DL vs WDW

[rosiep]

I think people on the Disneyland side of disboards just get tired of WDW regulars coming home from Disneyland, admitting many of the rides at Disneyland are better but that in the end it loses to the much larger Florida version. Read the "I'll never go to Disneyland again" thread and you'll see just how tired we are all of this sort of thing and how ugly it can get. Yes, everyone compares, but I agree with the other poster, comparing something as huge to something relatively small (that is city locked and therefore has no chance of expanding for the most part) is unfair. The proverbial apples to oranges. Or watermelons to oranges perhaps. WDW was meant to exceed Disneyland in many ways, thats why they built it. But it will never have the charm, history and compactness that make Disneyland so special. You love your home park and you should. But when you come over to this board, you're dealing with people that have a home park they love. And they'll defend it to the end! Personally, I live between the two and consider myself lucky to have two home parks to visit and love. Kind of like my two kids, I love em both the same and celebrate their differences without any tally marks of comparison.

I like your references to your children....of course their different..and it's unfair to compare them. You love them because they are unique, ONE OF A KIND entities.
I'm taking my first trip to DL in December and I will try to see it with fresh eyes.

 

[1000th happy haunt]

DCA ToT has good effects. But WDW is better, longer, loads faster, and has 4 elevators not 3.

Actually the TOT at DCA has six elevators, not three. The three drop towers load on two different levels.

 

[HydroGuy]

I like your references to your children....of course their different..and it's unfair to compare them. You love them because they are unique, ONE OF A KIND entities.
I'm taking my first trip to DL in December and I will try to see it with fresh eyes.

People like Amy who visit both parks regularly can more easily make this comparison with their own children. (Plus she has two kids, which makes the analogy even more parallel .)

In general, most people are not like Amy in that they are not regulars of both parks. They have a home park and then a "foreign" park. So it is not at all like choosing between children. It is more like choosing between your own child and a niece or nephew who lives across the country and you rarely see.

In any case, comparing the two parks and/or resorts is a helpful exercise for many people who are interested in learning more. It is a perfectly "fair" thing to do, IMO.

 

[grumpymakesmehappy]

I'm sure it's a great park, we do want to give it a try someday. My point was everyone will probably prefer one park over the other for whatever reason. That it's okay to have opinions. I see A LOT of people always saying that WDW is better, and I wanted to give my prospective as to why I think DL is better, to us anyway. It's all in opinions.

As for what's not exactly Disney? The Animal Kingdom, while cool, probably wouldn't be disney to me. Seeing stuff on countries around the world, not only would that not interest me, it's not what I'd be looking for in a Disney trip. Those are two that pop in to my mind at the moment. I watched a 2 hour show on WDW not too long ago, I think I'd mostly be interested in the Magic Kingdom the most. And from what I've seen I think I'd prefer DL to Magic Kingdom anyway. Some of my favorite rides like Pirates and Small World sound a lot better at DL. Also like I mentioned before a lot of the rides that are in DL in short walking distance, I'd have to go to other Kingdoms to get to at WDW. That's not saying I wouldn't enjoy seeing everything at WDW. To me DCA isn't exactly "disney" either. There are disney touches around the park, and we enjoy visiting there too. But it's not like DL and that's what I prefer!

Point well taken. I was just curious as to what brought you to the conclusion that WDW isn't exactly disney to you. Hopefully, you will be able to experience WDW one day and see the magic for yourself. Even WDW fanatics have their favorite park. Mine is MK. I think if you go, you will come back with a different perspective as to how magical all the parks are. At least I hope so! DL will still probably be you favorite because of all your history there. No harm. No foul. I completely understand where you are coming from. Even after our upcoming trip to DL in December, I would be suprised if DL surpassed WDW to me. All the memories alone make me partial.
Hey, maybe you can give me some pointers on your home park.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

Point well taken. I was just curious as to what brought you to the conclusion that WDW isn't exactly disney to you. Hopefully, you will be able to experience WDW one day and see the magic for yourself. Even WDW fanatics have their favorite park. Mine is MK. I think if you go, you will come back with a different perspective as to how magical all the parks are. At least I hope so! DL will still probably be you favorite because of all your history there. No harm. No foul. I completely understand where you are coming from. Even after our upcoming trip to DL in December, I would be suprised if DL surpassed WDW to me. All the memories alone make me partial.
Hey, maybe you can give me some pointers on your home park.

