Differences between WDW and DL

[surgefest]

Let me start by saying i've read Hydroguy's differences between WDW and DL and it was sooooo informative and i learned a lot from it. but i wanted to see from those of you who have been to both places especially if yours a WDW vet, What the most notable differences were between the two places. Thanks for all responses!

 

[Disney Dreams]

There are 3 MAJOR differences:
1 - At DLR you have Disneyland and DCA (which is a much smaller park, not comparable as a stand alone imho)
At WDW you have 4 stand alone parks and 2 water parks.

2 - You can very easily walk back and forth from DL and DCA throughout the day (several times) if you wanted.
WDW parks are much more spread out, requiring transportation to do so and more planning to make effective use of your time

3 - WDW is self-contained.
DLR not like this. There are the 3 hotels on property, but if you stay off-property, you can still be VERY close. You can eat across the street and walk "home." At WDW, you cannot do this. To leave the WDW resort is a "to do."

In my opinion, these are the biggest most basic differences.

 

[DLR29]

I agree with Disney Dreams, but also would add:

4) Type of people visiting: DLR pulls in most of its attendance from locals, whereas WDW has mostly tourists. On my trip to WDW I definitely noticed more languages being spoken and the whole atmosphere seemed more diverse. Maybe that's just me though.

5) Dining: While WDW has hundreds of choices and a really well designed dining plan, DLR has a few high-quality restaurants, but NOTHING at all like WDW's dining system.

 

[mccathy]

There are 3 MAJOR differences:
1 - At DLR you have Disneyland and DCA (which is a much smaller park, not comparable as a stand alone imho)
At WDW you have 4 stand alone parks and 2 water parks.

2 - You can very easily walk back and forth from DL and DCA throughout the day (several times) if you wanted.
WDW parks are much more spread out, requiring transportation to do so and more planning to make effective use of your time

3 - WDW is self-contained.
DLR not like this. There are the 3 hotels on property, but if you stay off-property, you can still be VERY close. You can eat across the street and walk "home." At WDW, you cannot do this. To leave the WDW resort is a "to do."



In my opinion, these are the biggest most basic differences.

Hmmm.... so what would the advantages be to stay on Disney Property - if you can walk from any of those hotels? There's no transportation to worry about, it sounds like?

 

[PinkBudgie]

One advantage is you get to use Magic Morning everyday it is available during your stay. The Grand Californian would be handy, but very expensive. We considered staying there for our anniversay coming up but realized we could stay a week at a very nice hotel off site for the price of several days there. So we picked the week. Personally, I think some of the nicer hotels are about a mile to 3 miles from DLR. The ones that are closer seem more like just ok places but nothing fancy but sometimes the prices are still high. I know people will come on and tell you about the deals at Hojos but I haven't stayed there so can't say more about it. Sounds like a good deal though if you want close at a good price.

 

[farmfresh]

Main advantage relates to one of Dl's differences. If you stay at a Disney property you can take advantage of early morning entry to Disneyland (not DCA) There are no extra magic hours, just certain days when dl opens earlier for house guests and for people with certain types of tickets (eg a three daypass gets you one early entry/magic morning).

Other than that, although the parks seem smaller, there is considerably more packed into each one than you would find at WDW. This is imho is a real benefit.

The other, as mentioned, is that you can walk to the parks easily from either on property or off.

 

[mccathy]

One advantage is you get to use Magic Morning everyday it is available during your stay. The Grand Californian would be handy, but very expensive. We considered staying there for our anniversay coming up but realized we could stay a week at a very nice hotel off site for the price of several days there. So we picked the week. Personally, I think some of the nicer hotels are about a mile to 3 miles from DLR. The ones that are closer seem more like just ok places but nothing fancy but sometimes the prices are still high. I know people will come on and tell you about the deals at Hojos but I haven't stayed there so can't say more about it. Sounds like a good deal though if you want close at a good price.

Where are you going to stay? I have no clue about the hotel for DL! All 3 Disney hotels are close enough to walk, though? I forgot about the Magic Hours - do they only do mornings for DL? No evening magic hours? (not that with two kids under 5 we'd use the evening ones, just wondering)

 

[DLR29]

Where are you going to stay? I have no clue about the hotel for DL! All 3 Disney hotels are close enough to walk, though? I forgot about the Magic Hours - do they only do mornings for DL? No evening magic hours? (not that with two kids under 5 we'd use the evening ones, just wondering)

Here's all that you need to know about Magic Mornings:
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1675403

As for staying onsite vs. offsite, the extra MM or two (maybe) is definitely not worth an extra $100+ per night (in my opinion).

 

[MichaelColey]

DLR takes much less planning. WDW is more of an all-encompassing experience, where it's beneficial to stay on site and eat on site.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Where are you going to stay? I have no clue about the hotel for DL! All 3 Disney hotels are close enough to walk, though? I forgot about the Magic Hours - do they only do mornings for DL? No evening magic hours? (not that with two kids under 5 we'd use the evening ones, just wondering)

We are staying at Embassy Suites South for $150 a night this June. We chose it because Embassy Suites are very nice- all rooms have a living room with tv, bedroom with tv, and fridge and microwave. They have a very nice free breakfast that starts at 6:30am. This will save us time and money and I'll get my protien (eggs) for breakfast to hold me through the morning. It is not walking distance but there is the ART shuttle. I refuse to take crowded busses though so we will drive and pay the parking. If you are flying in and don't want a rental then you should look at walking distance places. I really hate those shuttles, but some don't mind them.

There are no extra evening hours.

