Disneyland better than WDW

[GAN]

Safe travels home, GAN. Glad it was all you'd hoped!

Thank you, Heidi. I made it back safe and sound a few hours ago!

 

[brookmey]

We got back from our 1st DLR visit last week. We've been to WDW as a family every year since 2009, but this year we replaced our WDW trip with DLR. A big reason for that was because of the 7 in 7 DLR series from last year. I'm so glad the podcast did that series because if they hadn't, I think that DLR would still be the place we visit "someday," putting it off each year because we didn't want to give up our WDW vacation. I have also gotten the sense that they think DLR is much better than WDW, but I agree with PP who have pointed out that that could be because they are locals at WDW and DLR is more of an actual vacation, that they visit less often, so it does seem more shiny and new. It's easy to become more critical of a place you see frequently than 1 you see once or twice a year.

We loved DLR and one of the reasons was because it is so different from WDW. A lot of friends asked me how the 2 compare and I found myself taking about the weather and the hotel situation instead of the attractions or shows. It was so nice at the end of the day to only have a 10 minute walk to our hotel, instead of having to wait in a long bus line or plan our departure from a park early or late enough to avoid the mad rush to leave after the fireworks. We also liked the parks being so close together to make park hopping easier. And, we absolutely loved DCA. All 4 of us actually preferred DCA to DL and spent more time there than we thought we would. DL was a complete zoo, with bottlenecks everywhere, and we didn't experience that at DCA. I found during our trip that I didn't find myself missing anything from WDW.

We were there for 5 days and we were ready to go when our time was up. I'm never ready to leave WDW, so I think DLR is perfect for a short 3-5 day vacation, while WDW is perfect if you have 7 days or more, simply because there is so much more to do there. We're actually considering going back to DLR in March 2017!

 

[Tom P.]

You've just got to remember when watching the Podcast that these Boards, Mega Meets, Podcast, the Daily Fix, Disney Pop, Give Kids the World, ALL OF THIS, is nothing more than a promotional and public relations tool for Dreams Unlimited Travel, PERIOD.

I know you didn't mean anything negative by it, but I don't feel you should lump Give Kids the World in with the rest of those items. I don't believe that the team gets involved in and promotes GKTW as a promotional and public relations tool for Dreams Unlimited Travel. I believe they do it because they truly see it as a worthwhile charity and a way to give back.

 

[Polybound]

I know you didn't mean anything negative by it, but I don't feel you should lump Give Kids the World in with the rest of those items. I don't believe that the team gets involved in and promotes GKTW as a promotional and public relations tool for Dreams Unlimited Travel. I believe they do it because they truly see it as a worthwhile charity and a way to give back.

Almost all companies get involved with charitable organizations in some form or fashion for public and community relations purposes. That, plus rants and negativity help deflect from the pure promotional aspects of the items I listed above.

 

[SarahDisney]

Almost all companies get involved with charitable organizations in some form or fashion for public and community relations purposes. That, plus rants and negativity help deflect from the pure promotional aspects of the items I listed above.

Some companies get involved with charitable organizations for PR purposes. Others do it because they genuinely want to help others. Most probably do it for a combination of both reasons.
Yes, they do a lot to promote Dreams Unlimited Travel. That's how a business works ... if you don't get your name out there, you don't get any business. That doesn't mean that everything that business does is automatically done for PR purposes. Some of it (including the DIS, which actually predates the travel agency if I'm remembering my history correctly) is done at least in part because these are people who are passionate about certain things (like helping sick kids visit Disney) and want to share that passion with the world.
It's pretty heartless to promote a charity just to promote yourself without actually caring about the cause. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, I just don't think Pete and the DIS team are that heartless.

 

[Polybound]

It's pretty heartless to promote a charity just to promote yourself without actually caring about the cause. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, I just don't think Pete and the DIS team are that heartless.

No one ever said, or even insinuated that. My previous post explained that this was a business, and promotion is a huge part of it and I don't fault John and Pete one bit.

 

[SarahDisney]

No one ever said, or even insinuated that. My previous post explained that this was a business, and promotion is a huge part of it and I don't fault John and Pete one bit.

My apologies. I must have misunderstood your statement. I thought that you were saying that they worked with GKTW solely because it was a way to promote their business, and I think we can all agree that the team genuinely cares about the work being done by GKTW.

 

[GAN]

You've just got to remember when watching the Podcast that these Boards, Mega Meets, Podcast, the Daily Fix, Disney Pop, Give Kids the World, ALL OF THIS, is nothing more than a promotional and public relations tool for Dreams Unlimited Travel, PERIOD.

I couldn't disagree with you more. Pete would be the first to admit he does this for profit, but to say "ALL OF THIS" is a PR Tool ...I believe Pete thinks much more of the Company he built. It's a passion, it's inside him ...and it shows.

