Disneyland....pros and cons

[badiggio]

Been to Disneyworld many, many times,and can never get enough,but am considering giving Disneyland a try,mainly because my wife is"Disneyed Out",but would consider Disneyland in hopes of getting to see Ellen Degeneres,nearby.In comparison to Disneyworld,what are the pros and cons?Would we be missing a lot?
Thanks

 

[youngdeb12]

We live in the west, so Disneyland is so much closer to us. We've been there more than Disney World and find that you can't really compare the two. They are two different experiences. At Disneyland, there are way more off-site hotel options and only 3 on-site hotels. There are extra morning hours that you can take advantage of by staying in one of the 3 on-site Disney hotels, but I've found if you take advantage of MaxPass - Disneyland's online FP system - you don't really need to worry about it. Disneyland is two parks that are right across from each other and makes park hopping much easier. There's way less transportation to and from your hotel. The parks have as many, if not more, attractions between the two of them than DW does across all 4 parks. Cars Land in DCA is worth the trip alone. It is so well done and immersive. There is a lot less when it comes to dining, but there are a lot of original attractions at Disneyland Park that you can't ride at Disney World. I find we make our DW trips more of a "vacation" and take advantage of resort days, the pools, but put a lot more planning in. Disneyland is a lot more spontaneous and less planning in advance. No pre-booked fastpasses, you can only book dining reservations 60 days in advance, no long bus rides and the monorail takes you right into Disneyland Park. We tend to focus more on attractions and rides and get more done.

Disneyland was Walt's original park and I think that any true Disney fan needs to visit it. The nice thing about a vacation to Disneyland is that there is so much around the LA and Southern California to do that you could add other things to your trip that might make your wife happier. We've done 5 day passes at Disneyland and found that to be enough. Some say 3-4 days is fine as well.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

If it's just the two of you, I'd go for DLR in a heartbeat. We wanted to return this year, but three of our four kids need (yes, need ;-p ) to do Jedi Training Academy, which DLR ended but is still at DHS, and my DD5 is going for a maximum princess experience that DLR just does not offer with it's one and only princess meal that costs US$125 per person plus tax and tip.
But I will miss DLR's walkability, how you can stay offsite and be closer to the park than the "on-site" hotels, never get into a car or bus or monorail or boat or Skyliner unless you want to. And Radiator Springs is definitely special! You can also easily leave and return after a hotel nap or eating off-site.
I will also miss a Disney trip where the weather is almost a non-issue (depending when you go, there can be a bit of rain or major--but dry--heat). No ponchos needed!
I resent how much Max pass costs for families like ours ($90/day, enough for a good meal or staying at a nicer hotel), but for a party of two, the $30 doesn't feel like too much. Do it!

 

[badiggio]

Thank You both for your replys.For us,it's mainly for our grandkids{and me} .We were at the world for the first week of june with our 2 youngest grandkids and found,this last time,we spent so much time in line,and to make things worse,there wasn't a day where at least one of our fastpasses were cancelled because something was down.Attractions and rides are the things for us.The option of going back to your resort is a plus too,something we love about wilderness lodge,with the boat.Hoping to take 5 of the 6 grandkids next time,youngest being only 2 months old ,now.

 

[Bossy22]

As a west coast Canadian I can say I love DL. I have never done DW though, we are waiting till our kids are a bit bigger. This summer will be trip 7 for our 9 year old so we love it! Every trip is the max 5 days and we always leave wanting more.

 

[CanadaDisney05]

Weather
We travel in the summer, so it is no comparison, DL is way more comfortable than WDW. Warm, but not crazy humid, and no rain.

Convenience
You can stay offsite and walk to the parks. Parks and Downtown Disney are all in one spot so its easy to move between them. Basically you can treat it all as one large park.

Hotels
Like I said, you can stay "offsite" and not lose any convenience. Hotels in general though are much more expensive in Anaheim than in Orlando. So that offsite hotel could easily cost you more than the onsite hotel at WDW.

Fast Passes
DL uses the old paper fast pass system. You can get an add on called Max Pass for about $15/day per person. This gets you the equivalent of "memory maker" as well it lets you use the DL app to book your fast passes. It basically gives you an advantage of getting fast passes. Since you don't prebook fast passes, you will be running to grab fast passes all day. We went in September, so the parks weren't too busy. With Maxpass, we were basically able to fast pass what we wanted, when we wanted over and over.

Attractions
I think I read somewhere that DL has about 80% of the attractions that WDW does despite having 50% of the parks. Attractions are also much closer together so much less walking.

Resort Feel
DL is basically two parks and a shopping area. It is toured primarily by locals. You really don't get that "vacation resort feel" that you get at WDW. It's basically the cream of the crop when it comes to local amusement parks. You really only need 3 to 5 days max to do absolutely everything there. At WDW, I don't think I can do everything in a lifetime of annual 10 day trips.

 

[starvenger]

We thought about going when we were in the LA area in August but, like WDW, the prices make a single day (or even a 2-day) visit very cost prohibitive. If we had more than 5 days in LA I think we would've gone for it, but we were perfectly fine doing other things on this go.

 

[deedubb]

DLR is our go to place in the summer. Weather is amazing...hot, no humidity, no rain.

