Disney Land Vs World

[Canadianmag]

We have been to WDW 3 times with my son who is 5. We now have a baby and wanted to vacation some place a little closer to home (seattle) I have been to DL 24 years ago once, and WDW 5 times all together. I am worried I will be dissapointed, I like the resort feel and it appears a lot of the hotels at DL are just hotels. We normally book 2 bedroom suite and I am having a hard time finding something that does not appear to be run down. I saw the Hyatt that looked nice. Looking for feedback, should we go, or perhaps search for another vacation location.

 

[KateDrake]

While DLR is certainly different from WDW, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Your 5 year old will ADORE Cars Land, and it could be fun to have a change.

For me, DLR is the clear winner when traveling with little ones, just because everything is so much closer together. We took my DD to WDW when she was a baby, and of course we had a good time, but it was a pain to lug everything on the bus in the morning, and coming back to the hotel (we always stay on-property at WDW) was such a hassle! We love being able to throw the diaper bag and everything else we'll need for the day in the stoller while we're in the hotel room and just leave it there as we walk across the street to Disneyland! And if we want to go back to the room, no waiting for a bus or boat, we can make it back in a few minutes. Very nice if you have yet another blowout that leaves you without an extra outfit, etc.

As far as suites go, I don't have any advice, since we are usually fine with the standard two queen room, but I'm sure others will chime in. I would highly recommend staying within walking distance. If the resort feel is important to you, you should look into on-property rooms and the possibility of renting DVC points. I haven't done that myself, but I've heard people rave about it!

Anyway, I'll stop my ramble here, but I totally think you can have just as much fun at DLR as WDW. You just have to approach it with the right expectations. Sure, there are only two parks, but in a way, that makes it all the more manageable! You really can see or do just about everything you want in a few days, which would never happen at WDW. Whatever you guys decide, I hope you have a fun trip!

 

[furb & dez]

Pick your poison... Go to WDW for nice hotels and run-down, falling-apart parks, or go to DLR for run-down (good neighbor) hotels and immaculate parks.

 

[stargazertechie]

Pick your poison... Go to WDW for nice hotels and run-down, falling-apart parks, or go to DLR for run-down (good neighbor) hotels and immaculate parks.

See, I beg to differ- after 5 days at DL/DCA I defintely feel that WDW has fewer ride breakdowns, nor do I think that there are too many "run down" rides- the ones that were are now gone with new fantasyland and DHS is now slated for the upgrade it so desperately needed.

My home park is WDW and I know that creates a bias, but DL just doesn't do it for me. There is no suspension of disbelief. I have found it to be dirtier (but that may just be a result of the holiday crowds, and it just feels small and underwhelming to me.

 

[mrswh]

I took my kids on two WDW trips, then to DLR, and then back to WDW. That's when I realized how much more I like DLR, and we have been there 11 times in the past 5 years. (I can admit that only here on the disboards or people will think I am a lunatic.)

You will not be disappointed at DLR. I promise. The only real difference to me is that Sleeping Beauty's castle is much smaller than Cinderella's, so you don't get as much of the wow factor when you enter Main Street for the first time. Other than that, you will be astonished at how much easier a DLR trip is. IME, the lines are shorter and it is easier to get dining reservations. Park hopping is easy peasy at DLR - no way I'd do it with little kids at WDW. DTD is right there, which I LOVE. You can go to one park for the morning, pop out to DTD for lunch, then to the other after. It's crazy easy.

As far as hotels, the GCH is clearly the most convenient, but if space is what you're after you have two choices: stay at a not-so-great motel within walking distance, or stay at the Hyatt OC and take the shuttle. All in all, the shuttle is reasonably easy. And there are really great room configurations for families there. We used to stay in the two bedroom suite - one bedroom with a king bed, the other with two queens, and a living area in between. They also have a kids suite with bunk beds, I believe. Look for the "suites on sale" rates.

And I agree with PP, Carsland is not to be missed! Amazing theming and just a lot of fun.

Happy planning!