 

[Polybound]

I couldn't disagree with you more. Pete would be the first to admit he does this for profit, but to say "ALL OF THIS" is a PR Tool ...I believe Pete thinks much more of the Company he built. It's a passion, it's inside him ...and it shows.

If that's what you believe, that's fine.

 

[disneysteve]

If that's what you believe, that's fine.

I've been on the disboards for almost 14 years and listening to the podcast for about 7 years. Pete and Dreams have never gotten one single penny from me or my family during that time. However, I have been a part of raising over $400,000 for GKTW. If that, in some way, benefited the agency, I'm okay with that.

 

[Angeliki19]

We got back from our 1st DLR visit last week. We've been to WDW as a family every year since 2009, but this year we replaced our WDW trip with DLR. A big reason for that was because of the 7 in 7 DLR series from last year. I'm so glad the podcast did that series because if they hadn't, I think that DLR would still be the place we visit "someday," putting it off each year because we didn't want to give up our WDW vacation. I have also gotten the sense that they think DLR is much better than WDW, but I agree with PP who have pointed out that that could be because they are locals at WDW and DLR is more of an actual vacation, that they visit less often, so it does seem more shiny and new. It's easy to become more critical of a place you see frequently than 1 you see once or twice a year.

We loved DLR and one of the reasons was because it is so different from WDW. A lot of friends asked me how the 2 compare and I found myself taking about the weather and the hotel situation instead of the attractions or shows. It was so nice at the end of the day to only have a 10 minute walk to our hotel, instead of having to wait in a long bus line or plan our departure from a park early or late enough to avoid the mad rush to leave after the fireworks. We also liked the parks being so close together to make park hopping easier. And, we absolutely loved DCA. All 4 of us actually preferred DCA to DL and spent more time there than we thought we would. DL was a complete zoo, with bottlenecks everywhere, and we didn't experience that at DCA. I found during our trip that I didn't find myself missing anything from WDW.

We were there for 5 days and we were ready to go when our time was up. I'm never ready to leave WDW, so I think DLR is perfect for a short 3-5 day vacation, while WDW is perfect if you have 7 days or more, simply because there is so much more to do there. We're actually considering going back to DLR in March 2017!

Thanks for sharing! We are considering replacing our next WDW trip with a DLR trip and having a really hard time pulling the trigger, ha! We would also do a shorter trip.. glad to hear that worked out for you. Its just so hard.. its like not wanting to try something new at your favorite restaurant b/c you are afraid you won't like it as much as your usual order!

In reference to the OP, I didn't get the sense that they were pushing DLR over WDW. The reality is for most of us though, it is one or the other, so I can see how it came across that way. I have to say if we go, it will solely be because of the podcast! They definitely sold me.

 

[Polybound]

I've been on the disboards for almost 14 years and listening to the podcast for about 7 years. Pete and Dreams have never gotten one single penny from me or my family during that time. However, I have been a part of raising over $400,000 for GKTW. If that, in some way, benefited the agency, I'm okay with that.

Agree, I've donated to GKTW as well and if it helps both, that's great.

 

[Tom P.]

If that's what you believe, that's fine.

If you don't understand that entrepreneurs have a passion for what they do, you don't understand small business.

Yes, Dreams Unlimited Travel is a business, and its goal is to make money. However, Pete (and John) had a love of Disney well before they had Dreams Unlimited. And you may not be aware, but The DIS boards actually predate the travel agency by a good while. Pete started these forums to share his love of Disney, not as a business. Pete had an entirely different career at the time, as did John. It was only later that he and John basically said, "I wonder if we could make a business out of this."

Yes, The DIS and Dreams Unlimited Travel are businesses. Yes, by all outward signs, Pete and John have been very financially successful as a result of those businesses. But I don't believe for one second that there is not a true passion for Disney behind those businesses, nor do I believe that every single action of theirs is solely driven by money.

 

[disneysteve]

If you don't understand that entrepreneurs have a passion for what they do, you don't understand small business.

Yes, Dreams Unlimited Travel is a business, and its goal is to make money. However, Pete (and John) had a love of Disney well before they had Dreams Unlimited. And you may not be aware, but The DIS boards actually predate the travel agency by a good while. Pete started these forums to share his love of Disney, not as a business. Pete had an entirely different career at the time, as did John. It was only later that he and John basically said, "I wonder if we could make a business out of this."

Yes, The DIS and Dreams Unlimited Travel are businesses. Yes, by all outward signs, Pete and John have been very financially successful as a result of those businesses. But I don't believe for one second that there is not a true passion for Disney behind those businesses, nor do I believe that every single action of theirs is solely driven by money.

Well said, Tom. Thank you.

 

[Polybound]

If you don't understand that entrepreneurs have a passion for what they do, you don't understand small business.