I sure hope we can go someday. Flying will be my biggest obstacle in getting me there. But it is a goal for me someday. Can't be a huge fan of Disney parks and not see them both!

I also agree that memories also count a great deal in making your favorite park. Hope I can help in any way with your upcoming trip. And maybe someday you can help me when we do decide to make the trip to WDW!

 

[SorcererDonald16]

As much as I would love to go to DL where it all started, it's not an option for me at this point, financially or time-wise (I'm scared to death of flying, so I'd have to drive all the way from VA ). But especially with the Celebration/Homecoming, I have been interested more in the comparisons. That and I play the Disney game VMK online and invariably some reference to DL or DCA comes up that I don't get, so I go looking for answers, LOL. Ex. I wasn't even aware DL had hotels until 1. VMK started "selling" hotel pins and 2. started saying you'd get a Stitch set for booking a trip/stay in a DL hotel. So, yes, I'm slow on the DL-uptake, and I apologize.

I enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts on ride comparisons and just general impressions. I love WDW obviously, but boy oh boy would it be nice not to rush around like a chicken with its head cut off 24/7 while on a Disney vacation. No matter how long we stay, it's impossible to get everything you want to get done, and it's flat out exhausting. Also would be nice not to suffer through the heat that they get in FL.

For those who have been to both places, isn't POTC a lot longer at DL? Also, what's the difference between the two It's A Small World rides? Questions I've always wondered about, but never have gotten an answer to; no one I know has ever been to DL, so they're as clueless as I am.

Hopefully someday I'll get out to CA to see the park that started it all. In the meantime, y'all who do go there-- have a little extra fun for me!

 

[Luv2Roam]

Sorry everyone. I did not mean to sound like I was belittling DL in any way. DL is a great time.
I did not ride IaSW this time around. So can't compare. I don't ride WDW's version much either.
The reason I like WDW Buzz is because the buttons on their guns can be held down and fire constantly. DL -- press, press, press, press, press, press.....
Much lower scores for us in DL!
Pin trading with CMs was MUCH better in DL. Cast lanyard pins are common there. In WDW they seem rare. Fewer Cast wearing pins to trade in DL. But the selection is far better that WDW.
I thought the WoD store seemed larger in DL DTD than WDW too.
And what a concept -- FP not needed during the week at DL! Wow! We only se that in January in WDW I think.
Indiana Jones is better, I think, than Dinosaur. (Don't hold Dinoland against us. ) Both rides are good. But I liek IJ better.
I was surprised at how close DL fireworks followed Wishes here. There is some variance, obviously. But similarities too.
And Tink's Flight! MUCH, MUCH better at DL!
And DL has Tink in their parade. I have not watched the parade here in a little while. But I doubt she was added. Probably the next one.

One thing that did disappoint me in DL -- and was minor -- was regular music being played in DTD. Whatzzup with that? It's Disney. It should be Disney music!

And some of the ticket entries at DL still make that magical music sound as the ticket goes through. I wish all the machines still did that. sigh....

 

[iceskatejen]

DL's POTC is 15 minutes long. I'm not sure of the exact length of the one in MK, but I've heard it's 10. What make DL's IASW more impressive is the outside. I rarely ride DL's and I didn't ride the one in MK when I was there before. I don't plan to this next time either. As for Buzz, I rode it twice in WDW. When the DL one opened, my first time I at least doubled my best WDW score. Now, if I don't get at least 500,000 points, I feel like I didn't do well. Pretty soon, I'm going to have to get at least 600,000 to feel like I did ok. Some of my friends get over 900,000 on a regular basis. But, we go to DL all the time and have had a lot of practice.