disneyland vs disneyworld

[alicia1506]

so our 2013 trip was originally planned to be a trip to wdw, a dcl cruise, a few days at universal for wwohp then over to dlr for a visit before flying home.

we only have 3 weeks (due to work constraints) and i am starting to get a little anxious about only having 5days in wdw and 5 days in dlr.

we have never done wdw before, and we have visited dlr before, but that was prior to cars land/bvs/dca revamp. ideally we'd like to spend the majority of our time in one location, and only a few days in the other location.

i know there are those of you who love wdw and those of you who love dlr. which would you recommend and why?

we are planning a september trip, so the heat will be a factor. in wdw, we can get free dining (hopefully). we also have free transport (magical express), the joys of visiting a new park, plus the extra attractions of epcot & AK. we would only go to DHS for star tours, and if we go to wdw, we'll be at AoA, so relatively close with good transport to MK, epcot & a bit more of a bus ride to AK.

if we spend most of our time in DLR, it is cheaper (offsite accomodation within less walking distance) but we would have oop meals. tickets would be cheaper, plus we would have cars land/BVS etc to see, in addition to the regular rides. it's a park we are already familiar with, and it's going to be cooler in sept in CA than in FL.

...

so not sure which is a better park at which to spend our time

thoughts?

 

[australiankaren]

i vote WDW...

4 theme parks, 2 water parks, DTD, mini golf x 2, 17 resorts.......so much to do without leaving "the world"........

an hour drive to cape canaveral for a 3/4 day disney cruise....

sorted

 

[zanzibar138]

I've only been to DLR, not WDW, but I'm going to offer my opinion anyway

I would add a couple more days for WDW and just 'pop in' to DLR on the way back. DLR is easier for Aussies to get to than WDW (and can be more of a 'stopover' destination as well) so I would go while you've got the chance, and if you've been to DLR before anyway, it would be nice to check out a new park.

In a couple of days you should be able to do all the new stuff at DLR, maybe do your favourites that aren't at WDW, and take in the different atmosphere, so you wouldn't feel like you'd missed out.

 

[battymum]

If you are planning to cruise from the east coast - def gotta do WDW.

I wouldnt pay for those cross country flights and not go there! But 5 days is not going to be enough.

A day or two at DLR should be enough to see the new bits!

 

[Melbourne5]

Agree with batty mum

You need 8 days minimum at WDW to really see the place. 2 days at dlr/DCA is plenty if you want to see the new bits.

 

[Tara2004]

We are going back to WDW in Nov 2013, this time it will be 14 days. Will also do Busch Gardens and Universal in that. (maybe)

Minimum stay would have to be 7 days. We did that last time and really not enough to see everything but we got to see a lot . DLR stopover for sure

 

[JessNewbs]

I haven't been to either but from all of the research I have done I would definantly do WDW for at least 7 days. Not sure about the stop over in DLR, I was thinking of a day visit there for us on our way back as we have 5 days in Santa Monica. Not sure what we will do either just WDW or DLR but as I said WDW minimum 7 days is what I would do.....I am doing 10 nights there.

We have 4 weeks and we are doing New Orleans, NYC, WDW, Orlando, LA and Hawaii in that time so anything is possible!

 

[*Nessa*]

Both are great but if you only have 10 days and want to do both i would personally have 3 days in DL/DCA and 7 in WDW. You won’t get to see/do everything in 7 days at WDW (esp in the heat) but you will get to see a fair bit. On our last trip to WDW we had family who had never been before and they had 5 days before we left on the cruise & they were a bit disappointed as they wanted to see more.

 

[BecBennett]

Hi Vanessa! Haven't seen you about for a while!

 

[*Nessa*]

Hey Bec starting to plan a new trip so I have been reading up on all the dis gossip & adventures!

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Alicia - my vote 100% is WDW for longer and a day or two at DLR to catch up on the new things. WDW is really fantastic and requires more time than you have allowed. Way more time. I think you will just love it so much, I really can't wait until you get back because you will be smitten I'm sure, especially with Epcot.

