A WDW Vet's First Disneyland Visit

[Shanti]

My son and I just returned from a weekend visit to Disneyland. It was our first visit there, but we had already been to WDW several times. Here are a few things I noticed:

• General park touring skills transfer well between WDW and DLR. Over the years I've become quite good at efficient, enjoyable touring of the WDW theme parks. Those skills transferred well to the Disneyland parks, even though at DLR I had to use maps and helpful cast members to find many of the rides.
• FastPasses (the really useful ones) are easier to get at DLR than at WDW. At WDW, once you've booked (waaaaay in advance) your 3 FPs, you're lucky to get anything good after that. At DLR, I was able to use MaxPass to keep loading very useful FPs all day. This was almost effortless and awesome.
• DLR does not feel small when you are inside it. I read so much prior to the trip about the small size of Disneyland, but Disneyland Park felt bigger than Magic Kingdom to me, possibly because it had so many more attractions. I have no idea which is physically bigger, but Disneyland just never felt small to me. The Disneyland castle is small, but the Matterhorn is tall and kind of makes up for the short castle in terms of being a landmark.
• Imo, park hopper tickets and staying onsite are the way to go at DLR. It was incredibly easy to park hop at DLR, as the parks are just steps away from each other. And staying at Disneyland Hotel and never leaving the Disney bubble kept the entire trip magical, even more so than at WDW, as there were no daily transportation hassles to deal with. And having EMH every day at one of the parks was a huge bonus.
• The monorail is more efficient at WDW. The one at WDW runs more frequently, and for much longer hours. The one at DLR is more of an attraction than practical transportation.
• Both resorts offer good dining, but WDW comes out ahead in this regard, particularly in regard to table service dining. We didn't go hungry at Disneyland, though.
• Transportation between the airport and the resort is much easier at WDW. Magical Express would be highly welcome at the Disneyland resorts! We used a well spoken of town car service, but didn't find it quite up to the standards of the town car services we've used in Orlando.

Our visit to Disneyland was so fun and magical! I was expecting it to be a one and done, but now know that we'll have to go back.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Thanks for sharing @Shanti, great post. I have the DL itch as well...maybe someday!

 

[mom2rtk]

Glad you had a great trip! We've been to both resorts a number of times and mirror many of your feelings.

 

[ktlm]

Glad you had a great trip!! You had me until dining. I still call us WDW vets, but we have been alternating between coasts and have been to DLR every year for the past 8 years. I figure there are so many locals that go to DLR about once a week or even more, that give great reports on the board, that I can't call myself a "vet" for a once a year trip! We would agree with absolutely everything you said, except for that we think the Counter service dining at DLR far far surpasses counter service at WDW. I would go crazy eating WDW counter service for more than a day, but I could spend a whole DLR trip eating counter service and be fine. There definitely are far more table service options at WDW, but Café Orleans is one of our favorites from both coasts, and just for the character interaction, we think Minnie's breakfast is far superior to any character meal at WDW. We absolutely agree park hoppers are a must, and being WDW vets, we love staying at DLH and being in the bubble. We did wind up coming in a day early one trip and wound up outside the bubble for a night as DLH was full- and we found we far prefer the bubble!

Be careful- the next thing you know you will be alternating coasts too! We booked our "one and done" family trip because we just wanted DD (then 4) to see the Aladdin show before it closed (they announced it was closing and then extended it for several more years). Dh and I had been once as adults on a business trip and seen Aladdin, and we really wanted our then Aladdin obsessed pre-schooler to see that show before it was gone. That was 7 1/2 years and 8 trips ago!

 

[Shanti]

Glad you had a great trip!! You had me until dining. I still call us WDW vets, but we have been alternating between coasts and have been to DLR every year for the past 8 years. I figure there are so many locals that go to DLR about once a week or even more, that give great reports on the board, that I can't call myself a "vet" for a once a year trip! We would agree with absolutely everything you said, except for that we think the Counter service dining at DLR far far surpasses counter service at WDW. I would go crazy eating WDW counter service for more than a day, but I could spend a whole DLR trip eating counter service and be fine. There definitely are far more table service options at WDW, but Café Orleans is one of our favorites from both coasts, and just for the character interaction, we think Minnie's breakfast is far superior to any character meal at WDW. We absolutely agree park hoppers are a must, and being WDW vets, we love staying at DLH and being in the bubble. We did wind up coming in a day early one trip and wound up outside the bubble for a night as DLH was full- and we found we far prefer the bubble!

Be careful- the next thing you know you will be alternating coasts too! We booked our "one and done" family trip because we just wanted DD (then 4) to see the Aladdin show before it closed (they announced it was closing and then extended it for several more years). Dh and I had been once as adults on a business trip and seen Aladdin, and we really wanted our then Aladdin obsessed pre-schooler to see that show before it was gone. That was 7 1/2 years and 8 trips ago!

We really liked Minnie's Breakfast, too. Loved the variety of characters, liked the decor, and the food was fine. I was unimpressed with brunch at Goofy's Kitchen (although characters were a highlight), Steakhouse 55 was nice but nothing really special, & overall there were just fewer table service options at DLR than you would have within the same number of parks/resorts at WDW. We eat mostly table service because my son's gluten restriction tends to be better accomodated at table service than at counter service restaurants.