Disney World vs. Disneyland

[justsyd]

I'm thinking about planning a Disneyland trip for next summer. We have been to DW several times and was wondering how Disneyland compares. Those of you have been been to both please give me your opinion. When we go they will be 17 and 15.

Thanks!

 

[Girimama33]

This thread should help...
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599
It is a DLR guide for WDW Vets.

 

[CA Disney Fans]

There are rides at DL that aren't at WDW and vice versa. Having gone to both multiple times, it's great to see the differences. And compare certain rides to others (ie DL's Indiana Jones is like AK's Dinosaur, Radiator Springs Racers reminds my DH and DS of Test Track). With DL, even if you include DCA, being smaller be prepared for it to be more crowded. I think at those ages your kids would love it.

 

[justsyd]

Perfect! Thanks so much. This really helps.

 

[squirrel]

If you go off-season make sure you go over a weekend so that you can see the fireworks and Fantasmic.

The hours are shorter than WDW during slower times of the year. Makes a huge difference if you are usually there from open to close like I am.

I guess I will have time in the morning to do laundry after the cruise portion of the trip!

 

[cgh]

We LOVE cars land. For that alone, it is definitely worth a visit. You can also bridge the trip with other sites in Southern Cal.

 

[minniecarousel]

The weather is the big plus during the summer! Low humidity, even if it's hot.

 

[AustinTink]

The weather is the big plus during the summer! Low humidity, even if it's hot.

This is a huge factor for us. I don't tolerate the Orlando summer heat well, so our summer trips are always to DLR. We do WDW for spring break and mnsshp.

We've been to land 8 times and world 8 times. They're neck and neck right now! If I could only choose one to go to from now on, it would probably be DLR. It feels more relaxing to us. For our WDW trips I feel so frazzled all the time by the need to plan out every minute. At DLR, we wing it most days because it possible to do so there.

 

[Crazy4Disney06]

I have been to both DL and WDW several times. In my honest opinion the two can not be compared. They are both fantastic experiences of their own. You can't go wrong with either!

 

[hootey]

We enjoy DL the most. Everything is within walking distance and for us much more enjoyable. Quite easy to go back to the DLH to go for a swim or let our sons play on the waterslides. A much slower, more relaxed pace, for us anyway....

 

[lake queen]

We just went to DL in July with our 18 and 16 yr. old, both have been to DW 5 times, this was our 1st visit to DL.

We actually liked the rides in DL and DCA better than the same attractions at DW. However, it is really, really crowded at DL. I told my family that I was feeling claustrophobic, and I was outside!!! It was better at DCA where things were a bit more spread out.

Even though it was crowded, we got sooooo much done. The parks are so close that we went back and forth sometimes as much as 4-5 times in one day. We had 5-7 sets of FP at a time, because it is so easy to collect FP from both parks at the same time. On our first day we experienced 35 rides, shows, attractions! Pretty good for 1st timers in a busy summer!

We had a great time there, a huge bonus was the weather, it was so awesome! No wonder so many people live there! We also loved the long summer hours, having older kids, we were in the parks from 7-8 am and stayed until midnight each day. No naps needed for us!

We are so glad that we experienced DLR, it was a great time. We do still feel that there is more "magic" at DW, but wouldn't hesitate to go back to DLR.

Good luck, you will have a great time!

 

[Magalex]

Great question! We are WDW vets & I am still debating about a trip to DL for the first time next July 2013. Our DS is 12 yrs old. We love everything Disney & enjoy every WDW vacation. We are always planning our next trip. So I am always wondering is it worth it to go to the west coast. Because to us WDW is easy. Will we be happy not having the exclusive feeling we have at WDW?

 

[mummabear]

Great question! We are WDW vets & I am still debating about a trip to DL for the first time next July 2013. Our DS is 12 yrs old. We love everything Disney & enjoy every WDW vacation. We are always planning our next trip. So I am always wondering is it worth it to go to the west coast. Because to us WDW is easy. Will we be happy not having the exclusive feeling we have at WDW?

What do you mean by exclusive feeling?