 

[Tinker1972]

We took our first trip to WDW in Oct 2011...we've been to 11 times. For us, WDW was much more like a vacation. We were able to stay on property..something we can't do at DL. The whole experience was just different. Both have perks..we like the nostalgic feeling of DL, knowing Walt Disney himself walked those streets. WDW was a bit more magical for us...as it is really like you are in another world. Its all just Disney (unless you stay off site I imagine). Even when you leave the parks, unlike DL where its hotel after hotel..busy traffic and panhandlers sitting along the sidewalks. We loved the ease of the transportation system in WDW.
We didn't find WDW run down at all...but we did find DL to be cleaner. We all, at one point or another, said out loud "we would NEVER see that at Disneyland!". We also found the crowd control at DL to be much better than at WDW after the fireworks and fantasmic.
We all agreed Pirates of the Caribbean is far superior at DL...and of course WDW doesn't have one of our favorite rides...Indiana Jones.
They are very different, and we just LOVE both. WDW was a vacation for us...Disneyland is more like a getaway, we can go for 4 days and be just fine.It has a more intimate feel. WDW had the more "wow" factor for us

 

[*Seanaci*]

OP: my family just came back from DLR. As far as a hotel rec goes...We stayed at the Fairfield Inn Anaheim (off Harbor Blvd). It's a nice hotel...and they have upgraded and renovated rooms into suites. We stayed in a suite with a fireworks view. The room was nice...2 queen beds and 2 pull out beds (one was a sofa, the other a loveseat)...the only pullout I did not like was the chair... I got up in the middle of the night to check on my son and he was hanging off the bed because it is so narrow to begin with...so we ended up putting him on the pulled out sofa the rest of the trip. Other than that the room was great. And the parks were about a 15-20 minute walk from our room.

As far as being disappointed between WDW and DLR...there is a chance you will be. I enjoyed going to DLR...but just didn't feel the same Disney magic as WDW. I did enjoy DCA...and CarsLand is amazing. And I had a dozen "firsts" between both DL and DCA. But overall u walked away only partially happy with my time at DLR as a whole.

Just go into it with an open mind.

Hope this helps!!

 

[CamoMama]

Having now been to both resorts I really prefer DLR. The fact that you can actually effectively park hop without losing an hour or more of park time would be enough, but there's so much more that I love there.

As for hotels in the area, everyone raves about the HoJo's, it's a 10 minute walk from the gates, you can have a "kids suite" with a separate room for the munchkins including bunk beds, and they have a pirate themed water park. I haven't stayed there myself, but I have reservations in February and am really looking forward to it.

 

[Canadianmag]

Thanks for your feedback. We are not huge park hoppers, we normally do MK one maybe 2 times and universal 2 (DS is a comic book fan). We then do 1 water park and a family visit day and the rest is down time. At WDW we never did the fireworks (too tired at the end of the day) we always drove to the parks no bus/shuttle. We stayed on the grounds but at a non disney resort (wyndham bonnet creek). I would imagine this time around we won't be soo tired since we are in the same time zone, waking a 330 our time took its toll.

Now I am afraid this might not feel like a vacation - normally we are at WDW, Hawaii, Jamaica, dominican republic etc. I also don't want to do Hawaii again so DH and I thought it was a good compromise. This is day 1 looking at DLR..... are there water parks like WDW too?

 

[RandomPrincess]

There are no water parks .

Even though there are only two parks they are only about a dozen attractions short of what they have in WDW.

It sounds like you do only 2 or 3 day in WDW anyway. There are lots of beaches and other theme parks, museums, zoos etc to visit and make a week trip out of it.

 

[lucysmom]

We are WDW vets. I was there the first year it opened, and cannot count the number of times I have been since. This year was my first DLR stay, and we loved it. We stayed at the Grand Californian and we had the same resort feel we got at the Yacht Club or at the Poly. I feel like WDW has lost some of its magic. It has gotten overcrowded. The CMs were, understandably, grouchy last summer. The character meals were so regulated, all you got was a picture and an autograph before they moved on. If they stayed past their 30 second allotment, their handlers moved them along. The shops all had the same merchandise so there was no need to browse.The buses, boats, and monorails all had waits. The trip just had an industrial, overregulated feel to it. We had seen it coming. So, when we were invited to go to DLR for the week before Christmas, we thought we would see what it was all about. Plus, we wouldn't have to spend a whole day on planes and in airports to get there.

I can't begin to tell you how magical our DLR trip was. We had the time of our lives, just like we used to at WDW. We loved the Grand Californian although the pool was not nearly as nice as Stormalong Bay, but it was as nice as the Poly or Contemporary. We didn't miss the Water Mice boats on the lake, but the weather was not conducive to water play anyhow. I want to go back to Disneyland next year, same place, same time. The holiday decorations and special events were spectacular. We had a marvelous time. Stay on property and you will definitely get your resort feel. You won't have to drive anywhere. Just walk out the door and you are there! You will feel the magic!