The last 2 summers, we stayed at Grand Californian. You really can't beat the convenience as it is basically located inside one of the 2 parks. Even if you don't stay on-site, there are so many off-site places that are located minutes from the park by foot. In fact, many are closer than the other 2 on-site Disney resorts. You can't beat the convenience of DLR. You never have to take a car, tram, boat or monorail if you stay close by, and hopping from one park to the other literally takes under a minute.

You don't have to plan every second of your trip 6 months in advance! Planning for WDW can be exhausting. Our last DLR trip, I only booked two things in advance; Oga's Cantina (to make sure I would get into SW:GE), and Blue Bayou Fantasmic Dinner. That's it.

MaxPass blows FP+ out of the water. When we want to do rides, we go to DLR. You can do every ride multiple times, in one day. Try to do that with Flight of Passage or 7DMT at WDW...just not possible most of the time.

Cons: Downtown Disney is tiny, if you care about that. Less dining options. Fireworks and other entertainment doesn't run every day, depending on the time of year. Fireworks are also more likely to be cancelled due to wind. Wi-fi is terrible.

 

[TammyLynn33]

We my big kid ds17 and I did two days at DL this summer and can’t wait to go back . It has a different feel to it . It’s relaxed. No need to plan anything 180 days out.. we could have gotten dining res anywhere the day of.
stayed off site candy cane inn and it was so reasonable free parking no hidden fees and the best continental breakfast I’ve ever had and you simply walk to the park. You walk out the front door of the hotel and follow the crowds ..
We did so much other non Disney stuff time at the beach , whale watching , LA day tour..
I will warn you tho we heard all the “not humid “ stories and of course when we were there it was unbelievably humid . Your driver called it “ earthquake weather “ luckily that never happened while we were there .. but it can get humid ..
it was lovely and we can’t wait to go back

 

[badiggio]

Thanks for everyone's replys.
If staying on-site or nearby,would it be difficult to do some tours and such,especially if we don't rent a vehicle,or should we just change hotels to be closer to LA and Hollywood after doing Disney?

 

[CanadaDisney05]

Thanks for everyone's replys.
If staying on-site or nearby,would it be difficult to do some tours and such,especially if we don't rent a vehicle,or should we just change hotels to be closer to LA and Hollywood after doing Disney?

Why not do a split stay. First half anahiem hotel, then go to hollywood area

 

[mort1331]

I agree with all the above. But some other things. DL still has some old rides I never was on at WDW. Mr.Toads SnowWhite nemo submarines. Small World is different. Loved cars Land. Love Toon Town. Fantasmic make sure you get reserved seating or its crazy. 5 days never got to see fireworks. Charcters move around . Lots or good different QS. Negative- CM interaction fair not magical just there for the job..different vibe..

 

[rella's fan]

Not sure if its ok to post a link to my blog post about why we have switched to DL, but i wrote about many of the differences http://luckybugadventures.com/reasons-love-disneyland/

 

[badiggio]

Why not do a split stay. First half anahiem hotel, then go to hollywood area

Thats what I'm thinking is best

 

[badiggio]

Not sure if its ok to post a link to my blog post about why we have switched to DL, but i wrote about many of the differences http://luckybugadventures.com/reasons-love-disneyland/

great read,thanks

 

[Frozen2014]

I've been to WDW once and DL once and love both. Not sure we'll get to return to DL but that's just because of physical distance.

What I loved about Disneyland

• All rides are close with the two park walkable - park hopper is totally worth it and you don't need to decide what park do I do today as you can plan your rides for any day
• MaxPass is best of all the fast pass systems - you can book your next pass when in park 1 for park 2. No walking to the ride to book. No pre-booking (and then only getting 3 that day). Lets you go on your favorite rides more than once.
• Radiator Springs Racer, Indiana Jones, Pirates (better) - love these!
• Also seems to have a lot of dark rides no longer at WDW - Snow white, Toad, Alice
• World of Colour - Amazing show. And Dessert Party is the best if its in your budget (a good splurge)
• We stayed offsite but at Desert Inn and Suites right across from the park. Very efficient and quick to get to the park
• You'll see characters walking around....Seems less formal compared with meet and greet

WDW is amazing too though and also has things better...but you know that park so won't go over it.

 

[eMoneyBug]

Make sure to watch some podcasts on the different attractions/shows/experiences at Land vs World so you get the most out of your trip.

 

[deedubb]

I will warn you tho we heard all the “not humid “ stories and of course when we were there it was unbelievably humid

I guess it depends on what you're used to. When we were there in Aug 2018 the locals were saying it was very humid. I felt no humidity whatsoever, but I guess I'm used to Ontario's humid summers which can feel like Orlando.

 

[ElCray]

The first time we went to Disneyland, we also went to San Diego which is not too far away and absolutely loved it (went to the San Diego Zoo, etc.). We used the Southern California Citypass for park tickets. https://www.citypass.com/southern-california

 

[TammyLynn33]

I’m from eastern Ontario so o get it . Sadly enough times are changing climate is changing not only were yet saying it was humid . I felt it too. They did say it was unusual and called it hurricane weather but we had two days of very humid weather. Between the humidity and smog ( you can actually see it ) I was thankful I didn’t have DD with asthma with us.
That said I’d go again in a heartbeat it wasn’t that bad but yes it absolutely can get humid like we get... maybe by long term but short term is totally possible

Enjoy your planning ! Def hit the beaches..

I guess it depends on what you're used to. When we were there in Aug 2018 the locals were saying it was very humid. I felt no humidity whatsoever, but I guess I'm used to Ontario's humid summers which can feel like Orlando.