 

[tinkermell]

Where are you going to stay? I have no clue about the hotel for DL! All 3 Disney hotels are close enough to walk, though? I forgot about the Magic Hours - do they only do mornings for DL? No evening magic hours? (not that with two kids under 5 we'd use the evening ones, just wondering)

During off season, DL will close usually around 8:00pm during the week, and midnight over the weekend. In peak season and summer, DL stays open every night of the week till midnight. If they were to close DL early for evening magic hours like the MK, there would be mutiny amongst the people!!!

 

[mechurchlady]

WDW is huge thus it can build a state of the art bakery for special diets or build a building dedicated to meeting special room needs, travel needs, and dietary needs. WDW can buy a case of gluten free beer and spread the cost and beer among 30 restaurants or even store the beer in a warehouse and have chefs special order things like gluten free cookies, beer, bread and snacks.

WDW has newer kitchens even in the older parts of the parks. Plaza Inn and other retaurants date back to the 1960's and 1950's and often are smaller than modern restaurant kitchens. Ask people where the best park burgers are and often people do not like DL burgers but love the Taste Pilot burgers because that restaurant is newer.

WDW is newer, bigger, has more clientele, and more buying power as well as space to build special stuff.

 

[Sherwin]

WDW resort is huge. It's around 40 square miles in area, the size of many mid-sized cities in the US, most of which is undeveloped wilderness/swampland. IN comparison, DLR is more or less 1 square mile. You have to go aways from Orlando, so when you drive into the resort, you already feel like you've fled civilization. The problem is that since all the parks are spread out, you have to take a bus or some motorized transportation to get from one park to another. For some, that's a hassle. DLR, on the other hand, was built into a small plot of Anaheim farmland, then was just surrounded by new property developments, which literally boxed it in. It tooks only a matter of minutes on foot to leave the resort onto busy Harbor blvd. While some WDW vets don't like how "you can't escape reality" at DLR, I think the resort is REALLY good at concealing that when you're inside the parks.

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

Staying on Disney Property does one thing and that is a bit better of a job on "encasing" you in the Disney environment - as is found in WDW - only better. You walk through DTD on the way to your hotel, so you don't feel as much like you are "leaving the magic". When you go offsite, you go out onto Harbor and you are out. The trade-off is price. If you know that is the process and are okay with that, then you can definitely find wonderful deals and hotel experiences.

Just because WDW is bigger, doesn't mean it's better quality and service.
The people who work here put just as much heart into what they do and in trying to go above and beyond to get guests what they need for a quality trip as the WDW cast and, sometimes, I think even more so.

I always hear Bumbershoot (Molly) constantly say how much the folks at DL try to do for their family's special dietary needs. I believe a previous poster has also said the same thing. They still provide ingredient lists, they have rooms for folks with special needs in the hotels.

I've been to WDW over 25 times since 1989 and one thing I do notice when there is that there are more CMs that go to Disney just to get a job. They are one of the largest employers in central FL. Here, it feels like more people are there because they want to be. Disney certainly doesn't pay as much as other places, so why else choose them for an employer?

Food for thought.

Oh yeah - and remember that Walt hocked his entire life to get 3 million to build the park in 1955. The castle is as big as he could afford at the time and certainly it was huge for a 1955 theme park. Don't dis our castle! It's full of love!!!!

 

[Sherwin]

Oh yeah - and remember that Walt hocked his entire life to get 3 million to build the park in 1955. The castle is as big as he could afford at the time and certainly it was huge for a 1955 theme park. Don't dis our castle! It's full of love!!!!

Were there even any amusement parks back then with castles?

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

Hey man - I figured I'd just go there and get it over with. After all doesn't almost every thread about comparisons bring up the whole "will I be disappointed about how small the castle is thing?"

Regardless and in all seriousness - don't even try to compare the parks. It will keep you from having the time of your life!!!!

 

[farmfresh]

Quite right - they are very different... but small castle or not, I really prefer the original.... although I can absolutely see what WDW lovers like! Aren't we lucky to be able to have a choice?

 

[Leofoenget]

Hmmm.... so what would the advantages be to stay on Disney Property - if you can walk from any of those hotels? There's no transportation to worry about, it sounds like?

For the fun of it I suppose. Personally I prefer to save the $$. It can be sooo much cheaper to stay off site for the family. And some of the hotels right across the street are closer to the gate than the DL properties.

 

[mechurchlady]

As for the castle, who cares. I go to each park for what it offers and do not have time to compare one to the other to see which is better. I love the DLR one as it is like a fairy tale one but the hulking WDW one also has its merits. Do we compare two strawberries and not eat one because it is smaller but sweeter? I partake of all of all parks based on individual merits. Pirates is different but what if their pirates was a new ride called Bucanneers in Havana would I say ooh too Pirates? i would go for the new ride.

I do not care that WDW and DLR are not the same or that one ride is longer, faster, darker, scarier, or bigger. They are all pleasures to me. Our castle was first thus it is the best just like an older child is favoured but to me they are all beloved.

 

[Disney Dreams]

Hmmm.... so what would the advantages be to stay on Disney Property - if you can walk from any of those hotels? There's no transportation to worry about, it sounds like?

Well, others have given you their thoughts on this. I will share mine. I believe when you stay at the Disney hotels at DL, it is about the Disney Experience. The magic that you feel when you walk down Main Street follows you home at night (no, not like a creepy stalker person, like a happy, warm fuzzy scarf wrapped around you that you don't want to take off). It is like you don't ever leave, even though you have technically left the Park.

DH and I live in the So Cal area. We have spent the night at Disney hotels at DLR a few times as just a 1 night little extra special getaway as opposed to home just because. They are wonderful, special, magical. I can't say we have ever done that for a night at the Castle Suites.

Hope that helps,
Dreams