 

[Mr Snappy]

We took our first trip to WDW in Oct 2011...we've been to 11 times. For us, WDW was much more like a vacation. We were able to stay on property..something we can't do at DL. The whole experience was just different. Both have perks..we like the nostalgic feeling of DL, knowing Walt Disney himself walked those streets. WDW was a bit more magical for us...as it is really like you are in another world. Its all just Disney (unless you stay off site I imagine). Even when you leave the parks, unlike DL where its hotel after hotel..busy traffic and panhandlers sitting along the sidewalks. We loved the ease of the transportation system in WDW.
We didn't find WDW run down at all...but we did find DL to be cleaner. We all, at one point or another, said out loud "we would NEVER see that at Disneyland!". We also found the crowd control at DL to be much better than at WDW after the fireworks and fantasmic.
We all agreed Pirates of the Caribbean is far superior at DL...and of course WDW doesn't have one of our favorite rides...Indiana Jones.
They are very different, and we just LOVE both. WDW was a vacation for us...Disneyland is more like a getaway, we can go for 4 days and be just fine.It has a more intimate feel. WDW had the more "wow" factor for us

This

We own a time-share in Anaheim, so we obviously love DLR, but WDW definately offers a better vacation experience if you want full Disney "immersion" Transport, food, size of the park, choice of parks, and value are all much better at WDW....HOWEVER, Disneyland is MUCH better done than any of the parks in Orlando. I would give the edge on overall ride experience to DLR.

So why do we go to DLR so much as opposed to WDW? We do other things in Southern California other that DLR. We love the area and usually spend a lot of time in San Diego or at the beaches. We are car people, not bus people, so DLR is a much better fit for us on a regular basis.

All that being said, we try to go to WDW about every 3 years. We also only stay on-property in Orlando, usually at Disney's Old Key West in a two-bedroom condo. It will be interesting with both locations adding attractions and competing with Universal.

 

[ColoradoLime]

I haven't been to DLR yet to compare but we choose it over WDW for our son's first visit because of the small scale.

Park hopper or not, being able to take a crabby toddler back for a much needed nap in 20 min vs 45 min is a win in my book.

I know people get hung up on the hotel room, and yes it part of the experience, but really you're there to sleep. I'm a hotel snob and I won't skimp when I can afford it, but I also don't want the room availability affect my ability to enjoy the real reason for the trip.

 

[Eeyore11081]

It's been said elsewhere, but DLR crowds (at least during non-peak times) have a more laid back feel. Mostly repeat visitors, and with many people being local, there's less pressure to get things done NOW. Don't see it this time? Just wait till next visit.

At WDW you have people who have invested significant years savings for this massive blow out, and by golly they are not going to let anyone stand in the way of seeing everything they have paid for!!

As to cleanliness, having lived on the west coast for several years now and with our visits to DLR now outnumbers our visits to WDW, you definitely feel a sense of "ownership" in the parks, that maybe makes people take a little extra care to limit their dirt tracks.

Interesting comment above about WDW feeling more "regulated", as the last time we were in Florida, we had a DLR cast member with us and he pointed out some differences in crowd control, etc.

But you can't compare the immersion factor of DLR to WDW. Neither one is better, just different.

 

[KCmike]

We are WDW vets. I was there the first year it opened, and cannot count the number of times I have been since. This year was my first DLR stay, and we loved it. We stayed at the Grand Californian and we had the same resort feel we got at the Yacht Club or at the Poly. I feel like WDW has lost some of its magic. It has gotten overcrowded. The CMs were, understandably, grouchy last summer. The character meals were so regulated, all you got was a picture and an autograph before they moved on. If they stayed past their 30 second allotment, their handlers moved them along. The shops all had the same merchandise so there was no need to browse.The buses, boats, and monorails all had waits. The trip just had an industrial, overregulated feel to it. We had seen it coming. So, when we were invited to go to DLR for the week before Christmas, we thought we would see what it was all about. Plus, we wouldn't have to spend a whole day on planes and in airports to get there.

I can't begin to tell you how magical our DLR trip was. We had the time of our lives, just like we used to at WDW. We loved the Grand Californian although the pool was not nearly as nice as Stormalong Bay, but it was as nice as the Poly or Contemporary. We didn't miss the Water Mice boats on the lake, but the weather was not conducive to water play anyhow. I want to go back to Disneyland next year, same place, same time. The holiday decorations and special events were spectacular. We had a marvelous time. Stay on property and you will definitely get your resort feel. You won't have to drive anywhere. Just walk out the door and you are there! You will feel the magic!

