and DCA backed up to one another. Someone else mentioned how Universal is in FL and this is even closer. We only had one park day (I know, I know) but armed with a hotel room there and park hoppers, DD12 and I were able to rope drop and pop back to the room to drop off stuff as we needed (26K steps). That was awesome. It let my non disney DH hang in the room and join us as he wished (or DD requested). We made it a priority to try to hit as much as we could that was different than WDW. I didn't think I would like a change to ToT and it is DD's favorite ride in WDW (and was her first thrill ride). We loved Guardians and rode it twice. Radiator Springs racers was great too and the Matterhorn was as spine adjusting as everyone said it would be (but so fun). We ran out of time (and energy) to hit everything we wanted to, but really enjoyed walking in the history. DD12 was a big fan of those shows on Disney+ that talked about the making of the parks and was thrilled to see it in person.
The only thinkgI will say is, the castle just didn't do it for me like it does in WDW. We entered DL as our park hop, so Main Street was already crowded and you just couldn't get a good look. I thinks it just being used to the castle being so omnipresent in FL.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Imho: No


You will LOVE IT


Now granted we did a lot more than just DLR (feel free to check out my trip report in my signature and DM if you have questions), but it was so much fun!


A lot easier to navigate, some differences in rides that are similar (and of course different rides in general) the FOOD (quick service is it’s own entity out there of epicness) and you don’t have to stay on property. Numerous good neighbor hotels line the streets surrounding it and are easy access. Plus some are close to cheaper options for meals!

Highly recommend flying into Santa Ana airport and renting a car if possible though-less hassle than LAX

 

[Proud Cheapskate]

I live in MA and had WDW APS for many years. If I lived closer to CA I'd never go back to WDW again.

 

[MamaMermaid]

Different strokes... to me, Disneyland is unique and "vintage"; worth visiting for a few days, especially since they have some different stuff, but it's not my preferred resort.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I'm a lifetime WDW visitor and went to Disneyland for the first time a few years ago. Now I think Disneyland is superior in every way. It somewhat ruined WDW for me lol You won't be disappointed. Disneyland is wonderful. Disneyland doesn't have the "resort" vibe WDW does and a lot of the table service there kinda sucks, but I like to bundle park days with exploring places + restaurants in Southern California so the lack of bubble and bad table service did not bother me.

 

[lugnut33]

I have always preferred DL over WDW, but my kids are the opposite. I loved staying close to the park entrance to be able to just walk to the parks. So convenient.

You'll just have to go and find out for yourself.

 

[ktlm]

The only thing we miss when we go to DL/DCA is EPCOT world showcase. Outside of that, DH would tell you he prefers DLR to WDW, and we are long time WDW people. There is a lot less hassle because everything is in walking distance. For a WDW person the 2 parks just feel like one big park (highly recommend hoppers as hopping takes 5 minutes), and then DTD is right outside the park gates. There is plenty to entertain you at DL/DLR-- plus you get to experience Carsland, Avengers Campus, the Alice in Wonderland ride, a better Space Mountain and POTC, Indiana Jones ride, and more!

Also we like that at WDW, we spend 8 nights and never leave the property, but at DLR, we fly in- are in a park by 1:00 p.m., spend 4 nights (partial days in the parks on arrival day and leaving day), and then spend 4 nights somewhere else in California doing something else fun. We usually head down to the San Diego area and beaches in between, but we have also gone the other way to Universal/LA. If your DH is wanting something more low key-- I highly recommend going south towards San Diego instead of North towards L.A!

 

[soniam]

I grew up going to WDW. I love Disneyland. I am really into the history of the parks now, but I wasn't on our first visit. I really like both, and we try to go to both frequently. They really are different parks and have their different charms and pace. I do miss some of my favorites from each park when I visit the other that doesn't have it, but that's the nature of things. It just makes you want to go back to each of them more and more.

 

[fflmaster]

My family went to DL/DCA this past summer and liked it a lot. The close proximity of both parks makes it very easy to park hop.

However, we didn't find the food very good or enough options in the park. We had to venture to Downtown Disney or outside altogether.

 

[dina444444]

Speaking to crowds. The walkways at Disneyland are smaller so it can feel more crowded than it actually is. Wait times at DLR tend to be lower than WDW. We have just as many attractions in our 2 parks as WDW has in all 4.