 

[Tinker1972]

We've been to DL several times, and just did our first trip to WDW last year. We all came to the same conclusion: DL is more like a quick fun getaway, and WDW felt like more of a "vacation" to us. We love everything about each place. I love the variety at WDW, so much more to see and do. But I also love the quaint charm of DL..there's just something a little extra magical about DL and its history. We like Pirates much better at DL...but liked the layout of the MK better, and the seating on the rides was much better at WDW..especially Splash Mountain. I wish DL offered a dining plan similar to WDW..and we LOVED being able to take the Magical Express to our hotel and not have to worry about our luggage!! One of the biggest differences for us was how much more organized DL was at managing crowds..especially after fireworks and parades. That was just our experience though. We love love love both DL and WDW...going back to DL for 5 days in Oct, then WDW for 2 weeks next year

 

[mummabear]

I love both, I havent been back to DL since out 2 trips to WDW looking forward to what I think of it this trip. I do love at DL how close the two parks are and DTD as well where at wdw its such a mission to get around. I am looking forward to seeing carsland then heading back to wdw next year to see new fantasyland

 

[bigdaddybyrd]

My family are WDW Vets and DVC members, and we too are planning our first ever visit to the West Coast next June! I've been doing lots of research, and am so thankful for HydroGuy's many informative posts. My gut instinct is to plan, plan plan, but I'm doing my best to relax a little! I've got time, right!

 

[DISHoppy]

As you can see from my sig, we've been to both (WDW more than DLR, but DLR more recently). They are both great, and the weather is a definite plus for DLR. They each have different attractions...Indy, Alice, Snow White, Canal Boats, Casey Jr., Mr. Toad, Nemo, Matterhorn, Lincoln, SS Columbia, and New Orleans Square and Toontown for example @ DL, plus DCA is mostly different than anything @ WDW outside of Soarin', TSM, ToT, and Crush. WDW has Mickey's Philharmagic, Hall of Presidents, Magic Carpets, The Great Goofini, and soon the rest of the FLE @ MK, WS, Mission Space, Space Ship Earth, Living with the Land, Maelstrom, Nemo @ Epcot, LMA, RnRC, Great Movie Ride, Backlot Tour @ DHS, and most of DAK is unique, tho Dinosaur is similar to Indy with the ride vehicles.

One big difference you will notice is the dining. ADRs are made 6 mos. out @ WDW and for some restaurants you must book them that far in advance. @ DLR, Priority Seating reservations are made 2 mos. out and they are much easier to book, but you can only do this by calling or via e-mail rather than online. Dining is not as diverse as WDW, especially factoring in Epcot, but it's still very good.

They are both unique in their own way, but both are simply magical. I especially enjoyed the history of DL (like Walt's light, Club 33, and imagining Walt walking the park in his slippers).

 

[longhorns2]

I think it depends on your expectations.

I am a WDW vet that just got back from DL and had some disappointments. I tried to go in with an open mind, but some things just aren't the same as they are in FL. Before anyone gets mad at me- I did end up with an awesome trip and WILL be going back in January and am HAPPY about it! I am not dissin' on Walt! Just saying I had a different set of expectations based on my WDW experiences that caused my own grief.

No problems with the original park- DL is incredible. I had no complaints about the park or the rides (other than breaking down a lot or being closed at inconvenient times for me) Loved Matterhorn and Space Mountain and IASW.

DCA didn't wow me as much as DL did to be honest. I felt it was a classy amusement park- not a Disney imagineered showcase like the WDW parks (not HS- I don't care for HS either) and DL are. It's done well in theme, but it didn't stand out to me to be "Disney." PP lacked creativity in the ride department (minus TSM, CS, and Ariel) I wasn't impressed with many of the carnival type rides over there- I could see why it lacked the crowds in the past. I only needed one day of DCA (except Carsland) and I was good.

But HOLY MOLY, Carsland is flippin amazing. They hit it out of the ball park with this one. Totally made going over to DCA worth it.

The weather was also a winner. We had highs of 83 at the end of July and Aug, and little humidity. Lovely. Simply lovely.

My biggest issue were the little details that are overlooked at DLR. WDW had a lot of extra space, so they put it to use in hiding things like the backs of buildings for example. At DL you see cast members walking around the park out of their element- no tunnel system, so of course they have to walk through the park to get to their positions. I know why, but it still bothered me a bit. You see more unintended back stage than you do at WDW and I felt it took away from *my* magical experience.

And yeah, I know, totally knit picking. It probably doesn't cross many peoples minds- But I am a big geek about these things so it stood out to me. A normal person would never notice.