 

[5ofus]

I'd go with more days at WDW too. In a trip I did way back in 2000, we spent three days at DL and 9 (or was it 8?) at WDW. Before we went, I made a list of all the rides that were unique to Disneyland and we hit them first to make sure we got them all in. We did it easily, but that was before even the original DCA opened so not as much to cover. I think you'd be fine with only a couple of days at DL if you planned your visit well.

WDW is HUGE. I have not yet met a person who has visited DL and then gone to WDW and not been overwhelmed by the sheer size of the place. There is so much to do there!

 

[alicia1506]

thanks everyone so much for your input.

we love the compactness of disneyland, but there is that allure of wdw and the extra stuff to do.

i'm trying to make this trip as enjoyable as possible, and with such a small timeframe (3 weeks tops), i want to get in as much as possible, and i worry that spending too much time at disneyland/disneyworld in equal amounts will make it seem like too much of the same thing...

i'm thinking we'll try for 3.5 weeks (if i can get them to stretch it that far) and try for a 7 night western caribbean cruise and at least 7-8 days at wdw, 2 nights/days at universal/wwohp (that is the bare minimum for wwohp as we are nuts for wwohp) and then maybe 2-3 days at dlr before flying back home. we like to fly home on a monday or wednesday, so we have a few days off before heading back to work.

wdw is just so huge!!! dlr is kinda my comfort zone cause it's all just there, and small, and i know it pretty well now. wdw is such an out of my comfort zone kinda place.

have been watching pov videos online all afternoon trying to get a feel for the size and scope of the place.

wow. so big. so daunting.

should be an adventure

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Alicia, it is a really big place and when we planned our first trip there I thought I would vomit if I thought about how overwhelming it all was. How would we get around, how would we find anything etc. I have to say though, we absolutely loved it. The buses were fabulous and I never felt overwhelmed with the size, not even once.

 

[BecBennett]

The only problem I had with WDW's size is the time it took to get everywhere

 

[alicia1506]

Alicia, it is a really big place and when we planned our first trip there I thought I would vomit if I thought about how overwhelming it all was. How would we get around, how would we find anything etc. I have to say though, we absolutely loved it. The buses were fabulous and I never felt overwhelmed with the size, not even once.

Thamk you for this .. This is totally how i am feeling right now. glad to hear it worked out nicely for you..

 

[alicia1506]

The only problem I had with WDW's size is the time it took to get everywhere

Yeah at dlr it was 5 mins max from our hotel room to the front gates. In wdw i have heard it can take up to 30 mins from hotel room to bus then up to 30 min from bus to park entry... Sheesh!!! Thats a lot of extra time out of your day!!

 

[battymum]

I have never been to dlr, so my opinion is not that of an expert but although wdw is huge it is def manageable but you need a plan. If it is not your thing, you could cut out the water parks (we loved them but some don't like swimming) but Epcot is awesome and animal kingdom is def worth the visit, I could miss Hollywood studios and only spend minimal time at magic kingdom if you are going to dlr, so you could do it in five days if you had to.

 

[Franrose]

We did them back to back last year, and honestly, I love them both. They both have plusses that the other doesn't have kwim. If I *had* to choose and time and money were no object, WDW for the "full" experience. However, DL is by no means the poor cousin IMO! It's the original, for a start, and there's something to be said for walking between parks!

Next trip though, we plan to do both again. DL will be shortened this time to one or two days just to catch up (I could easily do five! but will treat this as a 'transit' stop kwim so as to have more down time on the other side). If I was just going to do a west coast trip, I would not sneeze at DL

 

[coco392]

definitely need 7-8 days wdw- 2 days dlr to do the things not at wdw.

have done wdw 3 times and still think that isn't enough and feel like I haven't sctrached the surface

but you know what- it doesn't matter you'll have a great time no matter what