Yes, Dreams Unlimited Travel is a business, and its goal is to make money. However, Pete (and John) had a love of Disney well before they had Dreams Unlimited. And you may not be aware, but The DIS boards actually predate the travel agency by a good while. Pete started these forums to share his love of Disney, not as a business. Pete had an entirely different career at the time, as did John. It was only later that he and John basically said, "I wonder if we could make a business out of this."

Yes, The DIS and Dreams Unlimited Travel are businesses. Yes, by all outward signs, Pete and John have been very financially successful as a result of those businesses. But I don't believe for one second that there is not a true passion for Disney behind those businesses, nor do I believe that every single action of theirs is solely driven by money.

Unfortunately I don't know which shows they were, but believe it was a year or so before the first Podcast cruise, Pete and the gang were talking about their personal lives. As I remember, they went around the table, and all pretty much said the same thing. We almost never go to the parks, we've got personal lives. On another show, they talked about what they did on cruises. They went around table and for the most part, all said the same thing, we hide away in our rooms, don't like seeing people, we do spa's and do room service. These issues were subtly brought out on this board over a period of time and Pete and the gang changed their tune, culminating in the first Podcast cruise, mega meets and the rest is history.

 

[brookmey]

Thanks for sharing! We are considering replacing our next WDW trip with a DLR trip and having a really hard time pulling the trigger, ha! We would also do a shorter trip.. glad to hear that worked out for you. Its just so hard.. its like not wanting to try something new at your favorite restaurant b/c you are afraid you won't like it as much as your usual order!

That's exactly what it was like for us, too. We just couldn't make that commitment because we weren't sure if we would like it enough, but after the 7 in 7 series, I was definitely convinced that we should go and not put it off anymore. I don't think you'll regret "pulling the trigger" and going to DLR at all!

We spent 5 straight days in the parks, which ended up being too much for us. We needed a day off in there somewhere. At WDW we take days off in between park visits, but at DLR we decided not to so we could take our time, sleep in or get up early, not feel rushed. Next time we go, we'll stay at a hotel with a fun pool area and go to the parks for 3, maybe 4 days and spend the rest of the time at the pool or exploring the 3 DLR hotels. We stayed at Park Vue Inn and we were happy with it, but after seeing the Grand Californian, DH has decided that we need to stay there next time. I don't like going to WDW over spring break because it's not long enough to do what I want to do, but spring break is a perfect time for DLR.

 

[GAN]

Unfortunately I don't know which shows they were, but believe it was a year or so before the first Podcast cruise, Pete and the gang were talking about their personal lives. As I remember, they went around the table, and all pretty much said the same thing. We almost never go to the parks, we've got personal lives. On another show, they talked about what they did on cruises. They went around table and for the most part, all said the same thing, we hide away in our rooms, don't like seeing people, we do spa's and do room service. These issues were subtly brought out on this board over a period of time and Pete and the gang changed their tune, culminating in the first Podcast cruise, mega meets and the rest is history.

I go back pretty far on this board -actually further than my date indicates. I actually remember when you couldn't find a photo of the team because either they didn't want the limelight or just preferred they're privacy. I'd say the last 5-10 years they probably realized that they have a "real" business on their hands and keeping it running has consumed them. I think most can understand why they don't just hop in the car for a day of fun in the park. I think the absence in the Parks is more a product of business growth, rather than just being more interested in sitting home counting money. Everyone needs a balance.

 

[Tom P.]

Unfortunately I don't know which shows they were, but believe it was a year or so before the first Podcast cruise, Pete and the gang were talking about their personal lives. As I remember, they went around the table, and all pretty much said the same thing. We almost never go to the parks, we've got personal lives. On another show, they talked about what they did on cruises. They went around table and for the most part, all said the same thing, we hide away in our rooms, don't like seeing people, we do spa's and do room service. These issues were subtly brought out on this board over a period of time and Pete and the gang changed their tune, culminating in the first Podcast cruise, mega meets and the rest is history.

Which has absolutely nothing to do with what I was addressing. Whether or not the team had a natural affinity for interacting with members of the audience has nothing to do with whether they had an underlying passion for Disney before the business existed, nor does it have anything to do with whether or not their support of Give Kids the World has a business motivation behind it.

 

[Polybound]

Which has absolutely nothing to do with what I was addressing. Whether or not the team had a natural affinity for interacting with members of the audience has nothing to do with whether they had an underlying passion for Disney before the business existed, nor does it have anything to do with whether or not their support of Give Kids the World has a business motivation behind it.

As said before, if that's what you believe, that's fine with me.

 

[safetymom]

Speaking as a member of the Podcast I truly believe in GKTW or I wouldn't put in the long hours that I do trying to raise money for this wonderful organization. The look on the faces of the families that go to GKTW as they get to have a place to escape life for awhile is priceless.