Same thoughts.

We were WDW vets who went to DL back in 2007 and have never (well once we went back to WDW in 2011) looked back.

If your big on the "resort feel" then definitely stay on site at either Grand Californian or Disneyland Hotel.

DL is head and shoulders the best Disney park period. It's amazing. DCA is close to being the second best park for me now. I love the entire resort. Downtown Disney and the two parks really being all connected is just so much fun. We love it. I ask the kids every summer where they want to go and they without doubt say Disneyland and California.

 

[Eclectic Goddess]

I prefer DLR over WDW, but that's mostly due to the ability to be completely immersed in Disney Magic. (Staying onsite, that is.) At WDW, most the "onsite" hotels still require a bus ride to get from park to park and to and from your hotel.

The other big reason I love DLR more is the simplicity of it. Two parks, right next to each other, with what I feel are all the highlights of WDW condensed into a beautiful and magical space. (No to mention the special things that are pure Disneyland.)

I think a big difference might also be how long you plan to stay. You can go to DLR for three or four days and ride all the rides you wanted to, see the shows, enjoy some wonderful meals, and still have time to relax. At WDW, three or four days means either deciding what to skip or running yourself ragged, which just doesn't seem like fun to me.

 

[caffingdu]

If you do go to DLR, I would also recommend branching out a bit into seeing what else Southern California can offer. There are multiple other theme parks in the area, including Universal Studios Hollywood and Sea World San Diego. Plus there are beaches, and the San Diego Zoo. Also, I believe Disney offers their own little tour of the LA area, where one of the destinations is a tour of the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank (which is also the headquarters for the entirety of Walt Disney company).

This is where the difference between WDW and DLR comes in, I think. WDW immerses you into, literally, a world of only Disney. While Orlando is a tourist destination that practically relies on WDW, Southern California is a top tourist destination in its own right even without Disneyland. There's a lot to see besides Disney... Though you could immerse yourself in only Disney stuff if you wanted to at DLR, and just stay on site. it just doesn't take nearly as much time as WDW, though, if you just do Disney.

 

[greens_in_WA]

I agree the motels across the street on Harbor Blvd are sometimes a bit run down. We usually stay at one of two the Best Westerns (Park Place or Anaheim Inn) because of the good rates you can get through Costco, but we have stayed at the Carrousel in the past. However, the best thing that they have going for them is location.

My favorite story about location: Once when my DD was 6, we were in line to do Early Entry into Disneyland, and right as the gates open she decided to pitch an absolute fit. I told my DW to take DS in and we'll meet up once she had calmed down. I walked her back to the motel, had her sit down and calm down. We then walked back to Disneyland, through Security, through the turnstiles, and met up with the DW back at Dumbo. Total elapsed time: 30 Minutes. I believe that we were staying at the Best Western Anaheim Inn at the time.

We were at WDW last Christmas and we found that everything was a lot more spread out. We find that DL and DCA are more intimate as everything is closer together and not as spread out like it is in WDW. We found that it was a lot of work to go back for naps (even though the kids are older now, we all still need naps), we were staying off property at a time share condo that my in-laws have, so we had to load up in the car and drive off property. I'm sure that this would have been better had we been staying on property at one of the close by hotels.

The main thing that DL has going for it over WDW, as far as the hotels, is that the off property hotels are as close (or even closer) than the DL hotels, except for GCH, and are more affordable.

 

[isisisme]

I have not made it to WDW yet. But I did want to say that DLR is much more laid back. You don't have to even have a plan when you go. I have made dining reservations via email for the next day while in the parks.

We only ever make a couple dining reservations and wing the rest. The only thing I an nutty about is F! Dessert seating on our anniversary trip. We have to do it.
But that's it. The rest, it's relaxed and less stressful than even thinking about planing our WDW trip. I can't comprehend yet planning where I want to eat that far in advanced. :/

Go with and open mind. Know it is more compact and Walt's park. Take a moment to gaze up at his apartment and say thank you. WDW may remain your home park and that is awesome. Be open to the special magic that is Walt's touch at DLR. I hope that it touches you and your family as it does those of us that call DLR "home".

 

[BadDad]

Last week, I was in WDW (taking a break from visiting my dad in a retirement community near Orlando) At Downtown Disney in WDW, I spoke with a Disney CM who recently moved from Anaheim to Orlando. His opinion: More to do in Fl but prefers DLR.