The CMs were also just not as pleasant IMO or as enthusiastic about their jobs. We ran into a few folks who were simply NOT magical. I think this was the biggest thing I noticed. I don't know if WDW CMs are terrified into submission and faking their way through the day or what... but in all my visits there, I have never had an occasion to even think someone wasn't having a good day.

They work at Disneyland! Shouldn't they be HAPPY to spend every day in the magic?! LOL... I know, I know.... it's a job, and a hard job, and a hard customer service job at that. That's where the expectations come in- I had to remember that we are dealing with humans, not animatronic robots. OF course they might have an off day or moment or whatever. We all do it.

When I posted that on another board I was assured that was NOT the usual case at DL. So I do not want that to be read as a blanket statement that DL CMs are all jerks or whatever. We just happened to run into some folks who did not seem to get Customer Service 101 lessons- much less the Disney version of CS101. It happens everywhere- even at WDW I am sure (though I haven't experienced it!)

Anyway... there's a WDW vets opinion.

Will I go back? YES!

But my park of choice at this point will still be WDW. A PP mentioned exclusiveness- I think you are talking about the sense of being immersed in the World. We stayed on property at GCH and I didn't have the same feeling I have at WDW. If that's what you mean, then no, you won't get that feeling at DL. But it shouldn't ruin anything for you--- it's still magical, just different.

Should you go? YES! Any Disney lover needs to go see Walt's park. For sure. I loved that aspect of it - the history of what he did with that place is very very cool. I even teared up a little on Main St. See- big geek. I'm not ashamed!

 

[erocrobro]

We went to WDW last summer and DLR this summer. We loved them both, but like others have said, they are very different. I agree with others that have said WDW is more of a destination vacation than DLR. In Florida, we stayed on property the whole time and everything we did was Disney. This summer DLR was part of a larger vacation (beaches, SeaWorld, LegoLand, etc.)

If I had to choose one over the other, I don't know if I could. I loved going to WDW and exiting the "real world" for a while, using their transportation, their hotels, their restaurants, etc. We loved the variety of the parks, but there was sooooo much planning that had to be done so far ahead of time.

I really felt much more relaxed at DLR because we weren't on such a tight schedule. We could hop between parks on a whim, we could decide where we wanted to eat the day of, I didn't have to check park hours months ahead of time. The only meals I made reservations for ahead of time were our character meals and Blue Bayou, but it was a few weeks, not 6 months.

Hopefully we will be able to someday visit both parks again. They both have things I am looking forward to seeing and doing again!

 

[Chim Chiminy]

We just had our first visit to DL, whereas we have 11 trips to WDW under our belts.

Planning for the trip I was a little anxious because I wasn't planning it out like I would WDW. I knew we would be going with the flow. I had two meals scheduled for our trip, at WDW I would probably have a meal scheduled every day.

What we loved........being a five minute walk from either park. That was wonderful. We like to take mid day breaks and escape the crowds and heat, and at WDW it involves waiting for buses, riding buses or getting in the car and dealing with some truly horrible drivers out there on the roadways.
The weather. The heat at the end of July never felt overwhelming and there was no humidity! My BIL kept remarking that he would move there if he could because the weather was so lovely. Though the temp did drop significantly at night, so much so most of us went and bought hoodies.

The sizes of both parks did not feel overwhelming to us. DL did feel a big congested on one of our days there, and wait times reflected this so we just did some of the smaller, less popular rides that day before we hopped over to CA.

So easy to park hop! The park entrances are directly across from each other, with about 100 steps between them.
Also loved how the bag check was set up.

DL was charming. We enjoyed riding things that are not at Magic Kingdom, and comparing rides that are at both parks. The group faves were Pirates, BTMMR and Space Mountain at DL. We thought Splash is much better at WDW. Toontown at DL was awesome, and we loved the variety of rides in DL's Fantasyland.

DCA had more room and we never really thought it felt crowded. Except of course Carsland, which is worth the park admission alone. There were some rides that we were underwhelmed with, namely in the Paradise Pier section.

Resort wise, we really loved the GCV. Our only disappointment was that the pool area closed at 10pm. Not really time to relax in the hot tub after a long park day. I wonder if the other Disney resorts have the same pool hours.